Once upon a time, Hollywood was filled with fairytales – and I don’t mean the kind with dragons and princesses and swords unhelpfully stuck in stones. Instead, I mean those quieter (but by no means less magical) fairytales about human connection. About kissing someone you fancy so damn much that you feasibly forget that it’s raining. About finding your dream man on AOL Messenger. About falling in love with that guy you hated at first sight, or your insufferable best friend, or anyone played by Tom Hanks or Hugh Grant, apparently. 

These fairytales – romantic comedies, if you prefer – were filled to the brim with memorable movie makeovers, quasi-problematic love interests, trope after trope after trope, and soaring Faith Hill songs. They featured unforgettable fashion and instantly quotable lines (“I’m just a girl, standing in front of a boy…”), and a bevy of women following their hearts and dreams. Women played by Hollywood favourites like Meg Ryan, Julia Roberts, Reese Witherspoon, Sandra Bullock, Drew Barrymore and Cameron Diaz. Women written by the likes of Nora Ephron and Nancy Meyers. 

Women we wanted to be, god damn it.

Over the years, though, the world fell out of love with the romcom. They had all but disappeared from cinemas by 2013 (we blame 2009’s The Ugly Truth, quite frankly) and it wasn’t until Crazy Rich Asians blasted into our lives in 2018 that we remembered why we were such big fans of the genre in the first place.    

Since then, we have been kept well supplied with a steady stream of romcoms: some good, some bad, some good-bad. This year, however, looks set to be the romcom renaissance we’ve all been waiting for, with a whopping 34 romantic comedies lined up for us all to fall head-over-heels for in 2023.

Shotgun Wedding 

When Darcy (Jennifer Lopez) and Tom (Josh Duhamel) gather their families for a destination wedding, the ceremony is unexpectedly put on hold when the entire wedding party gets taken hostage. And, while that might not sound like the most romantic set-up of all time, know this: Jennifer Coolidge stars as Tom’s eccentric mother and she is a tornado of scene-stealing perfection (as ever).

Shotgun Wedding is available for streaming via Prime Video. 

Maybe I Do

Emma Roberts and Luke Bracey, who previously starred together in the oh-so-watchable Holidate, reunite in Maybe I Do, which sees a young couple do the inevitable and invite their parents to dinner. It quickly transpires, however, that their parents already know each other – very well, in fact – from affairs in the past. Which means that, yes, what we’re actually tuning in to see is all that sizzling chemistry between Richard Gere, Susan Sarandon, Diane Keaton and William H Macy.

Maybe I Do was released in UK cinemas on 27 January.

She Is Love

When Patricia (Haley Bennett) arrives at a country hotel in Cornwall, she encounters her ex-husband Idris (Sam Riley) who manages the place with his girlfriend Louise (Marisa Abela). Things are immediately awkward, of course, but the former couple find themselves reconnecting over a long, messy night. But as they revisit the past, are they closing themselves off to new beginnings?

She Is Love was released in UK cinemas on 3 February.

Your Place Or Mine

Your Place Or Mine follows Reese Witherspoon’s Debbie and her best friend Peter (Ashton Kutcher) who, despite being as thick as thieves, couldn’t be more different; she craves routine with her son in LA, while he thrives on change in New York. When they swap houses and lives for a week, they soon discover that what they want might not be what they really need…

Your Place Or Mine is available for streaming via Netflix.

Magic Mike’s Last Dance

Channing Tatum reprises his role as Mike Lane and Steven Soderbergh returns to the helm for Magic Mike’s Last Dance, which sees the eponymous Mike head to London with a wealthy socialite (Salma Hayek Pinault) who lures him with an offer he can’t refuse… and an agenda all her own. With everything on the line, once Mike discovers what she truly has in mind, will he – and the roster of hot new dancers he’ll have to whip into shape – be able to pull it off?

Magic Mike’s Last Dance was released in UK cinemas on 10 February.

Somebody I Used To Know

When workaholic TV producer Ally (Alison Brie) faces a major professional setback, she goes running to the comforts of her hometown and spends a whirlwind evening reminiscing with her first love Sean (Jay Ellis). So far, so classic romcom. When she discovers Sean is getting married, however, Ally finds herself inexplicably drawn to his future wife, Cassidy (Kiersey Clemons), whose confidence and creative convictions remind Ally of all she used to be. Cue the most unconventional love story ever.

Somebody I Used To Know is available for streaming on Prime Video.

