25 of the Best Movies You Can Only Watch on Prime Video

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Despite existing as an also-ran within the behemoth that is Amazon, Prime Video has managed to assemble a fairly impressive run of films that have broken through not merely in terms of viewership, but in the broader world of awards-including a handful of Best Picture Oscar nominees.

You're probably already paying for an Amazon Prime subscription, so you might as well take advantage of Prime Video's library of exclusive offerings. Here are some of the best of the bunch.

Hedda (2025)

Nia DaCosta writes and directs this stylish new adaptation of the Henrik Ibsen play, staying largely true to the text while finding modern relevance. Tessa Thompson is a deliciously layered Hedda, who has recently settled down to married life with an academic, but retains all the fire of her wild past. Set in England of the 1950s, the film takes place at the country estate where Hedda is throwing a party on behalf of her new husband. The guests include all the professors he needs to impress to earn a new position, but also, to his alarm, his chief rival for the job. In DiCosta's reimagining, that rival is a woman named Eileen (Nina Hoss), also Hedda's former lover, who is carrying with her a book that Hedda simply must get her hands on. What follows is a dark comedy with plenty of smart, entendre-laden dialogue, great performances, and a compelling hook-the movie opens with the investigation of a shooting that occurred at the party, providing a dramatic counterpoint to Hedda's clever manipulations. Stream Hedda.

Hedda (2025) Learn More Learn More Finding Joy (2025)

While it's more rom than com, Tyler Perry's new holiday film has all the beats that you'd expect from your favorite seasonal fare. Shannon Thornton is Joy (hey, like the movie's title!), an aspiring fashion designer who finds herself trapped under the ice when she loses control of her car in a blizzard (we only later learn of the work and romantic complications that saw her trying to escape on an icy Colorado road in the first place). Luckily, she's rescued by ripped hottie Ridge (Tosin Morohunfola), but despite his life-saving intervention, the two don't exactly hit it off. But then they're trapped together in a cabin with only each other and some whiskey to keep them warm, so they'll have plenty of time to make friends and learn their pasts before its time for Joy to head back to the big city. (While much here is familiar, look out for a couple of truly wild Tyler Perry twists.) Stream Finding Joy.

Finding Joy (2025) Learn More Learn More Heads of State (2025)

John Cena might feel like an unlikely choice to play the president of the United States but that's probably the most plausible part of this fun but absurd action comedy. Cena plays Will Derringer, a movie star who won election almost entirely on the success of his Water Cobra action franchise; when he goes to meet with more experienced U.K. Prime Minister Sam Clarke (Idris Elba), himself a British Army veteran, the two have a public falling out-so public that both are strongly encouraged to travel together to a NATO summit to make nice. (Yes, this is nearly the same premise as Prime's queer rom-com Red, White, and Royal Blue, but disappointingly, Cena and Elba never kiss.) On the way to the summit, Air Force One is shot down over Belarus by terrorists linked to a Russian arms dealer, and the two have to high-tail it through Eastern Europe, fighting trained killers and uncovering the identity of the traitor who put the plot into motion. It's the kind of big-star buddy action comedy that streamers seem pretty good at making, and it's one of the better ones, at that-even if it could use more kissing. Stream Heads of State.

Heads of State (2025) Learn More Learn More G20 (2025)

What do you do when you're an EGOT laureate whose awards shelves are overflowing? Anything you want, apparently-as Viola Davis' recent turn to action roles in the last couple of years bears out. Here she plays U.S. President Danielle Sutton, with a rebellious daughter and a plan to boost the fortunes of sub-Saharan African farmers. She's also an Army veteran, which isn't just a resume detail-those skills come in handy when an Australian mercenary and company ambush the G20 summit with an eye toward making a fortune in crypto. Big mistake! Viola Davis: Action President goes all Die Hard on the mercenaries, and, yes, it's as silly as it sounds, but still a lot of fun. Stream G20.

