Escape the sofa and head out to the big screen for new Star Wars episodes, live screenings of classic ballets and Jennifers Lawrence and Aniston in Christmas blockbusters

Why the best Christmas films are darker then December

Nutcracker

There’s no official nationwide re‑release of a Christmas classic planned this year, but instead cinemas are programming a lot of event cinema: livestreamed opera and ballet from swanky big-city venues. The most seasonal is The Nutcracker, from the Royal Opera House on 8 December; there’s also Madame Butterfly from the Teatro alla Scala in Milan on 7 December and Karija Saariaha’s medieval romance Love from Afar from the Met in New York on 10 December. If you have not yet tried one of these nights, they are great fun. Despite the inflated ticket prices, they’re far cheaper than the real thing, with much better views and a terrific sense of occasion, even in your local fleapit.
7, 8 December; allopera.co.uk, roh.org.uk

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

You wait a decade for a new Star Wars movie, and then 300 turn up at once. The second in what will now be annual seasonal releases of the space series is one of the “anthology” instalments – which means it takes place in the Star Wars universe, but your favourite characters probably won’t feature. Still, hopes are high for what will doubtless be the biggest movie this Christmas. Felicity Jones and Diego Luna star as Rebel Alliance fighters, while Riz Ahmed, Forest Whitaker and Ben Mendelsohn co‑star – the latter as the formidably named and titled Orson Krennic: Director of Advanced Weapons Research for the Imperial Military. Trailers show Mendelsohn wearing a very sinister cloak.
Released 16 December

Office Christmas Party

Here’s a movie for those for whom the Christmas season means a secret Santa, huge quantities of eggnog and illicit snogging with colleagues at the annual bash. Jennifer Aniston stars as a ball-busting CEO trying to close an office branch – except that her hard-partying brother decides to throw an epic Christmas knees-up to impress a client and save their jobs. The cast list reads like a rollcall of current US comedy favourites: Jason Bateman, TJ Miller, Jillian Bell, Rob Corddry and Kate McKinnon, fresh from her breakout role in Ghostbusters. Expect a reindeer drinking from the office loo and the inappropriate use of baubles.
Released 7 December

Passengers

Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt take the lead in this eagerly awaited sci-fi outing. In this whopping romantic epic set on a spaceship, Lawrence and Pratt play two people accidentally freed from their hibernation pods 30 years into a 120-year journey to set up life on a distant planet. They then find the pod malfunction isn’t the ship’s only problem and they – plus a robot bartender played by Michael Sheen – are the only ones who might be able to save themselves and the 5,000-odd other people slumbering on board.
Released 23 December

Collateral Beauty

Here’s a film to help you through those dark days between Christmas and New Year. Will Smith plays a New York advertising executive deeply depressed after a personal tragedy. His friends, including Kate Winslet, cook up a scheme to try to help him through it. This involves – bear with me – the appearance of Helen Mirren as Death and Keira Knightley as Love. In the absence of an actual remake of It’s a Wonderful Life, or, even A Christmas Carol, Collateral Beauty will be your go-to movie for feelgood seasonal cheer.
Released 26 December

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