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Perhaps you’ve opted out of Valentine’s Day, or are struggling against winter’s long slog—but really there’s no need for an excuse to seek out movies that will make you cry. Per the inimitable Nicole Kidman, movies have a unique power to provoke intense emotions, and frankly that may be all that’s separating us from the looming robots at this point. Plus shedding emotional tears is scientifically proven to release oxytocin and endorphins. (That’s why you sometimes feel refreshed or calmer after a good cry.) So whether you’re in the mood to get a little misty-eyed or are looking for a nice cathartic chest sob, enjoy below our all-time favorite movies for when you need a good cry.
All of Us Strangers (2023)
In Andrew Haigh’s wrenching fantasy-tinged drama, a reclusive screenwriter (Andrew Scott, in an Oscar-snubbed performance) embarks on an affair with a mysterious younger neighbor (Paul Mescal) while also encountering visions of his long-deceased parents (Jamie Bell and Claire Foy).
Aftersun (2022)
One of the most acclaimed debuts in recent years, Charlotte Wells’s restrained, impressionistic drama is a meditation on memory through the eyes of an 11-year-old (Frankie Corio), who carefully observes her young father (Paul Mescal) as he wrestles with his demons on their Turkish vacation in the late 1990s. Mescal’s tremendous performance earned him an Academy Award nomination for best actor.
The Banshees of Inisherin (2022)
This tragicomedy, directed and written by Martin McDonagh, tells the poignant story of two friends whose relationship comes to a sudden end at the close of the Irish Civil War in 1923. There’s plenty to get tearful about in Banshees—the punishing effects of isolation, the claustrophobia of a life with limited options, the tender bond between the character played by Colin Farrell and his sister. And perhaps you’ve heard of the sad fate of Jenny the donkey, perhaps the most sob-inducing performance of them all.
Living (2022)
Bill Nighy earned an Oscar nomination for best actor for his moving portrayal of a bureaucrat in 1953 London who, facing a terminal illness, searches for meaning in life; also nominated was Nobel Prize–winning novelist Kazuo Ishiguro, who adapted the script from Akira Kurosawa’s 1952 film Ikiru.
Pieces of a Woman (2021)
This film, which follows a young married woman (Vanessa Kirby) as she struggles with the devastating death of her baby during childbirth, isn’t for the faint of heart, but Kirby’s restrained yet heartbreaking performance adds a new layer of texture to the cultural conversation about miscarriage and pregnancy loss.
Little Women (2019)
There’s plenty to smile about in this Greta Gerwig–directed adaptation of the Louisa May Alcott classic, (particularly the costumes). But without giving away too many spoilers, there’s also a metric ton of heartbreak and pain to contend with. (I am, once again, thinking about Jo’s speech on loneliness.)
Marriage Story (2019)
Children of divorce may have a particularly hard time watching this Oscar nominee about a split-up couple fighting over custody of their young son.
Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019)
This moody and unabashedly queer love story from director Céline Sciamma is, in a way, all the more beautiful for the brevity of its central affair. In the film, Adèle Haenel plays Héloïse, a sullen 18th-century French daughter of privilege, and Noémie Merlant plays Marianne, the adventurous artist hired to paint her. A star-crossed romance ensues.
A Ghost Story (2017)
A rumination on time and grief, love and loss, David Lowery’s supernatural drama involves the sheet-bedecked ghost of a recently deceased man (Casey Affleck) who must observe in silence what happens in his house after his death.
Ingrid Goes West (2017)
Okay, this movie is billed as more of a social-media romp than a tearjerker, and it’s easy to clock its quick pans through the Los Angeles of influencer culture and think of it as a comedy. At its heart, though, Matt Spicer’s film is about the devastating loneliness that propels one young woman to craft a fake identity around a friend crush, and without spoiling anything... let’s just say the ending is pretty painful to watch.
