Black Romance Movies To Fall In Love in 2023
Updated in Gil Santos
Welcome to our lovingly curated selection of 2023's best Black romance movies.
These aren't just films; they are powerful stories that mirror our experiences, celebrate our love, and echo our resilience. From heart-soaring romances that make you believe in love to poignant tales of connections that defy odds, we've got it all. Each film on our list is a nod to our vibrant culture and the romantic spirit inherent in us.
So, get cozy, because you're about to be immersed in love stories that truly speak to you.
Quick Jump
Black Romance Movies releasing in 2023
12 Games of Christmas
Black Romance Movies already released in 2023
Sworn Justice: Taken Before Christmas
A Royal Christmas Surprise
Christmas Angel
Young. Wild. Free.
Our favorites from 2022
A young singer on the brink of a promising career finds herself torn between a domineering family, industry pressures and her love for her girlfriend.
In the film, a young man in a tricky situation (Keiynan Lonsdale) follows the advice of his unconventional best friend (Dylan Sprouse) and uses social media to create a fake boyfriend to keep his awful ex-lover out of his life. But everything backfires when he meets the real love of his life, and breaking up with his fake boyfriend proves hard to do.
With his mom's salon on the brink of bankruptcy, a dedicated son rolls up his sleeves to help and discovers himself as the coolest barber on the block.
Ambitious artist Jabari attempts to balance success and love when he moves into his dream Manhattan apartment and falls for his next-door neighbor.
A young woman takes a trip to romantic Verona, Italy, after a breakup, only to find that the villa she reserved was double-booked, and she'll have to share her vacation with a cynical British man.
Follows Allison at a crossroads in her career and love life, in need of the love and support of her two friends. After visiting her in Tuscany, each woman will reexamine the state of her own life and relationships.
Ella returns to her hometown to mend fences with her fractured family. With the help of Griffin, her ex-boyfriend, she encourages her family to celebrate Christmas and Kwanzaa and to heal their past wounds before it’s too late.
This Christmas
Follow Adam and Emma on their daily commute from the village of Langton to London, where they meet the same passengers every day. One morning, Adam breaks the unspoken taboo of talking to strangers on a train and invites the entire carriage to hold their own Christmas party together.
A New Orleans Noel
Follows Grace and Anthony, who despite having gone to college to study architecture together, are too different, but things between them change after both are hired to work on the same place and end up celebrating Christmas together.
Abandoned by her father, a young woman named Maren embarks on a thousand-mile odyssey through the backroads of America where she meets Lee, a disenfranchised drifter. But despite their best efforts, all roads lead back to their terrifying pasts and to a final stand that will determine whether their love can survive their otherness.
Shelby is about to quit her job when her daughter becomes convinced that her boss Evan is the Christmas prince from a story Shelby made up a few years ago.
Lisette is a popular R&B singer who’s getting ready to travel home to New Orleans for Christmas. When the media mistake a photo of her with her music producer ex as an engagement announcement, her family insists that he join her on the trip.
Our favorites from 2021
A devoted husband will stop at nothing to save his marriage when it's destroyed by a time-traveling rival.
Business executive Jazmin Carter is known for two things: turning fledgling businesses into profit producers and avoiding Christmas in Harlem, the neighborhood where she grew up.
After opening a 100-year-old time capsule and finding her grandfather’s old journal, Lou questions whether she should move to New York after Christmas to further her writing career or stay in Pine Grove to carry on her family’s local newspaper. Charming chef, Kyle, is also at a crossroads, visiting Pine Grove for the holidays.
Harmony is tricked into auditioning for the Holiday Chorus — directed by an ex-boyfriend. By Christmas Eve, they could be harmonizing in the key of love.
A mother's Christmas wish - and the grand prize that comes with it - sets off a fierce competition between her sons.
Once a promising singer-songwriter, Abby now finds herself writing uninspired jingles for commercials. As she heads home for the holidays, she's enlisted by the local high school music teacher to help save the school arts program. In the process, Abby rediscovers her voice and regains the confidence to go after her dreams and lets the possibility of love in too.
When Olivia, a young assistant pastor, gets assigned to be a lead pastor at a new church a month before Christmas, she's fearful she can't manage the transition, including getting the choir ready to open the town's annual Winter Jamboree. Banding together with her new congregation, Olivia discovers a new home for herself, and even finds a little Christmas romance along the way!
As a single mom and her teenaged son with autism come to a crossroad during Christmas, she must learn to let go so he can flourish as she finds her own heart healing in unexpected ways.
The family of the founder of a multi-million-dollar film company experiences some tragic events during the holidays and two sisters must set aside a life-long rivalry and come together to turn the company around and keep the family intact.
