33 best date night movies (for when you actually want to watch, not chill)
Date night movies are our favourite when it comes to having a wonderful night with someone we love without breaking the bank this winter.
Whether you want to make it a romantic affair or just sit in silence on the sofa, finding a good film is the perfect scene setter. But we get it: finding a movie to watch that you'll both enjoy can be a struggle. You'll be lucky if your movie tastes align perfectly, and in the early days, you don't want to force them to watch The Notebook and send them to sleep (or creep them out).
We've already provided you with the perfect guides to the best sad movies (if you're looking to open up your date to their emotional side), the best movies on Netflix ever (if you want to seriously impress) and the best romantic comedies (if you want to make some pretty serious hints about the fact you'll be together forever). But what about when you just want to settle in for the perfect date film – an objectively good film that will keep you hooked from start to finish and spark a lively convo – delivered by your fave streaming service?
We've scoured Netflix for some of the best, most gripping flicks you'll be talking about long after the credits roll. To help you find a movie you will both enjoy, we've put together the 33 best universally entertaining date movie options here – from sexy tennis love triangle Challengers to Crazy, Stupid, Love and Kate Winslet's directorial debut, Goodbye June.
NetflixJay Kelly
George Clooney plays a movie star on a journey of self-discovery, with his manager Ron (Adam Sandler) faithfully at his side. Both men decide to confront their life choices and the impact they have had on the world. A gorgeous story to watch with your other half. Riley Keough, Greta Gerwig, Laura Dern, Billy Crudup, Thaddea Graham and Nicôle Lecky also star.
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NetflixGoodbye June
Kate Winslet's much-awaited directorial debut Goodbye June is a festive, life-affirming treat, perfect to snuggle up to watch with someone you love. Written by her son Joe Anders, the film explores how a family adjust to the ailing health of its matriarch, played by Helen Mirren. Toni Collette, Andrea Risborough, Timothy Spall and Johnny Flynn also star.
Courtesy Everett CollectionPast Lives
An absolute must-watch, seeing as director Celine Song's new movie Materialists – starring Dakota Johnson, Pedro Pascal and Chris Evans – is out very soon. Past Lives tracks the relationship of childhood sweethearts Nora and Hae Sung. Nora leaves South Korea as a child, ripping them apart. We see Hae Sung travel to New York decades later and they reconnect. Over a week, they reflect on what they mean to each other and the decisions that have defined their lives.
©MGM/Courtesy Everett CollectionChallengers
Iconic in all kinds of ways. Starring Zendaya, Mike Faist and Josh O'Connor, Challengers manages to be sexy, queer, sporty and remarkably tense all at the same time. The soundtrack is a electro dance dream, and the movie itself tells the story of three young tennis players and a whole lot of sexual tension. As the years go by, two – Tashi (Zendaya) and Art (Faist) – get married. Tashi's tennis career ends after an industry, and she becomes set on turning around Art's career, which ends up seeing him come up against the third member of their trio, Patrick (O'Connor) in a challenger event showdown.
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NetflixA Family Affair
Nicole Kidman stars as a woman who embarks on an affair with a younger man – no this isn't Babygirl, it's A Family Affair, a Netflix romcom that explores Kidman's character Brooke's relationship with movie star Chris Cole (played by Zac Efron). The only problem is that he's also her daughter Zara (Joey King)'s boss. Cue the awkwardness and charm.
NetflixIsn't It Romantic
Rebel Wilson leads this delight of a rom-com that sees her character Natalie knocked unconscious after an attempted mugging, and wakes up to find that her life resembles all characteristics of a romantic comedy. Delightful. Liam Hemsworth and Priyanka Chopra also star.
©Netflix/Courtesy Everett CollectionIrish Wish
Lindsay Lohan makes her big return to our screens in a – let's face it – cheesy rom-com based in Ireland. She plays Maddie, who makes a fateful wish when her best friend gets engaged to the man she loves. But all doesn't quite go to plan when she wakes up the next morning, set to marry him instead.
