Movies to watch with your girlfriend — or your wife
Good movies to watch with your girlfriend or wife suit the mood you're both in, such as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, About Time, Arrival and Gone Girl. Below are twenty picks grouped by mood, from new releases and proper love stories to thrillers, with where each one streams in the US. Every pick works for married couples too, and each film can go onto a shared watchlist.
Newer picks from the last few years
Recent films you may not have seen yet — so neither of you has a head start.
Past Lives (2023)
Past Lives is a quiet, aching story about the person you didn't end up with. Expect a long talk afterwards.
Rent or buy (US) · Your country
Details on TMDB ↗
Anyone But You (2023)
Anyone But You is an old-school rom-com with a wedding in Sydney. Light, silly and easy to love.
Streaming (US): HBO Max, Hulu · Your country
Details on TMDB ↗
Challengers (2024)
Challengers is a love triangle played out on a tennis court, with a soundtrack that makes it feel like a thriller.
Streaming (US): Paramount+ · Your country
Details on TMDB ↗
Materialists (2025)
Materialists follows a New York matchmaker torn between money and old love. It'll start a debate about what you'd choose.
Streaming (US): HBO Max · Your country
Details on TMDB ↗
You both want something to talk about after
Conversation-starter films keep going once the credits roll — and give you something to disagree on.
Gone Girl (2014)
Gone Girl is twisty, nasty and impossible to stop discussing. You'll each pick a side.
Rent or buy (US) · Your country
Details on TMDB ↗
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a breakup film that's secretly a stay-together film. Beautiful and strange.
Rent or buy (US) · Your country
Details on TMDB ↗
Marriage Story (2019)
Marriage Story is heavy but brilliant. The kind of film that starts a real conversation.
Streaming (US): Netflix · Your country
Details on TMDB ↗
Arrival (2016)
Arrival is a sci-fi that lands as a love story. The ending rewrites everything before it.
Streaming (US): Paramount+, Peacock · Your country
Details on TMDB ↗
A proper love story
Proper romance films are for nights when you both want the real thing — no irony required.
The Notebook (2004)
The Notebook is the classic for a reason. Keep tissues somewhere neither of you admits to.
Rent or buy (US) · Your country
Details on TMDB ↗
About Time (2013)
About Time is a time-travel romance that's really about appreciating an ordinary Tuesday.
Streaming (US): Netflix · Your country
Details on TMDB ↗
Notting Hill (1999)
Notting Hill is warm, funny and endlessly rewatchable. A comfort pick that never fails.
Streaming (US): Paramount+ · Your country
Details on TMDB ↗
10 Things I Hate About You (1999)
10 Things I Hate About You is sharp, quotable and sweeter than it pretends to be. A perfect throwback.
Streaming (US): Disney+ · Your country
Details on TMDB ↗
Easy nights when you're both tired
Easy comfort films are low effort, high payoff — for a Tuesday when neither of you can decide.
Crazy Rich Asians (2018)
Crazy Rich Asians is glossy, funny and romantic all at once. Pure feel-good spectacle.
Streaming (US): HBO Max · Your country
Details on TMDB ↗
Mamma Mia! (2008)
Mamma Mia! is impossible to watch in a bad mood. Singing along is half the point.
Streaming (US): Starz · Your country
Details on TMDB ↗
Legally Blonde (2001)
Legally Blonde, a quarter-century on, is still the best pick-me-up on this list.
Streaming (US): MGM+ · Your country
Details on TMDB ↗
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003)
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days is peak early-2000s rom-com. Silly in exactly the right way.
Streaming (US): Paramount+, Starz · Your country
Details on TMDB ↗
Thrillers that pull you to the same cushion
Thrillers for couples are tension done well — the excuse to sit closer is built in.
A Quiet Place (2018)
A Quiet Place is the film where you'll both go quiet without noticing. Crisps are banned for the night.
Streaming (US): Paramount+, MGM+ · Your country
Details on TMDB ↗
Knives Out (2019)
Knives Out is a whodunnit you can solve together — or argue about until the reveal.
Streaming (US): Lionsgate+ · Your country
Details on TMDB ↗
The Sixth Sense (1999)
If one of you hasn't seen The Sixth Sense, watching their face at the ending is the whole film.
Streaming (US): Netflix, Hulu, Apple TV · Your country
Details on TMDB ↗
Shutter Island (2010)
Shutter Island is atmospheric and unsettling, with an ending you'll rewind at least once.
Streaming (US): Paramount+ · Your country
Details on TMDB ↗
Where to stream them, by service
Already paying for one of these? Start there. US subscriptions, checked 31 October 2026; catalogues change monthly and differ by country, so tap any film above to check where you live.
Paramount+
Challengers, Arrival, Notting Hill, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, A Quiet Place, Shutter Island
HBO Max
Anyone But You, Materialists, Crazy Rich Asians
Netflix
Marriage Story, About Time, The Sixth Sense
Hulu
Anyone But You, The Sixth Sense
Starz
Mamma Mia!, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
MGM+
Legally Blonde, A Quiet Place
Peacock
Arrival
Disney+
10 Things I Hate About You
Lionsgate+
Knives Out
Apple TV
The Sixth Sense
Rent or buy
Past Lives, Gone Girl, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Notebook
How to stop the “what do you want to watch?” loop
The list is the easy part. Here's what actually ends the scrolling:
Take turns instead of negotiating
The twenty-minute debate over what to watch ends the moment the pick is simply somebody's turn. Our Cinema rotates the pick between the two of you automatically.
Keep one list you both add to
Films mentioned in passing are gone by Friday. A shared watchlist keeps every suggestion in one place, whoever thought of it.
Rate it separately, reveal together
After the film, you each give it stars and write a note. Neither of you sees the other's until you've both filed — so no one's opinion nudges the other.
Play a yes-or-no round when you're stuck
To break a deadlock, you each go through the queue alone, saying yes or no. Anything you both said yes to jumps to the top of the list.
One watchlist for the two of you
Our Cinema gives you both one shared watchlist, turns that rotate, star ratings you each file privately, and a record of every night you've had. Free to start.
Sources
- The Movie Database (TMDB) — Titles, release years, posters and cast data for every pick on this page.
- JustWatch — Check where each title is currently streaming, renting or buying in your country.
Our Cinema uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB.
More guides
2027 date night movie calendar
A free curated pick for every weekend of 2027, sent to your inbox.
Read the guide →Best comedy movies for date night
Couple-type picks with real runtimes and a fix for different senses of humour.
Read the guide →Romantic movie night at home
A 55-minute prep plan, themed film picks, snack pairings and cosy lighting.
Read the guide →
Movies to watch with your boyfriend·TV shows for couples·Movie night ideas·Privacy·Terms
Film details and artwork from TMDB. Our Cinema uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB.