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A department store glows behind a revolving door and red rope barriers on a snowy night. A tan tool bag and folded red Santa hat rest on the wet pavement.

Christmas-adjacent · 2025

Jingle Bell Heist

46/100Festive FactorWhy it scores 46 ↓
UK certificate 1296 min
Comedy · Romance

A breezy Netflix caper with a romcom running underneath, and it wears both lightly.

On Netflix · UK subscription →
Plan this film night ↓Can the kids watch? ↓
Explore this film 10 sections

The CineClaus Christmas score

Festive Factor

Christmas in good measure.

Two paper elves study a miniature department store with glowing windows and a revolving door. A small tan bag and folded red hat sit in front of its rope barrier.

A little magic in the making.

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

Christmas in the storyChristmas is the deadline.15/30

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 about half.10/20

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

The little seasonal details2 of the 10 kinds of Christmas icon we count turn up on screen.3/15

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 traditionA big December film (80,000+).8/15

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

70/100

Cosiness Rating Rating

Mostly 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

Netflix

Included with a subscription
Open Jingle Bell Heist on Netflix (opens in a new tab)

Streaming changes constantly and we cannot promise it is still right - check the service before you settle in. Streaming availability information provided by Streaming Availability API by Movie of the Night (opens in a new tab).

The story

About Jingle Bell Heist

Two hard-up hourly workers, a newly arrived shop assistant caring for her ill mother and a divorced ex-con handyman, strike an uneasy deal to rob the grand department store owned by a smug tycoon on Christmas Eve. As the planning goes on, reluctant partnership turns into romance, and both the heist and their trust in each other are put to the test.

The CineClaus verdict

A breezy Netflix caper with a romcom running underneath, and it wears both lightly.

Olivia Holt and Connor Swindells spark off each other properly, and the planning scenes have more wit than streaming heists usually bother with. Christmas Eve is mostly the deadline, while the real target is a smug tycoon, which gives the robbery a pleasing whiff of class resentment.

Real London streets dressed in fairy lights do the rest. Undemanding and likeable, and ideal for a couple who want a caper and a kiss in the same evening.

The family desk

Can the kids watch?

12

Our take: rated 12 for sex references and language. There is no real violence, so twelve and up should be fine, but it is a poor pick for younger children.

BBFC advice: Sex references, language.

Content advice & accessibility
Where the advice comes from
The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC).
Our age guidance
Editorial, separate from the official 12 certificate, and never looser than it.
Subtitles · Audio description
Check your chosen service and edition for supported tracks.
A first look

Watch the trailer

Official trailer from Netflix.

A tan paper tool bag and folded red Santa hat lie outside a brightly lit department store. Red ropes and gold stanchions flank its revolving door beneath festive garlands.

Trailer

Jingle Bell Heist

Watch on YouTube (opens in a new tab)Nothing from YouTube loads until you press play.
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
Close portrait of a smiling woman with a short blonde bob, resting her hand against her chin, wearing a black leather jacket at a panel event.Olivia Holtas Sophia
Connor Swindells with short dark hair and a light beard, wearing red-tinted glasses and a dark jacket in front of a festival backdrop.Connor Swindellsas Nick
The actor Lucy Punch photographed at a BAFTA event in 2026.Lucy Punchas Cynthia Sterling
Peter Serafinowicz with tousled dark hair and stubble, seated at a microphone at a convention panel, wearing a white t-shirt.Peter Serafinowiczas Maxwell Sterling
Poppy Draytonas Brianna

Behind the camera

Directed by
Michael Fimognari
Writing & production credits
Writer
Abby McDonald
Producer
Matt Kaplan
Photo credits

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

Olivia Holt · Gage Skidmore · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY-SA 2.0 (opens in a new tab).

Connor Swindells · John Sears · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab).

Lucy Punch · JaceMerlyn · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab).

Peter Serafinowicz · vagueonthehow · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY 2.0 (opens in a new tab).

Keep the Christmas feeling

Music & soundtrack

That tune you recognised. That score you loved. Take a little of the film into the rest of your Christmas.

About this music list

These are the songs and soundtrack we hold for the film, not a complete cue sheet, and they give no scene timings. Spotify and Apple Music links open the matched recordings; links marked Search open a search on that service.

Film Music Reporter: album by Steve Hackman, Netflix Music, 26 Nov 2025 ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Step into the story

Filming locations

The real places behind Jingle Bell Heist. Choose one to explore.

Find it on the mapFormer Loughborough Hotel, Brixton

© 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.

Choose your next scene

Photographs of the real places

There’s more behind the film.
Explore the next place.

Photo credits & location sources

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

Former Loughborough Hotel, Brixton · Travel Noire (opens in a new tab)

Avery Hill Mansion library, University of Greenwich · Franknicm · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab) · Travel Noire (opens in a new tab)

Former Royal Masonic Hospital, Hammersmith · Steve Cadman · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY-SA 2.0 (opens in a new tab) · Travel Noire (opens in a new tab)

Freemasons' Hall, Covent Garden · Eluveitie · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY-SA 3.0 (opens in a new tab) · Travel Noire (opens in a new tab)

Olympic Way, Wembley Park · Mpoggi0fa · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab) · Travel Noire (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 Jingle Bell Heist

Film facts &
behind the scenes

For the fans who stay after the credits.

Music & sound

The gala band was found at a London concert

The director saw the band Down for the Count play at Cadogan Hall in 2023 and asked its leader to put together a band for the film. Eleven musicians appear on screen, and the vocal on the soundtrack is the featured singer alone, not the full band.

Read the story

Source: Down for the Count ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Movie magic

A Brixton hotel became a department store

A crew was filming at the former Loughborough Hotel in Brixton in January 2024, dressing the building as a festive shop front with mannequins and wrapped gifts in the windows. Visual effects later enlarged it for the finished film.

Read the story

Source: Southwark News ↗ (opens in a new tab) · Travel Noire ↗ (opens in a new tab)

And at a glance

The Christmas in it
Carols and songs heard: O Christmas Tree, Joy to the World, Deck the Halls, Jingle Bells, We Wish You a Merry Christmas, The Twelve Days of Christmas, This Christmas, Christmas in Hollis, Just Like Christmas. Built around a London department store robbery timed for the Christmas holiday, with festive needle-drops all the way through, including a tree being decorated at home and an office Christmas party.
Releases and certificates
: On streaming, rated 12. A Netflix original: it went straight to the service worldwide, with no UK cinema run.
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.

Good to know

Questions about Jingle Bell Heist

Is Jingle Bell Heist a Christmas film?

Yes, though not the full-strength kind. We class it as Christmas-adjacent: the season sets the scene and the deadline more than it drives the story.

What age rating is Jingle Bell Heist?

It is a 12 in the UK, for sex references and language.

Where was Jingle Bell Heist filmed?

In London. The store's exterior is the former Loughborough Hotel in Brixton, its interior the library at Avery Hill Mansion in Greenwich, and the gala was shot at Freemasons' Hall in Covent Garden.

When did Jingle Bell Heist come out?

It arrived on Netflix on 26 November 2025, straight to streaming with no UK cinema release.

How long is Jingle Bell Heist?

It runs for 96 minutes.

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