When we’re having a bad day, there are a few go-to options for cheering ourselves up. We can chat with a friend, eat a favorite food, turn on some good music, or watch a movie that makes us feel good. And when it comes to movies that make us feel good, romantic comedies are the way to go. These are the 29 highest-rated rom-coms of all time.
The romantic comedy genre has been a cinematic staple since the earliest days of film, with the screwball comedies of the 1930s and 40s giving us classics like “It Happened One Night,” the rise of the modern rom-com in the 1980s and ’90s giving us “When Harry Met Sally” and “Sleepless in Seattle,” and the “rom-com boom” of the 2000s and early 2010s giving us “Love Actually” and “The Proposal.”
Since then, great romantic comedies have been few and far between, for a variety of reasons. There’s definitely been some audience fatigue due to the market saturation of by-the-numbers rom-coms in the 2000s. Audiences these days tend to flock to superhero movies and action-adventure films instead of rom-coms. Audiences are looking for more diverse and inclusive storytelling. The cultural landscape has also shifted, and a lot of classic rom-com tropes are viewed as outdated and potentially problematic.
Rom-coms remain a beloved genre, and even though they may not be getting Best Picture nominations, the genre is still alive and well, with recent popular ones including “Anyone But You” and “No Hard Feelings.” They may not rank up there with the greatest of all time, but they’re still the perfect remedy for a tough day. (If you’re the type of person who prefers sad films instead, however, these are the saddest movies of all time.)
Here is the list of the 29 highest-rated romantic comedies.
29. Libeled Lady (1936)
- Current IMDb rating: 7.8 out of 10
- Starring: Jean Harlow, William Powel, lMyrna Loy
28. Seven Chances (1925)
- Current IMDb rating: 7.8 out of 10
- Starring: Buster Keaton, Ruth Dwyer, T. Roy Barnes
27. Charade (1963)
- Current IMDb rating: 7.8 out of 10
- Starring: Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, Walter Matthau
26. Manhattan (1979)
- Current IMDb rating: 7.8 out of 10
- Starring: Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Mariel Hemingway
25. Talk to Me (1997)
- Current IMDb rating: 7.8 out of 10
- Starring: Cheryl Clifford, Peter Welch, Elizabeth Landis
24. Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
- Current IMDb rating: 7.8 out of 10
- Starring: Mia Farrow, Dianne Wiest, Michael Caine
23. Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967)
- Current IMDb rating: 7.8 out of 10
- Starring: Spencer Tracy, Sidney Poitier, Katharine Hepburn
22. About Time (2013)
- Current IMDb rating: 7.8 out of 10
- Starring: Domhnall Gleeson, Rachel McAdams, Bill Nighy
21. Bringing Up Baby (1938)
- Current IMDb rating: 7.8 out of 10
- Starring: Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, Charles Ruggles
20. The Teacher’s Diary (2014)
- Current IMDb rating: 7.8 out of 10
- Starring: Laila Boonyasak, Sukrit Wisetkaew, Sukollawat Kanarot
19. Heaven Sent (2023)
- Current IMDb rating: 7.8 out of 10
- Starring: Karen Abercrombie, Leon Pridgen, Jemarcus Kilgore
18. Jab We Met (2007)
- Current IMDb rating: 7.9 out of 10
- Starring: Shahid Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor, Tarun Arora
17. The Philadelphia Story (1940)
- Current IMDb rating: 7.9 out of 10
- Starring: Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, James Stewart
16. Annie Hall (1977)
- Current IMDb rating: 8 out of 10
- Starring: Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Tony Roberts
15. Roman Holiday (1953)
- Current IMDb rating: 8 out of 10
- Starring: Gregory Peck, Audrey Hepburn, Eddie Albert
14. Ikko Mikke (2020)
- Current IMDb rating: 8 out of 10
- Starring: Satinder Sartaaj, Aditi Sharma, Shiwani Saini
13. Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995)
- Current IMDb rating: 8 out of 10
- Starring: Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Amrish Puri
12. Groundhog Day (1993)
- Current IMDb rating: 8 out of 10
- Starring: Bill Murray, Andie MacDowell, Chris Elliott
11. It Happened One Night (1934)
- Current IMDb rating: 8.1 out of 10
- Starring: Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert, Walter Connolly
10. Barfi (2012)
- Current IMDb rating: 8.1 out of 10
- Starring: Ranbir Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Ileana D’Cruz
9. Dil Chahta Hai (2001)
- Current IMDb rating: 8.1 out of 10
- Starring: Aamir Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Akshaye Khanna
8. The Circus (1928)
- Current IMDb rating: 8.1 out of 10
- Starring: Charles Chaplin, Merna Kennedy, Al Ernest Garcia
7. Love in Kilnerry (2019)
- Current IMDb rating: 8.2 out of 10
- Starring: Daniel Keith, Kathy Searle, Roger Hendricks Simon
6. Some Like it Hot (1959)
- Current IMDb rating: 8.2 out of 10
- Starring: Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon
5. The Apartment (1960)
- Current IMDb rating: 8.3 out of 10
- Starring: Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Fred MacMurray
4. Amélie (2001)
- Current IMDb rating: 8.3 out of 10
- Starring: Audrey Tautou, Mathieu Kassovitz, Rufus
3. Kaguya-sama: Love Is War (2022)
- Current IMDb rating: 8.5 out of 10
- Starring: AmaLee, Yutaka Aoyama, Bryn Apprill
2. Kumbalangi Nights (2019)
- Current IMDb rating: 8.5 out of 10
- Starring: Shane Nigam, Soubin Shahir, Fahadh Faasil
1. Switch Up (2024)
- Current IMDb rating: 8.7 out of 10
- Starring: Alicia Witt, Jeff Fahey, Julieth Restrepo