Best summer rom-coms of all time

When you hear the term “rom-com,” certain classic movie moments may come to mind: Audrey Hepburn’s glamorous meal outside the title store in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” Molly Ringwald’s iconic homemade prom dress in “Pretty in Pink,” or the ding of AOL Instant Messenger as Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan chat online in “You’ve Got Mail.” Yet the definitions of this popular film genre aren’t quite so cut and dried. While Glamour describes a rom-com as “a movie or play that deals with love in a light, humorous way,” the American Film Institute labels it “a genre in which the development of a romance leads to comic situations.”

These subtle differences lend themselves to a wide variety within the genre, with tropes evolving over time. During the 1930s, comedies of manners—when a wealthy character falls for someone less well-off—and screwball comedies—think slapstick—were popular. In the 1950s and ’60s, love interests were often pitted against one another, and the burgeoning sexual revolution encouraged bawdier stories. The ’70s saw a shift away from sex in favor of films questioning true love and championing independence. A neotraditional style emerged and remains popular today, focusing on practical relationship considerations, like compatibility and compromise.

Summer 2025 is offering a predictably eclectic mix of rom-coms. June 13 saw the release of “Materialists,” featuring the buzzy trio of Dakota Johnson, Chris Evans, and Pedro Pascal, with a script and direction from Celine Song of “Past Lives” fame. In July 2025, “Oh, Hi!” hit theaters, starring Molly Gordon and Logan Lerman as a couple off on a romantic weekend that takes a rather unusual turn. And on August 22, 2025, the Cannes film festival hit “Splitsville” will premiere with an even less conventional rom-com storyline.

These films may have different styles and approaches to the genre. Still, they all seem to recognize that summer’s warm, sunny days are perfect for releasing new romantic comedies—not to mention revisiting old favorites. To generate a list of the best, Stacker collected data on all rom-com feature films on IMDb and ranked the top 20 released during the summer by IMDb user ratings. Ties were broken by the number of IMDb user votes. Films released from May to August were considered, along with April releases whose box-office life bled into summer. To qualify, the film had to be listed as both a romance and a comedy on IMDb, have at least 5,000 votes, and have had at least limited distribution in the U.S. Metascores have been provided for critical context.

While some fan favorites didn’t make the cut based on these criteria, the varied selections on this list just might encourage you to use a broader lens when considering what a rom-com can be.

#20. Midnight in Paris (2011)

– Director: Woody Allen
– IMDb user rating: 7.6
– Metascore: 81
– Runtime: 94 minutes

In the first of three Woody Allen films on this list, Owen Wilson stars as Gil, a screenwriter who magically travels back in time while vacationing in Paris with his fiancée (Rachel McAdams). Each day at midnight, Gil is inexplicably transported to the Roaring Twenties, where he escapes his real-life relationship woes to rub elbows with the likes of Salvador Dalí (Adrien Brody), F. Scott Fitzgerald (Tom Hiddleston), and Gertrude Stein (Kathy Bates). These adventures not only provide Gil with fresh inspiration, but he also finds a second love: Pablo Picasso’s mistress, Adriana (Marion Cotillard).

#19. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010)

– Director: Edgar Wright
– IMDb user rating: 7.6
– Metascore: 69
– Runtime: 112 minutes

Based on a series of graphic novels about average Joe-type Scott Pilgrim, played by Michael Cera, who must fight seven of his new girlfriend’s exes, this unique mash-up of fantasy, comic book aesthetics, and romantic comedy boasts a long list of now-famous actors: Kieran Culkin, Chris Evans, Anna Kendrick, and Brie Larson, to name a few. “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” may not have been a box-office smash—the film grossed $35 million less than its production budget—but the endearing characters attracted a cult following faithful enough to spawn a video game in 2010 and a Netflix anime series in 2023.

#18. The Music Man (1962)

– Director: Morton DaCosta
– IMDb user rating: 7.7
– Metascore: 76
– Runtime: 151 minutes

Before taking on the role of matriarch on the classic ’70s TV show “The Partridge Family,” Shirley Jones starred opposite Robert Preston in “The Music Man.” This adaptation of the hit Broadway musical follows Harold Hill, a con artist whose plan to swindle small-town Iowans by pretending to be a marching band leader is derailed when he falls in love. The film was nominated for six Academy Awards and picked up a Golden Globe win for Best Motion Picture Musical in 1963.

#17. Top Hat (1935)

– Director: Mark Sandrich
– IMDb user rating: 7.7
– Metascore: 93
– Runtime: 101 minutes

This classic musical stars one of film’s most beloved dancing duos, who shine in the fourth of 10 films they headlined together. “Top Hat” is a story of love—and mistaken identity—between an American dancer (Fred Astaire) and a model (Ginger Rogers) in Britain. Film critic Roger Ebert lauded the on-screen dance, saying it reached “such perfection as is attainable.” Irving Berlin’s lively soundtrack, which includes the Oscar-nominated song “Cheek to Cheek,” continues to resonate with viewers nearly 90 years later.

