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75 Movies That Make You Cry, Because Sometimes We Just Need To Be Sad

Grab a box of Kleenex and have the emotional catharsis you deserve.

by Julie Sprankles
Monica Potter and Robin Williams in the movie 'Patch Adams.'
Universal Pictures

Sometimes, you just need a good cry. A time to let all of the heavy emotions you’ve been carrying for whatever reason flow out. It’s cathartic, really, but not everyone can just cry on cue. You could try the five-minute hack, where you literally set a timer and allow yourself to feel all of your emotions fully — for only five minutes. Or you could do what so many of us prefer to do when we’re feeling sad: watch movies that make you cry, and just let it go.

If you feel a little silly about giving in to your tears this way, think of it as a health practice. The general consensus from doctors and mental health professionals is that crying is good for you — it allows you to release emotional pain and stress, and we all pretty much know by now that keeping those things bottled up inside is bad, right?

While what makes you cry can be wildly different from what makes someone else emotional, there are certain movies that just seem to get the waterworks going for everyone. Here are a few go-to favorites to get you started, so grab a box of Kleenex and have the emotional catharsis you deserve.

Movies That Make Me Ugly Cry

Big Fish (2003)

There are plenty of poignant moments in this movie about a man trying to understand his dying father, but the scene where he tells him his final story and carries him to the water will always reduce me to a puddle of tears. (“My girl in the river...” STOP, I’M WRECKED.)

Legends of the Fall (1994)

War, tragedy, betrayal, heartbreak — Legends has it all. And every time I watch, I wish I could save Samuel or heal Tristan or maybe even go back in time and alter the course of fate so they never meet Susannah. But as it stands, this movie remains a profound meditation on how deeply grief can change a person.

Patch Adams (1998)

Based-on-a-true-story movies have a way of hitting even harder, don’t they? There’s lots of levity in Patch Adams; part of what makes it so wonderful is that it proves laughter can coexist with pain. But this movie will crack your heart wide open for how it highlights the fragility of life, the courage it takes to keep choosing love when the world can be so cruel, and the quiet heroism of showing up for others.

All Dogs Go to Heaven (1989)

Few movies from my childhood felt as formative as this one. It’s sad from the start: Charlie, a morally dubious German shepherd, gets killed by his former business partner. His best friend, a dachshund named Itchy, is still grieving when Charlie cheats death to return to earth. The pair then meets a young orphan named Anne-Marie, who changes everything and inspires Charlie to sacrifice his second chance for her. And if you know the tragic backstory going on behind the scenes of the movie, their goodbye will seriously destroy you.

Aftersun (2022)

If the kind of movie that really gets you right in the heart is one that lingers with you long after the credits roll, Aftersun may be the tearjerker for you. It’s tender and haunting in equal measure, telling the story of an 11-year-old girl named Sophie on summer holiday with her young dad, Calum, in the late ‘90s. Their bond shines through sun-drenched days, but there’s also a pervasive aching you don’t quite understand until you view it through the lens of adult Sophie, looking back and realizing that, even then, her father’s quiet sadness was consuming him.

The Green Mile (1999)

Set on Death Row in a Southern prison during the 1930s, The Green Mile centers on a misunderstood man named John Coffey. A gentle giant full of love and goodness, he touches the lives of the guards, who come to believe he’s innocent of the horrific crime he’s been accused of. It’s hard to watch but so worth the tears to be reminded that pure light does exist in this world, and we all have a responsibility not to let it be extinguished.

Dead Poets Society (1989)

O Captain! My Captain! There’s no denying that Robin Williams provided a veritable laugh track for the childhood of ‘90s kids, but it’s also true that he kept us crying, too. Of the several movies led by Williams on this list, Dead Poets Society is the one that always gets me the most. Everyone deserves a teacher like John Keating, and none of us will ever get over what becomes of Neil.

Reign Over Me (2007)

I distinctly remember watching this in the theater and having such a visceral reaction of tears just streaming down my face. In this deeply moving story, Charlie Fineman struggles to cope after his wife and daughters tragically die in the 9/11 attacks. When his old college roommate, Alan, comes back into his life, the world begins to open up again for Charlie. However, grief isn’t linear or singular — and Adam Sandler’s portrayal of Charlie is a beautiful, raw, vulnerable example of that.

The Wild Robot (2024)

When a shipwreck scatters cargo onto a remote island, a lone survival robot — Rozzum unit 7134, or Roz for short — finds herself utterly alone in a world she doesn’t understand. As she slowly learns to adapt to the wary animals and nature around her, she becomes an adoptive mother to an orphaned gosling. And through that relationship, she becomes almost human in her ability to feel and to embrace the power of community. So, it’s gutting when the world she came from comes back to claim her, a jarring reminder that not even love can stop change.

Good Grief (2023)

Honestly, even the happy parts of this movie make me cry. The very first scene where a group of friends gathers to celebrate one of their own just feels so life-affirming. And that makes the following scene (and every one after it) that much more heartbreaking as they all try to move forward when one of their own dies. Anyone who has ever lost a loved one will surely be brought to tears more than once by this gentle, lingering depiction of grief.

Even More Sad Movies

  1. Elephant Man (1980)
  2. The Art of Racing in the Rain (2019)
  3. Mr. Holland’s Opus (1995)
  4. Toy Story 3 (2010)
  5. The Whale (2022)
  6. Steel Magnolias (1989)
  7. The Fault in Our Stars (2014)
  8. Manchester By the Sea (2016)
  9. Forrest Gump (1994)
  10. The Vow (2012)
  11. Field of Dreams (1989)
  12. My Girl (1991)
  13. Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
  14. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
  15. Good Will Hunting (1997)
  16. Old Yeller (1957)
  17. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
  18. A Man Called Otto (2022)
  19. Schindler’s List (1993)
  20. Million Dollar Baby (2004)
  21. Soul Food (1997)
  22. Extremely Loud & Incredible Close (2011)
  23. The Fox and the Hound (1981)
  24. The Iron Giant (1999)
  25. We Are Marshall (2006)
  26. Me Before You (2016)
  27. The Lovely Bones (2009)
  28. The Iron Claw (2023)
  29. Marley & Me (2008)
  30. Interstellar (2014)
  31. Running on Empty (1988)
  32. Beautiful Boy (2018)
  33. Up (2009)
  34. The Land Before Time (1988)
  35. My Sister’s Keeper (2009)
  36. Armageddon (1998)
  37. What Dreams May Come (1998)
  38. Beaches (1988)
  39. Titanic (1997)
  40. Tombstone (1993)
  41. Hachi: A Dog’s Tale (2009)
  42. The Notebook (2004)
  43. Never Let Me Go (2010)
  44. Dying Young (1991)
  45. Homeward Bound (1993)
  46. Onward (2020)
  47. P.S. I Love You (2007)
  48. A Walk to Remember (2002)
  49. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
  50. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2008)
  51. The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)
  52. The Time-Traveler’s Wife (2022)
  53. Requiem for a Dream (2000)
  54. The Outsiders (1983)
  55. The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)
  56. Seven Pounds (2008)
  57. After Yang (2021)
  58. Coco (2017)
  59. The Farewell (2019)
  60. If Beale Street Could Talk (2018)
  61. Brokeback Mountain (2005)
  62. Ghost (1990)
  63. Love Story (1970)
  64. Amour (2012)
  65. Pieces of a Woman (2020)