The 29 Best Movies on Amazon Prime (May 2023)

·17 min read

Finding a good movie to watch on Amazon Prime Video can be difficult to say the least. While Amazon’s robust library of titles is available to every Amazon Prime subscriber, they don’t exactly make it easy to find what you’re looking for. That’s where we come in. Below, we’ve assembled a growing list of the best movies on Amazon Prime right now. Our carefully curated selection runs the gamut from crowd-pleasing blockbusters to Oscar-winning dramas to delightful rom-coms and beyond. There’s a little something for everyone, so stop the endless scrolling and simply choose one of these great movies to watch.

Check out our list of the best movies on Amazon Prime video below. The list will be updated weekly with new titles.

Also Read:
The 25 Best New Movies to Stream in May 2023

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Air

air-matt-damon
Amazon Studios

Have you ever wondered how Nike secured the rights to Michael Jordan’s likeness and created the unstoppable Air Jordan brand? Well, even if you haven’t, here’s a movie that explains it anyway. Matt Damon stars as Sonny Vaccaro, a plucky employee of upstart Nike (which was on the verge of shutting down its basketball division), who comes across a Freshman player that he thinks has what it takes – Michael Jordan (who is never fully seen, just glimpsed in archival footage and from the neck down). He’s got to convince his boss, Phil Knight (Ben Affleck), his fellow Nike colleagues (including Chris Tucker and Jason Bateman) and, most crucially, Jordan’s parents (played by real-life couple Viola Davis and Julius Tennon). Oddly charming and uplifting for a movie nakedly about the triumph of capitalism, it is smartly directed by Affleck and features a ton of winning performances. Even if you don’t care about the Air Jordan brand and how it was secured by Nike, you’ll still be utterly riveted. – Drew Taylor

True Grit

true-grit-jeff-bridges-hailee-steinfeld
Paramount Pictures

After winning a host of Oscars for their Western “No Country for Old Men,” the Coen Brothers went for something even more traditional in the genre with 2010’s “True Grit,” and the result is one of their best films. This film adapts Charles Portis’ 1968 novel of the same name rather than the previous film starring John Wayne and finds Jeff Bridges playing a drunken U.S. Marshal who accompanies a 14-year-old girl (Hailee Steinfeld) on a quest to find the man who murdered her father. They’re joined by a cocksure Texas Ranger (Matt Damon), and what ensues is a classic Western tale through the lens of the Coen Brothers’ worldview. It also boasts some terrific cinematography from Roger Deakins and a tremendous score by Carter Burwell that pulls from 19th-century hymns. – Adam Chitwood

Moonrise Kingdom

Bruce Willis in Moonrise Kingdom
Niko Tavernise/©Focus Features/Courtesy Everett Collection

Wes Anderson’s 2012 ode to young love still stands as one of his best films thus far, and is a wonderfully melancholic look at romance. “Moonrise Kingdom” takes place in and around a fictional New England island where an orphan boy escapes from scout camp to run away with a girl with whom he’s in love. The film chronicles their solo adventure with a mix of whimsy and sadness, as their story of unbridled joy is contrasted with the lonely relationships of the adults surrounding them. Anderson brought some of the stop-motion techniques he used on “Fantastic Mr. Fox” to this film, resulting in a delightfully whimsical take on your typical coming-of-age story. — Adam Chitwood

Forgetting Sarah Marshall

forgetting-sarah-marshall-jason-segel
Universal Pictures

If you’re in the mood for a romantic comedy with a bit of an R-rated edge, check out “Forgetting Sarah Marshall.” Jason Segel wrote and stars in the film as a man who’s just been dumped by his TV star girlfriend (played by Kristen Bell) and decides to go to Hawaii to get away… only to run into her and her new rock star boyfriend (played by Russell Brand) staying at the same hotel. Produced by Judd Apatow, the film is a swell mix of raunchy humor and genuine heart, and also stars Mila Kunis and Jonah Hill. – Adam Chitwood

Jackass Forever

Jackass Forever
Paramount Pictures

If you’re looking to laugh your face off, go with “Jackass Forever.” The fourth film in the “Jackass” franchise finds the same old crew tackling brand new stunts, except this time they’re all in middle-age (which, honestly, makes the stunts ever funnier). There is a pure adrenaline rush that comes with watching this movie, but what makes it special is the camaraderie and love these guys have for one another — all while putting each other in terrible situations. — Adam Chitwood

A Simple Favor

Lionsgate
Lionsgate

Few films are as surprising moment to moment as “A Simple Favor.” Truly, at any given turn, anything could happen in this candy-coated thriller/dark comedy. Anna Kendrick plays a vlogging single mother who suddenly finds the opportunity to step into the spotlight when her friend, a PR director for a fashion company (played by Blake Lively) goes missing. Henry Golding and Andrew Rannells co-star in this Hitchcock-inspired delight that you might be shocked to find hails from “Bridesmaids” and “Spy” filmmaker Paul Feig. – Adam Chitwood

