Amazon Prime has one of the largest libraries of content in the world, filled with good movies to watch. Whether you want to watch a comedy movie or a crime drama television show, Amazon probably has what you’re looking for as far as the best movies to stream right now.
When there’s so much to watch, it can be hard to sort through everything to find the best viewing options, though. Thankfully, we’re here to help. We’ve already compiled a list of Amazon Prime TV shows for you to enjoy. And if you’re looking for the best movies to watch right now, we’ve also found a selection of the best movies on Amazon Prime for you to browse.
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You might be skeptical that a company like Amazon would have enough of a library to make it worthwhile, and believe me, I was in that boat for a while, too. Ultimately, though, the service proved me wrong.
If you’re looking for more than just the best Amazon Prime movies, we’ve also found the best Netflix movies, the best Hulu movies, the best Disney+ movies, and the best Netflix documentaries to stream right now.
The Burial (2023)
127m
Genre
Comedy, Drama
Stars
Jamie Foxx, Tommy Lee Jones, Jurnee Smollett
Directed by
Margaret Betts
Watch on Amazon
A throwback courtroom drama set in 1995, The Burial follows a local funeral home owner who sues one of the biggest conglomerates in the industry for breach of contract. While that may sound almost offensively dry, The Burial is fun from minute one, thanks in large part to Jamie Foxx’s commanding performance as the lawyer representing the funeral home owner. Tommy Lee Jones is great as always as the owner himself, and the movie manages to address some fairly complex ideas about race, even as it tells an entertaining, mostly true story.
Val (2021)
73%
7.6/10
109m
Genre
Documentary, Biography
Stars
Val Kilmer, Kevin Bacon, Marlon Brando
Directed by
Ting Poo, Leo Scott
Watch on Amazon
Focused on and filmed over a span of more than 40 years by Val Kilmer, Val is an Amazon original movie about the mythical man who had legendary roles in Batman: Forever, Tombstone, The Doors, and Top Gun. A recent survivor of throat cancer who is still in recovery, Val Kilmer has decided to tell his story using home video footage that shines a remarkably frank light into his private life and the ways that it’s transformed over the decades of his career.
The Report (2019)
66%
7.2/10
119m
Genre
Biography, Crime, Drama
Stars
Adam Driver, Annette Bening, Jon Hamm
Directed by
Scott Z. Burns
Watch on Amazon
An incredible Amazon Original chock full of award-worthy performances, The Report is a chillingly detailed rendering of the investigation into the morally dubious torture techniques used by the CIA in the aftermath of 9/11. Based on the true story of an investigative finding from Senate staffer Daniel J. Jones (Adam Driver), The Report follows his request to better understand the torture and who authorized it. Along the way, he uncovers some horrible information about the merciless and sometimes unprovoked torture tactics that his own country is using regularly.
Manchester by the Sea (2016)
96%
7.8/10
137m
Genre
Drama
Stars
Casey Affleck, Michelle Williams, Kyle Chandler
Directed by
Kenneth Lonergan
Watch on Amazon
With career-defining performances from Casey Affleck, Michelle Williams, and Lucas Hedges, Manchester by the Sea is a stunningly raw portrayal of tragedy and what it can do to the human spirit. When Lee (Casey Affleck) finds out that his brother has died and has made him the guardian of his teenage nephew Patrick (Lucas Hedges), he is forced to quit his job and move back to his hometown, where he comes face to face with all the trauma that drove him away in the first place.
The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (1978)
7.7/10
116m
Genre
Action, Adventure, Drama
Stars
Chia-Hui Liu, Lieh Lo, Yue Wong
Directed by
Chia-Liang Liu
Watch on Amazon
A film that heavily influenced hip hop music group The Wu-Tang Clan, The 36th Chamber of Shaolin is referenced by RZA as one of the very best Kung Fu films. When the Manchu government destroys his school, ravages his town, and kills his father, San Te (Chia-Hui Liu) travels to a Shaolin temple to learn the ways of Shaolin Kung Fu and be at peace. Needless to say, the fight choreography in this is incredible.
