Christmas in London 2022: BFI Southbank unwrap their season of festive films, dates & ticket information

As a number of pop up cinemas start to emerge  around London during the festive season, the idea of an outdoor cinema during the cold snap might not sound too appealing. Luckily for those who prefer their movie viewing experience in warmer temperatures, BFI Southbank has revealed their Christmas movie screenings for 2022.

In traditional BFI Southbank form, the curated selection of films on offer are an eclectic range of family favourites and international features for the more inquisitive. Classics such as Frank Capra’s 1946 film It’s A Wonderful Life and Tim Burton’s stop-motion blend of Halloween and Christmas with The Nightmare Before Christmas sit alongside oft-overlooked Christmas feature Gremlins and 1947 feature The Bishop’s Wife.

The BFI go back to 1944 during their Christmas movie season with a screening of Meet Me In St Louis, where Judy Garland’s rendition of Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas became a staple track for the holiday season. For the bold, BFI Southbank will also screen the Japanese animated movie Tokyo Godfathers by Satoshi Kon, which features motifs of "coincidence" and "family," two things that Christmas can be renowned for.

December’s Family Funday on December 11 will mark the 30th anniversary screening of The Muppet Christmas Carol and before the film, ticket holders can come and celebrate Christmas at BFI Southbank’s drop-in workshop to draw some festive pictures, create a yuletide animation and visit their arts and crafts zone.

A relaxed screening of the film also plays on December 12 for those in the neurodiverse community, their assistants & carers.

Dates and times for BFI Soutbank’s Christmas programming

• Meet Me In St Louis (Vincente Minnelli, 1944) - December 18 - December 22
• It’s A Wonderful Life (Frank Capra, 1946) - December 18 - December 23
• The Bishop’s Wife (Henry Koster, 1947) - December 17, 19 and 21
• Scrooge (Brian Desmond Hurst, 1951)  - December 17 and 21
• The Apartment (Billy Wilder, 1960) - December 14, 21, 23 and 27
• Gremlins (Joe Dante, 1984) - December 20 and 22
• Scrooged (Richard Donner, 1988) - December 17 and 22
• The Muppet Christmas Carol (Brian Henson, 1992) - December 11 and 12
• Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas (Henry Selick, 1993) 
• Elf (Jon Favreau, 2003)
• Tokyo Godfathers (Satoshi Kon, 2003) - December 17 and 23 (two screenings on the 17)
• Carol (Todd Haynes, 2015) - December 17 and 20
• Tangerine (Sean Baker, 2015) - December 16 and 20

For ticketing information, movie synopsis and age rating, you can visit BFI Southbank’s dedicated page to their Christmas programme.