Saddest Movies on Amazon Prime to Watch Right Now

Everyone needs a good cry occasionally, and doing so with an emotionally charged film is often a good indicator of its overall quality. Prime Video will make you cry, but almost always in a good way. With the numerous films available in Prime Video’s library, there are ample opportunities to let the waterworks flow for an hour or two. Again, in a good way.

Overcoming intense tribulations, making the best of a bad situation, or simply trying to get by are what Prime Video’s saddest movies are all about. Whether you’re looking for a story you won’t soon forget, or you simply have some extra tissues you could do without, these are some of the saddest movies currently streaming on Prime Video.

Updated on Feb. 5, 2024, by Ben Hathaway: To keep this article fresh and relevant, we’ve added more information, entries, and additional content.

17 Blackfish (2013)

There are a lot of sad documentaries out there. After all, they’re about life. But Blackfish, the story of SeaWorld’s decades-long abuse of killer whales, may very well take the sobfest cake. Despite the differences between whales and humans, the struggles these creatures go through, from being overworked to having their children removed from them, are surprisingly relatable.

An Expose of Serious Cruelty

This Sundance Film Festival-dominating doc is truly sad front to back. What was once this beloved attraction is like many other things. If analyzed too deeply, or deeply at all, some really messed up tactics are going to be employed. Thankfully, documentaries like Blackfish expose abuse and bring the perpetrators to justice (or, at the very least, put a serious hurt on their business).

16 The Babadook (2014)

One of the 2010s’ scariest horror films is also one of its saddest, regardless of genre. The Babadook tells the story of a widowed woman, Amelia, and her son, Samuel. He is prone to bad behavior, and she’s prone to resent him for that, especially once he starts talking about some creepy monster that’s supposedly come for a mean-spirited visit. But, perhaps, there’s some merit to his warning that she chose not to recognize.

Proving the Horror Genre Has Great Depth

The Babadook is frightening, sure, but even its best scares aren’t as memorable as its quiet moments. The fact that this mother isn’t comfortable around her son in any way permeates every scene. It makes things grim and unsettling even before the ghostly figure enters the picture…because whether or not one has children of their own, they understand that to not love your kid, or even like them, is a horrifying travesty.

15 You Were Never Really Here (2018)

You Were Never Really Here follows Joaquin Phoenix’s troubled veteran, one with a bit of bloodlust. But it’s conditional bloodlust because his job (really, his life’s purpose) is to rescue kidnapped young women and return them to their families. Once he takes a job that’s more complicated than it appears, that bloodlust gets put to good use.

The Cycle of Violence Can Be Devastating

Phoenix’s Joe elicits empathy from the audience from the first frame. He’s an altruist, just a complicated one with an even more complicated past. He’s aware of this, and one gets the feeling he’s seeking a sort of personal redemption, and it won’t be easy. It will require more violence, which he’s both comfortable with and repulsed by. Toss in a narrative focusing on human trafficking and it’s a heartbreaker.

14 Shutter Island (2010)

Martin Scorsese took a bit of a detour from his usual gangster films with Shutter Island. Yet, this mystery thriller still very much focuses on a crime. It’s just that the perpetrator might not be who the audience (or, for that matter, the protagonist) expects.

A Haunting Reveal

The outcome of Shutter Island reveals that Leonardo DiCaprio’s U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels, who is investigating an island-bound institution, was in fact the perpetrator of his own missing person’s investigation. But, the exact investigation is more of a fabrication, a therapy tactic, than what’s actually occurred. That’d be Daniels’s murder of his own children, which he’s since cognitively tucked away into the recesses of his mind.

13 Narc (2003)

Joe Carnahan’s brilliant Narc (still arguably his best film even after over 20 years) is a gut-punch of a boots-on-the-ground look at the war on drugs. Well, the war on drugs and its collateral damage. Jason Patric stars as Detroit P.D. officer Nick Tellis, who is fired after a stray bullet hits a pregnant woman in a chase gone wrong. But the department needs him now that a narc has been gunned down on duty. But, perhaps, Tellis’ new partner, Henry Oak (the late Ray Liotta in one of his best performances), knows more than he’s letting on.

Heartbreaking Collateral Damage

All of Narc is dour. But, it starts out particularly heavy with the deadly opening scene. It leaves a taste in the mouth that’s incredibly hard to shake, especially considering the pregnant woman is hit by the stray bullet when there are a dozen or so witnesses with their ages in the single digits.

12 Bones and All (2022)

For a cannibal romance that gets grimly visceral in some scenes, Bones and All is rather sad. The movie begins with Maren, an introverted teenage girl who is invited for a sleepover at a friend’s. The night is going smoothly until Maren’s ghoulish hunger gets the best of her, and she bites the friend in question’s finger off. This leads to her father taking her out of town and abandoning her at a motel, leaving her with some cash and a tape.

