What Are the Best New Year’s Eve Movies to Stream?

What Are the Best New Year’s Eve Movies to Stream? It’s New Year’s Eve, which means it’s time to say goodbye to 2025 and hello to 2026. You could brave the cold for a party. You could squeeze into a bar. Or you could do the smartest thing of all: stay home, stay dry, stay cozy, and ring in the new year from your couch with a great New Year’s Eve movie on streaming.

No lines. No cover charges. And—unlike those poor souls packed into Times Square—unlimited access to your own bathroom.

While New Year’s Eve movies aren’t as plentiful as Christmas films, the ones that exist punch above their weight. Cinema has given us unforgettable midnight moments: Meg Ryan decoding “Auld Lang Syne” in When Harry Met Sally…, Daniel Day-Lewis silently seething at balloons in Phantom Thread, Al Pacino sealing a fate at midnight in The Godfather Part II, and Gary Sinise drifting through confetti in Forrest Gump.

Below is a fresh, updated New Year’s Eve streaming guide for late 2025 heading into 2026, followed by a roundup of newer releases and recent favorites you can find across Netflix and other major platforms. Availability can vary by region and rotation.

The Best New Year’s Eve Movies to Watch at Home

Classic New Year’s Eve Essentials

These movies understand the emotional weirdness of midnight.

When Harry Met Sally… (1989)
The gold standard of New Year’s Eve cinema. Romantic, funny, and quietly devastating in the best way.

The Apartment (1960)
Billy Wilder’s bittersweet masterpiece about loneliness, ambition, and second chances.

The Godfather Part II (1974)
Proof that New Year’s Eve doesn’t have to be cheerful. One of the most chilling midnight scenes ever filmed.

Big Ensemble “Event” Movies

Messy, glossy, and built for the night.

New Year’s Eve (2011)
Corny, overloaded with stars, and unapologetically designed for December 31.

About Time (2013)
A time-travel romance with one of the most tender New Year’s Eve sequences of the 2010s.

Stylish, Offbeat, or Unexpected Picks

For when you want something a little different.

Phantom Thread (2017)
High fashion, emotional warfare, and the most passive-aggressive New Year’s party ever filmed.

Carol (2015)
A quiet, devastating New Year’s setting that underscores the film’s themes of longing and transition.

Strange Days (1995)
A Y2K-era thriller that turns New Year’s Eve into pure cyberpunk chaos.

Comfort Watches and Crowd-Pleasers

Low stress, high vibes.

Forrest Gump (1994)
New Year’s Eve as emotional drift—nostalgic, sad, hopeful, and human.

Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001)
One of the most relatable New Year’s Eve openings ever put on screen.

Sleepless in Seattle (1993)
A companion piece to When Harry Met Sally…, with romance written in city lights and destiny.

Newer and Recent Releases to Add to Your Queue (2024–2025)

These aren’t all about New Year’s Eve, but they feature midnight moments, year-turning themes, or have become popular late-night streaming picks.

Streaming on Netflix (availability varies)

• Holidate (2020) – A modern rom-com that heavily features holidays, including New Year’s Eve

• Tick, Tick… Boom! (2021) – Captures the anxiety and hope of life transitions

• Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022) – A flashy, party-driven mystery that pairs well with a night in

• Maestro (2023) – Reflective, adult drama suited to a quieter celebration

Streaming on Max

• Phantom Thread

• The Great Gatsby (2013)

• When Harry Met Sally…

Streaming on Hulu

• The Worst Person in the World (2021)

• About Time

Streaming on Disney+ / Hulu Bundle

• The Apartment

• Forrest Gump

Widely Available to Rent or Buy

• New Year’s Eve (2011)

• Strange Days (1995)

• Carol (2015)

• Bridget Jones’s Diary

Final Thoughts

New Year’s Eve movies aren’t really about fireworks or countdowns. They’re about transitions—who you were twelve months ago, who you are right now, and who you might be tomorrow morning when the confetti has been swept away.

So grab some snacks, settle into the couch, and let someone else deal with the cold, the crowds, and the questionable porta-potties. Here’s to a cozy goodbye to 2025 and a movie-filled welcome to 2026.