This holiday, the Liddles have much to be merry about! Jacquie Liddle and her husband, Tyler, are preparing for the arrival of their first baby. With their family expanding in ways they could never have expected, the Liddles are headed for a crazy Christmas filled with merry mayhem and lots of love and laughter.
When madly in love high school graduates Riley (Alexandra Shipp) and Chris (Nicholas Hamilton) are separated by a tragic car accident, Riley blames herself for her boyfriend's death while Chris is stranded in limbo. Miraculously, the two find a way to connect. In a love story that transcends life and death, both Riley and Chris are forced to learn the hardest lesson of all: letting go.
While gathering evidence to support closing a tropical U.S. Air Force base, a congressional aide warms to its generous captain.
Career-driven investment banker Elle has given up on love until she meets Wesley, who invites her to his hometown in South Carolina, where she rediscovers the spirit of Christmas.
Bakery owner Molly meets Josh, a widower who recently moved to town with his young son, but she is also charmed by a mysterious client whom she’s never met in person and she doesn’t realize that they’re the same man.
Ìfé and Adaora fall in love over a 3-day date, but will their love withstand the realities of being lesbian in Nigeria?
As Michelle’s wedding approaches, Hannah steps up to help finish the launch of the new Evergreen museum while questioning her relationship and future with Elliot.
Erin is planning the town’s Christmas celebration and must win over firefighter Kevin in order to obtain the beautiful spruce tree from his property for the celebration.
A week before Christmas, Dr. Alicia Wright is offered an assignment away from home. A mysterious man from her past journeys to find her before Christmas and brings with him a revelation that could change Alicia’s life forever.
A filmmaker and his girlfriend return home from his movie premiere, smoldering tensions and painful revelations push them toward a romantic reckoning.
When a young woman meets an aspiring saxophonist in her father’s record shop in 1950s Harlem, their love ignites a sweeping romance that transcends changing times, geography, and professional success.
Aspiring pop star Erica ends up as the entertainment at her ex-fiancé’s wedding after reluctantly taking a gig at a luxurious island resort while in the wake of a music career meltdown.
Single mom Emma Sanderson is looking for a Christmas miracle to write about for the lifestyle magazine where she's landed a temporary job. Along the way Emma discovers unexpected romance with a supportive colleague and brings about a Christmas miracle for a lonely street musician.
Dear Bayo
Dear Bayo is a love story between a youth corper Bayo and a girl he meets Ebipade. Both from humble backgrounds are smitten by each other but have to overcome difficulties in their personal lives to be together.
Premature
The summer before she leaves for college, Ayanna meets handsome and mysterious outsider Isaiah; her entire world is turned upside down as she navigates the demanding terrain of young love against a changing Harlem landscape.
When famed photographer Christina Eames dies unexpectedly, she leaves her estranged daughter, Mae, hurt, angry and full of questions. When Mae finds a photograph tucked away in a safe-deposit box, she soon finds herself delving into her mother's early life -- an investigation that leads to an unexpected romance with a rising journalist.
A couple experiences a defining moment in their relationship when they are unintentionally embroiled in a murder mystery. As their journey to clear their names takes them from one extreme – and hilarious - circumstance to the next, they must figure out how they, and their relationship, can survive the night.
Set in the dazzling world of the LA music scene comes the story of Grace Davis, a superstar whose talent, and ego, have reached unbelievable heights. Maggie is Grace’s overworked personal assistant who’s stuck running errands, but still aspires to her childhood dream of becoming a music producer. When Grace’s manager presents her with a choice that could alter the course of her career, Maggie and Grace come up with a plan that could change their lives forever.
Madison lands her dream job at a publishing company. To her dismay, she must complete a probationary period and will not receive her full salary until the process is over, leaving her in a financial struggle. With a new career and struggling to make ends meet, she works under the demands of her new job while raising two teens on her own. Making matters even more complicated, she finds herself torn between an old flame and a new love interest.
Our favorites from 2010's
Along the Atlantic coast, a soon-to-be-inaugurated futuristic tower looms over a suburb of Dakar. Ada, 17, is in love with Souleiman, a young construction worker. But she has been promised to another man. One night, Souleiman and his co-workers leave the country by sea, in hope of a better future. Several days later, a fire ruins Ada’s wedding and a mysterious fever starts to spread. Little does Ada know that Souleiman has returned.
Tired of always being the bridesmaid, Corina James wonders if marriage is for everyone else but her, even when she finally meets Mr. Right.
Christmas Hotel
A big city hotelier's boss informs her that she will receive a promotion if she can pull off a major project.
A marketing executive is invited by her charming and handsome boss to pitch a major project to prospective clients at a posh resort and the two get snowed in together before any of the other guests can arrive. Now, with the hotel to themselves, a fairytale snowscape outside and sparks flying inside, they find that being alone together is all the Christmas magic they need.
