28 of the Best Movies to Watch on New Year’s Eve

For many of us, New Year’s Eve represents not just the climax of a long holiday season, but also a time to simultaneously reflect, and to look forward to what’s ahead—sometimes with optimism, sometimes with sheer dread. (Lately, mostly dread.)

Movies have frequently recognized the simultaneously hopeful and perilous nature of the time. It can be a period of reassessment, or renewal, or massive change. This selection of choice New Year’s Eve movies reflects that range of possibilities, including everything from romance and murder, to comedy and tragedy, to wild sex and heartbreaking loneliness.

The Substance (2024)

New Year’s resolutions, for better or worse, frequently include promises to take better care of our bodies in the months to come—though we often just mean we want to find ways to look younger, skinnier, prettier. In this lurid arthouse horror flick, Demi Moore plays Elisabeth Sparkle, a solidly middle-aged celebrity fired from her aerobics show solely because of her age. She’s soon introduced to titular Substance, which allows her to generate a younger version of herself with her own consciousness. It’s a dire warning about the potential costs of our endless hunger for youth, and the climax appropriately comes during a New Year’s Eve telecast that goes horrifically askew. You can stream The Substance for Mubi or rent it from Prime Video.

When Harry Met Sally (1989)

The Rob Reiner/Nora Ephron classic follows Billy Crystal’s Harry and Meg Ryan’s Sally over the course of 11 tempestuous years, with two major scenes set at New Year’s Eve parties: The first involves a midnight kiss that signals the beginning of a potential romantic relationship between the two; the second comes at the climax of the film, when a decade’s worth of growth, apart and together, sees the two in the same place at the same time, both literally and metaphorically. You can stream When Harry Met Sally on Pluto TV or rent it from Prime Video.

The Gold Rush (1925)

You might be forgiven for forgetting that one of early American cinema’s most memorable moments was centered around New Year’s Eve: in Charlie Chaplin’e early classic, his Prospector character meets Georgia (Georgia Hale), a dance hall girl who dances with him to irritate an obnoxious suitor. She accepts his invitation to a NYE dinner, but mostly forgets about it. While she’s having a blast at a big party, he’s alone in his cabin, dreaming of company—and entertaining his make-believe guests with a pair of dancing potatoes. (Not to worry: Georgia soon comes to see what a catch the Prospector is.) You can stream The Gold Rush on Max, Tubi, The Criterion Channel, Prime Video, and Freevee.

Phantom Thread (2017)

There’s a relatively brief, but crucial, scene in Paul Thomas Anderson’s film set on New Year’s Eve. It’s climax is arguably the moment on which the entire film turns: Renowned dressmaker Reynolds Woodcock (Daniel Day-Lewis) has been in a relationship with waitress Alma Elson (Vicky Krieps), one that seems poised to break through his carefully constructed routine. He refuses her request to go to a NYE party, though, and, when she goes on her own, he follows her and very nearly drags her away. The moment makes clear that, if this relationship has any chance of succeeding, drastic changes will need to happen. The contemplation of such coming change is, in a roundabout way, what New Year’s Eve is all about. You can stream Phantom Thread on Netflix or rent it from Prime Video.

The Godfather Part II (1974)

The climax of the film, and the single most pivotal moment in Michael Corleone’s life, comes during a New Year’s Eve party in Cuba. It’s the night that Michael (Al Pacino) learns of his betrayal by his brother, Fredo (John Cazale). The fateful kiss that ensues is a deliberate inversion of the traditional midnight kiss—one that ensures that neither Michael nor Fredo will be having a particularly happy year. You can stream The Godfather Part II on Paramount+ or rent it from Prime Video.

Rocky (1976)

A little New Year’s inspiration, perhaps, offered up by a film with multiple seasonal themes. Journeyman boxer Rocky Balboa is given a chance at the big time when heavyweight champion Apollo Creed (the late, great Carl Weathers) finds himself in need of an opponent for a planned fight. Unwilling to blow his big chance, Rocky finds a scrappy trainer and a scrappier love interest while working toward the big fight on New Year’s Day. While the outcome isn’t fully in Rocky’s favor, he reminds us that sometimes we can win by losing, dusting ourselves off to fight again (in approximately 80 sequels and spin-offs). You can rent Rocky from Prime Video.

Ghostbusters II (1989)

It might be a lesser film in the Ghostbusters canon, but there’s still plenty of fun to be had with this sequel. The entire film builds towards a New Year’s Eve climax, with the machinations of Vigo the Carpathian and company moving toward the turning of the year. New York City is saved, ultimately, by some emotionally charged slime and a moving rendition of “Auld Lang Syne.” You can rent Ghostbusters II from Prime Video.

Waiting to Exhale (1995)

This Terry McMillan adaptation about the power of female friendships has an all-time great cast led by Whitney Houston, Angela Bassett, Loretta Devine, and Lela Rochon. Bassett’s character, Bernadine, has a singularly powerful revelation, leading to a memorable revenge sequence, on New Year’s Eve. You can stream Waiting to Exhale on Hulu or rent it from Prime Video.

