Some days, when you hear thunder roll and watch solid gray clouds block the sun, you know there's only one thing to do: Get under the covers and watch a movie. But which movies are actually the best for watching on a rainy day?
"Rainy day" movies, which differ heavily from snow day movies, are all about vibes. It's hard to define it exactly, but you kind of know the feeling when you see it. The greatest rainy day movies can be bright and breezy, or dark and moody - it all depends on how much the storm outside rages.
For the next time that the weather doesn't play nice and forces you to cancel plans (which, let's be honest, we're all secretly happy about), here are 32 cozy movies to settle in with on a rainy day.
32. Clue (1985)
The famous murder mystery board game comes to life in this witty and madcap classic from director Jonathan Lynn. When several anonymous government officials are invited to an isolated mansion - on a dark and stormy night, no less - the lights go off and a murder is committed. The culprit is inside, but their identity is up for the audience to decide in one of three different (and hilarious) endings.
31. The Truman Show (1998)
In one of Jim Carrey's best movies of his career, the comic star plays an ordinary man who has no idea that his whole life is, in fact, a staged reality TV production. Part psychological drama, part romantic comedy, and part social satire, The Truman Show still hits hard with its omnipresent understanding of technology and the and the ironic isolation we feel in things that are supposed to connect us. When it rains it pours, and that's especially true in The Truman Show.
30. Pig (2021)
In this late-career classic from Nicholas Cage, the Oscar-winning actor plays a reclusive truffle forager who, in a previous life, was a renowned restaurant chef in Portland. After losing his prized pig, Cage returns to the city in search of the ones who took away his happiness. Often described incorrectly as "Nicholas Cage is John Wick," Pig is actually an emotional drama and meditative character study that rejects traditional revenge narratives to instead explore themes like grief and loss. It's a heavy movie, but its slow pace makes it perfect for those afternoons where you're not going anywhere.
29. Moonrise Kingdom (2012)
Pretty much any Wes Anderson makes for perfect rainy day viewing. But his young adult romantic drama Moonrise Kingdom from 2012 feels especially made for overcast weather coziness. Set in New England, two 12-year-old pen pals in love abscond to an isolated beach, which plunges their little seaside town into chaos as the adults - including a cast featuring Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, and Jason Schwartzmann - search for the tween romantics against a major storm. An elaborate coming-of-age adventure about young love, Moonrise Kingdom is Anderson at his finest.
28. Everybody Wants Some!! (2016)
At first blush, Everybody Wants Some!! might look like another bawdy summer comedy. But under the care of Richard Linklater, this movie about raunchy college baseball players amid their first taste of true personal freedom becomes less American Pie and more of a touching celebration that immortalizes all our halcyon days of youth. All good vibes and no stress, Everybody Wants Some!! has enough sunshine to make you believe that it's summertime all the time.
27. It (2017)
Horror fans know Stephen King is the master of rainy day stories. In 2017, his decades-spanning tome It went to the big screen in Andy Muschietti's blockbuster adaptation. A group of kids living in the town of Derry, Maine are stalked by the sinister entity called "It," who usually takes the form of the demonic clown Pennywise (Bill Skarsgård). A lesser direct sequel, It: Chapter Two, resumed the story with the kids now living as traumatized adults (played by big-name actors like James McAvoy, Jessica Chastain, and Bill Hader). Though It: Chapter Two doesn't quite stick the landing, the first is a worthwhile horror epic drenched in both sunlight and rain.
26. O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)
In the Coen Brothers' neo-classic remake of The Odyssey, three escaped convicts - played by George Clooney, John Turturro, and Tim Blake Nelson - look for treasure as they outrun a ruthless sheriff in late 1930s Mississippi. Featuring a robust period folk soundtrack and a predominantly warm sepia color tone that gives the movie an old-timey feel, O Brother, Where Art Thou? is razor sharp in its comical misadventures that satirize the American dream. It makes for an effortless good time when you've got nowhere else to go.
25. The Lord of the Rings (1978)
No one needs to tell you Peter Jackson's miraculous Lord of the Rings trilogy makes for perfect rainy day viewings. But allow us to make a different suggestion: Ralph Bakshi's animated version from 1978. If you've seen Jackson's movies a thousand times now, seek out Bakshi's interpretation that condenses The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers, all while using Bakshi's preferred technique of rotoscoping. It's still Tolkien's classic, but with a uniquely eldritch vibe that only the magic of animation can conjure.
