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For folks with a sweet tooth for saccharine love stories, Nicholas Sparks movie adaptations hit the spot — most of the time.
Many of these films strike the right balance of romance and tragedy, leaving the audience emotional and wanting more. While some say these works are just a small step up from the Hallmark Channel, with bigger names and higher production values, there’s still a certain charm in escaping into a Sparks movie, even if you know how it will end (someone probably dies).
These stories remain popular, with Nicholas Sparks movies grossing worldwide more than $750 million in total. That’s a lot of bucks per weepy person when you break it down, even if the films rarely garner critical acclaim.
You won’t need your tissues for this roundup — here’s every Nicholas Sparks movie, ranked (spoilers ahead for the uninitiated!).
11. Safe Haven (2013)
James Bridges
Safe Haven would have been safely a solid Nicholas Sparks movie if not for the laughable it-was-a-ghost plot twist that takes the narrative from acceptable to bonkers in a minute flat. That’s honestly surprising given director Lasse Hallstrom (What’s Eating Gilbert Grape) is behind the camera, but he couldn’t redeem this worst-of-Sparks pick.
The film follows Katie (Julianne Hough), a domestic violence survivor on the run who attempts to start over in the town of Southport. As she falls in love with single father Alex (Josh Duhamel) and his two children, she’s being hunted by her ex-cop husband — and protected by an actual spirit from Alex’s past. There are certainly ways to make this kind of supernatural device work, but Safe Haven didn’t find them, landing this film at the bottom of Nicholas Sparks’ catalog.
10. The Last Song (2010)
Disney
If the Disney romance complex had a footnote in Nicholas Sparks’ catalog, The Last Song would be it. Ronnie (Miley Cyrus) visits her estranged father Steve (Greg Kinnear) in Georgia and falls for local boy Will (Liam Hemsworth). But it turns out her new beau is responsible for a fire that burned down a local church — which her dad took the blame for even while dying of cancer.
Still, this intel isn’t enough to send street-smart Ronnie running for the hills, as this saccharine tale ends with enough toxic positivity to poison an apple. Despite gifting audiences the underrated Cryus original “When I Look at You,” The Last Song never hits the right notes.
9. The Best of Me (2014)
Gemma LaMana
The Best of Me could have won audiences’ hearts — pun intended — if not for the implausible organ donation plot twist that spun an otherwise moving story off the rails. Like The Notebook, The Best of Me floats between past and present as two former lovers Dawson (James Marsden) and Amanda (Michelle Monaghan) reconnect over the death of their friend and mentor Tuck (Gerald McRaney), who informally adopted Dawson from his abusive family.
While the casting is slightly off with Luke Bracey playing younger Dawson — Bracey is clearly much taller than Marsden — the central couples’ reunion is indeed touching. But the absurd medical twist that lands Dawson’s heart in Amanda’s son is so over the top, it loses even the most game romance genre fans.
8. The Choice (2016)
Gemma LaMana/Lionsgate
A lackluster cast absent of chemistry makes The Choice much closer to a Hallmark movie than other Nicholas Sparks adaptations. It doesn’t help that the central couple begins their romance by cheating, adding an ick factor to their shared arc.
Starring Benjamin Walker as Travis, a small-town veterinarian, and Teresa Palmer as Gabby, the new woman next door, The Choice sees their affair ripple throughout their community and culminate in — you guessed it — a tragic accident. Smallville and Lucifer’s Tom Welling as Gabby’s would-be fiance is one of the few highlights in this one.
7. Dear John (2010)
Scott Garfield/Columbia/Screen Gems
Dear John features two concurrent love stories, one romantic between John (Channing Tatum) and Savannah (Amanda Seyfried), and the other familial between John and his ailing father Bill (Richard Jenkins). Using the narrative device of the “Dear John” letter, the film follows John and Savannah’s long-distance relationship during his tour in Afghanistan, which he extends after 9/11 and once more after he hears Savannah moved on and married another man.
Will-they-won’t-they romances can be winners, but this one suffers from a lack of chemistry as the two leads remain separated for much of the run-time, making this affair more challenging to fall in love with.