Ask Me To Dance

Jack (Tom Malloy) is an IT programmer, a great guy, and unlucky in love. Jill (Briana Evigan) is a graphic designer, a great gal, and just as unlucky. They have no idea they are destined to be together. On a starry night, Jack and Jill separately meet a fortune teller who tells them they will meet the love of their life before midnight at the end of the year, which happens to be only five days away. The countdown begins, and both Jack and Jill go on a series of horrible and hilarious dates, each worse than the next. Each time, they just miss meeting each other. New Year’s Eve is getting closer. Will the fortune teller’s prophecy come true? Will they meet and fall in love?

Ask Me To Dance became available to download from iTunes on 13 February.

What’s Love Got To Do With It?

Lily James is back doing what she does best: serving up her own special brand of romcom magic. In this new film, she stars as dating app addict, Zoe, who decides to make a documentary about the upcoming marriage of her childhood friend and neighbour, Kaz (Shazad Latif). Will she discover, in the process, that she might have something to learn from a profoundly different approach to finding love?

What’s Love Got To Do With It? was released in UK cinemas on 24 February.

Faraway

After unexpectedly inheriting a house on a Croatian island, a woman embarks on a spur-of-the-moment trip that reignites her joy in life and opens a door to love…

Faraway is available to stream on Netflix.

Rye Lane

From breakout director Raine Allen-Miller, Rye Lane stars Vivian Oparah and David Jonsson as Yas and Dom, two 20-somethings both reeling from bad break-ups, who connect over the course of an eventful day in south London. As they help each other deal with their nightmare exes, they soon find themselves inadvertently restoring one another’s faith in romance.

Rye Lane is due to be released in UK cinemas on 17 March.

Prom Pact

Prom season is in full swing, but Mandy (Peyton Elizabeth Lee) only cares about one thing: getting into Harvard, damn it. When her dreams get waitlisted, she’s forced to start tutoring Graham (Blake Draper) – whose father is a big Harvard alum with very helpful connections – for help. Might she discover that there’s more to the handsome jock than meets the eye? Almost definitely.

Prom Pact will be available for streaming via Disney+ on 31 March.

Ghosted

This high-action romcom sees Cole (Chris Evans) fall in love with the seemingly perfect Sadie (Ana de Armas), but he’s left baffled when she starts ghosting him. Hoping to reconnect, he travels to London and discovers that… yeah, that she’s an international spy. Spectacular stuff.

Ghosted will be available for streaming via Apple TV+ on 21 April.

A Tourist’s Guide To Love

After an unexpected break-up, a travel executive (Rachael Leigh Cook) accepts an assignment to go undercover and learn about the tourist industry in Vietnam. Along the way she finds adventure and romance with her Vietnamese expat tour guide (Scott Ly) when they decide to reroute the tour bus in order to explore life and love off the beaten path.

A Tourist’s Guide To Love will be available for streaming via Netflix on 27 April.

Love Again

In Love Again, Priyanka Chopra Jonas plays a woman struggling to move on after the death of her fiancé. To handle her grief, she begins sending messages to his old phone number, which has now been reassigned to a new (very handsome) man, played by Sam Heughan. And, as if that weren’t enough to tempt you, know this: the one and only Céline Dion isn’t just releasing new music for this film – she’s making her acting debut in it too.

Love Again is due to be released in UK cinemas on 12 May.

Book Club: The Next Chapter

Jane Fonda, Diane Keaton, Candice Bergen and Mary Steenburgen take their book club to Italy for the fun girls’ trip they never had. When things go off the rails and secrets are revealed, though, their relaxing vacation turns into a once-in-a-lifetime cross-country adventure.

Book Club: The Next Chapter is due to be released in UK cinemas on 12 May.

Elemental

This animated film takes place in Element City, where fire, water, land and air residents all live together. When the quick-witted and fiery Ember forges an unexpected friendship with the laidback Wade, however, she soon finds it challenges her beliefs about the world they live in.

Elemental is due to be released in UK cinemas on 6 June.

Asteroid City

Wes Anderson serves up his own unique brand of romcom in Asteroid City, which sees a series of world-changing events spectacularly disrupt the itinerary of a Junior Stargazer/Space Cadet convention. Tom Hanks, Tilda Swinton, Adrien Brody, Margot Robbie, Steve Carell and Scarlett Johansson are just a few of the big names appearing in this starry film.

Asteroid City is due to be released in UK cinemas on 23 June.

