15 Best Romance Movies On HBO Max

Oct. 5, 2023, 2 p.m.

Movies

15 Best Romance Movies On HBO Max

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Summary The best romance movies on Max offer a wide variety of love stories, from realistic depictions to rom-coms and tragic tales of lost love.

Movies like "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" and "Grease" provide funny and charming romances with relatable dynamics and likable casts.

Classics like "Gone with the Wind" and "Casablanca" create memorable love stories that have stood the test of time.

The best romance movies on Max offer audiences a wide variety of love stories to choose from. Max has undergone a lot of changes as it attempts to establish itself as a leading streaming platform. While it may be most popular for its shows like House of the Dragon and The White Lotus, it also has an extensive movie library. Among the various genres subscribers can choose from, the best romance movies on Max tell compelling, funny, and iconic love stories.

While just about every movie features a romance in its story to some degree or another, there are those movies that put such stories front and center. However, the relationships and the dynamics of these love stories can be wildly different, with some offering a realistic look at relationships with all the struggles romance comes with, others can be crowd-pleasing rom-coms, and others can be tragic stories of lost love. Whatever kind of romance story or movie Max subscribers are looking for, there are some great options now available.

Related 25 Best Horror Movies On Max There are several highly-ranked horror movies streaming on Max right now that are perfect for the fan of horror films and chilling stories.

15 Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World (2010)

Starring Michael Cera & Mary Elizabeth Winstead

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World Director Edgar Wright Release Date August 12, 2010 Cast Michael Cera , Alison Pill , Mark Webber , Johnny Simmons , Ellen Wong , Kieran Culkin Runtime 113 minutes

One of the best romance movies on Max is also one of the least conventional. 2010's Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is based on the comic book series of the same name by Brian Lee O'Malley and is directed by Edgar Wright, who is most known for his work British comedies such as Hot Fuzz and Shaun Of The Dead. This Max romance movie stars Michael Cera as Scott, a bassist in Canada who falls head-over-heels for the new delivery girl in town, Ramona (Mary Elizabeth Winstead).

However, there's a problem for Scott when it comes to winning Ramona's heart — he must defeat her 7 evil exes in combat. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is an incredibly slick movie, both thanks to Wright's directing and the thumping soundtrack courtesy of Beck, Metric, and others. The cast more than stands out too, with the likes of Kieran Culkin, Anna Kendrick, Brie Larson, Aubrey Plaza, Chris Evans, and Brandon Routh (among others) joining Cera and Winstead.

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14 The Breakfast Club (1985)

Starring Molly Ringwald & Judd Nelson

The Breakfast Club Director John Hughes Release Date February 15, 1985 Cast Molly Ringwald , Ally Sheedy , Anthony Michael Hall , Judd Nelson , Emilio Estevez Runtime 97 minutes

1985's The Breakfast Club is considered by many to be a quintessential teen movie, one that wrote the blueprint for those that followed in the decades since. Of course, as a teen movie, romance is a significant part of the plot. Directed by John Hughes, a filmmaker synonymous with 1980's romantic comedies, The Breakfast Club centers on five teens who have to suffer the misery of a Saturday detention. While back at school on their precious weekend, they find that, over the course of the long hours, their initial animosity toward one-another blossoms into friendship and, in a couple of cases, something more.

The romantic couplings are especially memorable, with teens from opposing social cliques and classes learning to look past their differences to find love.

The Breakfast Club stars Molly Ringwald, Judd Nelson, Emilio Estevez, Paul Gleason, Ally Sheely, and Anthony Michael Hall. While some moments haven't aged particularly well, it still stands overall as a solid, hilarious, and — thanks to it being unrelentingly 1980s in style — incredibly retro when watched in the 2020s. The romantic couplings are especially memorable, with teens from opposing social cliques and classes learning to look past their differences to find love.

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13 Silver Linings Playbook (2012)

Starring Bradley Cooper & Jennifer Lawrence

Director David O. Russell's 2012 romantic comedy-drama The Silver Linings Playbook is based on the 2008 novel of the same name by author Matthew Quick, and was released to an incredible amount of critical acclaim — including multiple Academy Award nominations and a win for Jennifer Lawrence in the category of Best Actress. Lawrence stars alongside Bradley Cooper in this romance movie on Max, which delves into topics like mental health and bereavement, as well as being an incredibly memorable love story.

Cooper stars as Pat, a divorced teacher who returns home to his parents after spending some time in a mental health facility due to his bipolar disorder. While at a dinner at a friend's house, he meets Tiffany (Lawrence), a widow with several mental health struggles of her own. They connect, though Pat rebuffs her offer of no-strings-attached physical intimacy. They then have a rocky journey toward admitting their feelings for one another, with plenty of emotional moments before the heartwarming finale.