Almost Famous

Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures

One of the best films ever made about music, Cameron Crowe’s “Almost Famous” is a timeless classic. Inspired by Crowe’s earlier career as a music journalist, the film follows a teen named William (played by Patrick Fugit) who scores an assignment from Rolling Stone to write a story on an up-and-coming band named Stillwater. Embedded with the band on the road, William learns about life, love and friendship – although through Crowe’s unabashedly earnest prism, it never comes off as trite or rote. Crowe won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, and Kate Hudson was rightfully nominated for Best Supporting Actress. The impeccable ensemble also includes Frances McDormand, Billy Crudup, Jason Lee, Fairuza Balk, Anna Paquin and Philip Seymour Hoffman. – Adam Chitwood

I Want You Back

i-want-you-back-charlie-day-jenny-slate
Amazon Studios

A clever rom-com with a heck of a charming duo, Amazon’s “I Want You Back” stars Charlie Day and Jenny Slate as two strangers who bond after being dumped by their respective partners at the same time. Determined to get them back, they conspire together to sabotage their ex’s new relationships, building a complicated web of friendships, feelings and — of course — accidentally falling for each other. Day and Slate make for a fantastic pair of lovable wrecks at their worst, sparking believable chemistry while delivering the laughs. – Haleigh Foutch

Face/Off

face-off
Paramount Pictures

Hong Kong action legend John Woo delivered one of his best American studio films with the 1997 favorite “Face/Off.” Starring John Travolta as family man FBI agent Sean Archer and Nicolas Cage as his criminal, identity-thieving arch-enemy Castor Troy, who takes over Archer’s life with the help of a plastic surgeon and a revolutionary face-swapping procedure. It’s a completely bonkers blast of a film, with two old-school movie star performances from Travolta and Cage, both of whom fully embrace Woo’s wild over-the-top vision of a cat-and-mouse crime thriller that never stops escalating the action. – Haleigh Foutch

The Northman

Northman
Focus Features

How does a violent, Viking epic from the visionary director behind “The Witch” and “The Lighthouse” sound? The answer is “very cool,” and that’s exactly what you get with “The Northman.” The 2022 film stars Alexander Skarsgard as a Viking warrior prince seeking to avenge the murder of his father (played by Ethan Hawke). The film follows his quest with breathtaking vistas and a killer cast that includes Nicole Kidman, Anya Taylor-Joy, Willem Dafoe and Bjork (yes, that Bjork). – Adam Chitwood

The Outfit

Mark Rylance stars as “Leonard” in director Graham Moore’s THE OUTFIT, a Focus Features release. Courtesy of Nick Wall / Focus Features
Mark Rylance stars as “Leonard” in director Graham Moore’s THE OUTFIT, a Focus Features release. Courtesy of Nick Wall / Focus Features

A contained spy thriller with a heck of a lead performance, “The Outfit” hails from Oscar-winning “The Imitation Game” writer Graham Moore who serves as writer and director on the story of an English tailor (played by Mark Rylance) who gets caught up in a mob war one night while working late in his shop on Saints Row. Zoey Deutch, Dylan O’Brien and Johnny Flynn co-star in the film which largely takes place in the same location, but is dripping with tension and packed with reveals. – Adam Chitwood

Licorice Pizza

licorice-pizza
MGM

Every new Paul Thomas Anderson movie is reason to celebrate, but his 2021 film “Licorice Pizza” is truly one from the heart. The coming-of-age dramedy takes place in 1973 in the San Fernando Valley and follows a cocksure 15-year-old actor (Cooper Hoffman) who strikes up a friendship with a girl in her 20s (Alana Haim). The film navigates their nebulous relationship as well as the anxieties felt by each as they stare down young adulthood, and it’s all wrapped up in PTA’s hilarious and heartbreaking chronicle of life as a kid in 1970s Los Angeles. Come for the time capsule, stay for Bradley Cooper’s hilariously unhinged performance as producer Jon Peters. – Adam Chitwood

No Time to Die

NO TIME TO DIE
“No Time to Die” / MGM

Daniel Craig’s final Bond film is at once epic and intimate. “No Time to Die” puts an emotional button on what’s been an emotional ride, as Craig finally infused 007 with a license to feel through his largely acclaimed series of films. In his final go-around, we begin with an extended prologue that puts a button (for now) on his relationship with Dr. Madeleine Swan (played by Lea Seydoux) following her debut in “Spectre.” But when a figure from Swan’s past resurfaces (played by Rami Malek), Bond gets swept back into a game of cat-and-mouse with the highest stakes he’s ever faced before. Swell supporting turns by Lashana Lynch and Ana de Armas as well as a refreshing visual palate from director Cary Joji Fukunaga ensure that with “No Time to Die,” Bond goes out on a high note. – Adam Chitwood

