The 31 Best Movies on Amazon Prime to Watch Now (January 2025)

Only one streaming service lives on a site that will sell you paper towels with no shipping costs: Amazon Prime Video. But while shopping for household goods, you may also wonder, What are the best movies on Amazon Prime Video? Vanity Fair is here to help.

Truly, there are countless films on Prime Video you can rent for a few bucks—but if you are already an Amazon Prime subscriber, you get access to a ton of free, good movies. There are comedies, horror films, dramas, classics, sexy tennis movies with Zendaya (okay, only one sexy tennis movie with Zendaya), and a lot more. So don’t get stuck holding the remote like a schmuck while your spouse eats all the Häagen-Dazs. Take a look at this curated list and pick something out before you turn the television on.

12 Angry Men (1957)Director: Sidney Lumet
Genre: Drama
Notable cast: Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb, E.G. Marshall, Jack Warden
MPA rating: Not rated
Rotten Tomatoes: 100%
Metacritic: 97

This is a great movie for people who like to say, “Oh yes, I would be the righteous, thorough juror like Henry Fonda—not like Jack Warden, who just wants to get the hell out of there and watch a baseball game.” You know, people who lie to themselves. A trial by jury is still probably the best system we’ve got, but it ain’t flawless, as this extremely juicy and watchable drama proves. It’s one of the best free movies on Prime Video that you may have been meaning to see but never have.

Air (2023)Director: Ben Affleck
Genre: Comedy-drama
Notable cast: Matt Damon, Viola Davis, Ben Affleck
MPA rating: R
Rotten Tomatoes: 93%
Metacritic: 73

No one makes a movie when you do well at work, but your work doesn’t involve clinching a decades-spanning pop-culture moment, does it? Matt Damon plays the real-life genius at Nike who convinced Michael Jordan to stick his name on a new shoe, which sounds like the dumbest idea for a feature film ever. But the way director Ben Affleck puts Air together, it’s almost like a heist picture, with Viola Davis’s Deloris Jordan as the final obstacle. It’s pure rah-rah capitalism, but one of the top movies on Amazon Prime Video to guarantee a smile.

An American Werewolf in London (1981)Director: John Landis
Genre: Horror-comedy
Notable cast: David Naughton, Griffin Dunne, Jenny Agutter
MPA rating: R
Rotten Tomatoes: 89%
Metacritic: 55

“Beware the moon, lads!” The OG horror-comedy, An American Werewolf in London remains fur-raisingly scary, genuinely funny, and still a little shocking. David Naughton’s transformation sequence is the gold standard for practical special effects, but don’t forget that little piece of flappy skin on Griffin Dunne’s face in the hospital scene—yeeeeach! The big finish at Piccadilly Circus is a warning to all us Yanks: Never go to England!

Captain Phillips (2013)Director: Paul Greengrass
Genre: Action-drama
Notable cast: Tom Hanks, Barkhad Abdi, the sea
MPA rating: PG-13
Rotten Tomatoes: 93%
Metacritic: 82

Tom Hanks gives one of the best performances of his career (and yet somehow didn’t get an Oscar nom) as the titular Captain Phillips, though social media users are well aware that he is not the captain for the entire duration of this film. (Yes, Paul Greengrass’s nail-biter of a piracy drama is the origin of this meme.) This terrifying film will have you thinking twice before you order cheap goods that require international shipping.

Challengers (2024)Director: Luca Guadagnino
Genre: Romantic drama
Notable cast: Zendaya, Josh O’Connor, Mike Faist
MPA rating: R
Rotten Tomatoes: 88%
Metacritic: 82

In Challengers, Zendaya is serving…tennis balls. What did you think I was going to say? This extremely of-the-now relationship drama volleys back and forth in time, but builds to one ace of a finish. And when you know the score, it’s a real love story. (I’ll stop now.) Anyhow, between Luca Guadagnino’s roaming camera, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’s electronica soundtrack, and Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist sharing a churro, this is one of the hottest movies on Prime Video right now.

City Lights (1931)Director: Charlie Chaplin
Genre: Comedy
Notable cast: Charlie Chaplin, Virginia Cherrill, Harry Myers
MPA rating: Not rated
Rotten Tomatoes: 95%
Metacritic: 99

If you only know Charlie Chaplin as some dude who twirls a cane in three-second clips about “the magic of the movies,” well, you are in luck. The guy is famous for a reason, and while much of his success came from slapstick moments in short films, he was more than adept at sustaining an entire feature-length narrative. City Lights strings together a number of memorable bits (the boxing match! The rich drunk!) but is also a winning romance in which Chaplin’s Tramp (yes, the cane-twirling guy) wins the heart of a blind flower salesgirl played by Virginia Cherrill.

