©Warner Bros./Matt Johnson, 2025.©Neon/© United Artists/courtesy Everett Collection
Much ink has been spilled about the death of the mainstream studio comedy. What was once a reliable box office earner has seemingly disappeared from cinemas and largely migrated to streaming, while most people choose to get their laughs from online video content. However, that hasn’t stopped filmmakers from trying to make audiences laugh, and over the past 10 years, there have been movies that prove comedy is not dead.
Trying to quantify humor is difficult. One reason is that comedy is subjective; another is that writing positively about a comedy amounts to repeating the best jokes in a film, which just isn’t the same as hearing them in their specific context. Box office is also a difficult metric since some of the best comedies disappoint in theaters but find new life on home video and streaming. With that in mind, I picked the comedies from the past decade that were not only funny but also significant. They either have cultural staying power or they reflect the specific moment in which they were released.
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‘Booksmart’ (2019)—Olivia Wilde’s directorial debut put a fun spin on the “last day of high school” concept. It features hilarious performances by a cast of future stars like Kaitlyn Dever, Beanie Feldstein, Molly Gordon, Skylar Gisondo, Billie Lourd, Eduardo Franco, and Noah Galvin.
‘Girls Trip’ (2017)—In a year filled with girls having a good time movies like Rough Night and A Bad Moms Christmas, Girls Trip stood head and shoulders above the rest. A great ensemble movie that made Tiffany Haddish an overnight star, Girls Trip was a fresh twist on the raunchy friends-trip movie, which is typically dominated by white men.
‘I Heart Boosters’ (2026)—Boots Riley’s latest satire throws everything at the wall, and it’s all the better for it. Between this and another film on our list, Keke Palmer might be the secret to a great comedy movie.
‘Jackass Forever’ (2022)—When is a Jackass movie not funny? We are certainly excited about the upcoming entry in the franchise, Jackass One Last Ride.
In 2020, everyone needed a good laugh since people were stuck at home, worried about the state of the world, and if there would ever be a sense of normalcy again. Thank goodness for Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, the 14-year-later follow-up to the hit film Borat. While comedy sequels rarely work (we’re looking at you, Hangover sequels), Borat Subsequent Moviefilm defied expectations and felt topical. The movie began filming before the COVID-19 pandemic, which was later folded into the film as one of the movie’s funniest final twists. The film’s interview with Rudy Giuliani also became mainstream news. Borat star Sacha Baron Cohen wanted the film released before the 2020 election, and it’s a great example of how sometimes, the right film comes out at the right time.
Watch If: You enjoy series like South Park, which mix political and toilet humor.
Skip If: You don’t like gross humor.
The genius of Blockers is the idea of a comedy movie told from the perspective of teenagers looking to lose their virginity and their parents, who will do anything to stop it. Comedic legends like Leslie Mann and Ike Barinholtz play the adults, with John Cena truly stealing the show in a comedic tour de force that laid the groundwork for his Peacemaker performance in the DCU. Combine that with the trio of Kathryn Newton, Geraldine Viswanathan, and Gideon Adlon right at the moment they were on the rise, and you’ve got the recipe for a comedy classic.
Blockers is a sex-positive comedy that tackles the double standard that young women face when compared to young men. It’s also an emotionally touching story about parents and children learning and understanding each other better. Amazingly, a movie can make you emotional when it also features a scene of John Cena chugging a beer through his butt. That’s the magic of movies.
Watch If: You want to see a feminist take on the classic American Pie set-up and enjoy high-stakes comedic set pieces.
Skip If: You don’t like comedies about adolescence.
Anyone who says Hollywood doesn’t make good comedies anymore clearly hasn’t seen One of Them Days. Starring Keke Palmer and SZA, One of Them Days follows two friends hoping to get back their rent money within a day or risk getting evicted. At a time when millions of Americans are facing economic hardship, with rising rent prices while wages stay the same, One of Them Days taps into that collective anxiety and frustration and puts a comedic spin on it. Even if one has not had to go to the extremes the characters have, there is a relatable feeling in worrying about being able to pay the rent. Anchored by two great lead performances, particularly a comedic powerhouse performance by SZA, One of Them Days is a laugh-out-loud riot that is worth checking out.
Watch If: You want to see a relatable comedy about working-class people struggling to make it in an expensive world, and enjoy one-day comedies like Superbad and Friday.
Skip If: The financial struggles of the characters might not seem funny if they’re too relatable.
Over the past decade, Tim Robinson has become the king of cringe comedy. Like many great comedic voices, it was only natural for Robinson to eventually lead his own film. The result was Friendship, a dark comedy that cast a humorous yet uncomfortable light on the male loneliness epidemic. Casting Paul Rudd as the co-lead made Friendship a spiritual follow-up to the hit film I Love You, Man. Robinson nails every scene, and his delivery of the line “There’s a new Marvel out that’s supposed to be nuts,” became an instant meme. Friendship might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but if you enjoys cringe comedy and awkward situations, it’s a riot.
Watch If: You love cringe comedies and Tim Robinson series, I Think You Should Leave, or the HBO series The Chair Company.
Skip If: Awkward situations make you uncomfortable.
