Valentine’s Day 2025: 7 Romantic Movies to Watch

No, Valentine’s Day is not on the list.

Good news: this year’s Valentine’s Day falls on a Friday, which is also the universal day of the week for movie nights. With festive occasions happening one after another this time around, picking the right movie for Valentine’s Day may be the last thing on your mind.

Whether you’ll be spending your February 14 with a lucky partner, close friends or in the solace of your own company, we’ve prepared a list of movies—from classics to hidden gems—to bring out your romantic side.

Here’s a round-up of movies to watch this Valentine’s Day:

Pretty Woman (1990)

When it comes to Cupid’s Day, one can never go wrong with a Julia Roberts classic. Directed by Garry Marshall—who also brought us The Princess Diaries duology, Pretty Woman puts a modern spin on the classic Cinderella tale. Roberts plays Vivian Ward, a high school dropout living in a flophouse who is hired by a wealthy businessman—played by Richard Gere—to accompany him to social events.

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Palm Springs (2020)

Max Barbakow’s time-loop film is not your typical rom-com—but nonetheless it has a well-earned spot on the list. Nyles, played by Andy Samberg, has been reliving the same day for a very long time. When he accidentally gets Sarah (Cristin Milioti) to fall into the same recurring cycle with him, we follow the pair as they try to break out of it and away from each other. Inventive, with the right amount of satirical humour, Palm Springs is an ingenious feel-good film in vibrant visuals with an underlying theme of existential dread.

In the Mood for Love (2000)

We’d be remiss to exclude ‘probably the most breathtakingly gorgeous film of the year’—according to The New York Times film critic Elvis Mitchell. Set in a cramped apartment building in 1960s Hong Kong, the movie follows a man and a woman in adjacent rooms who form a bond over their mutual loneliness while their spouses are having an affair.

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Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011)

It’s messy, it’s funny, it’s Crazy, Stupid, Love. As newly single middle-aged Cal Weaver tries to reenter the dating scene, he meets confident and smooth-talking Jacob Palmer, who takes Cal under his wing. The film also stars comedy acting powerhouses like Steve Carell, Julianne Moore, Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone.

Lady and the Tramp (1955)

For a heavy dose of nostalgia and romance, old Disney movies are where they’re at. The movie charts Lady, a pampered Cocker Spaniel, who finds herself wandering the cold streets after feeling neglected when owners Jim Dear and Darling have their first baby. When she befriends a streetwise and charming Tramp, the two embark on a quest to get Lady back home and find Tramp a possible owner.

Before Sunrise (1995)

This is a classic for the ‘no plot, just vibes’ genre of cinema and the first of a trilogy. When strangers Celine (Julie Delpy) and Jesse (Ethan Hawke) en route to different destinations meet on the same train, they decide to disembark on a whim and spend an evening together—a first, and possibly their last. Throughout the film, viewers follow the pair through the streets of Vienna immersed in well-written dialogue—co-written by the actors—and stolen glances that tug at the heartstrings.

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Set It Up (2018)

Glen Powell may have been on the rise for many recent rom-coms like Hit Man and Anyone But You, but we were too quick to dismiss his debut rom-com alongside Zoey Deutch. Directed by Claire Scanlon, Set It Up follows two overworked corporate assistants who go to great lengths to matchmake their bosses in hopes of restoring their personal lives. In this film, the cast—also featuring Lucy Liu and Taye Diggs—displays palpable chemistry in chatty dialogues.