Women's Lifestyle July 3, 2026 0 Comments

Unlock the Ultimate Beach Vibes: Must-Watch Movies That Will Fuel Your Summer Obsession Like Never Before!

Summer’s here, and with it comes the familiar tug—should I brave the blistering heat and hit the beach, or retreat inside before the sun fries my brain? You know the drill: those long days of sandy toes and ocean breezes sound idyllic, but let’s be honest, lounging under the sun every day isn’t exactly doable for most of us. That’s where beach movies stroll in, like a cool wave washing over a scorching day—offering everything from adrenaline-pumped chases to soulful romances, all set against that timeless seaside backdrop. But what exactly makes a “beach movie”? Is it the sun-kissed sand, the crashing waves, or the quirky characters who call these shores home? From the surfboards of bank-robbing thrill-seekers to mermaids searching for love (yes, really), the beach in cinema is a playground for every story under the sun—and sometimes, under the stars. So, whether you’re dodging sunburn or just chasing a bit of summer magic, here’s my pick of beach movies that’ll suit every mood on those sweltering nights ahead. LEARN MORE

9 min read

Summer has undeniably arrived, with heat waves sweeping across the United States and people gravitating to the beach to cool off. Every day of the week can’t be spent basking in the sun, even if we (and many others) have tried this lifestyle before (see Harmony Korine’s Beach Bum). But for those of us trying not to let the sun fry our brains or age us too much, there’s a massive filmography of what can only be classified as beach movies.

What is a beach movie, exactly? It’s a good question, because the subgenre is, mildly speaking, wide-ranging. Beaches in cinema provide safe havens to adrenaline-seeking criminals (who are also surfers), lovers trying to come to terms with themselves (good luck!), and even, on at least one occasion, a pilot who is also a pig. You might find the beach that makes you old, or a mermaid looking for true love. A beach offers a spectacular stage for all kinds of stories, fitting for any mood you might be in during these sweltering summer nights. Here’s Bazaar’s list of beach movies, running the gamut from horror and action to romance and fantasy.

Point Break (1991)

Bodhi (a smoldering Patrick Swayze) wants to ride the big one, a “50-year storm” meant to deliver the California coast once-in-a-lifetime swells. He essentially lives on his surfboard along with an eccentric crew of adrenaline junkies, who federal agent Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves) suspects of being responsible for a string of expertly executed bank robberies. Utah goes undercover, eventually lured by the sheer power of the ocean (and a female surfer played by Lori Petty). This is director Kathryn Bigelow’s masterpiece, an outrageous action thriller with a heart that truly deserves its cult-classic status.

Sonatine (1993)

A disenchanted yakuza boss named Murakawa (Takeshi Kitano) travels to Okinawa with his crew to settle a gang dispute, only to get caught in the crossfire. He then retreats to a remote beach house with the surviving members and a woman he saves from an assault, Miyuki (Aya Kokumai). The rest of Sonatine unfolds in these remote locations; the gang members engage in silly games, such as shooting Roman candles at one another. This strange, beach-centric yakuza movie is steeped in existential malaise, but Kitano (who also directed the film) imbues it with a playfulness that ultimately deepens the story’s bleak undertones. (This is also my favorite movie of all time.)

Jaws (1975)

Duunnn dunn…duuunnn dun…duuunnnn dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dunnnnnnnn dunn. Even reading the Jaws score incites the terror associated with the king of the ocean. Steven Spielberg’s oceanside masterpiece, Jaws, barely needs an introduction. It follows the cigarette-smoking police chief Martin Brody (Roy Scheider), ichthyologist Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss), and weather-beaten captain Quint (Robert Shaw) as they face the titular shark head-on. A summertime classic, but one that swimmers should be wary of watching.

Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019)

The two women in Portrait of a Lady on Fire spend enough time walking romantically or melancholically along the windswept beaches of the remote French island to consider Céline Sciamma’s sapphic film a beach movie. A young painter, Marianne (Noémie Merlant), is commissioned to complete a wedding portrait for the reluctant daughter of a French aristocrat, Héloïse (Adèle Haenel). The catch is Héloïse can’t know, so Marianne spends her days secretly observing the woman and painting her. The two women gradually fall in love, cultivating their desire through mutual devotion rather than overwhelming, one-sided obsession, subverting traditional “male gaze” narrative. You will want to stare longingly into the ocean after this one.