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12 Fifty Shades Of Gray (2015)

Starring Dakota Johnson & Jamie Dornan

Fifty Shades of Grey Director Sam Taylor-Johnson Release Date February 13, 2015 Cast Jennifer Ehle , Dakota Johnson , Jamie Dorman , Marcia Gay Harden , Eloise Mumford , Victor Rasuk , Luke Grimes , Rita Ora Runtime 125 Minutes

Few romance movies on Max are as steamy as Fifty Shades of Grey, director Sam Johnson's erotic 2015 adaptation of the E.L. James novel of the same name. The first installment in the trilogy, the Fifty Shades of Grey movie was infamous upon release, just like the books, with its depictions of BDSM and intense sexual scenes causing a stir among some viewers. However, while it definitely wasn't to everyone's taste, the movie found a solid footing and fanbase, and Max subscribers who like their romance films a little more risqué than most are bound to enjoy it.

While this isn't a romance movie for the faint of heart, it still stands out as one of the best Max has to offer.

Dakota Johnson stars in Fifty Shades of Grey as Ana, a student at Washington State University. While there, she meets 27-year-old billionaire Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan). When Grey asks Ana if she'd take part in a photo shoot, she agrees, and the two begin an intense romance. However, it's a partnership that comes with plenty of caveats, as Christian has some incredibly specific tastes. While this isn't a romance movie for the faint of heart, it still stands out as one of the best Max has to offer.

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11 Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)

Starring Jason Segel & Kristen Bell

The hardest part of any romantic relationship is when they end, and 2008's Forgetting Sarah Marshall (the directorial debut of Nicholas Stoller) dives into the complex array of emotions that come with a break-up — and the results are hilarious. This rom-com never takes itself too seriously, with the central cast of Jason Segel, Kristen Bell, Mila Kunis, and Russell Brand having incredible chemistry on-screen. This romance movie on Max focuses on Peter (Segel), a composer whose girlfriend, Sarah Marshall (Bell) ends their 5-year relationship without warning. He decides to take a holiday to get over her, and so heads to Hawaii.

However, when he arrives at his resort in Oahu, he discovers he's walked right into the worst possible scenario for his broken heart t Sarah is there with her new boyfriend, the rock star Aldous Snow (Brand). However, as the movie progresses, he does manage to kindle a romance of his own with Rachel (Kunis), one of the concierges at their hotel. Forgetting Sarah Marshall is an easy watch, and one that provides plenty of laughs compared to some of the other love stories Max has to offer.

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10 The Longest Ride (2015)

Starring Scott Eastwood & Britt Robertson

The Longest Ride Director George Tillman Jr. Cast Scott Eastwood , Oona Chaplin , Jack Huston , Alan Alda , Britt Robertson Writers Craig Bolotin

The 2015 movie The Longest Ride is a romantic Neo-Western from director George Tillman Jr., the filmmaker behind 2009's Notorious and 2023's Big George Foreman, among others. Based on the 2013 novel of the same name by George Sparks, The Longest Ride is a drama that delivers all the staples viewers would want from both the Western and romance genres, blending the two effortlessly in a story that takes place across two points in time linked by flashbacks.

This romance movie on Max is an emotional ride, but a satisfying one by the end.

In the present, bull rider Luke Collins (Scott Eastwood) and Sophia Danko (Britt Robertson) find an elderly man, Ira (Alan Alda) has crashed his car. They help him to the hospital and, as Ira and Sophia strike up a friendship, Ira tells her the story of the letters he had with him. They were to his wife, Ruth (Naomi Eckhaus). As Ira tells the story, the flashbacks begin, which tell the love-story of the young Ira and Ruth (played by Jack Huson and Oona Chaplin). This romance movie on Max is an emotional ride, but a satisfying one by the end.

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9 A Star Is Born (2018)

Starring Bradley Cooper & Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga effortlessly made the transition from pop sensation to credible actress thanks to a variety of appearances in shows like American Horror Story and upcoming movies like Joker: Folie à Deux. At the same time, Bradley Cooper transitioned from actor to director, and 2018's A Star Is Born makes excellent use of both their journeys, with Cooper making his directorial debut for a thrilling romance drama that sees him star alongside Gaga. Gaga's background as a musician is especially appropriate, as she plays singer-songwriter Ally, who is discovered by Cooper's character Jack.

