The Most Popular Rom-Com in Each State [2024]

As Valentine's Day approaches, rom-com fans and their partners are cuddling up with their favorite movies. Whether you want characters fumbling into meet-cutes, agonizing over long-distance love, or rekindling a past flame, there are plenty of new and classic romantic comedies available to watch this time of year.

One such abundant source of Valentine’s-ready rom-coms is Netflix. The streaming service’s library boasts many genre classics, as well as a slew of original movies. And as rom-com lovers ourselves, the team at All About Cookies wanted to find out which of Netflix’s rom-com options are the most beloved.

Using Google Trends, we collected data on more than 75 romantic comedies currently available to watch on Netflix and assessed which is the most popular in every state in the country.

The most popular romantic comedy on Netflix in each state

Each state's most popular Netflix romantic comedy

Across the country, 35 different movies were most popular in at least one state. And some interesting trends emerge when we take a deeper look at the data.

The most popular romantic comedies overall

In terms of overall popularity nationwide, the clear winner was “Pretty Woman” — an all-time classic rom-com that has been delighting movie lovers for more than 30 years. Meanwhile, second place went to “No Hard Feelings,” a movie that came out less than a year ago.

1990’s “Pretty Woman” was the most popular romantic comedy in eight different states. Starring Richard Gere and a 22-year-old Julia Roberts in one of her breakthrough roles, the movie was an enormous hit upon release and still ranks among the five highest-grossing romantic comedies of all time. Roberts’ performance has delighted fans for decades and earned her a Best Actress nomination at the Academy Awards.

Only one other rom-com was most popular in at least three states: The 2023 release “No Hard Feelings” starring Jennifer Lawrence. It was released in June of last year, and the movie was an immediate hit when it went to Netflix last October. This rom-com became the most-streamed title the week it was released, according to Nielsen data.

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.

While the top two most popular rom-coms are traditional theatrical releases, Netflix originals were the most popular rom-coms in 23 states across the country. That speaks to how much fans of the romantic comedy genre enjoy Netflix-produced flicks.

Bottom line

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• 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 collected data on romantic comedies listed in "Best Romantic Comedies on Netflix" articles from Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping, Entertainment Weekly, Digital Trends, and IndieWire, all of which were published or updated between December 2023 and January 2024. We also included all movies found in the "Popular on Netflix" section of the site's "Romantic Comedies" category on January 22, 2024.

In total, we collected data on 79 different Romantic Comedies currently available on Netflix. Google Trends data was collected on 1/22/2024, 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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Author Details

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.