Veteran members of the streaming platform would agree that the ever-evolving catalog of movies available with a subscription to Amazon Prime Video is endless. There is almost too much to choose from, which often leads to more time scrolling to find the best movies than actually spent enjoying a film.
Of course, as any frequent streamer should know, access to that much content – which also includes many great TV shows on Amazon – is both a blessing and a curse. Allow us to help narrow down your search with our picks for the best movies on Amazon Prime Video currently available to stream as of October 1, 2023, unless otherwise specified.
Sicario (2015)
An FBI agent (Emily Blunt) begins to question the true intentions of her assignment when she joins a government task force taking on a drug cartel. Also starring Benicio del Toro and Josh Brolin, the intense action thriller, Sicario, is one of director Denis Villeneuve’s best movies, featuring visually striking cinematography by Roger Deakins.
Stream Sicario on Amazon Prime.
Dracula (1931)
A real estate agent (Dwight Frye) is lured into the world of a strange, reclusive Transylvanian count (Bela Lugosi) with a deadly secret. Based on Bram Stoker’s seminal novel, Dracula is one of the most essential vampire movies of all time and the classic that made a horror movie icon out of Lugosi.
Stream Dracula on Amazon Prime.
The Birdcage (1996)
A gay couple (Robin Williams and Nathan Lane) try to pretend to be straight in order to impress the conservative parents (Gene Hackman and Dianne Wiest) of their son’s fiancée. One of Robin Williams best movies, The Birdcage is director Mike Nichols’ hilarious adaptation of Jean Poiret’s farcical French play.
Stream The Birdcage on Amazon Prime.
Tucker And Dale Vs. Evil (2010)
An uproarious misunderstanding causes two innocent hillbillies (Alan Tudyk and Tyler Labine) to be suspected of murdering a group of young vacationers. By subverting some of the most common slasher movie cliches, Tucker and Dale vs. Evil easily qualifies as one of the best horror-comedy movies of its time.
Stream Tucker and Dale vs. Evil on Amazon Prime.
The Exorcist III (1990)
A cynical, veteran detective (George C. Scott) begins to suspect that a recent series of murders are somehow linked to a serial killer who was executed years ago. If you have not watched writer and director William Peter Blatty’s terrifying, thoroughly absorbing, and cleverly constructed The Exorcist III, you are missing out on one of the most criminally underrated horror movie sequels of all time.
Stream The Exorcist III on Amazon Prime.
Train To Busan (2016)
An overworked father, his daughter, and others struggle to survive against their fellow train passengers affected by a strange virus that makes them crave human flesh. One of the most inventive, exciting, and realistic zombie movies in recent memory is Train to Busan, which is also one of the best Korean horror movies ever, period.
Stream Train to Busan on Amazon Prime.
The Black Phone (2022)
A teenage boy (Mason Thames) finds unexpected help from beyond the grave as he struggles to escape the clutches of a vicious child murderer (Ethan Hawke). From director Scott Derrickson, The Black Phone is one of the most unsettling Joe Hill adaptations yet, especially for Hawke’s sinister performance.
Stream The Black Phone on Amazon Prime.
Interstellar (2014)
A NASA pilot-turned-farmer (Matthew McConaughey) goes on an expedition to find the human race a new home as Earth grows more uninhabitable. Writer and director Chrisopher Nolan tries his hand at an ambitious Kubrickian “space odyssey” with the visually stunning cosmic mindbender, Interstellar.
Stream Interstellar on Amazon Prime.
Joker (2019)
As the life of an aspiring comedian (Joaquin Phoenix) grows more problematic, his sanity slowly begins to unravel. Never will you be able to look at Batman’s archenemy the same way after seeing director Todd Phillips’ disturbing, unique comic book movie, Joker, for which Phoenix earned a Best Actor Oscar.
Stream Joker on Amazon Prime.
The Batman (2022)
A costumed vigilante (Robert Pattinson) tries to catch a murderer with a penchant for leaving behind brain teasers as clues. With its ties to DC comics, co-writer and director Matt Reeves’ The Batman is simply a grounded, hardboiled detective story, which makes it one of the best Batman movies yet.
Stream The Batman on Amazon Prime.
La Bamba (1987)
A Hispanic musician (Lou Diamond Phillips) rises to stardom in the 1950s, only to have his fame cut short by tragedy. Phillips gives a star-making performance as Richie Valens in the powerful music biopic, La Bamba.
