Discover the best in romance with our list of the top 100 must-watch movies. From timeless classics to modern hits, this curated selection covers the spectrum of love stories and their subgenres. Get ready to dive into a diverse collection of films that capture the essence of romance in all its forms. Whether you’re a seasoned fan or new to the genre, this essential watchlist promises a straightforward guide to some of the most compelling love stories in cinema.
Rye Lane
Yas and Dom, both recovering from bad break-ups, cross paths in South London. Their eventful day helps them cope with their past relationships and possibly restores their faith in romance.
Coming to America
Prince Akeem of a wealthy African country seeks true love in America, navigating challenges and concealing his identity while romancing Lisa.
Hitch
A professional dating consultant who falls in love with a gossip columnist
The Oversimplification of her Beauty
An artist contemplates the divide between romantic and platonic love after a woman fails to show up for their date.
Carmen Jones
A soldier falls for a seductive factory worker, leading to passion, jealousy, and tragedy.
Mr. Malcolm’s List
When rejected by London’s most eligible bachelor, a woman convinces her friend to play the ideal match, leading to unexpected outcomes.
Just Wright
A physical therapist falls for a professional basketball player while helping him recover from an injury.
Love & Basketball
Two childhood friends pursue their dreams of becoming professional basketball players while navigating a complex romantic relationship.
Best Man Holiday
Nearly 15 years after they were last together as a group, college friends reunite over the Christmas holidays. Though much has changed in their lives, the friends discover just how easy it is for long-forgotten rivalries and passionate romances to be reignited.
I Will Follow
Maye is a successful artist who has taken a leave from work to care for her ill aunt, Amanda. As the film begins, Maye is moving out of the home she once shared with Amanda after her death and contemplating her relationships, her career, her past and her future.
Brown Sugar
Sidney and Dre, friends since witnessing the birth of hip-hop, navigate their careers and passions realizing the impact of that moment on their lives.
Jumping The Broom
Two families with different backgrounds come together for a wedding weekend, and tensions rise as cultural clashes and secrets unfold.
Seriously Single
Dineo, a perpetually single woman, navigates the challenges of love, friendship, and self-discovery in Johannesburg, questioning societal expectations.
The Wedding Year
A couple navigates the challenges of their first year together, attending numerous weddings, and discovering the complexities of love and commitment.
Think Like a Man
Based on Steve Harvey’s book, the film explores the romantic entanglements of a group of friends, each using Harvey’s advice to navigate their relationships.
Sprung
Two pairs of best friends – Montel & Clyde and Brandy & Adina meet at the party, where Clyde makes Adina think he is very rich and gets her into bed the same evening. When Adina finds out that she’s been fooled, she becomes Clyde’s worst enemy. Meanwhile Montel and Brandy fall in love and plan to marry, and Adina and Clyde try to do everything to stop them.
About Last Night
Two couples navigate the ups and downs of their relationships, exploring the complexities of love, commitment, and personal growth.
Two Can Play That Game
When a successful businesswoman suspects her boyfriend of infidelity, she employs strategic dating tactics to turn the tables.
Boomerang
A successful executive, known for his playboy lifestyle, experiences a role reversal when he falls for a colleague, leading to romantic complications.
Always a Bridesmaid
A woman navigates the complexities of love and friendship as she repeatedly serves as a bridesmaid in various weddings.
Nobody’s Fool
A woman recently released from prison reconnects with her sister, but complications arise when her sister discovers her online boyfriend may not be who he seems.
With This Ring
Three single friends make a pact to get married within a year after attending their best friend’s wedding, leading to a journey of self-discovery and love.
Resort to Love
A singer’s life takes an unexpected turn when she ends up performing at her ex-fiancé’s resort wedding, leading to a series of comedic and romantic events.
Bridesmaids
Annie, a mess in her own life, takes on the role of maid of honor for her best friend’s wedding, leading to comedic chaos.
Crazy Rich Asians
Rachel Chu navigates the challenges of her boyfriend’s wealthy family and Singapore’s elite social scene.
The Brothers
Four lifelong friends navigate the challenges of love, commitment, and personal growth as they reflect on their relationships with each other and the women in their lives.
The Best Man
A writer’s novel reveals hidden truths and creates tension among a group of college friends as they reunite for a wedding.
The Wood
Three friends reminisce about their adolescence, friendship, and romantic pursuits as one of them prepares for his wedding.
The Inkwell
A coming-of-age story set in Martha’s Vineyard during the summer of 1976, exploring the experiences of a young man navigating love, family, and self-discovery.
Deliver Us From Eva
Eva, a strong-willed woman known for meddling in her sisters’ love lives, becomes the subject of a plan to set her up with a charming man.
Why Did I Get Married
Four couples gather for their annual vacation, leading to confrontations, revelations, and reflections on the challenges of marriage.
