Poll: What’s the Best Movie Set on New Year’s Eve?

Why Are So Many Movies Set on New Year’s Eve?

Christmas may be in the rearview mirror, but another massive holiday is fast approaching: New Year’s Eve. As the one night of the year when everyone seems primed to celebrate, reflect, or self-destruct, it’s no surprise that filmmakers across genres have gravitated toward December 31 as a setting. New Year’s Eve naturally lends itself to themes of renewal, regret, romance, and chaos—perfect fuel for storytelling.

Classic New Year’s Eve Movies Across Genres

While romantic comedies may dominate the conversation, New Year’s Eve has served as the backdrop for some of cinema’s most memorable moments across multiple genres:

• When Harry Met Sally – The late Rob Reiner’s all-time rom-com classic, and arguably the definitive New Year’s Eve movie.
• The Apartment – Billy Wilder’s seminal masterpiece, featuring one of the most moving countdown-to-midnight endings in film history.
• Trading Places – Its climactic finale unfolds on December 31, blending high comedy with holiday chaos.
• 200 Cigarettes – A cult favorite that captures the messy, chaotic spirit of a New York City New Year’s Eve.

Y2K Panic and Movies Set on December 31, 1999

Perhaps unsurprisingly, many New Year’s Eve movies are set on December 31, 1999, when Y2K fears gripped the world. Throughout the 1990s, filmmakers leaned hard into millennial anxiety, particularly in genre films:

• End of Days – A wild horror-action hybrid starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, exploiting end-of-the-world panic.
• Strange Days – A dystopian, adrenaline-fueled thriller set entirely on the final day of 1999.
• Entrapment – An underrated caper starring Sean Connery, also culminating on New Year’s Eve 1999.

Cult Classics and Masterpieces Set on New Year’s Eve

Beyond rom-coms and Y2K thrillers, New Year’s Eve has hosted everything from cult horror to full-blown cinematic masterpieces:

• Terror Train – A cult slasher that uses the holiday as a backdrop for mayhem.
• Boogie Nights – A modern classic whose New Year’s Eve sequence is one of its most iconic moments.

What’s the Best Movie Set on New Year’s Eve?

With so many films—spanning romance, comedy, horror, sci-fi, and drama—choosing the best movie set on New Year’s Eve is no easy task. From crowd-pleasing classics to cult favorites and prestige masterpieces, December 31 has proven to be one of cinema’s most versatile settings.

Take the poll below and let us know which New Year’s Eve movie you think takes the crown.