Ally and Jack develop a romantic relationship while he helps her to establish her career, inviting her on stage to sing with him. However, Jack's alcoholism proves a problem, and the ending of A Star Is Born isn't a happy one. This is without doubt one of the most emotional and cerebral romance movies on Max, but the heartbreak it puts viewers through only serves as a testament to its quality — as do its string of accolades including its 7 Academy Award nominations and win for Best Original Song.

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8 An Officer And A Gentleman (1982)

Starring Richard Gere & Debra Winger

An Officer And A Gentleman (1982) Director Taylor Hackford Release Date July 28, 1982 Cast Richard Gere , Debra Winger , Louis Gossett Jr. , David Keith Runtime 124 minutes

Before he won over hearts for his role in Pretty Woman, Richard Gere starred in the romantic drama An Officer and a Gentleman. In this movie, Gere stars as Zack, a young man who graduates from college and prepares to enter an Aviation Officer Candidate School after growing up as a "military brat." While Zack is warned of women who will seek to get pregnant from Naval Aviators, he ignores the warnings when he meets a young woman named Paula (Debra Winger), a factory worker.

The movie earned six Oscar nominations, including Best Actress (Winger) and Best Supporting Actor (Louis Gossett Jr.), with the latter winning.

An Officer and a Gentleman is a romance story following Zack and Paula, but there is a lot more to the tale, including Zack's friend Sid and his doomed relationship with another factory worker named Lynette. The movie earned six Oscar nominations, including Best Actress (Winger) and Best Supporting Actor (Louis Gossett Jr.), with the latter winning. It also won an Oscar and a Grammy Award for the song, "Up Where We Belong" by Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes.

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7 Definitely, Maybe (2008)

Starring Ryan Reynolds, Isla Fisher, Rachel Weisz, & Elizabeth Banks

Definitely, Maybe Release Date February 8, 2008 Director Adam Brooks Cast Ryan Reynolds , An Nguyen , Matthew Mason , Rick Derby , Sakina Jaffrey , Bob Wiltfong

Definitely, Maybe is a unique romantic movie on Max, as it is more about a father and his daughter than the love story between him and a specific woman. In the film, Ryan Reynolds stars as Will, a man going through a divorce from his wife Sarah. His 10-year-old daughter Sarah (Abigail Breslin) wants to hear how Will met her mother, as she struggles with the upcoming divorce. Will agrees to tell her the story, but he instead tells her the story of how he met and fell in love with three women from his past.

He lets Sarah see if she can figure out which of the three women is her mother. This results in Will learning that his true love was one of the women who got away. With a great cast, Isla Fisher, Rachel Weisz, and Elizabeth Banks play the three women, and the movie ends up as a touching story of a father and his daughter and the story of lost love. The movie received positive reviews and remains a highly underrated romantic comedy.

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6 My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002)

Starring Nia Vardalos & John Corbett

My Big Fat Greek Wedding Release Date February 22, 2002 Director Joel Zwick Cast Nia Vardalos , Michael Constantine , Christina Eleusiniotis , Kaylee Vieira , John Kalangis , Lainie Kazan

Not only is My Big Fat Greek Wedding a funny and charming rom-com, but it is also one of the greatest indie success stories of all time. Based on her one-woman show, Nia Vardalos wrote and starred in this comedy about a woman who meets the man of her dreams and then must get over the struggles of trying to introduce him to her eccentric and massive Greek family.

The family dynamics and cultural comedy are the highlights of the movie in terms of its humor, but there is a very charming and relatable romance at its center.

The family dynamics and cultural comedy are the highlights of the movie in terms of its humor, but there is a very charming and relatable romance at its center. There is always a nervous feeling of introducing a significant other to the family, but this movie captures that special relationship that can withstand all the bizarre family stuff and become even stronger as a result. My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 arrived in 2023 further proving the success of this film.

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5 Grease (1978)

Starring John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John

Grease Release Date July 7, 1978 Director Randal Kleiser Cast John Travolta , Olivia Newton-John , Stockard Channing , Jeff Conaway , Barry Pearl , Michael Tucci Writers Jim Jacobs , Warren Casey , Bronte Woodard , Allan Carr Studio(s) Paramount Pictures

Adding a timeless collection of catchy songs to a love story can turn a romance movie into a classic, as this romance movie on Max proves. John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John became icons of the 1970s with the help of Grease, the big Hollywood adaptation of the hit Broadway musical. The pair star as high schoolers in the 1950s who enjoy a summer fling only to reunite at school and find themselves in different social circles.

