14 Celebratory Movies to Watch on New Year’s Eve

Whether you’re planning a quiet night at home to ring in the new year, or just need something fun to play on the TV at your party, it’s always a good idea to have a New Year’s Eve movie in your back pocket.

But what makes a perfect New Year’s Eve film? Is it something that warms your heart and makes you reflect on the past year? It is an energetic adventure that keeps you wide-awake until the clock strikes midnight? Or does it just have to include a party scene with a countdown?

Luckily, our list includes all of the above, from rom-coms like Garry Marshall’s New Year’s Eve to ‘80s slashers like New Year’s Evil to classics like Casablanca with historical ties to the holiday.

So, if you want to know what time to start Forrest Gump so you can count down to 2026 with Forrest and Lt. Dan, here are all of the best films to watch on New Year’s Eve.

New Year’s Eve

You can’t talk about New Year’s Eve films without mentioning Marshall’s New Year’s Eve. Much like Love Actually and Valentine’s Day, this 2011 film follows the interwoven stories of several different people as they ring in the new year.

This warm rom-com gets its heart from its star-studded cast, which includes Michelle Pfeiffer, Zac Efron, Robert De Niro, Hilary Swank, Katherine Heigl, Josh Duhamel, Halle Berry, Jessica Biel, Abigail Breslin and more.

New Year’s Eve is perfect if you’re looking for a light watch, but you may want to keep your tissues handy! It can be a real tear-jerker.

Watch New Year’s Eve on Starz

When Harry Met Sally…

This 1989 Rob Reiner film has everything: comedy, romance, Meg Ryan, Billy Crystal and the biggest moment of the film comes on New Year’s Eve, making it the perfect cozy watch for ringing in the new year at home.

“You knew it was special,” Crystal told PEOPLE in 2024 about working on the movie. “You don’t know that it’s 35 years special.” The legendary actor credited the “terrific script” and his “fantastic chemistry” with Ryan as the reason for the film’s long-lasting success.

Watch When Harry Met Sally… on Starz

Casablanca

Classic 1942 film Casablanca may not be about New Year’s Eve, but it has a historical connection to the new year. Though it was finished in 1942 and set to premiere in the spring of 1943, the sudden attention on Casablanca (the Moroccan city) amid the Allies’ Operation Torch in WWII made the studio push up the release.

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt screened the film in the White House on New Year’s Eve 1942, nine days before traveling to the Casablanca Conference.

The film itself is a romantic wartime drama that follows an American expat (Humphrey Bogart) who has to decide between his love for a lady (Ingrid Bergman) and helping her Czech resistance leader husband (Paul Henreid) escape the city of Casablanca to fight the Nazis.

If you start the film at exactly 10:28 PM, the crowd in the film will be singing “La Marseillaise” at midnight, and you can ring in the new year with them!

Watch Casablanca on HBO Max

Trading Places

This 1983 comedy/drama features two wealthy brothers (Don Ameche and Ralph Bellamy) switching lives with a successful broker (Dan Aykroyd) and a broke hustler (Eddie Murphy) in a test of nature versus nurture. When Aykroyd and Murphy decide to team up, the brothers find themselves in hot water.

Trading Places takes place between Christmas and New Year’s, with the climax of the film happening at a New Year’s Eve party, making it the perfect upbeat choice for your party on Dec. 31.

Watch Trading Places on Tubi

The Apartment

The Apartment starts on Christmas and ends on New Year’s, following the story of a man named C.C. Baxter (Jack Lemmon) who loans out his Upper West Side apartment for successful businessmen to use as a love nest with their mistresses. The drama comes when he learns his boss (Fred MacMurray) is sleeping with his own love interest, Fran Kubelik (Shirley MacLaine).

This classic comedy was released in 1960, but its reputation stands the test of time. Talking about her legendary role in 2015, MacLaine admitted they “didn’t know” where the plot was going when they started shooting, and her real-life friendship with Lemmon is what ultimately decided the ending.

“I think chemistry is good when you find yourself on a discovery mission,” she said at the TCM Classic Film Festival in 2015. “So, the love affair between Fran and [Baxter] became basically what [the directors] observed.”

Watch The Apartment on Tubi

Forrest Gump

While Forrest Gump isn’t centered entirely around New Year’s Eve, one of its most memorable scenes unfolds as the clock strikes midnight. In the 1994 film, Forrest (Tom Hanks) reunites with Lt. Dan (Gary Sinise) at a New Year’s Eve party in New York City. If you start the film at 10:38 pm on Dec. 31st, you can count down to midnight with them!