From Rachel McAdams saying, “Oh no, he died,” to Jesse Plemons reading the line “Three for one? How can that be profitable for Frito-Lay?” the Game Night lines have seeped into the lexicon of everyone who has seen it. Directed by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, Game Night is a dark action-comedy thriller that features a great comedic ensemble, including McAdams, Jason Bateman, Lamorne Morris, Kylie Bunbury, Billy Magnussen, Sharon Horgan, and Plemons. Filled with hilariously dark twists, great cast chemistry, and a high-concept premise stretched to its funniest degree, Game Night managed to break out with audiences. It grossed $117 million worldwide in the shadow of Black Panther’s historic box office run.
Watch If: You like comedies like Date Night or Horrible Bosses.
Skip If: You don’t enjoy crime thriller comedies.
Celebrating 10 years on June 3, Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping is essentially “Lonely Island: The Movie” as the trio of Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, and Jorma Taccone wrote and starred in the film. Schaffer and Taccone directed it. A mockumentary about an egotistical and obnoxious musician, Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping takes the best elements of Lonely Island’s musical style and transplants them into a film, and that includes songs that are equally funny and catchy.While the movie might have bombed at the box office, but it has gained a cult following over the years as one of the most underappreciated spoofs of all time. It’s a musical mockumentary that can comfortably sit alongside the cult classic This Is Spinal Tap, which is an honor in its own right.
Watch If: You enjoy Lonely Island’s music and are nostalgic for specific cultural touchstones from 2016.
Skip If: You don’t like Lonely Island’s musical style.
The Best Picture winner at the 97th Academy Awards truly is one of the funniest movies of the past decade. Anora can best be described as a dramatic romantic comedy. In the movie’s second act, the comedy kicks into high gear, in a frantic, chaotic scene of three goons ineptly trying to take control of the situation while Mikey Madison’s Ani screams, yells, and fights back. Anora needs to walk a fine line, as the idea of a young woman being bound and gagged against her will by three men is absolutely horrific on paper.
However, a combination of Sean Baker’s excellent direction and great performances by Mikey Madison, Karren Karagulian, Vache Tovmasyan, and Yura Borisov makes the scenes play like high-stakes Three Stooges sketches. It is Anora‘s comedy that makes its final scene so heartbreaking: when all the fun has melted away, what is left are tears. I still remember when, during my screening, after a theater full of people had laughed for the previous two hours, the final scene left the audience so silent that one could hear a pin drop.
Watch If: You want to enjoy a Best Picture winner.
Skip If: You don’t enjoy nudity or might be uncomfortable with violence directed at women.
2023 was a great year for comedies, including the excellent Theater Camp and Joy Ride. However, it was director Emma Seligman’s Bottoms that took the crown for the funniest movie of 2023 and one of the best comedies in decades. Bottoms is both contemporary and timeless. It takes place in a heightened, exaggerated comedic world, one where classes last five minutes and a bloody battle can break out on a football field.
Like any good comedy, Bottoms’ strength lies with its cast. Rachel Sennott and Ayo Edebiri anchor the film and give two of the funniest performances of their impressive careers. It features star-making performances by Ruby Cruz, Havana Rose Liu, Kai Gerber, and Nicholas Galitzine. The best might be former running back Marshawn Lynch, whose Mr. Gr’s monologue about “playing the role of an amazing ally” is 77 seconds of comedic gold that will leave you in tears.
Watch If: You enjoy 1980s comedies, as Bottoms perfectly captures the tone (including having the Orion logo at the start).
Skip If: Excessive violence is not for you.
Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie already made our Best Movies of 2026 so far list, so, of course, it is one of the funniest comedies of the best of the decade. Best described as DIY Back to the Future meets Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie is a sci-fi comedy all about the evolution of comedy. One sequence shows the main character realizing they’ve traveled back in time when they notice a theater audience laughing at The Hangover‘s use of a slur; it is a microcosm of how people, and comedy as a genre, can change over the years. When you aren’t laughing, you’ll be left in awe at how this movie exists on the budget it does.
Watch If: You enjoy absurdist humor and enjoy thinking about how movies are made.
Skip If: You don’t enjoy overly meta-comedies.
The Nice Guys just celebrated its 10-year anniversary, and it’s just as funny in 2026 as it was in 2016. The LA-set 1970s-era buddy comedy stars Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe as two mismatched P.I.s teaming up to investigate a missing-persons case that reveals a larger conspiracy they are way over their heads in. Written and directed by Shane Black, The Nice Guys takes the formula that Black refined in Lethal Weapon and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and perfects it. Every scene is filled with comedic one-liners, visual gags, and great banter.
Much of The Nice Guy‘s success hangs on its cast. Russell Crowe plays a great straight man, while Angourie Rice was so impressive in the film that it led to an incredible career. However, the MVP is none other than Ryan Gosling. This is the pinnacle of Gosling’s comedic acting, and much of the charm he would bring to titles like Barbie and Project Hail Mary can be traced back to The Nice Guys (including his hilarious scream). No disrespect to Gosling’s performance in La La Land, but as far as we’re concerned, this is the role he should have been nominated for at the Oscars in 2016. Despite being a box-office disappointment, The Nice Guys has endured as a cult classic, with demand for a sequel emerging with every new audience member who discovers it. Maybe one day we will get it, but if not, we’ve still got one perfect comedy to treasure for years to come.
Watch If: You want to see one of the funniest movies of all time.
Skip If: You don’t want to see sex, drugs, or nudity in a movie.
Was your favorite comedy movie of the past decade on our list? Did we miss one? Let us know in the comments!
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