The Lost City of Z

the-lost-city-of-z-charlie-hunnam-robert-pattinson
Amazon Studios

A Tom Holland adventure movie of a very different sort, “The Lost City of Z” is based on the David Grann book of the same name and follows a British explorer in the early 1900s who is sent to Brazil to search for a supposed lost city in the Amazon. Charlie Hunnam plays the explorer Percy Fawcett, Robert Pattinson plays fellow explorer Henry Costin and Tom Holland plays Percy’s son Jack. As directed and written by James Gray, “The Lost City of Z” is an enthralling story about colonialism and the relationship between a father and a son. – Adam Chitwood

Lucy and Desi

Lucy and Desi
Amazon Studios

If you’ve already seen Aaron Sorkin’s fictional account of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz in “Being the Ricardos,” check out the Amy Poehler-directed documentary “Lucy and Desi.” The film explores the partnership between the “I Love Lucy” stars, offering an insightful and candid look at the relationship between the two buoyed by interviews with Lucie Arnaz Luckinbill, Norman Lear, Desi Arnaz Jr, Carol Burnett and Bette Midler. – Adam Chitwood

The Courier

the-courier-benedict-cumberbatch
Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions

“The Courier” is a great “dad movie,” and that’s pejorative. This Cold War thriller is based on a true story and stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Greville Wynne, a British businessman who was recruited by the Secret Intelligence Service to serve as a messenger between a Russian spy source and the British government in the 1960s. What begins as an exciting romp turns deadly serious, and Cumberbatch commands the screen in the lead role (flanked by Rachel Brosnahan as his wife and Jessie Buckley as his handler). This one’s taut, compelling and surprisingly emotional. – Adam Chitwood

Brittany Runs a Marathon

Amazon Studios
Amazon Studios

The 2019 comedy “Brittany Runs a Marathon” manages to be both hilarious and inspiring at the same time, as Jillian Bell stars as a twentysomething woman living in New York City named Brittany who decides to try and get her life together – and to start, she’s going to train to run the New York Marathon. But as Brittany gets deeper and deeper into running, making new friends along the way, she discovers that a change on the inside may be what’s most prudent to pointing her life in the right direction. Bell is fantastic in the lead role, and writer/director Paul Downs Colaizzo’s script is pleasantly surprising in where it takes Brittany’s story. – Adam Chitwood

Suspiria

Amazon Studios
Amazon Studios

After he made the Oscar-winning romance “Call Me by Your Name,” filmmaker Luca Guadagnino took on a horror classic with 2018’s “Suspiria.” Set in 1988 Berlin, the film stars Dakota Johnson as a young woman leaving her Mennonite family in Ohio to audition for and train as a dancer at an esteemed academy. But as her training continues, it becomes clear that perhaps this dance troupe has something more sinister, more witchy going on. The brilliance of Guadagnino’s take on the story is how it uses the supernatural horror to tell a real-life horror story about fascism, and the festering wound of evil. Tilda Swinton is mesmerizing pulling double duty here as the dance troupe’s leader and a male doctor curious about the goings-on at the school. – Adam Chitwood

The Report

Amazon Studios
Amazon Studios

If a real-life investigative thriller in the vein of “All the President’s Men” is more your speed, check out “The Report.” Released in 2019, the true-story drama stars Adam Driver as Daniel Jones, a staffer for Senator Dianne Feinstein (played by Annette Bening) who is tasked with investigating the CIA’s use of torture following the 9/11 attacks. Writer/director Scott Z. Burns crafts a film that is taught with tension, but also powerful in its pursuit of the truth. The ensemble includes Jon Hamm, Michael C. Hall, Corey Stoll, Ted Levine and Maura Tierney. – Adam Chitwood

Late Night

Amazon Studios
Amazon Studios

Screenwriter Mindy Kaling pulled from the world of late night television for her 2019 comedy “Late Night,” which stars Emma Thompson as a veteran late night TV personality who is in danger of being pushed out by the network, and enlists the help of a new (and inexperienced) writer (played by Kaling) to bring some diversity to her all-male writing staff. The comedy has shades of a mismatched buddy film, behind-the-scenes Hollywood tale and middle-aged drama, and it’s anchored by a terrific performance from Thompson as a woman struggling to keep up with the times. – Adam Chitwood

It’s a Wonderful Life

its-a-wonderful-life
Liberty Films

If you’re looking to get into the holiday spirit, you can’t go wrong with Frank Capra’s 1946 classic “It’s a Wonderful Life.” The film stars James Stewart as George Bailey, a man extremely down on his luck who, after attempting to take his own life, is shown what life in his small town would look like had he never existed. While the film is ultimately uplifting, it’s far darker than many remember, and is a brilliant tale about life and the relationships we make (and take for granted) along the way. – Adam Chitwood