Forrest Gump became a cultural phenomenon, winning six Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Hanks. The film was a family affair, as his daughter E.A. Hanks appears in it as well.

“What was unique about your role as ‘mean girl on the bus?’ ” Tom asked his daughter at an April 2025 event, to which E.A. replied with a laugh, “That I was the only kid who didn’t get paid.”

Watch Forrest Gump on Tubi

Phantom Thread

Paul Thomas Anderson’s 2017 film Phantom Thread features Daniel Day-Lewis opposite Vicky Krieps. This glamorous romance/drama takes place in the 1950s and follows a man in the fashion industry, so you can believe the luxurious New Year’s Eve party he attends would make Gatsby proud.

If you start the movie at 10:14 pm, you can count down into the New Year alongside the crowd at the luxurious party.

Watch Phantom Thread on Netflix

The Poseidon Adventure

The 1972 disaster classic The Poseidon Adventure takes place on New Year’s Eve aboard the luxury ocean liner S.S. Poseidon, where passengers and crew are sent into panic when a rogue wave capsizes the ship. The film follows the small group of survivors as they work to escape the boat before it sinks.

Gene Hackman stars as a defiant former minister alongside a cast of characters including Ernest Borgnine, Shelley Winters, Red Buttons and Stella Stevens. If you want a film that will keep you wide awake until midnight and beyond, this high-stakes adventure should do the trick.

Watch The Poseidon Adventure on Prime Video

Ghostbusters II

This Ghostbusters sequel’s big finale takes place on New Year’s Eve, where the legendary paranormal investigator team of Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis and Ernie Hudson battle the ghost of a Carpathian tyrant named Vigo.

The Ghostbusters race against the clock to stop Vigo from coming back at midnight, with a big showdown against the backdrop of fireworks and music, and a slime-covered Statue of Liberty. This funny and exciting movie is perfect for keeping the vibes high all night long.

Watch Ghostbusters 2 on Philo

While You Were Sleeping

The 1995 romantic comedy While You Were Sleeping takes place during the holiday season in Chicago, with its biggest moment arriving on New Year’s Eve. Sandra Bullock stars as Lucy, a lonely transit worker whose crush on a stranger snowballs out of control after an accident lands him in the hospital.

As Lucy gets entangled with his family, she finds romance in an unexpected place. This tender film will fill you with warm, fuzzy feelings to start your new year on a bright note.

Watch While You Were Sleeping on Disney+

About Time

Richard Curtis’ About Time makes New Year’s Eve a recurring touchstone as Tim (Domhnall Gleeson) learns that the men in their family can travel back in time and uses that secret to improve his love life.

One of the 2013 film’s most important New Year’s Eve moments comes when Tim finally chooses to spend the holiday not chasing romance, but revisiting a cherished memory with his father (Bill Nighy). Rachel McAdams costars as Tim’s wife, Mary.

This sweet sci-fi/romance might just help you reflect on the year gone, think about what matters most and feel gratitude for what you have.

Rent or buy About Time on Prime Video

New Year’s Evil

If you’re looking for something to get your heart racing, you may want to check out the 1980 cult slasher New Year’s Evil. The horror film follows a sadistic killer who calls into a Los Angeles punk rock radio station and announces he will murder a different woman each time the clock strikes midnight in a new U.S. time zone on New Year’s Eve.

This movie is as cheesy as it is dark, perfect for anyone who is looking for more fun than reflection.

Watch New Year’s Evil on Pluto TV

Four Rooms

This unique anthology is set entirely inside a L.A. hotel on New Year’s Eve, with each story being directed by a different filmmaker, including Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, Allison Anders and Alexandre Rockwell. The star-studded cast includes Tim Roth, Antonio Banderas, Marisa Tomei, Madonna, Salma Hayek, Kathy Griffin and more.

The tone of the 1995 comedy varies from room to room, but all embrace the anything-can-happen energy of New Year’s Eve. For a unique pick that’s a little dark and offbeat, check this one out.

Rent or buy Four Rooms on Prime Video

Money Train

This 1995 action/comedy uses New Year’s Eve as the backdrop for its high-stakes finale. Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson star as foster brothers and transit cops who plan to rob a subway car carrying the city’s cash reserves as the city rings in the new year.

Jennifer Lopez costars as Grace, adding romance and humor to the otherwise adrenaline-fueled plot. With explosions, chases, narrow escapes and love, this film has everything to get your blood pumping as the clock strikes midnight.

Rent or buy Money Train on Prime Video