The Day of the Jackal (1973)Director: Fred Zinnemann
Genre: Suspense
Notable cast: Edward Fox, Michael Lonsdale, Derek Jacobi
MPA rating: PG
Rotten Tomatoes: 91%
Metacritic: 80

Back in the old days, when you wanted to assassinate a head of state, you had to do it without Google Maps, cell phones, or those guns that put a little red spot on the guy before you shoot. This is the world of Fred Zinnemann’s The Day of the Jackal, which is based on a tiny speck of truth (in as much as French nationalists wanted to bump off Charles de Gaulle, and there was a real assassin codenamed the Jackal) and is a flat-out masterpiece of no-nonsense spycraft. Roger Ebert summed it up perfectly by writing that the movie “is two and a half hours long and seems over in about 15 minutes.”

Do the Right Thing (1989)Director: Spike Lee
Genre: Drama (but also comedy)
Notable cast: Spike Lee, Rosie Perez, John Turturro
MPA rating: R
Rotten Tomatoes: 92%
Metacritic: 93

“20 D Energizers!” Spike Lee’s heat-soaked masterpiece is among the most insightful and socially relevant films of all time, but let’s not forget something: It’s also incredibly funny, and includes a tidal wave of great performances and zingers that also make this an uncommonly quotable movie. I can personally attest that, for more than 30 years, I’ve been repeating Sal’s “Extra cheese is $2!” and Sweet Dick Willie’s “It ain’t never too hot or never too cold!” whenever the opportunity presents itself.

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023)Directors: John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein
Genre: Action-adventure
Notable cast: Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Justice Smith
MPA rating: PG-13
Rotten Tomatoes: 91%
Metacritic: 72

The rare family-friendly action-adventure movie that doesn’t succumb to lowest common denominator gags, this exploration of fearsome fighters and mysterious magic users wears its love of nerdy lore on its cloak. Chris Pine is oozing charisma as a brave bard, with Michelle Rodriguez as the best-pal barbarian at his side. Those who know their way around a 20-sided die will pick up some extra references, but previous experience with tabletop gaming is not a requirement. For sheer enjoyment, this is one of the best movies on Prime right now.

Fail-Safe (1964)Director: Sidney Lumet
Genre: Drama
Notable cast: Henry Fonda, Larry Hagman, Walter Matthau
MPA rating: Not rated
Rotten Tomatoes: 93%
Metacritic: 75

Sidney Lumet’s terrifying Cold War classic had the misfortune of hitting theaters later the same year as Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove—and the two movies are awfully similar. Whereas Strangelove looked at nuclear apocalypse and laughed, Fail-Safe’s take was deadly serious. Henry Fonda plays a righteous American president watching in horror as the protocols meant to keep the country safe may initiate war with the Soviet Union. One could just imagine how scary it would have been to watch this film so soon after the Cuban Missile Crisis. Luckily, American and Russian leaders today are completely sane—so it’s smooth sailing ahead!

Fear of a Black Hat (1994)Director: Rusty Cundieff
Genre: Comedy
Notable cast: Rusty Cundieff, Kasi Lemmons, Larry B. Scott
MPA rating: R
Rotten Tomatoes: 83%
Metacritic: 62

One of the best Prime movies for 1990s nostalgia, this mockumentary is one of the great hip-hop comedies, poking fun at the rap trends of the time. (Indeed, it must be noted that there were several stars with “Ice” in their name.) This low-budget picture, inspired by This Is Spinal Tap, made its Sundance debut just before a bigger-budget rap mockumentary, CB4, hit theaters. While that film had bigger stars, this had (and still has) far more edge to it. Its director and star, Rusty Cundieff, later created the Tales From the Hood series and directed much of Chappelle’s Show.

From Russia With Love (1964)Director: Terence Young
Genre: Action-Adventure
Notable cast: Sean Connery, Robert Shaw, Daniela Bianchi
MPA rating: PG (rated upon rerelease)
Rotten Tomatoes: 97%
Metacritic: 83

There are 25 Eon-produced James Bond films, and this is the best one. If you don’t like that pick, I’ve got a poisoned spike in my shoe with your name on it! Join 007 as he races off to Istanbul to help Tatiana Romanova defect to the West, knowing full well that he’s walking into a trap. But if the handsome Sean Connery can’t woo the political beliefs out of a woman, then there’s truly nothing in the world we can believe in anymore. From Russia With Love features a fight on the Orient Express, a battle between dancing Roma women, prurient microfilm, chess metaphors, green figs, yogurt, coffee very black, and Matt Monro on the soundtrack. I wish I were watching this movie right now.

