A poorly rated festive film branded a ‘trash masterpiece’ will be on screens for Christmas Day against all odds.

Romantic comedy-drama 12 Pups of Christmas was released in 2019 and didn’t have the best reception.

Great Christmas – a freeview channel – will be airing the film as part of its festive offering of 197 movies this December.

12 Pups of Christmas will air at 5.30pm on Christmas Day and is the lowest rated of the bunch.

With a score of just 3.9 out of 10 on IMDB, one reviewer described the film as a ‘trash masterpiece’ while another said it was ‘incredibly disjointed and extremely fun’.

The premise follows Erin (Charlotte Sullivan), a dog therapist who moves to a new city post-break up.

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A poorly received festive film branded a ‘trash masterpiece’ is set to air on Christmas Day against all odds

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12 Pups of Christmas follows a dog therapist’s attempts to find homes for the titular pup before the big day

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Writing online, a viewer described 12 Pups of Christmas as ‘incredibly disjointed and extremely fun’

Following on from this, she is tasked with finding new homes for the titular pups before the big day.

Great Christmas began its 2025 schedule on September 4 – with yuletide programming continuing to January 6 on channel 52.

Other films playing in the lead-up to the big day include the UK terrestrial TV premiere of 2022’s Christmas in the Caribbean, starring Liz Hurley, Caroline Quentin, and Edoardo Costa.

Meanwhile, classics such as Christmas at Graceland: Home For The Holidays, starring Priscilla Presley, is also on the schedule.

It comes as a new poll ‘revealed’ whether or not iconic film Die Hard is a Christmas movie.

This has been a hotly debated topic for years, although the researched hoped to determine a definitive answer.

However, one in 20 (5 per cent) of respondents said it was their favourite Christmas movie, and 17 per cent remained undecided.

Elsewhere, British movie lovers decided that Macaulay Culkin’s Home Alone was the nation’s favourite Christmas film, according to the poll.

Taking second place was 2003 rom-com Love, Actually while 1946 James Stewart classic It’s A Wonderful Life was in third.

This survey of 2,000 people in the UK was conducted by the British Board Of Film Classification (BBFC), and also found that 17 per cent of people said they do not have a clear favourite.

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The film also includes a romantic subplot between main character Erin (Charlotte Sullivan) and co-worker Martin (Danny Boaz)

David Austin, chief executive of the BBFC, said: ‘With Home Alone crowned the UK’s favourite Christmas film, our latest research reveals that heart-warming, family-friendly stories continue to sit at the heart of the nation’s Christmas viewing traditions.

‘The BBFC remains committed to providing age ratings and content advice to help every household make confident viewing choices this festive season.’

Tim Richards, founder and chief executive of cinema chain Vue, said: ‘Many of our customers see a trip to the big screen over the holidays as a chance to sit back, switch off and enjoy great stories together – whether that’s a much-loved classic like Home Alone, the high-energy fun of Die Hard, or a brand-new film such as Gurinder Chadha’s Christmas Karma, Wicked or Avatar.

‘Cinema has always brought people together, and Christmas reminds us just how powerful that shared experience can be.’