Our picks for the 10 best movies on Amazon Prime are below. All the films in our guide are included in your Prime subscription—no renting here. Once you’ve watched your fill, check out our lists for the best shows on Netflix and best movies on Disney+ if you’re looking for something else to watch. We also have a guide to the best shows on Amazon if that’s what you’re in the mood for.
The Idea of You
The best rom-coms tend to succeed thanks to how unrealistic they are—the improbable meet-cute, the heightened emotions, the exaggerated gestures of affection, the dizzying spin of falling head over heels for someone. It’s something The Idea of You perfectly nails as it charts the relationship between successful gallery owner Solène Marchand (Anne Hathaway) and global music superstar Hayes Campbell (Nicholas Galitzine)—who also happens to be 16 years her junior. It could so easily have been cheap scandal fodder—and that’s how it’s played in-universe when the paparazzi get wind of Hayes’ relationship with the “older woman”—but as the pair embark on a globe-trotting romance, the charismatic leads serve up enough genuine chemistry to sweep the audience up in the whirlwind of it all. It’s ultimately less “will they, won’t they?” and more “should they, shouldn’t they?” thanks to a well-handled awareness of the age gap (already narrowed from the source novel by Robinne Lee), but for fans of the genre, it’s a delight.
Road House
There’s been no shortage of controversy over director Doug Liman’s update of the classic ’80s action flick, from arguments over its supposed cinematic release to its use of CGI for some aspects of its bone-crunching fight scenes. Step back from the real-world drama though, and this is a fun, turn-brain-off-now way to kill a lazy afternoon. Swapping in the Florida Keys for the original’s Missouri setting, and trading Patrick Swayze’s James Dalton for Jake Gyllenhaal’s brooding Elwood Dalton—now with a tortured past as a UFC fighter, of course—this still delivers a satisfying tale of one man clearing out local crime lords, one brutal fistfight at a time. It’s far from high art, but sometimes that’s exactly what you need. If you’re still not sold, it’s worth noting that the 1989 original is also currently on Prime for you to compare and contrast.
Everybody’s Talking About Jamie
Adapted from the stage play of the same name—which in turn was based on a true story—this joyful musical charts the journey of Jamie New (Max Harwood). Bullied at school for being gay, and estranged from his homophobic father, Jamie dreams of escape through the art of drag—and when he finds a mentor in retired drag performer Hugo Battersby (a scene-stealing Richard E. Grant), he’s soon on his way to bringing his inner queen “Mimi Me” to life. Rooted in Sheffield, England, it’s a tale that dances between themes of class and culture while celebrating the importance of self-expression and the liberating power of drag.
Bottoms
Every high school has its social hierarchy, and PJ (Rachel Sennott) and Josie (Ayo Edebiri) are at the bottom of theirs. Known as the “ugly, untalented gays” even to the faculty, their only hope of getting with two of the school’s most popular cheerleaders, Isabel (Havana Rose Liu) and Brittany (Kaia Gerber), is, err, setting up an all-girl fight club to teach them how to handle their cheating, disrespectful jock boyfriends. OK, it might sound like the set-up to some dodgy ’70s exploitation flick—and with an approach to violence that straddles the line between raucous and ridiculous, it’s never a million miles removed from that—but Bottoms is far smarter and more subversive than its premise would suggest. Defying expectations at every turn, this is the queer, rage-filled, hilarious twist on the high school comedy you (probably) never knew you needed.
Saltburn
Oxford student Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan) is having trouble fitting in at the prestigious British university—until he befriends the popular Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi). Handsome, rich, and born to the landed gentry, Felix brings the awkward, socially invisible Oliver into his circle, eventually inviting him to spend summer at the family estate, Saltburn. But as Oliver works his way into the family’s graces, his obsession with Felix takes increasingly dark and deranged turns. Oscillating between black comedy and psychological thriller, writer and director Emerald Fennel (Promising Young Woman) frames the film in 4:3 aspect ratio for a tighter, almost voyeuristic viewing experience that makes its frequently unsettling moments even more uncomfortable. Having attracted plenty of debate since its 2023 release—not least for how it questionably navigates its themes of class and social inclusion—Saltburn was one of the year’s most divisive films, but one that demands your attention.