Love Don’t Cost a Thing
A high school student pays the popular girl to pretend to be his girlfriend, leading to unexpected consequences and lessons about authenticity.
Breakin’ All The Rules
After a breakup, a man writes a best-selling book about breaking up, only to find himself in a complex web of romantic entanglements.
Much Ado About Nothing
A Shakespearean farce involving matchmaking schemes, misunderstandings, and romantic entanglements among the characters.
Waves
A family in South Florida navigates love and forgiveness in the aftermath of a tragic incident that changes their lives forever.
Top Five
A comedian and actor, attempting to transition to more serious roles, reflects on his life, career, and relationships while preparing for his wedding.
Premium
A struggling actor takes a job as a call center representative, leading to unexpected connections and self-discovery.
The Heart Specialist
A young doctor navigates the challenges of love and medicine while working at a hospital.
Belle
Based on a true story, “Belle” follows the life of Dido Elizabeth Belle, the illegitimate daughter of a Royal Navy Admiral and a Black slave in the late 18th century.
Loving
The story of Mildred and Richard Loving, who challenged and won the landmark Supreme Court case invalidating laws prohibiting interracial marriage.
If Beale Street Could Talk
Set in the 1970s, a young couple’s love is tested when the man is wrongfully imprisoned, and the woman must fight for justice and the future of their family.
Sylvie’s Love
Set in the 1950s, Sylvie and a saxophonist experience a summer romance, only to rediscover their feelings years later.
A Jazzman’s Blues
A tale of forbidden love and family drama unravels 40 years of secrets and lies in the deep south during an unsolved murder investigation.
Not Easily Broken
Dave Johnson (Morris Chestnut) and his wife, Clarice (Taraji P. Henson), appear to have it all, but she has ignored his needs while she pursues a real-estate career. The couple’s already weakened marriage faces the ultimate test after Clarice is involved in a car accident, leaving her with a terrible leg injury. Dave finds a sympathetic ear — and possibly more — with the physical therapist (Maeve Quinlan) who comes to treat her.
Disappearing Acts
Zora Banks (Sanaa Lathan) is a would-be singer who pays her bills working as a New York City high school music teacher. Franklin Swift (Wesley Snipes) is a financially troubled, recently divorced builder with two young children. The two meet when Zora moves from Brooklyn to Manhattan and finds Franklin working on her apartment building. Despite their very different personal lives and their difficult financial situations, the two soon fall in love and begin a steamy affair.
Small Axe: Lovers Rock
Part of Steve McQueen’s anthology, “Lovers Rock” follows two young adults falling in love at a house party in 1980s London.
Everything, Everything
Maddy (Amandla Stenberg) is a smart, curious and imaginative 18-year-old who is unable to leave the protection of the hermetically-sealed environment within her house because of an illness. Olly (Nick Robinson) is the boy next door who won’t let that stop them from being together. Gazing through windows and talking only through texts, Maddy and Olly form a deep bond that leads them to risk everything to be together, even if it means losing everything.
Constellation
A family in the American South confronts their complex past and deep-seated issues during a reunion, exploring the ties that bind them.
Black Coffee
Two young professionals in Atlanta navigate love and ambition while dealing with the challenges of the modern dating scene.
Queen & Slim
After a fateful first date, a couple finds themselves on the run, navigating the challenges of love and survival.
Entergalactic
Ambitious artist Jabari attempts to balance success and love after he moves into his dream Manhattan apartment and falls for his next-door neighbor.
Nappily Ever After
Violet, after a series of life-changing events, reevaluates her life, love, and the societal expectations placed on her appearance.
Mississippi Masala
An interracial romance unfolds against the backdrop of cultural differences and family expectations in the American South.
Middle of Nowhere
A med student (Emayatzy Corinealdi) considers leaving her long-imprisoned husband (Omari Hardwick) for a charming bus driver (David Oyelowo).
Daughters of the Dust
Set in 1902, the film explores the Gullah culture of African Americans on the Sea Islands, focusing on generational and cultural shifts.
All The Bright Places
Two teenagers with past scars discover the impact of small moments as they struggle with emotional and physical challenges.
Premature
A teenager navigates love and self-discovery during a summer in Harlem before heading off to college.
Really Love
An aspiring painter in Washington, D.C., grapples with love, art, and gentrification in this romantic drama.
The Photograph
A journalist discovers a photograph that unravels the mystery of her mother’s past, leading to a love story across different generations.
The Sun is Also a Star
Two young people with different worldviews spend a day together in New York City, exploring the possibilities of love and fate.
Beyond the Lights
A pop star struggling with the pressures of fame finds solace and love in an unexpected connection with a police officer.
A Journal for Jordan
A soldier’s journal becomes a source of inspiration and reflection for his son after he is killed in Iraq.
Malcolm & Marie
A couple’s relationship is tested and dissected over the course of one evening as they confront their past, present, and future.
Atlantics
In a Senegalese coastal town, a woman’s arranged marriage is disrupted by mysterious events, exploring themes of love and loss.