#16. Flipped (2010)

– Director: Rob Reiner
– IMDb user rating: 7.7
– Metascore: 45
– Runtime: 90 minutes

Director Rob Reiner lands on this list with not one but two tales of opposites attracting—first with this adaptation of Wendelin Van Draanen’s young adult novel. Described by The New York Times’ Stephen Holden as Reiner’s tribute to “young love, back when it was innocent and sweet,” the film spans six years in the tween-to-teenage lives of neighbors Juli Baker and Bryce Loski (Madeline Carroll and Callan McAuliffe). The nostalgic 1950s and ’60s setting, paired with an alternating point-of-view as both leads narrate their history, make “Flipped” a rom-com to remember.

#15. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (2015)

– Director: Alfonso Gomez-Rejon
– IMDb user rating: 7.7
– Metascore: 74
– Runtime: 105 minutes

This sharp and darkly funny coming-of-age story is based on Jesse Andrews’ book of the same name about an unlikely high school trio. Greg, played by Thomas Mann, spends his free time making film parodies with his best friend, Earl, until his mother forces him to spend time with Rachel, a classmate recently diagnosed with leukemia. While the book has found itself on banned-book lists in schools across America for including a joke about sex, the film won both the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award for Dramatic Film at Sundance.

#14. When Harry Met Sally… (1989)

– Director: Rob Reiner
– IMDb user rating: 7.7
– Metascore: 76
– Runtime: 95 minutes

Arguably the most iconic friends-to-lovers romantic comedy of all time, “When Harry Met Sally” follows Billy Crystal as Harry Burns and Meg Ryan as Sally Albright, polar opposites who, over the years, banter, become best friends, and ultimately realize their romantic connection. Thirty-five years after the film’s release, director Rob Reiner revealed the script originally ended with the titular couple going their separate ways—but thankfully, when Reiner met his wife, Michele Singer, during filming, he decided to give Harry and Sally a happy ending too.

#13. 500 Days of Summer (2009)

– Director: Marc Webb
– IMDb user rating: 7.7
– Metascore: 76
– Runtime: 95 minutes

Although the title may be misleading, “500 Days of Summer” is about a girl, not the season. Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars as Tom, a broken-hearted man looking back on his whirlwind romance with Summer, played by Zooey Deschanel, in this rom-com that proves not all love stories have happy endings. An unforgettable soundtrack shapes the ups and downs of their relationship: The duo sings karaoke to the Pixies’ “Here Comes Your Man” and Nancy Sinatra’s “Sugar Town,” Tom’s hopeless romanticism is underscored by the Smiths’ “Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want,” and a song-and-dance number to Hall & Oates’ “You Make My Dreams (Come True)” perfectly conveys what it feels like to fall in love.

#12. Eat Drink Man Woman (1994)

– Director: Ang Lee
– IMDb user rating: 7.8
– Metascore: 80
– Runtime: 124 minutes

Ang Lee is known for directing a diverse array of hits—”Brokeback Mountain,” “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” “Life of Pi”—but his film career started in the early ’90s with the so-called “Father Knows Best” trilogy. “Eat Drink Man Woman,” the third in this series of stand-alone films, is a rom-com about the lives and loves of Chu, played by Sihung Lung, a chef in Taiwan, and his three adult daughters. The New York Times’ Janet Maslin compared the film to “Like Water for Chocolate” and praised it as “wonderfully seductive.”

#11. Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)

– Director: Frank Capra
– IMDb user rating: 7.8
– Metascore: Data not available
– Runtime: 115 minutes

Nearly a decade before making “It’s a Wonderful Life,” Frank Capra picked up an Oscar for Best Director with this story about a small-town man navigating life in New York City after receiving a large inheritance. Amid various trials and tribulations, Longfellow Deeds (Gary Cooper) ultimately finds love with big-city reporter Louise “Babe” Bennett (Jean Arthur). The film’s premise was inspired by a short story by Clarence Budington Kelland, and its themes have demonstrated staying power: the film was remade in 2002 and starred Adam Sandler.

#10. You Can’t Take It with You (1938)

– Director: Frank Capra
– IMDb user rating: 7.8
– Metascore: Data not available
– Runtime: 126 minutes

With his second film on this list, Frank Capra not only picked up another Academy Award for Best Director but also the Best Picture Oscar that year. This big-screen adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play features James Stewart as a banker whose father tries to profit by ousting his future daughter-in-law’s family from their home. The result: an early example of the popular rom-com trope of inlaw-induced chaos, seen in later films like “Meet the Fockers” and “Crazy Rich Asians.”

#9. Manhattan (1979)

– Director: Woody Allen
– IMDb user rating: 7.8
– Metascore: 83
– Runtime: 96 minutes

Perhaps the most controversial film on this list, “Manhattan” stars director Woody Allen as a 42-year-old writer who dates a 17-year-old high school student (Mariel Hemingway)—an age gap that came under increased scrutiny years later, after Allen broke up with girlfriend Mia Farrow to date her college-age daughter. Despite this, many found the film moving, including critic Roger Ebert, who praised how the film’s “tone and timing slip so gracefully between comedy and romance.”

