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You may still be watching Christmas movies — and there’s nothing wrong with that — but consider adding a couple of New Year’s movies into the mix.
We’re counting down the 10 best New Years movies to help ring in 2024. Our list has 2 conditions:
- At least one scene must occur on New Year’s Eve
- The movie must be available to watch on a streaming service (without a rental fee)
That means the whole movie doesn’t need to be centered around New Year’s Eve. (Because if we did that, we’d have a very short list.)
🎄 CHECK OUT: The best Christmas Movies on Paramount+, Peacock, or Hulu if you’re still feeling the Xmas spirit
Top 10 New Year movies countdown
10… Mermaids (1990)
Set in 1963, Mermaids is a coming-of-age tale with Winona Ryder, Cher, and Bob Hoskins at the height of their star power. It’s also the film debut of Christina Ricci.
Cher’s a flighty mother who moves every time another one of her relationships goes down like the Titanic. Ryder is her neurotic 15-year-old daughter who feels lost at sea. And Bob Hoskins might just be their lifeboat. Okay, that’s enough water metaphors.
New Year’s Eve in Mermaids is when Cher truly is a mermaid — ie: that’s when she dons the costume seen in the movie poster. It also serves as a major turning point in the film’s story.
There’s some sex talk (and underage sex), but it’s still a family-friendly comedy-drama if you’re looking for something for all ages to watch.
Stream it on:
9… When Harry Met Sally… (1989)
It’s surprising the movie only made $92 million at the box office, because its impact feels bigger than that. (Who on earth doesn’t know the fake orgasm scene?)
In 1977 new college grads Harry and Sally share a ride from Chicago to NYC and argue about whether a man and a woman can be just friends.
A decade later they bump into each other in a New York bookstore and put it to the test. Can they be friends without banging? And if they bang, can they remain friends? (Keep in mind, this was 6 years before Alanis Morisette first sang about friends with benefits.)
It all comes to a head on, you guessed it, New Year’s Eve. Twice!
It’s #23 on the American Film Institute’s 100 Laughs list of The 100 Funniest American Movies Of All Time. So you may as well watch it.
Stream it on:
Paramount+ (via Apple TV only), Fubo
8… Angel Heart (1987)
Long before Mickey Rourke fell victim to cosmetic surgery, he was a handsome devil. So you might overlook the fact that his 35-year-old character pursues a 17-year-old (played by Lisa Bonet).
Set in 1955, private eye Harry Angel is hired to find a missing man. His client is an equally mysterious man with a cane and long fingernails (portrayed by Robert DeNiro during his Cameo Period).
Angel chain-smokes unfiltered Camels all over New Orleans as he follows clues, encounters voodoo, and watches the bodies stack up.
The whole story pivots on what happened on New Year’s Eve in 1943. But saying more than that gets into spoiler territory.
“Are you an atheist?”
“Yes, I am. I’m from Brooklyn.”
Trigger warning for animal lovers: chickens were definitely harmed during the making of this film.
Stream it on:
Paramount+
7… Sunset Boulevard (1950)
Sunset Boulevard is on just about every ‘best movies” list out there and it still holds up after nearly three-quarters of a century.
Aging silver screen star Norma Desmond hires aspiring screenwriter Joe to write her comeback. And while he has plans to take advantage of her, the tables are quickly turned.
“What time are they supposed to get here?”
“Who?”
“The other guests.”
“There are no other guests.”
The New Year’s Eve party Norma throws at her mansion — complete with a live orchestra — was a huge red flag for Joe.
But Joe apparently didn’t care much for flags.
And it’s one of the great scenes in one of Hollywood’s greatest films.
Stream it on:
Paramount+
6… Forrest Gump (1994)
Follow low-IQ Forrest from childhood through adulthood as the simple man lives one of history’s most extraordinary lives.
The comedy-drama raked in a gazillion dollars at the box office, was nominated for 90 film awards (winning 29), and landed on every Best Of list from Hollywood to Timbuktu.
History hasn’t been as kind to the movie as it was to Forrest, however, and modern audiences and critics are much more divided on the film.
But with so much going on in the film, how did it make this list?
Because Forrest and Lieutenant Dan watch the ball drop toward 1972 in a New York City bar, knocking backing beers and sipping on Dr. Pepper.
BONUS POINTS: If you start the movie at 10:38:57 PM on New Year’s Eve, you can watch the ball drop along with Forrest and Lt. Dan.
Stream it on:
Paramount+, Pluto TV
5… Diner (1982)
Barry Levinson’s directorial film debut was packed with future star power. The cast is a Who’s Who of the 80s and 90s, including Kevin Bacon, Tim Daly, Paul Reiser, Steve Guttenberg, Daniel Stren, and Ellen Barkin. It also stars Mickey Rourke, five years younger than in the aforementioned Angel Heart!
Diner is set in 1959, which is incidentally 4 years after Angel Heart take place.
Teetering on the precipice of adulthood, childhood friends reunite at the local diner before one of them gets married on New Year’s Eve.
Not a whole lot happens, but with the chemistry between the 5 stars, it doesn’t need to. Which is why it’s also on the American Film Institute’s list of 100 Funniest American Movies Of All Time.