Manchester by the Sea (2016)
This Kenneth Lonergan film, which revolves around a depressed man taking care of his nephew after his brother dies, is practically a monument to depression. The bleary East Coast landscape only heightens the aura of despair in Manchester by the Sea, leaving you with a portrait of a family that’s guaranteed to make you call your mom and cry.
Inside Out (2015)
This is the rare film that can be enjoyed by kids and adults alike, but if you do happen to be of legal driving age, you might find yourself welling up and feeling kind of embarrassed about it. Don’t ! Pixar is nothing if not exceptional at crafting cartoons that get right to the heart of the human experience, and Inside Out is no exception.
The Fault in Our Stars (2014)
This movie about a teenage cancer patient who falls in love with a boy in her support group is guaranteed to destroy you every time. Damn you, John Green!
Blackfish (2013)
This Gabriela Cowperthwaite–directed documentary isn’t the most traditional tearjerker, but the story of Tilikum, an orca who has taken the lives of three people during his time spent captive at various aquatic amusement parks, is definitely hard to watch (and will make you think twice about that trip to SeaWorld).
What Maisie Knew (2012)
Based on the 1897 novel by Henry James, this modern adaptation expertly captures the quiet heartbreak of a neglected young girl whose parents are too busy fighting to put her needs first.
Blue Valentine (2010)
Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams star as a troubled couple in this romantic drama, and they each brought enough pathos to their respective roles to be nominated for Oscars and Golden Globes. Rewatch the film, whose nonlinear narrative makes the emotional component all the more effective, and you’ll see exactly why.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)
Okay, all the Harry Potter movies contain some element of sob-worthiness, but this one stands apart because it’s the one where, well, a certain beloved character dies. Are we just supposed to get through that scene without weeping?
Wendy and Lucy (2008)
In Kelly Reichardt’s quietly shattering drama, Michelle Williams plays a drifter stranded in Oregon who’s separated from her beloved dog, Lucy, after she’s arrested for shoplifting food. The seeming smallness of the story does nothing to diminish the film’s bleakness nor blunt its ultimately devastating impact.
Atonement (2007)
It may be famous for that green-dress sex scene, but this movie—which focuses on the doomed love affair between a wealthy young woman and her housekeeper’s son, kept apart by circumstances beyond their control—is also heart-wrenching.
Rent (2005)
Yes, it’s well-worn territory for musical-theater nerds, but the script for this filmic adaptation of the 1996 Broadway show is absolutely heartrending, with tunes like “One Song Glory,” “Without You,” and “I’ll Cover You” absolutely firing up the tear ducts. We will always love you, Angel!
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005)
This aughts classic has a reputation for being a sickly-sweet girl-power film, and it’s deserved. But the movie based on the Ann Brashares novel also gets into some incredibly sad territory, from the loss of Bridget’s mom to Carmen’s pain over her dad’s remarriage to...Bailey. (No spoilers, but that particular plotline is guaranteed to make you sob.)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
The all-too-real heartbreak of forgetting is explored metaphorically in this Michel Gondry–directed, Charlie Kaufman–penned movie about an estranged couple who opt to erase one another from their memories (but at what cost?).
Hotel Rwanda (2004)
This film about the Hutu-Tutsi conflict in Rwanda in the mid-1990s is guaranteed to have you full-on sobbing (when you’re not marveling at Don Cheadle’s acting chops, that is).
The Notebook (2004)
I mean, can we even talk about sad movies without talking about The Notebook? This Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams–led romantic drama that tracks a couple from youthful intoxication to old age is emotionally potent enough to make you tear up anytime you hear the phrase “it’s not over.”
Lilya 4-Ever (2002)
A young woman in the former Soviet Union is consistently neglected and ultimately forced into survival sex in this painful-to-watch film that concludes ambiguously with a pair of parallel endings.
A Walk to Remember (2002)
Is this rom-com extremely early aughts? Sure. Kind of cheesy? You bet. Still, we challenge you not to sob like a tiny baby as Jamie (Mandy Moore) and Landon (Shane West) fall in love in spite of everything and against the backdrop of Jamie’s tragic illness.