Stream La Bamba on Amazon.
Wonder Woman (2017)
An amazonian warrior princess (Gal Gadot) agrees to help a mortal government agent (Chris Pine) fight in World War I, believing an evil god is the cause of the conflict. DC’s first female superhero finally got her own big screen adventure in one of the most acclaimed DCEU movies, Wonder Woman, from director Patty Jenkins.
Stream Wonder Woman on Amazon.
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023)
Join the star-studded Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves cast (including Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Regé-Jean Page, and more) on this epic, fantastic, and often hilarious quest. Most adventurers would agree that directors Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley’s action-packed fantasy film effectively captures the essence of participating in a campaign for the popular role-playing game.
Stream Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves on Amazon Prime.
The Bourne Identity (2002)
An American amnesiac (Matt Damon) struggling to figure out who he is uncovers dark secrets about his past that make him a target of dangerous foes. Based on the book by Robert Ludlum, director Doug Liman’s thrilling espionage drama, The Bourne Identity, made an action star out of Damon and kickstarted a franchise that proved revolutionary for the genre.
Stream The Bourne Identity on Amazon Prime.
Memento (2000)
A former insurance investigator (Guy Pearce) desperately tries to overcome his severe condition of short-term memory loss in order to solve his wife’s murder. Cleverly told in reverse order to keep the audience in the protagonist’s headspace, Memento is one of Christopher Nolan’s best movies and a refreshing achievement in the crime thriller genre in general.
Stream Memento on Amazon Prime.
Children Of Men (2006)
A social activist-turned-bureaucrat (Clive Owen) takes on the perilous task of escorting the first woman to miraculously become pregnant in years to safety in a wartorn, futuristic London. Director Alfonso Cuaron’s adaptation of P.D. James’ novel, Children of Men is considered one of the best movies of the 2000s for its profound social commentary and stunning visual style.
Stream Children of Men on Amazon Prime.
Marty (1955)
Just as a butcher (Ernest Borgnine) and a teacher (Betsy Baker) from the Bronx decide to give up on the chance of finding love, everything changes when they meet at a dance. Borgnine earned the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of the title role of the romantic, inspiring Best Picture Oscar winner, Marty.
Stream Marty on Amazon Prime.
Four Weddings And A Funeral (1994)
Sparks fly between a British bachelor (Hugh Grant) and an American woman (Andie MacDowell) as they continue to bump into each other at matrimonial ceremonies. From Love Actually writer Richard Curtis, Four Weddings and a Funeral is one of Hugh Grant’s best rom-coms (which is really saying something) and, generally, one of the best in recent memory.
Stream Four Weddings and a Funeral on Amazon Prime.
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
An expedition to uncover the origins of a strange artifact discovered on the moon goes horribly awry. Stanley Kubrick and seminal sci-fi author Arthur C. Clarke collaborated on an ambitious adventure that became one of the all-time best space movies, 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Stream 2001: A Space Odyssey on Amazon Prime.
Judas And The Black Messiah (2021)
A young con artist (Lakeith Stanfield) is given a chance to avoid prison by infiltrating the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party, but begins to question what he truly believes the more he gets to know its chairman (Daniel Kaluuya). Based on the tragic true story of Fred Hampton, Judas and the Black Messiah is an inspiring, deeply relevant, and also heartbreakingly raw drama that earned Kaluuya an Oscar and Stanfield a nomination for their roles.
Stream Judas and the Black Messiah on Amazon Prime.
Red, White & Royal Blue (2023)
After an embarrassing cake-related incident that captured the public’s attention, the son of the President (Taylor Zakhar Perez) and the prince of England (Nicolas Galitzine) are forced to end their feud, which only leads them to fall for one another. Based on the best-selling novel by Casey McQuiston, Red, White & Royal Blue is a winning LGBTQ+ romantic comedy exclusively available on Amazon Prime.
Stream Red, White & Royal Blue on Amazon Prime.
Attack The Block (2011)
A group of teen troublemakers are forced to become heroes when their inner-city London neighborhood becomes overrun with man-eating extra-terrestrials. Before fighting side-by-side with aliens, Star Wars actor John Boyega broke out as the lead of the extremely entertaining alien invasion movie, Attack the Block, which has a sequel in the works.
Stream Attack the Block on Amazon Prime.