Barbie

Admit it: you’re already obsessed with Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie’s Barbie movie. Little is known about the plot, because, honestly, who needs plot when you have Barbiecore outfits like these to get stuck into? What we do know, however, is this: the film follows our eponymous blonde who, being expelled from Barbieland for being a less than perfect-looking doll, sets off for the human world to find true happiness… and a dash of Ken-free romance, perhaps.

Barbie is due to be released in UK cinemas on 21 July.

The Perfect Find

Based on the book of the same name by Tia Williams, The Perfect Find tells the story of Jenna, a 40-year-old woman with everything on the line: her high-stakes career, ticking biological clock and her bank account. So, will she risk it all for an intensely lusty secret romance with the company’s videographer, aka her boss’s son? Aka the one person who could destroy her comeback for good? Only time will tell, we suppose…

The Perfect Find will be released on Netflix later this year.

Red, White & Royal Blue

Red, White & Royal Blue (based on Casey McQuiston’s utterly addictive bestseller) deals with one of our favourite romantic tropes – hate at first sight – as Alex (Taylor Zakhar Perez), the son of the US president, is forced to fake a friendship with the UK’s Prince Henry (Nicholas Galitzine).

“Soon Alex finds himself hurtling into a secret romance with a surprisingly unstuffy Henry that could derail the campaign and upend two nations and begs the question: can love save the world after all?” asks the official synopsis. “Where do we find the courage, and the power, to be the people we are meant to be? And how can we learn to let our true colours shine through?”

Red, White & Royal Blue will be released on Amazon Prime Video later this year.

The Idea Of You

When Sophie (Anne Hathaway) reluctantly agrees to take her daughter to meet her favourite boy band, the last thing she expects is to make a romantic connection with one of the members of the world-famous August Moon. But can her fledgling romance with Hayes Campbell (Nicholas Galitzine) survive away from the Coachella bubble?

The Idea Of You will be released on Amazon Prime Video later this year.

Challengers

Tashi (Zendaya), a tennis player turned coach, has transformed her husband (Mike Faist) from a mediocre player into a world-famous grand slam champion. When he is forced to face off against his childhood friend and Tashi’s ex, Patrick (Josh O’Connor), however, things get messy. Fast.

Challengers will be released in UK cinemas on 11 August.

Choose Love

Cami (Laura Marano) has the perfect job and boyfriend, Paul (Scott Michael Foster), but she feels that something is missing – and that feeling only begins to grow when she meets rock star Rex (Avan Jogia) and an old love (Jordi Webber) returns to her life. Netflix’s first interactive romcom, it’s up to you to figure out the answers to an array of choices, ranging from the innocuous to major ethical dilemmas. Which means, yes, this film comes with whole bunch of possible storylines… and even multiple endings, depending upon what you pick, because Cami’s fate is ultimately in your hands.

Choose Love will be released on Netflix later this year.

Irish Wish

Always a bridesmaid, never a bride. So goes the classic refrain, of course, but Lindsay Lohan’s Maddie decides to take matters into her own hands when her best friend gets engaged to the love of her life, and make a spontaneous wish. Cue her magically waking up as the bride-to-be and learning that her dreams for true love might not be quite what she imagined, and that her soulmate may well be a different person than she originally expected.

Irish Wish will be released on Netflix later this year.

Sitting In Bars With Cake

Based on a true story, Sitting In Bars With Cake sees Yara Shahidi star as the quiet woman who becomes an unlikely guy magnet when she bakes a cake for her best friend’s birthday and brings it to a bar, only to be swarmed by men. A fluke? Hardly! To prove it, her friend convinces her to commit to a year of baking cakes and bringing them to bars, with the goal of finding true love. Cue a whole lot of romance (and a whole lot of cake, obviously).

Sitting In Bars With Cake will be released on Amazon Prime Video later this year.

The Little Mermaid

Everyone knows the story of Ariel (Halle Bailey), a beautiful and spirited young mermaid with a thirst for adventure. She longs to find out more about the world beyond the sea, and while visiting the surface, falls for a dashing prince – prompting her to make a deal with the evil sea witch, Ursula (Melissa McCarthy): her voice in exchange for legs and a life on land. As ever, though, this mermaid doesn’t read the small print, and ultimately places her life (and her father’s crown) in jeopardy. Eek.

The Little Mermaid will be released in UK cinemas on 26 May.

