The 50 Best Movies to Watch on Valentine’s Day (2024)

Mr. Malcolm's List is another period romance with swoony leads, with Freida Pinto and Sope Dirisu playing two very different people who fall in love in London's upper-class society. Dirisu plays Mr. Malcolm, whose high standards for finding a wife alienate young women and leave them humiliated in public, when he rejects them so quickly. Pinto plays Selina Dalton, who is recruited by her childhood friend to get revenge on the arrogant Mr. Malcolm. A sweet and delightful tale of love ensues.

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I bet Jane Austen would love this 2020 adaptation of her novel, Emma. The chemistry of the leads shines in this regency-era romantic comedy. Anya Taylor-Joy plays Emma, who loves to play matchmaker, but her arrogance gets in the way of her ability to see what's best for other people. Emma is gorgeously filmed, with lavish costumes and backdrops that fully immerse you in its fanciful world.

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This queer-written and led romantic comedy is a fresh and hilarious take on Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. A group of queer friends travel to Fire Island for their yearly vacation to let loose and bond, only to find out that it's their last time together at the vacation house. Fire Island is a fun and heartfelt story about the bonds of a chosen family—and falling in love outside your comfort zone.

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This Best Picture-winning film is an unlikely fairytale for a new generation. The whimsical, yet starkly realistic tale follows a mute woman played by Sally Hawkins, who works as a cleaning lady at a laboratory in 1960s Baltimore. The Shape of Water features fantastic performances from characters who represent people who often go unseen in our society. Hawkins falls in love with an underwater creature, and the two prove that love can conquer almost anything—and save us from the darkest moments in life.

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Almost anyone who has been single in their life can find something to laugh about in Bridget Jones's Diary. Renee Zellweger plays the charming, yet wonderfully average single woman in her thirties—who is on a journey of self-improvement. A twist on the classic Pride and Prejudice story, Zellweger is caught between two men who are not who they seem to be. Cue adorable shenanigans.

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Jenny Slate leads this romantic comedy that took on the sensitive subject of abortion in a sweet and relatable way. In Obvious Child, Slate plays a young woman who is going through a rough patch in her personal life. Once our hero's ex dumps her for her friend, she decides to have a one-night stand that results in an unexpected pregnancy. If that wasn't stressful enough, the abortion she schedules is on Valentine's Day. These circ*mstances don't seem traditionally romantic, but Obvious Child reminds us that life loves to throw unexpected curveballs at us.

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The Apartment may have lighthearted moments, but it doesn't shy away from dealing with very serious consequences of complex relationships. Jack Lemmon plays a man who allows his bosses to use his apartment for their affairs in order to get further at work. However, after learning a secret, things get much more complicated.

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This sumptuous Wong Kar-Wai film drips with romantic tension and unspoken desires. Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung play lovers who can never be together in 1960s Hong Kong. In The Mood For Love sees the two strut around in gorgeous costuming with a sweeping soundtrack. If you want to be overwhelmed by romantic longing, press play on this one.

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A much more romantic departure from Truman Capote's novel of the same name, Breakfast at Tiffany's has become a hallmark movie about falling in love. It also made Audrey Hepburn's Holly Golightly a style icon for generations of young girls. The legendary actress plays a fiercely independent young woman who is set on securing her financial future rather than following her heart. When she crosses paths with her new neighbor, a burgeoning young writer— who's also strapped for cash—the two fall for each other.

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This classic romcom will warm up the heart of any stone-cold cynic. In 13 Going on 30, Jennifer Garner and Mark Ruffalo play two childhood friends who grow up to be two very different people—but are still, somehow, drawn to each other. Would 13-year-old you like who you are as an adult? We may never be as true to ourselves as we were when we were kids, sure. But 13 Going on 30
will help you discover your inner silliness, optimism, and romanticism. And give you a hankering for Razzles.

