Rotten Tomatoes’ 50-pick guide, updated May 1, 2025, treats teen romance as more than a run of sweet high-school love stories. Its selections range from comedies and musicals to animation, queer coming-of-age, adaptations, and romances shaped by illness, grief, or loss. The numbered order is the guide’s editorial sequence, not a definitive ranking. This guide helps you find a pick by mood, premise, and form.
See Rotten Tomatoes’ full “50 Essential Teen Romance Movies” guide for its complete numbered selection, synopses, critics’ consensus text, and displayed film ratings.
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![John Green Double Feature DVD Collection: The Fault in Our Stars / Paper Towns [Teenage Romance 2-Movie DVD Set]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51bMcmxqscL._SL160_.jpg)
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John Green Double Feature DVD Collection: The Fault in Our Stars / Paper Towns [Teenage Romance... | $15.00 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
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Teen Beach Movie | $11.59 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
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Beverly Hills Teens - Volume 1 - 32 Eps | $15.62 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
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Teen Wolf 1 & 2 | $13.00 | Buy on Amazon |
What counts as a teen romance?
The category is flexible. Some selections center on high-school relationships; others are broader coming-of-age stories, adaptations, animation, fantasy, or romances involving characters outside a conventional high-school setting. Rotten Tomatoes’ guide includes college freshmen in Beautiful Disaster and a teenager transformed into an adult in 13 Going on 30, so the label does not mean every film is a straightforward high-school romance.
The guide’s opening picks illustrate its range: Say Anything… (1989), Your Name (2016), To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (2018), Spontaneous (2020), and Love, Simon (2018). These are examples from the first entries, not a claim that the order ranks the films by quality. Rotten Tomatoes identifies Alex Vo as the guide’s author and lists an update date of May 1, 2025.
#1 Best Overall
- the fault in our stars dvd
- paper towns dvd
Choose by mood and premise
For a lighter romantic comedy
If you want flirtation, comic misunderstandings, or a playful take on social expectations, start with To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before or Easy A. The latter also offers a route into literary adaptation: Rotten Tomatoes connects its premise to Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter.
For music, dancing, and romance
The guide groups Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, Grease, Dirty Dancing, Step Up, and Save the Last Dance around music and dance. These titles offer different eras and styles, from musical comedy to dance-centered drama; choose based on whether you want songs, a shared playlist, or performance to drive the relationship.
For a queer coming-of-age story
Love, Simon follows a 17-year-old who has not told family or friends that he is gay, according to Rotten Tomatoes’ synopsis. It is one example of how the guide’s category extends beyond a conventional boy-meets-girl plot. The selection should not be taken as a comprehensive account of queer teen experience.
Rank #2
For animation or a fantasy premise
Your Name pairs a rural schoolgirl and a city boy who discover they have switched bodies. Its animated, fantastical setup makes it a distinct choice from live-action school romances, while keeping youthful connection at the center.
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For stories where love is entangled with illness and mortality, the guide points to The Fault in Our Stars, Five Feet Apart, A Walk to Remember, and The Last Song. These are not simply lighter first-love stories; expect emotional stakes and themes of loss.
For something darker, campier, or less conventional
Rotten Tomatoes highlights Cruel Intentions, But I’m a Cheerleader, Spontaneous, Your Name, The Spectacular Now, and Summer of 85 as options for viewers seeking a moodier, campier, or unconventional angle. Their tones and premises differ considerably, so check an individual synopsis before choosing for a particular audience.
Rank #3
- Factory sealed DVD
Look for the story behind the story
Several picks make useful starting points for readers interested in how films adapt existing literature. Alongside Easy A and The Scarlet Letter, the guide links She’s the Man with Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, 10 Things I Hate About You with Much Ado About Nothing, and She’s All That with Pygmalion. It also identifies The Fault in Our Stars and The Perks of Being a Wallflower as adaptations of books.
Comparing a film with its source can reveal what changes when a story moves from page or stage to screen: characterization, setting, tone, and the way a romance is resolved. Rotten Tomatoes’ guide establishes these adaptation connections, but it does not provide a detailed comparison of each work.
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The page presents 50 numbered selections and includes critics’ consensus text and Tomatometer and Popcornmeter percentages on film entries. Those displayed scores belong to individual titles; they are not a study of teen romance as a genre, and the list does not establish a universal ranking method. Scores and page wording may change, so check the live entry if a current rating matters to your choice.
Rank #4
- Factory sealed DVD
Use the guide as a discovery list, then narrow by the qualities that matter for your viewing: comedy or drama, live action or animation, high school or broader coming-of-age, and a light or emotionally intense premise. Its range is a strength, but the films are not interchangeable in tone or subject.
Check availability and content locally
The Rotten Tomatoes guide does not establish where each film is currently streaming, available to rent, or released on disc. It also does not give a universal age classification. Availability and ratings can vary by country and change over time, so check a current local listing and your region’s classification guidance—especially if you are choosing for a younger viewer or want to avoid particular themes.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
