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PS: [Oct 2026] Most Anticipated Christmas or Holiday Themed 2026 Cable Movie (Not Ready)

[I am currently working to vet these lists for additions, deletions and corrections, I expect to have about 20-35 valid answer options per poll suggestion by October 1st.]

While Winter holiday and Christmas themed movies debut year-round, the peak season for the genre is always in the fourth quarter with theatrical movie Q4 debuts this year, as early as Thursday, October 1, 2026 in theaters and on television with many cable networks having dedicated events that span the season with upwards of over a hundred original programming holiday and Christmas movies and include in some cases as many as three dozen new holiday and Christmas movies that will premiere in 2026 alone.

Which select Christmas or Winter holiday themed original programming movie that is scheduled to be released during the 2026 calendar year (January 1, 2026 to December 31, 2026) on a branded cable channel* (excluding 2026 premieres on the Hallmark channels, the Great American channels & the Lifetime channels), are you most looking forward to seeing?

* The cable network answer pool includes 2026 movie premieres featured on UPtv (up tv Most Uplifting Christmas Ever 2026), BET (BET+ Brightens the Season 2026), OWN (OWN for the Holidays 2026), BYUtv (BYUtv 'Tis the Season to be Together 2026), INSP (INSP Ride Through the Holidays 2026), and other 2026 cable holiday & Christmas movie premieres.

Live Poll: TBD

Poll List: https://www.imdb.com/list/ls4117754650/ (pending)

QuickView List: https://www.imdb.com/list/ls4117754650/copy/ (pending)

#6 2026 Cable Movies (mid October target)

[est. 35 2026 original film options] Note: most cable network annually drop their 2026 Christmas original movie line-ups and schedules between mid September and mid October each year.

Responses

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Selected Oldest First

TheOldJalapenoman

1.1K Messages

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11.1K Points

2 months ago

The Hallmark Channel AND Lifetime AND UP will each have a ton of new Christmas movies each year. Some of them also do a Christmas in July where they will release new movies in the summer. There may be too many movies to fit on one list for you cable category!

urbanemovies

11.4K Messages

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179.5K Points

@TheOldJalapenoman Thanks for the feedback.

I was aware and that is why there is four poll suggestions dedicated to various incarnations of just the cable medium. I expect each poll suggestion to have between twenty to thirty-five 2026 original programming films with a holiday theme, based on the 2025 output by each channel. I think the split will be effective in having well-defined scopes and deep quality answer pools that well-represent each, but might not be exhaustive. I think it effectively siphons off some of the excess capacity and addresses the success of the original Christmas programming phenomenon that is now is two decades old and still getting bigger.

Option# 1 includes Hallmark's Christmas in July 2026, Countdown to Christmas 2026 and other 2026 movie premieres featured on the Crown Media Family Networks (Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Family Channel, Hallmark Mystery Channel, & Hallmark + Streaming). Hallmark had at least 28 original films during its Hallmark's Christmas in July and Countdown to Christmas celebrations in 2025.

Option# 3 includes Great American Family 2026 movie premieres featured on the Great American Media Networks (Great American Family, Great American Living, Great American Pure Flix, GFAM+ Streaming & other GAM networks). Great American Family had at least 14 original films during its Great American Family Christmas celebration in 2025.

Option# 4 will include at least 30 original films from just three cable providers (Lifetime, UPtv, BET) after the top two (Hallmark & Great American) will have their own dedicated poll suggestions: (14) Lifetime original movies 2025 It's a Wonderful Lifetime, # (8) UPtv original movies 2025 Most Uplifting Christmas Ever, # (8) BET original movies 2025 (BET+ Brightens the Season, # (3) OWN original movies OWN for the Holidays, plus other cable network original holiday movies [33+] Each network had it own holiday movie celebration with new and past original movies from prior years: Lifetime's It's a Wonderful Lifetime, UPtv's Most Uplifting Christmas Ever, BET's BET+ Brightens the Season, and OWN's OWN for the Holidays. I could probably split off the 2026 Lifetime original movies and still fills out the answer pool with other American and International cable original films from 2026, but I am leaning against it and will wait to see the 2026 line-ups to see if it is justified.

