Tom Hanks Unites Audiences With This Free-To-Stream Rom-Com That Keeps Getting Better

4 days ago 6

Published Feb 7, 2026, 12:20 PM EST

Ryan O'Rourke is a Senior News Writer at Collider with a specific interest in all things adult animation, video game adaptations, and the work of Mike Flanagan. He is also an experienced baseball writer with over six years of articles between multiple outlets, most notably FanSided's CubbiesCrib. Whether it's taking in a baseball game, a new season of Futurama or Castlevania: Nocturne, or playing the latest From Software title, he is always finding ways to show his fandom. When it comes to gaming and anything that takes inspiration from it, he is deeply opinionated on what's going on. Outside of entertainment, he's a graduate of Eureka College with a Bachelor's in Communication where he honed his craft as a writer. Between The IV Leader at Illinois Valley Community College and The Pegasus at Eureka, he spent the majority of his college career publishing articles on everything from politics to campus happenings and, of course, entertainment for the student body. Those principles he learned covering the 2020 election, Palestine, and so much more are brought here to Collider, where he has gleefully written on everything from the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes to Nathan Lane baby-birding sewer boys.

Valentine's Day is only one week away, making it the perfect time to revisit some romantic classics for the holiday. In the search for the ideal watch to celebrate the season of love, it's particularly hard to go wrong with Tom Hanks. Although the Oscar winner is known for a wide array of films — like Forrest Gump, Saving Private Ryan, and Cast Away — he's done his fair share of time in swoon-worthy favorites, like Nora Ephron's You've Got Mail, Steven Spielberg's The Terminal, and Ron Howard's fantastical Splash. One of his films, however, has managed to unite both critics and audiences in its perception as an all-time great rom-com, and it's available to stream for free.

Sleepless in Seattle, Hanks' first team-up with Ephron and second with Meg Ryan, is one of the rare films that owns identical Tomatometer and Popcornmeter scores on Rotten Tomatoes, with reviewers and audiences joining together to give it a 75%. While deemed a classic upon release in 1993, the rom-com has only grown in stature over time, now being considered one of the greatest love stories put to film, and one of the first titles that comes to mind in the genre. It was hailed for revolutionizing the genre with a unique approach that only saw its leads meet up at the very end, paying off its story of a widower who, encouraged by his son, opens up about his late wife over the radio and attracts the person he was meant to be with. As of February 1, Pluto TV is now offering the film as one of its newest romance additions, alongside other films like Pretty in Pink and About Last Night.

Alongside the beloved duo of Hanks and Ryan, Ephron's iconic film also features the late Rob Reiner among its cast. The romance-writing extraordinaire had previously worked with Reiner on their similarly genre-defining 1989 film When Harry Met Sally..., also starring Ryan. With all the star power involved — including Bill Pullman, Ross Malinger, Rosie O'Donnell, Gaby Hoffmann, Victor Garber, Rita Wilson, Barbara Garrick, and Carey Lowell —Sleepless in Seattle was a continuation of Ephron's success, scoring over $227 million at the box office on a reported budget of $21 million.

Tom Hanks Returns to Theaters This Year in One of His Biggest Franchises

It's been a minute since Hanks' last rom-com lead, but 2026 will see him make a comeback on the big screen in a very familiar role. On June 19, he'll once again lend his voice to the cowboy Woody and reunite with Tim Allen's Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story 5. The much-anticipated sequel will finally address an issue that past installments had managed to mostly avoid until now — the creep of technology into playtime. All the toys will find their jobs challenged by the arrival of Lilypad, a sinister new tablet played by Past Lives star Greta Lee that becomes children's new obsession. Joan Cusack will also be back for what's been described as a Jessie-centric story, alongside Tony Hale as Forky and Ernie Hudson, notably taking over for the late Carl Weathers, as Combat Carl.

Sleepless in Seattle is now available for free on Pluto TV. Stay tuned here at Collider for more on the biggest titles coming to and leaving free streaming platforms throughout the year.