Skip to content
24 October · 62 days to ChristmasThe advent calendar opens 1 December →
A tall decorated paper fir glows beside a grand staircase with a red runner, while an amber-framed hourglass stands on a side table.

Essential Christmas · 2023

A Biltmore Christmas

54/100Festive FactorWhy it scores 54 ↓
Not BBFC rated84 min
Romance · Fantasy

A Hallmark film about remaking an old Christmas classic, which sounds like a snake eating its own tinsel and…

On Hallmark TV (Prime Video Channels) · extra subscription →
Plan this film night ↓Can the kids watch? ↓
Explore this film 8 sections

The CineClaus Christmas score

Festive Factor

Christmas in good measure.

Two paper elves inspect a miniature grand staircase, decorated fir and side-table hourglass, with drawn plans spread across their workbench.

A little magic in the making.

Five ingredients make the Festive Factor.
Open an ingredient to find out more.

Christmas in the storyChristmas drives it, but another occasion could stand in.20/30

What we ask: Take Christmas out. Does the plot survive? Worth up to 30 of the 100 points.

A world dressed for ChristmasVisibly Christmas for most of it.15/20

What we ask: How much of the running time is visibly Christmas? Worth up to 20 of the 100 points.

The little seasonal details4 of the 10 kinds of Christmas icon we count turn up on screen.6/15

What we ask: How many kinds of Christmas icon turn up on screen: trees, lights, snow, carols and the rest? Worth up to 15 of the 100 points.

A Christmas heartHow far the ending rests on goodwill, family and belief: partly.10/20

What we ask: Does the ending depend on what Christmas means: goodwill, family, redemption, belief? Worth up to 20 of the 100 points.

A returning traditionNiche at Christmas (under 25,000).3/15

What we ask: Is it actually watched at Christmas in the UK? Worth up to 15 of the 100 points.

80/100

Cosiness Rating Rating

Warm in tone. Mild threat. A happy ending.

How we score →
What do these scores mean?

Festive Factor measures how Christmassy a film is. Five ingredients add up to 100: story (30), setting (20), seasonal details (15), emotional heart (20) and returning tradition (15).

Cosiness is a separate score for warmth of tone, sense of safety, visual comfort, a reassuring ending and how easily you can settle into it.

How the Festive Factor works →
Your next film night

Where to watch

United KingdomChecked

Hallmark TV (Prime Video Channels)

Extra subscription
Search the service for it

Streaming changes constantly and we cannot promise it is still right - check the service before you settle in. Availability data by JustWatch.

The story

About A Biltmore Christmas

A screenwriter hired to remake a much-loved 1940s Christmas film is sent to the Biltmore Estate in North Carolina, where the original was shot, to find a better ending. An antique hourglass carries her back to the original production, where she falls for its leading man and learns that his future is not the happy one the film gave him. Bethany Joy Lenz and Kristoffer Polaha lead, with Jonathan Frakes.

The CineClaus verdict

A Hallmark film about remaking an old Christmas classic, which sounds like a snake eating its own tinsel and turns out to be one of the channel's best-loved efforts. A screenwriter slips back to a 1940s shoot at the Biltmore Estate, the real house carries half the glamour, and Bethany Joy Lenz and Kristoffer Polaha get to play old Hollywood with a sad secret hanging over it.

The time-travel rules need a little goodwill. Most viewers seem happy to give it.

The family desk

Can the kids watch?

Not BBFC rated

Our take: not rated by the BBFC. Nothing frightening, but it is a grown-up romance with a time-travel puzzle and a sad fate hanging over the leading man, so it suits tweens and up better than little ones.

Content advice & accessibility
Not BBFC rated
The BBFC has no classification for this film, so it has no UK certificate. Our age guidance above is editorial, not an official rating.
The people behind the film

Cast and crew

The faces in front of the camera, and the people who brought the story to life.

Main cast

In billing order
Bethany Joy Lenz smiling and glancing to one side on a dark stage, in a black t-shirt with white lettering.Bethany Joy Lenzas Lucy Hardgrove
Kristoffer Polahaas Jack Huston
Robert Picardo smiling broadly at a convention panel table, wearing a black t-shirt, with a microphone beside him.Robert Picardoas Harold Balaban

Behind the camera

Directed by
John Putch
Photo credits

Portraits via Wikimedia Commons, each under its own licence, approved for this page by a person. Sources and full photographer credits:

Bethany Joy Lenz · Sklae Photographer · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY 4.0 (opens in a new tab).

Robert Picardo · Gage Skidmore · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY-SA 3.0 (opens in a new tab).

Step into the story

Filming locations

The real places behind A Biltmore Christmas. Choose one to explore.

Find it on the mapBiltmore Estate, Asheville

© OpenStreetMap contributors (opens in a new tab)

Open larger map ↗ (OpenStreetMap, opens in a new tab)

Map shows the selected place. Drag to explore; use + and − to zoom.

Photo credits & location sources

These are photographs of the places, not film stills. Dates vary; photographs do not show current conditions or guarantee access.

Biltmore Estate, Asheville · Blake Lewis · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY-SA 2.0 (opens in a new tab) · foxcarolina.com (opens in a new tab)

Map pins mark the place, not a camera position or a route. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), including any pin positions read from OpenStreetMap.

A little more A Biltmore Christmas

Film facts &
behind the scenes

For the fans who stay after the credits.

On set

Shot at a real landmark

Hallmark announced the film would be made entirely on location at the Biltmore Estate in North Carolina. The estate's entertainment director said the real house is part of the story, and called it the first time Hallmark had done a venture like it.

Read the story

Source: foxcarolina.com ↗ (opens in a new tab)

And at a glance

Releases and certificates
: First on TV (US). First shown on Hallmark Channel in the US during its Countdown to Christmas season.
Sources & a note on these facts

Each production story is linked to its source, in our own words. Ending details stay behind a spoiler reveal.

More like this

If A Biltmore Christmas is your kind of Christmas…

Find another favourite →
Swipe to browse all three →

Collections, stories & Christmas memories

Elsewhere on CineClaus

More places to find A Biltmore Christmas, and a few good reasons to keep exploring.

In this collection

The best Christmas films for adults

A Biltmore Christmas is in this collection

Explore the collection

Read a little further

Article ·

How to watch Hallmark Christmas films in the UK

Read the story
Stay for another story.All collections · The Christmas Edit