Ben Glass/©Warner Brothers/Courtesy Everett CollectionCrazy, Stupid, Love
The ultimate rom-com for all ages and couples. Steve Carell plays Cal, whose wife Emily asks him for a divorce. Drinking away his troubles, he meets Jacob (Ryan Gosling), who quickly takes him under his wing, teaching him how to navigate the single scene as a middle-aged man. Hilarious, and a stellar performance from Emma Stone.
© 2022 Netflix, Inc.Love At First Sight
A relatively new one to add to your list, Love At First Sight follows the story of Hadley and Oliver, who meet and fall for each other on an international flight to London. After losing each other at customs and heading their separate ways, you'd think they'd never meet again. But fate doesn't work that way. Sounds lovely, right? Stars Haley Lu Richardson and Ben Hardy, as well as Jameela Jamil as a delightful narrator.
© 2022 Netflix, Inc.Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
Sometimes a mystery whodunnit can be too gritty and intense, but if you want something a little more light-hearted, then Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is the perfect watch. Daniel Craig reprises his role as Detective Benoit Blanc, who springs into action when someone at the private Greek island he's invited to by tech billionaire Miles Bron is found murdered. Kate Hudson, Janelle Monáe and Madelyn Cline also star.
Your Place or Mine
First of all, the cast of Reese Witherspoon and Ashton Kutcher will undoubtedly have you both pleased. I mean, what's not to love about these two?! Second, Your Place or Mine is a solid, fuss-free, enjoyable watch with its plot of BFFs and total opposites, Debbie and Peter, who decide to swap their lives for a week. But as different as they are, they soon learn that what they think they both want may not necessarily be what they both need. Looks like the perfect rom-com, that isn't too sickly sweet for your other half.
Ivan Šardi/NetflixThe Weekend Away
This movie is a cheeky test to see if your partner was a Gossip Girl fan in the past, because it stars the brilliant Leighton Meester. However, long gone is her ruthless alter-ego, Blair Waldorf, as, in The Weekend Away, the actor plays a concerned friend who races against time to figure out what happened to her friend after she mysteriously vanishes during a girls' trip to Croatia. You'll both be on the edge of your seats...
Scott YamanoMurder Mystery
Jennifer Aniston? Check. Adam Sandler? Check. You can't possibly go wrong with this comedy mystery, which sees a New York cop and his wife framed for the murder of an elderly billionaire when they head on a European getaway to reignite the spark in their marriage.
© 2022 Netflix, Inc.The Swimmers
Sometimes you're both looking to bond over something more moving and emotional, and nothing will pull at both of your heartstrings like The Swimmers. Based on an incredibly inspiring true story, two Syrian sisters swim for hours in the choppy Mediterranean seas to flee their war-torn home in Damascus. After reaching Greece as asylum seekers, the younger sister stays true to her swimming dreams as she trains to compete at the Rio Olympic Games.
Ed Araquel / NetflixAlways Be My Maybe
Always Be My Maybe, starring Ali Wong and Randall Park, centres on two childhood sweethearts who don't speak for fifteen years following a falling out – before running into each other in San Francisco, where they discover that old sparks are still there. Will they give their romance another shot? This movie is a lovely one to watch during date night, as it hammers home the message that no matter what happens in the past, second chances can always lead to something great.
© 2022 Netflix, Inc.Look Both Ways
A gem of a romance movie, Look Both Ways addresses essential topics such as unexpected pregnancy and motherhood. Played by Riverdale star Lili Reinhart, Natalie finds herself in two parallel realities on the eve of her college graduation. One in which she moves back home to navigate motherhood in her small Texas hometown, and the mother where she moves to Los Angeles to pursue her career. Sliding Doors vibes.
