A Comprehensive Guide To Plane Movies

Over the years, my taste in movies has been described as “unusual,” “eclectic” and “not good.” And those are just my mother’s opinions.

I feel like my preference vs. the normal (probably mentally healthier) person is most evident when it comes to planes, the great equalizer of the sky. Just recently, I flew back from London (humblebrag intended) and watched three movies, which can best be described as a schizophrenic’s worst nightmare.

I started with Eternity, a cute afterlife rom-com starring Miles Teller, Elizabeth Olsen and Callum Turner, then changed gears and went to Regretting You, an abominable romantic drama featuring Colleen Hoover’s nonsensical plot machinations. Finally, I rewatched Weapons, a horror movie from Zach Cregger that came out last year and should never be watched on an airplane, especially as two kids are running up and down the aisles with their exhausted mom trudging behind.

This is almost certainly the first time these three movies have been watched back-to-back-to-back, but that’s kind of the charm of movies on a plane. Anything goes.

Want to see something you’ve never seen before? Sure. Want to rewatch a Pixar flick for the umpteenth time? Why not? Want to watch The Zone of Interest and then be overwhelmed after 10 minutes and switch to Aquaman? You can do that too, and yes, I saw someone do exactly that on a trip last year.

After that prelude, it’s time we get to the bulk of the article … what makes a good plane movie? And what are people looking for when they sit down in those uncomfortable seats with a handful of hours left trapped in a box?

To talk to the common viewer (aka not my idiocy), I polled my Instagram followers, a hodgepodge of readers, friends, and fellow travelers, to see what works while flying and what very much doesn’t.

To be clear, Aly Malinger Rubin made sure to note that her favorites are “nothing you recommend me,” which all feels about right.

Also, I wanted to shout out Jen Todino, a frequent flyer who seldom watches movies but loves scrolling through trailers on a plane. She doesn’t have the patience for a full film, and yet is captivated by these two-minute teasers.

If you’re looking for a good trailer, here’s what she has to say: “Dune trailer, for one or two, we may never know. Have repeatedly watched the trailer for Sorry, Baby and almost watched that movie a handful of times.” Add that to Eva Victor’s list of accolades.

Anyway, here’s what makes an ideal plane movie.

We’ll get to the No. 1 choice later (it was a blowout), but the runner-up was Crazy, Stupid, Love, the 2011 Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone and many more rom-com, which is both funny and sweet. Plus, it features one of the best twists in modern moviemaking.

I think it pulls at the heartstrings without pulling too hard and is both light enough and romantic enough to bring in all sorts of people. Also, critically, I think this is a movie that you can jump into at any point—there’s a reason it’s always on cable—and immediately know what’s happening.

There’s the Carell outfit montage or the Gosling-Stone Dirty Dancing sequence or the backyard mini-golf chaos. If you’ve seen Crazy, Stupid, Love before, and most of you have, you can tune in and out depending on what you want.

My personal favorite plane movie, Brooklyn, would be a part of this list, as would other readers’ choices from Nicasia Solano’s My Big Fat Greek Wedding selection to Libby Lang’s She’s the Man. Libby’s was such a popular choice that she saw the woman next to her turn it on, as well. And Nicasia’s was such a popular choice (to herself) that she ended up getting “kinda drunk on a flight to France and watched it twice in a row.”

This obviously overlaps with the “relatively light” category, but this is more visual than tone. For instance, as much as I love Weapons, I can definitively say that I’ll never watch it on a plane again. Because of the gruesome murder? No. But because you can’t see all of the gruesome murder.

Weapons is a dark movie, and I mean that literally. There were quite a few nighttime sequences or basement scenes, which you can barely make out, especially on a mediocre Delta screen with the sun shining through. If you’re going horror, maybe Midsommar? Since that takes place during the day. But also, don’t watch Midsommar on a plane.

Many of the movies selected, including the ones above, take place in the daytime and if at night, they’re brightly lit and cleanly shot. Michael Sneeden went with Bullet Train, Midnight Run and Nobody, which all work pretty well on a smaller screen, along with the aforementioned Crazy, Stupid, Love.

We also had Skylar Frankiewicz go with the Hotel Transylvania trilogy, as well as the Eddie Murphy Dr. Dolittle classics. And Christopher Patacsil went with Shrek. These are all easy to see and accessible animated or animated-adjacent movies that work for anyone, from kids to adults to jaded millennials.

One more thing: Erica Steward wanted to recommend docs with minimal tension, as she’s already anxious on planes and doesn’t need to get worried about something new. Her selections include a Louis Tomlinson docuseries and a Lady Gaga documentary.

And now … a quick break for Jake Richards to monologue about Crazy, Stupid, Love:

A great plane movie needs a few things. First of all, ideally, it’s something you’ve seen before. The pilot is gonna make an announcement at some point, you’re gonna lose audio. You need to be prepared.

Secondly, it can’t be too complicated or sad. I don’t want a movie where plot-relevant stuff is hanging out in the background. I don’t wanna miss Toni Collette going Spider-Man mode because I’m watching on a screen the size of a Nintendo DS. Also, I can’t be crying in front of strangers for obvious reasons.

You want something that’s gonna be funny on rewatch, but also not a movie you’re rewatching all the time, so your attention wanders.