M3GAN (2023)
After her orphaned niece (Violet McGraw) is put in her care, a robotics engineer (Alison Williams) develops a human-like, A.I.-powered doll to be her friend, which proves to be anything but friendly to those who pose even the slightest threat. One of the biggest surprise hits of 2023 so far (which has already inspired a sequel) is M3GAN – a creepy Blumhouse thriller with a satirical, technophobic edge.
Stream M3GAN on Amazon Prime.
Creed III (2023)
Following his retirement, heavyweight champion Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan) is pulled back into the ring after his reunion with an old friend (Jonathan Majors) sets off a volatile chain reaction. Jordan makes an impressive directorial debut with Creed III – the third installment of his successful series of Rocky spin-off movies.
Stream Creed III on Amazon Prime.
Air (2023)
The true story of Nike’s pursuit to make rising star Michael Jordan the face of the basketball shoe division. Directed by Ben Affleck and featuring top-notch performances by the Air cast, this Amazon original docudrama is – like the athlete at its center – a legend in the making.
Stream Air on Amazon Prime.
She Said (2022)
Two intrepid New York Times reporters (Carey Mulligan, Zoe Kazan) investigate the alleged sexual misconduct of powerful Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein. She Said is a bold and sometimes unsettling inside look at the story behind the article that sparked a revolution.
Stream She Said on Amazon Prime.
Violent Night (2022)
A jaded Santa Claus (David Harbour) is forced to take action when he stumbles onto a high-stakes hostage situation while delivering gifts. People have been debating whether or not Die Hard is a Christmas movie for years, but there is no denying that Violent Night is an instant holiday action movie classic with the real Old St. Nick as the hero.
Stream Violent Night on Amazon Prime.
Bros (2022)
A podcast host (co-writer Billy Eichner) and an attorney (Luke Macfarlane) make an attempt to overcome their issues with commitment after falling for each other. Co-writer and director Nicholas Stoller’s Bros is one of the first mainstream LGBTQ+-themed romantic comedies and, while not quite a hit at the box office, proved to be a favorite among critics and audiences.
Stream Bros on Amazon Prime.
Mrs. Harris Goes To Paris (2022)
After a Dior dress catches her eye, a widowed cleaning woman (Lesley Manville) decides to take a trip to France to find one for herself in the 1950s. According to our own Mike Reyes, Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris was one of the best movies of 2022 for its delightful, fairy-tale-esque depiction of Europe’s mid-20th-Century fashion scene.
Stream Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris on Amazon Prime.
Top Gun: Maverick (2022)
A rebellious, veteran naval aviator (Tom Cruise) acts as mentor to a group of talented, recent graduates at one of the most elite piloting schools. One of the biggest and most beloved movies of 2022 was Top Gun: Maverick – the long-awaited sequel to one of Cruise’s best action movies, which was also a smash hit in 1986.
Stream Top Gun: Maverick on Amazon Prime.
Nope (2022)
A horse wrangler (Daniel Kaluuya), his sister (Keke Palmer), and others team up in hopes to safely capture proof of a UFO. The master of macabre and metaphor, writer and director Jordan Peele, returns for his most symbolic and sci-fi feature yet (and one of the best horror movies of 2022), Nope.
Stream Nope on Amazon Prime.
Smile (2022)
After witnessing a traumatic event, a therapist (Sosie Bacon) begins to suffer from horrific visions that lead her to suspect that she is the latest victim of a chain curse. One of the horror genre’s most pleasant surprises in 2022 was Smile – writer and director Parker Finn’s satisfyingly creepy feature-length debut featuring a wonderful breakout performance by the daughter of horror movie royalty, Kevin Bacon.
Stream Smile on Amazon Prime.
Clue (1985)
A group of strangers, brought together for a mansion dinner party on a dark and stormy night, struggle to figure out which one of them is responsible for their host’s murder. While it takes inspiration from a popular board game, Clue is still one of the most beloved whodunnit movies of its time, thanks to a stellar cast and a dizzying variety of alternate endings that would vary by theater during its original run.
Stream Clue on Amazon Prime.
A Simple Favor (2015)
A single mother (Anna Kendrick) tries to find the missing, mysterious socialite she recently befriended (Blake Lively) and learns some disturbing secrets about her along the way. Director Paul Feig’s scandalous adaptation of Darcey Bell’s novel, A Simple Favor, proves that the filmmaker known best for broad comedy is capable of crafting a truly compelling thriller.
