The 10 best movies to watch on the Fourth of July

It’s Independence Day, so if you’re planning a post-fireworks movie night with your family and friends, here’s the best movies to celebrate the Fourth of July in patriotic style (well, sort of).

Today is the day on which Americans celebrate the Declaration of Independence and the preservation of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Eventually, whether it’s too hot outside or you finally finish cleaning up, you’ll be ready to plonk yourself on the sofa and watch a film.

Below, we’ve listed 10 of the best Fourth of July movies to commemorate the day. Now, we can’t promise that all of them take place on July 4, but they all tap into something about America; patriotism, individualism, the Dream, and all the highs and lows o’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Independence Day

20th Century Studios

Will Smith punches an alien in the face and says, “Welcome to Earth”, the White House gets blown to smithereens, and Bill Pullman delivers the most rousing presidential speech in history (sorry, Abe). It’s even in the damn name – it should be at the top of your list.

Jaws

Universal Pictures

On Fourth of July weekend, a coastal New England town is torn apart (in some cases, literally) by a bloodthirsty great white. Yes, it may be about how greed and capitalism can doom us all, but it’s also a bona fide American masterpiece.

Top Gun: Maverick

Paramount Pictures

One of the latest and greatest entries on this list, Top Gun: Maverick has it all: Tom Cruise radiating pure movie star energy, death-defying aerobatics, and the final flight of an unsung hero.

Team America: World Police

Paramount Pictures

Team America, f**k yeah! ‘Nuff said.

National Treasure

Disney

Is there a better way to celebrate the Declaration of Independence than watching Nicolas Cage steal it? We don’t think so.

Forrest Gump

Paramount Pictures

Forget the Founding Fathers. This July 4, make room for America’s dad, Tom Hanks, as he stumbles and sprints through some of the country’s most momentous moments in the 20th Century. Life may be like a box of chocolates, but you know what you’re gonna get from Forrest Gump: joy.

Born on the Fourth of July

Universal Pictures

Tom Cruise turns in a devastating early performance as Ron Kovic, a Vietnam veteran paralyzed in battle who returns home enraged at the government and shifts to anti-war activism.

Air Force One

Sony Pictures

Here’s the pitch: Harrison Ford is the President of the United States (don’t worry, there aren’t any Red Hulk shenanigans), and he’s on board Air Force One when Russian terrorists hijack the plane. Yes, it’s another Die Hard clone, but it’s a really good one, and Ford plays a president you’ll always root for.

Da Five Bloods

This is a bit of an anti-Fourth of July movie; a furious, gruesome crusade into America’s heart of darkness, and a fascinating, blistering post-Coppola vision of the war’s immorality from the country’s fieriest observer, Spike Lee. It is sensational – in the simplest terms, it’s Stand By Me in Vietnam. Maybe not one for the kids.

Miracle

Disney

Miracle chronicles one of America’s greatest sporting stories: the triumph of Herb Brooks (Kurt Russell) and his 1980 ice hockey team, who defied all the odds at the Winter Olympics. Bring tissues.

If you want to go to the cinema this weekend, keep tabs on the year’s releases with our 2025 movie calendar to see what’s on.