And that's no different this year: from modern classics like Paddington to all-timers like Some Like It Hot, there are loads of great viewing options to give you some extra joy on your days off.

We’ve put together a list of some of the best movies to watch for free on TV this Christmas and New Year, separated by genre – take a look below to find out what’s on at no cost.

Best free family films on TV this Christmas and New Year

Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit

Animated comedy adventure featuring the voices of Peter Sallis, Ralph Fiennes and Helena Bonham Carter. As the annual Giant Vegetable Competition approaches, enterprising Wallace and Gromit cash in with their humane pest-control outfit, "Anti-Pesto". But business turns sour when a huge, mysterious beast begins destroying every garden in the area.

Saturday 21st December, BBC One, 3pm

Shaun the Sheep: Farmageddon

When an alien crash-lands near the farm, Shaun has to help her return home before the Ministry of Alien Detection discovers her.

Sunday 22nd December, BBC One, 9:55am

Detective Pikachu

Part-animated fantasy adventure starring Justice Smith and featuring the voice of Ryan Reynolds. Tim teams up with an unlikely partner to solve the mystery of his father's death. But there's a slight complication: this partner is a talking Pokémon creature who only Tim can hear.

Monday 23rd December, BBC One, 9:55am

Coco

Animated adventure featuring the voices of Anthony Gonzalez and Gael García Bernal. A young boy wants nothing more than to become a musician, but his family forbids him from pursuing his dreams. When he plays a guitar hanging in the crypt of a famous singer, the boy is transported to the magical Land of the Dead, where he embarks on a quest to uncover the truth about his roots.

Monday 23rd December, BBC One, 3:15pm

Chicken Run

Animated comedy adventure, with the voices of Julia Sawalha, Jane Horrocks, Miranda Richardson and Mel Gibson. A clutch of hens, led by head chick Ginger, suffers life on a grim 1950s egg farm. When the avaricious owners decide to move into the meat-pie business, the chickens fear the worst. With the help of American rooster Rocky, the birds start to plan a prisoner-of-war-style escape.

Christmas Eve, BBC One, 10am

Home Alone

Comedy starring Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern. Eight-year-old Kevin McCallister's wish to be free of his family is realised when they accidentally set off without him for a Christmas break in Paris. Suddenly finding himself home alone, Kevin's efforts to cope with the household chores are hindered by two inept criminals attempting a robbery.

Christmas Eve, Channel 4, 6:05pm

Toy Story 3

Animated comedy adventure sequel, with the voices of Tom Hanks and Tim Allen. The toys are put away when Andy goes to college, but Woody is set apart, and it's up to him to rescue the others when they're accidentally donated to a day-care centre.

Christmas Day, BBC One, 11:20am

Inside Out

Animated comedy adventure from Pixar, featuring the voices of Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith and Mindy Kaling. 11-year-old Riley is having a tough time adjusting to moving from the Midwest to San Francisco. Maybe that has something to do with her inner emotions – Joy, Fear, Anger, Disgust and Sadness – who guide Riley in her everyday life. As her emotions literally begin to run wild, the effects on Riley have worrying consequences.

Boxing Day, BBC One, 9:55am

Paddington

Comedy starring Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins and Nicole Kidman, and featuring the voice of Ben Whishaw. A young bear from Peru with a love of all things British travels to London, but he soon finds himself lost and alone. He's taken in by the kind Brown family; however, not everyone in the big city is quite so welcoming.

Boxing Day, BBC One, 1:50pm

The Incredibles

Animated comedy adventure from Pixar, featuring the voices of Craig T Nelson, Holly Hunter and Samuel L Jackson. A family of superheroes struggles to fit in to normal suburban life after its amazing powers are outlawed. But the temptation to fight crime proves too strong for Mr Incredible.