Stream A Simple Favor on Amazon Prime.
Absentia (2011)
After moving in with her sister (Courtney Bell), a young woman (Katie Parker) begins to piece together the horrifying truth behind her brother-in-law’s disappearance after seven years. One of the earliest, most underseen, and underrated Mike Flanagan movies is Absentia, which – despite obvious low production quality – is still one of his scariest and most emotionally gripping works yet.
Stream Absentia on Amazon Prime.
Saturday Night Fever (1977)
A poor, teenage Brooklynite (John Travolta) aims to escape his mundane homelife on the dance floor. The one film that best captures disco culture above any other is director Jonathan Badham’s Oscar-nominated Saturday Night Fever, which features many iconic songs by The Bee Gees, including “Staying Alive.”
Stream Saturday Night Fever on Amazon Prime.
Red Dawn (1984)
After a Soviet invasion of their home town sends them fleeing into the mountains, a group of teenagers must band together to survive and try to defend their country. From writer and director John Milius, the original Red Dawn is a fun, action-packed star-studded, coming-of-age Cold War-era thriller.
Stream Red Dawn on Amazon Prime.
![Manuela Velasco in [REC]](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/QoQv7sZZH9LEhaqwGaX6hb.jpg)
[REC] (2008)
A young TV reporter (Manuela Velasco), her camera operator, and a group of emergency responders they were profiling become trapped inside an apartment complex where a strange virus begins to break out. Out of the many great found footage thrillers we have seen over the years, many horror fans consider the Spanish-language hit [REC] to be one of the subgenre’s all-time scariest.
Stream [REC] on Amazon Prime.
Sylvie’s Love (2020)
A chance meeting between an aspiring TV executive (Tessa Thompson) and a saxophone player (Nnamdi Asomugha) at a Harlem record store in the 1950s sparks a long, yet challenging, relationship. Writer and director Eugene Ashe’s Emmy nominated, Amazon Prime original Sylvie’s Love is a compelling romance with top-notch performances and an invigorating, jazzy soundtrack.
Stream Sylvie’s Love on Amazon Prime.
The Tender Bar (2022)
A young boy (Daniel Raineri) spends time with his bartender uncle (Ben Affleck) at the Long Island hangout where he works in search of a father figure. An Amazon Prime exclusive, The Tender Bar is one of director George Clooney’s most uplifting works yet and features a profoundly heartfelt Affleck giving one of his best performances in recent memory.
Stream The Tender Bar on Amazon Prime.
Heathers (1989)
After she crosses paths with a rebellious outcast (Christian Slater), a well-natured teen (Winona Ryder) decides to get rid of her snobbish friends. Ryder landed her first leading role as Veronica on the Heathers cast in this dark comedy that is now regarded as a seminal classic of the high school movie genre.
Stream Heathers on Amazon Prime.
Thirteen Lives (2022)
A team of soccer players and their adult coach become trapped inside a system of flooding caves in Thailand. Ron Howard directs Thirteen Lives – a heart-racing dramatization of the incredible true story of survival that stars Viggo Mortensen and Colin Farrell.
Stream Thirteen Lies on Amazon Prime.
Sonic The Hedgehog 2 (2022)
A furry, lightning fast animal (Ben Schwartz) calls upon the help of a new ally (Colleen O’Shaughnessy) when Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey) returns to earth with a new, furry ally of his own (Idris Elba). After its predecessor helped further prove that good video game movies do exist, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 proved that good sequels to video game movies are also possible.
Stream Sonic the Hedgehog 2 on Amazon Prime.
Licorice Pizza (2021)
A young man (Cooper Hoffman) and a young woman (Alana Haim) struggle to navigate the trials and tribulations of falling in love in the San Fernando Valley in the early 1970s. Hoffman and musician Haim both received praise for their debut performances as the leads of the Licorice Pizza cast in writer and director Paul Thomas Anderson’s, Oscar-nominated coming-of-age period piece.
Stream Licorice Pizza on Amazon Prime.
The Collector (2009)
A desperate ex-con (Josh Stewart) breaks into his wealthy employer’s home with intent to rob him, only to discover that a masked sadist got there first and has set a series of deadly traps all through the house. Playing out sort of like a depraved take on Home Alone from the burglar’s point of view, The Collector is sure to satisfy horror fans looking for something that goes to extreme lengths for a good scare.
