Best Modern Romance Movies (not romantic comedies)
by Smiling_Dragon | created - 13 Sep 2011 | updated - 02 Jan 2023 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. The Notebook (2004)
PG-13 | 123 min | Drama, Romance
An elderly man reads to a woman with dementia the story of two young lovers whose romance is threatened by the difference in their respective social classes.
Director: Nick Cassavetes | Stars: Gena Rowlands, James Garner, Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling
Votes: 619,856 | Gross: $81.00M
Back when this movie came out no one knew that Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams would become A list Actors and this is the movie that got them started.
No one can deny that Nicholas Sparks is one of the best modern writers of our time and the movie adaptation of The Notebook is the best out of his books made into movies.
No one (at least no one with a soul) can watch this movie without crying!
2. Pride & Prejudice (2005)
PG | 129 min | Drama, Romance
Sparks fly when spirited Elizabeth Bennet meets single, rich, and proud Mr. Darcy. But Mr. Darcy reluctantly finds himself falling in love with a woman beneath his class. Can each overcome their own pride and prejudice?
Director: Joe Wright | Stars: Keira Knightley, Matthew Macfadyen, Brenda Blethyn, Donald Sutherland
Votes: 330,502 | Gross: $38.41M
Romance movies can sometimes be dull in spots, but Jane Austen's story is anything but dull. The story keeps the audience engaged as one of the best romance stories of all time is told. Bravo!
3. Sleepless in Seattle (1993)
PG | 105 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A recently widowed man's son calls a radio talk-show in an attempt to find his father a partner.
Director: Nora Ephron | Stars: Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, Ross Malinger, Rita Wilson
Votes: 190,780 | Gross: $126.53M
This is one of the most original movies of all time among any genre. The setup to the ending is fantastic.
How many other movies have been made where the stars of the movie don't meet until the last five minutes?
4. P.S. I Love You (2007)
PG-13 | 126 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A young widow discovers that her late husband has left her 10 messages intended to help ease her pain and start a new life.
Director: Richard LaGravenese | Stars: Hilary Swank, Gerard Butler, Harry Connick Jr., Lisa Kudrow
Votes: 218,366 | Gross: $53.70M
I like this movie because it shows how deeply one person can affect another even after they are gone.
5. A Good Year (2006)
PG-13 | 117 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A British investment broker inherits his uncle's chateau and vineyard in Provence, where he spent much of his childhood. He discovers a new laid-back lifestyle as he tries to renovate the estate to be sold.
Director: Ridley Scott | Stars: Russell Crowe, Abbie Cornish, Albert Finney, Marion Cotillard
Votes: 101,333 | Gross: $7.46M
Maybe this is a theme that I like a lot, but it helps us all to remember that there are more important things in life than material things.
6. Sweet November (2001)
PG-13 | 119 min | Drama, Romance
A workaholic executive, and an unconventional woman agree to a personal relationship for a short period. In this short period she changes his life.
Director: Pat O'Connor | Stars: Keanu Reeves, Charlize Theron, Jason Isaacs, Greg Germann
Votes: 94,563 | Gross: $25.29M
Yes this movie is kinda cheesy. Keanu Reeves is a rich career man who thinks of nothing but himself. Can this man who has spent his whole life living to work learn that there are more important things in life than money?
7. A Walk to Remember (2002)
PG | 101 min | Drama, Romance
Two North Carolina teens, Landon Carter and Jamie Sullivan, are thrown together after Landon gets into trouble and is sentenced to perform community service.
Director: Adam Shankman | Stars: Mandy Moore, Shane West, Peter Coyote, Daryl Hannah
Votes: 221,319 | Gross: $41.28M
This was Mandy Moore's first movie as the lead female character and a lot of people laughed at this. But honesty, I think Moore's acting is better than her singing!
8. Elizabethtown (2005)
PG-13 | 123 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
During a hometown memorial for his Kentucky-born father, a young man begins an unexpected romance with a too-good-to-be-true stewardess.
Director: Cameron Crowe | Stars: Orlando Bloom, Kirsten Dunst, Susan Sarandon, Alec Baldwin
Votes: 72,676 | Gross: $26.84M
I like this movie because in the middle of one of the worst moments of his life a man is able to discover love. This might be the best time to find love.
9. Sense and Sensibility (1995)
PG | 136 min | Drama, Romance
Rich Mr. Dashwood dies, leaving his second wife and her three daughters poor by the rules of inheritance. The two eldest daughters are the title opposites.
Director: Ang Lee | Stars: Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet, James Fleet, Tom Wilkinson
Votes: 125,663 | Gross: $43.18M
Another great romance from Jane Austen that is translated to film in the best way possible.
