Staying Up Till Midnight Won't Be a Problem With These 38 New Year's Movies

Adaline Bowman is not like other girls. Starring the iridescent Blake Lively, "The Age of Adaline" tells the remarkable story of one woman's rather unusual life in which she stops aging after her 29th birthday. With eight decades of being 29 years old under her belt, Adaline has ensured that how she lives her life is foolproof, and no one will ever suspect her immortal existence. However, when the heartthrob Ellis Jones (Michiel Huisman) walks into her life on New Year's Eve, her plan goes out the window, as does her heart. A weekend getaway to his parents' cottage proves detrimental to their relationship after Adaline's long-suppressed secret is revealed, and involves someone else close to Ellis's heart.

In this mid-2000s romantic comedy, two strangers, Oliver (Ashton Kutcher) and Emily (Amanda Peet), meet on a flight from Los Angeles to New York and enjoy the mile-high club together. Upon landing, they decide it'd be best to go their separate ways, but as months go by, they wonder what if. Over the next seven years, fate brings Oliver and Emily together multiple times; however, the timing for a relationship is never right. So, they remain friends — until they're both alone (and thinking about each other) on New Year's Eve.

Desperate to pay off his tidal wave of gambling debt and then some, a dirty NYC transit cop concocts a plan to rob the "money train" that transports the Transit Authority's daily earnings on New Year's Eve. The only problem is Charlie (Woody Harrelson) will have to either convince his responsible, goody-two-shoes brother — who's also a transit cop — to cooperate or outsmart him altogether to pull off the heist. Then, there's the beautiful Officer Grace Santiago (Jennifer Lopez), who has both of these cops wrapped around her pretty little finger. She certainly wouldn't approve of this. All's fair in love and . . . robbery?

The holiday greeting "Merry New Year!" derives from the '80s comedy film "Trading Places," which follows successful commodity brokers and brothers Randolph and Mortimer Duke. The duo stage an experiment to see if a street hustler and a top executive from their own firm can switch places and survive living in the other person's shoes. The catch? They're carrying out the experiment without telling the subjects — Billy Ray Valentine (Eddie Murphy) and Louis Winthorpe III (Dan Aykroyd) — anything about it. When Valentine and Winthorpe realize they're pawns in the Duke brothers' shady game, they join forces and hatch a plan for revenge.

A Netflix original movie, "Holidate" centers around Sloane (Emma Roberts) and Jackson (Luke Bracey), two single young adults who are sick and tired of having to spend the holidays without a built-in plus-one. Desperate to get her family off her back, Sloane takes a page out of her aunt's (Kristin Chenoweth) book and proposes that they be each other's holidate. The rules are simple: they only speak and see each other around the holidays, and under no circumstances can they have sex — things are to remain strictly platonic. It's a foolproof plan until Jackson sees Sloane in her sexy New Year's Eve number, which only fuels the burning tension between them even more.

If you take anything away from this movie roundup, it's that "New Year's Eve" and "cruise ship" should never be in the same sentence. While aboard the vast and very luxurious RMS Poseidon cruise liner for New Year's Eve, around 2,000 passengers' lives are put in grave danger after a massive tidal wave capsizes the vessel. Deserted in the transatlantic ocean, the survivors must put their differences aside and their brains together to design a plan to outlast the sinking ship until help arrives. Emmy Rossum, Josh Lucas, Kurt Russell, Richard Dreyfuss, and Andre Braugher star in this edge-of-your-seat action-thriller feature.

It's been 10 years since Harry Burns (Billy Crystal) and Sally Albright (Meg Ryan) shared that dreadful car ride from Chicago to New York, bickering about whether platonic friendships between men and women really do exist. When they run into each other all those years later, the debate still stands, and so do their opinions. As the two begin to spend more quality time together, they reevaluate their own friendship. Can they keep things platonic without sex getting in the way? Spoiler alert: they can't, and what follows is one of the most memorable New Year's Eve kisses in all of romance history!