G20 (2025) Learn More Learn More Enemies (Enemigos) (2025)

This wrenching import from Spain stars Christian Checa as Chino, a kid with a permanent limp that's made him the target for local bully, Rubio (Hugo Welzel), for years. Chino gets a brand-new moped for his 18th birthday, which is useful in his job delivering meals from the grocery store, but he also knows that it makes him a target. Sure enough, with his typical cruelty, Rubio and his friends smack Chino around and steal the bike. As fate would have it, though, things don't go so well for Rubio, who crashes the moped and suffers extensive injuries. What do you do when your tormentor is in your power? Seek revenge? Absolution? This is a smart, gritty, and impressively acted film explores the answer to those questions. Stream Enemies.

Enemies (2025) Learn More Learn More Stolen (2025)

This Hindi-language thriller earned rave reviews when it did the festival circuit, getting picked up by Prime Video just this summer. At a remote railway station, two brothers, Gautam (Abhishek Banerjee) and Raman (Shubham Vardhan) witness the kidnapping of a baby from an indigenous woman. Though just traveling through on the way to a wedding, the two decide to see what they can do to help-a decision that puts them on a harrowing path as they run afoul of police and even the locals who come to believe that the two are actually responsible. It's a brisk 90-minute descent into horror for the two brothers, but the movie has more on its mind, with themes of class, mob violence, and police corruption as the two outsiders pay a price for getting involved. Banerjee, best known for comedic roles, gives a career-best performance here. Stream Stolen.

Stolen (2025) Learn More Learn More Another Simple Favor (2025)

Pretty much the whole gang's back from the 2018 comedy/mystery, including director Paul Feig and writer Jessica Sharzer as well as our leads Stephanie (Anna Kendrick) and Emily Nelson (Blake Lively). Emily, last seen in prison for a double murder, is out of prison on appeal while Stephanie needs a boost in her book sales. She's wrangled into becoming Emily's maid of honor and the two are off to a destination wedding in Capri-even if Stephanie's still a little worried that her "friend" is going to try to murder her again. This one's got a bigger body count than the original, paying homage to bloody gialli filmmaking while the plot turns on Emily's marrying into the mob, but the real pleasure here remain the sexy, funny, surreal chemistry between Kendrick and Lively. Stream Another Simple Favor.

Another Simple Favor (2025) Learn More Learn More War of the Worlds (2025)

OK, so, the reception for this latest take on the 1898 H.G. Wells novel has been-chilly, to say the least (as in: 3% on Rotten Tomatoes). So it's definitely kinda bullshit to put this on a list of best movies. HOWEVER. It is rather wonderfully ridiculous, if that's the mood you're in, and somehow manages to outdo even Madame Web in terms of wildly inappropriate product placement. The hook here is, actually, not bad: Ice Cube plays Homeland Security officer Will Radford, whose job is, apparently, monitoring everything and everyone on the planet all the time. When the aliens start landing on Earth, Radford finds himself on the front lines of Earth's defense (meaning, behind his computer screen); he soon notices that the aliens are heading for data centers, slurping up data as part of their plan of conquest. Given the number of disasters we've all been witness to through only our screens, it's a fairly clever (not to mention budget-conscious) way to envision the apocalypse. Highlights include a heroic self-driving Tesla that neither crashes nor bursts into flames, Amazon drones deployed to deliver world-saving code, and Amazon gift cards freely distributed as payment for services rendered (hooray?). Ice Cube's yelling "Move, bitch, get out the way!" at an alien tendril thing has already become iconic, and no dumber than literally anything else going on in 2025. Stream War of the Worlds.