24. Garden State (2004)
Formative to anyone who saw it in their teenage years, Zach Braff's twee indie classic Garden State explores paralyzing feelings like isolation, homesickness, and uncertainty about life in your late twenties. Writer/director Braff plays a 26-year-old struggling actor who leaves Hollywood for the funeral of his mother in New Jersey. He soon meets a beautiful young woman and pathological liar (Natalie Portman), who changes the course of his life. In a 2004 interview for Glide Magazine, Braff described his movie saying: "I have this theory that your body goes through puberty in its teens, and the mind goes through puberty in your twenties."
23. High Fidelity (2000)
Before walking into Championship Vinyl, have your "Top 5" of anything at the ready. In this witty and introspective romantic comedy, which adapts Stephen Frears' 1995 novel, John Cusack plays a heartbroken record store owner who tries to analyze his romantic failings by getting back in touch with his exes. In between, his friends and employees - played by Todd Louso and Jack Black - butt heads over their music tastes whilst asserting their superiority over clueless customers. Long before the rise of BuzzFeed listicles, High Fidelity invited us all to summarize our feelings with carefully curated selections of the art and music we adore. When it sucks outside, there's nothing better to do than play around with mixtapes.
22. The Frighteners (1996)
Before Peter Jackson helmed Lord of the Rings, he delivered this wildly underrated horror-comedy that basically asked, "What if I, Peter Jackson, made Ghostbusters?" Michael J. Fox stars as an architect turned con man who uses his ability to communicate with ghosts in an elaborate scheme to charge big bucks for home exorcisms. The Frighteners makes for primo viewing during the Halloween season, but no matter when in the year it rains outside, The Frighteners can still raise screams - and laughs, too.
21. My Neighbor Totoro (1988)
There's something about Hayao Miyazaki movies that suit the rainy weather. Of all the movies in the Miyazaki/Studio Ghibli canon however, My Neighbor Totoro is maybe the greatest of them all. Set in postwar Japan, two young sisters whose mother is in recovery at a hospital find a world of forrest spirits, including the massive cuddly bear-like Totoro. A prime exhibition of Miyazaki's recurring themes like environmentalism and spiritualism, My Neighbor Totoro is the very definition of otherworldly escape under the comfort of blankets.
20. Palm Springs (2020)
When the world entered quarantine in 2020, the sci-fi rom-com Palm Springs was too perfectly timed. Andy Samberg stars as an aloof man attending a Palm Springs wedding when he gets stuck in a time loop. While in the middle of his many loops, he accidentally ropes in a hook-up, Sarah (Cristin Milioti), who is determined to finally break the loop for good. An exceedingly clever take on movies like Groundhog Day with dashes of Nora Ephron magic, Palm Springs still hits years later as a movie whose abundant sunshine can really brighten up cloudy days.
19. Bridget Jones' Diary (2001)
It's hard to say no to a good rom-com when the weather is less than spectacular. Of the millions of options, you can't really go wrong with Bridget Jones' Diary. From Sharon Maguire and based on Helen Fielding's fictional magazine columns-turned-novel, Renée Zellwegger plays a single 30-something gal who begins writing in a diary. This coincides with two dashing men - Hugh Grant and Colin Firth - vying for her attention. Zellwegger is a true delight as a relatable modern woman, and Bridget Jones' Diary is a perfect movie after we cancel dates because no one wants to brave the outside.
18. Adventureland (2009)
Kristen Stewart may be the star of that vampire romance series famously set in the rainy woods of the Pacific Northwest, but in 2009, smack in between Twilight installments, Stewart co-starred with Jesse Eisenberg in the coming-of-age classic Adventureland. Set in 1987, Eisenberg plays a college grad whose dreams of spending the summer in Europe are dashed away, forcing him to work at a corny amusement park instead. During his employment, he meets a beautiful girl (Stewart) who makes his summer one to remember. Despite being filmed over a Pittsburgh winter, Adventureland shines as a warm tribute to those dog days when the sun is hot and you can feel the wind on a rickety roller coaster.