A book-to-film adaption, Carol is a romantic-drama period film that chronicles an illicit love affair between Carol (Cate Blanchett), a New Jersey housewife, and a department clerk named Therese — made illicit by Carol's marriage and the unconventional nature of their relationship. Set during the holiday season in 1950s Manhattan, Carol first meets Therese while shopping at her store, and the two strike up a conversation, agreeing to meet again. As their connection deepens, so does their lust for one another, which comes to fruition on New Year's Eve in the form of a passionate kiss. Carol's plan to leave her marriage is hijacked after her husband finds out about her affair and consequently threatens to keep her away from their daughter should she continue to see Therese.

No holiday-movie roundup would be complete without the Peanuts gang! Following the beloved Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmastime specials comes a funny and light-hearted New Year's-inspired tale about Charlie Brown, along with his trusty sidekick Snoopy. What has Charlie gotten himself into this time, you ask? He's found himself at a crossroads about how he wants to spend the last day of the year. Does he go accept his invitation to Peppermint Patty's rockin' New Year's Eve bash, or stay within the comforts of his own home and finish reading "War and Peace"? Honestly, a pretty relatable situation to be in.

From the director who brought us "Valentine's Day" and "Mother's Day" comes another holiday-inspired movie laced with interconnected storylines about NYC residents on the city's biggest night of the year, New Year's Eve. The film takes viewers all over the Big Apple, from the ball drop in Times Square to a glitzy celebrity party starring musical guest Jon Bon Jovi. There's even a battle between two expecting couples who race to win the cash prize for welcoming the first baby of the new year. Expect to see several familiar faces like Katherine Heigl, Ashton Kutcher, Lea Michele, Halle Berry, Josh Duhamel, Jessica Biel, Zac Efron, Hilary Swank, Héctor Elizondo, and more.

At age 32, this is the year Bridget Jones (Renée Zellweger) gets her life together, and when better to start than on New Year's? To help hold herself accountable, she buys a diary and vows always to write the whole honest truth about everything going on in her life, from how she feels about her weight, age, and physical appearance to her job and (lack of a) sex life. As she documents every thought, feeling, and emotion in her diary, things begin to progress in real life when she and her boss engage in a steamy secret office romance that comes to a screeching halt due to his lackluster personality and unattractive character. Just when Bridget thinks she's back to square one, she runs into an old acquaintance who might just have the brawn and wits to sweep her off her feet. Also starring in this hilarious holiday rom-com are Colin Firth and Hugh Grant.

For many, New Year's is the perfect time for change, which is exactly what Will (Hugh Grant) is in for in this film. A 30-something-year-old Londoner, Will is wealthy, immature, irresponsible, and a womanizer. But all that changes on New Year's Eve when a 12-year-old boy named Marcus walks into his life. In a moment of fear, Marcus turns to Will for support and reveals his mother has been battling depression and suicidal thoughts. With no father figure in his life, he grows attached to Will and vice versa. Will eventually realizes that his partying days no longer fulfill him, but playing a parental role in Marcus's life does.

This ensemble comedy takes place over one long night: New Year's Eve, 1981. The film follows a group of young New Yorkers as they wander around the city looking for love and a raging NYE party. Along the way, we meet the sad and recently dumped Kevin, whose boisterous friend Lucy is convinced that if they hook up, Kevin's spirits will be lifted. Then there's Monica, an overanxious party hostess who's trying to entertain her friend's Irish ex-boyfriend. And we can't forget Stephanie and Val, who get into quite a wild adventure of their own down in SoHo at a punk club where they meet some pretty interesting men. This '90s flick features a star-studded cast, including appearances from Paul Rudd, Kate Hudson, Ben Affleck, Christina Ricci, and Martha Plimpton.

If anyone is familiar with the magic of a New Year's Eve party, it's Troy Bolton (Zac Efron) and Gabriella Montez (Vanessa Hudgens), who first lock eyes during a heartwarming karaoke duet at a ski resort on NYE. Before the clock strikes midnight, they exchange numbers only to discover a few weeks later that they're classmates. Being the new girl comes with its challenges, like the fact your crush is the most popular guy at school and everyone else has a crush on him, too. Troy only has eyes for Gabriella, but when she invites him to sing a duet with her in the spring musical, his ego gets in the way.