An Empathetic Portrayal of Gruesome Characters

From a creepy meeting with Mark Rylance’s Sully to finally finding a kindred spirit in Timothée Chalamet’s Lee, Maren’s journey of belonging is filled with yearning, gore, and tragic betrayals. As cannibal lovers, Lee and Maren deal with their pasts while hoping for a future where they don’t have to hide the reality of their condition from the world. Director Luca Guadagnino crafts both characters as equal parts wretched and soulful, which only makes you resonate with their struggles in the most humane ways.

11 Women Talking (2022)

Under Sarah Polley’s refreshing gaze, Women Talking cements itself as one of the most important, feminist, compassionate, and character-driven films of its respective year. Shedding light on American Mennonite women, the film centers around the conversations of a community reeling from a series of vicious and unspeakable acts committed against them for years on end. The film is heavy on dialogue, which mostly conveys the women’s feelings of vindication instead of vengeance.

A Difficult, But Ultimately Uplifting Watch

As mothers and sisters and daughters, they want what is best for one another and their children. Based on a novel written by Miriam Toews, who was also born as a Mennonite, the film shows these women finally finding unity and courage amid religion’s capacity for compassion. It’s an incisive, intelligent work that sheds light on a community not often seen in the film industry.

10 The Big Sick (2017)

A sad film doesn’t necessarily need to be about losing loved ones or going through traumatic experiences. It can also be a beautiful story about the sacrifices made for the sake of family and traditional values. The Big Sick, nominated for an Oscar for best screenplay in 2018, dwells on the life of a Pakistan-born stand-up comedian, Kumail Nanjiani, who falls in love with a girl named Emily (Zoe Kazan) despite their cultural differences.

Sweet, Sad, and Hilarious

However, when Emily winds up in a medically induced coma, Kumail’s life takes a drastic turn. Now he must navigate his life to thrive as a comedian while also dealing with his family’s desire to let them fix him up with a spouse. This heartbreaking story is based on Kumail’s real-life love story, which he told in a pure cinematic fashion, and it is a must-see for those looking for a combination of hilarity and sadness.

9 Beautiful Boy (2018)

Beautiful Boy is a biographical drama film based on the memoirs Beautiful Boy: A Father’s Journey Through His Son’s Addiction by David Sheff and Tweak: Growing Up on Methamphetamines by Nic Sheff. In every sense, the film is a heart-wrenching experience that sheds light on drug addiction and how it can impact the life of a teenager if they are not careful. The narrative follows Steve Carell’s David Sheff, who splits up with his first wife and then struggles with his teenage son’s condition, who begins to use drugs to cope with loneliness and eventually becomes addicted.

A Father-Son Tale of Addiction

Whether it’s the authentic depiction of a true story or the emotional dynamic between father and son, the film passes with flying colors. This is especially true thanks to the powerful performances from Steve Carell and Timothee Chalamet. The viewers are taken on a heartbreaking and inspiring journey as a father desperately tries to save his son from relapsing.

8 Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (2008)

Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father is a harrowing documentary that is made in ‘real-time,’ as events unfolded while the film was being shot. While it isn’t your typical documentary that relies on historical facts, the subject is compelling enough to keep you hooked. Just note that the facts are harsh and difficult to digest.

A Fasicnating Use of the Documentary Format

The film, set in 2011, tells the tragic story of Andrew Bagby, who is murdered shortly after breaking up with his girlfriend, but it turns out she’s pregnant. One of Andrew’s close friends, Kurt Kuenne, learns about her situation and creates a film in remembrance of his friend and as a gift to the child. With Andrew’s parents still in mourning, they pay a visit to their son’s ex-girlfriend in hopes of gaining custody of the child, perhaps to fill the void left by their innocent son.

7 Life Itself (2018)

Life Itself‘s story centers around Abby (Olivia Wilde) and Will (Oscar Isaac), college sweethearts who fall in love after numerous interactions and eventually get married. Although their journey from romance to marriage has been uneventful, unexpected twists take form when they plan to conceive their first child, plunging the couple into a tragic life path. While we could provide a few more particulars on its plot, doing so would only ruin your experience.

Tragic Highs and Lows

Life is all about being knocked down by a series of tragedies, but what matters is how often you get back up. While that certainly describes many people’s lives, Life Itself, created by Dan Fogelman, has a realistic and beautiful approach that makes you question how often you are truly living a content life. Having said that, the film underlines how every tragedy could result in something beautiful, making it worth watching even if you are not moved by its premise.

