December 5, 2022
Tis The Season! Here’s A Cozy, Timeless Black Christmas Movie Line-Up To Get Into The Holiday Spirit
Black Christmas movies are timeless in the best way. They can never be tired or retired.
From newly-released flicks and throwbacks to classic gems, BLACK ENTERPRISE took a sleigh ride across the loaded movie industry to create a festive lineup.
Grab your matching holiday pajamas or ugly sweaters, sip on a glass of wine or a cup of hot cocoa, and unwind!
A new year, a new Christmas flick
The Great Holiday Bake War (2022)
Cast: Letoya Luckett, Finesse Mitchell
Former pastry school rivals Julian (Mitchell) and Brianna (Luckett) face off in a TV baking competition, but they soon realize they’re better off working together as they create a new recipe for love.
The Great Holiday Bake War debuts on Dec. 3.
A New Orleans Noel (2022)
Cast: Patti Labelle, Brad James, Keisha Knight Pulliam
Former college architect students Grace Hill ( Pulliam) and Anthony Brown (James) reunite when they’re both hired to work together on the home of Loretta Brown (LaBelle) during the Christmas holiday. Sparks fly when Anthony and his family invite Grace to participate in their traditions and celebrations.
A New Orleans Noel premieres on Dec. 3.
A Christmas Fumble (2022)
Cast: Eva Marcille and Devale Ellis
Nicole Barnes (Marcille) is the “queen of crisis management” who is assigned the most difficult task of mending former pro-footballer-turned-TV-commentator Jordan Davies’ (Ellis) image during a breaking scandal and hiding that they ever dated.
A Christmas Fumble premieres on Dec. 10.
A Family Matters Christmas (2022)
Cast: Jo Marie Payton, Kellie Shanygne Williams, Randy Vince III, Chase X. Drewery, Melan Perez, Cheyenne Cummings, Xavier Alvarado
As 10-year-old wiz Aiden (Vince) prepares for the annual Christmas science fair, he calls upon a Christmas spirit to help his newly-blended family of siblings gets along after many failed experiment attempts. The magic casts a spell that has his siblings working together after they unknowingly switch bodies.
The HipHop Nutcracker (2022)
Cast: Joseph “Rev Run” Simmons, Stephen “Twitch” Boss, Caché Melvin, Dushaunt Fik-Shun Stegall, Comfort Fedoke
In this hip-hop reimagining of The Nutcracker, Maria-Clara (Melvin) embarks on a holiday adventure to bring her parents together with the help of the magical toymaker (Fedoke) and the Nutcracker (Stegall).
Inventing the Christmas Prince (2022)
Cast: Tamera Mowry-Housely, Ronnie Rowe Jr.
Rocket engineer Shelby (Mowry-Housely) is preparing to quit her job when her daughter becomes convinced that her Scrooge-like boss, Evan (Rowe), is the Christmas Prince of a story Shelby once invented.
Inventing the Christmas Prince premieres on Dec. 9.
A Wesley Christmas (2022)
Cast: Jasmine Guy, Dorien Wilson, Terrence “T.C.” Carson
With physical and emotional baggage in tow, adult siblings travel to their childhood home in Washington, D.C., to celebrate Christmas.
Cozy Throwbacks
Christmas Déjà Vu (2021)
Cast: Loretta Devine, Amber Riley, Blue Kimble
Aspiring singer Kandi (Riley), who hates Christmas following her father’s death, is granted a wish from a Christmas angel.
Merry Liddle Christmas Baby (2021)
Cast: Kelly Rowland, Thomas Cadrot, Latonya Williams, Jaime M. Callica, Bresha Webb, Nathan Witte
Merry Liddle Christmas Baby, the third in the Liddle franchise, tells the holiday story of Jacquie Liddle (Rowland) and her husband Tyler (Cadrot) as they prepare for the arrival of their first baby.
Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey (2020)
Cast: Madalen Mills, Forest Whitaker, Anika Noni Rose, Keegan-Michael Key, Phylicia Rashad
In the Jingle Jangle Christmas musical, a successful toymaker loses his joyous touch after his trusted apprentice steals his beloved invention. He finds new hope decades later after his adventurous granddaughter comes into his life to help right the wrongs of the past.
A Christmas Winter Song (2019)
Cast: Ashanti, Stan Shaw, Sashani Nicole
Clio (Ashanti), who just lost her father, forms a special bond over music with former jazz singer Fred (Shaw). Clio helps Fred reconnect with his daughter in this new friendship, just in time for Christmas.
Twas the Chaos Before Christmas (2019)
Cast: Sherri Shepherd, Cynthia Kaye McWilliams, Victoria Rowell, Affion Crockett
When two conflicted families accidentally book the same vacation home for the Christmas holiday, a hot mess ensues as they both attempt to celebrate in their own ways.
Every Day is Christmas (2018)
Cast: Toni Braxton, Michael Jai White
Inspired by the Charles Dickens classic “A Christmas Carol,” Alexis Taylor (Braxton) is a workaholic and money manager who ends up embracing the spirit of the holiday after getting a life-changing visit.
Almost Christmas (2016)
Cast: Danny Glover, Mo’Nique, Gabrielle Union, Kimberly Elise, Omar Epps, David E. Talbert
Almost Christmas is a festive tale of Walter Meyer (Glover) and his dysfunctional family. After he lost the love of his life a year earlier, he asked his daughters Rachel (Union) and Cheryl (Elise) and sons Christian (Romany Malco) and Evan (Jessie T. Usher) to his house for a traditional celebration.
The Best Man Holiday (2013)
Cast: Morris Chestnut, Taye Diggs, Regina Hall, Terrence Howard, Sanaa Lathan, Nia Long
When college friends finally reunite after 15 years over the Christmas holidays, they soon discover how much has changed while romance reignites.
Black Nativity (2013)
Cast: Jacob Latimore, Forest Whitaker, Jennifer Hudson, Angela Bassett, Mary J. Blige, Tyrese Gibson
A Baltimore teen raised by a single mother travels to New York City to spend the Christmas holiday with his estranged relatives, where he embarks on a journey of faith and healing along the way.
Classics to feed your Christmas nostalgia
A Diva’s Christmas Carol (2000)
Cast: Vanessa Williams, Rozonda “Chili” Thomas
A crass supernova singer, Ebony Scrooge (Williams), rediscovers the holiday spirit after three Christmas ghosts of Christmases past, present, and future visit her on the night before a gig in New York City.
Holiday Heart (2000)
Cast: Ving Rhames, Alfre Woodard, Jesika Reynolds, and Mykelti Williamson
Following a tragic loss, Christian drag queen Holiday Heart (Rhames) steps in as a father figure to the young daughter (Reynolds) of a drug-addicted woman (Woodard).
The Preacher’s Wife (1996)
Cast: Whitney Houston, Denzel Washington, Courtney B. Vance, Lionel Richie, Gregory Hines
A doubtful inner-city reverend (Vance) gets a visit from an angel (Washington) who was sent to Earth to help him overcome his midlife crisis. In the meantime, Washington gets distracted by the reverend’s wife (Houston).
The Kid Who Loved Christmas (1990)
Cast: Cicely Tyson, Sammy Davis Jr., Esther Rolle, Vanessa Williams, Della Reese, Michael Warren
A jazz musician and his wife are about to finalize the adoption of a young orphan Reggie, but a social worker disapproves when the wife dies in a car accident. The Christmas holiday just isn’t the same, but the kid finally gets a home thanks to the help of a Chicago social worker.
The Wiz (1978)
Cast: Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Lena Horne, Nipsey Russell, Mabel King, Richard Pryor
When Harlem schoolteacher Dorothy (Ross) tries to save her dog from a storm, she gets whisked away to an urban fantasy land called Oz.
Check your local listing for air dates or your favorite streaming platform to view your favorite holiday flick!