Saturday 28th December, 1:40pm, BBC One

Shrek 2

Sequel to the hit animated fantasy, featuring the voices of Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy and Cameron Diaz. On returning from their honeymoon, Shrek and Princess Fiona are invited to stay with her parents in the kingdom of Far Far Away. But King Harold is less than enchanted by his new son-in-law, and the Fairy Godmother has good reason to want the ogre out of Fiona's life. Cue assassin-for hire Puss-in-Boots...

Saturday 28th December, 6:05pm, BBC One

The Railway Children

Classic period drama based on the novel by E Nesbit, starring Jenny Agutter, Sally Thomsett and Gary Warren. When a government official is arrested on suspicion of treason, his wife and three children are forced to leave their London home and move to a small cottage in Yorkshire. While their mother fights for her husband's release, the children have marvellous adventures.

New Year's Eve, 1:05pm, BBC One

Finding Dory

Pixar's animated sequel to Finding Nemo, featuring the voices of Ellen DeGeneres and Albert Brooks. Dory, a friendly blue tang fish with short-term memory loss, embarks on an epic quest to find her long-absent parents. Friends Nemo and Marlin join Dory on a perilous mission that ultimately teaches everyone the true meaning of family.

New Year's Day, 10:30am, BBC One

Mary Poppins

Classic musical fantasy starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke. London banker George Banks's search for a no-nonsense nanny to take care of his two naughty and unhappy children comes unstuck when the practically perfect Mary Poppins and her magic umbrella glide into their lives. Featuring the classic songs Chim Chim Cheree, A Spoonful of Sugar and Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

New Year's Day, 3:15pm, BBC One

Best free action films on TV this Christmas and New Year

Tenet

Sci-fi adventure starring John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki and Kenneth Branagh. A former CIA operative is recruited to help save the world from a dangerous arms dealer who has access to a device that can reverse time. In order to foil this threat, our hero must master the act of chronological "inversion" – but is it already too late?

Sunday 22nd December, BBC One, 11:50pm

The Equalizer

Crime thriller based on the hit US TV series, starring Denzel Washington. On the face of it, Robert McCall is just an ordinary guy who works at a DIY store and leads a quiet life. But when McCall befriends a young girl controlled by ruthless Russian gangsters, he's unable to stand idly by and resorts to using skills from his shady former career.

Sunday 23rd December, ITV1, 10:25pm

Raiders of the Lost Ark

Action adventure starring Harrison Ford and Karen Allen. Indiana Jones's outrageous exploits take him around the world in search of the legendary Ark of the Covenant, a religious artefact of unspeakable power wanted by the Nazis. With the help of an old flame, Indy takes on his enemies in a terrifying and death-defying battle to the finish.

Christmas Day, Channel 4, 8:20pm

Gladiator

Period epic starring Russell Crowe and Joaquin Phoenix. Rome, the second century AD: dying emperor Marcus Aurelius chooses the city's beloved general, Maximus Decimus Meridius, as his successor - a decision that results in a bitter power struggle with Aurelius's son Commodus, who sentences Maximus and his family to death. The general escapes, but he and Commodus are destined to meet again.

Boxing Day, BBC Two, 9pm

Live Free or Die Hard

Action thriller starring Bruce Willis. When a rogue former government agent threatens to bring the United States computer infrastructure to its knees, it falls to cop John McClane and a young hacker to prevent potential disaster. But can the mix of old-school, tough-guy policing and modern computer expertise foil a group that will stop at nothing?

Boxing Day, ITV1, 10:15pm

Point Break

Action thriller set among California's surfing community, starring Patrick Swayze and Keanu Reeves. Novice FBI agent Johnny Utah is assigned with partner Angelo Pappas to track down a gang of four bank robbers, who carry out their raids wearing masks of former American presidents. In the belief that the gang are surfers, Utah goes under cover to learn surfing skills and encounters the mysterious Bodhi.

Boxing Day, BBC One, 12:10am

Best free romcoms on TV this Christmas and New Year

What's Up Doc?

