This time of the year is all about switching off, indulging in all the delicious treats that the Christmas period has to offer and watching snug, soul-warming films on the sofa by the crackling fire. To help in your quest for cosiness, we searched far and wide (aka the libraries of most major streaming services) for the best cosy movies the internet has to offer this season. Some are new, some are classics; some are holiday-centric, some have nothing to do with Christmas at all. Regardless, they’re all titles you’ll want to watch sitting by the fire with a cup of hot chocolate, as snow falls peacefully outside, and in between various get togethers — or while you’re trying to avoid certain people during family brunch. Happy streaming.
This article was originally published in November 2021 and has since been updated.
The Holdovers (2023)
One of the buzziest films of 2023, The Holdovers sees Paul Giamatti as a cranky teacher at a New England prep school who is tasked with staying on campus during winter break to supervise the students who have nowhere to go for Christmas. Over the otherwise dreary break, he forms an unlikely bond with a troubled student (Dominic Sessa) and the school’s head cook (Da’Vine Joy Randolph).
Little Women (2019)
We’re talking about the 2019 version with Saoirse Ronan, Florence Pugh, Emma Watson, Eliza Scanlen, Timothée Chalamet, Laura Dern and Meryl Streep. Yes, the 1994 version of Little Women is a go-to cosy movie, but that doesn’t mean Greta Gerwig’s take on Louisa May Alcott’s coming-of-age tale should be skipped. There’s something inherently cosy about this story of sisters entering womanhood in 1860s Massachusetts, trying to make the best decisions for their lives. The treks through the snow bundled up in knit scarves, ice-skating sessions in the forest lanes and the March sisters snuggled up by the fire. Plus, it gives a completely new perspective to the once annoying little sister known as Amy March. It’s the best.
Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
Wes Anderson has always been the king when it comes to constructing intimate, fantastical worlds. His 2014 film — set in a picturesque 1930s European ski resort — is full of whimsy, plush rooms, the fabulously camp concierge Gustave H. and delicious baked goods (Mendls!).
Fire Island (2022)
Fire Island is arguably one of the most smile-inducing films of the past couple years. Penned by star Joel Kim Booster, the movie follows a group of queer besties (including Bowen Yang, Matt Rogers, and Margaret Cho), who come together every summer on Fire Island, possibly facing their last season at the getaway. The flick is sweet, funny, has that old-school rom-com feel (but is still modern) and gets major bonus points for being inspired by Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. It may seem odd watching a summery movie in December, but we promise it hits all the cosy film criteria.
About Time (2013)
Richard Curtis, you’ve gone and done it again. Here we have a film essentially about a time-travelling man (Domhnall Gleeson) who uses his powers to pursue a love interest (Rachel McAdams), but it’s so much more than that. It’s also about the importance of family, second chances and making every day count.
Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001)
Bridget Jones’s Diary has everything you could possibly want from a feel-good rom-com. The titular Bridget (a winning Renée Zellweger) is a woman who starts a diary to track her career and romantic escapades — and someone you’d totally want to be BFFs with. It takes place, in part, during the festive season, and it features not one but two charming love interests in Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) and Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant).
Happiest Season (2020)
Sometimes the fact that Happiest Season — a queer rom-com following a woman who asks her girlfriend to pretend to be just friends over Christmas because she hasn’t come out to her parents that is co-written and directed by Clea DuVall, and stars Kristen Stewart, Mackenzie Davis, Alison Brie, Aubrey Plaza and Dan Levy — exists seems too good to be true. Sure, it sounds like it was designed in a lab specifically to become a fave comfort movie for people everywhere, but it is, in fact, a real film, and we must not take that for granted.
Waiting To Exhale (1995)
The best types of friendships are warm and enveloping, like a much-needed hug. That’s exactly what watching Waiting to Exhale feels like. Whitney Houston, Angela Bassett, Lela Rochon, and Loretta Devine star as four friends navigating relatable issues of life, work and romance, taking viewers right along with their highs and lows. Plus, the drama plays even better when you watch it with your own BFF.
The Broken Hearts Gallery (2020)
The Broken Hearts Gallery doesn’t reinvent the rom-com — but that’s why it’s the perfect comfort movie. The movie, which was executive produced by Selena Gomez, is about a 20-something gallery assistant who turns people’s trinkets from past relationships into an art display. And it nails the genre’s heart-warming formula without being an unpleasant copycat. Although you’ll likely be able to predict what happens, it’s well made, enjoyable to watch and there’s genuine chemistry between the two leads, Dacre Montgomery and Geraldine Viswanathan, who gives a star-making performance.
My Neighbor Totoro (1990)
It doesn’t matter how old you are when you watch (or rewatch) My Neighbor Totoro. The Hayao Miyazaki Studio Ghibli classic, which follows two young sisters as they explore their new home in the Japanese countryside and befriend playful, cuddly wood spirits, will fill you with the same childlike wonderment every time.
Julie & Julia (2009)
There’s something about the powerhouse combo of Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci that is so damn comfy, because in any world they inhabit nothing bad could ever happen. In it, Julie Powell (Amy Adams) is a young internet blogger who begins working her way through iconic chef Julia Child’s cookbook. Anything with a bubbling stove gets a thumbs up from us.
The Princess Bride (1987)
Films from childhood are the most comforting of all because they remind us of simpler times or how we felt when first laid eyes on them. The fact that The Princess Bride starts as a bedtime story from a grandparent already evokes feelings of being tucked up in bed and read to, but it gets even cosier when you factor in the gorgeous love story, the iconic adversaries and the famous triumphs (“My Name Is Inigo Montoya… prepare to die!”).
