Top 20 Romantic Comedies

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When considering the best romantic comedies, here’s something that I’m sure all romantics would like to know: the top earning romantic comedies (movies) of all time. How many do you think you’ve seen? the following list has been prepared by combining the box office earnings of these films from both domestic and international sources.

Romantic comedy movies are a sub-group of romantic movies and are notable for being light-hearted and having plots that are often humorous. The path of true love is often thwarted, temporarily, by errors, accidents and coincidences, or by differences in social standing. ‘Notting Hill’ and ‘Pretty Woman’ are examples of romantic comedies.

Romantic drama is a further sub-group of romance films in which the main premise of the movie is concerned with the romantic attraction between the leading characters. This often causes them to struggle with significant questions about their lives, such as “should I remain with my current partner?” and “what am I doing with my life?”. Dramatic impact is created by the emotional expression of those involved. ‘Titanic’ and ‘The Notebook’ are examples of romantic drama.

The listing below differs slightly from those top domestic earners as some which did well at home performed poorly at theaters in other countries. Others boosted their earnings considerably in the overseas market and greatly improved their ranking.

For instance, ‘Bringing Down The House’ was 11th of the domestic earners at $133 million but only managed to pull in $32 million overseas and does not feature among the top 20 gross earners.

On the other hand, ‘Pretty Woman’, whilst 4th in domestic earnings, at $178 million, also pulled in a whopping $285 million in the foreign market to grab the top spot.

Another to do well overseas was ‘Bridget Jones Diary’. Whilst only 40th with domestic box office earnings at $72 million, it attracted three times that amount ($210) in overseas cinemas, to be ranked 13th with total earnings.

Top 20 Romantic Comedies Based On Gross Earnings (U.S. domestic + international):

1. Pretty Woman (1990) – $463 million
2. Sex And The City (2008) – $415 m
3. What Women Want ((2000) – $374 m
4 There’s Something About Mary ((1998) – $370 m
5. My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002) – $369 m
6. Hitch (2005) – $368 m
7. Notting Hill (1999) – $364 m
8. The Proposal (2009) – $315 m
9. Runaway Bride (1999) – $309 m
10. My Best Friend’s Wedding (1997) – $299 m
11. Shakespeare In Love (1998) – $289.3 m
12. Coming To America (1998) – $288.8 m
13. Bridget Jones Diary (2001) – $282 m
14. Somethings Gotta Give (2003) – $267 m
15. You’ve Got Mail (1998) – $251 m
16. Love Actually (2003) – $247 m
17. Four Weddings And A Funeral (1994) – $244 m
18. Sleepless In Seattle (1993) – $228 m
19. What Happens In Vegas (2008) $219.4 m
20. Knocked Up (1997) – $219.1 m
21. The Ugly Truth (2009) – $205.3 m
22. The Break Up (2006) $205 m

The queen of romantic comedies is clearly Julia Roberts. She starred in four of the top 10 movies listed above – Pretty Woman (1990), Notting Hill (1999), Runaway Bride (1999) and My Best Friend’s Wedding (1997). The 90s were clearly good for her. Cameron Diaz managed to star in two – There’s Something About Mary (4) and My Best Friend’s Wedding (10).  Cameron also stars in no. 19, What Happens in Vegas.

Richard Gere and Hugh Grant are standouts amongst the men. Gere stars in two of the top 10 movies listed – Pretty Woman (1) and Runaway Bride (9). Grant claims three positions in the top 20 – Notting Hill (7),  Love Actually (16) and Four Weddings and a Funeral (17).

Some films are likely to be displaced when the sequel to Sex and the City is released, if it is anywhere near as popular as the first, which comfortably holds the number 2 spot.

A high production budget is not always a guarantee of success, nor is it a good indicator as Pretty Woman had a budget of only $14 million – Julia Roberts was relatively unknown at the time and her fee for that movie was a mere $300,000, being mainly known for her role in Steel Magnolias (1989). She was not the first choice for the lead in Pretty Woman, gaining the role only after a number of other, better known, actresses had turned it down as ‘too sexist’ or ‘degrading to women’.

Another movie which far surpassed expectations was My Big, Fat Greek Wedding (2002). It had a budget of $5 million and earned $241 million at the U.S. box office alone (far surpassing Pretty Woman on $178 million), more than any other romantic comedy. It also earned a respectable $127 million in overseas sales. While not as successful internationally as Pretty Woman (which managed $285 million), it allowed MBFGW to secure the number 4 spot for a modest outlay.

Overseas sales were also extremely important for Notting Hill (with Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts) as it earned ‘only’ $116 on the U.S. domestic market but more than double that ($248 million) internationally to leap up to 7th place.