The Burial
Courtroom dramas are rarely laugh riots, but this tale of funeral home director Jeremiah O’Keefe (Tommy Lee Jones) and his flashy lawyer Willie Gary (Jamie Foxx) taking on a major player in America’s “death care” system brings a dark sense of humor to already grim proceedings. This is no comedy though. Based on true events, director Maggie Betts’ (The Novitiate) latest drama retells a real-life legal case that exposed massive inequality in funereal care and the way Black communities were being regularly overcharged. Foxx and Jones are in top form throughout, but it’s Jurnee Smollett as Mame Downes, Gary’s rival attorney who threatens to outpace him at every turn, whose performance threatens to steal the whole movie. For a film about death, The Burial proves warmly life-affirming.
A Million Miles Away
Charting the life of José Hernández, this biopic—based on Hernández’s own book—mixes the aspirational with the inspirational as it follows its central figure’s rise from, in his own words, migrant farm worker to the first Mexican-American astronaut. Michael Peña is in fine form as Hernández, painting a picture of a man almost myopically driven to reach space, no matter the cost, while Rosa Salazar impresses as his wife Adela, refusing to fade into the background even as she puts her own dreams on pause for José to chase the stars. In lesser hands, this could all be cloying—a twee tale of hard work and achieving the American Dream, with a dash of NASA promo material on the side, but director Alejandra Márquez Abella has her lens as focused on the small beauties of life here on Earth as the splendor and sheer potential of space. A rare delight.
Red, White, and Royal Blue
Look, this is clearly a “best film” by a highly specific metric—and that metric is “gloriously cheesy trash.” Adapted from Casey McQuinston’s best-selling novel, this intercontinental rom-com charts the relationship between First Son Alex Claremont-Diaz (Taylor Zakhar Perez) and Prince Henry (Nicholas Galitzine), the “spare” to the British throne, going from rivals through to grudging respect, and ultimately groundbreaking romance. It’s often ludicrous, including an inciting incident seeing the pair falling into a wedding cake, a tabloid-worthy tryst in a hotel room, and political intrigue surrounding Alex’s mother, President Ellen Claremont (Uma Thurman, vamping scenes with a bizarre “Texan” accent), but it’s all just irresistibly wholesome and upbeat. Red, White, and Royal Blue is the movie equivalent of pizza—not good for you, but still delicious.
Shin Masked Rider
If you’re sick of cookie-cutter Hollywood superhero movies, then this ground-up reboot of one of Japan’s most beloved heroes deserves your attention. Helmed by Hideaki Anno (Evangelion, Shin Godzilla, Shin Ultraman—“shin” meaning “new” or “true” in Japanese), this revamps the 1971 TV series Kamen Rider. Like that show, it follows motorcyclist Takeshi Hongo (Sosuke Ikematsu). Kidnapped by the terrorist organization S.H.O.C.K.E.R. and forcibly converted into a powerful cyborg, Hongo escapes before being reprogrammed as an agent of the group, instead using his newfound powers to take down its forces. However, unlike the original, Anno’s approach taps into the body horror of the core concept, while also challenging his characters—and audience—to hang onto their intrinsic humanity in the face of a world trying to dehumanize them. It’s more violent than you’d probably expect, often showing the grisly outcome of regular people getting punched by superpowered cyborgs and monsters, but never gratuitous. While those with some understanding of the source material will get more out of Shin Masked Rider, it’s an exciting outing for anyone looking for something a bit fresher from their hero movies.
Air
Sure, nowadays Michael Jordan is a bona fide sports god, and Nike’s Air Jordan sneakers are still arguably the court shoe—but that wasn’t the case back in 1984. Jordan was a rookie, and Nike was about to close down its basketball shoe division. Enter Sonny Vaccaro (Matt Damon), a talent scout for the footwear maker who has spotted a rising star in North Carolina who could turn everything around—he just needs to convince everyone else that Jordan is worth betting the company on. We all know how that panned out, so thankfully Air is more than a two-hour advert for shoes. Damon, Jason Bateman, Chris Tucker, and director Ben Affleck all deliver strong performances—only to be utterly eclipsed by Viola Davis in a magnetic and powerful, if somewhat underutilized, turn as matriarch Deloris Jordan—while Alex Convery’s script keeps the drama on the people and personalities involved, rather than the boardroom. In an age of franchises and endless blockbusters, Air is the sort of character-focused film that rarely gets made anymore, and is all the more enjoyable for it.
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