17. As Good As It Gets (1997)
Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt co-star in this modern classic rom-com from director James L. Brooks. Nicholson plays a cranky novelist with crippling OCD who lives alone in crowded New York City. His cold heart eventually thaws before his neighbor (Greg Kinnear), a younger gay man and superstar artist, as well as a beautiful waitress and single mother (Hunt). Nothing about As Good As It Gets specifically evokes torrential comfort, but its feel-good warmth and lovely vision of New York City make it the right kind of movie for anyone feeling a little bit alone.
16. Arrival (2016)
It's not accurate to describe Denis Villeneuve's intimidating sci-fi drama Arrival as "cozy." But between its gray skies and touching story about memory and connection, Arrival is transportive for when you're stuck inside with nowhere to go. Amy Adams plays a university linguistics professor who is recruited by the military to establish communications with aliens. A love story in the disguise of an alien invasion thriller, Arrival pulsates with emotions that thunder like a heavy storm.
15. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019)
For those days when it's not actually a beautiful day in your neighborhood, there is this uplifting drama that makes us believe in the legend of Mister Rogers. In Marielle Heller's film, Tom Hanks dons the cardigans of famed TV host Fred Rogers when he's interviewed by a jaded magazine journalist (Matthew Rhys). The two form an unexpected bond as Fred Rogers instructs the writer on how to cope with his estranged father's imminent death. Based on the drafting and publication of a real Esquire article, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood isn't a gaudy show of Hanks doing Rogers impressions, but actually a moving film about the importance of kindness.
14. Knives Out (2019) and Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022)
Rian Johnson's homage to Agatha Christie whodunnits comes alive in both his 2019 murder mystery Knives Out and its semi-connected 2022 sequel, Glass Onion. Both follow the gentleman detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) as he investigates cases of murder, as well as the web of lies, deceit, and betrayal that surround them. While Knives Out became an instant autumnal favorite due to its layered wardrobes and crunchy leaves exteriors, Glass Onion has some fun in the sun set in an exotic Greek island. Whether you're trying to match the vibes or counteract them, rainy days call for Benoit Blanc to get the job done.
13. Road to Perdition (2002)
In one of the few movies where the affable Tom Hanks channels his darker side, Sam Mendes' handsome Depression-era period thriller Road to Perdition feels appropriate for when the rain has you in the mood for shady anti-heroes and pitch black atmospherics. Adapted from a comic by Max Allan Collins and Richard Piers Rayner, itself a retelling of the Japanese samurai manga Lone Wolf & Cub, Hanks plays an Irish mob enforcer who takes his young son (Tyler Hoechlin) on a long road to revenge against those who slaughtered their family. Road to Perdition isn't stress-free, but there's something reassuring about Tom Hanks knowing how to use a tommy gun that makes you believe everything's gonna be fine.
12. Streets of Fire (1984)
In Walter Hill's rock-'n-roll fairy tale, the city streets of Richmond are soaked in both rain and blood. An ex-soldier (Michael Paré) must rescue his club singer ex-girlfriend with big dreams, Ellen (Diane Lane) from the clutches of an outlaw motorcycle gang led by the venomous Raven (Willem Defoe). Not only is the noir-inspired, neon-centric set design of Streets of Fire gorgeous to look at, but its story about lovers with too much history between them is exactly the kind of thing that makes us all want to take a stroll in the rain.
11. Rear Window (1954)
Alfred Hitchcock's mega-classic mystery knows all too well about isolated boredom. James Stewart plays an injured photographer who, with a pair of binoculars out of his bedroom window, suspects his neighbor might have murdered his wife. Rear Window is simply too perfect for rainy days because, well, who among us haven't been a little bit nosy about our next door neighbors when we're stuck at home?
10. The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)
Written and directed by Stephen Chbosky, and based on his own 1999 novel, The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a tender-hearted rom-com dripping with melancholic youth and weeping nostalgia for the friendships we forge during our most precious years. Logan Lerman stars as a teenager suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder who befriends two cool older students, played by Ezra Miller and Emma Watson. Beloved today as a cult classic and an exemplar of early 2010s pop culture - it's truly a "Tumblr movie" if there ever was one - The Perks of Being a Wallflower shows the upside of staying inside.
9. Sleepless in Seattle (1993)
Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan are icons for a reason, and it's because of movies like Sleepless in Seattle. A towering romantic comedy from Nora Ephron, Hanks plays a widower whose son calls in to a popular radio show. He goes "viral" (in a pre-internet way), including attracting the attention of a lovesick journalist (Ryan) stuck in a loveless engagement. Nora Ephron's movies speak for hopeless romantics everywhere, and Sleepless in Seattle especially captures that familiar kind of yearning - the kind that only the rain makes us feel.