#8. Moonrise Kingdom (2012)

– Director: Wes Anderson
– IMDb user rating: 7.8
– Metascore: 84
– Runtime: 94 minutes

Coming-of-age stories may not be common tropes in the rom-com canon, but eccentric director Wes Anderson’s “Moonrise Kingdom” certainly fits the bill. The film follows a pair of 12-year-olds (Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward) who fall in love and run away into the wild, causing a search party to scour the island for them as a storm approaches. A star-studded cast—featuring some of Anderson’s frequent collaborators, including Bill Murray, Edward Norton, and Jason Schwartzman—makes for pure movie magic in what The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw calls an “evocation of young love in a more innocent America.”

#7. The Thin Man (1934)

– Director: W.S. Van Dyke
– IMDb user rating: 7.9
– Metascore: 86
– Runtime: 91 minutes

William Powell and Myrna Loy star as Nick and Nora Charles, a married couple who investigate a murder for fun, in this film based on the 1933 novel by Dashiell Hammett. Upon its release, The Hollywood Reporter praised “The Thin Man” as a “murder story with a brilliant cast, a brilliant script, brilliant direction, and photography that tells the story in no mean terms.” This successful combination of mystery and rom-com spawned five sequels over the next several years.

#6. Shrek (2001)

– Directors: Andrew Adamson, Vicky Jenson
– IMDb user rating: 7.9
– Metascore: 84
– Runtime: 90 minutes

The most surprising entry on this list is a film about a cantankerous green ogre who must rescue a princess in order to save his home—but as Shrek himself says, “You know, Donkey, sometimes things are more than they appear.” “Shrek” isn’t just another animated kids film; the outcast love story, paired with lots of laughs, makes it a unique rom-com in its own right. A slate of A-list actors brought “New Yorker” cartoonist William Steig’s children’s book to life, with Mike Myers voicing the title role; Eddie Murphy as his friend, Donkey; Cameron Diaz as Princess Fiona; and John Lithgow as the evil Lord Farquaad.

#5. Roman Holiday (1953)

– Director: William Wyler
– IMDb user rating: 8
– Metascore: 78
– Runtime: 118 minutes

In “Roman Holiday,” Audrey Hepburn plays an overwhelmed European princess befriended by an American reporter (Gregory Peck) who tries to use her for a story before falling in love. The chemistry between the duo is palpable as they cruise the streets of Rome on a Vespa. Although it was her first major movie role, Hepburn earned an Oscar for Best Actress in what the American Film Institute named the fourth greatest cinematic love story of all time.

#4. Annie Hall (1977)

– Director: Woody Allen
– IMDb user rating: 8
– Metascore: 92
– Runtime: 93 minutes

Of the dozens of films Woody Allen has directed during his career, “Annie Hall” is his most beloved romantic comedy, according to IMDb user ratings. This film about comedian Alvy Singer, played by Allen himself, looking back on his failed relationship with aspiring singer Annie Hall, iconically portrayed by Diane Keaton, wasn’t even supposed to be a rom-com—an early draft of the script reportedly focused on a murder mystery subplot. The final product, however, became a huge success at the box office, making $44 million and beating out “Star Wars” for the Best Picture Oscar in 1978.

#3. The Gold Rush (1925)

– Director: Charles Chaplin
– IMDb user rating: 8.1
– Metascore: Data not available
– Runtime: 95 minutes

The oldest—and only silent—film to make this list is Charlie Chaplin’s classic about a prospector who falls in love amid the 1890s gold rush. In an original 1925 review of “The Gold Rush,” Variety raved that Chaplin “transcends everything that has ever gone before in comedy production, and it will be a long time before any one displaces him as the genius of pantomime.” These claims hold true nearly 100 years later, as viewers continue to adore this performance by the man the American Film Institute named the tenth greatest actor of all time.

#2. The Apartment (1960)

– Director: Billy Wilder
– IMDb user rating: 8.3
– Metascore: 94
– Runtime: 125 minutes

The Hollywood Reporter’s 1960 review perfectly captures what makes “The Apartment” stand out from other rom-coms about messy love triangles: Below the surface, it is also “a blistering commentary on contemporary ant-hill society and its amoral inhabitants.” Jack Lemmon stars as an insurance clerk who lets company executives use his New York City apartment for their romantic rendezvous. Things get complicated, however, when he learns the woman he is trying to woo, played by Shirley MacLaine, is also seeing his boss.

#1. Singin’ in the Rain (1952)

– Directors: Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly
– IMDb user rating: 8.3
– Metascore: 99
– Runtime: 103 minutes

The #1 film on this list explores a pivotal time in Hollywood history, as movies were transitioning from silent to talking pictures during the 1920s. The legendary Gene Kelly stars as a silent film star who falls for a chorus girl, played by Debbie Reynolds. Viewers may be surprised to learn that Reynolds was just 19 during filming, and Kelly was sick with a fever of 103 when he shot the film’s most memorable song and dance number, “Singin’ in the Rain.”

Story editing by Eliza Siegel. Copy editing by Paris Close. Photo selection by Clarese Moller.