Topline

From 1940s classics to a 2021 Norwegian critical favorite, these are the 10 films we calculate, classified as romantic comedies by Rotten Tomatoes, as having the highest critics scores.

Key Facts

Highest Critics Scores

1. The Philadelphia Story (1940): 100% Rotten Tomatoes, 96% Metacritic

Directed by George Cukor, known for his classics including Gaslight (1944) and A Star is Born (1954), The Philadelphia Story follows socialite Tracy Lord (Katharine Hepburn) as her ex-husband and a tabloid journalist disrupt her wedding plans.

Available to stream on HBO Max.

2. (Tie) The Lady Eve (1941): 99% Rotten Tomatoes, 96% Metacritic

Starring Henry Fonda and Barbara Stanwyck, The Lady Eve features Stanwyck’s Jane as a con artist aboard a cruise ship who falls for her target, Fonda’s Charles.

Available to rent on Amazon Prime.

2. (Tie) The Shop Around The Corner (1940): 99% Rotten Tomatoes, 96% Metacritic

Set in Budapest, Hungary, The Shop Around The Corner stars James Stewart and Margaret Sullivan as employees at a general store who dislike each other, but are falling in love with their respective pen pals—who happen to be each other.

Available to rent on Amazon Prime.

4. City Lights (1931): 95% Rotten Tomatoes, 99% Metacritic

A silent romantic comedy following a man falling in love with and trying to financially support a blind girl, City Lights was written, directed and produced by its star, Charlie Chaplin.

Available to stream on HBO Max.

5. Some Like It Hot (1959): 94% Rotten Tomatoes, 98% Metacritic

One of Marilyn Monroe’s most famous roles, for which she won her only Golden Globe Award, Some Like It Hot is a crime romantic comedy that would later inspire several stage and Broadway adaptations.

Available to stream on Pluto TV, Tubi and the Roku Channel.

6. Annie Hall (1977): 97% Rotten Tomatoes, 92% Metacritic

A romantic comedy-drama about the rise and fall of a comedian (Woody Allen) and singer (Diane Keaton)’s relationship, Annie Hall won four Academy Awards, including Best Actress for Keaton and Best Picture.

Available to rent on Amazon Prime.

7. The Apartment (1960): 93% Rotten Tomatoes, 94% Metacritic

The Apartment stars Jack Lemmon as an insurance worker who, in an attempt to climb the corporate ladder, lets his senior coworkers use his Upper West Side apartment for their extramarital affairs.

Available to stream on Pluto TV or Tubi.

8. (Tie) The Worst Person In The World (2021): 96% Rotten Tomatoes, 90% Metacritic

A Norwegian romantic comedy-drama, The Worst Person In The World follows Renate Reinsve’s Julie as she struggles to navigate her love life and career in Oslo.

Available to stream on Hulu.

8. (Tie) The Artist (2011): 95% Rotten Tomatoes, 89% Metacritic

Shot like a silent, black-and-white film, Best Picture winner The Artist takes place in early Hollywood and follows the relationship between an older fading star and a young rising actress as the film industry transitions to the “talkies.”

Available to stream on HBO Max.

10. It Happened One Night (1934): 98% Rotten Tomatoes, 87% Metacritic

Starring Claudette Colbert and Clark Gable as Ellie Andrews and Peter Warne, a socialite and a reporter who fall in love despite Ellie’s father’s wishes, It Happened One Night became the first of only three films to date to win the “big five” Academy Awards categories: Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay.

Available to rent on Amazon Prime.

Highest Domestic Grossing Rom-Coms Of Past 20 Years (2003-2023)

1. Hitch (2005): $179,495,555

Hitch stars Will Smith as Alex “Hitch” Hitchens, a dating coach trying to help his client (Kevin James) win over celebrity Allegra Cole (Amber Valletta), who faces his own struggles trying to woo a tabloid reporter (Eva Mendes).

Available to rent on Amazon Prime.

2. Crazy Rich Asians (2018): $174,532,921

The first film with a majority Asian cast in a modern setting since The Joy Luck Club (1993), Crazy Rich Asians follows Constance Wu’s Rachel Chu as she learns of her boyfriend’s extremely wealthy family and faces his disapproving mother.

Available to stream on HBO Max.

3. The Proposal (2009): $163,958,031

Starring Sandra Bullock, Ryan Reynolds and Betty White, The Proposal features Bullock as a book editor who marries Reynolds, her assistant, to avoid deportation to Canada.

Available to rent on Amazon Prime.

4. Sex And The City (2008): $152,647,258

A continuation of the popular TV series, Sex and the City stars Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattral, Cynthia Nixon, and Kristin Davis as their original characters set several years in the future.

Available to rent on Amazon Prime.

5. Knocked Up (2007): $148,768,917

Knocked Up stars Seth Rogen as an irresponsible slacker and Katherine Heigl as a journalist whose one-night stand results in an accidental pregnancy.

Available to stream on HBO Max.

6. Bringing Down The House (2003): $132,716,677

Lawyer Peter Sanderson (Steve Martin) thinks he meets a fellow lawyer while trying online dating, but she turns out to be an escaped convict (Queen Latifah).

Available to rent on Amazon Prime.

7. Silver Linings Playbook (2012): $132,092,958

Jennifer Lawrence won the Best Actress Oscar for her performance in Silver Linings Playbook, in which her character offers to help Bradley Cooper’s Pat Solatano, a man struggling with bipolar disorder, reconnect with his wife.

Available to stream with Starz.

8. Something’s Gotta Give (2003): $124,728,738

Jack Nicholson’s Harry Sanborn, a man in his 60s with an eye for younger women, begins falling for his young girlfriend’s mother (Diane Keaton) when he has a heart attack and is prescribed bed rest at their home.

Available to stream on Hulu.

9. 50 First Dates (2004): $120,908,074

Drew Barrymore’s Lucy has short-term memory loss, so Adam Sandler’s Henry has to woo her all over again every day.

Available to rent on Amazon Prime.

10. The Break-Up (2006): $118,703,275

The Break-Up stars Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn as a broken-up couple who both refuse to move out of their shared condo.

Available to rent on Amazon Prime.

Key Background

The Rotten Tomatoes critics score, known as the Tomatometer, is the percentage of critics who have given the film a positive review. A movie with at least 60% positive reviews is given a fresh tomato, while those with a score of less than 60% are given a splat. Metacritic calculates a weighted average of critics’ reviews, assigning different weights to each critic and publication depending on importance or quality. Scores are displayed in green, yellow or red—indicating favorable, mixed or unfavorable reviews—and films with a score of at least 81% are designated as “must-see.” Both Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic track user ratings and allow users to write reviews, though these are displayed separately from critics’ scores.

Further Reading

The 200 Best Romantic Comedies Of All Time (Rotten Tomatoes)

These 35 Rom-Coms Have Near Perfect Rotten Tomatoes Scores, Including ‘Set It Up’ (Bustle)