Top 30 Romances All Time
by brusty1 | created - 30 Aug 2015 | updated - 02 Sep 2021 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Harold and Maude (1971)
PG | 91 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Young, rich, and obsessed with death, Harold finds himself changed forever when he meets lively septuagenarian Maude at a funeral.
Director: Hal Ashby | Stars: Ruth Gordon, Bud Cort, Vivian Pickles, Cyril Cusack
Votes: 81,651
2. When Harry Met Sally... (1989)
R | 95 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Harry and Sally have known each other for years, and are very good friends, but they fear sex would ruin the friendship.
Director: Rob Reiner | Stars: Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan, Carrie Fisher, Bruno Kirby
Votes: 241,498 | Gross: $92.82M
3. Brokeback Mountain (2005)
R | 134 min | Drama, Romance
Ennis and Jack are two shepherds who develop a sexual and emotional relationship. Their relationship becomes complicated when both of them get married to their respective girlfriends.
Director: Ang Lee | Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Heath Ledger, Michelle Williams, Randy Quaid
Votes: 380,877 | Gross: $83.04M
4. Edward Scissorhands (1990)
PG-13 | 105 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance
The solitary life of an artificial man - who was incompletely constructed and has scissors for hands - is upended when he is taken in by a suburban family.
Director: Tim Burton | Stars: Johnny Depp, Winona Ryder, Dianne Wiest, Anthony Michael Hall
Votes: 522,301 | Gross: $56.36M
5. The Theory of Everything (2014)
PG-13 | 123 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
Stephen Hawking gets unprecedented success in the field of physics despite being diagnosed with motor neuron disease at the age of 21. He defeats awful odds as his first wife Jane aids him loyally.
Director: James Marsh | Stars: Eddie Redmayne, Felicity Jones, Tom Prior, Sophie Perry
Votes: 480,620 | Gross: $35.89M
6. Arthur (1981)
PG | 97 min | Comedy, Romance
Alcoholic billionaire playboy Arthur Bach must marry a woman he does not love, or he will be cut off from his $750,000,000 fortune. But when Arthur falls in love with a poor waitress, he must decide if he wants to choose love or money.
Director: Steve Gordon | Stars: Dudley Moore, Liza Minnelli, John Gielgud, Geraldine Fitzgerald
Votes: 31,024 | Gross: $95.46M
7. Endless Love (1981)
R | 116 min | Drama, Romance
Parental disapproval of a passionate romance between two teenagers leads to arguments, circumstance, insanity and tragedy.
Director: Franco Zeffirelli | Stars: Brooke Shields, Martin Hewitt, Shirley Knight, Don Murray
Votes: 9,523 | Gross: $31.18M
8. Dirty Dancing (I) (1987)
PG-13 | 100 min | Drama, Music, Romance
Spending the summer at a Catskills resort with her family, Frances "Baby" Houseman falls in love with the camp's dance instructor, Johnny Castle.
Director: Emile Ardolino | Stars: Patrick Swayze, Jennifer Grey, Jerry Orbach, Cynthia Rhodes
Votes: 255,110 | Gross: $0.62M
9. La La Land (2016)
PG-13 | 128 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
While navigating their careers in Los Angeles, a pianist and an actress fall in love while attempting to reconcile their aspirations for the future.
Director: Damien Chazelle | Stars: Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Rosemarie DeWitt, J.K. Simmons
Votes: 666,251 | Gross: $151.10M
10. Blue Valentine (2010)
R | 112 min | Drama, Romance
The relationship of a contemporary married couple, charting their evolution over a span of years by cross-cutting between time periods.
Director: Derek Cianfrance | Stars: Ryan Gosling, Michelle Williams, John Doman, Faith Wladyka
Votes: 210,788 | Gross: $9.74M
11. Punch-Drunk Love (2002)
R | 95 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Socially frustrated Barry Egan calls a phone-sex line to curb his loneliness. Little does he know it will land him in deep trouble and will jeopardize his burgeoning romance with the mysterious Lena.
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson | Stars: Adam Sandler, Emily Watson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jason Andrews
Votes: 176,640 | Gross: $17.84M
12. Gone with the Wind (1939)
Passed | 238 min | Drama, Romance, War
A sheltered and manipulative Southern belle and a roguish profiteer face off in a turbulent romance as the society around them crumbles with the end of slavery and is rebuilt during the Civil War and Reconstruction periods.
Directors: Victor Fleming, George Cukor, Sam Wood | Stars: Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Thomas Mitchell, Barbara O'Neil
Votes: 333,176 | Gross: $198.68M
13. 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: 125,161 | Gross: $43.18M
14. Howards End (1992)
PG | 142 min | Drama, Romance
Set in the early 20th century, class distinctions and troubled relations affect the relationship between two families and the ownership of a cherished British estate known as Howards End.
Director: James Ivory | Stars: Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson, Vanessa Redgrave, Helena Bonham Carter
Votes: 35,696 | Gross: $25.97M
15. Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995)
Not Rated | 181 min | Drama, Romance
When Raj meets Simran in Europe, it isn't love at first sight but when Simran moves to India for an arranged marriage, love makes its presence felt.
