Best Comedy Films on KLM Flights (July 2026): Critic-Ranked

Best Comedy Films on KLM Flights — July 2026

Comedies on a flight solve a specific problem: you're tired, the meal service is over, and you don't have the bandwidth for something demanding. The right comedy keeps you engaged without requiring full concentration, makes the time pass without numbing you, and occasionally produces that slightly embarrassing situation where you laugh out loud alone in your seat. All scores combine Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic.

→ Browse all KLM comedies ranked by score — inflight.guide

Why Comedy Works at 35,000 Feet

The comedy genre is underrated for long-haul flying. The best comedies are tightly constructed — they hold attention through rhythm and surprise rather than spectacle — and a good laugh at 39,000 feet over the mid-Atlantic is one of the more pleasant things that can happen to you. The July catalog has an unusually strong comedy selection, with several films at 80%+ that most passengers won't have seen.

The Best Comedy Films on KLM in July 2026

1. Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018) — 92%

Runtime: 1 hr 46 min | RT Score: 98% | Metacritic: 87/100

Melissa McCarthy's greatest performance: Lee Israel, a failing biographer who starts forging letters from dead celebrities to sell to collectors. Richard E. Grant as her accomplice-in-crime. A 98% on Rotten Tomatoes. This is technically a crime film, but it's primarily a dark comedy — the funniest film about literary fraud ever made, and genuinely moving in its final act. Marielle Heller directs.

2. The Banshees of Inisherin (2022) — 92%

Runtime: 1 hr 54 min | RT Score: 96% | Metacritic: 87/100

Martin McDonagh's bleak Irish comedy — Colm ends his friendship with Pádraic without explanation; Pádraic refuses to accept this — is funny in the way that only the most specific sadness can be funny. Colin Farrell plays confusion and hurt better than almost anyone alive. Brendan Gleeson is formidable. A 96% Rotten Tomatoes score for a film that dares to be both a comedy and a profound meditation on loneliness.

3. No Other Choice (2026) — 92%

Runtime: 2 hr 19 min | RT Score: 97% | Metacritic: 86/100

Park Chan-wook's new Korean crime drama is dark comedy of a high order — the kind where the humour emerges from moral complexity and character rather than jokes. Lee Byung-hun and Son Ye-jin. A 97% on Rotten Tomatoes. For fans of stylish, intelligent comedy that also functions as a thriller, this is the best new film on KLM this July.

4. The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) — 90%

Runtime: 1 hr 39 min | RT Score: 92% | Metacritic: 88/100

Wes Anderson's masterpiece — Ralph Fiennes as the legendary concierge Gustave H., Tony Revolori as his lobby boy Zero, a murder mystery, an inheritance dispute, and a chase across an imaginary European country — is as precisely constructed as a Swiss watch. It's funny in a way that rewards multiple viewings. At 99 minutes it's also among the most time-efficient films on this list.

5. A Real Pain (2024) — 90%

Runtime: 1 hr 30 min | RT Score: 96% | Metacritic: 85/100

Jesse Eisenberg's film about two cousins in Poland is classified as a drama, but it functions as a comedy more often than not — specifically the comedy of two wildly different personalities forced into close proximity. Kieran Culkin's Benji is one of the funniest and most irritating characters of 2024. The film is 90 minutes. Watch it before a meal service, finish it after. Perfect flight film.

6. Best in Show (2000) — 86%

Runtime: 1 hr 30 min | RT Score: 93% | Metacritic: 78/100

Christopher Guest's mockumentary about competitive dog showing — Fred Willard as the clueless TV commentator remains one of the great comedy performances — is the most reliably funny film in KLM's July catalog. It asks nothing of you and delivers consistent, absurd, warmly observed humour for 90 minutes. If you want to laugh without thinking too hard, this is the film.

7. Enough Said (2013) — 86%

Runtime: 1 hr 33 min | RT Score: 95% | Metacritic: 78/100

Nicole Holofcener's romantic comedy — Julia Louis-Dreyfus as a masseuse who discovers the man she's started dating (James Gandolfini, extraordinary) is her new friend's hated ex-husband — is one of the most underrated comedies of the 2010s. Gandolfini's final major performance before his death. Warm, funny, and genuinely surprising. At 33 minutes it's the shortest film on this list.

