Top 10 Most Satisfying Movie Breakups

After the only person he’s ever slept with asks for a divorce, middle aged Cal Weaver befriends Jacob, a womanizer who teaches him how to pick up the ladies. Emma Stone plays Hannah, Weaver’s daughter and a recent law school grad that thinks her boyfriend is about to propose. Unfortunately, she couldn’t be more wrong. When her boyfriend Richard invites her and some friends out to dinner, she believes he is going to pop the question, but instead he offers her a job at his law firm. Stunned, Hannah chugs a very large glass of gin and rightfully walks out the door. You go girl!

A film that should be on everyone’s list of 1000 movies to watch before you die, “Network” is an Academy Award winning film that satirizes the television industry in a way that hasn’t been seen since. While the film has no shortage of iconic moments, few can compare to this scene between William Holden and Faye Dunaway. After their affair begins to sour, Max decides to return to his wife, but not before unleashing one of the most brutal and eloquently strung together breakup monologues in cinematic history. He rips into Dunaway’s Diana without mercy, ultimately leaving her sitting alone in her apartment trying to comprehend what just happened.

In this Disney classic, identical twins Annie and Hallie are separated at birth only to later reunite in an attempt to bring their parents back together. There’s just one problem, their father is engaged to another woman! When the four of them head out on a camping trip, Annie and Hallie do everything in their power to dissuade Meredith from marrying Nick. However, the final straw is when they push her into the middle of the lake while she’s asleep. When a soaked Meredith returns to shore, she gives Nick an ultimatum: them or me. Let’s just say that when you ask a father to choose between a woman and his kids, the latter will win every time.

“The Holiday” opens with one of the most cringe worthy moments of all-time, as lovelorn Iris is forced to watch as Jasper, the love of her life, propose to another woman right before her eyes. It doesn’t get much better from there, as Jasper continues to treat her like a doormat for the rest of the film. However, after a newfound friend convinces her to unlock her inner courage, Iris is finally ready to tell Jasper it’s over; and boy does she ever give it to him! Kate Winslet knocks this scene out of the park, giving viewers a satisfying moment of revenge that’s highlighted by slamming a door right in Jasper’s face! Now that’s gumption!

In a film noted for its gross out humor and crass dialogue, perhaps no character is as overtly unlikable as Melissa, Stu’s bossy girlfriend. While she is only in the film for a couple of scenes, they are more than enough to convince us that she is a total nightmare. Thankfully, after making it through the worst hangover of his life and finding a little self-respect in the process, Stu is ready to tell Melissa it’s over. In front of friends and family, Stu announces with conviction that he is done with her, but not before informing everyone that Melissa cheated on him. Atta boy Stu!

Man, some on-screen boyfriends are almost too much to bear. “Bring It On” follows high school cheerleader Torrance Shipman, as she attempts to guide her cheer squad to a sixth consecutive national title. However, along the way her philandering and unsupportive boyfriend Aaron continuously causes her emotional grief. To call him a dude boyfriend would be a gross understatement, as Aaron thinks of no one but himself and is constantly telling Torrance she’s no good. Thankfully, Torrance comes to her senses and dumps his ass, ultimately ending up with Cliff, Aaron’s poplar opposite in almost every imaginable way.

“The Social Network” makes no attempt to hide the fact that its protagonist is more than a little self-centered. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the film’s opening scene, as for the better part of five minutes Zuckerberg appears to be talking to himself instead of to his girlfriend Erica…who is seated directly across from him. As she struggles to keep up, you can’t help but get the feeling that scene is hurtling to a dramatic conclusion; and boy does it ever. The final straw comes when Zuckerberg condescendingly tells Erica he’ll introduce her to people she “wouldn’t normally get to meet.” Yikes. Not to worry, Erica gets the last laugh with one hell of a closing line.

Cal Hockley is a pompous ass. There, we said it. The man has little to no redeeming qualities, regularly talks down to people he considers beneath him and only pays Rose any attention because she’s a beautiful woman from a respectable family. So one can’t help but let out a joyous cheer when Rose finally summons the courage to stand up to him in the film’s third act. After he calls her a whore for attempting to reunite with Jack, Rose rightfully quips “I’d rather be his whore than your wife.” She follows that up by spitting directly in Cal’s face, further cementing the fact that their relationship is over!

Single, awkward and hopelessly obsessed with her weight, Bridget Jones wants nothing more than to find her Mr. Right. She’s soon presented with two options: Mark Darcy, a family friend who despises her and Daniel Cleaver, her womanizing boss. For a while she settles on the latter, but things don’t work out quite the way she hoped. Their relationship culminates in one of the film’s most memorable scenes, as Mark and Daniel come to blows in the middle of the street. After Daniel is knocked unconscious, Bridget rushes to his side, but when he comes to he doesn’t exactly win her over with his comments. So she satisfyingly dumps him like he’s another one of her bad habits.


Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions:


Elizabeth Swann & Commodore James Norrington
“Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl” (2003)


Viola Hastings & Justin Drayton
“She’s the Man” (2006)


Sarah Marshall & Aldous Snow
“Forgetting Sarah Marshall” (2008)

Set in Georgia during and after the American Civil War, “Gone with the Wind” traces the life of Scarlett O’Hara as she struggles to maintain her marriage to Rhett Butler while being openly in love with another man. The film is wrought with moments of flared tempers and unbridled emotions, but few can compare to the final scene, when Rhett, scorned by his years in a loveless marriage, decides to leave his wife. But not before he delivers one of the most iconic lines in cinematic history. It’s a fitting end to Scarlett and Rhett’s sham of a marriage.