The Apartment (1960)

Set almost entirely between Christmas and New Year’s Eve, Billy Wilder’s Best Picture winner was groundbreaking in its approach to sexuality. Jack Lemmon plays Bud Baxter, an insurance clerk who’s climbed the corporate ladder by loaning out his apartment to the higher-ups to use for their extramarital affairs. In the midst of that, a fraught affection develops between Bud and Shirley MacLaine’s Fran, the office building’s elevator operator, a woman who’s herself been in a joyless affair with Bud’s boss (Fred MacMurray). A fairly miserable New Year’s Eve party gives way to something a bit more hopeful when Fran realizes that love might just be worth taking a chance on. You can stream The Apartment on Tubi, Freevee, and Prime Video.

Il Posto (1961)

Along similarly wistful lines, the Italian classic satire Il Posto follows Domenico (Sandro Panseri), a young man pressured by his family to jump right into a career, which he does by signing on witha soul-sucking corporation. At work, he meets Antonietta (Loredana Detto), a young woman in a very similar boat, with whom he steals a few moments at an office New Year’s party. The film offers no tangible hope of an escape from the endless grind of modern-day capitalism, but it does serve as a timely reminder that the work is meaningless, and time spent with kindred spirits is far more valuable. You can stream Il Posto on The Criterion Channel.

Snowpiercer (2013)

Bong Joon-ho’s post-apocalypse is coming up quick, what with Snowpiercer being set in 2031. Here, the survivors of climate catastrophe live together on one giant train that travels the frozen, lifeless globe. The annual celebration here comes once a year, when the train has completed a full circle of the world. It’s one such celebration of the train’s new year that the oppressed, maltreated residents of the train’s tail end use as an opportunity to stage a revolt against the entitled and pampered passengers at the front. Not the worst New Year’s resolution to make, honestly. You can stream Snowpiercer on Tubi or rent it from Prime Video.

The Poseidon Adventure (1972)

An all-star triumph from the golden age of disaster cinema, the original Poseidon Adventure finds Gene Hackman, Ernest Borgnine, Jack Albertson, Shelley Winters, and Red Buttons (among others) trapped on a cruise liner that’s been capsized by an undersea earthquake; one that happens within moments of the ball drop and big party. They’ll all have to spend New Year’s Day clawing and scraping their way back to the surface—which is as good a hangover metaphor as you’re likely to find in an upside-down boat movie. You can rent The Poseidon Adventure from Prime Video

Sleepless in Seattle (1993)

New Year’s Eve represents the past in Nora Ephron’s romantic comedy-drama, as architect Sam (Tom Hanks) has a sweet but imagined conversation with his late wife set during holiday festivities. The future? Valentine’s Day, as Sam and Annie (Meg Ryan) are drawn toward a meeting at the top of the Empire State Building. You can rent Sleepless in Seattle from Prime Video.

After the Thin Man (1936)

The breezy, boozy chemistry between William Powell and Myrna Loy is a highlight of the entire Thin Man series, and it’s still running strong in this first sequel, when married sleuths Nick and Nora Charles are expecting a dull New Year’s Eve, only to find themselves in the middle of a kidnapping and murder (involving Jimmy Stewart in his first major film role). The previous movie is set at Christmas, so you might as well watch that one, too. You can rent After the Thin Man from Prime Video.

Holiday (1938)

Would you rather spend New Year’s Eve with William Powell and Myrna Loy or with Katherine Hepburn and Cary Grant? Why choose—Holiday and After the Thin Man are short enough that you can watch both in less time than a single Avatar movie. Here Grant plays Johnny Case, a self-made thousandaire (hey, it was the depression) who wants to take some time off and enjoy the bit of money he’s made while also planning to marry Julia, who’s fine and fun and all, but ultimately can’t compare to her vivacious older sister Linda (Hepburn). A series of memorable New Year’s Eve somersaults set them both on the road to discovering each other, but George Cukor’s film doesn’t make it nearly that easy. Each needs to decide what they want out of life, and what they’re willing to do to get it, before they can really see one another. You can stream Holiday on Prime Video.

New Year’s Evil (1980)

Is it among the best of the slasher genre? It is not. It’s pretty charmingly goofy, though, with a killer calling into a NYE radio show promising to kill people across the United States as midnight arrives in each time zone. In the harsh light of day, it probably won’t fit the bill—but it might be perfect in that boozy post-midnight haze. It’s also got a very solid title track. You can stream New Year’s Evil on MGM+ and Pluto TV.

Midnight Kiss (2019)

Technically an episode of Hulu’s Into the Dark anthology series, the feature-length Midnight Kiss finds a bunch of gay friends (and their straight woman friend) heading out to a gorgeous place in the desert for an annual tradition: they’ll each pick someone at random to kiss at midnight. Old resentments bubble to the surface, egged on (unbeknownst to most of them) by a serial killer. It’s no spoiler to suggest that they won’t all make it to New Year’s Day. You can stream Midnight Kiss on Hulu.

