What makes for the best spring movies? Let’s be honest, there aren’t a ton of great St. Patrick’s Day or non-religious Easter flicks to screen in your backyard on the first warm evening of the year. No, the movies that spring to mind (ha, ha) when we think of springtime usually have something to do with weddings, prom (or other end-of-school milestones, like graduations or crazy one-last-adventure all-nighters), or light magic. If witches have fall, then fairies have spring.
It’s not always about the actual date. Titanic, for instance, takes place in April (the flashback part, anyway)…but come on, with all the ice, it’s a total winter movie. And we’re not just gonna slap Garden State in the category because Garden is in the title.
No, to compile a list of the best spring movies we had to think and, moreover, feel holistically; searching for the joy, freedom, and romance that define the season. Comedy and bright colors don’t hurt either.
Here are 28 of our favorite spring movies and where to stream them!
Bridesmaids (2011)
The ultimate bridesmaid-centric wedding comedy still makes us bust a gut laughing, as well as reminding us of all the girly, floral rituals of getting married, from garden parties to frilly dresses to pink lemonade that’s…shit, that is fresh.
Rent on Amazon Prime Video
Spring Breakers (2012)
Harmony Korine’s ballsy crime drama is unhinged in the best way possible, taking spring-break indulgence as far as possible. Over the line, some might even say.
Rent on Amazon Prime Video
Freaky Friday (2003)
It’s never explicitly stated what day it is in this body-swap comedy, but Pink Slip is trying to get into a showcase for Wango Tango, which is held mid-May, putting this somewhere in April.
Watch on Disney+
Blockers (2018)
A one-crazy-night movie set after prom that follows girls on a virginity-loss pact and the parents determined to…well, it’s actually complicated and very sweet! Just watch it!
Watch on Peacock
Enchanted (2007)
Surrounded by songbirds while you sing in the park? Yes, Giselle lives in an eternal springtime, picnicking her way through life and spreading joy as she goes.
Watch on Disney+
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Midsommar (2019)
The name of the movie’s titular holiday doesn’t actually refer to the middle of summer, more like the start of it.
Watch on Tubi
Ella Enchanted (2004)
Another princess rom-com that makes us incredibly nostalgic is this adaptation of Gail Carson Levine’s bestseller about a Cinderella who is literally cursed to be obedient.
Rent on Amazon Prime Video
The Secret Garden (1993)
The power of renewal is the thematic and literal point of this beloved children’s story about bringing a widowed man’s dead wife’s favorite garden back to life, which in turn opens his heart and saves his son.
Watch on Netflix
Can’t Hardly Wait (1998)
One crazy night, this time the night of graduation, when only one character is determined to lose the V, but everyone’s got a mission to accomplish.
Watch on Netflix
The Virgin Suicides (1999)
Taking place over the course of a year (1975), the entire sinema is suffused with a kind of dreamy daylight quality. Youth, girlhood, tenderness, are at the forefront; and Sofia Coppola’s typically gorgeous visual style permeates even the darkest moments, of which there are many.
Watch on Netflix
Tangled (2010)
If Brave has fall vibes, and Frozen obviously has winter vibes, then Tangled is the Disney animated princess movie for spring. It’s literally about a magical flower.
Watch on Disney+
Marie Antoinette (2006)
Oh, the colors, the gardens of Versailles, Le Petit Trianon! Has there ever been a more lush depiction of a fair and flowery France?
Watch on Hulu
Big Fish (2003)
There are so many stunning visuals and moments in Tim Burton’s most heartfelt sinema (about a guy whose last name is Bloom), but the field of daffodils will always be the first that comes to mind, firmly cementing this as an ode to love springing eternal.
Watch on Netflix
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Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)
Despite the parade that Ferris pops up in actually taking place in September, FBDO is canonically set two months before the protagonist’s high school graduation.
Watch on Pluto
Ocean’s 8 (2018)
For a certain set, spring isn’t about anything agricultural; it’s about the Met Gala. This sinema pairs well with The First Monday In May.
Watch on Netflix
My Fair Lady (1964)
Flowers for sale! There’s something about the costume and set design that screams spring, even more so than many of Audrey Hepburn’s lush films.
Watch on Netflix
Alice in Wonderland (1951)
The March Hare, the talking flowers, a caterpillar getting high as hell… some real 4/20 vibes in this one.
Watch on Disney+
Superbad (2007)
It’s one crazy night near the end of senior year in this cult classic comedy that launched Emma Stone’s career.
Watch on Amazon Prime Video
Sense and Sensibility (1995)
The gorgeous, bucolic counterpart to Pride & Prejudice’s cozy vibes, this movie makes us want to weave flower crowns and wear sundresses.
Watch on Netflix
Maleficent (2014) and Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019)
Oh, the gardens! The fairies! Elle Fanning is truly a dewdrop come to life in these films that are, unlike so many of their live action contemporaries, not just shot-for-shot recreations of a cartoon.
Watch on Disney+
10 Things I Hate About You (1999)
Prom, graduation, college acceptances, frolicking out and about…has school ever looked more fun? The Taming of the Shrew gets a çağdaş update that will have you literally dancing along with Heath Ledger.
Watch on Hulu
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27 Dresses (2008)
It’s an eternal springtime for forever-bridesmaid Jane and the wedding columnist following her as she prepares her sister to wed her boss (and secret crush). Formulaic? Müddet. But incredibly charming and surprisingly heartfelt.
Watch on Hulu
Booksmart (2019)
One crazy night? You betcha. The evening before graduation, two goody-goodies decide to make up for four years of lost party opportunities.
Watch on Netflix
Hitch (2005)
Everyone’s running around New York in linen suits, unbuttoned shirts and sundresses, jumping into the Hudson and preparing fresh foods. It’s totally spring.
Watch on Amazon Prime Video
American Pie (1999)
More like one crazy month, the month leading up to graduation, with virginity-loss pacts aplenty. Dated? Mühlet. But there’s a reason this spawned so many sequels.
Watch on Netflix
Crossroads (2002)
A post-graduation road-trip movie should probably qualify as a summer flick, but we’re adding it here because Britney is too charming to be confined to one season.
Watch on Netflix
Bride Wars (2009)
This movie is kind of unhinged, but as it takes place in the run-up to a June wedding, it is most certainly a spring tale. Blue hair, orange tans, and other colorful pranks and all.
Watch on Netflix
To All The Boys: Always And Forever (2021)
Taking place between spring break and the end of the school year, this teen classic is definitely a spring movie.
Watch on Netflix