While on a forgettable first date together in Ohio, a black man and a black woman are pulled over for a minor traffic infraction. The situation escalates, with sudden and tragic results, when the man kills the police officer in self-defense. Terrified and in fear for their lives, the man, a retail employee, and the woman, a criminal defense lawyer, are forced to go on the run. But the incident is captured on video and goes viral, and the couple unwittingly become a symbol of trauma, terror, grief and pain for people across the country.
Despite being successful in their careers, two 30-something BFFs never stop hearing that they both need a man before it's too late. When a handsome pastor arrives just in time to kick off the Christmas season, both ladies try to make a move-but as their hilarious attempts to one up each other keep growing, it will be up to their family to remind them what the holiday season is truly about.
A brokenhearted chef receives hilariously terrible advice from friends.
A controlling father’s attempts to ensure that his two children succeed in high school backfire after his son experiences a career-ending sports injury. Their familial bonds are eventually placed under severe strain by an unexpected tragedy.
Germany, 1944. Leyna, the 15-year old daughter of a white German mother and a black African father, meets Lutz, a compassionate member of the Hitler Youth whose father is a prominent Nazi soldier, and they form an unlikely connection in this quickly changing world.
Kena and Ziki long for something more. Despite the political rivalry between their families, the girls resist and remain close friends, supporting each other to pursue their dreams in a conservative society. When love blossoms between them, the two girls will be forced to choose between happiness and safety.
Sylvia
This intense psychological thriller centres on the childhood friendship between Richard and Sylvia that matures into troubled waters during the pair’s adulthood when Richard decides to marry his long-term girlfriend Gbemi.
After an accident at the hair salon, Violet realizes she's not living life to the fullest. A soulful barber helps her put the pieces back together.
Christmas is fast approaching and years of long workdays employed at New York’s top corporate law firm are about to pay off now that Lucy Toomey will be made partner after the New Year. However, when Alice, her older sister with special needs, unexpectedly passes away, Lucy returns back to Nilson’s Bay, Wis., to attend the funeral and handle her estate. While Lucy dreads returning to her childhood home, she also feels real sorrow that she was too busy to take her sister’s last call. Once back in Nilson’s Bay, Lucy meets Peter, her old high school sweetheart and Alice’s former attorney, who informs her of the terms of Alice’s eccentric will that states in order for Lucy to inherit the family home, she must live there for 30 days through the holidays.
A talented photographer stuck in a dead-end job inherits an antique Advent calendar that may be predicting the future -- and pointing her toward love.
A woman, who gets released from prison and reunites with her sister, discovers she is in an online relationship with a man who may be "catfishing" her.
Successful architect Taylor Scott is poised for a promotion and a move to Paris but before that’s decided, her boss tasks her with creating a life-sized gingerbread house for a holiday competition. She partners with pastry chef Adam Dale, and though their styles are different, they form a deep connection working together.
After her fiance is falsely imprisoned, a pregnant African-American woman sets out to clear his name and prove his innocence.
Maya, a headstrong 28-year-old with artistic ambitions – a strong contrast to what her father Ed wants: a dutiful daughter to run the family store. Ed is shocked when Maya takes her assertions of independence a step further and decides to travel to Africa for inspiration and returns with a fiancé who is not quite what he seems.
Magically able to hear what men are thinking, a sports agent uses her newfound ability to turn the tables on her overbearing male colleagues.
Jordan Sanders, a take-no-prisoners tech mogul, wakes up one morning in the body of her 13-year-old self right before a do-or-die presentation. Her beleaguered assistant April is the only one in on the secret that her daily tormentor is now trapped in an awkward tween body, just as everything is on the line.
Pride & Prejudice: Atlanta
In a contemporary adaptation of the Jane Austen classic, "Pride and Prejudice: Atlanta" follows Reverend Bennet (Reginald VelJohnson, "Family Matters"), a pastor of a prominent southern Baptist church and his wife Mrs. Bennet (Jackée Harry, "Sister, Sister"), who is the author of a self-help book on how to find the perfect husband. Needless to say, Mrs. Bennet is less than thrilled that all five of their daughters, Lizzie (Tiffany Hines, "Toni Braxton: Unbreak My Heart"), Jane (Raney Branch, "Being Mary Jane"), Mary (Brittney Level, "The Purge"), Lydia (Reginae Carter, "Growing Up Hip Hop: Atlanta") and Kitty ("Alexia Bailey"), are still single. When the very eligible Will Darcy (Juan Antonio, "Empire") arrives in town, Mrs. Bennet sets her sights on the handsome bachelor for daughter Lizzie, leading to a modern-day, comedic take on themes familiar to fans of the novel.
