42 New Year’s Eve movies to ring in 2026
So long, 2025, we certainly won’t miss you. It’s time to enter a new era — but there’s more than one way to usher in the new year. If you’re not planning to kiss anyone at midnight, might we suggest staying home and watching New Year’s Eve movies?
Christmas movies get all the hype — and there’s certainly a bunch more of them — but there’s something much more romantic about the days that follow, as everyone prepares to put the stress of the holidays behind them and make a bunch of plans and resolutions for the next year that they may or may not complete. You may think that’s a dig, but what’s wrong with a bit of daydreaming even without guarantees?
That’s what’s so charming about so many of these New Year’s Eve movies, which don’t always center around the countdown to a big romantic gesture. Eat Pray Love perfectly captures the feeling of starting over while George Clooney and co. set their alarms to rob a casino at midnight in Ocean’s 11.
Of course, there are plenty of romances on this list, including About Time and When Harry Met Sally, which may include the greatest New Year’s Eve monologue of all time. And if you’re a “Christmas lights up till January” type of person, there’s always The Holiday.
Sure, some people actually like popping bottles with their crews on the holiday—but we doubt those people are searching “New Year’s movies” on Google right now. So hello, likeminded folks who also prefer skipping the crowded bars in favour of a cozy blanket, New Year’s Eve appetisers that aren’t overcooked, and a winter cocktail that didn’t cost £20.
For you we’ve rounded up the best New Year’s Eve movies to take your mind off the past 12 months — from Sleepless in Seattle to the aptly titled celebrity fever dream that is New Year’s Eve. Without further ado, here are the best movies to watch on New Year’s Eve.
A version of this article was published on Glamour US.
©TriStar Pictures/Courtesy Everett CollectionSleepless in Seattle (1993)
One of the wintriest movies around! Sleepless in Seattle starts on Christmas Eve and ends on Valentine’s Day, so New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day are obviously a big part of this rom-com about a woman who falls in love with a man she hears on the radio.
©20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett CollectionAn Affair to Remember (1957)
You simply cannot watch Sleepless in Seattle without also turning on its inspiration, An Affair to Remember. The Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr classic starts with the two experiencing a life-changing kiss on New Year’s Eve…only to learn that the other is engaged to be married to someone else. They agree to meet at the top of the Empire State Building in six months if they’re both still interested and, well, we won’t spoil the rest.
©20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett CollectionWaiting to Exhale (1995)
A New Year’s Eve movie that reminds us that we don’t have to spend this holiday on a date. When Angela Bassett’s husband unceremoniously dumps her before the ball drops, she’s saved by the love and support of her friends in this romantic movie.
©Universal/Courtesy Everett CollectionAbout a Boy (2002)
Spend the holiday season with Will (Hugh Grant), a man living off royalties from a Christmas song written by his father, and Marcus (a young Nicholas Hoult), the “boy” of the title. Lessons will be learned! Lives will be changed!
Courtesy Everett CollectionSunset Boulevard (1950)
This film—directed by Billy Wilder and starring Gloria Swanson—is an American cinema classic for many reasons, not least of which is an iconic New Year’s Eve scene.
©Universal/Courtesy Everett CollectionAbout Time (2013)
About Time, as the title suggests, skips around the years quite a bit, but time-traveling protagonist Tim keeps coming back to one fateful New Year’s Eve party, where he has to decide whether to kiss the one that got away or save his sister from hooking up with a bad influence.
©Columbia Pictures/Courtesy Everett CollectionAre We There Yet? (2005)
Oh, the lengths we will go to for love. Ice Cube goes so far as to drive his crush’s two annoying kids all the way to Canada in time for New Year’s Eve.
©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett CollectionThe Great Gatsby (2013)
The Jazz Age socialites of The Great Gatsby celebrate every day like it’s New Year’s Eve, and why not? When the champagne is flowing (illegally) and you have an entire mansion to party in, you might as well live it up!
©Columbia Pictures/Courtesy Everett CollectionEat Pray Love (2010)
A movie about starting over makes so much sense for New Year’s, and no one has started over quite so spectacularly as Elizabeth Gilbert, played by Julia Roberts, who left behind her life in New York to travel the world. While in the “pray” portion of her journey, at an ashram in India, she and the community celebrate the new year together.
©Weinstein Company/Courtesy Everett CollectionCarol (2015)
The only thing better than a first kiss on New Year’s Eve is, frankly, a first “doing it,” and Carol and Therese do both! The new year fills them with hope and lets them imagine a different kind of life, perhaps together, in the most romantic scene of the movie.
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©Columbia Pictures/Courtesy Everett CollectionThe Holiday (2006)
It’s a two-for-one special! Both Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet find love after swapping houses for the winter, ringing in the new year with their new across-the-pond paramours.
