Movies to watch with your long-distance partner

Twenty-five films for nights apart: ones about distance that will feel a little too familiar, ones for a hard week, and easy ones for your first movie night together. No spoilers.

Films about distance (that feel like yours)

• Going the Distance (2010). A couple tries New York to San Francisco. Funny and honest about the phone calls, the flights and the friends who think you're mad.
• Like Crazy (2011). A college romance split by a visa. Quiet, real, and hard in places. Watch it on a night you both feel steady.
• Past Lives (2023). Two childhood friends, Seoul and New York, years of video calls. Gentle and grown-up; you'll want to talk after.
• Your Name (2016). An animated film about two strangers connected across distance. Beautiful, and it ends in a way couples tend to love.
• Before Sunrise (1995). One night in Vienna, then a train in different directions. If you like it, Before Sunset (2004) and Before Midnight (2013) make a trilogy for three nights in a row.
• The Lake House (2006). Two people who can only write letters to each other. A good one for couples who met online.
• Sleepless in Seattle (1993). Seattle and Baltimore, and a radio call-in show. Classic comfort.
• You've Got Mail (1998). Falling for someone through messages before you know who they are.
• Love, Rosie (2014). Best friends with an ocean between them, and years of near misses.
• One Day (2011). The same day, once a year, over twenty years. Bring tissues.

For a hard week (comfort, not homework)

• About Time (2013). Warm, funny and about what matters. Many couples' favourite.
• The Holiday (2006). A house swap between Los Angeles and a cottage in England, and two romances.
• Paddington 2 (2017). About as kind as films get, and funnier than you expect.
• Spirited Away (2001). Studio Ghibli at its best; beautiful whether it's your first time or your tenth.
• Up (2009). The first ten minutes are about a whole life together. Then it's an adventure.
• Crazy Rich Asians (2018). Big, bright and fun, with a love story at the centre.
• Letters to Juliet (2010). An old love letter, Italy, and a very easy two hours.

Easy first movie nights (made for talking over)

• The Princess Bride (1987). Quotable, silly and romantic. Perfect if one of you has never seen it.
• Knives Out (2019). A whodunit: each of you guesses the killer before the halfway mark.
• Palm Springs (2020). A time-loop romantic comedy. Short, sharp and funny.
• Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022). Chaotic and huge-hearted. You'll pause a lot to say "what?"
• A Quiet Place (2018). For horror couples: it's even better when you're both holding your breath on a call.
• Interstellar (2014). About people separated by space and time. Long, so save it for the weekend.
• Her (2013). A relationship with a voice on the other end. Will spark a conversation about yours.
• La La Land (2016). Music, Los Angeles, and two people choosing between dreams and each other.

Want more than a film? Try these 21 long-distance movie night ideas.

How to pick one when you're in different time zones

• The person for whom it's later picks the length. Under 100 minutes on a work night; save the long ones for the weekend.
• Check it's available to both of you before the night. Streaming catalogues differ by country; JustWatch shows where a film is in each.
• Take turns choosing. Keep a shared list of films you both want to see, so the choosing isn't half the evening.
• Plan the after. Ten minutes to talk about it is half the point. "Best scene" and "who would you be in this" never fail.

How to actually watch it at the same time

The simple way is a countdown on a call: both load the film and press play on three. It works everywhere but drifts, and every pause needs a new countdown. Screen sharing Netflix, Prime Video or Disney+ usually goes black because of DRM (why that happens). A sync extension avoids both: each of you plays your own copy and play, pause and skip stay together. The full comparison is in our long-distance movie night guide.

Questions people ask

What's a good movie to watch with a long-distance partner?

About distance, but warm: Going the Distance or Your Name. Honest about how hard it is: Like Crazy or Past Lives. For a first movie night: something you can talk over, like The Princess Bride or Knives Out.

Should we watch sad long-distance movies?

On a good week, yes; they often start the best conversations. On a week when the distance already hurts, pick from the comfort list instead.

Can we watch the same movie if we have different streaming services?

Only if the film is on something each of you can access. Check availability for both countries first, or pick a film one of you can rent and the other already has.

Films listed by title and year only. Where a film streams changes by country and month, so we don't list services.