Christmas movies don’t often earn Academy Award nominations. “It’s a Wonderful Life” and “Miracle on 34th Street” are two of the few holiday pictures that did make their way into the Oscars lineups. That leaves a sackful of Christmas films that should have also Oscar nominations. Here are five of them.
“Love Actually“
Writer-director Richard Curtis was nominated for Best Original Screenplay for “Four Weddings and a Funeral” in 1995 but has never landed a follow-up bid. He could have earned that for his script for “Love Actually,” which interweaves 10 stories about love during London in the lead-up to Christmas. Bill Nighy won a BAFTA for Best Supporting Actor as a rockstar searching for a comeback. His quirky, hilarious performance could have seen him wind up at the Oscars, too. Instead, he had to wait until earlier this year for his first Oscar nomination (for Best Actor for “Living”).
Perhaps the biggest omission, however, was Emma Thompson, who still breaks hearts today as a wife who finds out her husband is conducting something of an affair. The famous scene, of Thompson listening to Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now” while in the bedroom is one of the best crying scenes in cinema and should have earned Thompson an Oscar nomination. Thompson previously won Oscars for writing (in 1996 for “Sense and Sensibility”) and acting (in 1993 for “Howards End”).
“The Nightmare Before Christmas”
This movie follows Jack Skellington as the ruler of Halloweentown who undergoes a personal crisis when he discovers Christmastown. Henry Selick’s seminal animated movie is now one of the most distinctive Christmas classics, thanks in part to its wonderful score and the array of songs by Danny Elfman. Elfman has four Oscar nominations to his name: one for Original Dramatic Score in 1998 for “Good Will Hunting,” one for Musical/Comedy Score in the same year for “Men in Black,” and two for Original Score in 2004 for “Big Fish” and in 2009 for “Milk.” However, surely his work on “The Nightmare Before Christmas” deserved some recognition. “Jack’s Lament” and “What’s This?” are the most famous songs in the movie and both should have earned Oscar nominations. Instead, the movie was only nominated for Best Visual Effects.
“Elf”
Will Ferrell stars Buddy the Elf, who ventures to New York from the North Pole to meet his biological father after being raised by elves. Ferrell’s comedic performance is, as usual, spot on, while James Caan is wonderful as the gruff human father who slowly has his heart melted by his newly discovered son. But it’s David Berenbaum’s original script that perhaps should have been Oscar-nominated. It’s a killer idea that makes the most of a wonderful premise with brilliant characters, a hilarious lead, and satisfying character development.
“Krampus”
This comedy Christmas horror is one of the most underrated holiday films of all time. It stars Adam Scott and Toni Collette and follows a family who became plagued by the Krampus, a festive demon. The comedy horror is spot on and Christmas imagery — from gingerbread men to presents to snowmen — is here weaponized for horror to full effect. The production design team delivered some fantastic work as a result, with a snowy attic with a demon jack-in-the-box and a haunted backyard with menacing snowmen as just two examples of fine craftsmanship. A nomination for production design wouldn’t have gone amiss.
“The Holiday“
Nancy Meyers‘ unrelentingly romantic Christmas film features two women (Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz) who swap homes in LA and an English village for Christmas to escape guy problems. As a result, they fall for respective new men in their new homes and it’s eggnog-sweet stuff. Hans Zimmer’s sweeping score underpins the whole thing — and music actually plays an important part in the plot, too. Winslet’s character falls for Jack Black’s composer, who creates a score that is used in the film. Zimmer won Best Original Score in 1995 for “The Lion King” before adding a second gong to his trophy shelf in 2022 for “Dune.”
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