War of the Worlds (2025) Learn More Learn More Saltburn (2023)

Writer/director Emerald Fennell followed up her buzzy Oscar-winner Promising Young Woman with the thoroughly scandalous Saltburn, a somehow even darker spin on The Talented Mr. Ripley that sees Barry Keoghan's Oliver Quick doing whatever it takes to ingratiate himself into the endlessly posh world of his Oxford classmate Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi). Making the most of all his skills in manipulation and bathtub cleaning, the scholarship student weasels his way onto the titular estate, and finds that the family is desperately gullible, but rich enough that they still hold all the cards. No matter: Oliver has a plan. Opinions are mixed on whether this is all smart satire or lurid trash, but it's pretty entertaining either way. Stream Saltburn.

Saltburn (2023) at Prime Video Learn More Learn More at Prime Video One Night in Miami... (2020)

Actress Regina King had a fair bit of experience directing television before taking on this, her first feature directorial project, and it's an undeniably impressive debut. From a 2013 play by Kemp Powers (who also wrote the screenplay), the film offers a speculative look at a real-life meeting of four of the twentieth century's most prominent figures at the Hampton House Motel in Florida in 1964. Kingsley Ben-Adir, Eli Goree, Aldis Hodge, and Leslie Odom Jr. star as Malcom X, Muhammad Ali (Cassius Clay at the time), Jim Brown, and Sam Cooke as the four debate and discuss their own roles in the Black power and Civil Rights movements, while also hashing out their own demons and the demands of their lives as role models. Its origins as a play are clear, but the powerhouse performances, and King's confident direction, bring tension and power to the story. Stream One Night in Miami...

One Night in Miami... (2020) Learn More Learn More Red, White, and Royal Blue (2023)

Queer people deserve dorky rom-coms as much as anybody else, and Red, White, and Royal Blue (from the Casey McQuiston bestseller) more than fits the bill. Taylor Zakhar Perez plays Alex Claremont-Diaz, son of the U.S. President (Uma Thurman) against Nicholas Galitzine's Prince Henry, spare heir to the British throne. A public spat between the two sets off an international incident which, naturally, leads to a slow-burn romance and a couple of mildly spicy sex scenes. Stream Red, White, and Royal Blue.

Red, White, and Royal Blue (2023) Learn More Learn More The Siege at Thorn High (2025)

There's context here that might not be entirely obvious to American viewers (primarily, the vulnerability of Indonesia's ethnic Chinese minority), but this action thriller import nevertheless loses little in translation. Set in Indonesia in the very near future, the film finds Morgan Oey's Edwin hunting for his long-missing nephew while working as a substitute teacher at a juvenile detention center. When anti-Chinese riots break out throughout Jakarta in the run-up to Independence day, the school is forced into lockdown and becomes a microcosm of racist violence. Edwin teams up with a kid who he mistakenly believes is his nephew and the two must fight for survival. Stream The Siege at Thorn High.

The Siege at Thorn High (2025) Learn More Learn More Catherine Called Birdy (2022)

Bella Ramsey (Game of Thrones and, of course, The Last of Us) stars in this adaptation of the much-loved novel from Karen Cushman, and they offer up a pretty delightful performance. 14-year-old Catherine lives in 13th-century Lincolnshire, England, and, though she's the daughter of a lord, it's still not the best time to be a young girl-even, or especially, one as spry and independent as Catherine (who prefers that you call her Birdy). She's just as soon not be put on the marriage market, thank you very much, and thus concocts various schemes in order to dodge her potential fate as a commodity (rags soaked in menstrual blood get stuffed under floorboards, and salves made of shit become an unsurprisingly effective way of keeping unwanted suitors away). Director Lena Dunham and company strike an impressive balance of tones here: The stakes for Birdy are very real, but there's still plenty of joy in the coming-of-age story. Stream Catherine Called Birdy.