Sound of Metal (2019)
82%
7.7/10
120m
Genre
Drama, Music
Stars
Riz Ahmed, Olivia Cooke, Paul Raci
Directed by
Darius Marder
Watch on Amazon
An Amazon original and a breakout starring role for Riz Ahmed, Sound of Metal is an intensely dramatic film about a man torn between two lives as he loses his hearing. After hearing the distressing news that his hearing loss will only worsen, he tries to avoid relapsing even as he struggles with his new identity. Winner of best film editing and best sound editing at the 2020 Academy Awards, Sound of Metal was also nominated for a handful of other awards including best picture.
The Big Sick (2017)
86%
7.5/10
120m
Genre
Comedy, Drama, Romance
Stars
Kumail Nanjiani, Zoe Kazan, Holly Hunter, Ray Romano
Directed by
Michael Showalter
Watch on Amazon
The Big Sick is based on the real-life love story of comedian Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon. The story follows Nanjiani as he struggles to build up a career in standup. After a run-in with a heckler named Emily (Zoe Kazan), the two quickly form a relationship. Shortly after they break up, though, Gordon falls into a coma, and Nanjiani is forced to figure out how what his role should be in supporting her. This original dramedy is one of the best romantic comedy movies to watch.
One Night in Miami... (2020)
83%
7.1/10
114m
Genre
Drama
Stars
Kingsley Ben-Adir, Eli Goree, Aldis Hodge
Directed by
Regina King
Watch on Amazon
This film, which is loosely based on true events, follows four icons in their prime, Muhammad Ali, Malcolm X, Jim Brown, and Sam Cooke, as they meet in Miami one historic night. As these figures come together in the mid-1960s, they discuss what their success and responsibility mean as they carry the weight of the world during the Civil Rights Movement. In Regina King’s directorial breakout, we get shades of gray from each of the four central characters as they attempt to navigate what it means to be Black and powerful in an era when the world was transforming. Boasting a handful of Oscar nominations, this film is a powerhouse packed with four incredible performances and ruminative, meaningful conversations.
The Lost City of Z (2017)
78%
6.6/10
141m
Genre
Adventure, Drama, History
Stars
Charlie Hunnam, Robert Pattinson, Sienna Miller
Directed by
James Gray
Watch on Amazon
An earnest examination of one explorer’s quest for greatness, The Lost City of Z is a film about Percy Fawcett (Charlie Hunnam), a British explorer who makes repeated journeys to the Amazon. Ultimately, Fawcett’s goal is to prove that there was once a civilized nation living there, and the movie is about his quest to do exactly that. At its core, though, The Lost City of Z is also a movie about one man’s singular focus on a life outside his home, and the toll it takes on everything else he’s supposed to love.
Small Axe: Lovers Rock (2020)
95%
7.5/10
1 Season
Genre
Drama, History
Stars
Amarah-Jae St. Aubyn, Daniel Francis-Swaby, Ellis George
Created by
Steve McQueen
Watch on Amazon
All of Steve McQueen’s Small Axe films are worth checking out, but Lovers Rock stands above the rest. Set in London in the 1970s, the film is set at a house party and exists primarily so the viewer can revel in the joy that it depicts. There is almost no plot to speak of in Lovers Rock, but the movie doesn’t need one. Instead, it gets by on the vibe that it puts off, one that serves as a reminder of the joy of the Black community, even in the face of the oppression that constantly threatens them.
