There’s something deeply cathartic about a good cry. The world can be overwhelming at times, and letting the tears flow freely in a safe space—like at home under your favorite blanket—is an ideal way to let off steam. A good story is a surefire way to bring on the tears, and if you’ve been needing a good cry sesh yourself, watching a movie can be an unexpected act of self-care.
Movies can inspire you, get you in the holiday spirit, and yes—make you cry. Whether you’re looking for laughter through tears, a heartbreaking ugly cry, or an uplifting story that makes you weep with joy—here’s a round-up of movies to watch with a stack of tissues. Since not all crying is created equal, I’ve categorized them based on vibes. They start with unbearable gut punches and work their way toward stories that’ll break open your heart. Here’s to cherishing the essence of life! Pick your mood, then press play.
The Devastating Cry
These are the movies that destroy you in the best (or worst?) way. They’re raw, heart-wrenching stories that linger long after the credits roll. In my opinion, you watch them once and let them marinate—maybe forever. Save these for when you really want to sob.
Editor’s Note: Check the subject matter before you watch; several involve the Holocaust, captivity, illness, or the death of a child.
Hamnet (2025)
Chloé Zhao’s adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s novel follows Agnes and William Shakespeare as they raise a family and face the loss of their son, Hamnet. Jessie Buckley’s Agnes gives the grief its weight; the theater gives it another language. Save this one for a night when you’re ready to feel the full force of a family’s loss.
Where to watch: See current US streaming and rental options
Sophie’s Choice (1982)
Meryl Streep plays Sophie, a Polish survivor of Auschwitz whose life in Brooklyn seems, for a while, to hold the possibility of beginning again. Then the film reveals what she has carried with her. This is a difficult watch, and its final revelation is one of cinema’s hardest to shake.
Where to watch: See current US streaming and rental options
Still Alice (2014)
Julianne Moore’s Alice is a linguistics professor whose early-onset Alzheimer’s changes the way she moves through her work and family. The small losses are as affecting as the large ones. Watch for the fierce effort she makes to remain herself, even as the people around her have to learn how to meet her where she is.
Where to watch: See current US streaming and rental options
The Whale (2022)
Brendan Fraser’s Charlie is an isolated teacher trying to reconnect with his daughter. His tenderness and regret sit side by side, even when his attempts to repair things go badly. The film’s depiction of a larger-bodied man and its themes of disordered eating may make it a hard fit for some viewers.
Where to watch: See current US streaming and rental options
The Pianist (2002)
Adrien Brody plays W?adys?aw Szpilman, the Polish Jewish pianist whose memoir recounts his survival in Warsaw during the Holocaust. The music offers moments of beauty without softening the terror around him. Brody won Best Actor, and Roman Polanski won Best Director at the 2003 Oscars.
Where to watch: See current US streaming and rental options
Room (2015)
After years of captivity, a mother and her young son escape into a world the boy has never known. Brie Larson and Jacob Tremblay make the adjustment outside Room feel as consequential as the escape itself. It’s harrowing, especially in its depiction of confinement and trauma, but the bond between them stays at the center.
Where to watch: See current US streaming and rental options
Life Is Beautiful (1997)
Roberto Benigni’s Guido uses imagination to shield his young son from the reality of a concentration camp. The humor at the beginning makes the later scenes more painful, not less. This is a father’s impossible act of love against the backdrop of the Holocaust.
Where to watch: See current US streaming and rental options
The “I Wasn’t Ready” Cry
These movies may begin with a romance, a road trip, or a family story. Then one moment changes everything. A few descriptions below reveal the emotional turn, so skip ahead if you prefer to go in blind.
West Side Story (2021)
Steven Spielberg’s version gives Tony and María’s romance a rush of color and music, even as the neighborhood’s rivalries close in. Knowing its Romeo and Juliet roots does little to protect you from the ending. Rachel Zegler and Ariana DeBose make this retelling feel lived in.
Where to watch: See current US streaming and rental options
Marley & Me (2008)
A newly married couple adopts a rambunctious Labrador, and somehow the unruly dog becomes the thread running through every chapter of their family life. It’s funny until the accumulation of ordinary years catches up with you. Pet loss is central to the ending.
Where to watch: See current US streaming and rental options
Titanic (1997)
You know what happens to the ship. That has never stopped me from wishing Jack and Rose might find their way off it together. James Cameron gives their brief romance enough room to feel like an entire possible life, which makes the ending land every time.
