The 20 Best Birthday Movies Ranked – From Happy Death Day To Sixteen Candles

The best birthday movies use the joy and celebration that’s supposed to come with the day to make a point about expectations, regret, and the pressures of growing up; and, of course, sometimes a birthday movie is great because birthdays are just a lot of fun. There are films for Halloween, Christmas, St. Patrick’s Day, Valentine’s Day, and every other holiday but birthdays are more personal, as they often bring up conflicting feelings. They’re celebrations of maturity but also clear reminders of time passing, so a lot of feelings surround the weeks leading up to a birthday.

A movie can use a birthday as a shortcut to conflict, giving a character a reason they need to change. New Year’s Eve may be the holiday when people make promises to work out more, but it’s birthdays when they decide to take stock. With so many expectations put on birthdays, they inevitably are never the day one hopes for. However, they can often lead to some breakthrough about either how a character’s life needs to change or how it’s fine the way it is. Less philosophically, a birthday movie also gives a convenient reason to have a bunch of characters in the same location or simply kickstart a film’s story.

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20 Wine Country (2019)

Amy Poehler’s directorial debut

Wine Country is a Netflix comedy directed by and starring Amy Poehler as Abby, the best friend of Rebecca (Rachel Dratch) who’s celebrating her 50th birthday. Abby plans a weekend getaway for Rebecca and their friends that starts off happy but turns unpleasant when each woman’s personal problems begin to surface. With a slew of some of the best female SNL cast members including Tina Fey, Maya Rudolph, and Ana Gasteyer, Wine Country is a funny and heartwarming look at friendship. Though Rebecca is the only one with a birthday, it’s her milestone that forces everyone to consider how their lives have shaped up.

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19 This Is 40 (2012)

Judd Apatow’s reflection on his own middle-age

Judd Apatow’s follow-up to Knocked-Up, This is 40 may not be the best of Judd Apatow’s movies, but it’s still an accurate look at middle-aged malaise. The film shifts focus away from Seth Rogen and Katherine Heigl to Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann as Pete and Debbie, a married couple whose lives are in a rut. Both couples celebrate their 40th birthdays in This is 40 and each day brings stress and regrets that threaten to upend their tenuous marriage. Rudd and Mann have excellent chemistry together and the script is as sharp as any Apatow production, but the two-hour-plus runtime can be a drag.

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18 Child’s Play (1988)

The first appearance of the killer doll

Child’s Play is the first film in the Chucky horror franchise and one of the more successful movies in the up-and-down eight films in the series, scoring a 73% on Rotten Tomatoes. This film introduces the “Good Guy” doll, a large animatronic doll with red hair that a young boy receives for his birthday. Little does he or his mother realize that the doll has been possessed by the spirit of serial killer Charles Lee Ray (Brad Dourif). Unlike future films in the franchise, Child’s Play does not lean as hard into the comedy aspects of the story and is an unnerving horror film with genuine scares.

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17 Iron Man 2 (2010)

Tony Stark fights enemies without and within

On its face, Iron Man 2 may not seem like a birthday movie, but its themes of mortality and regret are all summed up in one particular birthday party scene. The second film in MCU’s Iron Man franchise sees Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) facing off against Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke), an inventor with a vendetta against the Starks. A secondary plotline involves Tony Stark contending with his rapidly approaching death thanks to the battery powering his heart. Stark throws himself a birthday bash where he overindulges, embarrasses Pepper (Gwyneth Paltrow), and fights with Rhodey (Don Cheadle), all because he can’t handle grappling with his own mortality.

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16 Encanto (2021)

Disney’s magical story about a fantastical family

When a child in the Colombian Madrigal family has their fifth birthday in Encanto, they receive a magical power courtesy of a mystical candle. However, 15-year-old Mirabel (Stephanie Beatriz) has never received a power, but when she learns her family is losing theirs, she sets out to fix things. Encanto earned three Academy Award nominations and won for Best Animated Feature and was widely praised for its soundtrack and themes of generational trauma. It’s a gorgeous film to look at and Mirabel’s disappointment on her birthday is highly relatable for anyone expecting something to change when they reach a significant birthday milestone.

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15 The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

A cult hit musical with dazzling costumes and dance numbers

The Rocky Horror Picture Show is synonymous with cult movies having maintained relevance for decades after its release despite coming out to mediocre reviews upon premiere. This mashup of musical, comedy, and horror follows engaged couple Janet Weiss (Susan Sarandon) and Brad Majors (Barry Bostwick) who are forced to take refuge in a mysterious mansion when their car breaks down. Inside, they find a wild party being thrown by Dr. Frank-N-Furter (Tim Curry), the occasion being the literal birthday of his creation, the titular Rocky (Peter Hinwood). Daffy, avant-garde, and totally charming, The Rocky Horror Picture Show is a cinematic extravaganza.