For most young adults in the United States, turning 21 means finally being able to grab a beer with your friends, but for the men in the Lake family, it means something much more. Domhnall Gleeson stars opposite Rachel McAdams in this sappy British rom-com about a young man's ability to travel back in time and alter his past. Tim uses this as a chance to finally land the girl of his dreams on New Year's Eve, and it works. However, as the two of them begin to build a life together, Tim realizes there are some things his special ability can't change.

This Sandra Bullock-led film revolves around Lucy, a single transit worker whose day gets turned upside down after she saves a man (who she had been crushing on for quite some time) from an approaching train and winds up pretending to be his fiancée upon learning he's in a coma. But wait, things get even messier. The man's family arrives at the hospital for visiting hours and stumbles upon Lucy, who continues to play the fiancée. After spending so much time with her fake soon-to-be in-laws, Lucy develops real feelings for Jack (Bill Pullman), the brother. Everything comes to a climax on New Year's Eve when Lucy sets the record straight and finds her voice.

If you want to date Suzanne (Nia Long), you have to get through her children, Lindsey (Aleisha Allen) and Kevin (Philip Daniel Bolden) first. That being said, it's a good thing her new boyfriend, Nick (Ice Cube), loves a challenge, because he's about to be stuck in a Lincoln Navigator with the two little gremlins as they embark on a New Year's Eve road trip from Oregon to Canada. The kicker? Suzanne isn't in the car with them — she had to stay back for work, so Nick's on his own. Time is on Lindsey and Kevin's side, and they're more than ready to put their best pranks into action.

Jane Goodale's (Ashely Judd) life is the stuff some women dream about. She's a daytime TV producer and has a steamy romance with the show's dreamy executive producer. All is right in the world until their love story is abruptly cut short, and Jane's left alone, hating men. She decides to conduct a little experiment and begins an anonymous sex column with her womanizer roommate, Eddie (Hugh Jackman), as her main subject. Laugh along as Jane critiques her findings and voices her opinions about men — Eddie in particular — which may or may not end in a sultry New Year's kiss.

An aspiring writer, Sunny (Trieste Kelly Dunn), takes a leave of absence from her college studies to move back home and look after her ill father. After taking a temp job at the local bowling alley, weeks turn into months and eventually years as Sunny deals with being at home with her father. As the holidays roll around once more, things finally start to look up for Sunny. She meets someone special, and the more time they spend together, the faster and harder she falls in love. If things stay how they are, Sunny can be looking at the best New Year's she's ever had.

Despite a ring on her finger and a fiancée of his own back home, two strangers spark up a steamy affair after sharing a romantic New Year's Eve kiss while traveling on an international cruise from Europe to New York. As the title suggests, it's an affair to remember. As the boat reaches the dock, they promise that in six months, they'll meet at the top of the Empire State Building and pick up where they left off. The plan goes amiss when she gets into a terrible accident and has no way of relaying a message that she won't be waiting for him on the 102nd floor. Cary Grant stars opposite Deborah Kerr in this 1957 holiday-romance film.

Back in town for his buddy's New Year's Eve wedding, Billy (Tim Daly) rallies together the groom and their closest pals at the local diner for old-time's sake. It's then and there that the men realize they aren't ready to let go of all the wild, crazy times they once had — both on their own and together. They spend the night reminiscing about the past while also getting vulnerable about the challenges they currently face as young adults. In the end, the group promises to stick together no matter what. Then they remember they have a wedding to attend!

In the '50s, there was only one place to go if Londoners wanted to be dressed like royalty, and that was the House of Woodcock, home to the city's premier dressmaker, Reynolds Woodcock (Daniel Day-Lewis). A tailor by day and bachelor by night, Reynolds lives and breathes couture, and with the help of his sister, he's been able to catapult his store into the heart and soul of British fashion. From heiresses and socialites to debutants and movie stars, everyone wants a piece of Woodstock fashion. His store and heart are put in jeopardy after he meets a willful woman named Alma. Having a lover is one thing, but using her as your muse is another. Come for the fashion, and stay for the glitz and glam of New Year's Eve in 1950s London!