How To Date Billy Walsh

A new British secondary school romantic comedy starring Heartstopper’s starring Sebastian Croft? Sign us up! 

In How To Date Billy Walsh, Croft stars as Archie, who has been in love with his best friend for as long as he can remember. Just when he builds up the courage to declare his feelings, though, Amelia (Charithra Chandran) falls head over heels for Billy Walsh (Tanner Buchanan), the new American transfer student. Will he be able to keep them apart? And if he does, will he lose his best friend forever?

How To Date Billy Walsh will be released on Amazon Prime Video later this year.

Upgraded

When aspiring art intern Ana (Camila Mendes) is invited on a last-minute work trip to London by her boss, she winds up meeting the handsome and wealthy William (Archie Renaux) on the plane. Cue a transatlantic tale about the trials and tribulations of balancing work, romance and following your dreams.

Upgraded will be released in UK cinemas later this year.

Perfect Addiction

“Jax and Sienna seemed to be the unbreakable couple, moving from strength to strength, as Sienna trains Jax to become the ultimate champion in MMA,” the official synopsis for Perfect Addiction reads.

When she walks in on Jax in bed with her sister, however, Sienna’s world comes tumbling down around her. With nowhere to live, no money and no one to turn to, Sienna decides she needs to hit Jax where it hurts the most: in the ring. So she starts training up Kayden, a moody and undisciplined fighter. He might be an underdog, but he’s undoubtedly a good fighter – and one she hopes can bring her ex down in the ring. Of course, it’s not long before sparks fly, and the path to the champion’s title gets more and more complicated.

Perfect Addiction will be released on Amazon Prime Video later this year.

The Other Zoey

Zoey Miller (Josephine Langford) is a bright college student who rejects traditional ideals of love and dating, only to have her entire perspective on romance turned upside down when another amnesia-addled student mistakes her for his girlfriend… also named Zoey. Awkward.

The Other Zoey will be released in UK cinemas later this year.

A Cuban Girl’s Guide To Tea And Tomorrow

Starring Maia Reficco, Kit Connor and Kate del Castillo, this sweet-as-pie romance follows Miami girl Lila Reyes, who has her life planned out working in her Abuela’s Cuban bakery. However, when her life is rocked by a sudden loss, her parents send her to spend the summer cooking at her aunt’s inn in Winchester. There, she meets and falls in love with a charming British shop worker – but she already has a boyfriend back home she planned to spend her life with. What to do, eh?

A Cuban Girl’s Guide To Tea And Tomorrow will be released in UK cinemas later this year.

Loveboat, Taipei

Based on Abigail Hing Wen’s bestselling novel of the same name, Loveboat, Taipei follows Ever Wong (Ashley Liao), whose summer takes an unexpected turn when her parents surprise her with a trip to Taipei for a cultural immersion program. Cue her trying not to fall for two attractive but wildly different boys who are vying for her attention, all while trying to find the courage to defy her parents’ high expectations and pursue her true passion, which is… dancing. Obviously.

Loveboat, Taipei will be released in UK cinemas later this year.

Sweethearts

When two college freshmen (Kiernan Shipka and Nico Hiraga) decide its time to pull a “Turkey Dump” and break up with their respective high-school sweethearts over “Drunksgiving” – aka the chaotic night before Thanksgiving in their hometown – it soon puts their codependent friendship to the test.

Sweethearts will be released in UK cinemas later this year.

The Greatest Hits

Little is known about Lucy Boynton’s soulful romantic comedy, save for the fact that it revolves around the connection between music and memory. We’re in.

The Greatest Hits will be released in UK cinemas later this year.

Which Brings Me To You

Two lonely, lived-in 30-somethings. One boring wedding. One heated encounter in a quiet cloakroom. It’s not exactly the recipe for love, but Lucy Hale and Nat Wolff’s characters soon agree to exchange candid confessions about their pasts, just on the off chance that this might be the real thing.

Which Brings Me To You will be released in UK cinemas later this year.

Any Other Night

When freshly dumped Maggie (Community’s Gillian Jacobs) and flailing cab driver Max (Marwan Kenzari) meet the night of a crippling transit strike in Berlin, it’s not long before the latter is loading all of Maggie’s worldly possessions into the back of his decrepit van-cab. Cue a simple fare transforming into a wild, late-night odyssey… with more than a dash of romance.

Any Other Night will be released in UK cinemas later this year.

Images: Netflix; Prime Video; Disney; Getty; Searchlight Pictures