Chronicles a single day in the summer of 1989 when the future president of the United States, Barack Obama, wooed his future First Lady on an epic first date across Chicago's South Side.
A lavish wedding escalates into pure Lagosian chaos, in this wild romcom produced by media mogul Mo Abudu.
The story of Richard and Mildred Loving, an interracial couple, whose challenge of their anti-miscegenation arrest for their marriage in Virginia led to a legal battle that would end at the US Supreme Court.
Burned by a bad breakup, a struggling New York City playwright makes an unlikely connection with a divorced app designer she meets on a blind date.
Retreating from life after a tragedy, a man questions the universe by writing to Love, Time and Death. Receiving unexpected answers, he begins to see how these things interlock and how even loss can reveal moments of meaning and beauty.
Okafor's Law
A slick serial seducer bets his friends that he can bed three old flames in six weeks, in this risqué comedy from the director of the smash hit Wives on Strike.
Set in a chic and middle class Johannesburg, a jaded academic and his journalist wife have their lives turned upside down when a celebrated and hedonistic older writer unexpectedly moves into their home.
Isoken
Everyone in the Osayande family worries about Isoken. Although she has what appears to be a perfect life - beautiful, successful and surrounded by great family and friends - Isoken is still unmarried at 34 which, in a culture obsessed with marriage, is serious cause for concern. Things come to a head at her youngest sister's wedding when her overbearing mother thrusts her into an orchestrated matchmaking with the ultimate Edo man, Osaze. Osaze is handsome, successful and from a good family, making him the perfect Nigerian husband material. But in an unexpected turn of events, Isoken meets Kevin who she finds herself falling in love with and he just might be what she truly wants in a partner. The only problem is, not only is he not an Edo man, he is Oyinbo (Caucasian). Isoken is a romantic dramedy that explores cultural expectations, racial stereotypes and the bonds that unite families in a touching, dramatic and comedic way.
In "The Wedding Party" sequel, Nonso has continued his romance with Deirdre, the bridesmaid from London. Nonso manages to propose by accident, while on a dinner date, and sets off a chain of events too powerful to stop.
When a Nigerian family with traditional values move to the ghetto from their Roswell Mansion to survive hard times, they soon find out that money is the least of their problems. Cultural Clash is a story that explores how parental disapproval and racial discrimination can change the course of the lives of everyone and bring about a powerful lesson that has never been seen on screen; bridging cultural divides, revealing why minorities hate each other and the harm of being disunited. It is a tale that blends the romance of high school scenarios with a thrilling family conflict, intense racism and the spell-bounding action of the chase of the drug Lord and his gang. In this intriguing and dramatic romance, you will soon find out that everyone can be a little racist to even to their own race.
A disillusioned London chef visits Nigeria and struggles with her matchmaking mother and restoring the family's rundown hotel. She's heartbroken when she discovers the man she loves is buying it.
On the night of the 2016 Presidential election, Cass, an L.A. club promoter, takes a thrilling and emotional journey with Frida, a Midwestern visitor. She challenges him to revisit his broken dreams - while he pushes her to discover hers.
Lara and the Beat
Two young and beautiful sisters are caught in the center of a financial scandal with their late parents' media empire. The two are forced out of their privileged bubble and must learn to build their own future - through music and enterprise - to salvage their family's past.
Jump In: The Movie
Troy Alexander returns to her roots, armed with a plan, to pass the bar and start her own practice. Although, her love of the law takes a back seat to her young son, Jordan, it provides an escape from realities.
Brazilian Western
An adaptation of the eponymous song by Renato Russo, a famous Brazilian singer and composer who in the style of Bob Dylan knew how to delight crowds by telling stories and singing with his lyrics. Focusing on the love story of outlaw João do Santo Cristo with Architecture major student Maria Lúcia, the movie takes place in Brasilia in the early 80s. In a clash of interest, drug dealers and the police conflict with one another,while the end of the military dictatorship in the Capital of Brazil, Brasilia takes place. The wanderings and tedium of a young rocker, who lived in a city still being built, are the backdrop for this story.
An epic love story: Olanna and Kainene are glamorous twins, living a privileged city life in newly independent 1960s Nigeria. The two women make very different choices of lovers, but rivalry and betrayal must be set aside as their lives are swept up in the turbulence of war.
Robert picked the wrong time to meet his soul mate! After being fired from his own father's company, he feels like his luck has run out - until Morgan enters into his life.
Beverly Hills banker/workaholic Jennifer comes home to her small Northern California town just before Christmas when her dad, Ted, takes a bad fall while putting up decorations. While home, Jenny begins getting romantic Christmas cards from an unknown admirer, who turns out to be her old neighbor and the unrealized love of her life, Jack. There's just one problem - Jack died in a car accident three years ago.