Stream it on:
Max
4… Snowpiercer (2013)
Before directing the first non-English movie to win the Best Picture Oscar, Bong Joon-ho directed one of the highest-grossing films in South Korean history.
Snowpiercer.
After a climate disaster results in a Snowball Earth, the titular train must perpetually circumnavigate the globe, lest it will freeze up and kill everyone aboard. It’s kind of like a dystopian Speed.
But what’s a dystopia without classes?
That means there’s the front of the train and the back of the train. And those in the latter aren’t too happy.
During a moment of levity amidst a bloody battle in a non-stop sci-fi thriller, we are treated to one of cinema’s most memorable countdowns.
If you’ve watched the Snowpiercer TV series but haven’t seen the film, you need to put this at the top of your to-watch list. (And check out this update on Season 4 of Snowpiercer.)
Stream it on:
3… Boogie Nights (1997)
In 1977 in the San Fernando Valley anything was possible. If it had to do with porn, that is. So well-endowed teenager Eddie (Mark Wahlberg) gives up his career as a busboy to become Dirk Diggler, Porn Star.
When Burt Reynolds announces it’s 2 minutes to midnight, William H. Macy goes looking for his wife to kiss. He then gives us one of cinema’s most unforgettable ways to ring in the new year.
It’s been called one of the greatest movies of all time. Besides, it’s a Paul Thomas Anderson film. If you haven’t seen it, see it.
Stream it on:
Paramount+
2… The Poseidon Adventure (1972)
The 1970s were the golden age of the disaster film, and one of the decade’s best is also the ultimate New Year’s Eve nightmare.
The S.S. Poseidon leaves NYC bound for Greece and gets hit by a tidal wave (which were a real fear in the 70s) on New Year’s Eve.
A small group of survivors band together and fight their way through the capsized ship.
It raked in over 25x its budget at the box office and when it premiered on network television 2 years later, more than 60% of American viewers watched it on ABC.
Harrowing, intense, and at moments sad, The Poseidon Adventure still floats 50+ years after its release. Don’t bother with its sequel, Beyond or the Poseidon Adventure, or the awful 2005 remake Poseidon.
Stream it on:
Starz
1… Strange Days (1995)
In her follow-up film to (the amazing) Point Break, and a decade-plus before she became the first woman to win the Best Director Oscar for Zero Dark Thirty, Kathryn Bigelow made an underrated sci-fi thriller by the name of Strange Days.
As the world ticks toward the year 2000, Los Angeles is a veritable war zone. Ex-cop-cum-criminal Lenny (Ralph Fiennes) sells VR memories. When he comes across one that’s recorded a murder, he teams up with Mace (Angela Basset) to hunt down the killer.
The pair soon find themselves in the middle of a conspiracy involving his old police force. And it all comes to a head on New Year’s Eve.
Even though it was a box office failure, Bigelow still nabbed the Best Director Saturn Award (the first woman to do so) and star Angela Basset won Best Actress.
Hit the lights, turn up the volume, and jack in to one of the best New Year’s movies ever made.
Stream it on:
Which streaming service has the most New Year’s movies?
Based on our list of Top 10 New Year’s movies on streaming, Paramount+ is the clear winner with 5 New Year’s movies on the platform. HOWEVER, one of those movies (When Harry Met Sally…) is only on Paramount+ via Apple TV.
Max comes in second with 3 New Year’s movies, while Netflix, Hulu, and Starz all have one each.
New Year’s movies that didn’t make our Top 10 but are still on streaming, include While You were Sleeping on Paramount+ and Disney+, Ghostbusters II and Sleepless in Seattle on AMC+, and Radio Days which is on Prime Video. The Godfather Part II is also on Paramount+, but like When Harry Met Sally…, it’s only for those who subscribe through Apple TV.
New Year’s movies NOT on streaming
If you’re not bound by your streaming services, digital rentals — or purchases — open the door to a much wider selection of New Years movies to choose from.
One of the best New Year’s movies not on streaming but available to rent is… Rent. Both the movie and the stage musical are must-see experiences for anyone who loves musicals.
Other favorites include the original Ocean’s 11, Pollock, and Entrapment, with cinema’s most famous security laser beam scene. They’re all available for digital rental at the usual suspects.
Our #1 favorite New Year’s movie NOT on streaming (but digitally rentable) is Down and Out in Beverly Hills.
Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986)
Based on the French play Boudu sauvé des eaux by Rene Fauchois, homeless man Jerry (Nick Nolte) attempts suicide by drowning himself in a Beverly Hills backyard pool. He’s saved by the wealthy homeowners and taken in by Dave and Barbara Whitehead, played by Richard Dreyfuss and Bette Midler.
This fish — or literally, man — out of water story follows familiar territory as misfit Jerry prompts a little introspection among the elite. But of course this also causes tensions to rise — all hitting the climax at the Whitehead’s New Year’s Eve party.
Down and Out’s stake in cinematic history is being the first R-rated Disney film.
Rent it on:
Apple TV, Amazon, Google Play, YouTube, Microsoft, DirecTV
Other New Year’s movies
Are there any New Year’s movies on streaming that we’ve missed that you think deserve a place on the list? Let us know in the comments below!
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