With love in the air this February, romantic comedy fans (and their partners) are looking forward to cuddling up and watching their favorite actors fumble into meet-cutes, agonize over long-distance love, and finally get “the one that got away.” And there’s no shortage of options to choose from on Netflix. Thank stars like Matthew McConaughey and Sandra Bullock for that.

Given that Netflix is the No. 1 movie streaming service in the world, our team at All About Cookies wanted to take a deeper look at Netflix’s library of romantic comedy films to find out which is the most beloved in every state. Using Google Trends we were able to collect data on more than 90 romantic comedies currently available to watch on Netflix and find out which one is the most popular by state.

And because real rom-com fans aren’t just in love with the movies, but also the actors (many of whom recur in the genre), we also surveyed 1,500 people to find out America’s most popular rom-com actors and actresses in cinema.

Most popular romantic comedy on Netflix in each state

Each state's most popular Netflix romantic comedy

Across the country, 32 different movies were most popular in at least one state. The full state-by-state results can be seen above. When evaluating the results further, some interesting trends emerge.

The most popular romantic comedies overall

In terms of overall popularity, a trio of well-known romantic comedies from three different eras were the most beloved.

Taking the number one spot was 1978’s Grease, a movie that has been delighting fans for 45 years. The classic movie starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John was the most popular rom-com in six different states, the highest total of any other movie in the romantic comedy genre currently available on Netflix.

The only other movie that was the most popular rom-com in at least five states was 1994’s best picture winner Forrest Gump, which was tops in exactly five states. And yes, it’s a rom-com: We only looked up movies classified by Netflix as romantic comedies in our analysis.

The third most popular romantic comedy movie on Netflix isn’t quite as iconic as Grease or Forrest Gump, but it is a beloved cult classic. That would be 2010’s Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, which was the most popular rom-com in three states.

Netflix originals vs. theatrical releases

One interesting trend was how prevalent Netflix original films were throughout the final results. Netflix started producing and releasing their own movies and TV shows in 2012, and Netflix originals currently account for just over half of all content available on the service.

This trend followed in our analysis. While the three most popular rom-coms overall on the platform are traditional theatrical releases (and all produced before Netflix began making original programming), Netflix originals make up a greater portion of the overall results than traditional films across the country.

America’s favorite romantic comedy actors and actresses

In addition to analyzing Google Trends data relating to specific movies, we also surveyed 1,500 people to find out which romantic comedy actors are their favorites.

When it comes to leading men, comedian Kevin Hart took the top spot. While none of his movies were the most popular rom-com in any state this year, his Netflix original film Fatherhood was one of the most-watched movies on the platform following its release in 2021, according to data collected by Flix Patrol.

Among actresses, Sandra Bullock’s illustrious career clearly conquered the hearts of the respondents to be crowned the romantic comedy queen. One of her movies, 2000’s 28 Days, was the most popular romantic comedy movie in the state of Hawaii last year.

Two other top actors can be seen in rom-coms on Netflix that were most popular in at least one place each. Those actors are Bradley Cooper, who appears in Michigan’s favorite romantic comedy Wedding Crashers, while the Julia Roberts classic Notting Hill was most popular in Washington, D.C.

Bottom line

• Get access to titles outside of the U.S. Knowing how to watch Netflix with a VPN can be a helpful tool for not only more secure browsing, but accessing titles not yet available in your country. Give one of our recommended VPNs a try and watch your favorite British sitcoms or Bollywood dramas.
• Watch on the go. Watch your favorite international rom-coms and shows on the go by using a VPN for your iPhone or Android device. 
• Watch while abroad. Traveling outside the U.S. and need to catch up on the latest episodes of your favorite show? One of these best VPNs for travel can help you stay on top of your latest binge-watching obsessions without stressing about using international Wi-Fi.
• Organize your passwords for each platform. It can be easy to lose track of all your different passwords when subscribed to multiple streaming platforms, but using a password manager can help keep them all organized.

Methodology

All About Cookies curated a list of romantic comedies from "Best Romantic Comedies on Netflix" articles online, all of which were published or updated in January 2023. We also included all movies found in the "Popular on Netflix" section of the site's "Romantic Comedies" category on January 18, 2023.

In total, we collected data on 91 different Romantic Comedies currently available on Netflix. Google Trends data for each movie was collected in January 2023, with search parameters set to cover "The United States" for the time frame covering "Past 12 months." Ties within a state were broken by comparing tied shows directly in Google Trends with the specific state chosen as the geography.

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Josh Koebert

About the Author

Josh Koebert is an experienced content marketer that loves exploring how tech overlaps with topics such as sports, food, pop culture, and more. His work has been featured on sites such as CNN, ESPN, Business Insider, and Lifehacker.