While there are many lists for romance movies for the Holiday of love, i.e., Valentine’s Day, there aren’t many options with New Year. This year, watch these New Year romcoms for cozy comfort during the New Year holidays.
Romantic New Year Movies To Binge Watch
1. New Year’s Eve (2011)
One of Hollywood’s most prominent romantic directors, Garry Marshall (known for movies like Pretty Women and Princess Diaries), has probably made the most New Year’s Eve theme movies until now.
It has a stellar star cast such as Sarah Jessica Parker, Halle Berry, Robert De Niro, and more, who feature in various interconnected stories of different couples taking center stage of the iconic New Year’s Ball Drop in Times Square.
Marshall actually described what gave him the idea to make a movie with an enormous cast circling the holiday of New Year; he said:
“I learned this word, portmanteau it means, a series of stories that intermingle. It’s French, but I took it [the inspiration] from “Love Actually”. So yeah, it’s about intermingling stories, but some are very emotional, and some are funny, but they all, I hope, ended on a positive note to make you feel good because that’s what New Year’s all about. Love too.”
2. When Harry Met Sally (1989)
Tackling the forever question, “Can men and women ever just be friends?”, this New Year romance movie has become a cult classic written by the romcom queen Nora Ephron. The journey of navigating friendship and relationships between the leads Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal starts from a cross country and takes place in New York City as they meet again over the years.
Don’t spoil anything if you haven’t seen this ultimate romcom, but there’s an amazing New Year’s party scene right at the end that ties up the end perfectly. On why the movie is still seen as the ultimate New Year’s romance movie, Harry, AKA Billy Crystal, comments:
“People fall in love every day. People fall out of love every day. People find each other; they lose each other every day. New generations keep finding ‘When Harry Met Sally… we’re forever young in that movie. And we represent them. They relate to us.”
3. An Affair to Remember (1957)
Another New Year’s Eve romantic movie that has made a mark in a romantic lover’s heart, An Affair to Remember, has one of the most iconic scenes in movie history, the meeting of the leads at the top of the Empire State Building. A tear-jerker among New Year romantic movies, the leads share a kiss on New Year’s Eve.
4. Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001)
Based on the 1996 book of the same name, the smash hit begins right at the New Year as Bridget (Renée Zellweger) starts jotting down writing down her resolutions (like most of us.) What follows rest is a witty, modern Pride and Prejudice retelling that’s perfect for anyone looking for something to add to a New Year romance movies watch list.
5. The Apartment (1960)
An oldie but a Goldie sounds cheesy, but it is true in the case of this New Year romance movie, The Apartment. The Academy Award-winning is about the male lead, C.C. Baxter (Jack Lemmon), who lends his apartment to his bosses to get into their good graces.
When he learns that the girl he is interested in, Fran (Shirley MacLaine), is his boss’s mistress, he’s gotta choose between love and his career.
This scene of the declaration of love is when Fran leaves the New Year’s Eve party and runs to be with the one she loves. Towards the end, it gives you a perfect picture of a 60s extravagant New Year and the happily ever after we all look forward to a romance!
6. 200 Cigarettes (1999)
Not many movies like New Year’s Eve have different romantic storylines, and that’s what makes 200 Cigarettes interesting. Though released in 1999, the movie takes place in the new year of 1981, and we encounter different characters from a typical first-date couple to the one on their first date.
Though not a typical smash hit, the movie has some of the biggest names in Hollywood today, including Kate Hudson, Paul Rudd, Ben, and Cassey Affleck, each in their own stories, making this a must-see New Year romance movie.
7. Sleepless in Seattle (1993)
This blockbuster among New Year’s romance movies also has 90s rom-com queen Meg Ryan paired up with another Hollywood A-lister, Tom Hanks. Directed by Nora Ephron, we can say the movie started the “single dad” trope that’s famous in both movies and literature today.
The story is about Sam (Hanks) moving to Seattle with his son after the death of his wife, Annie (Ryan), who hears Sam’s confession on the Radio and writes to him. The scene where Sam imagines a conversation with his deceased wife on New Year’s Eve is pretty emotional.
8. Sex and the City: The Movie (2008)
Based on the iconic HBO series that lasted 6 seasons, the movie starring the dynamic quadruple: Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte, and Miranda met with commercial success. It features a very aesthetic New York New Year scene where the girls are in different places, have different relationships, and celebrate the New Year with their friends and family.
Latest New Year Romcom- Holidate
Few romcom movies in recent years have centered on New Year’s or had a popular New Year’s scene. But in this holiday romcom starring Emma Roberts and Luke Bracey, who become each other’s dates for the Holidays, the arrangement starts right on New Year’s Eve!
We may not have seen many heavily themed New Year romantic movies compared to the Christmas or Valentine’s Day movies in the past few years. But there are classic and fun flicks like these ones with amazing New Year’s scenes that you can watch for a relaxing and enjoyable New Year!