Stream The Collector on Amazon Prime.
Respect (2021)
The life of Aretha Franklin (Jennifer Hudson), from her days singing in her father’s church choir as a child to achieving international stardom with one of the most influential and iconic voices in music history. Before her death, Franklin herself believed the Academy Award winner Hudson should portray her in a movie and it is easy to see why from her performance in Respect – one of the best biopics about Black musicians in recent memory.
Stream Respect on Amazon Prime.
Funny Girl (1968)
The rise of Fanny Brice (Barbra Streisand) as comedian in the male dominated entertainment business of the early 1900s. Streisand earned a Best Actress Oscar for her acting debut in Funny Girl – inspired by the stage musical that was inspired by Brice’s life and career.
Stream Funny Girl on Amazon Prime.
Manchester By The Sea (2016)
An ill-tempered Boston handyman (Casey Affleck) becomes haunted by painful memories from his past after tragedy suddenly makes him the legal guardian to his teenage nephew (Lucas Hedges). Affleck’s inspired performance and director Kenneth Lonergan’s devastating original screenplay earned two Academy Awards for Manchester by the Sea – an acclaimed Amazon original that was also produced by Matt Damon.
Stream Manchester by the Sea on Amazon Prime.
Candyman (2021)
A Chicago artist (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) becomes dangerously obsessed with a local urban legend and its infamous ties to the gentrified neighborhood he recently moved into. Producer Jordan Peele and director Nia DaCosta also co-wrote this stylish, boldly poignant follow-up to Candyman – director Bernard Rose’s groundbreaking 1992 horror classic based on a story by Clive Barker.
Stream Candyman on Amazon Prime.
The General (1926)
A bumbling railroad engineer, and aspiring soldier, struggles to recapture a stolen train during the American Civil War. One the silent film era’s greatest (and most death-defying) comic actors is Buster Keaton and, arguably, his finest masterwork is The General – a celebrated classic that is just as exciting as it is hilarious.
Stream The General on Amazon Prime.
The Big Sick (2017)
A Pakistani-born comedian (Kumail Nanjiani) is forced to confront various aspects of his life when his white girlfriend (Zoe Kazan) is placed in a medically induced coma. Nanjiani and his wife, Emily V. Gordon, received Oscar nominations for writing The Big Sick – a wonderful romantic dramedy inspired by their own real love story.
Stream The Big Sick on Amazon Prime.
Hellraiser (1987)
A woman (Clare Higgins) begins luring men into her home so her dead, former lover – also her husband’s brother – can feed on their flesh to become whole again and escape persecution from a group of demonic entities. Based on the novella by director Clive Barker, Hellraiser is an ingeniously disturbing and visually inventive cautionary tale that introduced the world to the iconic horror villain now known as Pinhead (Doug Bradley).
Stream Hellraiser on Amazon Prime.
Also try streaming Hellbound: Hellraiser II on Amazon Prime.
It’s A Wonderful Life (1946)
A desperate businessman (James Stewart) believing the world would be better off without him is visited by his guardian angel (Henry Travers), who shows him a dismal alternate reality in which his wish has come true. Despite not having very much to do with Christmas plot-wise, the inspirational, beautifully told story of Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life has nonetheless become a holiday tradition.
Stream It’s a Wonderful Life on Amazon Prime.
Sound Of Metal (2020)
In addition to wearing a lot of cool band T-shirts, Riz Ahmed received a Golden Globe and Oscar nomination for his performance in the powerful, heartbreaking, and inventively executed Amazon Prime original Sound of Metal as a rock and roll drummer struggling with his own identity and purpose when he begins to lose his hearing.
Stream Sound of Metal on Amazon Prime.
One Night In Miami (2020)
In her first feature-length directorial effort, Academy Award-winning actress Regina King guides four actors at the top of their game (Leslie Odom Jr., Aldis Hodge, Kingsley Ben-Adir, and Eli Goree) in the One Night in Miami cast as four of the most famous faces of the 1960s civil rights movement in Kemp Powers’ adaption of his own acclaimed stage play.
Stream One Night in Miami on Amazon Prime.
Well, a subscriber to the streaming giant certainly cannot ask for a better assortment of flicks for the ultimate binge. Check back to see what other classics have been added or removed from Amazon Prime Video next month.