6 Troop Zero (2019)

Troop Zero is the kind of film that makes you cry out of happiness, and it relates more with the people who often feel ostracized or left out from the love of their family. In this quirky tale of young kids aiming high in their scouts’ group, we follow Georgia, a girl who dreams of life in space. When a national competition offers her the chance to make her dreams come true by becoming a part of NASA’s Golden Record, she begins recruiting a temporary troop that, if successful, can turn into friendships that last for a lifetime.

Touching and Uplifting

In this beautiful, emotionally driven film, the viewers may expect a message of encouragement, love, and friendship. But, above all else, they should be ready to experience a heart-touching tale of a young girl’s desire during the late 1970s. It’s not the type of film to inundate the audience with traumatic events, but it’ll bring a tear to the eye nonetheless.

5 Apocalypto (2006)

Apocalypto furthers Mel Gibson’s ferocious appetite for violence and gore, but does so with careful consideration, telling its tale with clarity and force. A taut and muscular film that’s firmly rooted in our primal instinct for violence, Apocalpto‘s world-building is fantastic, transporting the viewer to a Mesoamerican rainforest in 1502.

A Nihilistic, Tragic, and Aggressive Story

Focusing on tribal politics and basic survival issues, Gibson’s film serves as a case study of the deep and dark nature of violence and its deep-rooted influence on the human race. Starting as a tribal conflict, Apocalypto redeems its self-inflicted taste for violence by acknowledging its frivolity towards the end of the film. By no means an easy watch, Gibson’s portrayal of tribal survival serves as a glaring reminder of who we were and where we’ve come from.

4 Manchester by the Sea (2016)

Manchester by the Sea sees Casey Affleck (Interstellar, Good Will Hunting) return to his childhood home after the sudden death of his older brother. But as he tries to care for his teenage nephew, a traumatic past will rear its head once more as new connections are formed, old ties flame out, and grief buried long ago is suddenly exhumed.

Just So, So Sad

A bittersweet ending lies in wait if you watch Manchester by the Sea. It’s an intimate movie that examines depression at its core, and how its encompassing nature can’t necessarily be resolved with a big, pretty bow. Still, our protagonist does the best he can, and fans will find themselves rooting for him through glassy eyes after its contemplative ending. Considered to be one of the best films of 2016, and of the 2010s for that matter, Manchester by the Sea is a tragic drama worth seeing.

3 Honey Boy (2019)

Honey Boy is particularly compelling for a variety of reasons. Written by and featuring Shia LaBeouf (Transformers, Fury), Honey Boy is supposedly based on LaBeouf’s real-life experiences, though there has been doubt cast on this idea. Lucas Hedges plays Otis Lort, a former child actor forced into rehab after a drunken accident. Faced with a potential prison sentence, a series of exposure therapy sessions unveil a childhood scorched by an alcoholic father, the pressures of acting, and escapism through substance abuse.

Generational Trauma Hits Home for Everyone

Honey Boy is a story about trauma. It showcases how trauma is passed down from generation to generation, whether intentionally or not, and how that trauma is practically inescapable for most during their developmental years. LeBeouf even opted to play the role of his father in the film itself, though he admitted that some creative liberties were taken in his performance.

2 Where the Red Fern Grows (1974)

A childhood staple next to Gary Paulsen’s Hatchet, Where the Red Fern Grows is a quintessential coming-of-age story about hunting, companionship, and tragedy. In the Ozark Mountains, a young Billy Coleman (Stewart Petersen) finds himself in the company of two hunting hounds, Old Dan, and Little Ann, in a tale as old as time. What starts as an ambitious venture turns into a profitable path for Coleman and his family.

Man’s Best Friend Can’t Last Forever

If you were lucky, you didn’t have to hear this glum tale read out during grade school. But if you want to re-live this classic story of love and loss, Where the Red Fern Grows is an ultimately positive film that will leave you misty-eyed once it’s all said and done. Good times never last, and Coleman will have to learn how to cope with the circle of life and death.

1 The Peanut Butter Falcon (2019)

An indie darling released in 2019, The Peanut Butter Falcon is the directorial debut of Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz. A young man with Down syndrome, played by Zack Gottsagen, finds himself befriending an isolated fisherman after escaping from a state care facility. Together, the two go on a river-bound journey to fulfill our protagonist’s biggest dream: to become a professional wrestler like his life-long hero, the Salt Water Redneck.

An Emotional Update of Huckleberry Finn

Taking direct inspiration from Huckleberry Finn, this heartwarming story is sure to make fans laugh and cry in equal measure. It’s less overtly depressing than other entries on this list, but the sheer triumph of the human spirit is sure to strike a chord with some. If that’s not enough of a sell, additional cast members include Dakota Johnson, Shia LaBeouf, and John Hawkes.