There’s really only one solution: Crazy, Stupid, Love.

There’s also no nudity. The Nice Guys would’ve been a great pull, but I don’t want the old woman sitting next to me judging me while she eats her Biscoff cookie.

I know we mentioned light fare, but movies and movie-watching are all about contrasts. Back in 2013, The Atlantic had a feature about sobbing in the air titled “Why We Cry On Planes,” and it’s something many of us know well.

In 2011, the airline Virgin Atlantic ran a survey asking customers to describe their on-flight emotional experiences. Overall, 55 percent of travelers said they had “experienced heightened emotions while flying,” and a striking 41 percent of men stated that they had “buried themselves in blankets to hide tears in their eyes from other passengers.”

When you’re alone, in a situation where you can’t can’t fiddle with your smartphone or turn your anxieties outward toward your social network, the apprehensions and fears of loneliness quickly overtake you. Then you have no choice but to face the fact: you’re a person, in the universe, and you are in some way big or small, alone here. You might cry.

The altitude jumping around and the big emotions that can come when flying make airplanes a tumultuous place, ready for tears. It could range from an optimistic cry, like in Inside Out or Apollo 13 or Past Lives, to something a bit more painful, like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind or Philadelphia.

And sometimes, you don’t even know you’re about to cry. Just ask Kathrine Schulze.

“I watched Dead Poets Society for the first time on an airplane. I didn’t know how it ended. I was fully crying, but I kind of think an airplane is a safe place to cry in public?”

I need to be clear: I am not supporting this … as a self-proclaimed asshole and snob. But many out there love to throw on a movie, zone in and out and maybe even take a nap. Movies that don’t get too loud or crazy are always nice, as are comedy classics where you can take a bit, leave a bit.

Order food for a scene or two and then get right back into it, none the wiser.

Mean Girls is a beloved choice for this reason or maybe a dumb comedy à la Step Brothers or Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar, which are essentially prolonged sketches woven together.

I saw someone in front of me watching Send Help on the plane, which is cool as hell, but that’s a loud, obnoxious (in the best way) movie featuring tons of vomit, ghastly island sequences and jumpscares. Nothing but respect for that man, as well as Sam Raimi. And yet Send Help is probably not the plane move for the season.

Let’s get into the movie most selected, by a wide margin. The Aerial Shot Plane Movie, as voted on by its readers, is…

Many of you out there voted for the entertaining and sweet 2018 breakout rom-com, starring Constance Wu, Henry Golding and Michelle Yeoh. And there’s a reason there are so many clips of it constantly going viral on TikTok: It’s fun, a little silly and the easiest of watches. It makes a lot of sense that so many individuals would throw it on during their flights.

Fiancées Tyler Fairbanks and Kristen Nappy separately sent in Crazy Rich Asians, with Kristen adding, “Omg. It’s aesthetically beautiful, the people and the scenery LOL. But also, I’ve seen it so many times that for me it’s predictable. So if I doze off, and then wake up, I know exactly what I missed and don’t have to worry about following difficult plot. And it invokes a good plane cry. Crying is better on a plane.”

Madison Ottenbacher had the same choice, as did Kennedy Coopwood. Plus, my mom would’ve said the same thing if she saw the Insta prompt. It’s neck and neck with Crazy, Stupid, Love, but I’ve seen so many people watching Crazy Rich Asians on planes over the years that it’s pretty clearly our winner.

And now … here’s Antara on Space Jam: A New Legacy, for some reason for a very good reason (according to Antara):

Space Jam: A New Legacy (2021) is the perfect airplane movie. Don’t ask me about the plot, I know nothing about it. LeBron James is involved. You’re lulled into a stupor by ’90s nostalgia and cameos from the entire IP portfolio of Warner Bros, pandering fan service for the type of moviegoer who loves A Reference. There’s also woke-ified Lola Bunny. Mentions of “Goon Squad,” a phrase Gen-Z has ruined. Technicolored CGI in a garish hodgepodge of animation styles that renders the whole thing into the equivalent of a baby sensory video. You can nod off a couple times, be interrupted for your ration of ginger ale and a 90-calorie bag of Sunchips, and not worry about missing anything. You’ll tear up at a touching father-son reconciliation at the end, and before you know it, you’re touching down in Fort Lauderdale.

In all other instances, I am a big proponent of media literacy and nuance and artistic vision and the importance of preserving our precious attention spans in an era of overstimulating slop etc. etc. — except for when enduring the modern humiliation ritual that has become flying basic economy in 2026.

Flying dulls your senses (this is a scientific fact). The altitude makes you weirdly emotional (also a fact). If you’re me, you’re also kind of claustrophobic but refuse to pay extra to choose your seat, so you’re sandwiched between two manspreaders in seat 37E with a small child screaming not too far away. Some people would take a prescription sedative to get through it. I watch Space Jam: A New Legacy. (Other notable mentions of this opioidic genre include Kong: Skull Island, Zootopia 2, and Dog Man)

So, that’s what we’ve got in terms of airplane movies. But also, don’t listen to me at all.

Watch Suspiria if you want or Sophie’s Choice or The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Don’t let me tell you what to do. Crazy Rich Asians is always fun, but so is Hereditary. You’ll lose your head over it!