8. Little Miss Sunshine (2006) — 86%

Runtime: 1 hr 41 min | RT Score: 91% | Metacritic: 80/100

A dysfunctional family drives a VW camper van across the American southwest to get their daughter to a beauty pageant. Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Greg Kinnear, Paul Dano, and a scene-stealing Abigail Breslin. The film's emotional climax — the pageant finale — is the funniest and most moving thing in American indie comedy of its era. Exactly the right length for a flight.

9. Spy (2015) — 84%

Runtime: 2 hr | RT Score: 94% | Metacritic: 75/100

Paul Feig's action-comedy — Melissa McCarthy as a CIA analyst thrust into field operations, Jason Statham sending himself up magnificently — has a 94% on Rotten Tomatoes that still surprises people. It's the rare action-comedy where both elements actually work. Rose Byrne is exceptional as the villain. Two hours of cheerful, well-executed entertainment.

10. Barbie (2023) — 84%

Runtime: 1 hr 54 min | RT Score: 88% | Metacritic: 80/100

Greta Gerwig's Barbie — Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, the real world and Barbieland, Will Ferrell as Mattel's CEO — is funnier and more formally adventurous than it has any right to be. Gosling's Ken is a comic creation of genuine distinction. At 84% combined and 1 hr 54 min it's exactly the right runtime for the genre.

Comedy Rankings — July 2026

Rank Title Year Runtime RT Metacritic Combined
1 Can You Ever Forgive Me? 2018 1h 46m 98% 87 92%
2 The Banshees of Inisherin 2022 1h 54m 96% 87 92%
3 No Other Choice 2026 2h 19m 97% 86 92%
4 The Grand Budapest Hotel 2014 1h 39m 92% 88 90%
5 A Real Pain 2024 1h 30m 96% 85 90%
6 Best in Show 2000 1h 30m 93% 78 86%
7 Enough Said 2013 1h 33m 95% 78 86%
8 Little Miss Sunshine 2006 1h 41m 91% 80 86%
9 Spy 2015 2h 00m 94% 75 84%
10 Barbie 2023 1h 54m 88% 80 84%
11 Bugonia 2025 1h 58m 88% 72 80%
12 Is This Thing On? 2025 2h 01m 87% 72 80%
13 Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang 2005 1h 43m 86% 73 80%
14 The Royal Tenenbaums 2002 1h 50m 81% 76 78%
15 Game Night 2018 1h 40m 85% 66 76%

→ Filter all KLM comedies by score on inflight.guide

Two New Comedy Arrivals Worth Noting

Bugonia (2025, 80%): Yorgos Lanthimos directs Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons in a comedy about a conspiracy theory. If you liked The Favourite, this is in a similar vein — dark, strange, and very funny.

Is This Thing On? (2025, 80%): Bradley Cooper writes and directs Will Arnett and Laura Dern in a comedy about a failing stand-up comedian. A 87% Rotten Tomatoes score makes it the most underrated new comedy on KLM this month.

Comedy Viewing Tip

The best comedies on this list reward watching after a meal, not before. The post-meal window — when the tray table is clear, you've had a drink, and the flight has settled into its rhythm — is the ideal moment for Best in Show or The Grand Budapest Hotel. Save the demanding dramas for before; save the comedies for the comfortable stretch after.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Does KLM have comedy movies on all flights? The full comedy catalog is available on long-haul widebody flights (Boeing 787 and 777). Short-haul European A321neo flights have a smaller personal device catalog.

What is the funniest film on KLM in July 2026? Best in Show (2000, 86%) is the most reliably funny film in the July catalog — Christopher Guest's dog show mockumentary has made passengers laugh audibly in aircraft cabins for the past twenty-five years.

How often does KLM's comedy selection change? Monthly. This article reflects July 2026. For current availability, visit inflight.guide.

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