Catherine Called Birdy (2022) Learn More Learn More Frida (2024)

Not to be confused with the Salma Hayek drama from way back in 2002, this one's a clever and inventive documentary (from debut director Carla Gutierrez) that explores the real life of the iconic Mexican painter Frida Kahlo. The novelty here, aside from new animations of Kahlo's paintings, is in the film's format: Using existing writing and interviews, Gutierrez and company tell Frida's story from her own, first-person perspective, as though she's narrating her own, always fascinating, life story. What's more, the film uses some rarely seen stills and camera footage to flesh out the narrative-some recently restored film of Frida at her Blue House, with one-time lover Leon Trotsky no less, is particularly mind-blowing. Stream Frida.

Frida (2024) Learn More Learn More In My Mother's Skin (2023)

Caring for an aging parent is tough under the best of circumstances, and these circumstances are far from ideal. It's 1945 in the Philippines, and Japanese soldiers are terrorizing the locals as the war winds down, while a local strongman is determined to strip a once-prominent family of the wealth he thinks they've secreted away. Desperate for food, the two children of that family wander into the forest to forage and instead happen upon what seems like a helpful fairy, offering food and a cure for their dying mom, Ligaya (Beauty Gonzalez). The cure, though, involves "saving" Ligaya by turning her into a vampiric Aswang of Filipino legend. This grim, bloody supernatural horror is worth a look for viewers with the stomach for it. Stream In My Mother's Skin.

In My Mother's Skin (2023) Learn More Learn More A Million Miles Away (2023)

Michael Pena plays real-life Mexican-American astronaut Jose M. Hernandez in this inspiring biopic. If "inspiring" sounds like damning with faint praise, that's entirely fair-the movie is based on Hernandez's own memoir, and plays it fairly safe in any number of ways. Still-it's a stylishly directed and well-acted movie, with Pena, Sarayu Blue, Garret Dillahunt, and Rose Salazar all putting in great performances to tell the story of a kid who traveled from Michoacan, Mexico, to California in the 1960s so that he and his family could work in the fields, who went on to become and engineer and an International Space Station mission specialist. For quality family entertainment, you could do a whole lot worse. Stream A Million Miles Away.

A Million Miles Away (2023) Learn More Learn More The Vast of Night (2019)

Director Andrew Patterson made a wildly confident debut with this film that takes us back to the 1950s, to a small town in New Mexico on the night of the big basketball game. A young local disc jockey, Everett (Jake Horowitz) and his best friend, local switchboard operator Fay (Sierra McCormick) are caught up in a series of bizarre events that begin when Everett's show is interrupted by a strange signal. The premise involves any number of UFO-movie cliches, but none of that is really the point: The film has a phenomenal visual flair, and makes the typical alien invasion stakes feel deeply personal for this small town. Stream The Vast of Night.

The Vast of Night (2019) Learn More Learn More The Big Sick (2017)

This was the moment that Kumail Nanjani made clear he had talents other than comedy, even if his subsequent graduation to Marvel movies isn't even remotely an improvement over something like The Big Sick, which he co-wrote with Emily V. Gordon. The film is based on their relationship and follows a Pakistani-American stand-up comedian and a white psychology student whose very new relationship is complicated when Emily becomes unexpectedly ill. It's smart and funny, avoiding schmaltz in favor of a healthy cynicism and sense of humor, even as the film is frequently heartbreaking. Stream The Big Sick.

The Big Sick (2017) Learn More Learn More Judy Blume Forever (2023)

The documentary covers Judy Blume's life, and a half-century career that's included such triumphs as Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret (1970), Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing (1972), and Blubber (1974), to name a few. If that were all it were, it would be worth it, and it's a joy to hear insights from Blume herself. The timing couldn't be better, though, given Blume's hard-earned reputation for covering subjects once (and often still) not considered fit for young adult audiences: menstruation and puberty, divorce, molestation, and what we'd now call body dysmorphia. Given the current culture of hostility toward libraries, Blume's trajectory isn't merely fascinating-it's essential. Stream Judy Blume Forever.