Screwball comedy starring Barbra Streisand and Ryan O'Neal. When four identical suitcases get mixed up in a San Francisco hotel, it produces a series of crazy events which revolve around a zany girl and a shy music professor and his fiancée.

Saturday 21st December, BBC Two, 3:20pm

Notting Hill

Romantic comedy starring Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant. An American film star bumps into a humble bookshop owner and they begin an unlikely affair. But their relationship is put under strain when the press finds out.

Christmas Day, 10:35pm, Channel 4

Pretty Woman

Romantic comedy starring Richard Gere and Julia Roberts. A chance encounter on the streets of Hollywood leads wealthy corporate raider Edward Lewis into hiring beautiful prostitute Vivian Ward to be his companion for a week. As Edward introduces Vivian to the privileged world of the rich and powerful, romance begins to blossom.

Saturday 28th December, 10:20pm, BBC One

When Harry Met Sally

Romantic comedy starring Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan. "Men and women can't be friends. The sex part always gets in the way." This is Harry's philosophy on life. Sally doesn't agree with him about this or anything else. But as the mismatched couple repeatedly encounter one another over the next few years, each has occasion to change their views. Could this be the beginning of a beautiful friendship?

Monday 30th December, 11pm, BBC One

Best free musicals on TV this Christmas and New Year

Funny Girl

Biographical musical starring Barbra Streisand and Omar Sharif. The story of singing star Fanny Brice, who grew up on the Lower East Side of New York but went on to become the toast of Broadway and the star of the Ziegfeld Follies.

Saturday 21st December, BBC Two, 1pm

Meet Me in St Louis

Classic musical starring Judy Garland and Margaret O'Brien that charts the everyday adventures and romantic entanglements of the Smith family in early 20th-century St Louis. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, The Trolley Song and Skip to My Lou are just a few of the memorable numbers belted out by Garland and the cast.

Monday 23rd December, BBC Two, 11:05am

Calamity Jane

Musical comedy western starring Doris Day and Howard Keel. Spirited cowgirl Calamity Jane brings a glamorous singing star to the Deadwood saloon. But her new friend turns into a love rival, and Calamity begins to wonder whether a woman's touch is more effective than a six-gun.

Monday 23rd December, BBC Two, 3:50pm

White Christmas

Musical starring Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye. Old army buddies Phil Davis and Bob Wallace travel with the glamorous Haynes sisters to the Columbia Inn in Vermont. There, Phil and Bob are reunited with their old commanding officer, General Waverly, who is now struggling to keep the hotel going. The visitors decide there's only one answer - to put on a show.

Christmas Eve, BBC Two, 2:15pm

High Society

Musical comedy starring Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly and Frank Sinatra. Time is short if playboy composer CK Dexter-Haven is to reclaim his beautiful ex-wife Tracy Lord before she marries another, especially with cynical reporter Mike Connor caught up in the romantic complications.

Christmas Day, BBC Two, 11:05am

Roald Dahl's Matilda the Musical

Musical fantasy based on Roald Dahl's novel, starring Alisha Weir, Lashana Lynch and Emma Thompson. When her oafish and uncaring parents finally let her attend school, young bookworm Matilda Wormwood finds herself in conflict with tyrannical headmistress Miss Trunchbull. But salvation might come in the form of kindly teacher Miss Honey – as well as Matilda's sudden development of magical powers.

Boxing Day, BBC One, 5:40pm

Grease

Musical based on the hit stage show, starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. Unexpectedly reunited with summer love Danny at her new high school, Sandy Olsson can't believe how different he is. Can the new Danny Zuko, the leather-clad, tough-talking leader of the T-birds, really be the boy she met down at the beach? Perhaps Frenchy and Rizzo, both members of the super-cool Pink Ladies gang, can help her develop some street cred to win back his heart.