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14 Liar Liar (1997)

Jim Carrey can’t help but tell the truth

Jim Carrey stars in Liar Liar as Fletcher Reede, a lawyer and divorcee who never has time for his son because of his demanding job. After promising to attend his son’s birthday party, a last-minute obligation stops him from coming. His son makes a wish that Fletcher is never able to lie again, resulting in Fletcher physically being unable to tell a lie. Carrey earned a Golden Globe nomination for his performance and the comedy was a massive box-office success, earning $303 million (via Box Office Mojo). It’s a hilarious Carrey vehicle, but it’s the heartfelt moments between father and son that make the movie memorable.

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13 Midsommar (2019)

A psychedelic and nightmarish movie about trauma and ritual

Ari Aster’s second movie, Midsommar is as unhinged and terrifying as Hereditary except that this film, unlike his first, is bathed in white, sunny light, offering a disorienting experience. Dani (Florence Pugh) is recovering from a traumatic loss when she decides to go along with her boyfriend and his friends to a Midsommar festival in Sweden where the people take ritual very seriously. Dani and Christian (Jack Reynor) have a very contentious relationship that is most easily defined by the scene when Christian forgets Dani’s birthday and makes a pathetic attempt to cover for it. Even more telling, Dani lets his selfishness go without comment.

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12 13 Going On 30 (2004)

A literal coming-of-age rom-com

13 Going on 30 is a fantasy rom-com that follows Jenna Rink (Christa B. Allen) who, on her 13th birthday, wishes to be 30. The next morning, she wakes up 17 years later, successful, independent, and beautiful (and played by Jennifer Garner). However, Jenna soon learns that all the power she’s gained over the years has come at the cost of a lot of happiness. 13 Going on 30 perfectly juxtaposes how many people mature through their birthdays. Young people dream about being older and are excited every step of the way, but older people often look back wistfully on birthdays happily or unhappily, considering if they used their time well.

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11 The Boys In The Band (1970)

An iconic and progressive LGBTQ+ drama

Based on a musical of the same name from 1968, The Boys in the Band is one of the first Hollywood movies to primarily revolve around gay characters and is a milestone in queer cinema and representation. In the film, a group of gay friends come together for a birthday party. When the heterosexual friend of one of the attendees arrives, hidden resentments in the group begin to surface. The film has a 90% on Rotten Tomatoes and is a harsh and moving look at how friendships and love change over the years and the unique challenges that LGBTQ+ people can face when having to spend time with prejudiced acquaintances.

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10 Sleeping Beauty (1959)

The classic fairytale brought to life through animation

Sleeping Beauty is an animated Disney classic, based on the iconic fairytale. In the movie, the princess Aurora (Mary Costa) is cursed by the evil witch Maleficent (Eleanor Audley) to prick her finger on a spinning wheel on her 16th birthday and enter a sleep that she will never wake from. Despite all the precautions her family takes, on her birthday, she is magically drawn to a spinning wheel and pricked by the spindle. Beyond its beautiful animation and memorable songs, Sleeping Beauty showcases a somewhat antiquated fear that parents have about their children growing older and the dangers they can’t always protect them from.

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9 Harry Potter And The Sorcerer’s Stone (2001)

The first film in the Harry Potter franchise

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone kicked off a movie series that turned J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter universe into a massive IP franchise. The story of Harry Potter begins with the wizard (Daniel Radcliffe) days before his eleventh birthday. As the date approaches, owls arrive to offer him a spot at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and so begins seven-plus years of magic, adventure, and heroism that has extended far outside the scope of the movies and even books. It all started with a lonely boy believing he would once again not be getting anything on his birthday, only to receive the most incredible gift of all.

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8 Toy Story (1995)

The animated film that launched a company

As the first fully CGI film ever made and by a studio that had never produced a full-length movie, Toy Story was not guaranteed to be a success. Despite those hurdles, Toy Story was a runaway hit that earned $396 million (Box Office Mojo), garnered a perfect 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, was nominated for three Academy Awards, and paved the way for Pixar movies to lead the charge in what animated movies could accomplish. Toy Story kicks off with a birthday party for Andy where the young boy receives a Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) action figure, a threat to Woody’s (Tom Hanks) status as the number one toy.