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Cold War

Amazon Studios
Amazon Studios

If you’re into period dramas, the 2018 film “Cold War” is a must-see. Directed and co-written by Pawel Pawlikowski, the Polish-language drama takes place in Poland and France and begins in the 1940s before ending in the 1960s as it follows the relationship between a musical director and a young singer he discovers. Against the backdrop of their love affair, the war rages on. – Adam Chitwood

The Big Sick

Amazon Studios/Lionsgate
Amazon Studios/Lionsgate

A romantic comedy straight from the heart, the based-on-a-true-story “The Big Sick” is delightful and emotional all at once. Written by Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon, the film is based on the origins of their relationship as Gordon slipped into a coma soon after they started dating, and Nanjiani was forced to confront his own fears and contend with Gordon’s parents all with the uncertainty of her condition looming large. Zoe Kazan portrays Gordon in the film with a hearty dose of moxie, and Nanjiani delivers a complex performance that clearly pulls from the depths of his personal life – not just his relationship with Kazan’s character, but his own relationship to his family. – Adam Chitwood

The Handmaiden

CJ Entertainment
CJ Entertainment

“Oldboy” filmmaker Park Chan-wook’s 2016 epic erotic drama “The Handmaiden” is absolutely one of his best films, and is a blast from start to finish. The psychological thriller plays out in three parts chock full of twists and turns, but begins as the story of a con man who conspires with a pickpocket to hatch a plan that would involve marrying a Japanese heiress and committing her to an asylum, thus stealing her wealth. But the film takes a number of turns as various romantic and sexual entanglements ensue. This one’s for adults only. – Adam Chitwood

Manchester by the Sea

manchester-by-the-sea-casey-affleck-michelle-williams
Amazon Studios

“Manchester by the Sea” is a brilliant film, but fair warning it’s also a significant bummer. This 2016 film won Oscars for Best Actor and Best Original Screenplay and stars Casey Affleck as a janitor living in Massachusetts who is suddenly tasked with caring for his nephew following his brother’s abrupt death. The event triggers substantial trauma that Affleck’s character has yet to process, and what follows is a somber, sometimes darkly funny and ultimately touching meditation on grief and guilt. – Adam Chitwood

One Night in Miami

one-night-in-miami-cast
Amazon Studios

Regina King’s 2020 drama “One Night in Miami” is an excellent snapshot of a moment in time, and how four of the most famous African-Americans in history each approached the changing societal landscape of the 1960s. Set over the course of one night in 1964, the story follows four friends – Cassius Clay (Eli Goree), Malcolm X (Kingsley Ben-Adir), Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge) and Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom Jr.) – as a night of celebrating soon turns into a night of lively conversation about their roles and responsibilities to the African-American community. The film is cleverly drawn and tremendously compelling, and provides much food for thought as it connects the struggles of the 1960s to today. – Adam Chitwood

The Vast of Night

the-vast-of-night
Amazon Studios

If you like hidden gems, 2020’s “The Vast of Night” is one of the most exciting indies of the last few years. Set in 1950s New Mexico, the story takes place over the course of one evening where a young switchboard operator and a radio DJ pick up a mysterious audio frequency that may or may not be inhuman in nature. This small-scale sci-fi mystery is light on effects but heavy on evocative filmmaking, intrigue and dimensional characters. It’s so good, a scene with a man talking about his experience with aliens over the radio will have you on the edge of your seat. – Adam Chitwood

Sound of Metal

the-sound-of-metal-riz-ahmed
Amazon Studios

2019’s “Sound of Metal” is an indie with a heart of gold – and an Oscar-winning one at that. The film stars Riz Ahmed as a metal drummer named Ruben who begins to lose his hearing. He leaves his bandmate to go to a facility for Deaf recovering addicts, where he begins to learn how to live his life differently but also struggles with his own demons. Ahmed gives a powerhouse performance, and the film’s sound design puts you right in Ruben’s headspace. – Adam Chitwood

Also Read:
Why Hearing Actors Playing Deaf Characters Still Sparks Backlash

Love and Friendship

love-and-friendship-kate-beckinsale
Amazon Studios

If it’s a lovely costume dramedy you’re in the mood for, 2016’s “Love and Friendship” is an absolute delight. Based on the Jane Austen novel “Lady Susan,” the film is written and directed by Whit Stillman and stars Kate Beckinsale as a recently widowed woman who sets out to secure wealthy husbands for herself and her daughter. A comedy of errors ensues, with Beckinsale and Chloe Sevigny sharply leading an ensemble that also includes Stephen Fry, Tom Bennett and Xavier Samuel. – Adam Chitwood

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