Johannesburg, 28 November 2025: The year-end holiday is almost here, and to celebrate, every day at 5 pm, Studio Universal (DStv 112) will screen a different movie that audiences have loved for years. The line-up includes fan favourites and familiar blockbusters that are as enjoyable to revisit as they are to share. Plus, this channel is open to DStv Access subscribers until 31 December, enabling more people to enjoy the fun.
The films that will be shown are as follows:
Monday 1 December at 5 pm – Drumline: A New Beat
Danielle Bolton, an upper-class Brooklyn girl, defies her parents in order to attend a college in Georgia so she can join – and revitalise – their once-prominent drumline.
Tuesday 2 December at 5 pm – Secret Headquarters
When Charlie and his friends discover that his dad is a powerful superhero, the youngsters will spring into action to defend the secret headquarters and save the planet from a villainous threat. No one said saving the world would be easy!
Wednesday 3 December at 5 pm – On the Come Up
A gifted 16-year-old rapper has aspirations of becoming a star and helping her struggling family. She’s forced to decide if money and fame are more important than staying true to herself.
Thursday 4 December at 5 pm – Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins
Comic star Martin Lawrence plays a popular television talk show host from Los Angeles who reluctantly returns to his home town in the deep South with his wife and son to visit his family. Once there, the celebrity finds it impossible not to fall back into old rivalries, especially when he runs into his childhood nemesis – Cedric the Entertainer!
Friday 5 December at 5 pm – Battleship
Peter Berg produces and directs Battleship, an epic action-adventure that unfolds across the seas, in the skies, and on land as planet Earth fights for survival against a superior force. Based on Hasbro’s classic naval combat game, this explosive blockbuster experience stars Liam Neeson, Taylor Kitsch, Brooklyn Decker and music superstar Rihanna.
Saturday 6 December at 5 pm – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
When NY City is in trouble, it’s up to the four ninja-fighting, pizza-loving brothers to save it. Aided by determined reporter April O’Neil and their wise master Splinter, these unlikely heroes must face their ultimate nemesis – the evil Shredder.
Sunday 7 December at 5 pm – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows
The Turtles are back to battle bigger villains with their new ally, Casey Jones. When supervillain Shredder escapes custody with a plan to take over the world, the brothers prepare to take him on but face an even greater threat: the notorious Krang.
Monday 8 December at 5 pm – Snow White and the Huntsman
In this epic action-adventure, Kristen Stewart plays the only person in the land fairer than the evil queen who is out to destroy her. But what the wicked ruler never imagined is that the young woman she wants dead has been training in the art of war with a huntsman who was dispatched to kill her.
Tuesday 9 December at 5 pm – The Huntsman Winter’s War
Charlize Theron stars as evil Queen Ravenna, who betrays her sister Freya with an unforgivable act, freezing her heart and unleashing an icy power she never knew she possessed. Retreating north, Freya raises an army of Huntsmen with one rule: no two may fall in love. As war escalates between the queens, Freya’s elite Huntsman Eric and warrior Sara – the only woman to capture his heart – must help Freya defeat Ravenna, or her wickedness will rule forever.
Wednesday 10 December at 5 pm – The Karate Kid 1984
Ralph Macchio stars as Daniel, a teenager whose growing pains are made that much more difficult by his arrival in a new town where he must start from scratch and make new friends. He quickly becomes the target of the Cobras, a menacing gang of karate students, who are less than pleased when he strikes up a relationship with Ali, the Cobra leader’s ex-girlfriend. Eager to fight back and impress his new girlfriend, he begs his handyman, Miyagi, a martial arts master, to teach him karate.
Thursday 11 December at 5 pm – Ticket to Paradise
Twenty-five years ago, a couple fell in love and married in a whirlwind, only to divorce five years later. They’d rather never meet again, but their daughter falls head over heels for a young man in Bali and announces her wedding. Determined to stop her from making the same mistake, the exes fly to Bali to sabotage the marriage. With a shared mission, will they rediscover their spark on this tropical island?
Friday 12 December at 5 pm – Free Guy
A bank teller (Ryan Reynolds) discovers he is actually a background player in an open-world video game, and decides to become the hero of his own story. Now, in a world where there are no limits, he is determined to be the guy who saves his world his way before it’s too late.
Saturday 13 December at 5 pm – Dr Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas
Jim Carrey stars as the title character in this live-action adaptation of the classic children’s story by Dr Seuss. High atop Mt. Crumpet, The Grinch observes the residents of Whoville joyously preparing to celebrate Christmas. He decides he’s had enough of all this happiness, and conspires to steal Christmas from Whoville!
Sunday 14 December at 5 pm – Praise This
Praise. This follows the journey of Sam, an aspiring young singer who dreams of breaking into the music industry. Sam’s ambitions are seemingly thwarted when her father moves them from Los Angeles to Atlanta to live with Sam’s cousin Jess. Forced to join her cousin’s struggling youth choir praise team in the run-up to a national championship competition, Sam seizes the chance to kickstart her own musical career and soon discovers the true meaning of praise as she begins to find her voice.
Monday 15 December at 5 pm – Genie
From acclaimed scribe Richard Curtis comes an enchanting fairy-tale comedy for the holiday season. Melissa McCarthy and Paapa Essiedu star in the story of a workaholic who seeks the help of a magical genie in hopes of winning back his family before Christmas.
Tuesday 16 December at 5 pm – Evan Almighty
Newly elected to Congress, Evan’s life is turned upside-down when God appears and mysteriously commands him to build an ark. But his befuddled family just can’t decide whether Evan is having an extraordinary midlife crisis or is truly on to something of Biblical proportions.
Wednesday 17 December at 5 pm – The Legend of Tarzan
It’s been years since Tarzan left the jungles of Africa behind for a gentrified life as John Clayton III, Lord Greystoke, with his beloved wife, Jane, at his side. Now, he has been invited back to the Congo to serve as a trade emissary of Parliament, unaware that he is a pawn in a deadly convergence of greed and revenge. But those behind the murderous plot have no idea what they are about to unleash.
Thursday 18 December at 5 pm – Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
The fragile peace between genetically enhanced apes and what remains of man is threatened in the thrilling next chapter of the Planet of the Apes.
Friday 19 December at 5 pm – Minions
As it turns out, Minions have existed since the beginning of time. They have evolved from single (yellow) cell organisms into the familiar beings we know, and they live for a collective purpose: to seek out and serve the most despicable master they can find.
Saturday 20 December at 5 pm – Home Alone
When Kevin McCallister is left behind while his family dashes off on a Christmas trip, he is left to defend his family’s home from two bumbling burglars until the relatives return.
Sunday 21 December at 5 pm – The Forbidden Kingdom
Individually, they’ve starred in the most adrenaline-pumping martial-arts adventures ever. Together for the first time, Jet Li and Jackie Chan join forces to create the greatest epic of them all – The Forbidden Kingdom. As ancient Chinese warriors, they must train and mentor a 21st-century kung-fu fanatic who’s been summoned to fight a centuries-old battle and free the imprisoned Monkey King.
With a different option each day, these beloved films offer a festive mix of nostalgia, laughter and pure escapism. Studio Universal invites viewers to make the 5 pm screenings part of their festive holiday, sit back with loved ones and enjoy these stories that continue to hold their charm no matter how many times they are watched.
Studio Universal is available on DStv channel number 112 (including on DStv Access until 31 December 2025).