Rainy days can spell trouble for playing outside, but it is also the perfect excuse to dive under a soft blanket, grab a bowl of popcorn, and binge-watch movies all day long. Whether it’s a feel-good film or a franchise, there are plenty of enjoyable movies to select from. Next time you have a rainy day and need recommendations, try out these eight best movies for rainy days.
8. Grease (1978)
Our eighth selection for best movies for rainy days is Grease, a timeless tale about love and finding your place in the world. It’s the 1950s in California, and good girl Sandy Olsson and greaser Danny Zuko fall in love over the summer. When school comes back around, the two realize they both go to Rydell High. Danny is the leader of the T-Birds, while Sandy hangs out with the Pink Ladies. As their two groups clash, the pair try to act like each other to rekindle their summer fling.
–IMDb score: 7.2
7. The Hunger Games (2012)
Dive into the world of dystopia with our seventh selection of best movies for rainy days, The Hunger Games. Now a four (soon to be five) film franchise, this series is perfect to binge-watch in one day or watch where it all began with Katniss Everdeen. The nation of Panem is divided into 12 districts and the Capitol. Every year, two young representatives from each district are selected to participate in The Hunger Games, a competition that eliminates all but one victor.
When Katniss’ young sister is selected, Katniss volunteers to take her place. She is soon plunged into the world of the Capitol and the games, including those who have trained for this moment their whole lives.
–IMDb score: 7.2
6. Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone (2001)
You can’t have a list of the best movies for rainy days without including the famed Harry Potter films. Whether you’ve seen the films or not, there is something so nostalgic and special about the first movie we had to include, The Sorcerer’s Stone. Harry Potter is a seemingly normal eleven-year-old boy living with his aunt and uncle, but when Harry is informed he is a wizard and must attend Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry, it changes his whole trajectory in life. Famous for an event that happened at his birth, Harry must navigate the highs and lows of wizard life, including an evil power growing in the shadows.
–IMDb score: 7.6
CHECK OUT: Where Was Harry Potter Filmed?
5. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971)
Grab your own golden ticket for our fifth selection of best movies for rainy days, the first rendition of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. The world is shocked when recluse Willy Wonka announces that five lucky children will be given a tour of the factory, and one will win a lifetime supply of Wonka chocolate. Nobody wants the prize more than Charlie, and somehow, he snags one of the golden tickets alongside four snobby children. As the children enter the factory, they slowly get picked off by mild disasters. Will Charlie be able to make it through the factory and win the prize? Or will another child win the lifetime supply?
–IMDb score: 7.8
ALSO READ: Wonka Review: A Musically Delicious Journey Through Wonka’s Origin Story
4. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)
Join J.R.R. Tolkien in Middle Earth with our fourth selection of best movies for rainy days, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. What better way to spend a rainy day than plunging yourself into a fantasy masterpiece centered around the reluctant Hobbit named Bilbo Baggins? Baggins is coerced into a quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor from the fearsome dragon Smaug.
Along with the Hobbit, he is joined by wizard Gandalf and a company of thirteen dwarfs led by Thorin Oakenshield. Along the way, the company must battle against enemies big and small, with the final destination being the Lonely Mountain.
–IMDb score: 7.8
3. The Breakfast Club (1985)
Transitioning from film series to standalone is our third best movie for rainy days selection, The Breakfast Club, showing the importance of friendships and the ability to connect with those in various social circles. Five high school students from different walks of life are assigned a Saturday detention under the watchful eye of the Principal. The group includes rebel John, princess Claire, outcast Allison, brainy Brian, and jock Andrew. As each teen learns about the others, their perspectives change, and at the end of detention they may never be the same.
–IMDb score: 7.8
CHECK OUT: 6 Breakfast Club Movie Quotes That Capture the Spirit of the Film
2. The Princess Bride (1987)
Need some more fantasy in your life? Grab this older film from 1987, our second selection for best movies for rainy days, The Princess Bride. A bedridden boy’s grandfather reads him a story of a farmboy-turned-pirate who must find his way back to his one true love. Along the way, he encounters numerous obstacles, enemies, and allies across the mythical kingdom of Florin. The film is based on the William Goldman novel of the same name, and is an enchanting to film perfect to watch with friends or a significant other.
–IMDb score: 8.0
READ MORE: 5 Most Iconic Princess Bride Movie Quotes
1. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
Number one on the best movies for rainy days list is The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. With the Rings of Power continuously putting out new seasons, this is the perfect set of movies to binge-watch and dive even deeper into the world of Middle Earth. An ancient Ring with incredible power has been found and given to a small Hobbit named Frodo. When he realizes its true power, Frodo joins up with Gandalf, Legolas, Gimli, Aragorn, Boromir, and three Hobbit friends to destroy it. As they get deeper into the journey, the troupe will encounter evil and danger around every corner as they try to end the Dark Lord’s reign.
–IMDb score: 8.9