10. Jerry Maguire (1996)
R | 139 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
When a sports agent has a moral epiphany and is fired for expressing it, he decides to put his new philosophy to the test as an independent agent with the only athlete who stays with him and his former colleague.
Director: Cameron Crowe | Stars: Tom Cruise, Cuba Gooding Jr., Renée Zellweger, Kelly Preston
Votes: 286,925 | Gross: $153.95M
"You had me at hello." There is a reason that this is one of the most overused movie lines of all time (next to "show me the money!).
11. Last Chance Harvey (2008)
PG-13 | 93 min | Drama, Romance
In London for his daughter's wedding, a rumpled man finds his romantic spirits lifted by a new woman in his life.
Director: Joel Hopkins | Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Emma Thompson, Kathy Baker, Eileen Atkins
Votes: 22,418 | Gross: $14.88M
I know for some people that this may be a shock but romance is not just for 20 somethings. Romance can be found at any age at any time in life.
12. One Fine Day (1996)
PG | 108 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
The lives of two strangers and their young children unexpectedly intersect on one hectic, stressful day in New York City.
Director: Michael Hoffman | Stars: Michelle Pfeiffer, George Clooney, Mae Whitman, Alex D. Linz
Votes: 48,505 | Gross: $46.15M
George Clooney and Michelle Pfeiffer in a romance movie. Do I need to say anything else?
13. Kate & Leopold (2001)
PG-13 | 118 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Romance
An English Duke from 1876 is inadvertently dragged to modern day New York where he falls for a plucky advertising executive.
Director: James Mangold | Stars: Meg Ryan, Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Breckin Meyer
Votes: 89,058 | Gross: $47.12M
Would you go to the future, or the past, to find your soul mate? I think most women would for Hugh Jackman, the jury is still out about Meg Ryan, but this is still a good story.
14. You've Got Mail (1998)
PG | 119 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Book superstore magnate Joe Fox and independent book shop owner Kathleen Kelly fall in love in the anonymity of the Internet, both blissfully unaware that he's trying to put her out of business.
Director: Nora Ephron | Stars: Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, Greg Kinnear, Parker Posey
Votes: 229,558 | Gross: $115.82M
15. While You Were Sleeping (1995)
PG | 103 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A hopelessly romantic Chicago Transit Authority ticket booth operator is mistaken for the fiancée of a comatose patient.
Director: Jon Turteltaub | Stars: Sandra Bullock, Bill Pullman, Peter Gallagher, Peter Boyle
Votes: 113,953 | Gross: $81.06M
A little slow for me at times but one of the best romance movies ever.
16. Return to Me (2000)
PG | 115 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A man who falls in love with the woman who received his wife's heart must decide which woman it is who holds his heart.
Director: Bonnie Hunt | Stars: David Duchovny, Minnie Driver, Carroll O'Connor, Robert Loggia
Votes: 22,773 | Gross: $32.66M
I admit that the idea of of this story is a bit odd. But David Duchovny and Minnie Driver work very well together in this modern romantic drama.
17. The English Patient (1996)
R | 162 min | Drama, Romance, War
At the close of World War II, a young nurse tends to a badly burned plane crash victim. His past is shown in flashbacks, revealing an involvement in a fateful love affair.
Director: Anthony Minghella | Stars: Ralph Fiennes, Juliette Binoche, Willem Dafoe, Kristin Scott Thomas
Votes: 200,767 | Gross: $78.65M
18. Nights in Rodanthe (2008)
PG-13 | 97 min | Drama, Romance
A doctor, who is travelling to see his estranged son, sparks with an unhappily married woman at a North Carolina inn.
Director: George C. Wolfe | Stars: Diane Lane, Richard Gere, Christopher Meloni, Viola Davis
Votes: 26,344 | Gross: $41.85M
19. The Holiday (2006)
PG-13 | 136 min | Comedy, Romance
Two women troubled with guy-problems swap homes in each other's countries, where they each meet a local guy and fall in love.
Director: Nancy Meyers | Stars: Kate Winslet, Cameron Diaz, Jude Law, Jack Black
Votes: 322,852 | Gross: $63.22M
A super unrealistic story but fun and romantic nonetheless.
20. A Walk in the Clouds (1995)
PG-13 | 102 min | Drama, Romance
Paul Sutton, a young married soldier, befriends a pregnant lady who is petrified her father will disown her, and agrees to pose as her boyfriend. As time passes, they start growing fond of each other.
