While Thanksgiving is still a week away and many across the nation are still raking away fallen leaves, the holiday spirit is here.
Since November began, Christmas movies have been dropping and popping up on streamers’ top-watched lists. Holiday commercials and promotions are cluttering our feeds. And, as Mariah Carey, the Queen of Christmas, has officially announced, “It’s time.”
One of the best parts of the holiday season is the unique specials. So far, it’s been announced that Beyoncé will perform the halftime show on Christmas Day during the Ravens-Texans game. The game and her performance will air on Netflix at 4:30 PM ET and the teams’ local broadcasts. It was also announced that CNN will air their Luther Vandross documentary, “Luther: Never Too Much,” on New Year’s Day.
However, before either of these highly anticipated specials drop, Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas” special will premiere on Dec. 1 at 10:30 AM ET on Freeform, and previous holiday specials by the music icon can already be watched on Apple TV and Disney +. Halle Bailey and Smoky Robinson will also be hosting the star-studded “A Motown Christmas” airing on NBC on Dec. 11 at 9 PM ET. Ashanti, Andra Day, BeBe Winans, Jordin Sparks, Pentatonix, and more are slated to perform.
In the meantime, if you’re ready to really get into the spirit or are just looking to get your holiday season watch list together early, look no further than our guide to the top Black films to enjoy during the holiday season. Below, we have gathered 25 films that should be on everyone’s list.
1. The Wiz (1978)
With the Black musical adaption of the classic “The Wizard of Oz” opening on Thanksgiving dinner before a blizzard whisks Dorothy and Toto to Oz, this Black family classic starring Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Nipsey Russell, Richard Pryor, Lena Horne, and more makes the perfect transition between the holiday seasons. Bonus: Quincy Jones makes a cameo, and Luther Vandross fans can rejoice that he wrote one of the film’s most iconic songs!
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2. The Kid Who Loved Christmas (1990)
In this made-for-TV classic produced by Eddie Murphy, Christmas magic occurs when a Chicago-based social worker (Cicely Tyson) helps a jazz saxophonist (Michael Warren) adopt a son (Trent J. Cameron) after the death of his wife.
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3. The Preacher’s Wife (1996)
A certain set grew up on the sentimental holiday classic starring Whitney Houston, Denzel Washington, and Courtney B. Vance that tells the story of what happens when an angel visits a man of God having doubts.
Related: Why Denzel Washington gave up drinking at the age of 60
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4. Last Holiday (2006)
When Georgia Byrd (Queen Latifah) learns she has a terminal illness, she decides to start living and embarks on a soft-girl luxury holiday adventure with LL Cool J as her romantic lead.
Related: Queen Latifah developing a biopic with Will Smith about her life
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5. Genie (2023)
“Genie” is a heartwarming story that, for once, aims to bring Christmas magic to adults. Instead of a child getting to go on a magical adventure of a lifetime, a grown man desperately in need of some serious joy encounters a genie.
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6. Boxing Day (2021)
The winter holiday season encompasses many celebrations, including Boxing Day, which is celebrated by Black folks all over the world. In the holiday film commemorating the day, cultures clash when a Black British author returns home to the UK with his Black American fiancée to meet his family, whose members span the African Diaspora.
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7. This Christmas (2007)
After four years apart, a large family is finally summoned for the holidays by their matriarch in what has become a classic Black Christmas film.
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8. Jingle Jangle (2020)
Rival toymakers battle it out both musically and magically in this Netflix holiday season fantasy epic that stars Forest Whitaker, Keegan Michael-Key, Phylicia Rashad, Madalen Mills, and more.
Related: The significance of Black Santa
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9. The American Society of Magical Negroes (2024)
While this film isn’t about Christmas, it is about a secret magical society that monitors the behaviors of folks (albeit white folks specifically) all year long and intervenes if necessary to keep them on track. Sound familiar?