Old (2021)

We can’t forget to include the beach that makes you old. M. Night Shyamalan’s endlessly meme-able thriller Old centers on several White Lotus–esque travelers as they stumble upon a haunted beach that somehow accelerates aging. Shyamalan never shies away from a ridiculous premise, often biting off (much) more than he can chew. That said, Old is a rare occasion in which the director takes a bizarre narrative and brings it to the screen with mastery. This is perhaps because the story is trapped on a single idyllic beach, where the ensemble cast (including Thomasin McKenzie, Vicky Krieps, Rufus Sewell, and Alex Wolff) must confront their imminent mortality.

Cast Away (2000)

Chuck Noland (Tom Hanks) lives a simple life, working as a FedEx systems analyst in Memphis who hopes to propose to his longtime girlfriend on New Year’s Eve. This all goes south when Noland leaves on a FedEx courier plane for work, and it crashes in the South Pacific Ocean. Cast Away tells an epic story about perseverance as Chuck faces off against nature (and solitude) when he washes ashore on a deserted island. As luck would have it, Chuck does make one friend: the forever-beloved Wilson, a volleyball with a face drawn on it.

L’Avventura (1960)

A trio of wealthy Europeans travels to a remote volcanic island on their yacht in Michelangelo Antonioni’s revolutionary film L’Avventura. Best friends Claudia (Monica Vitti) and Anna (Lea Massari) plan the trip to celebrate the latter’s boyfriend, Sandro (Gabriele Ferzetti), when he returns from a long business trip. But when they make it to the island, Anna suddenly disappears. Sandro and Claudia tirelessly search for her before surrendering to their affection for one another. What happens next changes film history, as Antonioni forgoes narrative convention to explore alienation and moral grey zones plaguing the wealthy. A beautiful oceanside mystery for anyone feeling beaten down by some summertime malaise.

Porco Rosso (1992)

Marco Porgot, a former World War I fighter ace, lives alone on a remote beach and spends his days working as a bounty hunter and flying his custom red plane around the Adriatic Sea. He’s also a pig. Sure, most of Hayao Miyazaki’s Porco Rosso occurs in the sky, or on various islands across the Adriatic. But this touching (often hilarious) animated feature belongs on the list because of where Marco lives: a remote limestone cove where we see him lounging, drinking wine, and listening to the radio. Now that’s a summertime vacation we will aspire to this year.

The Endless Summer (1966)

The only documentary on this list, The Endless Summer is a must-watch. Surfer and filmmaker Bruce Brown spent years documenting Michael Hynson and Robert August as they traveled the world in search of the perfect wave. You will watch this tight-90-minute doc in awe as these daredevil surfers battle with the ocean across Hawaii, South Africa, and Australia, alongside several unnamed beaches worldwide. The gorgeous cinematography is layered with a twangy soundtrack by the Sandals.

Spring Breakers (2012)

One of the most polarizing movies of the 2010s has aged into a defining text for modern pop culture. Harmony Korine’s Florida-set, neon-drenched neo-noir follows four college students, played by Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Benson, and Rachel Korine, searching for parties only to get sucked up by the Sunshine State’s criminal underbelly. The quartet falls in with a Riff Raff–inspired drug dealer named Alien (James Franco), and, well, that goes about as well as one might expect. In retrospect, this surreal satire (which set the tone for a then-emerging A24) offers a shockingly incisive look at the flaws of the American Dream.

The Beach (2000)

Critics and audiences panned Danny Boyle’s The Beach when it first came out—shocking considering the director had delivered Trainspotting just a few years earlier. His first collaboration with author-turned-director Alex Garland, however, is now viewed as an indispensable part of both Boyle’s filmography and Leonardo DiCaprio’s oeuvre. It follows Richard (DiCaprio), a free-wheeling backpacker, as he travels around Southeast Asia. He hears about an idyllic secret beach, and when he finds it, the hideaway lives up to its spectacular reputation. But Richard and the others on the beach start acting…strange, to say the least. Beware of the beach that makes you evil.

How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1998)

San Francisco stockbroker Stella Payne (Angela Bassett) is all work and no play. And it shows. Her friends notice how her high-strung lifestyle prohibits her from dating, having fun, or, really, relaxing at all. In How Stella Got Her Groove Back, her friends (played by Whoopi Goldberg and Regina King) steal her away for a Jamaican beach vacation, where she meets the young and handsome Winston Shakespeare (Taye Diggs in his film debut). This escapist fantasy argues that a 40-year-old mother deserves to have it all, whether it’s drinks on the beach or a romantic escapade with a handsome local chef.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)

One of the ultimate seaside rom-coms of the late aughts. Forgetting Sarah Marshall, though largely relegated to plane movie status these days, possesses real heart. It follows Jason Segel at his prime as Peter, a down-on-his-luck musician dating a famous television star, Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell). She dumps him, and in an attempt to protect his psyche, he books a trip to Hawaii…only to find her there with her new boyfriend. It’s a heartwarming, relatable story about trying to move on, packed with an ensemble of core 2000s actors: Paul Rudd, Mila Kunis, Jonah Hill, Bill Hader, and one other guy whose legacy aged poorly.