Funny Girl (1968)Director: William Wyler
Genre: Musical Comedy
Notable cast: Barbra Streisand, Omar Sharif, Kay Medford
MPA rating: G
Rotten Tomatoes: 94%
Metacritic: 88

Hello, gorgeous! Barbra Streisand had already conquered Broadway with the role of Fanny Brice, and with her film debut she won the Academy Award for best actress, pretty much revolutionizing how a leading lady in a Hollywood movie was supposed to look and act. You will never run to catch a boat again without thinking of this movie! In addition to being funny (as per the title), William Wyler’s adaptation of Jule Styne’s musical is a rich love story—as we’re reminded by the big closing number “My Man,” which Streisand sang live during the film’s production.

The Graduate (1967)Director: Mike Nichols
Genre: Comedy
Notable cast: Dustin Hoffman, Anne Bancroft, Katharine Ross
MPA rating: PG (rated upon rerelease)
Rotten Tomatoes: 87%
Metacritic: 83

Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft saw to it that there was no physical generation gap in this counterculture epic by, um, meeting discreetly in hotel rooms. Despite the passage of time, there’s a universality to young Benjamin Braddock’s conundrum of not knowing what the hell he wants to do with his life now that he’s graduated college. (“Plastics” isn’t the answer.) Mike Nichols’s legendary film, with its Simon and Garfunkel soundtrack, had considerably fewer overt political moments in it than many other movies of the era, which is probably why it has lasted so long.

The Handmaiden (2016)Director: Park Chan-wook
Genre: Crime Drama
Notable cast: Kim Min-hee, Kim Tae-ri, Ha Jung-woo
MPA rating: Not rated (but, uh, would probably be an NC-17 if it were!)
Rotten Tomatoes: 96%
Metacritic: 85

One of the racier movies on Amazon Prime, Park Chan-wook’s film was adapted from a British novel set in the Victorian era ported over to Korea during Japanese rule in the 1930s. The film involves scheming lesbian lovers, surprise twists, elegant set pieces, and no shortage of blood and prurience. It’s a little over-the-top, but compared to some of Park’s earlier films (Oldboy, Lady Vengeance), it’s positively sweet.

The Holdovers (2023)Director: Alexander Payne
Genre: Comedy drama
Notable cast: Paul Giamatti, Dominic Sessa, Da’Vine Joy Randolph
MPA rating: R
Rotten Tomatoes: 97%
Metacritic: 82

I’m still not convinced this film wasn’t shot in 1971, then buried in the ground all this time. In Alexander Payne’s tribute to films like Harold and Maude and The Last Detail, Paul Giamatti is perfect as the pungent, wall-eyed classics professor stuck babysitting a rich kid at a boarding school, played by Dominic Sessa, over Christmas break. Of course, the pair, along with their self-exiled, grieving lunch lady (Da’Vine Joy Randolph, winner of the best-supporting-actress Oscar), end up bonding in this bittersweet winner.

Jackie Brown (1997)Director: Quentin Tarantino
Genre: Crime
Notable Cast: Pam Grier, Robert De Niro, Bridget Fonda
MPA rating: R
Rotten Tomatoes: 87%
Metacritic: 62

There’s a whole faction out there convinced that Jackie Brown is Quentin Tarantino’s best film. They’re wrong; it’s Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood. But that doesn’t mean this Pam Grier–led crime saga, with its epic opening walk through Los Angeles International Airport, isn’t worth revisiting. What’s fun to remember is that Michael Keaton is in both this movie and Out of Sight, also based on an Elmore Leonard novel, playing the same character—making this an early example of a “cinematic universe.”

Lost in Translation (2003)Director: Sofia Coppola
Genre: Drama
Notable cast: Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson, Giovanni Ribisi
MPA rating: R
Rotten Tomatoes: 95%
Metacritic: 91

I dunno about you, but whenever I’m bored at a hotel, it’s never as glamorous as this. (I’m usually trying to figure out how the thermostat works.) Sofia Coppola famously conceived of her breakout film not by creating a typical screenplay, but by writing short paragraphs reflecting on time spent in Tokyo, envisioning Bill Murray in the main role. It then took her a year to get him to agree to be in the film—opposite a 17-year-old Scarlett Johansson.