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10. Dashing Through the Snow (2023)
Ludacris plays a father who doesn’t believe in the magic of Christmas. That is, until he and his daughter find themselves helping none other than Santa Claus, played by Lil Rel.
Related: Ludacris and Lil Rel Howery on ‘Dashing Through the Snow’
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11. The Perfect Holiday (2007)
In this romantic classic, a little girl visits a department store with her recently divorced mother (Gabrielle Union), where she hatches a plan to set her mother up with a department store Santa (Morris Chestnut).
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12. Friday After Next (2002)
The cult classic “Friday” franchise added a holiday movie to the mix that, for some, has eclipsed the originals. The franchise’s star, Ice Cube, alongside Mike Epps, returns for the usual antics — this time, set on Christmas Day.
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13. Meet Me Next Christmas (2024)
The brand new film “Meet Me Next Christmas,” starring Christina Millan, Devale Ellis, and Pentatonix, is a fun, wild, and romantic ride as Millan’s character hires a personal concierge for the ultimate task.
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14. Snowglobe (2007)
Long before Millan was racing through the streets of New York City with her personal concierge in “Meet Me Next Christmas,” she had already cemented her place as a Christmas movie icon in “Snowglobe.” In what can only be described as a holiday fever dream, this film tells the hilarious and adorable story of a woman who wakes up in a Christmas snow globe.
Related: Keke Palmer reflects on her turbulent experience working on ‘Scream Queens’
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15. Ghosting: The Spirit of Christmas (2019)
The more unhinged the plot of a TV Christmas movie, the better, right? In “Ghosting: The Spirit of Christmas,” a woman is killed in an accident after an amazing first date around the holidays — but, of course, her spirit remains!
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16. A Diva Christmas Carol (2000)
Speaking of Christmas ghost stories, Charles Dickens’s classic “A Christmas Carol” gets a modern spin in “A Diva Christmas Carol.” Vanessa Williams stars as a diva megastar who is visited by three ghosts on Christmas Eve.
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17. Holiday Rush (2019)
Just before the holidays, the father of a wealthy family loses his job and, subsequently, the luxurious lifestyle he and his children were living in this Netflix comedy.
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18. Almost Christmas (2016)
A retired mechanic (Danny Glover) invites his adult children and their families to his home for the holidays in hopes they can put their differences aside for one Christmas.
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19. The Best Man Holiday (2013)
The iconic “The Best Man” franchise is revisited almost 15 years later when the college friends decide to spend the holidays together. Naturally, old rivalries quickly become stoked.
Related: Jet magazine presents ‘The Best Man Holiday’ scholarship
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20. Black Nativity (2013)
A young teen from Baltimore is sent to New York City to spend the holidays with estranged and strict relatives (played by Forest Whitaker and Angela Bassett) and attempts to travel back home to his mother. Along his journey, his experiences show him the true meaning of the season.
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21. A Madea Christmas (2013)
See what happens in this farm-set holiday comedy set when Tyler Perry’s Madea and her niece pop up on her niece’s daughter to find she has been attempting to hide her recent marriage to a white man.
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22. A Naija Christmas (2021)
Feeling the pressure to meet their mother’s expectations and honor one wish she has in particular, three unmarried brothers race to find women they can bring home by Christmas.
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23. This is Christmas (2022)
A young man who commutes with the same set of strangers daily feels inspired by the approaching holidays to host a party for his fellow commuters. OK, so it might be a plot to get close to one fellow commuter in particular.
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24. Merry Liddle Christmas Baby (2021)
Just in time for the holidays, a husband (Thomas Cardot) and wife (Kelly Rowland) are preparing to welcome their new baby while trying to celebrate the season.
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25. Holiday Heart (2000)
A drag queen mourning the loss of his lover takes in a woman struggling with addiction and her daughter right around the holidays. Together they create a makeshift family and do their best to keep it intact, even as outside forces threaten what they’ve built.
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