'Cheesy' Christmas Film Beats George Clooney's New Movie on Netflix's Top 10 List—and I'm Flabbergasted

Sorry, George—the viewers have spoken

jay kelly george clooney netflix
Courtesy of Netflix

When a buzzy new movie or show drops on Netflix, it's a pretty safe bet that it'll shoot to the top of the streamer's top 10 most-watched lists. Of course, there are exceptions. For example, I was pretty surprised when the new Lena Headey and Gillian Anderson series got stuck at number three on the list—is that not enough star power to hit number one?! (To be fair, it's sitting behind the new Sean Combs docuseries and Stranger Things, both seriously stiff competition.)

But over on Netflix's top 10 movies list, things are majorly backwards. The brand-new George Clooney and Adam Sandler film, Jay Kelly, has landed on the streaming service after a brief stint in theaters and it's quickly climbed to...number two? Okay, okay, number two is pretty solid. So there must be a big, star-filled blockbuster at number one, no? Umm...no.

jay kelly george clooney netflix
Courtesy of Netflix

Sitting at number one—and beating out George Clooney, who was nominated for a Golden Globe for the film—is a cheesy Christmas movie starring Alexandra Breckenridge (Virgin River). Meet My Secret Santa, the kind of bingeable, festive fare I'd expect from the Hallmark Channel. Don't get me wrong, I love a Christmas movie that's heavy on hijinks and holiday cheer while being light on plot. But for such a movie to beat out Clooney? Flabbergasted.

But I'll let you decide for yourself.

Jay Kelly is a new dramedy starring Clooney, Sandler, Emily Mortimer, Riley Keough, Billy Crudup, Greta Gerwig and Laura Dern. My Secret Santa stars Breckenridge, Tia Mowry and, well, some other people whose names I'm not quite familiar with.

my secret santa alexandra breckenridge netflix
Diyah Pera/Netflix ©2025

Jay Kelly follows an aging movie star (Clooney) as he questions his successful but ultimately empty life. My Secret Santa follows a single mom (Breckenridge) as she dresses up as Santa to secure a job at a ski resort.

Obviously, this is like comparing apples with pineapples, but the Rotten Tomatoes scores for the films do help explain things a bit. Jay Kelly is sitting at 76 percent on the Tomatometer, while My Secret Santa is sitting at an almost identical 73 percent. So maybe the Clooney star-power doesn't mean much when it comes to how well received both films are. And in this case, My Secret Santa is edging out the competition.

If I had to make a recommendation, why not make this a double feature? The real question: whether to watch Clooney before Breckenridge or vice versa.

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