Boxing Day, ITV1, 3pm
West Side Story

Film version of the classic musical with songs by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim, starring Natalie Wood and Richard Beymer. Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is updated to late-1950s New York where two rival gangs, the American "Jets" and the Puerto Rican "Sharks" are preparing for confrontation. The tension is heightened when Maria, the sister of "Sharks" leader Bernardo, falls in love with a former "Jet", Tony.

Friday 27th December, BBC Two, 1:35pm

A Hard Day's Night

Musical comedy starring the Beatles in their movie debut. John, Paul, George and Ringo set off for London, where they are due to take part in a live TV show. But the antics of Paul's mischievous grandfather throw the performance into jeopardy. Includes the classic songs A Hard Day's Night, Tell Me Why, I Should Have Known Better, She Loves You, This Boy, Can't Buy Me Love, I Wanna Be Your Man and All My Loving.

Saturday 28th December, BBC Two, 11:25am

The Sound of Music

Classic family musical starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. When trainee nun Maria begins to have doubts about her vocation, she leaves her convent in Salzburg to become governess to the seven children of Captain Von Trapp, a widower and retired naval officer. The spirited Maria instils a love of music in the children, but the family's happiness is threatened by the Nazi occupation of Austria.

Sunday 29th December, BBC One, 3:45pm

Jesus Christ Superstar

Rock-opera style film version of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's stage musical, starring Ted Neeley and Carl Anderson. The tumultuous final week of Jesus Christ's life is recounted from the point of view of Judas, who seems determined to have the chosen one put on trial as a false prophet.

New Year's Eve, BBC Two, 9am

Top Hat

Classic musical comedy starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Jerry Travers spots Dale Tremont and is immediately head-over-heels in love, but their romance is complicated by the fact that Dale thinks he's married to her best friend, Madge.

New Year's Day, BBC Two, 8:35am

La La Land

Romantic musical starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone. In Los Angeles, the showbiz capital of the world, pianist Sebastian and actress Mia endure an endless cycle of bar-room gigs and auditions in the hope they can turn their ambitions into a professional career. The pair meet and fall in love, but the path to making all their dreams come true is no simple affair.

New Year's Day, BBC Two, 11:55pm

Best of the rest on TV this Christmas and New Year

Chariots of Fire

Sports drama based on a true story, starring Ben Cross, Ian Charleson and Nigel Havers. Among the British athletes aiming for glory in the 1924 Paris Olympics, two in particular come under the spotlight. Scot Eric Liddell runs for his religion, while Jewish Harold Abrahams races against prejudice. Both men are driven to prove themselves, on and off the track.

Sunday 22nd December, BBC Two, 12:30pm

Catch Me If You Can

Comedy drama, based on the true story of conman Frank Abagnale Jr, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks. Shattered by the news that his parents are divorcing, 16-year-old Frank runs away to New York. For six years, he lives a life of fraud, cashing over $2 million in bad cheques while impersonating an airline pilot, a paediatrician and a lawyer, and always staying one step ahead of tenacious FBI agent Carl Hanratty.

Christmas Eve, Channel 5, 4:35pm

Beetlejuice

Horror comedy starring Michael Keaton, Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin. After Barbara and Adam Maitland are killed in a car crash, they find themselves trapped as ghosts in their beautiful home. When their peace is shattered by the arrival of a disagreeable yuppie family, the Maitlands enlist the help of a spiritual "bio-exorcist" known as Betelgeuse.

Christmas Eve, BBC Two, 10:45pm

Some Like It Hot

Classic comedy starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon. Chicago, 1929, the era of Prohibition and tough racketeers. When two underemployed musicians witness the St Valentine's Day Massacre, they nearly become victims themselves. Their only escape is a jazz band heading for Florida, but there's a problem – it's an all-girl orchestra.

Christmas Day, BBC Two, 3:10pm

North By Northwest

Classic spy thriller starring Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint and James Mason. Advertising executive Roger Thornhill finds his life in deadly peril when he is mistaken for the mysterious "Mr Kaplan" by ruthless members of an enemy spy network. Failing to convince them of his identity, Thornhill tracks down the one man who can prove his story only to find himself accused of murder.