Us (2019)

Jordan Peele’s Us doesn’t come immediately to mind when you think about beach movies…but it is one. Adelaide “Addy” Wilson (Lupita Nyong’o) travels with her husband (Winston Duke) and two children (Shahadi Wright Joseph and Evan Alex) to Santa Cruz, California, for a beachfront vacation. At first, they encounter a weird white couple, the Tylers, played by a strange but welcome duo, Elisabeth Moss and Tim Heidecker. But then, things start getting really crazy when four home intruders approach the Wilsons at their beach home—and they turn out to be their exact clones. Like all of Peele’s horror films, Us unfolds with brazen, surreal storytelling, featuring twists and turns that are terrifying and mesmerize viewers. It’s a must-watch, but perhaps, if it’s late at night, with a group.

Aquamarine (2006)

The last days of summer are upon teenagers Claire Brown (Emma Roberts) and Hailey Rogers (Joanna “JoJo” Levesque). This summer, in particular, stokes a certain dread in Hailey, whose mother’s job is forcing them to move to Australia. She’s hoping for a miracle to save the day, and that miracle comes in the form of the titular Aquamarine (Sara Paxton), a mermaid who washes ashore after running away from an arranged marriage. (Merpeople don’t believe in true love.) Aquamarine tasks the two teens with helping her prove that love exists (perhaps in the form of a lifeguard) in exchange for a wish. If you’re traveling this summer with your kids, it’s a family-friendly classic for lazy afternoons.

The Descendants (2011)

Alexander Payne’s The Descendants overflows with beautiful cinematography capturing the beauty of Hawaii. (That’s probably enough to place this movie firmly on this list). Living within the natural landscape is George Clooney’s Matt King, a single father forced to raise two girls after their mother falls into a coma. The movie, based on a novel by Hawaiian writer Kaui Hart Hemmings, masterfully interweaves discussions of gentrification, fatherhood, self-discovery, and the ability to change your family’s legacy into one single heartfelt (largely devastating) story. It’s Clooney at his best—and it doesn’t hurt that the natural scenery makes for a spellbinding viewing experience.

Mamma Mia (2008)

Mamma Mia is the seaside movie to watch on a rainy summer day. Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) extends an invitation to three old suitors of her mother, Donna (Meryl Streep), assuming one is her dad. Sam (Pierce Brosnan) and Harry (Colin Firth) arrive together on the Greek island on the bohemian Bill’s (Stellan Skarsgård) sailboat. This cast alone is enough, but ABBA’s soundtrack can elevate any cloudy day.

Moonlight (2016)

Coming of age is often tied to the seaside. Barry Jenkins’s Moonlight tells the story of Chiron (played by Alex Hibbert, Ashton Sanders, and Trevante Rhodes in chronological order) as he grows up in Miami, coming to terms with his identity and sexuality within a toxic, unwelcoming community. The beach anchors several of Chiron’s childhood milestones: his father figure, Juan (Mahershala Ali), teaches him to swim, and, as a teenager, he has one of his first gay sexual encounters there with his friend, Kevin. If you’re looking for something a bit more vulnerable, this is the beach movie for you.

Moonrise Kingdom (2012)

A charming coming-of-age chronicle, Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom traces the young love of two 12-year-olds played by first-time actors Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward. The two lovebirds run away and rendezvous on a remote beach, where they paint, swim, hike, and share their first kiss. It’s one of Anderson’s sweeter films, unmarked by the existential malaise that frames many of his other movies. But a storm is approaching the island, and so the entire town—an ensemble featuring Bill Murray, Ed Norton, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, and more—mobilizes to find them.

Rotting in the Sun (2023)

Sebastián Silva (the director of Rotting in the Sun, playing himself) hates his life. He’s addicted to ketamine and wallowing in his depression in Mexico City, taking out his discontent on his housekeeper Vero (Catalina Saavedra). One possible answer to his problems comes to him at the nudist gay beach (where all problems should be solved) in the form of Jordan Firstman, playing himself as a hyper-obnoxious influencer who pitches a television project. It takes some nagging, but the director decides to team up with him (particularly once HBO execs express interest). And then destiny steps in, and this biting meta-comedy mutates into a fatal whodunit. Rotting in the Sun is perhaps the funniest addition to the list—it put Jordan Firstman on the map for a reason.