Sure, you could spend New Year’s Eve drunk, cold, and shivering on the sidewalk outside of bars… or you could just stay in and watch some New Year’s Eve movies on streaming.
Doesn’t that sound more pleasant? Lucky for you, Decider has you covered with a list of the best New Year’s Eve movies. Though not quite as abundant as Christmas films, there are some truly great New Year’s Eve scenes in films, such as Meg Ryan explaining the “Auld Lang Syne” lyrics in When Harry Met Sally..., Daniel Day-Lewis glowering at balloons in Phantom Thread, and Gary Sinise moping while covered in confetti in Forrest Gump.
If you’d rather stay warm, dry, and cozy on the couch while you ring in 2025 tonight, here are the best New Year’s Eve movies available to watch on streaming.
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When Harry Met Sally (1989)
Streaming on: Pluto (with ads), and available to buy and rent on digital
There will never be another New Year’s Eve film as good as When Harry Met Sally. This quintessential romantic comedy from writer Nora Ephron and director Rob Reiner still holds up as one of the greats. No one has ever summed up what “Auld Lang Syne”—AKA the New Year’s Eve song—quite so perfectly as Meg Ryan did: “Anyway, it’s about old friends.”
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Phantom Thread (2017)
Streaming on: Netflix, and available to buy and rent on digital
Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, Phantom Thread is a film that’s as refined as its main character. Daniel Day-Lewis stars as Reynolds Woodcock, an obsessive, biting and cruel fashion designer. Vicky Krieps stars as Reynold’s unlucky muse and lover, Alma. Their relationship is far from healthy, but the love is genuine, if twisted. No where is that more on display than in a scene where Alma defiantly attends a New Year’s Eve party, and Reynolds follows her from afar. If you want to ring in 2025 with some toxic co-dependency, this is the New Year’s movie for you.
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The Holdovers (2023)
Streaming on: Prime Video (free), and available to buy and rent on digital
Alexander Payne’s critically acclaimed 2023 holiday comedy, The Holdovers, is the perfect movie to watch during that nebulous time between Christmas and New Year’s Day. This heart-warming film stars newcomer Dominic Sessa as a troubled boarding school student in 1970s New England, who is forced to spend his holiday break with his crotchety teacher (Paul Giamatti) and the grieving school cook (Da’Vine Joy Randolph). But by New Year’s Eve, this unlikely trio has formed their own found family. I normally don’t approve of indoor fireworks, but these three get a pass.
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Forrest Gump (1994)
Streaming on: Pluto (with ads), Paramount+, and available to buy and rent on digital
The New Year’s Eve party scene in Forrest Gump—the feel-good Best Picture winner from director Robert Zemeckis—perfectly captures the empty, isolating feeling of being totally depressed in the middle of a raucous party. As the war-torn Lieutenant Dan, Gary Sinise says it all with his dead-eyes stare, while an oblivious Tom Hanks wishes him a “Happy New Year.” Clearly, Lieutenant Dan doesn’t agree with the sex worker (played by Tiffany Salerno), who exclaims, “Don’t you just love New Year’s? You get to start all over.”
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The Apartment (1960)
Streaming on: Tubi (with ads), PlutoTV (with ads), Amazon Prime, Kanopy (with a participating public library card), and available to buy or rent on digital
How about a classic movie to ring in the new year? This 1960 romantic comedy may be nearly 65 years old, but it still holds up as both hilarious and touching. Shirley MacLaine will break your heart as the lovesick elevator girl having an affair with her married boss, and Jack Lemmon will tickle your funny bone as the bumbling insurance salesman who loans out his apartment for said illicit affairs. It all culminates in a New Year’s Eve party, where both Lemmon and MacLaine find the courage to stand-up for themselves—and, as a result, find each other.
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The Substance (2024)
Streaming on: Mubi, and available to buy and rent on digital
If you’re not in the mood for sentiment this New Year’s Eve, why not ring in the new year with The Substance, aka the outrageous, disgusting, and extremely entertaining body horror flick from French filmmaker Coralie Fargeat? Demi Moore stars as a fictional, aging Hollywood star named Elisabeth Sparkle, who uses an experimental black market drug to create a younger, hotter clone of herself, played by Margaret Qualley. This hot young clone lands a New Year’s Eve hosting gig—but first she needs to figure out how to stop her body from deteriorating.
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Rent (2005)
Streaming on: Kanopy/Hoopla, (with a participating public library card), and available to buy and rent on digital
If you’re looking for ways to measure, measure your year, then there is no better movie to watch on New Year’s Eve than Rent, the 2005 movie adaption of the hit Broadway musical from composer Jonathan Larson. The movie, which was directed by Chris Columbus, features the original Broadway cast, including Anthony Rapp and Idina Menzel. By the end of the film, you’ll know to measure your year (all 525,600 minutes of it) not in daylights, sunsets, midnights, or cups of coffee, but in love.
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While You Were Sleeping (1995)
Streaming on: Disney+, The Roku Channel (with ads), and available to buy or rent on digital
In this 1995 classic, Sandra Bullock greets her New Year with a rude awakening (pun intended). But before the stranger in a coma, Peter (Peter Gallagher) wakes up and realizes that Lucy (Bullock) has been pretending to be his fiancée, she attends a New Year’s Eve party hosted by his family. Things get even more complicated when Peter’s brother announces to the family that Lucy is pregnant. She’s not, of course. It’s just one of many misunderstandings in this silly but heartwarming romantic comedy. It’s the perfect comfort watch for a cozy New Year’s Eve.
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About Time (2013)
Streaming on: Available to buy or rent on digital
Remember this adorable Richard Curtis rom-com starring Domhnall Gleeson as a time traveler who falls in love with Rachel McAdams? Remember that brief but hilarious part at the beginning where, while at a New Year’s Eve party, some girl tries to kiss Domhnall Gleeson but he shakes her hand instead? It’s a small moment, but it’s also the catalyst for his character’s first attempt at a time-travel redo. Therefore, About Time is a New Year’s Eve movie.
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The Time Traveler’s Wife (2009)
Streaming on: Max, and available to buy and rent on digital
In The Time Traveler’s Wife, starring Rachel McAdams in another movie where she falls in love with a time traveler (this time played by Eric Bana), said time traveler (spoiler alert!) dies on New Year’s Eve, 2006. Remember that part where he wakes up in the snow and fireworks are going off? Totally a New Year’s Eve movie. Just make sure you have a box of tissues nearby when you watch this one.
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New Year’s Eve (2011)
Streaming on: Hulu, and available to buy and rent on digital
Garry Marshall’s late-career holiday ensemble movies (which also includes 2010’s Valentine’s Day and 2016’s Mother’s Day) were a fairly transparent attempt to recreate the success of Love, Actually. Though they failed in that sense, this movie did succeed in remaining relevant by becoming a default pick for “New Year’s Eve movies” round-ups. This list is no exception. The sprawling cast includes Halle Berry, Jessica Biel, Jon Bon Jovi, Robert De Niro, Zac Efron, Katherine Heigl, and so many more.
The post The Best New Year’s Eve Movies to Watch Today and Where to Stream Them appeared first on Decider.