Judy Blume Forever (2023) Learn More Learn More Being the Ricardos (2021)

Stepping back for the Oscar-nominated Aaron Sorkin docudrama, the focus here is on the critical period early in the run of of I Love Lucy, circa 1953,when Ball was under investigation for potential communist ties. It feels like a play in many ways, but the two leads are great: Javier Bardem captures Desi's business acumen and undeniable charisma, making clear both the positive and negative impacts that charm had on his personal life. Nicole Kidman doesn't do a straight-up Lucy impression, and the movie is the better for it; while she doesn't necessarily capture that distinctive comic styling, she's impeccable as the more serious, mature, behind-the-scenes Lucy. Stream Being the Ricardos.

Being the Ricardos (2021) Learn More Learn More Get Duked! (2019)

Probably my personal favorite of the films on this list, this dark British comedy finds a group of slacker students dropped off in the Scottish highlands in pursuit of the Duke of Edinburgh Award (a real thing), requiring them to navigate the landscape with no more than a paper map. The teens are soon pursued by hunters (Eddie Izzard's involved) who've come to appreciate the opportunity to cull the louder, more ungrateful kids. Utterly ill-prepared for nature, much less for fleeing from serial killers, the kids face complications that pile up in increasingly, and genuinely, gasp-worthy ways. With its mix of class commentary and wild sense of humor, it's like a stoner Triangle of Sadness, but at a much more reasonable length. Stream Get Duked!.

Get Duked! (2019) Learn More Learn More The Tomorrow War (2021)

Solidly entertaining, if somewhat forgettable, The Tomorrow War is a reasonable choice when you're looking for sci-fi action that doesn't require a ton of brainpower. The movies' third- or fourth-favorite Chris (Pratt) plays a biology teacher/former Green Beret who finds himself drafted in 2022 to fight a war against aliens in 2048. Pratt is fine, but Sam Richardson steals the movie as a nerdy scientist and fellow draftee, blending a comic relief role with real emotion. With a $200 million budget, this has been one of the most expensive of the COVID-era movies to debut on streaming, and a sequel (in the works since the original's release, is still on the way. Stream The Tomorrow War.

The Tomorrow War (2021) Learn More Learn More Master (2022)

The phenomenal Regina Hall stars in this masterful psychological thriller as Gail Bishop, the first Black master of Ancaster, a fictional elite New England university. The school is haunted by the 1965 suicide of its first Black undergraduate, and strange doings are soon afoot involving Bishop and new freshman Jasmine Moore (Zoe Renee), a Black student working hard to fit in with the school's clique of rich white girls. The narrative shifts in unpredictable ways, leaving us as off-balance as the lead characters. The screenplay's abundant ideas don't always get the development that they deserve, but the finished product is nevertheless appropriately haunting. Stream Master.

Master (2022) Learn More Learn More Sound of Metal (2019)

A movie about a heavy metal drummer losing his hearing could easily have been excessively on the nose, but Sound of Thunder avoids the obvious traps to finds the heart and fury in the lead character of Ruben Stone, played by Riz Ahmed. He's joined by Paul Raci playing Joe, an alcoholic war veteran who runs a shelter for Deaf addicts; both actors received well-earned Oscar nominations for their work, and the film was nominated for Best Picture. The film is perfectly content to challenge assumptions about deafness, but the understated character piece never feels like a lecture. Stream Sound of Metal.

Sound of Metal (2019) Learn More Learn More I Am: Celine Dion (2024)

Across decades, Celine Dion has never been a controversial figure in the slightest, but with that comes the fact that it's been hard to feel like we know the real person behind the stage presence. In that regard, this documentary feels like a revelation: Dealing in large part with the singer's recent medical problems, it cuts through the veneer to feel intensely raw and personal. One of our most polished modern superstars suddenly feels very much like a human being, and that's a wildly impressive and unexpected feat in a world of celebrity docs that barely scratch the surface. Stream I Am: Celine Dion.

I Am: Celine Dion (2024) Learn More Learn More