We have listed the 30 best romance movies on HBO Max, along with their Rotten Tomatoes score.
Romance movies are so popular because they encourage emotional investment in the characters. They release stress hormones that calm viewers, which allows people to feel a range of deep emotions.
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30. William Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet, 73% (1996)
This version is about the Capulets and the Montagues, two rival gangs. Juliet attends a costume ball that is thrown by her parents. Her father has arranged her marriage to Paris as part of a strategic investment plan. The movie stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Romeo, who attends the masked ball as well, where he and Juliet fall in love.
29. Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, 75% (2008)
Nick cannot stop obsessing over his ex-girlfriend, Tris until Tris’s friend Norah starts to show interest in him at a club. The night is filled with ups and downs, with the two running into Tris and her new boyfriend. The night starts to wind down and the two have to figure out what they would like from each other.
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28. Ghost, 75% (1990)
Sam Wheat is a banker, and Molly Jenson is an artist who falls madly in love. Sam ends up murdered by a friend and corrupt business partner, Carl Bruner, over a shady business deal. Sam ends up roaming the earth as a powerless spirit who wants to set things right and protect Molly from Carl and his loser goons.
27. The Big Fat Greek Wedding, 76% (2002)
Toula is a 30-year-old unmarried woman. She works at her parents’ Greek restaurant. She takes a job at her aunt’s travel agency, where she meets and falls in love with Ian Miller, a teacher who is tall, handsome, and not Greek. Toula doesn’t know what will upset her father more: that he isn’t Greek or that he’s a vegetarian.
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26. Mystic Pizza, 78% (1988)
It is about three girls who work at a pizzeria and are famous for their secret ingredients in the special sauce. They have a summer after high school they won’t ever forget and that will consist of love, laughter, and adventure. They share their hopes, dreams, and plans to escape their small town.
25. Crazy, Stupid, Love, 79% (2011)
The story is an interesting romantic film about a man called Cal Weaver, 40 years old, who had the perfect life, a good job, a beautiful wife, and children. Suddenly, his life is turned upside down when his wife files for divorce and he learns that she has been unfaithful. He meets Jacob Palmer, who tries to teach Cal how it works in the dating world. He makes it his mission to help Cal meet someone.
24. Clueless, 81% (1995)
Clueless is about a shallow, rich, socially successful girl named Cher who is at the top of her high school’s pecking scale. She decides to give a hopelessly klutzy new student, Tai, a makeover. When TaWebecomes more popular than Cher is, she realizes that her ex-stepbrother was right about how misguided she was and falls deeper in love with him.
23. Warm Bodies, 81% (2013)
A terrible plague has divided the planet’s population between zombies and humans. An unusual zombie named R rescues a living woman named Julie from being attacked. Julie sees that R is a different zombie and the two embark on an unusual relationship. As their bond grows and R becomes more and more human, a chain of events happens that can change the entire lifeless world.
22. Father of the Bride, 81% (2022)
Father of the Bride was a modern rom-com that invited views on love, food, and music. This is a story about a family that has an unbreakable bond, and it illustrates the funny ways the heart can adapt in the name of love.
21. The Fault in Our Stars, 81% (2014)
Hazel is a 16-year-old cancer patient who meets Gus at their cancer support group meeting, and they fall in love with each other. Hazel feels like Gus really understands her when they share the same wit and love of books. Hazel and Gus receive an invitation to meet their favorite author, and they embark on a once-in-a-lifetime adventure.
20. Two Lovers, 82% (2008)
Leonard ends up moving back with his parents after a broken engagement. He soon gets involved with Sanda, an honest and sensible young woman. They seem to be the perfect match, but then enter Michelle, a beautiful but very manipulative woman who wraps Leonard around her finger even though she has a boyfriend.
19. Jane Austen’s Emma, 83% (1996)
Emma is based on the 1815 novel that was written by Jane Austen. Emma entertains herself by playing matchmaker for those around her. She receives the attention of a dashing gentleman, Frank Churchill. Emma causes more problems than solutions with her attempts at matchmaking that jeopardize her own chance at love and happiness.
18. The Perks of Being A Wallflower, 85% (2012)
Charlie, who is a socially awkward teen, is a wallflower, always watching life from the sidelines. That is until two charismatic students become his mentors. They help Charlie discover the joys of friendship, first love, music, and more. As his new friends prepare to leave for college, Charlie’s sadness threatens to shatter his newfound confidence.
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17. Adventureland, 89% (2009)
It is the summer of 1987. Brennan, a recent college graduate, can’t wait to begin his trip to Europe. His parents unexpectedly tell him they are unable to pay for his trip. He is forced to take a job at a local amusement park. He thinks it will be the worst summer ever until he finds love with a coworker.
16. Desert Hearts, 89% (1985)
Desert Hearts is a story about a woman named Vivian who seeks a divorce from her husband. She travels to Reno, where she meets Cay, a young girl, and the two end up falling in love. The film is a beautiful tale of love in which the two women have their share of hardships. Whether they end up together or not, it is something to be seen.