Claudine
A single mother of six navigates the challenges of love and poverty in Harlem, exploring the complexities of family dynamics.
Someone Great
Dumped by her long-term boyfriend, a music journalist recruits her two best friends for one last outrageous adventure in New York City before she moves to San Francisco.
Been So Long
In a London neighborhood, a single mother’s life takes a romantic turn when she meets a charming stranger.
Southside with You
A fictionalized account of Barack and Michelle Obama’s first date in Chicago, exploring their early connection and conversations.
Waiting to Exhale
Four friends navigate the challenges of love, career, and friendship as they support each other through life’s ups and downs.
The Bodyguard
A former Secret Service agent is hired to protect a famous singer, leading to a complex relationship and a dangerous threat.
A Warm December
A widowed doctor finds unexpected love during a trip to London, but secrets and challenges threaten their budding relationship.
You People
A new couple and their families reckon with modern love amid culture clashes, societal expectations and generational differences.
Love Jones
A poet and a photographer in Chicago navigate the complexities of love, creativity, and commitment.
Night Catches Us
Set in Philadelphia in the 1970s, a former Black Panther reconnects with his community and a former flame, exploring themes of revolution and redemption.
Poetic Justice
A grieving poet and a postal worker embark on a road trip, navigating love, loss, and personal growth.
How Stella Got Her Groove Back
A successful career woman embarks on a journey of self-discovery and romance during a trip to Jamaica.
Daddy’s Little Girls
A successful attorney and a struggling mechanic navigate the challenges of love and family in this Tyler Perry-directed film.
Cane River
A romantic drama set in rural Louisiana, exploring the complexities of love and race.
A Boy. A Girl. A Dream
During the 2016 U.S. presidential election night, a man and a woman meet and explore their dreams and aspirations.
She’s Gotta Have It
Spike Lee’s debut film follows Nola Darling, a free-spirited artist in Brooklyn, as she navigates love and relationships with three different men.
Mahogany
A struggling fashion design student rises to fame as a supermodel, facing challenges in love and identity.
Medicine for Melancholy
Two strangers spend a day together in San Francisco, exploring their connection and confronting issues of race and identity.
The Half of It
A shy, introverted student helps the school jock woo a girl whom, secretly, they both want.
Single All The Way
Desperate to avoid his family’s judgment about being single, Peter persuades best friend Nick to pose as his boyfriend on a trip home for the holidays.
Their Eyes Were Watching God
A young free-spirited African-American woman searches for love and happiness in 1920s America by plunging into three marriages with very different men, challenging the morals of her small-town community in Florida. Based on Zora Neale Hurston’s novel.
All About You
A woman falls in love with her former boyfriend’s brother while living with him. As their attraction for each other grows, they are a forced to deal with their painful pasts and open themselves to another chance at love.
Moonlight
A coming-of-age film following the life of a young Black man named Chiron as he grapples with his identity and sexuality in Miami.
Pariah
A teenager in Brooklyn embraces her identity as a lesbian, navigating the challenges of self-discovery and familial acceptance.
Why Do Fools Fall in Love
Biopic of ’50s doo-wop star Frankie Lymon, three women go to court to claim the royalties from his songs
Seat filler
A law student (Duane Martin) pretends to work in show business after starting a romance with a singer (Kelly Rowland) he met at an awards show.
Just Another Girl on the I.R.T
A young Black woman from Brooklyn navigates the challenges of adolescence, dreams, and relationships.
Boxing Day
Melvin, a British author living in America, returns home to London for Christmas to introduce his American fiancée, Lisa, to his eccentric British-Caribbean family.
The Perfect Find
Everything is at stake for a 40-year-old woman: her career, her ticking biological clock, and her bank account. She risks it all for an intense, secret romance with the one person who could destroy her comeback.
Hav Plenty
Lee is homeless and apartment-sitting for Havilland while she visits family. Lee has secretly loved Havilland for years, and the night leads to romantic complications that also involve Hav’s recording-artist boyfriend, Michael Simmons (Hill Harper), and her sister, Leigh (Robinne Lee).
The Last Holiday
After receiving a terminal diagnosis, a shy woman embarks on a luxurious European vacation, leading to unexpected adventures and self-discovery.
The Preacher’s Wife
An angel comes to Earth to help a struggling preacher and his family during the holiday season.
The Holiday Calendar
A photographer receives a magical Advent calendar that may predict her romantic future during the Christmas season.
Think Like a Man Too
In “Think Like a Man,” a group of close friends applied relationship advice from a book by Steve Harvey to their own romantic entanglements. In the end, Dominic (Michael Ealy) and the rest of his “band of brothers” were well on their way to everlasting love with the women in their lives. However, when all of the couples reunite in Las Vegas for one’s wedding, a series of compromising situations threatens to derail not only the big event but also the survival of everyone else’s love affair.