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Romantic comedies for love at the movies in 2024

Everything seems to indicate that a year of great cinema awaits us. The 2024 line-up is packed with exciting new releases, and many of them are romantic comedies. If you’re looking for hilarious romances with attractive leads and great on-screen chemistry, let me tell you that you’ve come to the right place. Here’s everything you need to know.

Over the next few months, different productions will be landing that put the spotlight on the ins and outs of love, relationships and coexistence. Whether it’s a formulaic romantic comedy or a dramatic and passionate epic, 2024 has something for everyone; Cole Sprouse, Zac Efron, Blake Lively, Zendaya, Mike Faist, Ryan Gosling, Anne Hathaway will be the faces of the year’s most extravagant and quirky loves.

Read on for some must-see romantic comedies for 2024, we have a good feeling about the upcoming titles!

Lisa Frankenstein

Coming to theaters February 9, 2024

Director: Zelda Williams

The romantic horror film Lisa Frankenstein opens February 9 and arrives just in time to celebrate Valentine’s Day. Kathryn Newton and Cole Sprouse star in this crazy gothic romance.

Lisa Frankenstein is an ode to the ’80s and the goths who never quite fit into the mainstream. From the mind of screenwriter Diablo Cody, Lisa Frankenstein follows the titular character, Lisa Swallows, a misunderstood teenage goth, who faces many changes in her life.

The plot takes an unusual turn when Lisa accidentally reanimates a handsome Victorian corpse and, from that moment on, she sets out to sculpt into it her vision of the ideal romantic partner.

Here is the official synopsis:

“In 1989, a misunderstood teenage goth girl named Lisa Swallows reanimates a handsome corpse from the Victorian era during a lightning storm and starts to rebuild him into the man of her dreams by using a broken tanning machine in her garage. After going through a playfully horrific transformation, the romantic duo embark on a murderous journey to find true love, happiness, and a few missing body parts along the way.’’

The PG-13 rated film explores themes of young love, identity and self-discovery. This romantic comedy, directed by Zelda Williams, promises to be a witty mix of genres that will offer something special to those who enjoy the unconventional.

Challengers

Coming to theaters on April 26, 2024 

Director: Luca Guadagnino

Written by Justin Kuritzkes, Challengers is part sports movie, part romantic drama and part comedy. It follows the tennis career and love life of Tashi Duncan (Zendaya), just as she becomes embroiled in an intense love triangle with her current husband and her former boyfriend.

According to the official synopsis:

“Challengers stars Zendaya as Tashi Duncan, a former tennis prodigy turned coach and a force of nature who makes no apologies for her game on and off the court. Married to a champion on a losing streak (Mike Faist), Tashi’s strategy for her husband’s redemption takes a surprising turn when he must face off against the washed-up Patrick (Josh O’Connor) – his former best friend and Tashi’s former boyfriend. As their pasts and presents collide, and tensions run high, Tashi must ask herself, what will it cost to win.”

Challengers seems to have the perfect combination of romance, drama and tennis. The film is directed by Italian Luca Guadagnino, responsible for such hits as Call Me by Your Name and A Bigger Splash. This sports romantic comedy has been described by Guadagnino as “a fairly fizzy, sexy movie about the world of tennis.”

The Idea of You

Prime Video Premiere on May 2, 2024

Director: Michael Showalter

The Idea of You is based on Robinne Lee’s book of the same name, a story that began as a Harry Styles-inspired fanfiction. Starring Anne Hathaway and Red, White & Royal Blue star Nicholas Galitzine, this romantic film has a dramatic rather than comedic bent.

Hathaway plays Sophie, a 40-something single mother who accompanies her daughter to Coachella, where she catches the eye of Hayes Campbell (Nicholas Galitzine), the lead singer of the boyband August Moon. Things take a turn when Sophie strikes up an unexpected relationship with the charismatic 24-year-old singer.

Michael Showalter (Wayland, The Big Sick) directs from a script he co-wrote with Jennifer Westfeldt (Friends with Kids, Ira & Abby).

