This Valentine’s Day, cuddle up to Tennessee’s favorite rom-com

A survey by PixlParade identified the most popular romantic comedies in the U.S. and by state.
Nationwide, the most popular romantic comedy is “When Harry Met Sally…,” which received 21.78% of the total vote.

With Valentine’s Day fast approaching this weekend, people in Tennessee, and across the country, may find themselves scrambling for last‑minute dinner reservations. But with many restaurants booked weeks in advance, couples may need to turn to lower‑stress alternatives to celebrate.

For some, settling in with a romantic movie is the perfect backup plan — no crowds, no waitlists and no battling over the last open table.

PixlParade, an online lifestyle platform, conducted a survey to identify the most popular romantic comedies both nationwide and in each individual state. Here’s what the survey revealed about movie‑watchers in Tennessee.

What is Tennessee’s favorite romantic comedy?

Tennesseans clearly love a good Cinderella-style romance with an unexpected match at its center. According to survey results, the state’s favorite romantic comedy is “Pretty Woman” — the film ranked as the second most popular rom‑com of all time nationwide.

The 1990 classic starring Julia Roberts and Richard Gere secured 45.45% of Tennessee’s total vote.

In the film, a wealthy businessman hires a Hollywood sex worker as his companion for a week and the two develop an unlikely connection. Their relationship evolves into a modern fairy‑tale romance as they challenge each other’s assumptions about class, independence and love.

How to watch, stream ‘Pretty Woman’

“Pretty Woman” is available to stream on Hulu. Plans start at $11.99 per month and can go up to $35.99 per month.

You can also buy it for $4.99 or rent it for $3.99 on Prime Video.

The most popular romantic comedy movies in the U.S.

According to the survey, the nation’s favorite romantic comedy is Rob Reiner’s 1989 classic “When Harry Met Sally…,” starring Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal. The film, which explores the age-old question of whether men and women can ever truly be “just friends,” secured 21.78% of the vote, edging out Garry Marshall’s “Pretty Woman” (1990) by roughly 3%.

Nearly all of the top ten films are from the late 1980s through the late 1990s.

The only contemporary title to break into the list was Damien Chazelle’s five-time Oscar-winning musical romance “La La Land” (2016), starring Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling.

When Harry Met Sally (1989)
Pretty Woman (1990)
The Princess Bride (1987)
Notting Hill (1999)
Say Anything (1989)
Moonstruck (1987)
There’s Something About Mary (1998)
As Good As It Gets (1997)
My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002)
La La Land (2016)

Methodology

The ranking is based on a nationwide survey of 1,979 U.S. adults conducted by PixlParade in January 2026. Participants selected their favorite romantic comedy from a curated list of 30 English‑language films released within the past 50 years.

To build that list, researchers compared three major sources: the top 50 highest‑rated English‑language rom‑coms on IMDb from the past 50 years with at least 10,000 reviews, the top 50 highest‑rated English‑language rom‑coms on Rotten Tomatoes from the past 50 years, and the top 50 highest‑grossing English‑language rom‑coms released in the same timeframe.

Films were ranked based on how many of those lists they appeared on, with priority given to titles featured across multiple sources.

Movies that appeared on only one list were ordered by their average position within that list. The 30 highest‑ranked films from this combined methodology became the options presented in the survey.