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7 The Godfather: Part II (1974)

The second film in the epic Corleone saga

The Godfather: Part II would not be a birthday movie save for the crucial closing scene which puts everything that comes before it in tragic perspective. Considered one of the best movies of all time, The Godfather: Part II sees Michael (Al Pacino) descend further into evil as he tightens control over his family. At the end of the movie, a flashback to before The Godfather occurs. Everyone is celebrating Don Vito’s (Marlon Brando) fiftieth birthday, when Michael announces he will be enlisting in WWII. His family is aghast, save for Fredo (John Cazale), who congratulates his brother. What should be heartwarming is tearjerking considering Fredo’s fate at Michael’s hands.

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6 Happy Death Day (2017)

A time-looping slasher film

Few movies center birthdays quite like Happy Death Day does. This black comedy follows college student and perennial party girl Theresa “Tree” Gelbman (Jessica Rothe) on her birthday. She goes through the hungover motions of her day before being violently murdered by a killer wearing a baby face mask. Tree then again wakes up on the morning of her birthday and soon realizes she’s trapped in a time loop that always ends with her death. Violent, slapstick, and featuring a star-making performance from Rothe, Happy Death Day is a wonderful Groundhog Day-esque horror film that has a resonant lesson about making the most of one’s time in life.

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5 Paddington 2 (2017)

The fuzzy bear’s second big screen outing

Paddington 2, the sequel to 2014’s Paddington, sees the titular bear, voiced by Ben Whishaw, getting ready for his aunt Lucy (Imelda Staunton) to visit for her 100th birthday. When Paddington attempts to purchase a gift for his aunt, he’s framed for theft, and Paddington’s family has to figure out how to clear his name. Paddington Bear 2 has a 99% on Rotten Tomatoes and is effortless in its charm, kindness, and humor. It’s enough to convince viewers that perhaps birthdays don’t need to be a symbol of something notalgic or regretful. The day can just be a lovely opportunity to spend time with family and maybe share a marmalade sandwich.

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4 The Birds (1963)

Alfred Hitchcock’s naturalist horror film

In Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds, San Francisco is mysteriously and violently besieged by the avians. The film follows Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren) who travels to an island off the coast for her niece’s birthday party. There, the first signs of something strange happening begin to appear, starting with the lovebirds Melanie purchased attacking their cage. It’s a particularly “innocence-lost” moment when Cathy Brenner’s (Veronica Cartwright) party is interrupted by a swarm of murderous seagulls. The Birds with its ambiguous ending, shocking deaths, and feelings of alienation have led it to make an impact on the thriller genre.

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3 The Game (1997)

An unusual birthday gift sets off a thrilling mystery

The Game follows Nicholas Van Orton (Michael Douglas), a successful but selfish and loner investment banker. On his forty-eighth birthday, Nick’s brother Conrad (Sean Penn) gifts him an unusual present: an interactive game that integrates itself into his everyday life, seemingly ruining it. Nick begins to suspect it isn’t a game at all and has to figure out how to get out before he loses everything. The Game is full of twists and turns to keep viewers constantly guessing, and it smartly twists the usual theme of a birthday by making one of his gifts the literal thing that forces him to change his perspective.

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2 Cat On A Hot Tin Roof (1958)

Paul Newman and Elizabeth Taylor star in this Oscar-nominated family drama

In Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, has-been athlete and alcoholic Brick Pollitt (Paul Newman) is in a loveless marriage to Margaret “Maggie the Cat” (Elizabeth Taylor). Together, they go to Brick’s parent’s home to celebrate his father Harvey’s “Big Daddy” (Burl Ives) 65th birthday. Over the course of the evening, tensions rise between the family, particularly between Big Daddy and Brick, who never saw eye to eye. Feelings of inadequacy and regret and a sense of time running out permeate this six-time Academy Award-nominated film. Big Daddy seems to be the most at peace with his birthday but his family can feel time ticking.

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1 Sixteen Candles (1984)

John Hughes’ coming-of-age classic

The most essential of all birthday movies, Sixteen Candles stars Molly Ringwald as Sam Baker, a teenager in Chicago looking forward to her sixteenth birthday. On the day, however, her entire family forgets. What’s more, Sam has a crush on high school senior Jake Ryan (Michael Schoeffling) who doesn’t appear to reciprocate. It’s a slice-of-life, coming-of-age comedy-drama and the first feature film from John Hughes.

It set the template for the movies he would go on to make and Sixteen Candles perfectly encapsulates the high school years. It’s timeless in its themes and characters. No other movie has captured the feeling of wanting a birthday to go perfectly and yet have it all go wrong. Romance, comedy, and teenage angst combine for the most memorable birthday cake scene in movies.

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