When it comes to the best romance movies on Netflix, there is such a great mix of originals as well as some of the best romances in movie history. These movies also traverse the spectrum from romantic comedies to both romances with happy and sad endings, bringing smiles, tears, or in some cases, both. When it comes to streaming services like Netflix, it is also hard to tell when movies will drop off the service, and at times it is hard to scroll through and find the best movies in any specific genre. The good news is, for romances, there are plenty to choose from.
The best romance movies on Netflix include now-classic love stories with stars like Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, and Robert Redford, alongside newer movies starring up-and-comers. These include teenage coming-of-age stories, tales of older men and women looking for love, and quite a few comedies with a strong romantic subplot. Add in the dramatic movies, some of which deliver tragedies that often destroy the love stories entirely, and there is something on Netflix for any couple looking for a romance, whether they want to laugh or cry.
25 Holidate (2020)
Holidate was a 2020 romantic comedy movie about a couple who pretend to be dating to keep their families from worrying about their love lives. Emma Roberts stars as a woman who hates family holidays because they always judge her for being single, and she meets Jackson (Luke Bracey) who agrees they could date on holidays to keep from having to settle down with anyone. The movie remains self-aware of its own genre, and it plays with tropes of romantic comedies in smart ways, helping it stand out from many of the best romance movies on Netflix for couples.
24 New In Town (2009)
Renée Zellweger was one of the most successful romantic comedy actresses for more than a decade and one of her best movies is now on Netflix. This is New in Town, which has Zellweger star as a high-powered consultant from Miami who is sent to Minnesota to oversee the restructuring of a business. While there, she meets Ted (Harry Connick Jr.), and the two begin to fall in love. This is a fish-out-of-water story for Zellweger and a mismatched romantic pair for her and Connick. It received negative reviews from critics, but still made $30 million on an $8 million budget, making it a success.
23 Forever My Girl (2018)
Forever My Girl is a romantic drama about a successful country musician who returns home when one of his childhood friends has died in an accident. When he returns home, he sees the girl that he left at the altar before setting out to become a star. When he learns that she had his son, and he never knew he existed, the two reconnect, but neither is sure this can ever really work. The critics mostly dismissed the movie, but it was a success at the box office, making $16.4 million on just a $3.5 million budget — and Forever My Girl has gone on to be one of the best romance movies on Netflix for couples.
22 The Best Of Me (2014)
Based on the Nicholas Sparks novel of the same name, The Best of Me stars James Marsden and Michelle Monaghan as Dawson and Amanda. The movie jumps around in time, showing their relationship together in 1992 and their current lives, where they are no longer together. Marsden is Dawson, a man who returns home after his surrogate dad dies and finds that he also asked for Dawson's teenage girlfriend Amanda to come as well, hoping they could reconcile. However, she is now married, and the movie flashes back to what ended their relationship, and then, as it is with Sparks' novels, tragedy strikes.
21 Persuasion (2022)
When looking for romantic movies, there are a lot of adaptations of the work of Jane Austin. While Pride & Prejudice and Emma lead the way, her novel Persuasion has also seen several adaptations released over the years. One of the best romance movies on Netflix is based on this book, with the 2022 release. Dakota Johnson stars as Annie, an English woman who broke off her engagement to a man eight years ago, but then meets him again and rekindles their relationship, giving love a second chance. The 2022 version of Persuasion got a one-week theatrical release before heading to Netflix, where it's been known as one of their strongest romance movies ever since.
20 Wedding Season (2022)
Wedding Season is a romantic comedy about a woman named Asha who broke off her engagement and quit her Wall Street job to move on to a startup firm in New Jersey. When her mother sets up an online dating profile, she ends up meeting Ravi, although their first date goes badly. However, she asks him to pretend to date her so that her mother will leave her alone and let her move on with her life. While the movie is a typical romantic comedy, with the same beats and tics from the genre, the cast was on top of their game and critics praised the movie, giving it an 83% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
19 The Lost Husband (2020)
The Lost Husband is a 2020 romance movie that stars Leslie Bibb and Josh Duhamel in a rare movie about a romance between mature people looking for love. Bibb is Libby, a woman whose husband dies, and she is left as a single mother of two kids. When she moves to her aunt's farm in Texas, she meets the farm manager James (Duhamel), and the two slowly fall in love. However, they both have a lot of pain in their lives to deal with before either can move on in any sort of relationship. The movie is a true love story and never falls into the clichés of the genre.
18 How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days (2003)
In 2003, Kate Hudson was making her name as a romantic comedy star and Matthew McConaughey was enjoying his short time in the genre as one of Hollywood's top leading men as well. In How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, McConaughey played a bachelor who wants to prove he can have a deep romance while Hudson plays a reporter who is writing an article about how to get a guy to dump her in less than 10 days by doing everything wrong. It ended up as a great comedy, with the two playing well off each other, and remains one of the best romance movies on Netflix.
17 Dear John (2010)
Nicholas Sparks is an acquired taste for many fans of romantic movies. That is because Sparks' novels are always tragedies, and deal with people either recovering from one or heading into a dark and depressing ending. In Dear John, the movie was bookended by a man serving in the Army in Afghanistan who said the last thing he thought of was "you" before blacking out. The story then shows the love story between John (Channing Tatum) and Savannah (Amanda Seyfried). The movie tells the story of these two individuals and the heartbreak in their lives. Critics slammed it, but fans loved it, with it receiving nominations at the Teen Choice, People's Choice, and MTV Movie Awards.