Lovers Rock (2020)Director: Steve McQueen
Genre: Drama
Notable cast: Dennis Bovel, Saffron Coomber, Frankie Fox
MPA rating: Not rated
Rotten Tomatoes: 97% (awarded to the five Small Axe films in aggregate)
Metacritic: 95

One of the five films that make up Steve McQueen’s Small Axe anthology, Lovers Rock has a purity and simplicity to it that, in the hands of a lesser filmmaker, would fall apart. Set over the course of one night (and a tiny bit into the morning), the film follows a group of young British people of Caribbean descent who organize a house party. Then they dance. We’ve got our eyes on one couple who have some sparks, but that’s about it in terms of plot. And yet it is one of the most energetic things you’ll ever see.

One Night in Miami… (2020)Director: Regina King
Genre: Drama
Notable cast: Kingsley Ben-Adir, Leslie Odom Jr., Eli Goree, Aldis Hodge
MPA rating: R
Rotten Tomatoes: 98%
Metacritic: 83

Four Black men on the verge of changing the world—Sam Cooke, Jim Brown, Malcolm X, and Muhammad Ali (still known as Cassius Clay)—meet in a hotel room in 1963 to examine the roads that lie ahead for them. Based on a speculative play by Kemp Powers that is in turn based on a true meetup, Regina King’s film adaptation offers the floor to four powerhouse performers. Leslie Odom Jr. is particularly effective as Sam Cooke in a musical sequence.

Oppenheimer (2023)Director: Christopher Nolan
Genre: Drama
Notable cast: Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Florence Pugh
MPA rating: R
Rotten Tomatoes: 93%
Metacritic: 90

The only Academy Award winner for best picture about a guy who slowly gets an all-access pass taken away from him. Okay, that’s not what Oppenheimer is really about, but the eggheads at Los Alamos were all about breaking things down to their component parts. Anyway, for all of Christopher Nolan’s love of enormous IMAX cameras and the theatrical experience, this movie still comes together like clockwork when streaming on Prime Video.

Passion Fish (1992)Director: John Sayles
Genre: Drama
Notable cast: Mary McDonnell, Alfre Woodard, David Strathairn
MPA rating: R
Rotten Tomatoes: 100%
Metacritic: Not listed

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, John Sayles was pumping out brilliant, literate, funny, and emotional independent films at a regular clip—and Passion Fish might be the best of the bunch. It stars Mary McDonnell as a soap opera star who moves back to Louisiana after a traffic accident leaves her paralyzed. While wallowing in self-pity, she bonds with a nurse, Alfre Woodard, the only caregiver who doesn’t quit because she has no other options open to her. David Strathairn costars as a local fisherman. In a parallel universe, this is the most famous movie of the 1990s, because it’s absolutely fantastic.

Saturday Night Fever (1977)Director: John Badham
Genre: Disco drama
Notable cast: John Travolta, Karen Lynn Gorney, Donna Pescow
MPA rating: R
Rotten Tomatoes: 82%
Metacritic: 77

“Would ya just watch the hair? Ya know, I work on my hair a long time, and you hit it. He hits my hair.” Saturday Night Fever is such a pop-culture artifact that we forget it is funny, tender, wise, and heartbreaking. John Travolta may not be making too many great movies these days, but there has never been anyone so marvelously cast in a breakout role as he was here. And no one ever looked cooler eating two slices of pizza at once. “Can you dig it? I knew that you could!”

Sense and Sensibility (1995)Director: Ang Lee
Genre: Drama
Notable cast: Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant
MPA rating: PG
Rotten Tomatoes: 97%
Metacritic: 84

The first of Jane Austen’s six major novels, adapted at a time when the author’s work had finally been freed from soporific Masterpiece Theatre associations. Director Ang Lee and screenwriter Emma Thompson, who also stars in the film, deliver a fast-paced, funny, and juicy version with a whole lot of romping around the countryside, getting caught in the rain, swooning, weeping, and making ever so many witty remarks.

The Silence of the Lambs (1991)Director: Jonathan Demme
Genre: Suspense
Notable cast: Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Scott Glenn
MPA rating: PG
Rotten Tomatoes: 95%
Metacritic: 86

Just because Donald Trump seems to think this film is based on a true story, we shouldn’t ignore that it is one of the all-time great suspense dramas. (And no matter how many times you see it, the ending will still trip you up.) The Silence of the Lambs joined It Happened One Night and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest in the “big five” club at the Oscars (by sweeping best picture, best director, best actor, best actress, best screenplay), but is the only of those three to feature someone symbolically screaming along to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers while driving her car.