6. The Lucky One (2012)
Everett
The Lucky One has a spoiler in its title: This is one of the few Nicholas Sparks movies with a happy ending, making it a welcome outlier amongst the tear-jerkers. Zac Efron plays Logan, a marine serving in Iraq who witnesses the death of one of his comrades. In the aftermath, he finds the photo of a woman and decides to track her down once he returns to the U.S.
After walking from Colorado to Louisiana, he finds Beth (Taylor Schilling) and becomes fully enmeshed in her life — and her violent ex-husband Keith (Jay R. Ferguson). While the happily ever after is a welcome close to the tale, it’s also fairly forgettable compared to Sparks heavyweights.
5. The Longest Ride (2015)
Michael Tackett
The Longest Ride is a two-for-one love story, featuring not only the unlikely romance between art student Sophia (Britt Robertson) and champion bull rider Luke (Scott Eastwood), but also the 1940s-period relationship between Ira Levinson (Jack Huston) and his paramour Ruth (Oona Chaplin). After Luke rescues older Ira, thoughtfully played by Alan Alda, from a fiery car wreck, Sophia finds herself drawn into Ira’s basket of letters addressed to Ruth over the decades.
Yes, the plot is anything but original, especially in Sparks’ canon, but The Longest Ride’s overlapping love affairs still deliver the ooey gooey romantic goods — and carry the film to the middle of the pack on this list.
4. Nights in Rodanthe (2008)
Warner Bros.
By the time Nights in Rodanthe premiered in 2008, it felt like a Nicholas Sparks re-run of recycled plot devices. It’s an otherwise moving film starring Richard Gere as Paul, a surgeon grappling with a death on his table, and Diane Lane as Adrienne, who’s coping with her husband’s infidelity and a newly shattered family.
To get away from it all, Adrienne goes to help run her friend’s bed and breakfast on the Rodanthe coast in North Carolina, where she falls head over heels for Paul. But like Message In a Bottle, fate has other plans for the pair. Unfortunately cloying ending aside, Gere and Lane are magnetic leads, and their chemistry feels real despite the film’s weaknesses.
Where to watch Nights in Rodanthe: Amazon Prime Video (to rent)
3. A Walk to Remember (2002)
Everett Collection
In one of her first movie roles, Mandy Moore stars in A Walk to Remember as Jamie, a high schooler with leukemia who becomes entangled with popular bad boy Landon (Shane West). He begins the story as her bully, but as he learns of her diagnosis, something much more beautiful blossoms between them.
Yeah, it certainly sounds corny. But the earnestness of Moore and West’s performances — as well as their on-screen chemistry and the touching evolution of their characters’ relationship — makes this one of the stand-out Sparks’ movies. It’s also one of his more comedic adaptations, allowing Moore’s range to shine, while the sad ending’s lack of cynicism keeps the film sincere.
2. Message in a Bottle (1999)
Ben Glass
One of the emotional draws of a Nicholas Sparks movie is the just-missed-each-other trope, as seen in Luis Mandoki’s Message in a Bottle and its heartbreaking twist. Journalist Theresa (Robin Wright) discovers a series of bottled letters on the beach that are so beautifully written her newspaper publishes them and assigns her to uncover their writer. The scribe turns out to be a handsome recluse named Garrett (Kevin Costner), who still writes letters to his lost love Catherine.
As Theresa and Garrett develop feelings for each other, the trauma of Catherine’s death shifts into a catalyst for change — even if nobody reaps the benefits. Heartfelt performances from Costner and Wright make this one of Sparks’ most affecting adaptations.
Where to watch Message in a Bottle: Amazon Prime Video (to rent)
1. The Notebook (2004)
New Line
While there are no official stats, The Notebook is arguably Nicholas Sparks’ most referenced (and memed) adaptation. Even if you haven’t seen it, you likely know the film’s touching twist: the elderly couple is the young couple whose story unfolds over years on screen — and it still resonates with audiences over two decades later.
With a plot that flits between past and present, The Notebook follows Allie (Rachel McAdams) and Noah’s (Ryan Gosling) love affair as told by Noah’s older self (James Garner) at a nursing home to his wife (the late, great Gena Rowlands) suffering from Alzheimer’s. Though it has its problematic moments — like Noah not taking no for an answer when courting Allie — The Notebook’s poignant ending speaks to the power of a certain kind of romantic love, one that, for some, lasts a lifetime.