15. Gone With The Wind, 90% (1939)
A 16-year-old girl named Scarlett O’Hara is heartbroken to learn that Ashley Wikes, a man she loves, is soon to be engaged. Gone with the Wind is a three-and-a-half-hour movie that goes through Scarlett’s life as she tries to find love and build a family all while the Civil War is happening.
14. Crazy Rich Asians, 91% (2018)
Rachel Chu is excited to accompany her longtime boyfriend, Nick, to his best friend’s wedding in Singapore. She learns that Nick’s family is extremely wealthy and her boyfriend is considered one of the country’s most eligible bachelors. She gets thrown into the spotlight. Rachel must deal with jealous socialites, quirky relatives, and what’s far worse, Nick’s disapproving mother.
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13. When Harry Met Sally, 91% (1989)
Harry and Sally meet when she offers to give him a ride to New York after they both graduate from the University of Chicago. They don’t hit it off when Harry expresses his opinion that a man and a woman can never be friends. Over the next 10 years, they meet and become fast friends with each other. They end up sharing intimate details about dreams, failures, and successes, which leads to the process of falling in love.
12. Hairspray, 92% (2007)
Hairspray is set in the 1960s in Baltimore, where dance-loving teen Tracy auditions for a spot on “The Corny Collins Show.” She became an overnight celebrity. She starts trends in dance, fun, and fashion. Uses her new status as a teen sensation to topple Corny’s reigning dance queen and to bring racial integration to the show.
11. Moonstruck, 93% (1987)
Loretta, an Italian-American woman, accepts a marriage proposal from her boyfriend, Johnny. She then finds herself falling for his younger brother, Ronny. He has an accident and ends up losing his hand, and he blames his brother for it. Loretta falls deeper in love with Ronny while Johnny is out of the country.
10. West Side Story, 92% (1961)
This film is a romantic musical drama that is a version of the infamous love story of Romeo and Juliet. The twist in it is that the Romeo and Juliet of this story are involved in the street gangs of New York who fight for control. A member of the rival gang falls in love with the sister of another rival gang’s leader.
9. Bring Up Baby, 94% (1938)
A paleontologist David Huxley has to make a good impression on Mrs. Random, who is considering donating one million dollars to his museum. On the day before his wedding, Huxley meets Mrs. Random’s high-spirited young niece, Susan, who is an adventurer who falls immediately for the straight-laced scientist. They go through some chaos with a missing dinosaur bone and a pet leopard.
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8. Four Weddings and a Funeral, 96% (1994)
An Englishman, Charles, and his group of friends seem to be unlucky in love. Charlie meets an American named Carrie at a wedding and believes his luck has changed. They have one magical night, and Carrie returns to the States, ending what could have grown into something. Charles and Carrie’s paths seem to keep crossing over a handful of times, which makes Charles believe they must be meant to be together.
7. City Lights, 97% (1931)
This is a classic romantic comedy where the tramp, a person who travels from place to place known as a beggar, falls in love with a flower girl who is blind. In order to support her financially, the tramp ends up in embarrassing and funny situations.
6. The Red Shoes, 97% (1948)
The Red Shoes is a drama film about an aspiring ballerina torn between her passion for dance and her desire to love. Her overbearing ballet instructor urges her to forget everything but ballet, while Vicky begins to fall for the very charming composer. Vicky undergoes emotional stress to make a great decision between her art and her romance that can have serious consequences.
5. Say Anything, 98% (1989)
Lloyd, an enteral optimist, seeks to capture the heart of Diane, a high school beauty and straight-A student. Diane has an overly possessive, divorced father who doesn’t approve of his daughter’s relationship. It will take a lot more than the power of love to conquer it all.
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4. Casablanca, 99% (1942)
The film is set during World War II, where an American expatriate cafe owner struggles to decide whether or not to help his former lover and her fugitive husband, who is a Czech resistance leader, try to escape from the Vichy-controlled city of Casablanca so he can continue his fight against the Germans.
3. Singin’ in the Rain, 100% (1952)
The movie is about a silent film star, Don Lockwood, who falls for a chorus girl just as the film star and his jealous screen partner, Lina Lamont, are trying to make the transition from silent film to talking pictures. The two stars are in a musical film, and the chorus girl is brought on to speak and sing for Lina’s parts. Don is on top of the world when he finds out until Lina finds out.
2. The Philadelphia Story, 100% (1940)
This is a classic romantic comedy about Tracy Lord, a Philadelphia socialite who has split from her husband due to his drinking and her overly demanding nature. As Tracy prepares to wed a wealthy man, she ends up crossing paths with her ex-husband and a prying reporter. She is unclear about her feelings for all three men and must decide who she truly loves.
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1. A Room with a View, 100% (1986)
Lucy is a young woman who is touring Italy with her cousin. She ends up meeting a young man named George Emerson, who has a magnetic charm and is free-spirited. Even though there are sparks between the two, Lucy ends up returning to London and has conflicting thoughts about settling down with Celil, who is a wealthy man.