The Social Network (2010)Director: David Fincher
Genre: Drama
Notable cast: Jessie Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake
MPA rating: PG-13
Rotten Tomatoes: 96%
Metacritic: 95

Director David Fincher and screenwriter Aaron Sorkin’s ballad of the tech bro is arguably the quintessential film of its era, detailing the Wild West of new internet wealth. Yes, Facebook got people back in touch with their lost high school chums, but was it worth making these immature, hoodie-wearing dweebs zillionaires? Hit “like” if you have thoughts.

Some Like It Hot (1959)Director: Billy Wilder
Genre: Comedy
Notable cast: Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, Marilyn Monroe
MPA rating: Not rated
Rotten Tomatoes: 95%
Metacritic: 98

Billy Wilder’s mid-century classic is the quintessential zany, sexy comedy, with Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis as jazz musicians disguising themselves as women to hide from angry mobsters. Their adventures send them and Marilyn Monroe (at her comic apex) to Miami, where a series of escalating mishaps and misunderstandings provide future sitcoms with plenty of knockoff material. “Nobody’s perfect,” but this movie is.

Suspiria (1977)Director: Dario Argento
Genre: Horror
Notable cast: Jessica Harper, Joan Bennett, Stefania Casini
MPA rating: R
Rotten Tomatoes: 94%
Metacritic: 79

When horror movies are described as “nightmarish,” this often means that, like dreams, they don’t actually make a lick of sense. Which is not a knock. Dario Argento has leaned into that vibe his entire career, and this brightly colored fantasy set at a girls dance academy is probably his best work. Legend goes that the film was originally meant to star children, but producers dissuaded him. Argento never changed the dialogue, though, which is why it all seems so weird coming out of the mouths of adults. Sometimes being lazy leads to genius.

Sylvie’s Love (2020)Director: Eugene Ashe
Genre: Romantic drama
Notable cast: Tessa Thompson, Nnamdi Asomugha, Regé-Jean Page
MPA rating: PG-13
Rotten Tomatoes: 94%
Metacritic: 74

This terrific early-’60s-set Harlem melodrama is a tender and witty look at the worlds of jazz and, uh, early cooking shows, with lavish sets, costumes, and production design. It’s also just charming as hell to watch Tessa Thompson and Nnamdi Asomugha flirt, fall in love, suffer setbacks, yearn for one another, and then…live happily ever after? Well, I’m not gonna spoil it; you need to watch for yourself.

The Thing (1982)Director: John Carpenter
Genre: Sci-fi horror
Notable cast: Kurt Russell, Keith David, Wilford Brimley
MPA rating: R
Rotten Tomatoes: 85%
Metacritic: 78

One of the top gross-out movies ever made, and not just because Wilford Brimley runs around in his long johns. The Thing resonates because of the jump scares and the gore, but also the penetrating sense of dread and paranoia that overtakes a small group of scientists stationed in Antarctica who aren’t sure whom among them they can trust. Kurt Russell’s blood test sequence remains one of the greatest exercises in cinematic tension ever put to film.

Yentl (1983)Director: Barbra Streisand
Genre: Drama-musical
Notable cast: Barbra Streisand, Mandy Patinkin, Amy Irving
MPA rating: PG
Rotten Tomatoes: 69%
Metacritic: 68

“What kind of creature are you???” “I’m just a woman!!!” Barbra Streisand’s ahead-of-its-time masterpiece currently enjoys the critical respect it deserves, though it got something of a (sexist) cold shoulder upon its release. (Look at those middling critic scores: a shanda!) This marvelous film, in which a bright young woman must go undercover as a man to study religion, boasts romance, comedy, searing drama, and even some great musical numbers. There’s never been another movie quite like Yentl.

Which is the highest-viewed movie on Prime?The most-viewed movie on Amazon Prime is the remake of Road House, believe it or not.

What is hot on Amazon Prime?Right now, with Die Hard is doing big numbers, probably because we just made it through Christmas. I didn’t include on the list just because I want to give that movie a rest for a little while.

What are the 10 most popular original series on Prime?According to IMDb, the 10 most popular series on Prime are The Boys, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, The Man in the High Castle, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, The Grand Tour, Bosch, Carnival Row, Paatal Lok, Goliath, and Upload.