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Something that is often left out of the “high school sweetheart” narrative is the fact that most couples who have been together since their youth likely witnessed each other in peak adolescent awkwardness. And sticking by someone’s side after that might be the greatest testament of true love. Always Be My Maybe leans head-first into this awkwardness, as two former childhood friends rekindle in adulthood for the first time since their extremely cumbersome coupling in their youth. If your partner puts you in stitches as much as they give you butterflies, you’re sure to fall for the comedic and romantic chemistry between Ali Wong and Randall Park.

Netflix

Based on the 1974 novel of the same name by James Baldwin, and directed by Moonlight's Barry Jenkins, If Beale Street Could Talk recounts the beautiful love story of Tish and Fonny, two childhood friends who grow up to become lovers, fiancés and, eventually, parents. Their trajectory takes a turn, though, when Fonny is falsely accused of a crime and sent to jail. Determined to free the name of her soon-to-be husband before the birth of their child, Tish sets out to prove Fonny’s innocence as she recounts their story from the beginning. With moving performances from Kiki Layna, Stephan James, Regina King, and Colman Domingo, and a remarkable score by Nicholas Brittell, If Beale Street Could Talk is an urgent story of love persevering in the face of injustice.

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Alice Wu’s The Half of It fills a void in the coming-of-age rom-com canon that is long overdue. In a Cyrano de Bergerac-esque love triangle, a young book worm named Ellie Chu helps a high school jock court his crush by writing her love letters on his behalf. However, Ellie soon realizes that she is also pining for the same girl—making for a heart-warming journey of love, self-acceptance, and growing up.

Netflix

If you’re a sucker for bittersweet, “Right place, wrong time,” love stories, you’ll find yourself swooning over this beautiful love story set in 1960s Harlem. When Sylvie, played by Tessa Thompson, meets Robert, played by Nnamdi Asomugha, she is married to a man serving in the Korean War and Robert is pursuing a career as a world-traveling musician. However, their paths cross again years later, they’re finally given a second chance explore the feelings for one another that never went away.

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Nothing says Valentine’s Day quite like yearning. And Portrait of a Lady on Fire is a masterclass on the depiction of restrained romance. Sure, the whole forbidden love period film has become a bit of a tired trope in queer cinema. But, what the film lacks in outward romance it makes up for in beautiful cinematography and dialogue. You’ll find yourself waxing poetic about your partner by the end of your movie night. Or, of course, crying alone. But maybe that’s the vibe you’re going for this holiday. We don’t judge.

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This is one of Spike Lee's greatest (and the one that put him on the map). The 1986 film follows one woman who manages to date three different men at the same time, refusing to settle for just one. A woman's got to live her life, you know? This is a perfect Valentine's Day film because it scratches the itch of the romantics out there, but let's say this: it also gives a big nod to those who prefer to live an untethered life.

Netflix

This one is for the people in the back who are over love. Sometimes, the best love stories are the one that come from the cynical perspective. Andy Samberg stars in this time loop movie (we love time loop movies!) about a guy who can't escape one fateful wedding day, stuck in an existence of isolation... until someone else gets stuck in the loop with him.

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After Sam Baldwin’s wife, Maggie, dies, he and his son, Jonah, move from Chicago to Seattle for a change of pace. But once Jonah sees that Sam (Tom Hanks) is still lonely, he takes his father’s love life into his own 8-year-old hands. On Christmas Eve, he calls Dr. Marcia, a popular radio host, and tells her that his dad needs to find a woman. Soon, the letters start pouring in from all over the country, and Annie Reed, an engaged reporter in Baltimore, sends one of them. She proposes they meet at the top of the Empire State Building on Valentine’s Day, just like in the movie An Affair to Remember (1957). This movie also features Tom Hanks’s real-life wife, Rita Wilson.

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Someone Great flew under the radar when it first came out, but the almost anti-romantic comedy starring Gina Rodriguez ends up being as much about friendship as it does about love.

Netflix

A rom-com in its own field, Love, Simon tells the story of Simon, a high schooler who struggles to come out of the closet after falling for an online suitor who is struggling with his own sexuality.

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