Christmas Day, BBC Two, 5:05pm

Donwton Abbey: A New Era

Period drama sequel starring Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern and Maggie Smith. It's 1928, and Downton Abbey has been chosen as the setting for a new silent film, much to the excitement of the staff. Meanwhile, the Crawleys set off for the South of France, where the Dowager Countess is set to come into possession of a glamorous villa.

Christmas Day, ITV1, 9pm

The Big Sleep

Howard Hawks's classic detective drama based on the novel by Raymond Chandler, starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. Tough private eye Philip Marlowe becomes caught up in a complex blackmail and murder case when he takes on a case to safeguard Carmen, the youngest daughter of General Sternwood, a dying wealthy man who wants to know the reasons why she is being blackmailed. Marlowe soon becomes involved further with the Sternwood family's affairs when he meets Carmen's older sister, the sultry Vivian.

Boxing Day, BBC Two, 10:55am

Casablanca

Classic romantic drama starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman and Paul Henreid. Rick's Café in wartime Casablanca is a watering hole for criminals, refugees, resistance fighters and Nazis. Its cynical owner, a mysterious expatriate American called Rick Blaine, sticks his neck out for no one. No one, that is, until the arrival of the beautiful Ilsa Lund and her husband Victor Lazlo, who are desperate to escape to America.

Boxing Day, BBC Two, 12:45pm

The Magnificent Seven

Remake of the classic western starring Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt and Ethan Hawke. When a ruthless land baron sets about persecuting the residents of a small town, a young widow turns to bounty hunter Sam Chisolm for aid. But he's going to need a little help if he is to restore order.

Boxing Day, BBC Two, 2:25pm

Brief Encounter

Classic romantic drama starring Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard. A chance meeting in a suburban railway station brings together Laura Jesson, a happily married woman, and Dr Alec Harvey, who is also married. They fall in love, but their secret happiness is marred by the furtive way they must carry on the affair and the realisation that eventually a choice must be made.

Friday 27th December, BBC Two, 12:45pm
King Richard

Biographical sports drama starring Will Smith. In early 1990s Los Angeles, security guard Richard Williams has a dream that his daughters Venus and Serena will become pro tennis players, and spends nearly all his free time coaching them. Over the years, Richard and his family overcome many hurdles – financial, social, physical – but the girls' biggest obstacle may, in fact, be Richard himself.

Friday 27th December, BBC Two, 9pm

Witness for the Prosecution

Billy Wilder's screen adaptation of Agatha Christie's courtroom drama, starring Tyrone Power, Marlene Dietrich and Charles Laughton. Against the advice of his doctors, ailing barrister Sir Wilfrid Robarts starts to take an interest in the case of murder suspect Leonard Vole, who is pursued by the police after the death of a rich widow.

Sunday 29th December, BBC Two, 12:55pm
Gosford Park

Ensemble murder mystery from the writer of Downton Abbey and featuring Maggie Smith, Michael Gambon and Helen Mirren. In 1930s rural England, a battery of well-to-do guests and their servants attend a weekend's shooting and socialising. But their reverie is shattered by a murder, after which everyone is a suspect.

Sunday 29th December, BBC Two, 10pm

The Searchers

Classic western starring John Wayne, Jeffrey Hunter and Natalie Wood. John Ford's masterpiece tells the story of Ethan Edwards and his five-year search for the last surviving member of his murdered family – a young girl captured by Comanches.

New Year's Day, BBC Two, 1:15pm

The Untouchables

Oscar-winning crime drama starring Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, Andy Garcia and Robert De Niro. Determined young federal agent Eliot Ness leads a tough team of investigators in a dangerous mission to end Al Capone's violent reign of terror in Prohibition-era Chicago.

New Year's Day, BBC Two, 10pm

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