Rejoice, as the holiday season is officially in full swing, and there are a plethora of upcoming Christmas movies that are flooding the 2026 TV schedule. While Hallmark’s Countdown to Christmas lineup is my usual go-to when I’m looking for a holiday rom-com, Hulu released The 12 Dates of Christmas, which has the potential to beat out the best Hallmark and Netflix movies this year.
The 12 Dates of Christmas follows Christina, a workaholic shop owner who has spent most of her life prioritizing her professional life over her personal life. Determined not to show up to her family’s holiday dinner single, Christina lets her best friend organize twelve dates leading up to Christmas to hopefully find her “Mr. Right.” While I don’t want to give away any major spoilers, this is a holiday romance movie, so Christina does eventually find her Mr. Right; it just takes a bit of time.
Directed and co-written by David Lipper, this holiday movie debuted on November 6th and has already climbed the ranks of Hulu’s Top 15 Movies list, sitting in the number two spot. As of this writing, it’s being beaten by Super Troopers 3, which fell short at the box office, but is now finding its audience on the streamer like other recent box office flops.
While The 12 Dates of Christmas didn’t have much competition in the new holiday movie genre on Hulu, it was up against some heavy hitters on the other platforms. Over on Netflix, the book-to-screen adaptation of A Dog’s Perfect Christmas starring the likes of Dennis Quaid and Milo Ventimiglia, dropped on November 4th, and it's currently sitting at number two in the platform's most-watched movies list. Meanwhile, Hallmark released two new original movies, Merry Memories and Holiday Unplugged.
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Unfortunately, there’s no definitive way to tell how well The 12 Dates of Christmas fared against the other new releases. However, given that it’s sitting in the number two spot on Hulu, there’s a reasonable chance it would have beaten or tied for viewership with the other new releases.
After all, one of the major selling points of the holiday flick is that it serves as a mini reunion for Pretty Little Liars stars Lucy Hale and Ian Harding. They famously played the romantic duo Aria Montgomery and Ezra Fitz on that series and at the teen drama show’s peak, the two were a fan-favorite pairing. However, fan opinion has soured over the years, as Ezra was Aria’s high school teacher when they started dating. Still, Harding and Hale always had amazing chemistry, so it’s no surprise they’ve gone on to star as romantic leads once again.
It also helps that Hale has a successful history of playing the lead in mid-budget rom-coms like Prime Video’s Puppy Love or the film adaptation of The Hating Game. Harding is also no stranger to the rom-com world, having starred opposite the Queen of Hallmark, Lacey Chabert, earlier this year in Lost in Paradise. He also starred in what I considered to be Netflix’s best holiday movie of 2024, Our Little Secret, with Lindsey Lohan.
So, if you’re in the mood for a Christmas flick, are tired of all the usual best Christmas movies and have access to a Hulu subscription, definitely give The 12 Dates of Christmas a try. It'll make for a nice watch as you prepare for your own holiday festivities.