A son's innocent pursuit to find his widowed dad a new wife takes their relationship to new heights and big cities in this emotional cinematic masterpiece directed and co-written by Nora Ephron. After professing his loneliness and feelings on a talk radio show, Sam (Tom Hanks) receives a letter from a woman on the other side country named Annie (Meg Ryan). In the handwritten note, she mentions hearing him on the radio and expresses an interest in meeting him face-to-face. Overrun with emotion, Sam uses New Year's Eve to reflect on the life he and his late wife once shared before deciding whether to meet up with Annie.

Due to inclement snowy weather, a prison bus transporting dangerous, high-risk criminals Marion (Laurence Fishburne), Beck (John Leguizamo), and Anna (Aisha Hinds) is redirected on New Year's Eve to Detroit's run-down and short-staffed Precinct 13. As they approach the precinct, Sgt. Jake Roenick's (Ethan Hawke) satellite connection is intercepted, making it impossible to contact dispatch. Thus he believes this is an ambush by the corrupt affiliates running the prison. With death on the line, the police sergeant has no choice but to uncuff the criminals and ask them for help. Only together will they be able to make it out of there alive.

The story of the Corleone family and their vengeful wrongdoings continue in the hit family-crime film "The Godfather: Part II." Told in dual timelines, Sicilian-born Vito Corleone's (Robert De Niro) 1901 journey to New York and how he rose to mob royalty is interspersed throughout. Meanwhile, roughly half a century in the future, Michael (Al Pacino) goes on a binge, expanding the family business on their home turf and in Las Vegas, Hollywood, and Cuba. All goes successful until Michael is the victim of an attempted assassination in his own home. Enraged, he sets forth to find the person responsible, which he believes to be a traitor among the Corleone family business. On New Year's Eve, everything comes to a head when Michael corners his brother Fredo and unveils that he knows of his disloyalty to him and the business. His confession is sealed with a New Year's Eve kiss.

Turn the heat up a notch with "Boogie Nights," a racy film that takes place in late-1970s California and follows one man's (Mark Wahlberg) dramatic rise and fall to fame in the adult-film industry. Eddie is living the high life — both literally and figuratively — thanks to his adult-film-star persona, Dirk Diggler, and renowned porn director Jack Horner (Burt Reynolds). With that lifestyle comes a new group of friends, coworkers, and love interests. Sometimes, money and luxury can lead to consequence. Eddie is about to learn that the hard way when it all boils over at a New Year's Eve party where things get a little out hand.

Set in Brooklyn, NY, a struggling photographer (Joaquin Phoenix) exits his engagement, only to find himself stuck in an unexpected yet complicated love triangle shortly thereafter. As the holiday season approaches, he must to decide who he'd like to continue seeing into the new year. First there's Sandra (Vinessa Shaw), a frank, sensible woman, who's already adored by his parents and would fit perfectly into his life. On the other hand, there's Michelle (Gwyneth Paltrow), his alluring and interesting next-door neighbor with a messy love life. He has until midnight on New Year's Eve to choose, but if he waits too long, it could be too little, too late.

After a monster ice age puts the entire world under a frozen ice spell, a group of survivors seek comfort and shelter on the Snowpiercer, a luxury train whose carriages confine and organize passengers based on class. As time slowly passes with little to no improvement, the train's poorest travelers devise a plan to take control of the engine room on New Year's, while the wealthier passengers are distracted with their extravagant celebrations. Under the leadership of their new lower-class captain, Curtis (Chris Evans), they set forth. But in order to reach the front of the train, they'll have to make their way through every carriage and its increasingly wealthy guests.

Down in the dumps about her love life, Iris (Kate Winslet) steps out of her comfort zone and agrees to an international house swap with a woman named Amanda (Cameron Diaz), whose LA lifestyle proves to be more gloomy than sunny. Trading in her stilettos for snow boots, Amanda makes her way to a secluded English village where a chance encounter introduces her to Graham (Jude Law), Iris's very handsome brother. Meanwhile, Iris finds herself rather smitten by Amanda's musically talented neighbor (Jack Black). While "The Holiday" may be considered one of the most quintessential Christmas movies of the holiday season, the characters' storylines wrap on New Year's Eve with a celebration guaranteed to make your heart melt into a million tiny little pieces.