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The Broadway tunes are brought to life vibrantly and energetically, making for some memorable musical numbers. However, the heart of the movie is the star-crossed romance between Danny and Sandy. It is not the most inspiring or progressive love story ever put on film, but the characters and performances sell it as a fun couple that the audience wants to see end up together.

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4 The Lobster (2015)

Starring Colin Farrell & Rachel Weisz

Yorgos Lanthimos has emerged as a fascinating filmmaking talent with movies like The Favourite and 2023's critically acclaimed Poor Things. One of his earlier movies, The Lobster, helped showcase his unique sense of humor with an odd yet insightful love story. Colin Farrell stars as a lonely man who takes part in a matchmaking program with a unique method of motivation -- anyone who does not find a partner by the end of their time will be transformed into an animal.

The dry sense of humor is performed wonderfully by Farrell and the rest of the talented cast, which includes Rachel Weisz, Ben Whishaw, John C. Reilly, and Olivia Colman.

The dry sense of humor is performed wonderfully by Farrell and the rest of the talented cast, which includes Rachel Weisz, Ben Whishaw, John C. Reilly, and Olivia Colman. It is hilarious in its own oddball way while asking some fascinating questions about love and society's expectations of it. The Lobster's ending cements its take on true love, which is somewhere between disturbing and sweet.

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3 Gone With The Wind (1939)

Starring Clark Gable & Vivien Leigh

Gone With the Wind Release Date February 16, 1940 Director Victor Fleming , George Cukor , Sam Wood Cast Thomas Mitchell , Barbara O'Neil , Vivien Leigh , Evelyn Keyes , Ann Rutherford , George Reeves , Hattie McDaniel Writers Margaret Mitchell , Sidney Howard , Oliver H.P. Garrett , Ben Hecht , Jo Swerling , John Van Druten Studio(s) Warner Bros. Pictures

While Max has many modern romance movies in its libraries, it makes room for vintage titles too. Gone with the Wind is a cinema classic that features one of the most iconic love stories of all time. Though many elements of the story are uncomfortable to revisit, it remains a landmark blockbuster movie and one of the highest-grossing movies of all time. The movie is the epic story of a privileged Southern woman who begins a romance with a roguish playboy as the Civil War breaks out.

Telling a sweeping romance set to the backdrop of a tragic and chaotic historical event gave Gone with the Wind its epic feel and is something that has served as an inspiration for countless movie love stories that have followed, including Titanic. There is an excitement to the story that makes this nearly four-hour movie feel like a monumental story.

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2 In The Mood For Love (2000)

Starring Maggie Cheung & Tony Leung

In the Mood For Love Release Date March 9, 2001 Director Kar-Wai Wong Cast Tony Leung Chiu-wai , Maggie Cheung , Siu Ping-Lam , Tung Cho 'Joe' Cheung , Rebecca Pan

The Chinese masterpiece In the Mood for Love from acclaimed director Wong Kar-wai is a brilliant look at immense heartbreak and intense desire. The movie stars Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung as a man and woman who learn their respective spouses are having an affair together. This revelation brings them together and ignites a bond as they seek to remain platonic companions and not find themselves guilty of the same betrayal of their partners.

In the Mood for Love somehow mixes sadness with sexiness to create a story that explores the complexity of romance and the pain of unrequited love.

This romance movie on Max is beautifully shot with engrossing performances from the leads. In the Mood for Love somehow mixes sadness with sexiness to create a story that explores the complexity of romance and the pain of unrequited love. The film has gone done as one of the best movies of the 21st century and an international title Max subscribers who enjoy love stories are guaranteed to enjoy.

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1 Casablanca (1942)

Starring Humphrey Bogart & Ingrid Bergman

Casablanca Release Date November 26, 1942 Director Michael Curtiz Cast Humphrey Bogart , Ingrid Bergman , Paul Henreid , Claude Rains , Conrad Veidt , Sydney Greenstreet Writers Julius J. Epstein , Philip G. Epstein , Howard Koch , Murray Burnett , Joan Alison , Casey Robinson Studio(s) Warner Bros. Pictures

Max subscribers are in luck as perhaps the most famous romance movie of all time is available on the streaming platform right now. Casablanca's iconic quotes are still repeated to this day, but it is the romance that has cemented it as one of the great cinema classics. Set at the outbreak of World War II, Humphrey Bogart stars as an American expat who runs a club in Casablanca and reunites with his former love on the run from the Nazis with her fiancé.

The movie offers an exciting backdrop to the epic love story of two people torn apart who desperately want to be together but find their love impossible. It builds to the iconic ending which is not the happy ending audiences may have wanted but the perfect conclusion to the sweeping story.

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