How can Netflix top sexy snowman caper Hot Frosty?

Don’t be fooled by all the tweeness: pumping out thrifty Christmas romance films is big business. Watching something cheap but cheerful has become a snowballing festive tradition, and for the production companies exporting them around the world it doesn’t really matter if audiences are enjoying the movies ironically or not. In this cheesy but competitive sub-genre, it looks like Netflix has achieved the breakout hit of 2024 and all it took was a sexy snowman. Hot Frosty is a small-town love story centred around Cathy (Lacey Chabert from Mean Girls), a young widow who unintentionally brings a chiselled ice sculpture to life via an enchanted scarf.

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Compared to the roly-poly Raymond Briggs version, this snowman (played by Dustin Milligan from Schitt’s Creek) is a hunk. But despite his gym bunny bod – no carrot but lots of crunches – Jack is a puppyish sweetheart. He wins over the whole town with his willingness to help out, Cathy learns to love again and the budget stretches to sprinkling some Coldplay over the final scenes.

As these films go, it is certainly one of the better examples. So you can bet executives at Hallmark, Lifetime and algorithm kings Netflix are already working out how best to replicate the Hot Frosty formula. So here are some pitches and casting suggestions for Christmas 2025 (and if any get miraculously used, all royalties go to Big Issue).

Hot Frosty 2: The Sledgend Continues

Like Jack himself, this is a no-brainer. But one way to make the inevitable sequel feel even more Christmassy would be to pack the charming leads off to the North Pole. Let’s say poor Santa Claus (Kelsey Grammer) lost his wife decades ago and has become so emotionally blocked he has turned into a toy-making tyrant. Drawing on her own experience of coping with grief, Cathy can help Santa get back on the market (maybe there’s a dating app for immortal figures of folklore called Kringle?) Meanwhile the ever-considerate Jack mucks in and safeguards better working conditions for the stressed elven workforce.

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Puppet Christmas Carol

Rather than a snowman becoming human, let’s reverse-engineer the premise. Carol (Lindsay Lohan, star of Netflix’s Falling For Christmas) is a high-powered Washington lobbyist who ruthlessly pulls strings on behalf of fossil fuel multinationals, much to the dismay of shy environmental lawyer Rowan (Michael Buble). As Carol prepares to bribe senators with gifts at an extravagant Christmas party, the ghost of Abraham Lincoln (a cameo from Daniel Day-Lewis) transforms her into a fuzzy puppet who needs a helping hand. Will she see the error of her ways and find sustainable love with Rowan?

Pining For You: A Christmas Fairy Tale

The cosy Canadian town of Sugarplum is famous for its towering Christmas tree: especially elegant Eleanor, the unusually life-sized vintage wooden fairy decoration that sits atop it. But when a freak electrical storm brings Eleanor to life (I’m picturing Melissa Joan Hart, who seemed to be having great fun in Lifetime’s A Very Nutty Christmas in 2018) she discovers a lot has changed since she was first carved. After 100 years of looking down on people, her haughty social skills also need a bit of work. But soulful lumberjack Flannel (Josh Groban, who can sing over the closing credits) seems determined to sand down those rough edges.

Feel Like Makin’ Slush

After the success of Barbie, maybe it’s worth exploring broader toy playset tie-ins. Popular wedding planner Garland (Anya Taylor-Joy: come on, let’s aim high!) has put her career and love life on ice to clear out her late mother’s house. In the attic she unwraps a forgotten Christmas gift from the 1980s: a Mr Frosty slush pop maker. The next morning, Garland awakens to find a rather bumbling young man in the kitchen (Asa Butterfield, who has a couple of these under his belt after Prime Video’s Your Christmas or Mine? and its sequel). Will she be charmed by Mr Frosty’s obsession with making crushed ice drinks? And how are those flavour sachets holding up after 40 years? The answers may surprise you.

Hot Frosty is on Netflix now

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