© 2022 Netflix, Inc.Lady Chatterley's Lover
So, if you're looking for something a bit more, okay, A LOT, steamier for date night, look no further than Lady Chatterley's Lover starring Emma Corrin and Jack O'Connell. The period drama sees married aristocrat Lady Chatterley pursuing an affair with the gamekeeper on their estate after falling out of love with her husband following a war injury. Another warning: temperatures are set to soar when you watch this.
KIRSTY GRIFFIN/NETFLIXThe Power of the Dog
Have a long night ahead and want something thought-provoking, visually stunning, with perfect dialogue? Look no further than The Power of the Dog, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Kristen Dunst and Jesse Plemons. The critically acclaimed movie sees a ruthlessly domineering rancher treating his brother's new wife and their son cruelly when they visit.
© 2022 Netflix, Inc.The Gray Man
Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans. That's all.
Skip Bolen/NETFLIXThe Lovebirds
We love Issa Rae and Kumail Nanjiani - so the fact that the two of them are in The Lovebirds really sits well with us. They play a squabbling couple who unintentionally find themselves embroiled in a bizarre murder mystery. Will they get close again as they attempt to clear their names? You have to watch the movie to find out!
©Netflix/Courtesy Everett CollectionPieces of A Woman
Pieces of a Woman is a sensitive and educational watch with your partner. Vanessa Kirby is brilliant as a grieving woman who is overcome by the emotional fallout of a heartbreaking home birth gone wrong. Yes, this is a heavy topic, but it's worth the watch.
©Netflix/Courtesy Everett CollectionThe Guilty
The Guilty, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, is one to watch if you want your adrenaline pumping! See if you can get to the bottom of the drama as a demoted 911 operator attempts to save a distressed caller from a kidnapper.
Courtesy NetflixBird Box
Horror, suspense, and Sandra Bullock. How can you possibly not agree on Bird Box for date night? If you haven't already watched it, then time to get on board! Basically, a woman and her children embark on a perilous journey through the woods and down a river while blindfolded as a mysterious force threatens to wipe out those people who lay eyes on them.
NIKO TAVERNISE/NETFLIXDon't Look Up
This movie stars Hollywood heavyweights, Jennifer Lawrence and Leonardo DiCaprio, so you know you'll be in for a good time. The Oscar winners play two astronomers who are largely ignored when they go on a giant media tour to warn mankind of an approaching comet that will destroy planet Earth. Honestly, this movie will definitely strike up a conversation between you and your partner.
NetflixMank
Starring Gary Oldman, Amanda Seyfried and Lily Collins, this biographical drama is set in 1930s Hollywood, telling the story of alcoholic screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz as he races to finish Citizen Kane.
NetflixProject Power
A truth universally-acknowledged, Jamie Foxx is just damn cool. He stars in the 2020 superhero thriller that imagines a supernatural world where a mysterious underground pill can give you super powers. As well as starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt with a cameo from Machine Gun Kelly, this sci-fi action has a suitably cool soundtrack to boot.
NetflixThe Imitation Game
This much-loved Oscar-winning film is about British mathematician Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch), who joined the cryptography team and decrypted German intelligence messages for the British government during the Second World War.
Da Five Bloods
In Spike Lee's latest work, four African American vets return to Vietnam decades after the war in search of their fallen comrade – and a stash of buried gold.
The Irishman
Based on the 2004 book I Heard You Paint Houses, this Oscar-nominated film tells the story of truck-driver-turned-mobster, Frank Sheehan, whose relationship with Union boss Jimmy Hoffa creates a rife with mob ringleader Russell Bufalino - aka gripping date night viewing for all.
NetflixAnima
Settle in for a cosy night of Netflix and chill with Paul Thomas Anderson's dialogue-free musical film about Thom Yorke of Radiohead. This is one for the music moguls.
Ibiza
Harper (Gillian Jacobs), a single gal from New York takes the ultimate trip to BEEFA which leads to a hot and heavy encounter with an infamous DJ, played by Bodyguard favourite Richard Madden.
