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21 Of The Best Romantic Movies You'll Want To Watch Over, And Over Again
Not just a Julia Roberts-filled guide.
Every occasion calls for a great romantic movie that will pull on your heart strings. Whether you want something to make you feel warm and fuzzy inside, need a good cry, or are getting ready for a girls night in with friends, there's nothing like unwinding with some of the best romantic films Hollywood has to offer.
You can stick on an old favourite like The Way We Were, Titanic, pretty much anything with Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan and Julia Roberts) or get to know one of the new romantic offerings like Love Again (starring Priyanka Chopra, Nick Jonas and Celine Dion) and Challengers (with Zendaya, Mike Faist and Josh O'Connor).
If you're looking for a full comprehensive list of some of best films to add to your watch list, then look no further. Here is ELLE UK's selection of the best romantic movies to watch:
Best For A Good Cry: All Of Us Strangers
All is not what it seems in this moving film that follows an isolated screenwriter who forms an intimate relationship with his neighbour, all while healing himself from the past.
Cast: Andrew Scott, Paul Mescal, Jamie Bell, Claire Foy
Director: Andrew Haigh
Best For A 'Second Chance At Love' Film: Love Again
When Mira (played by Priyanka Chopra) loses her fiancé in a tragic accident, she spends two years texting his old number. What she doesn't realise is the phone's new owner starts receiving her texts and plans to uncover who is messaging him. The pair ultimately form an unlikely match. Celine Dion also stars, so what's not to love?
Cast: Priyanka Chopra, Sam Heughan, Celine Dion, Nick Jonas, Sofia Barclay
Director: James C. Strouse
Best For A New Age Romantic Film: About Fate
Available to watch on Amazon Prime Video since 2022, About Fate sees two people, Margot (Emma Roberts) and Griffin (Thomas Mann) who truly believe in love, but struggle to find it. However, thanks to good ol' fate, the pair are brought together on a stormy New Year's Eve and find their futures changed forever.
Cast: Emma Roberts, Madeleine Petsch, Britt Robertson, Lewis Tan
Director: Marius Balchunas
Best For A Racy Watch: Challengers
If a film could define the saying 'three's a crowd', Challengers would take the trophy. This sports romance film looks at the consequences of love triangles and how it can affect each party involved.
Cast: Zendaya, Mike Faist, Josh O'Connor
Director: Luca Guadagnino
Best For A Classic Watch: When Harry Met Sally
An oldie but a goodie, Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal tell the story of two best friends Harry and Sally. It has one of the most iconic scenes and lines ever: 'We'll have what she's having'.
Cast: Meg Ryan, Billy Crystal, Brun Kirby, Carrie Fisher, Steven Ford
Director: Rob Reiner
Best For A Seriously Steamy Watch: Malcolm & Marie
This is by far one of our favourite films of 2021. Zendaya and John David Washington are the only two actors you'll see on screen in this movie. The plot plays out in one night after the couple return home from a filmmaker's (Washington) movie premiere and they have an explosive row about their relationship. It's utterly beautiful and while it might not sound romantic, it really is.
Cast: Zendaya, John David Washington
Director: Sam Levinson
Best For A Heart-warming Watch: Crazy Rich Asians
Making waves when it first arrived in 2018 was Crazy Rich Asians which told the story of Nick taking his NYC-based girlfriend Rachel back to Singapore to meet his very traditional (and very rich) family.
Cast: Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Akwafina, Gemma Chan, Michelle Yeoh, Ken Jeong
Director: Jon M. Chu
Best For A Different Kind Of Rom-Com: How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days
A magazine journalist (Kate Hudson) and an advertising salesman (Matthew McConaghey) are two happy singletons who both conduct separate individual relationship experiments only to end up meeting each other. A classic Noughties rom-com you'll put on whenever you need a pick-me-up.
Cast: Kate Hudson, Matthew McConaughey, Adam Goldberg, Kathryn Hahn, Thomas Lennon
Director: Donald Petrie
Best For A Coming-Of-Age Film: Call Me By Your Name
Starring Timothée Chalamet and Armie Hammer, this film is set in the Italian countryside and sees the two fall in love during a summer of passion, peaches and pasta.
