If you like movies, perhaps it will be an excellent idea for you to think of Amazon Prime Video as your go-to playground in 2025. While Netflix and Disney+ are battling with heavy franchises to be on top, and Apple TV+ continues its journey to achieve prestige from award wins, Prime Video has gained a reputation for having the most diversity. From festival darlings and Academy Award winners to cult classics and a fair number of recent releases, the catalog is a nod to the greatest moods of filmmaking. Below are 15 movies on Prime you can laugh, cry, or grip the armrest of your chair with. We have counted them down from 15 to our number one choice.
15. The Big Sick (2017)
Only one better than this is the new rom-coms we don’t see enough of. Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon used their actual relationship and made it into a sidesplittingly funny and emotionally acute script that, for love, discusses culture clash, family expectations, and discovering where you’re from. Mixing in Zoe Kazan, Ray Romano, and Holly Hunter into the stew makes this a heartbreaking comedy that still manages to rip at your heartstrings.
14. Wildcat (2022)
The film is a mix of an animal film and an emotional human story. The film captures the life of British ex-serviceman, Harry Turner, who has PTSD, and American scientist Samantha Zwicker as they raise an abandoned baby ocelot in the Peruvian Amazon. It is a tale that initially is an attempt to preserve the wild but eventually becomes a quest for individual healing. Be ready to see, not just if you are an animal lover, but also if you happen to be one of those who adore the raw and true human narrative. Here, it will reach you.
13. Saltburn (2023)
Emerald Fennell’s stylish follow-up to Promising Young Woman is an over-the-top, wickedly clever psychological thriller sold with a vengeance. Barry Keoghan plays the interloper Oliver, who insinuates himself into the inner sanctum of an extremely rich British clan with the assistance of Jacob Elordi and Rosamund Pike, who commandeer as many scenes as they please. Crafted in a boxy 4:3 aspect ratio and loaded with biting satire, the film is creepy, hilarious, and unsettling, a story of privilege and fixation in a warped universe.
12. My Old Ass (2024)
The offbeat dramedy couples the smirking surrealism with the very long-standing coming-of-age story. Maisy Stella plays Elliott, a little girl who, abruptly, comes into contact with her grown 39-year-old self (Aubrey Plaza, with snarky sarcasm). The script is funny and affectionate, but also extremely subtle in the overall themes of personal development, making an idiot of yourself, and holding on to what you love about life that’s a little imperfect. You might say it’s a humorous, sincere motivational speech from your own future self.
11. Heads of State (2025)
It’s difficult to picture the U.S. president (John Cena) and the U.K. prime minister (Idris Elba) bonding together after Air Force One crashes. Now toss Priyanka Chopra Jonas into the mix as an MI6 agent, plenty of fire, and loads of one-liners. The end product is a smooth yet stupid buddy action-comedy. The interplay of the stars is what makes it simple to be a people-pleaser, just right when you hear the preview and subtitles again, and in the mood for popcorn-friendly entertainment.
10. Deep Cover (2025)
Deep Cover is a crime-comedy film that takes a weird premise—London police employing improvisation actors to become undercover operatives, and crafts it into an unexpectedly intelligent romp. Bryce Dallas Howard, Orlando Bloom, Nick Mohammed, and Sean Bean are the principal cast who play the absurdity of the situation to the best possible extent while still managing to obtain some acidic laughs from it. Director Tom Kingsley maintains the rhythm extremely quickly, which renders Deep Cover smarter and sillier.
9. The Idea of You (2024)
Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine shine in this tear-jerking tale of a single mother who falls for a young pop sensation. It appears to be just another normalized fantasy on paper, but the film veers towards the other side by discussing ageism, gender double standards, and societal pressure on women to be content. Hathaway is terrific, bringing a lot of warmth and subtlety to the rom-com, as well as still managing to demonstrate the bravado of being anything other than fluff.
8. Challengers (2024)
One of Luca Guadagnino’s finest movies is Challenger’s tennis tragedy, where a coach is befuddled in a confusing love affair with Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor. Drama heightens with tension not just in the game but also off the court. Although a non-linear storyline and frenetic camerawork leave you with no time to catch your breath from start to finish, it d—it’s essentially the same adrenaline as a championship final.
7. American Fiction (2023)
Satirist Cord Jefferson has blended Percival Everett’s Erasure with his own cleverly inventive work to produce one of the decade’s wittiest comedies. Indeed, Jeffrey Wright aced his role as Monan, an angry writer who pens a spoof book lampooning racial stereotypes, ironically, which becomes a bestseller. Witty, satirical, and also very relevant, it is a movie that satirizes the world of publishing, yet grapples with issues of identity and truth.
6. Sound of Metal (2020)
It is only through Riz Ahmed playing Ruben, pea petty, lucky armer whose hearing suddenly stops working, that the unhappiness of this character is made clear to the audience. This movie benefits a great deal from the technique of placing the spectator directly in the world of Ruben using innovative and beautiful sound design. Actually, this is not a musical. It’s a film about self-discovery, hardship, and the decision to forgive the past and accept change. In addition, the film has a number of Deaf actors who certainly enhance the authenticity of the film, therefore making it more impactful.
5. Thirteen Lives (2022)
Thirteen Lives is a tension-drenched suspense movie about the 2018 Thai cave rescue, a Ron Howard-directed film that teaches its lessons on suspense to tearful viewers. Supported by the acting of Viggo Mortensen, Colin Farrell, and Joel Edgerton, the film reenacts the panic of being stuck in such a predicament and the marvelous achievement of global cooperation that enabled the rescues. Without any hints of melodrama, it attempts a better, raw, human, and respectful portrayal of heroism.
4. Air (2023)
You don’t need to be a sneakerhead to get hooked on Air. Starring Matt Damon, Viola Davis, and Jason Bateman and directed by Ben Affleck, it tells the story of Nike’s gamble to sign Michael Jordan and revolutionize sports marketing. It’s fast-talking, high-speed, and all about character-driven drama—the kind of mid-range adult entertainment Hollywood barely puts a priority on anymore.
3. Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (2020)
Yes, Borat is returned, and indeed in an even more quirky manner than previously. The same as previously, albeit with some variation, Sacha Baron Cohen continues to go where no satirist has previously. This time, he is accompanied by Maria Bakalova, who is acting in the movie as his daughter. With them, they are shocking and astounding the audience simultaneously. As much as it is hilarious and weird at the same time, the sequel proves that Hazor is still full of energy.
2. One Night in Miami (2020)
Regina King’s debut film as a director depicts a wonderful picture that seems unreal: Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, Jim Brown, and Sam Cooke in one place discussing their role in the Civil Rights Movement. There is no weak link in the performances that accompany the film, and the result is a perfect symbiosis between history and fiction, a dense and fascinating drama. Small-scale, incendiary, and unforgettable, it is.
1. Manchester by the Sea (2016)
It takes the first spot, of course, because Kenneth Lonergan’s sorrowful yet tender classic is just all those things. On a journey of sorrow and familial obligations, the Oscar-winning performance of Casey Affleck is understated yet highly effective. The dialogue is sad, the one-liners are shockingly very natural-sounding, and the emotional punch is not to be ignored. Few, if any, films can capture the depth of loss and healing in the way that this one does; therefore, it is a must-see for anyone who highly values human stories.
The collection of Prime Video is one thing that you cannot miss: the diversity of the program is the key. It is always possible to find out what works from the indie classics, sea-going true stories, blockbusters, and edgy comedies. Whether you are a fan of comedy, drama, or just raw adrenaline, Prime is still one of the most excellent streaming platforms for film fans in 2025.