Britcore is back: Netflix romcom is new no. 1 movie (and it'll make Brits cringe)

There’s a new romance in town, and it’s got everyone's attention - even if they're pretending rom-coms aren't their thing. Netflix's latest tear-jerker, My Oxford Year, has smashed its debut week, skyrocketing to the number one spot on the global streaming charts as of early August 2025. Clearly, we all needed a good cry.

Based on Julia Whelan’s 2018 best-seller, My Oxford Year introduces us to Anna De La Vega (played by the charming Sofia Carson). This ambitious American postgraduate, with a high-flying Goldman Sachs job practically gift-wrapped for her, decides to defer the corporate ladder for a year, in favour of studying Victorian poetry at Oxford University.

Her Oxford adventure kicks off with a bang when she gets hosed down by a car driven by her assigned poetry tutor, the dashing British DPhil student Jamie Davenport (Corey Mylchreest). What begins as a rather soggy "meet-not-so-cute" quickly blossoms into a full-blown, chemistry-laden romance.

Netflix viewers have clearly fallen head over heels for the film’s undeniable romantic vibe and that oh-so-satisfying cathartic payoff. Since its release on the 1st of August, 2025, it's been crowned the most-watched movie on the platform. However, critics have been a little less enthusiastic with the film only garnering a 31% Rotten Tomatoes score.

My Oxford Year | Official Trailer | Netflix - YouTube

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The Guardian’s Benjamin Lee only gave the film two stars out of a possible five: “As passive Netflix watches go – consumed while doing something else, destined to be forgotten about almost instantaneously – it’s better than some but as last year’s adjacent romantic weepie It Ends With Us showed, there’s so much more to be done in territory that often gets unfairly and snobbishly downgraded.”

Variety, also wasn’t too hot on the film but a touch more positive than The Guardian, adding, “While its story holds much to be desired, the film’s technical craftsmanship earns higher marks. Pacing picks up in tangible energy and vibrancy within editors Victoria Boydell and Kristina Hetherington’s montages. The upbeat effervescence of Anna and Jamie’s trysts is endearingly bubbly in their hands.”

It sounds as though this is the perfect lazy watch on a Sunday, you can enjoy it for its brief runtime, finish, do some chores, and never think about it again. Even if critics aren’t jiving with it, though, it’s had a huge impact on Netflix subscribers, dragging it to the top over films like the much anticipated Happy Gilmore 2.

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