The fake Christmas films that have gone viral

It’s that time of the year where you can get cosy and watch your favourite Christmas films on the telly.

But if you've been scrolling through socials, you may have noticed some film posters popping up on your feed for some upcoming Christmas movie sequels which may seem just too good to be true.

Let's take a deep dive into some sequels which have ultimately, turned out to be fake news.

What is the 'Cabin Alone' movie?

Fake films have been doing the rounds for a while now. Last year a Facebook user shared a poster for 'Cabin Alone', a sequel featuring two of the original Home Alone stars Macaulay Culkin and Catherine O’Hara that claimed the film was "streaming on Disney+ in December 2024".

The image, which may have been created using AI or a photo-editing tool, fooled many users as it features the actors as they would appear now - 34 years after the original movie was released - while the supposed plot line about Kevin and his mum tackling the incompetent burglars at a remote cabin sounds entirely plausible.

The post quickly went viral after getting 143k+ likes on Facebook, along with 33k shares and 19k+ comments at the time. While many of the comments said this was great news and asked when exactly it was being released, there were also comments from others saying they couldn’t believe people were falling for this story.

The post gathered so much attention it ranked high on Google Trends last year as people hoped Cabin Alone was happening, but there's been no official news from Disney about this to date.

Fake news stories often come from joke or parody sites after they have been misunderstood and taken as fact, before being shared out of context. Those who didn’t believe the Cabin Alone story had probably taken a closer look at the creator’s Facebook page. The intro section states that the page is ‘100% satire and fake news’, while a quick look at the feed finds posters for other unlikely movie sequels, including one for another Christmas favourite, Elf 2. They may have also spotted that Macaulay’s name is spelt with a large 'C' on the poster.

Remember it's always best to fact-check news you spot online to see if it's been reported by official and reliable sources, such as the film directors and actors, who haven't verified this information.

Is ‘Love Actually 2’ being released?

Love Actually has been a Christmas classic since 2003, and a movie poster for a 'Love Actually 2' has been doing the rounds on Facebook this year, featuring stars such as Liam Neeson, Kiera Knightley, Hugh Grant and Colin Firth.

The poster's received nearly 1.5k likes and 4k views across different social accounts, but if you look closely, Colin Firth and Liam Neeson look so similar they could be seen as twins… which isn't true in real life. The celebrities faces also look a little too perfect and have an 'airbrushed' look which are AI red-flag signs. Check out some top tips for spotting AI images here.

Notice the grammar mistakes too with Love Actually being spelt with a lower case 'a', when in fact the a in the film title 'Love Actually' is always capitalised.

For fans, news about a Love Actually sequel might be extremely exciting, but did you know it (kind of) exists already? In 2017 the cast reunited for a 15-minute special programme for Red Nose Day which explained where all the characters ended up nearly 15 years later. This was only a short film though and it's not a movie, which confirms a Love Actually 2 doesn't exist.

Grinch 2 - fake or real?

It's the animated Christmas classic you may have watched over and over again and this poster might look quite convincing and comical!

This poster has been circulating on Facebook with lots of comments and shares, and it looks as though the Grinch might have his own family in this so-called sequel.

While there have been comments from fans finding this funny and wishing this fake post was true, there has been no official confirmation of a movie sequel.

Be aware of clickbait and misleading headlines and information which entice you into reading content which might not be completely accurate. Looking at the Facebook account which posted this fake movie poster, it seems to only post AI-generated movie sequels to attract attention and many comments and reviews for the Facebook user say it's a "fake movie page".

How does fake news spread?

It’s always a good idea to look at the original source before you decide to share a story and look out for details such as typos. You should also check the website and social media platforms of any reputable outlets linked to the news - in the Home Alone story's case, this is Disney, to see if there has been any official announcement to confirm what you are reading.

Fake news can spread quickly if it is about something that excites the reader as they are more likely to share it with family and friends, who in turn share it with people in their network.

So when it’s about a much-loved Christmas movie, these shares can quickly snowball until the story has gone viral.

There's currently no official news of any of these sequels in the works but never say never.

Not sure if the news you’re seeing on social media is true or false? Can you always tell if the things you see online are real or fake? Learn how to get the other side of the story with our quizzes, videos and explainers.