FILM

THE MUPPET CHRISTMAS CAROL: EXTENDED EDITION With respect even to Alastair Sim, this Michael Caine-starrer must by now count as the most popularly beloved Scrooge film. A long-lost song has been put back in for this 30th anniversary re-release.

In cinemas now

THE CBEEBIES CHRISTMAS PANTO

The children’s channel’s perky troupe throw themselves into Dick Whittington and His Cat this year, with all the usual low-threat silliness and catchy songs. Cinema screenings feature bonus sketches. In cinemas now; TV broadcast TBC

MATILDA THE MUSICAL

The hit stage adaptation of Roald Dahl’s last major children’s novel transitions flawlessly to cinemas, with Emma Thompson’s petrifying Miss Trunchbull looming over the perfectly picked ensemble cast.

In cinemas now

THE BISHOP’S WIFE

A 75th anniversary re-release for this sweetly disarming seasonal romance, in which Cary Grant’s debonair angel falls for the spouse of the clergyman he’s been sent to assist. With David Niven and Loretta Young.

In selected cinemas from Fri

AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER The wait is finally over for the sequel to the highest-grossing film of all time – with the principal cast returning and bonus Kate Winslet. In cinemas from Dec 16