8. The Batman (2022)
A dark Batman reboot movie ain't nothing new. But through the deliberate craftsmanship of Matt Reeves, Gotham City comes alive as the rain-soaked hellscape it's meant to be. In Reeves' 2022 epic The Batman, Robert Pattinson dons the cape and cowl as an inexperienced crusader still learning the tricks of his trade in a corner of the DC multiverse where the sun never seems to shine. Unlike Christopher Nolan's version of the Batman story, Reeves' movie pierces the screen with its otherworldly imagination of Gotham City - not to mention a romantic and sweeping score by Michael Giacchino - to create a place overrun with nocturnal creatures.
7. The Breakfast Club (1985)
While all of the movies in the John Hughes canon feel right for dreary days, Hughes' 1985 teen classic The Breakfast Club really knows how to brighten up darkened moods. Set over a fateful Saturday detention at a suburban high school, five students with virtually in common find ways to connect in ways none of them could ever imagine. A touchstone of 1980s pop culture and an outsized influence in the teen movie genre, The Breakfast Club's bottle-episode setting makes for timeless viewing whenever we, too, feel stuck in detention.
6. Language Lessons (2021)
The COVID-19 pandemic spawned many "Zoom movies" that made use of our sudden familiarity with online video calls. While many of these movies explored the horror genre, writer/director/star Natalie Morales collaborated with Mark Duplass for the wonderful, uptempo comedy Language Lessons. A widowed man (Duplass) learns to grieve for his late husband with his online Spanish teacher (Morales), their time together an unexpected last "gift" of love. Language Lessons is all about the importance of connection and understanding even if it's over long-distance. Even on rainy days, it can make us say "te amo" with a smile.
5. Drinking Buddies (2013)
When the bad weather still makes you want to get buzzed, raise a glass to Drinking Buddies. Joe Swanberg's cult mumblecore gem stars Olivia Wilde and Jake Johnson as coworkers at a Chicago brewery who refuse to openly recognize their feelings for one another as they date other people. With fully improvised dialogue and real alcohol imbibed by the actors, Drinking Buddies helps wash away those boring afternoons.
4. Safety Not Guaranteed (2012)
Before reigniting the Jurassic Park series with his impossibly big summer tentpole Jurassic World, Colin Trevorrow delighted audiences with his sentimental indie sci-fi Safety Not Guaranteed. A magazine intern (Aubrey Plaza) meets an eccentric man (Mark Duplass) whose classified ad asking for time travel companions kicks off a journey about love in strange places and faith in the impossible. While Safety Not Guaranteed is saccharine enough to induce diabetic shock, it's sunny and easygoing, with a big heart that can triumph over the dullest of days.
3. Lost in Translation (2003)
Sofia Coppola's new millennium classic Lost in Translation is a soft focus portrait of companionship, its story transcending cliched meet-cutes for something more and undefinable. Which is why it's perfect for those cloudy afternoons spent indoors. In Japan, an aging Hollywood star (played by Bill Murray) forges a connection with a captivating and lonely college graduate (Scarlett Johansson). More than just the movie that catapulted both Coppola and Johansson's careers, Lost in Translation has allowed us all to find how to express what we feel without us hearing a word.
2. The Crow (1994)
A moody and macabre '90s classic drenched in shadows, its dark story of a star taken too soon is woefully too fitting. Based on the indie superhero comics of the same name, The Crow tells of a rock musician (played by the late Brandon Lee) who comes back to life one year after his murder to avenge his family and protect a helpless, crime-ridden city. Through the eye of director Alex Proyas, The Crow soars with a magnetic Lee, a killer soundtrack, and a goth rock aesthetic that has aged impossibly well.
1. Good Will Hunting (1997)
Gus Van Sant's decorated late '90s classic just knows what it means to be a cozy rainy day movie. Matt Damon stars as Will Hunting, a janitor at MIT who is found to have genius-level intellect. Ordered by court to attend therapy, he spends time with Dr. Sean Maguire (Robin Williams), who helps Will truly learn how to live his life in a way that makes sense. When the weather forbids adventure, Good Will Hunting is inspiring enough to make us get up and get out anyway. Because all of us, in our own ways, have to see about a girl.
