‘You’ve Got Mail’ Is Streaming on Hulu in February

Watch the kindhearted Kathleen Kelly (Meg Ryan) fall in love with Tom Hanks’ Joe Fox (F-O-X) all over again in director Nora Ephron’s You’ve Got Mail (1998). The must-see romantic comedy begins streaming Feb. 1, on Hulu, which is just in time for Valentine’s Day. The film and Kelly’s quaint bookstore, The Shop Around the Corner, which is located in New York City, are both nods to the iconic holiday classic of the same name starring Jimmy Stewart and Margaret Sullavan.

You’ve Got Mail provided a fresh take on The Shop Around the Corner (1940) by making Kathleen and Joe fall in love over a series of emails they exchanged after meeting in an online chatroom. Whereas Mr. Kralik (Stewart) and Ms. Novak (Sullavan) exchanged adoring love letters as pen pals. However, the same hook remained from the classic: Neither of the characters in either film knew their pen pal’s true identity until the final scenes of the respective movies.

Surprisingly, despite You’ve Got Mail’s enduring popularity with the fans, the film reflects rather average numbers on Rotten Tomatoes. The critics’ reviews led to the rom-com only registering a Tomatometer rating of 70%, while the Popcornmeter — formerly the RT audience score — was only a bit higher at 73% against 250,000+ ratings. However, there wasn’t any denying how well Hanks and Ryan’s 1998 team-up performed at the box office when it debuted just in time for Christmas almost 30 years ago.

‘You’ve Got Mail’ Was Bona Fide Box Office Boffo

You’ve Got Mail naturally ranks among the best Meg Ryan movies of all time, but it does not make it into MovieWeb’s ranking of Tom Hanks’ films. A Man Called Otto, Finch, and Cloud Atlas all made the cut, but not the beloved rom-com. Regardless, the classic flick didn’t need rave reviews from the critics back in 1998 to become a bona fide box office hit. Audiences came out in droves to see Hanks and Ryan back together again after their undisputed success working together in the unforgettable Sleepless in Seattle (1993).

The modern-day version of The Shop Around the Corner brought in an impressive $115.8 million domestically during its theatrical run in 1998 and 1999. Although You’ve Got Mail fared even better overseas, believe it or not. Director Nora Ephron’s film clearly appealed to an international audience, too, as the rom-com made $135 million abroad for a worldwide total of $250.8 million (per The Numbers). When adjusted for inflation, You’ve Got Mail would have tallied $482.7 million at today’s box office.

You’ve Got Mail: Where the Cast is Today

An iconic movie with an equally iconic cast. Here’s where the stars of You’ve Got Mail are today.

You’ve Got Mail is one of the best romantic comedies, although it was again left wanting by MovieWeb’s all-time list of rom-coms, which ranked About Time (2013) over the Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan-led When Harry Met Sally… (1989) for the No. 1 spot. Discover why You’ve Got Mail is so incredible when it starts streaming Saturday, Feb. 1, on Hulu.