Option #5 includes over-the-top streamers, some with dedicated cable channels, such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Disney+, Hulu, Paramount+, Peacock, and other digital streaming & video-on-demand movies. Worldwide, Over-the-Top streamers likely had more than 35 original holiday films in 2025 alone.

(edited)

2 months ago

TheOldJalapenoman

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11.1K Points

@urbanemovies Okay, looks like you are ready for just about all of the possibilities. Now, where do you put the new theatrical films such as the really awful looking Ebeneezer?

2 months ago

urbanemovies

11.4K Messages

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179.5K Points

@TheOldJalapenoman, it is the second option listed, although the 2026 class is looking particularly weak after the first eight films, so far. But, I would be surprised with some movies yet to be scheduled or late announcements of some movies already in the can. There are a couple of production companies that specialize in this genre and have a number of completed holiday films, but have yet to announce a distribution partner.

(i.e. https://www.nicelyentertainment.com/catalogs/). I would expect the vast majority will end up on cable, with some stronger options making a limited theatrical appearance and the weaker ones going the videos on-demand or digital platform route.

#2 2026 Theatrical Movies (late September target) [est. 25+ 2026 movie options]

Most Anticipated 2026 Christmas or Winter Holiday Themed Theatrical Movie

Which select Christmas or Winter Holiday film, scheduled to be released during the 2026 calendar year (January 1, 2026 to December 31, 2026*) in movie theaters, are you most looking forward to seeing?

Live Poll: TBD

Poll List: https://www.imdb.com/list/ls4117547028/

QuickView List: https://www.imdb.com/list/ls4117547028/copy/

(edited)

2 months ago

urbanemovies

11.4K Messages

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179.5K Points

13 days ago

The first Christmas movie poll is ready.#1 2026 Hallmark Movies (mid September target)

[34 2026 original film options] Note: The Hallmark Countdown to Christmas movie line-up and schedule dropped in mid September with the first event movie rolling out on October 16th. [plus 4 new Hallmark Christmas in July movies]

Most Anticipated Winter Holiday / Christmas Themed 2026 Hallmark Movie

In celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Hallmark channel and its annual Countdown to Christmas celebration:

Which select Christmas or holiday-themed original programming film, scheduled to be released during the fourth quarter of the 2026 calendar year (October 1, 2026 to December 31, 2026) on a Hallmark branded cable channel*, are you most looking forward to seeing?

* includes only Hallmark's Countdown to Christmas 2026 movies and excludes the Christmas in July 2026 movies, and other 2026 holiday-related movie premieres featured on the Crown Media Family Networks (Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Family Channel, Hallmark Mystery Channel, & Hallmark + Streaming)

Live Poll: TBD

Poll List: https://www.imdb.com/list/ls4117734274/ (ready)

QuickView List: https://www.imdb.com/list/ls4117734274/copy/ (ready)

Excludes Hallmark's Christmas In July 2026 Movie Premieres

(edited)

urbanemovies

11.4K Messages

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179.5K Points

9 days ago

#3 2026 Great American Family Movies (late September target)

[18+1 2026 new original film options] Note: The Great American Family Christmas movie line-up and schedule dropped in late September with the first event movie rolling out on October 10th. [plus 1 new Great American Christmas in July movie]

Most Anticipated Winter Holiday / Christmas Themed 2026 Great American Family Movie

Which select Christmas or Winter holiday themed original programming film, scheduled to be released during the 2026 calendar year (January 1, 2026 to December 31, 2026) on a Great American Family branded cable channel*, are you most looking forward to seeing?

* Great American Christmas 2026 movies premiere on the Great American Pure Flix channel with the same title debuting two days later on the Great American Family channel, GFAM+ Streaming & other GAM networks.

Live Poll: TBD

Poll List: https://www.imdb.com/list/ls033581931/

QuickView List: https://www.imdb.com/list/ls033581931/copy/