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Here are the main stars and directors of the top 20 romantic comedy movies:

1. Pretty Woman (1990)
- Fantastically rich and gorgeous hunk meets a beautiful prostitute with a heart of gold. Will she become his fair lady or return to the streets? Directed by Gary Marshall. Starring Julia Roberts and Richard Gere. The DVD of the movie is available here: Pretty Woman – DVD

2. Sex And The City (2008)
- Carrie and Mr. Big are planning to get married. The question is not whether he will get to the church on time but whether he will get there at all! Directed by Michael Patrick King. Starring Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Catrall, Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon, and Chris Noth. The DVD of the movie is available here: Sex and the City: The Movie – DVD

3. What Women Want (2000)
Male chauvinist type has an accident which enables him to tune into the thoughts of women and anticipate their every want. Directed by Nancy Meyers. Starring Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt. The DVD of this movie is available here: What Women Want – DVD

4. There’s Something About Mary (1998)
A shy, awkward young man hires a self-serving private detective to locate his high school dream girl. She is surrounded by lustful fraudsters all trying to win her heart. Will she see where the true gold lies? Directed by: Bobby and Peter Farrelly. Starring Cameron Diaz, Matt Dillon, Ben Stiller, Chris Elliot and Lee Evans. The DVD of this movie is available here: There’s Something About Mary – DVD

5. My Big, Fat Greek Wedding (2002)
A culture clash as a girl from a traditional Greek family meets a gorgeous non-Greek guy and the problems which arise when they plan to get married. Will their relationship survive the differences? Directed by Joel Zwick. Starring Nia Vardalos (who also wrote the script), John Corbett, Lainie Kazan, Ian Gomez and Michael Constantine. The DVD of this movie is not presently available.

6. Hitch (2005)
A dating coach is mistakenly accused of teaching men how to get women into bed. He also discovers that his ‘techniques’ don’t work on the woman HE wants. Directed by Andy Tennant. Starring Will Smith, Eva Mendes, Kevin James and Amber Valletta. The DVD of this movie is available here: Hitch – DVD

7. Notting Hill (1999)
Famous and beautiful movie star meets gorgeous bookseller with heart of gold. Will they overcome their differences and misunderstandings or simply go to bed with a good book? Directed by Roger Michell. Starring Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant. The DVD of this movie is available here: Notting Hill – DVD

8. The Proposal (2009)
A cold and bossy female executive forces her male assistant to agree to marry her so she won’t be deported. They spend a weekend together in Alaska to meet his family, with surprising results. Directed by Anne Fletcher. Starring Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds. The DVD of this movie is available here: The Proposal – DVD

9. Runaway Bride (1999)
Beautiful girl with a history of getting cold feet at the altar and running for the hills meets gorgeous guy who knows she is marriage shy. Can he get her to say ‘I do’? Directed by Gary Marshall. Starring Julia Roberts and Richard Gere. The DVD of this movie is available here: Runaway Bride – DVD

10. My Best Friend’s Wedding (1997)
Beautiful girl suddenly realizes that her long time best male friend is about to marry someone else and she would rather be the one walking down the aisle to him. Can she prevent his marriage to someone else? Directed by P. J. Hogan. Starring Julia Roberts, Cameron Diaz, Dermot Mulroney, Rupert Everett and Rachel Griffiths. The DVD of this movie is available here: My Best Friend’s Wedding – DVD

11. Shakespeare In Love (1998)
Directed by John Madden. Starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Joseph Fiennes, with Colin Firth, Ben Affleck, Geoffrey Rush and Judi Dench. The DVD of this movie is available here: Shakespeare in Love – DVD

12. Coming To America (1998)
Directed John Landis. Starring Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall, with James Earl Jones. The DVD of this movie is available here: Coming to America – DVD

13. Bridget Jones Diary (2001)
Direted by Sharon Maguire. Starring Renee Zellweger, Hugh Grant and Colin Firth, with Jim Broadbent and Gemma Jones. The DVD of this movie is available here: Bridget Jones’s Diary – DVD

14. Something’s Gotta Give (2003)
Directed by Nancy Meyer. Starring Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton, with Keanu Reeves, Frances McDormand, Amanda Peet and Jon Favreau. The DVD of this movie is available here: Something’s Gotta Give – DVD

15. You’ve Got Mail (1998)
Directed by Nora Ephron. Starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, with Parker Posey. The DVD of this movie is available here: You’ve Got Mail – DVD

16. Love Actually (2003)
Directed by Richard Curtis. Starring Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, Emma Thompson, Keira Knightley, Bill Nighy, Alan Rickman, Laura Linney, Marlen McCutcheon, Rowan Atkinson and Laura Moniz. The DVD of this movie is available here: Love Actually – DVD

17. Four Weddings And a Funeral (1994)
Directed by Mike Newell. Starring Hugh Grant and Andie MacDowell. The DVD of this movie is available here: Four Weddings and a Funeral – DVD

18. Sleepless In Seattle (1993)
Directed by Nora Ephron. Starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. The DVD of this movie is available here: Sleepless in Seattle – DVD

19. What Happens In Vegas (2008)
Directed by Tom Vaughan. Starring Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher. The DVD of this movie is available here: What Happens in Vegas – DVD

20. Knocked Up (2007)
Directed by Judd Apatow. Starring Seth Rogen and Katherine Heigl. The DVD of this movie is available here: Knocked Up – DVD

21. The Ugly Truth (2009)
Directed by Robert Luketic. Starring Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler. The DVD of this movie is available here: The Ugly Truth – DVD

22. The Break Up (2006)
Directed by Peyton Reed. Starring Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughan. The DVD of this movie is available here: The Break-Up – DVD

The best romantic comedies are an assorted lot but have shown that the leading characters connect with viewers, who silently cheer them on – even get to love them – and feel the frustrations, anguish and, finally, joys of those involved.

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Want some great ideas on how to please someone you love? See more now:

Romantic Ideas They Love