Saltburn (2023)
131m
Genre
Drama, Comedy, Thriller
Stars
Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi, Rosamund Pike
Directed by
Emerald Fennell
Watch on Amazon
If you’re looking for something a little bit twisted and strange, then Saltburn may be just what you’re after. Telling the story of a poor boy who finds himself suddenly thrust into the world of the ultra wealthy in the U.K. in the early 2000s, the movie is unafraid of pushing past boundaries most movies would leave untouched. Thanks to the fearless central performance from Barry Keoghan, as well as sharp supporting turns from Jacob Elordi and Rosamund Pike, Saltburn is always entertaining and occasionally downright riveting. On top of all that, it doesn’t hurt that the movie features some truly wonderful cinematography.
Memento (2000)
113m
Genre
Mystery, Thriller
Stars
Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano
Directed by
Christopher Nolan
Watch on Amazon
If you’re looking for the movie where Christopher Nolan fully became the director he is today, Memento is probably the right place to start. The film is told both backward and forward, and ends exactly in the middle of its story, at least chronologically. Following a man with short-term memory loss as he discovers and then proceeds to forget things about his life, even as he quests after his wife’s killer, the movie is wildly inventive and deeply thrilling, in part because of Nolan’s fascination with the way stories are constructed on the screen. It’s a trick he would return to again and again throughout his career.
Air (2023)
111m
Genre
Drama, History
Stars
Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Jason Bateman
Directed by
Ben Affleck
Watch on Amazon
Telling the story of the big bet that fundamentally transformed Nike, Air is a lot more inspirational than it has any right to be. The film follows a Nike shoe executive who wants to put money down on his bet that a young Michael Jordan will become a phenomenon. That bet paid off for both Nike and Jordan, turning Air Jordans into one of the most famous shoe brands in the world. The movie gracefully elides Jordan’s actual presence and manages to be an inspirational sports movie that’s actually about business people, which is quite a feat in and of itself.
Challengers (2024)
132m
Genre
Romance, Drama
Stars
Zendaya, Mike Faist, Josh O'Connor
Directed by
Luca Guadagnino
Watch on Amazon
Perhaps the best tennis movie ever made, Challengers chronicles the story of three professional tennis players over more than 10 years. The two men at the movie’s center find themselves fighting for the affection of Zendaya’s Tashi Duncan, a star tennis player who sustains a major injury and moves into coaching afterward. In Challengers, sex and tennis become almost the same thing, and Zendaya, Josh O’Connor, and Mike Faist all deliver masterful performances. Challengers doesn’t have a ton of serious ideas on its mind, but it’s the kind of zippy, sexy fun that movies were made for.
Midnight Run (1988)
126m
Genre
Action, Comedy, Crime, Thriller
Stars
Robert De Niro, Charles Grodin, Yaphet Kotto
Directed by
Martin Brest
Watch on Amazon
One of the great dad movies ever made, Midnight Run tells the story of a bounty hunter who is sent after a man who stole thousands of dollars from a criminal enterprise. Once he finds his bounty, the two travel across the country together so that the bounty hunter can collect. Along the way, they form a bond, one that will be tested in the movie’s final moments. Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin are key to this movie’s success, as is a pretty perfect screenplay and an expert sense of pace that helps this movie rise above more standard action movie fare.
The Master (2012)
137m
Genre
Drama
Stars
Joaquin Phoenix, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams
Directed by
Paul Thomas Anderson
Watch on Amazon
Paul Thoams Anderson is one of the best directors working today, and The Master is one of his very best movie. Following an unstable war veteran who becomes entranced by the leader of a new pseudo-religion that bears a strong resemblance to Scientology, the movie is a gripping exploration of the psyche of two people, and the way damaged people can be utterly bewitched by a man with a big personality and very little to back it up. Featuring career-best work from Philip Seymour Hoffman, Joaquin Phoenix, and Amy Adams, The Master is also much more watchable than you might expect.
What movies are coming to Amazon Prime Video in May?
May 1
- Another Simple Favor
May 6
- David Spade: Dandelion
May 8
- Octopus!
May 9
- Molly Mae: Behind It All Part 2
May 12
- Kraven the Hunter
May 15
- Overcompensating
May 20
- Motorheads
May 29
- The Better Sister