Courtesy Everett CollectionHappy New Year (2014)
Happy New Year is described by Netflix as “a revenge-seeking diamond thief gathers a ragtag crew to infiltrate a Dubai hotel hosting a dance contest. But first, they have to learn how to dance.” It's basically like Ocean’s Eleven with better music, so do with that what you will.
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©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett CollectionOcean’s Eleven (2001)
Speaking of Ocean’s Eleven, did you know the heist happens on New Year’s Eve? It does! George Clooney, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, Don Cheadle, and more famous people (playing non-famous people, of course) ban together to rob casinos. Legendary.
©20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett CollectionThe Poseidon Adventure (1972)
And you thought being on a cruise during a pandemic was scary…imagine if the thing sank! In this disaster classic, a swanky maritime New Year’s Eve party is rudely interrupted when a tsunami flips the boat.
©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett CollectionNew Year’s Eve (2011)
Every single iteration of the New Year’s Eve storyline is covered through interconnected New Yorkers and how they are spending the night, whether it’s trapped in an elevator or awaiting the birth of a child. Just your typical New Year’s Eve traditions. One of the best New Year movies to watch if Love, Actually dominates your queue at Christmastime.
©Magnolia Pictures/Courtesy Everett CollectionTwo Lovers (2008)
Viewer beware: Two Lovers is a bit more dramatic than the rest of this list, but sometimes we’re in the mood for that! Joaquin Phoenix and Gwyneth Paltrow play not-quite-coupled-up lovers who attempt a romantic New Year’s Eve engagement, but…well, no spoilers. ;)
©Columbia Pictures/Courtesy Everett CollectionWhen Harry Met Sally (1989)
The most epic and romantic New Year’s monologue in all of moviedom, no question. Harry and Sally first start falling for each other while dancing at a New Year’s Eve party as friends, then finally pair up for good just before midnight a year later.
©Columbia Pictures/Courtesy Everett CollectionRent (2005)
Rent doesn’t just feature a big January 1 moment — breaking into the padlocked apartment on the first day of the year — it's also explicitly and thematically about what we make of each year we are given. From the songs “Seasons of Love” to “No Day but Today,” it’s all about starting and spending the year with the people you love.
©Paramount/Courtesy Everett CollectionForrest Gump (1994)
In your dad’s favourite movie, Forrest welcomes 1972 with the best character in the film, Lieutenant Dan, drinking at a bar. May we all party as hard as Dan and hope as purely as Forrest.
©Columbia Pictures/Courtesy Everett CollectionMoney Train (1995)
Chances are you haven’t seen this 1995 thriller starring Jennifer Lopez, Wesley Snipes, and Woody Harrelson, and…there’s a reason for that. It’s not exactly a groundbreaking movie! But if you’re feeling a fun twists-and-turns heist set on New Year’s Eve, you can’t go wrong here.
© Miramax / courtesy Everett CollectionBridget Jones’s Diary (2001)
Where does Bridget meet Mark? A New Year’s party. And what’s the gift he gets her to show he truly understands her? A new diary for the new year. Confirmed: ultimate New Year’s couple. But if you’re looking for a family New Year’s Eve movie, keep scrolling because Bridget’s adventures are not exactly G-rated.
©20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett CollectionSomeone Like You (2001)
Ashley Judd plays a woman trying to (quasi-scientifically) figure out why she’s been dumped and keeps having bad luck with men. There just so happens to be a pivotal New Year’s Eve moment that offers a lot of clarity—but we don’t want to spoil it since this movie’s one of those more under-the-radar rom-coms you may not have seen before.
©Disney Channel/Courtesy Everett CollectionHigh School Musical (2005)
The one that started it all! Troy and Gabriella meet as strangers on New Year’s Eve at a ski resort where they end up paired together for karaoke and sparks fly. The rest is Disney history. While they don’t share a New Year’s kiss (they are a famously PDA-impaired couple, after all), the magic of their first duet is just as sweet. This is what to watch on New Year’s Eve if your babysitter plans fell through.
©Columbia Pictures/ Everett CollectionGhostbusters II (1989)
You can always count on Ghostbusters to entertain a group of all ages, and luckily the sequel actually counts as a New Year’s Eve film. All the supernatural chaos comes to a head on the holiday.
Courtesy Everett CollectionWhile You Were Sleeping (1995)
The rare New Year’s Eve proposal we aren’t rooting for. It’s a combination of head trauma, mistaken identity, and old-fashioned rom-com trickery that leads Peter Gallagher to give Sandra Bullock a ring, but don’t worry, once the holidays are over and the dust has settled, she ends up with Bill Pullman like she’s supposed to.
©Netflix/Courtesy Everett CollectionHolidate (2020)
Emma Roberts and Luke Bracey play a pair of singles who decide to team up and attend every holiday for a year together as a way to avoid plans with bad dates. And they kick the whole experiment off with a very eventful New Year’s Eve.