Sunset Boulevard (1950)

One-time movie star Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson) is a mess, frankly, and it’s never more clear than during her elaborate, catered New Year’s party for two: her, and Joe (William Holden)—who we already know will wind up dead in Norma’s pool. This might be the moment when we realize just how delusional the diva had become. On the other hand, NYE is a time for a little bit of sloppiness, and, though treated as an ancient relic, Swanson was only 50 when this was filmed, so maybe we can cut her some slack. You can stream Sunset Boulevard on Paramount+ or rent it from Prime Video.

Repeat Performance (1947)

What if we consider, for just one moment, that the changing of years might not be a time of blessed renewal, but instead an opportunity to travel back in time and try to undo some of the stuff you royally fucked up in the prior year. Given that we’re solidly in noir territory here, don’t expect overwhelming success. On New Year’s Eve 1946, Sheila Page (Joan Leslie) stands over the dead body of her husband, wishing that she could do things differently. Et voila! she’s back at the beginning of the year and trying to stop the disintegration of her marriage with some help from her gay bestie (Richard Basehart). You can stream Repeat Performance on Kanopy.

About Time (2013)

Another time-travel movie with a key New Year’s Eve sequence, this one’s significantly less murder-y. Rachel McAdams and Domhnall Gleeson star as Mary and Tim, a couple whose story is constantly in flux thanks to Tim’s ability to move through time—an ability that comes in particularly handy when he wants to keep trying a New Year’s kiss until it’s just right. You can rent About Time from Prime Video.

An American in Paris (1951)

We do love a New Year’s party theme, and they don’t come much better (nor more thoroughly designed) than the black-and-white party at the center of Gene Kelly’s An American in Paris, the film that won the Best Picture Oscar in its year. You can rent An American in Paris from Prime Video.

Ocean’s 11 (1960)

It’s less a meticulously crafted piece of cinema than an excuse for the Rat Pack (Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford, and Joey Bishop) to hang—but that cool, boozy chemistry goes a surprisingly long way. Sinatra plays Danny Ocean, who brings together his old Army buddies with an elaborate New Year’s Eve plan to simultaneously rob five Las Vegas casinos: the Sahara, the Riviera, the Desert Inn, the Sands, and the Flamingo. You can stream Ocean’s 11 on Tubi or rent it from Prime Video.

Happy New Year (2014)

With a bit of inspiration from Ocean’s Eleven (the 2001 version), this Hindi-language action comedy stars Shah Rukh Khan as a gritty street fighter who plans a heist as a means of getting back at the man who had his father wrongfully imprisoned. His target? The real-life Hotel Atlantis in Dubai. The catch? He and his team will need to infiltrate a dance competition, though none of them can dance. The result is, unsurprisingly, glorious. You can stream Happy New Year on Netflix.

High School Musical (2006)

Try not to be alarmed that the feel-good Disney Channel movie is, itself, old enough to start sending off college applications. Just enjoy the 2000s vibes and, particularly, the opening sequence. Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montez (Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens) meet up at a ski lodge on New Year’s Eve for a very seasonally appropriate duet called “Start of Something New.” You can stream High School Musical on Disney+ or rent it from Prime Video.

Rent (2005)

The adaptation of the stage musical (starring much of the original cast) kicks off on a chilly New York New Year’s Eve, and asks the question that’s on all of our minds around this time: How do you measure a year? You can stream Rent on Hoopla or rent Rent from Prime Video.

Are We There Yet? (2005)

Ice Cube stars here alongside Nia Long, Jay Mohr and Tracy Morgan in a charmingly goofy (and family-friendly) movie about a New Year’s Eve trip to the airport. Sounds simple, sure, but Nick (Ice Cube) is determined to impress the woman he likes by picking up her kids and bringing them to meet her for a flight to Vancouver. Suffice it to say, the kids do not make it easy. If you have even more time to kill on New Year’s Eve, there’s a sequel (Are We Done Yet?) and a spin-off TV series, all currently streaming. You can stream Are We There Yet on Hoopla or rent it from Prime Video.

Diner (1982)

In 1959, a group of close, college-age friends reunite in time for the New Year’s Eve wedding of Eddie (Steve Guttenberg), the circumstances prompting a fair bit of introspection on the prospect of fully transitioning to adulthood. NYE is a time for reflection, so why not? Kevin Bacon, Mickey Rourke, Daniel Stern, and Tim Daly make up the rest of the group. You can rent Diner from Prime Video.

Trading Places (1983)

Trading Places starts off at Christmas and peaks with a New Year’s Eve train ride involving a heist, two gorillas (one real, one fake), and multiple disguises. The comedy is often very silly here, but Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd have tremendous chemistry and, unusual for the 1980s, the movie has some very pointed commentary about corporate greed. You can rent Trading Places from Prime Video.