Believe it or not, ringing in the new year doesn’t have to involve big parties or shiny noise-makers. This year, consider inviting a few good friends over for popcorn, candy, and a list of New Year’s Eve-themed movies while you let the stars handle the boisterous ball drops, dramatic kisses, and unlikely holiday adventures.
From cult classics with forever-iconic party scenes to hits of pure nostalgia, here are 25 movies—from When Harry Met Sally to Phantom Thread—to revisit before the big countdown.
Phantom Thread (2017)
In this film about a mid-century fashion designer (Daniel Day-Lewis) and his muse (Vicky Krieps), a stunning mauve dress, a melancholy rendition of “Auld Lang Syne,†and Day-Lewis searching a ballroom full of costumed revelers for Krieps make for a New Year’s Eve you won’t soon forget.
Carol (2015)
The Todd Haynes film’s holiday atmosphere, vintage aesthetic, and stunning period costuming (by Sandy Powell) already make it worth the watch—but the yearning between Cate Blanchett’s Carol and Rooney Mara’s Therese put it over the top.
About Time (2013)
“We’re all traveling through time together, every day of our lives. All we can do is do our best to relish this remarkable ride.†On the brink of a new year, Tim (Domhnall Gleeson) discovers he can time-travel, and decides to use this superpower to improve his love life. The result? A budding and timeless romance with Mary (Rachel McAdams).
Snowpiercer (2013)
It’s 2031 and the world is frozen thanks to a botched attempt to stave off global warming. Earth’s remaining population lives on a moving train, the Snowpiercer. However, doom and revolution won’t stop them observing the New Year’s Eve ritual every time they circumvent the globe. All aboard Bong Joon-ho’s riveting sci-fi thriller, where pessimism is dinged by the whisper of hope with each planetary circuit. What’s a holiday but a total social construct, anyway?
New Year’s Eve (2011)
Gary Marshall’s New Year’s Eve boasts all the stars you could possibly jam into a two-hour movie—Halle Berry, Jon Bon Jovi, Michelle Pfeiffer, Ludacris, and more. As the second film in an unofficial trilogy, we’d recommend keeping the festivities going with Valentine’s Day (2010) and Mother’s Day (2016).
Sex and the City (2008)
Order some Chinese takeout and call up a friend before the New Year’s countdown begins, in true Sex and the City fashion. Come for the satisfaction of watching Carrie bash Big with her wedding bouquet, stay for the lovely NYE scene between Carrie and Miranda that gets back to the root of their friendship.
High School Musical (2006)
Flashback to the final night of 2005: Troy Bolton (Zac Efron) and Gabriella Montez (Vanessa Hudgens) share a serendipitous, cosmic moment at a ski lodge party, marking the “Start of Something New.†Then, Gabriella moves to Albuquerque, where she enrolls at East High School with Troy and becomes a Wildcat.
The Holiday (2006)
Sick of the men in their hometowns, Los Angeles native Amanda (Cameron Diaz) and Brit Iris (Kate Winslet) trade places at Christmastime. As a result, Iris meets Miles (Jack Black), a Hollywood film composer, while Amanda finds herself charmed by Iris’s brother, Graham (Jude Law). There’s nothing quite like a Nancy Meyers movie with a happy ending on New Year’s Eve.
About a Boy (2002)
No spoilers, but the New Year’s Eve kiss between Hugh Grant and Rachel Weisz in About a Boy is insanely romantic. Plus, Will and Marcus’s father-son relationship is sure to warm even the coldest hearts this holiday season.
Better Luck Tomorrow (2002)
The first half of Justin Lin’s indie drama presents an idealized version of organized crime, as performed by arrogant, overachieving high schoolers in a wealthy California suburb. But steadily escalating dangers—and then a murder on New Year’s Eve—soon change the stakes of their operation.
200 Cigarettes (1999)
It’s New Year’s Eve in 1981, and the film’s sprawling cast of characters (played by Christina Ricci, Ben Affleck, and Kate Hudson, and more) engage in various misadventures on their way to a party. Cue a hilarious, only-in-New York mess.
Highball (1998)
Noah Baumbach’s Highball comprises a saga of parties, with a New Year’s Eve event acting as its weird climax. Justine Bateman and Baumbach star as couple Sandy and Philip, who try to dredge up some semblance of a social life through a series of fêtes with a revolving set of friends in their Brooklyn home. It’s pitch-perfect screwball, revelling in the cringe with an oddball group that bicker, attempt to romance each other, and figure out whether they really get on at all. A great group watch.