Photo Courtesy of Focus FeaturesPhantom Thread (2017)
The New Year’s Eve party in this psychological drama is 10 times more visually appealing than anything you’d attend IRL. Might as well stay in and enjoy.
©MGM/Courtesy Everett CollectionMoonstruck (1987)
New Year’s Eve movies don’t all have to include the actual holiday. Instead, just enjoy a classic romance that’s set in New York City during a dreary winter. Whether you’re watching it for the first time or the hundredth time, you’ll be entertained.
©Sony Pictures/Courtesy Everett CollectionThe Invitation (2022)
While this fun horror movie isn’t about New Year’s Eve either, it does involve a mysterious party that is so fucked up you’ll be glad you decided to stay home.
©New Line Cinema/Courtesy Everett CollectionSex and the City: The Movie (2008)
Go back and enjoy the time before Che Diaz entered our lives. Because ultimately, relationships come and go. It’s your friends you really want to toast with at midnight.
©Lions Gate/Courtesy Everett CollectionThe Age of Adaline (2015)
Perhaps Blake Lively’s least-talked-about project, The Age of Adaline, tells the story of a woman falling in love as she tries to safeguard her secret: eternal youth. Talk about smart casting!
Everett Collection / Everett CollectionThe Godfather Part II (1974)
Yes, the most iconic scene in The Godfather sequel—which many consider better than the original — occurs during a New Year’s Eve party. Don’t let it break your heart.
©MGM/Courtesy Everett CollectionThe Apartment (1960)
I don’t know about you, but “shut up and deal” is the most iconic way to say “I love you too.” Argue with the wall.
©New Line Cinema/Courtesy Everett CollectionBoogie Nights (1997)
One could only dream of throwing a New Year’s Eve party that captures the ’70s glam vibes of Boogie Nights. Mark Wahlberg may regret making this film, but it’s definitely a vibe.
©Weinstein Company/Courtesy Everett CollectionSnowpiercer (2013)
Ready for a twisted one? During the action-packed dystopian thriller directed by Bong Joon-ho and starring Chris Evans, the characters pause their brutal fighting to celebrate the new year. It’s a jarring moment, yet somewhat heartwarming and a good reminder to find joy in your darkest times.
©Orion Pictures Corp/Courtesy Everett CollectionMermaids (1990)
Winona Ryder and Christina Ricci play sisters in this early ’90s coming-of-age dramedy about teen angst and familial bonds. Warning: There are no actual mermaids involved.
©MGM/Courtesy Everett CollectionDiner (1982)
This ’80s drama starring Timothy Daly, Steve Guttenberg, and Kevin Bacon really leans into the nostalgia of returning to your hometown and reminiscing with your childhood friends.
©Lions Gate/Courtesy Everett CollectionA Long Way Down (2014)
In A Long Way Down, four strangers with plans to end their lives end up meeting on the same bridge — and decide to try living instead. The dynamite cast includes Aaron Paul, Imogen Poots, Toni Collette, and Pierce Brosnan.
©United Artists/Courtesy Everett CollectionAbout Fate (2022)
Starring Emma Roberts and Thomas Mann, two strangers whose New Year’s Eve meet-ugly leads to a fake-dating scenario at Margot’s (Roberts) sister’s wedding. Starting with two bad marriage proposals that lead to a whole lot of hijinks, watch About Fate to find out if Margot and Griffin (Mann) go back to their would-be fiancés or were fated to be together instead.
©Focus Features/Courtesy Everett CollectionThe Holdovers (2023)
Perhaps the best boarding school film since The Dead Poets Society — and the definitive holiday film of the 2020s so far, The Holdovers tells the story of an angry teen (Dominic Sessa), a resentful teacher (Paul Giamatti), and a grieving cafeteria worker (Da’Vine Joy Randolph) who are forced to spend the holidays together while the rest of the all-boys school retreat for winter break.
In case you’re not yet sold, the film was nominated for five Oscars at the 2024 Academy Awards—including best picture and best actor—while Randolph took home the prestigious trophy for best supporting actress.
Courtesy Everett CollectionI Hate New Year’s (2020)
Do you hate New Year’s Eve? This musical rom-com might change your tune. It’s a musical take on the big-city-girl comes home for the holidays and reunites with an ex, except this film’s protagonist is a successful musician who is sent back to Nashville by a psychic — and her ex might not be the one she falls for.
©Hallmark Entertainment/Courtesy Everett CollectionA New Year’s Resolution (2021)
Hallmark already has a chokehold on Christmas movies, so why not trust them to deliver a New Year’s Eve-worthy rom-com? In this TV movie starring Aimee Teegarden, a morning show producer makes a New Year’s resolution to start saying yes, which obviously leads to ridiculous new experiences, including love.