Not all New Year's movies are packed with midnight kisses, big romantic gestures, and fresh starts. If you're in the mood for something a little more hair-raising, then you'll love "Midnighters." It's a New Year's Day thriller that follows a troubled couple after they get into a fatal car accident involving a pedestrian. Rather than come clean to the police, they proceed to cover up their tracks and dispose of the body themselves. The cops come knocking, and it's only a matter of time before their lies get the best of them. Talk about starting the year on the wrong foot.

Set on New Year's Eve, this '90s comedy anthology features actor Tim Roth, who portrays the new bellhop at Hotel Mon Signor, a privy establishment nestled in the hills of Hollywood. As if working your first shift on New Year's Eve isn't stressful enough, Ted is left abandoned at the front desk to cater the guests' needs, which increasingly get more bizarre by the minute. From being coerced into babysitting a guest's children to a gaggle of witches requesting the honeymoon suite, Ted is in for one wild night. Co-written and starring the legendary Quentin Tarantino, this film proves not all New Year's Eve plans end in fireworks, Champagne, and a midnight kiss.

Desperate to overcome her writer's block, breakthrough music artist Layne (Dia Frampton) books a flight back home to spend New Year's Eve with her best friend, Cassie (Ashley Argota). Once in Nashville, Layne pays a visit to a psychic, who advises her to return to the source that originally inspired her to write music. That night, Layne and Cassie spend their New Year's Eve on a wild goose chase as they try to track down Layne's ex-girlfriend Caroline (Kelly Lynn Reiter), whom she never fully got over. However, as the night progresses, Layne begins to think that maybe Caroline was never the problem, and maybe her muse has been right beside her all along.

The premise of "Bloodhounds of Broadway" is quite simple, but its characters are very complex. On New Year's Eve in 1928, a group of troubled individuals — gangsters, showgirls, gamblers, and musicians — and a nosy journalist make plans to attend the wildest New Year's Eve party in New York City. Throughout the night, secrets are revealed among the crew — some life-threatening, others bittersweet. Will everything resolve itself by midnight? Only time (what's left of it) will tell. This period film features some of the most beloved actors of the late '80s and early '90s, including Jennifer Grey, Julie Hagerty, Matt Dillon, Randy Quaid, and Madonna.

Set in the City of Angels on New Year's Eve, one miserable man pledges to spend his New Year's Eve alone, moping in his bed in the dark while the world around him is celebrating the start of a new year. That plan lasts all of two seconds when his buddy persuades him to leave a personal ad for a midnight companion on Craigslist. This leads him to recently single Vivian, whose New Year's Eve plans involve kissing anyone but her ex-boyfriend at the stroke of midnight. Despite being total strangers, the two spend the day gallivanting all over the city together. By the time midnight rolls around, it's as if they've known each other all along.

One of the very few horror films centered around New Year's Eve, "The Children" follows two sisters who plan an epic New Year's weekend getaway for their husbands and kids at a luxurious, remote English estate. What was supposed to be a vacation filled with sledding, hot cocoa, snowball fights, and other winter activities emerges into a weekend from hell after one of the children begins exhibiting symptoms of an unknown illness. As the days go on, the other children begin acting strange, too, and it soon becomes clear that the disease they've contracted is a virus that shifts them into little murderers.

This 1952 sports romance film celebrates one of New Year's Day's greatest pastimes: the Rose Bowl. The storyline centers around a Midwest football team in sunny California after their prayers of playing in the Rose Bowl are answered. The day before the big game, the team's quarterback, Steve, makes the acquaintance of the very beautiful Denny Burke. Smitten, Steve asks for her number and the two make plans to spend New Year's Eve night together. When a team emergency comes up, Steve is forced to stand her up. However, he's holding out hope that she'll still come watch him play. A trophy isn't the only thing riding on this New Year's Day game — so is Steve's heart.