People We Meet on Vacation is a 2026 American romantic comedy film directed by Brett Haley from a screenplay by Yulin Kuang and Amos Vernon & Nunzio Randazzo, based on the 2021 novel of the same name by Emily Henry. It stars Emily Bader, Tom Blyth, Lukas Gage, Jameela Jamil, Alan Ruck, and Molly Shannon. == Plot == Poppy Wright is a New York City-based travel writer for R+R, though she has lately been unhappy with her job. Her friend David reminds her of his upcoming wedding in Barcelona; Poppy impulsively RSVPs yes as it is an opportunity to reconnect with David's brother, her former best friend Alex Nilsen. She lies to Alex that R+R is sending her to Barcelona for work. Poppy and Alex met nine years ago at Boston College and became friends over a prolonged road trip back to their shared hometown of Linfield, Ohio. The two are forced to share a hotel room, though Alex is careful to consider his girlfriend Sarah. The next year, Alex and Poppy go camping in Canada after his breakup with Sarah. They are invited to join a group of campers, but rather than hook up with other people, the two return to their shared tent and commit to annual summer trips with each another. In the present, Alex and Poppy awkwardly reunite in Barcelona. While attempting to lower the heat in Poppy's hotel room, the two recall a previous trip to New Orleans during which they pretended to be newlyweds despite dating other people. In Barcelona, Alex's back spasms and he is forced to rest in the room. They remember the time they were supposed to go to Norway, but Poppy fell ill and Alex elected to take care of her instead. Alex invites Poppy to the rehearsal dinner, to the delight of his brother and father, but learns that R+R planned to send Poppy to Santorini, not Barcelona. Alex questions her motives in attending. Poppy admits that she wants them to return to how they were before their Tuscany trip, but Alex is reluctant. Two years ago, Alex and Poppy visited a Tuscan villa with their significant others, Trey (Poppy's R+R coworker) and Sarah (who had reconciled with Alex). After Alex discreetly helped Poppy through a pregnancy scare, Poppy nearly kissed Alex, but claimed that she did not mean it and did not want to ruin their friendship. Alex proposed to Sarah the next morning. He told Poppy that they planned stay in Linfield together, though Poppy objected, believing it is not what Alex truly wanted. Offended, Alex declared that this should be their last trip together, leading them to fall out of touch. In the present, Poppy presses him on his breakup with Sarah, and Alex finally admits it was because of Poppy. He follows her to the balcony and, in the rain, the two admit they love each other. They have sex and attend David's wedding together. At the reception, Alex asks about their future together, and is offended when Poppy indicates that she wants time to figure things out. He accuses her of not knowing what she wants and running away from her problems through vacations, while she disparages his decision to wait in Linfield. At the airport, Poppy runs into Sarah, who has now become a flight attendant. Poppy apologizes, but Sarah assures her and says that ending things with Alex helped her figure out what she wanted. Poppy resigns from her job and flies to Linfield, where she admits her fear of being "too much" for Alex and reaffirms her desire to stay with him. Alex moves to New York City, and he and Poppy continue their trips together. == Cast == Emily Bader as Poppy Wright Tom Blyth as Alex Nilsen Sarah Catherine Hook as Sarah Torval Jameela Jamil as Swapna Bakshi-Highsmith Lucien Laviscount as Trey Lukas Gage as Buck Miles Heizer as David Nilsen Molly Shannon as Wanda Wright Alan Ruck as Jimmy Wright Alice Lee as Rachel Spencer Neville as Julian Tommy Do as Nam Layton Williams as Wedding Officiant == Production == The fim was produced Marty Bowen, Wyck Godfrey, and Isaac Klausner for Temple Hill. In addition, it was produced under Sony Pictures first look deal with Netflix. Brett Haley directed with Yulin Kuang adapting the screenplay. In July 2024, Emily Bader and Tom Blyth joined the lead cast. Sarah Catherine Hook, Jameela Jamil, Lucien Laviscount and Lukas Gage joined in September 2024. Additional casting included the addition of Alan Ruck and Molly Shannon. Principal photography began that month. == Release == It was released on January 9, 2026. == Reception == On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 82% of 38 critics' reviews are positive. Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 50 out of 100, based on 11 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. == References == == External links == People We Meet on Vacation on Netflix People We Meet on Vacation at IMDb