Always Be My Maybe (2019)
For instant warm feels, look no further than Always Be My Maybe, a rom-com starring Randall Park and Ali Wong as childhood sweethearts who reconnect as adults and realise the spark is still there. Expect full belly laughs, feel-good montages and a pretty spicy cameo from Keanu Reeves, playing an exaggerated douchebag version of himself.
Let It Snow (2019)
Snow storms — the kind that shut everything down and force you inside until it’s over — mean something a lot different as an adult than they did while we were younger. (No school = fun! Trying to figure out work and other responsibilities while shoveling your way out of your home…less so.) Let It Snow — a cheery YA movie starring Isabela Merced, Shameik Moore, Liv Hewson, Kiernan Shipka, Jacob Batalon, and more — takes place in a small American town that gets snowed in on Christmas Eve, bringing its high school students together in unexpected ways. It will bring you right back to the nostalgic, joyful days seeing piles of snow didn’t make you groan.
Pride and Prejudice (2005)
What is it about period films that make them so damn cosy? In this classic version of Pride and Prejudice, it could be the sweeping English countryside, the flirtatious Regency era dances, or the swoon-worthy romance between Elizabeth Bennet (Keira Knightley) and Mr. Darcy (Matthew Macfadyen) — aka Tom from Succession — in a billowing white shirt.
Moonstruck (1987)
At first glance, Moonstruck is kind of weird. The Oscar-winning rom-com — about Loretta (Cher), an Italian New York widow who falls in love with her new fiancé’s younger brother, Ronny (Nicolas Cage) — features an oddball cast of characters and many unexpected quirks. But it’s also beautifully enthralling and full of life; when the families bicker on screen, you’re transported to your own minor table-side family drama, and isn’t that what Christmas are about?
Paddington 2 (2017)
Paddington 2 is one of the greatest and cosiest films of all time — sorry, we don’t make the rules! An all-star cast — Sally Hawkins, Hugh Bonneville, Hugh Grant, Julie Walters, Jim Broadbent — unite for this heartwarming tale of the beloved bear searching for the perfect present for his Aunt Lucy’s 100th birthday — plus all the quintessentially British misadventures that come with it.
Sleepless In Seattle (1993)
Nora Ephron is the undisputed queen of cosy comfort movies, and Sleepless in Seattle is perhaps the movie from her filmography that best embodies that vibe. The Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks two-hander — about a writer who forms an anonymous connection with a widowed father after hearing him on a call-in radio show — is dreamy, moody, romantic and busting with big feelings. And let’s not forget the endless display of covetable autumn and winter fashion.
Hidden Figures
One to warm the cockles of the soul, especially taking into consideration it’s based on an incredible, untold true story. It follows three boundary-pushing female African-American mathematicians who played a vital role in NASA during the early years of the US space program, making history despite facing racial and gender discrimination.
How To Be Single
Society – and every film in existence – would have us believing that being single is the worst. But thankfully Dakota Johnson and Rebel Wilson are here to dispel the myth with this genuinely laugh out loud film about a women who moves to New York and explores the ups and downs of modern dating with friends and family in tow. Like a less cringe version of Eat Pray Love.
Billy Elliot
One of the best coming-of-age films of all time, hands down. It follows a young boy from a Northern England mining town who has aspirations to become a ballet dancer. With an amazing soundtrack (T. Rex!), incredible dance sequences and truly harrowing and heartwarming scenes – we defy you not to shed a tear before the credits roll.
Chef
Again. Proof that foodie films are the comfiest of all. After a head chef quits his restaurant, he fixes up a food truck and travels around with his son and best friend. It’s a genuine gem of a film, where you can practically smell the sizzling cheese wafting from your screen.
It’s Complicated
Nancy Meyers doing peak Nancy Meyers, what could be cosier than watching Meryl Streep, high as a kite and baking croissants? It follows a woman whose life gets complicated when she starts falling in love with her ex-husband all over again.
Good Will Hunting
How do you like them apples?! Starring Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and the cherished late actor Robin Williams, it’s the ever-quotable heartwarming story about a troubled math genius who realises his potential with the help of a psychiatrist.
Cinema Paradiso
Officially one of the cosiest films of all time, it is set in a quiet Italian village and pays homage to the magic of cinema. A successful film director returns to his home town to pay tribute to the beloved projectionist who taught him his love of movies. When the kiss montage finally comes round, expect all the tears.
The Lord of the Rings trilogy
Another film franchise that has nothing to do with Christmas at all, but is a compulsory watch come December. The iconic trio of fantasy films serves up pure escapism in the form of cosy hobbit holes, epic battles, elf kingdoms and one ring to rule them all. But at their heart, they’re about finding your life’s purpose and how friendship can help us in the darkest of times.
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Another whimsical universe from the brain of Wes Anderson, this charming stop motion animated film sees the likes of George Clooney and Meryl Streep – Mr and Mrs Fox – whose lives become endangered when three farmers set about exterminating them. Autumnal landscapes, intimate burrows and candlelit banquets abound.
Chocolat
A nomadic mother (Juliette Binoche) and daughter open a chocolate shop in a conservative rural village in France, and over time open the hearts and minds of the wary inhabitants (including one Judi Dench). Not one to watch on an empty stomach – thinking sinful pots of bubbling hot chocolate and divine cooking montages.
Harry Potter franchise
I mean, is it even Christmas if you don’t watch the Harry Potter films in chronological order, quote in real-time, and sob uncontrollably every time someone dies – even though you’ve seen it a million times (“That’s my son. That’s my BOY!”) The sheer escapism of magic entwined with the familiarity of our world, plus the coming-of-age of young wizards and witches, and Hogwarts glittering in the snow makes it the ultimate screen escape.
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