Cast: Timothée Chalamet, Armie Hammer, Michael Stuhlberg, Esther Garrell, André Aciman
Director: Luca Guadagnino
Best For A Feel Good Film: Little Women
Though predominantly about sisterhood (which in itself is another kind of beautiful relationship) numerous love stories and triangles run through Greta Gerwig's 2019 adaptation of this classic novel. By the end of watching, it will leave you feeling teary, inspired and hella romantic.
Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Florence Pugh, Emma Watson, Timothée Chalamet, Meryl Streep, Eliza Scanlen
Director: Greta Gerwig
Best For A Sweet Watch: Notting Hill
'I'm just a girl standing in front of a boy asking him to love her'... and there goes one of the most romantic lines ever uttered in cinema.
Cast: Hugh Grant, Julia Roberts, Rhys Ifans, Hugh Bonneville, Gina McKee,Emma Chambers
Director: Roger Mitchell
Best For A Hearty Watch: Bridget Jones' Diary
The first in the trilogy, where famously unlucky in love Bridget (we all remember the 'All By Myself' scene) finds herself in a love triangle with sensible Mark D'Arcy (Colin Firth) and develish Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant), this film is a must for everyone.
Cast: Renée Zellweger, Colin Firth, Hugh Grant, Gemma Jones, Sally Phillips, Jim Broadbent
Director: Sharon Maguire
Best For A Girls' Night In: Pretty Woman
This unlikely love story between Julia Roberts and Richard Gere is a romantic classic that you can watch time and time again. It'll be a 'big mistake' if you don't add this to your must-watch list now... get it?
Cast: Julia Roberts, Richard Gere, Laura San Giacomo
Director: Garry Marshall
Best For Watching Singing And Dancing To: La La Land
The film, which dominated the 2017 Oscar nominations (and saw Emma Stone win one), tells the love story of two people struggling to get their careers off the ground in LA. It's also another instalment in the 'Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling have amazing on-screen chemistry' series, and we couldn't love it more.
Cast: Emma Stone, Ryan Gosling, John Legend, J.K. Simmons, Sonoya Mizuno, Finn Witrock
Director: Damien Chazelle
Best For A Sad Movie: P.S. I Love You
Heartbreaking but ultimately all about love, the screen adaptation of Cecelia Ahern's hit novel is brought to the screen by Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler.
Cast: Gerard Butler, Hilary Swank, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Lisa Kudrow, Kathy Bates
Director: Richard LaGravenese
Best For A Timeless Classic: Titanic
Speaking of the greatest cinematic soundtracks... the love story between Jack and Rose (and the debate of whether they both could have fit on the door) continues to stand the test of time.
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Billy Zane, Kathy Bates
Director: James Cameron
Best For Duvet Days: The Notebook
Guaranteed to make you cry, The Notebook (released in 2004) continues to be one of the most romantic films ever. The only problem is the fact it's completely skewed our perception of love and 'the one'. Thanks for that, Ryan.
Cast: Ryan Gosling, Rachel McAdams, Gena Rowlands, James Garner, James Marsden, Kevin Connolly, Sam Shephard, Joan Allen
Director: Nick Cassavetes
Best For A Nostalgic Watch: 10 Things I Hate About You
Fall in love with Heath Ledger and take it back to your teenage years with 10 Things I Hate About You, which is based on William Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew.
Cast: Heath Ledger, Julia Stiles, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Andrew Keegan, David Krumholtz, Larisa Oleynik
Director: Gil Junger
Best For A Hilarious Watch: Crazy, Stupid, Love
The chemistry between Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone is put on full display again in this underrated (in our opinion) romantic comedy.
Watch couples and individuals of various ages try and figure out their love lives... with a twist at the end.
Cast: Lio Tipton, Ryan Gosling, Steve Carell, Emma Stone, Joey King, Jonah Bobo, Julianne Moore
Director: Glen Ficarra, John Requa
Best For Singing Along: Grease
Danny and Sandy, one of cinema's most beloved couples, star in this crowd-pleasing, family-friendly movie. It features an endlessly pleasing to the ears soundtrack which has made Grease one of the original romantic teen comedies.
Cast: John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing, Didi Conn, Jeff Conaway, Dinah Manoff
Director: Randal Kleiser
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