Director: Alfonso Arau | Stars: Keanu Reeves, Aitana Sánchez-Gijón, Anthony Quinn, Giancarlo Giannini
Votes: 36,598 | Gross: $50.01M
21. The Vow (2012)
PG-13 | 104 min | Drama, Romance
A car accident puts Paige in a coma, and when she wakes up with severe memory loss, her husband Leo works to win her heart again.
Director: Michael Sucsy | Stars: Rachel McAdams, Channing Tatum, Sam Neill, Jessica Lange
Votes: 204,878 | Gross: $125.01M
22. Must Love Dogs (2005)
PG-13 | 98 min | Comedy, Romance
A thirty-something preschool teacher looks to the personals for a change of pace and a relationship, with hilarious results.
Director: Gary David Goldberg | Stars: Diane Lane, John Cusack, Elizabeth Perkins, Christopher Plummer
Votes: 33,055 | Gross: $43.89M
23. Autumn in New York (2000)
PG-13 | 103 min | Drama, Romance
Romantic drama about an aging playboy who falls for a sweet, but terminally ill, young woman.
Director: Joan Chen | Stars: Richard Gere, Winona Ryder, Anthony LaPaglia, Elaine Stritch
Votes: 28,283 | Gross: $37.75M
24. Dear John (I) (2010)
PG-13 | 108 min | Drama, Romance, War
A romantic drama about a soldier who falls for a conservative college student while he's home on leave.
Director: Lasse Hallström | Stars: Channing Tatum, Amanda Seyfried, Richard Jenkins, Henry Thomas
Votes: 157,717 | Gross: $80.01M
25. The Fault in Our Stars (2014)
PG-13 | 126 min | Drama, Romance
Hazel and Gus are teenagers who meet at a cancer support group and fall in love. They both share the same acerbic wit and a love of books, especially "An Imperial Affliction", so they embark on a journey to visit an author in Amsterdam.
Director: Josh Boone | Stars: Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort, Nat Wolff, Laura Dern
Votes: 401,011 | Gross: $124.87M
26. It Could Happen to You (1994)
PG | 101 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A police officer promises to share his lottery ticket with a waitress in lieu of a tip.
Director: Andrew Bergman | Stars: Nicolas Cage, Bridget Fonda, Rosie Perez, Wendell Pierce
Votes: 44,619 | Gross: $37.80M
27. The Lucky One (2012)
PG-13 | 101 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance
A Marine travels to Louisiana after serving three tours in Iraq and searches for the unknown woman he believes was his good luck charm during the war.
Director: Scott Hicks | Stars: Zac Efron, Taylor Schilling, Blythe Danner, Riley Thomas Stewart
Votes: 113,742 | Gross: $60.46M
28. Circle of Friends (1995)
PG-13 | 103 min | Drama, Romance
Three women, who've been friends since childhood, meet at university in Dublin in 1957. Student and boyfriend life begins.
Director: Pat O'Connor | Stars: Chris O'Donnell, Minnie Driver, Geraldine O'Rawe, Saffron Burrows
Votes: 9,233 | Gross: $23.40M
29. Tortilla Soup (2001)
PG-13 | 102 min | Comedy, Romance, Drama
A Mexican-American master chef and father to three daughters has lost his taste for food, but not for life.
Director: Maria Ripoll | Stars: Hector Elizondo, Jacqueline Obradors, Tamara Mello, Jude Herrera
Votes: 5,279 | Gross: $4.45M
30. The Lake House (2006)
PG | 99 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance
A lonely doctor who once occupied an unusual lakeside house begins to exchange love letters with its former resident, a frustrated architect. They must try to unravel the mystery behind their extraordinary romance before it's too late.
Director: Alejandro Agresti | Stars: Keanu Reeves, Sandra Bullock, Christopher Plummer, Ebon Moss-Bachrach
Votes: 157,618 | Gross: $52.33M
31. No Reservations (2007)
PG | 104 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
The life of a top chef changes when she becomes the guardian of her young niece.
Director: Scott Hicks | Stars: Catherine Zeta-Jones, Aaron Eckhart, Abigail Breslin, Patricia Clarkson
Votes: 78,768 | Gross: $43.11M
The story is a bit weak. Basically if you realize this movie is about a chef and a little romance kinda gets thrown in at the end then you will like this one.
32. The Noel Diary (2022)
TV-14 | 99 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
The story of a man who returns home on Christmas to settle his estranged mother's estate. Once there, he discovers a diary that may hold secrets to his own past and of a beautiful young woman on a mysterious journey of her own.
Director: Charles Shyer | Stars: Justin Hartley, Barrett Doss, Bonnie Bedelia, James Remar
Votes: 19,115
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