TBS and TNT schedule 24-hour marathons of Elf, Christmas Vacation and A Christmas Story
The networks’ holiday lineup starts November 13, adds the 1994 Miracle on 34th Street for the first time and gives Red One its network premieres.
By 2020 Movie Reviews Team ·
In short
- TBS’s All I Watch for Christmas and TNT’s Christmas Maximus start on Friday, November 13, Warner Bros. Discovery said on November 10.
- TBS shows Elf for 24 hours from 8 p.m. ET/PT on Friday, November 27, and TNT does the same with Christmas Vacation from 8 p.m. on November 28.
- Both networks run A Christmas Story around the clock from Christmas Eve: TBS from 8 p.m., TNT from 9 p.m.
- The 1994 Miracle on 34th Street is on TBS and TNT for the first time, the networks say, with four airings by our count.
- Red One, with Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans, has the most listed airings outside the 24-hour marathons, 19 by our count, starting with TNT’s network premiere on November 15.
TBS and TNT will give three holiday films a full day each this season. Warner Bros. Discovery said on Tuesday, November 10, that TBS’s “All I Watch for Christmas” and TNT’s “Christmas Maximus” return on Friday, November 13, and that the annual 24-hour marathons of Elf, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and A Christmas Story are back. Its schedule runs from mid-November to New Year’s Eve and mixes holiday films with holiday episodes of sitcoms such as Friends, The Big Bang Theory and The Office.
The three marathons
| Film | Year | Runtime | Marathon | Other airings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elf | 2003 | 1 hr 37 min | TBS, 8 p.m. Nov. 27 to 8 p.m. Nov. 28 (ET/PT) | 12 (TNT 10, TBS 2) |
| National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation | 1989 | 1 hr 37 min | TNT, 8 p.m. Nov. 28 to 8 p.m. Nov. 29 (ET/PT) | 12 (TNT 10, TBS 2) |
| A Christmas Story | 1983 | 1 hr 34 min | TBS, 8 p.m. Dec. 24 to 8 p.m. Dec. 25; TNT, 9 p.m. Dec. 24 to 9 p.m. Dec. 25 | 6 (all on TNT) |
The Elf marathon starts on the Friday after Thanksgiving and Christmas Vacation follows on Saturday night, so the two run back to back across that weekend. A Christmas Story is the only film both networks give a marathon, and their versions overlap for 23 hours on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. TNT follows its run with A Christmas Story Christmas at 9 p.m. on December 25.
The older titles in the lineup
Beyond the marathons, the schedule makes room for older titles. By our count of the listed times, Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966) airs 12 times, nine on TNT, and The Year Without a Santa Claus (1974) 10 times. The Wizard of Oz has seven airings, including 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving night on TBS, and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory eight, with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Wonka also on the list. TBS adds the 1999 A Christmas Carol twice, both in the early hours of the morning.
What is new this year
The networks say Miracle on 34th Street (1994) joins TBS and TNT for the first time. It gets four airings, all over Thanksgiving weekend: TNT on November 27 and 28, and TBS on November 28 and 29. Red One, the Christmas action-comedy with Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans, gets its network premieres on both channels. The schedule puts TNT’s on Sunday, November 15, at 8 p.m. and TBS’s on Friday, November 20, at 8 p.m. With 13 TNT and six TBS airings, it has more listed times than any other film by our count. Six titles have 12 each, not counting the 24-hour marathons, whose individual showings the schedule does not list.
On New Year’s Eve both networks run what the schedule calls New Year’s Eve movie marathons, with Central Intelligence, Jumanji: The Next Level and A Minecraft Movie on TBS and John Q, The Town and The Accountant on TNT.
On streaming and on the big screen
Several of these films are also on streaming this season: our guide to holiday classics on HBO Max and Hulu lists where they can be found. For big-screen showings of holiday films, see our story on Cinemark’s Holiday Movie Clubhouse.
Times are as Warner Bros. Discovery listed them on November 10, 2026, and can change. In a few lines the schedule pairs a date with a weekday that does not match the 2026 calendar, for example giving the end of the Elf marathon as “Sunday, November 28”; we have kept the dates. The release labels the A Christmas Story marathon times “ET/PM”. Its introduction gives November 15 for both networks’ Red One premieres, while its schedule lists TBS’s for November 20; we give the schedule’s dates.
Sources
- TBS’s “All I Watch for Christmas” and TNT’s “Christmas Maximus” Programming Kicks Off the Holiday Season Beginning Friday, November 13 Warner Bros. Discovery (TBS, TNT), November 10, 2026
- Elf Apple TV, November 11, 2026
- National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation Apple TV, November 11, 2026
- A Christmas Story Apple TV, November 11, 2026
Researched and drafted with AI assistance, then checked against the 4 sources above in a separate fact-check on November 11, 2026. Spotted an error? Tell us.