The Fall Guy

Coming to theaters May 3, 2024

Director: David Leitch

Based on a 1980s TV series of the same name, The Fall Guy tells the story of a stuntman who gets caught up in a dangerous real-world mission.

In this film remake, Ryan Gosling plays Colt Seavers, a Hollywood stuntman who is asked by his old flame, Jody Moreno (Emily Blunt), to help him shoot a quirky sci-fi western.

Chaos ensues when the film’s lead star goes missing and Colt has to delve into the ins and outs of Hollywood to find him, using his skills to save the day.

“He’s a stuntman, and like everyone in the stunt community, he gets blown up, shot, crashed, thrown through windows and dropped from the highest of heights, all for our entertainment. And now, fresh off an almost career-ending accident, this working-class hero has to track down a missing movie star, solve a conspiracy and try to win back the love of his life while still doing his day job. What could possibly go right?”

Given that The Fall Guy focuses on the point of view of a stuntman, it seems appropriate that the film’s director should be someone with a fair amount of stunt experience. Hence, the responsibility for the film has fallen to the intrepid David Leitch, a former stuntman (The Bourne Ultimatum, Fight Club, Mr. and Mrs. Smith), who has also successfully directed such notable productions as Bullet Train, Deadpool 2, Atomic Blonde, The Fast & The Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw.

It Ends With Us

Coming to theaters June 21, 2024

Director: Zelda Williams

Based on the 2016 novel of the same name, the film follows recent graduate Lily Bloom. After moving to a new town, Lily falls deeply in love with Ryle Kincaid, an attractive and successful neurosurgeon with alarming controlling tendencies. Just as their relationship moves forward, Lily’s first love, Atlas Corrigan, reappears in her life and challenges their bond.

It Ends With Us features a star-studded cast, including Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni, Brandon Sklenar, Jenny Slate, Hasan Minhaj, Isabela Ferrer. The production was originally set to premiere on February 9, 2024, but due to Hollywood strikes, the release date has been pushed back to June 21, 2024.

It Ends with Us is an emotionally charged novel that delves into the complexities of love, abusive relationships, loss, self-love, and resilience.

L’Amour ouf

Premiere in October 2024

Director: Gilles Lellouche

L’Amour ouf (Beating Hearts) is a French romantic comedy, written and directed by Gilles Lellouche from a screenplay co-written by Ahmed Hamidi, Audrey Diwan, and Julien Lambroschini.

The story begins in northeastern France with two teenagers who fall madly in love: Jackie, a girl from an upper-middle-class family, and Clotaire, a rebellious teenager raised in a tough neighborhood.

In L’Amour ouf, Clotaire and Jackie’s feelings are put to the test when the young man ends up in jail for a crime he did not commit.

Years after the sentence, the couple is reunited against all odds.

The promotional images suggest a tale of passionate love that oscillates between the couple’s semi-innocent adolescence and their more mature and raw reunion in adulthood.

L’Amour ouf is an adaptation of Neville Thompson’s novel Jackie Loves Johnser OK? set in the tough Dublin suburb of Ballyfermot in the 1980s. 

A Family Affair

Netflix premiere in 2024.  

Director: Richard LaGravenese

Kissing Booth actress Joey King stars alongside Zac Efron and Nicole Kidman in Netflix’s upcoming romantic comedy A Family Affair.

The official synopsis of A Family Affair is as follows:

“A surprising romance kicks off comic consequences for a young woman, her mother and her movie star boss as they face the complications of love, sex and identity.”

In the film, Zara (Joey King) is the assistant to Chris Cole (Zac Efron), a famous, narcissistic, demanding and womanizing movie actor. When the job begins to take its toll on her, Zara decides to quit and stay away from Cole, only to discover later that he and her widowed mother (Nicole Kidman) have begun a romantic relationship.

A Family Affair is directed by Oscar nominee Richard LaGravenese, whose credits include P. S. I Love You, Paris je t’aime and Freedom Writers, among others. The screenplay was co-written by LaGravenese with Carrie Solomon.

Image: Pavel Danilyuk