Boogie Nights (1997)
Boogie Nights spotlights the explosion of the porn industry in the 1970s and the mayhem that follows Eddie Adams (Mark Wahlberg) as he tries to succeed in it. But among the movie’s most memorable scenes is a New Year’s celebration that manages to fit infidelity, murder, and suicide in, all before midnight.
Money Train (1995)
The stakes are high in this heist film, with foster brothers John (Wesley Snipes) and Charlie (Woody Harrelson) Robinson falling into debt and dangerous situations. Yet the latter half of the movie takes place on New Year’s Eve, with a resolution found just in time for the ball to drop.
Strange Days (1995)
Kathryn Bigelow’s cult classic takes place on the precipice of a new millennium, leaning into the anxieties of the forthcoming Y2K. Ralph Fiennes plays a sleazy former cop who schills illegal memory recordings that allow people to live through others’ experiences—many violent and salacious. Then one of the discs reveals itself to contain an actual murder. While LA parties itself into its own downfall, Fiennes teams up with a bodyguard and limo driver played by Angela Bassett to get to the bottom of what happened.
While You Were Sleeping (1995)
Sandra Bullock’s Lucy proves that following your dreams (and slight delusions) can lead to a happy ending. Trust this quirky love story to warm your heart through any Chicago winter.
Mermaids (1990)
Have tissues handy when you watch this family drama, starring Cher and Winona Ryder as a single mother and her teenage daughter. (A young Christina Ricci is also in the mix.) Among its delights is a New Year’s Eve costume party and a tumultuous scene set on January 1.
Ghostbusters II (1989)
Written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis and directed by Ivan Reitman, this sequel unfolds five years after the events of the first movie. At midnight on New Year’s Eve, New York City faces a paranormal slime threat. Who you gonna call?
When Harry Met Sally (1989)
“It’s not because I'm lonely, and it’s not because it’s New Year’s Eve. I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.†Cue tears and, eventually, an explosive midnight kiss between Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan. And…scene!
Moonstruck (1987)
While it’s not explicitly set on New Year’s Eve, there’s never a bad time to celebrate Cher. She plays Italian American widow Loretta, who has just decided to settle down with nice guy Johnny (Danny Aiello)—before she falls in love with his prickly, estranged younger brother Ronny (Nicolas Cage).
While Cher goes big on the accent, and bigger still on the covetable winter coats and wardrobe, director Norman Jewison presents a cozy ode to big and awkward romance, family, and life changing whether we want it to or not. Scenes at home are sumptuous and larger-than-life, as they should be during the holiday season, with nonnas dishing out big plates and gossip. Say it with me, in your best Brooklyn accent: “Everything is temporary!â€
The Godfather: Part II (1974)
In one of the most iconic scenes ever committed to film, Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) grabs his brother, Fredo (John Cazale), by the head and kisses him during a rowdy NYE party in Cuba, before revealing that he knows about Fredo’s betrayal. The pain in Michael’s eyes as he utters, “You broke my heart†will stick in the crevices of your brain for decades.
The Apartment (1960)
Jack Lemmon plays C.C. Baxter, an insurance worker who finds a quick way to scale the corporate ladder in lending out his Upper West Side apartment to execs and their mistresses—one of those execs being Mr. Sheldrake, who is carrying on with Fran (Shirley MacLaine) from the office. Jack and Fran’s own romance blooms in spite of the screwball circumstances, and both of their refusals to accept the love they don’t believe they deserve. An elating watch, with surely one of the greatest line deliveries in all of cinema, via Fran, when Jack’s love for her is finally declared over a deck of cards: “Shut up and deal.â€
Ocean’s 11 (1960)
The ’60s movie that started the Ocean’s franchise, this film features big names like Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., and Dean Martin. Follow the Rat Pack through a meticulously planned New Year’s Eve heist more stressful than finding someone to kiss when the ball drops. And once you finish, skip ahead to 2001 to see George Clooney continue the story.
An American in Paris (1951)
Gene Kelly has charmed audiences in this musical romantic comedy since the ’50s, and for good reason. But besides the wonderful acting, you’ll be mesmerized by the absolutely wild, black-and-white-themed New Year’s Eve party.
Sunset Boulevard (1950)
Imagine showing up to a New Year’s Eve party, only to find out you’re the only guest. In a chaotic attempt to revive her acting career, forgotten actress Norma Desmond makes the decision to do just that to screenwriter Joe Gillis in this classic noir.