Dancer in the Dark (2000)
Lars von Trier’s Palme d’Or–winning, handheld-shot musical melodrama stars Björk (named best actress at Cannes) as a factory worker who’s slowly going blind and trying to scrape together money to save her son from the same fate. Fair warning: It’s an exceedingly bleak watch, with its musical interludes (including the Oscar-nominated song “I’ve Seen It All”) only exacerbating the dismalness.
Titanic (1997)
Our hearts will go on, as will our love for this ocean-set classic that sees Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio in career-defining roles as a pair of star-crossed lovers who—spoiler alert—meet an epically tragic end.
The Bridges of Madison County (1995)
Nobody jogs a tear like Meryl Streep, who plays a housewife engaged in a brief and tumultuous affair with traveling photographer Clint Eastwood in this sobfest of a romantic drama.
Forrest Gump (1994)
Everyone’s favorite actor, Tom Hanks, is majorly tear inducing as the lovable hero of this film who navigates his way through an escalating series of wild situations only to find himself losing the love of his life.
Philadelphia (1993)
One of the first Hollywood films to explicitly address HIV/AIDS and portray homosexuality in a positive light, Jonathan Demme’s powerful legal drama stars Tom Hanks, in an Oscar-winning performance, as a lawyer who sues his employers for firing him after discovering he’s gay and living with HIV.
My Girl (1991)
Long before she stole scenes as Amy Brookheimer on Veep, Anna Chlumsky was an apple-cheeked kid hanging out with her nerdy best friend, Macaulay Culkin, before he’s taken from the world in a freak accident that will have you mildly afraid of the outdoors for the rest of your life.
Dead Poets Society (1989)
At a buttoned-up elite boys’ boarding school in Vermont, a passionate English teacher (Robin Williams) inspires his students (a baby-faced Ethan Hawke among them) to buck convention, carpe diem, and look at life from different perspectives (standing atop a desk, say). The film racked up Oscar nominations for best picture, actor (Williams), and director (Peter Weir) and won for Tom Schulman’s original screenplay.
Steel Magnolias (1989)
The casting and performances in this three-hanky weepy are truly without equal: Sally Field, Shirley MacLaine, Olympia Dukakis, Dolly Parton, Daryl Hannah, and Julia Roberts (nominated here for best supporting actress) are a group of women who bond in a small Louisiana town and eventually must cope with tragedy.
Beaches (1988)
This touching, funny story from legendary director Garry Marshall focuses on two childhood best friends (Bette Midler and Barbara Hershey) from very different backgrounds who together weather careers, husbands, and life’s vicissitudes. The song “Wind Beneath My Wings,” performed by Midler on the soundtrack, won Grammys for both record and song of the year in 1990.
The Color Purple (1985)
This coming-of-age period drama is carried by Whoopi Goldberg, who gives the emotional performance of a lifetime in embodying abuse survivor Celie.
Terms of Endearment (1983)
What is it with ’80s movies and tearjerking plots? This James L. Brooks comedy-drama about the complicated dynamic between a woman (Shirley MacLaine, astonishing) and her adult daughter (Debra Winger, also astonishing) is almost impossible to get through without welling up.
Sophie’s Choice (1982)
Meryl Streep delivers once again as a young Polish woman forced to make a morally impossible decision at Auschwitz and live with the consequences for the rest of her life.
The Way We Were (1973)
Five words: “Your girl is lovely, Hubbell.” Do you really need to hear anything more to burst into tears? This 1970s Barbra Streisand classic set in the wild world of pre-WWII McCarthyism more than holds up as a study of two people who...just aren’t right for each other, no matter how much they want to be. (Sob.)
Bambi (1942)
Nobody gets the tears flowing freely like Walt Disney, the mastermind behind this animated classic about a baby deer who gets tragically separated from his mother. Yes, he makes forest friends, but that scene with the hunter traumatized generations of kids.