Director: Aditya Chopra | Stars: Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Amrish Puri, Farida Jalal
Votes: 76,989
16. Joe Versus the Volcano (1990)
PG | 102 min | Comedy, Romance
When a hypochondriac learns that he is dying, he accepts an offer to throw himself in a volcano at a tropical island, and along the way there, learns to truly live.
Director: John Patrick Shanley | Stars: Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, Lloyd Bridges, Robert Stack
Votes: 39,712 | Gross: $39.40M
17. Roxanne (1987)
PG | 107 min | Comedy, Romance
The large-nosed C.D. Bales is in love with the beautiful Roxanne; she falls for his personality but another man's looks.
Director: Fred Schepisi | Stars: Steve Martin, Daryl Hannah, Rick Rossovich, Shelley Duvall
Votes: 47,545 | Gross: $40.05M
18. L.A. Story (1991)
PG-13 | 95 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
With the help of a talking freeway billboard, a wacky weatherman tries to win the heart of an English newspaper reporter, who is struggling to make sense of the strange world of early 1990s Los Angeles.
Director: Mick Jackson | Stars: Steve Martin, Victoria Tennant, Richard E. Grant, Sarah Jessica Parker
Votes: 34,297 | Gross: $28.86M
19. 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: 199,524 | Gross: $78.65M
20. 500 Days of Summer (2009)
PG-13 | 95 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
After being dumped by the girl he believes to be his soulmate, hopeless romantic Tom Hansen reflects on their relationship to try and figure out where things went wrong and how he can win her back.
Director: Marc Webb | Stars: Zooey Deschanel, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Geoffrey Arend, Chloë Grace Moretz
Votes: 555,389 | Gross: $32.39M
21. Her (2013)
R | 126 min | Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi
In a near future, a lonely writer develops an unlikely relationship with an operating system designed to meet his every need.
Director: Spike Jonze | Stars: Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams, Scarlett Johansson, Rooney Mara
Votes: 667,004 | Gross: $25.57M
22. Sophie's Choice (1982)
R | 150 min | Drama, Romance
Sophie is the survivor of Nazi concentration camps, who has found a reason to live with Nathan, a sparkling if unsteady American Jew obsessed with the Holocaust.
Director: Alan J. Pakula | Stars: Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, Peter MacNicol, Rita Karin
Votes: 52,535 | Gross: $30.04M
23. Doctor Zhivago (1965)
PG-13 | 197 min | Drama, Romance, War
The life of a Russian physician and poet who, although married to another, falls in love with a political activist's wife and experiences hardship during World War I and then the October Revolution.
Director: David Lean | Stars: Omar Sharif, Julie Christie, Geraldine Chaplin, Rod Steiger
Votes: 81,833 | Gross: $111.72M
24. Stealing Home (1988)
PG-13 | 98 min | Drama, Romance, Sport
Ex-baseball player Billy comes home to receive his childhood darling's ashes.
Directors: Steven Kampmann, William Porter | Stars: Mark Harmon, Jodie Foster, Blair Brown, Jonathan Silverman
Votes: 4,938 | Gross: $7.47M
25. Broadcast News (1987)
R | 133 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Take two rival television reporters: one handsome, one talented, both male. Add one producer, female. Mix well, and watch the sparks fly.
Director: James L. Brooks | Stars: William Hurt, Albert Brooks, Holly Hunter, Robert Prosky
Votes: 33,960 | Gross: $51.25M
26. The Piano (1993)
R | 121 min | Drama, Music, Romance
In the mid-19th century a mute woman is sent to New Zealand along with her young daughter and prized piano for an arranged marriage to a farmer, but is soon lusted after by a farm worker.
Director: Jane Campion | Stars: Holly Hunter, Harvey Keitel, Sam Neill, Anna Paquin
Votes: 94,859 | Gross: $40.16M
27. High Fidelity (2000)
R | 113 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
Rob, a record store owner and compulsive list maker, recounts his top five breakups, including the one in progress.
Director: Stephen Frears | Stars: John Cusack, Iben Hjejle, Todd Louiso, Jack Black
Votes: 189,269 | Gross: $27.29M
28. The Big Sick (2017)
R | 120 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Pakistan-born comedian Kumail Nanjiani and grad student Emily Gardner fall in love but struggle as their cultures clash. When Emily contracts a mysterious illness, Kumail finds himself forced to face her feisty parents, his family's expectations, and his true feelings.
Director: Michael Showalter | Stars: Kumail Nanjiani, Zoe Kazan, Holly Hunter, Ray Romano
Votes: 143,260 | Gross: $42.87M
29. Mad Dog and Glory (1993)
R | 97 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
When shy, soft-spoken Chicago detective Wayne "Mad Dog" Dobie inadvertently saves the life of local gangster Frank Milo, he's the reluctant recipient of an unusual one week "thank you" gift - a beautiful bartender named Glory.
Director: John McNaughton | Stars: Robert De Niro, Uma Thurman, Bill Murray, David Caruso
Votes: 22,702 | Gross: $11.08M
30. Blind Date (1987)
PG-13 | 95 min | Comedy, Romance
A workaholic needs a date for a dinner with new important clientele, but who his brother sets him up with could lead to disaster.
Director: Blake Edwards | Stars: Kim Basinger, Bruce Willis, John Larroquette, William Daniels
Votes: 24,101 | Gross: $39.32M
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