Where to watch: See current US streaming and rental options
Up (2009)
The first few minutes tell the story of Carl and Ellie’s marriage with almost no dialogue. I remember being surprised by how quickly an animated adventure could undo me. The rest of the film makes space for another kind of hope: a life can change after the plans you made for it do.
Where to watch: See current US streaming and rental options
The Poignant Cry
These movies make you cry because they show life in all its messy beauty—joy, sorrow, connection, and everything in between. This is personally my favorite kind of cry. I can rely on them for tears, and I know they won’t destroy me. Layered, complex, and emotionally rich, these movies to make you cry will crack you open, and stitch you back together, all at once.
The Friend (2025)
After her closest friend and mentor dies, Iris inherits his enormous Great Dane, Apollo. Naomi Watts plays her resistance and slow attachment without making grief feel neat. If you want a dog movie with a softer landing than Marley & Me, this is the one; its themes include a friend’s death by suicide.
Where to watch: See current US streaming and rental options
The Color Purple (1985)
Celie’s life holds cruelty and separation, but also the friendship and self-possession she builds over time. Whoopi Goldberg’s performance makes the eventual reunion with her sister feel earned rather than inevitable. This is the 1985 film; the 2023 musical adaptation is a different, wonderful version of the story.
Where to watch: See current US streaming and rental options
Dead Poets Society (1997)
Robin Williams plays an English teacher who urges his students to pay attention to poetry and to their own lives. The closing classroom scene is famous for a reason, but the film’s power is in everything that makes the students’ choice to stand feel costly. Content note: suicide.
Where to watch: See current US streaming and rental options
Forrest Gump (1994)
Forrest moves through decades of American life with a steady devotion to the people he loves. The film can be funny, enormous, and suddenly intimate. His conversation beneath the tree near the end is the moment I find hardest to get through dry-eyed.
Where to watch: See current US streaming and rental options
Coco (2017)
Miguel’s trip to the Land of the Dead begins as a story about music and becomes one about remembering the people who made you. The song “Remember Me” changes meaning as the film goes on. By the time Miguel sings it at home, the tears feel close to gratitude.
Where to watch: See current US streaming and rental options
Inside Out (2025)
Riley’s move to a new city sends Joy and Sadness scrambling through her inner world. Bing Bong’s farewell is the scene that gets me, but the deeper relief comes when Riley can finally tell her parents how she feels. It’s a family film that trusts sadness to have a purpose.
Where to watch: See current US streaming and rental options
A League Of Their Own (1992)
There’s plenty to laugh about with the Rockford Peaches, which is why the losses tucked into their season hit so unexpectedly. The team’s reunion years later carries another ache: a reminder of the lives these women built after the crowds went home.
Where to watch: See current US streaming and rental options
Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
The Hoover family piles into a yellow VW bus to get Olive to a pageant. Nobody has their life together, and the trip keeps proving it. Watching them show up for Olive anyway—especially when the room would rather they didn’t—is where this odd little comedy gets me.
Where to watch: See current US streaming and rental options
The “She Loved and Lost” Cry
It felt right to create a category for the uniquely emotional experiences of women. This category homes in on love stories, sisterhood, and female-led heartbreaks. In short, the girls that get it, get it.
Steel Magnolias
The women at Truvy’s salon know one another well enough to tease, challenge, and stay through the worst of it. Sally Field’s cemetery monologue lets grief be angry and even absurdly funny a moment later. It’s the rare film that understands why laughter through tears can feel like relief. (We miss you, Dolly.)
Where to watch: See current US streaming and rental options
Little Women (2019)
Greta Gerwig lets the March sisters’ childhood and adult lives speak to each other, so every warm memory comes with the knowledge that things will change. Saoirse Ronan’s Jo wants to write her own future, while Florence Pugh gives Amy’s choices their full weight. Beth’s illness still breaks my heart, but it’s the sisters finding their different ways back to one another that makes this version worth returning to.
Where to watch: See current US streaming and rental options
Shakespeare In Love
Viola wants a place on the stage in a world that refuses her one, and a romance with Shakespeare opens a door that cannot stay open. The final scenes give their love a life in art even as the two have to part. For the romantic who enjoys an ache with gorgeous costumes and a little theater magic.
Where to watch: See current US streaming and rental options
If a cry isn’t the mood after all, start with our feel-good movie list for a gentler movie night. For another night with the family, try our family movie picks.