16 About Last Night (2014)
About Last Night is a star-studded romantic comedy that is a remake of a 1974 David Mamet play titled Sexual Perversity in Chicago. The predominantly Black cast includes Kevin Hart, Regina Hall, Michael Ealy, Joy Bryant, and Paula Patton. Danny and Bernie are friends who start dating a pair of roommates and both relationships catch fire fast before the movie shows their ups and downs as they decide if this was meant to last. The movie remains one of the best romance movies on Netflix, offering something unique that doesn't exist in most romances.
15 All The Bright Places (2021)
All the Right Places is a Netflix original that is a romantic drama rather than a comedy. This is a movie about two people who meet at a tough time in their lives and find happiness with each other, even if for a short time. Elle Fanning is Violet, a girl who has survivor's guilt after her sister dies in a car crash where Violent was also in the car. Justice Smith is Finch, a student who takes part in a school project together where he tries to use their time to help her overcome her suicidal thoughts. However, Finch has his own problems that are even worse than Violet's. There is a lot of emotional pain in this movie, but the actors are up to the task.
14 The Kissing Booth (2018)
The Kissing Booth is a teen coming-of-age comedy and one of the best romance movies on Netflix. The movie stars Joey King as Elle, who starts her junior year of high school three years after her mother's death. She is a late bloomer and developed a romance with a bad boy senior named Noah. However, this strains her relationship with Noah's little brother, who is Elle's lifelong friend. The movie received bad reviews, but it was hugely successful on Netflix, one of the most viewed romantic comedies, and a Kids' Choice Awards nominee that picked up two Kissing Booth sequels.
13 Happy Anniversary (2018)
Happy Anniversary is a great film for couples who are already way past the honeymoon phase, and take makes it one of the best romance mocies on Netflix. Happy Anniversary tells the story of Molly and Sam, a couple who is trying to decide whether to fight for their relationship now that the spark is all gone. There are so many romantic films plotting around two people who are just getting to know each other, so it's really refreshing that there's a movie out there for couples who have already been there/done that.
12 The Age Of Adaline (2015)
The Age Of Adaline is a fantasy romance movie on Netflix that stars Blake Lively as a woman who stops aging after she dies and is brought back to life when she is 29. This is a love story that can't have a happy ending, as her loved ones keep getting older and she stays the same age, making it impossible to maintain long-term love. It also doesn't help that she is always on the run from a world that wants to study her. When she meets a new man, and he introduces her to his parents, she realizes his dad is someone she also loved many years before.
11 Out Of Africa (1985)
Sydney Pollack directed the 1985 romantic drama, Out of Africa, and it ended up as one of the top award-winning movies of the 1980s. The movie sees Meryl Streep as Karen, a woman who remembers her life in Kenya, where she moved as a wealthy Dane. The basis is about her life in Africa, but there is also her romance with Denys Hatton, played by Robert Redford. The film picked up 11 Oscar nominations and won seven of them, including Best Picture and Best Director, while Streep earned a nomination for Best Actress, although she didn't win.
10 If Beale Street Could Talk (2018)
Based on the novel by James Baldwin, If Beale Street Could Talk is a difficult love story and one of the best romance movies on Netflix. Barry Jenkins (Moonlight) directed this movie about a woman named Tish who never gives up hope when her lover Fonny is convicted of a rape he never committed. She gives birth to their son while he is in prison, and never gives up her love for him, even as the case against Fonny seems to show the system will always work against him. The movie picked up three Oscar nominations with Regina King winning Best Supporting Actress.
9 The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button (2008)
Not a lot of people might think of The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button as a romance movie. However, that is exactly what David Fincher's movie (based on the short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald) is. While people talk about the de-aging storyline of Brat Pitt's titular character, the heart of the story is the romance between Button and Cate Blanchett's Daisy Fuller. Watching Blanchett's Daisy grow old while Button reverts to childhood is devastating. The movie picked up 13 Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor. It won three, all for technical achievements.
8 Call Me By Your Name (2017)
Timothy Chalamet became one of the youngest male Oscar nominees in history thanks to his performance in Call Me By Your Name. This is not only one of the best romance movies on Netflix, but one of the best LGBTQ+ movies on the streaming service. Chalamet is Elio, a 17-year-old French boy who lives with his parents in Italy. He soon meets and falls in love with an older man named Oliver (Armie Hammer). This was a slice-of-life romance movie that showed a summer romance and memories that lasted a lifetime. The movie also picked up a Best Picture nomination and won for Best Adapted Screenplay.
7 Always Be My Maybe (2019)
Released in 2019 as a Netflix exclusive, Ali Wong and Randall Park star in the movie Always Be My Maybe, and the pair's chemistry makes for one of the best romance movies on the platform. The movie follows two childhood friends who reunite years later when Sasha (Wong) is a celebrity chef and Marcus (Park) is a talented but unsuccessful musician. The two become friends again before Marcus realizes he has repressed feelings toward Sasha. The movie picked up high critical praise, with a 90% on Rotten Tomatoes, and picked up a People's Choice Award nomination in 2019. It also had one of Keanu Reeves' best cameo appearances in a movie, where he played himself.
6 Easy A (2010)
Emma Stone starred in one of the best romance movies on Netflix - Easy A. This is a smart comedy that pays homage to several romantic comedies from the past, with some moments from 80s romances played out in this movie. Stone is Olive, a high school girl who lies to her best friend to get out of a camping trip, but when the lie is about losing her virginity, the word quickly spreads around the school, and she is humiliated. In return, she wears the letter A and starts dressing in sexy clothing to play it up while homaging The Scarlet Letter. The movie won the Critics' Choice Award for best comedy and Stone picked up a Golden Globe nomination.