60 Best Tearjerker Movies Ranked from Sad to Emotionally Devastating
Warning: Must have tissues.
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Hi there! You look a little overwhelmed, and I know just what you need: a good cry. It may sound counterproductive, but sometimes, putting on a sad movie and letting those tears flow is the only way out of a bad mood. Watching a tearjerker movie, letting out some emotion, and curling up under a weighted blanket isn’t just comforting, it’s a way to release all the difficult emotions you might be feeling. And it is glorious! (You know, after the sadness wears off.)
Crying isn’t exactly an enjoyable experience for most. (No shade to those with a crying fetish, you do you!) But the lightness you feel after a good cry is truly unmatched, and the biggest shortcut to that feeling is watching one of these 60 best tearjerker movies. Trust, I have cried many tears over these sad films. And I always feel better and more in touch with my emotions after. That said, not every cry session needs to be on the same level. You might want to watch a movie that’s more hopeful than depressing or that’ll inspire versus destress. For this reason, I have taken the liberty to rank the best tearjerker movies of all time from good cry sad to absolutely emotionally devastating sad. You’ve been warned.
Little Miss Sunshine
Yes, we're kicking off the list with a movie called Little Miss Sunshine, and, yes, I mean it when I say it will make you cry. Two scenes in particular have left me a sobbing mess every. single. time: When Olive (Abigail Breslin) tearfully asks her grandfather if she’s pretty, and when Dwayne (Paul Dano) finds out he’s colorblind. Overall, this is a heartwarming movie about family and marching to the beat of your own drum, so it’s a great pick if you want to feel all the emotions in the span of 2 hours.
Uptown Girls
Uptown Girls might be a coming-of-age comedy, but it’s physically impossible to watch Brittany Murphy and Dakota Fanning go round and round on the Coney Island teacups ride without shedding at least one tear. This is a scientific FACT about a beloved early 2000s chick flick classic, and you will never be able to tell me differently.
Beaches
Beaches gave us the iconic Bette Midler cover of “Wind Beneath My Wings.” Of course it’s a tearjerker. The ‘80s classic follows the years-long friendship of two women, C.C. (Midler) and Hillary (Barbara Hershey) as they see each other through career disappointments, failed marriages, and, eventually, the arrival of Hillary’s daughter. You can probably guess what happens next (hint: someone dies). You’ll end up sobbing, but also kind of hopeful.
Under the Same Moon
Want to cry and have your faith in humanity slightly restored? Under the Same Moon gives you all the tear-jerking family drama without the despair. The movie tells the story of a little boy, Carlos, who crosses the Southern border into the U.S. to find his mother after his grandmother dies.
The Banshees of Inisherin
The Banshees of Inisherin is a dark dramedy about two lifelong best friends whose abrupt breakup sends their small coastal town into chaos. Brendan Gleeson stars as Colm, a man who wakes up one day and suddenly decides he cannot stand his best friend, Pádraic (Colin Farrell), who won’t let go that easily. Despite being about the end of a friendship, it’s not necessarily a sad movie, but there are some pretty heartbreaking moments. No spoilers, but, yes, it does have to do with that much-memed Barry Keoghan scene.
Beasts of the Southern Wild
There is a reason that Quvenzhané Wallis became the youngest actor ever nominated for Best Actress at the Oscars for her performance as Hushpuppy in Beasts of the Southern Wild. And that reason will leave you sobbing for a good 30 minutes. The film is an intense drama about a small Louisiana bayou community that is overcome by a dangerous storm, and uses magical realism and adventure to tackle themes of family, climate change, and belonging.
Minari
It’s impossible not to be moved by Minari’s heartbreaking depiction of one Korean American family’s struggle to make the American dream a reality. The film centers on the strained marriage of Jacob (Steven Yeun), a dreamer determined to make this farm work despite his lack of knowledge, and his wife Monica (Han Ye-ri), who feels that her husband cares more about the farm than their family. There are so many quietly beautiful moments, but the real tear-jerking scenes come courtesy of David (Alan Kim), their little boy, and Soonja (the Oscar-winning Youn Yuh-jung), Monica’s mother, who travels from South Korea to help look after the children. I won’t spoil it, but you should have tissues on hand!
Lady Bird
This is my go-to movie when I need a good cry. Lady Bird (Saoirse Ronan) navigates her senior year of high school in Sacramento, California as she falls in love, applies to college, worries about her family's finances, and manages a complicated relationship with her mother (Laurie Metcalf). Most of it actually isn't sad, but the final scenes where her mom turns the car around at the airport to try and run to her, and then Lady Bird leaves a voicemail about driving in Sacramento for the first time? My HEART.
Never Let Me Go
Watching Never Let Me Go feels a bit like having an existential crisis. The movie, based on the novel by Kazuo Ishiguro, is about a group of three lifelong friends—Kathy (Carey Mulligan), Ruth (Keira Knightley), and Tommy (Andrew Garfield)—who were specifically made to be organ donors. But when they hear that there might be one way to escape their fate, their friendship will change forever.
E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial
Resisting the obvious Steven Spielberg film here (that'd be Schindler's List) this one is, IMO, just as emotionally devastating, thanks to its themes of 1) parental abandonment, 2) divorce, 3) death(!), and 4) having to say goodbye to someone you love most in the world. NBD.
Fences
If you can make it through Viola Davis’ heartbreaking monologue in Fences without crying, you would be the first. The actor’s Oscar-winning performance is so moving, you can’t help but burst into tears.
The Notebook
Personally, I've always found The Notebook to be a generally happy movie. Yes, there are bittersweet moments, like when Noah (Ryan Gosling) and Allie (Rachel McAdams) must leave each other after a summer of bliss, or when they later die together after a life well lived, but... OK, I lied, it's a tearjerker.
Toy Story 3
I mean, I could absolutely put the first two movies on here. But the third dares to ask the unthinkable (the question we've been wondering since the first film): What happens when you finally get too old for your toys and have to say goodbye for the last time? You'll cry just thinking about it.
A Little Princess
This one goes out to all of the people who grew up terrified that they would be suddenly orphaned in a tragic accident and left to fend for themselves in a cruel world! A Little Princess brings that nightmare to life, telling the story of a little girl who becomes a servant maid after her father dies in WWI, leaving her all alone, penniless, and friendless.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
When he learns that his ex has erased all memories of him (literally, like through a medical procedure), Joel decides to do the same thing. Then, once he's in the middle of it, he realizes what a terrible, terrible mistake he's made.
Forrest Gump
This movie brings a fair amount of laughs, but it has some seriously sad moments, too. When Bubba is killed in action? When Jenny breaks down in front of her childhood home? The ending scene??? *Sobs*
The Lion King
Takin' it back with a classic: I promise you, *that* scene (you know, the one that made you sob uncontrollably in the movie theater with your parents?) is just as affecting as an adult. Who knew baby lions could be so damn emotional?
Marley and Me
If you've ever owned a dog, loved a dog, or even laid eyes on a dog, this tale of a mischievous golden retriever named Marley and how he teaches Jennifer Aniston, Owen Wilson, and their growing family to love will make you dampen a million Kleenex.
Little Women
If Florence Pugh's signature frowny face doesn't make you emotional, I don't know what will. Little Women, as imagined by Greta Gerwig, has many tear-jerking moments, in part because it succeeds at making each of the March sisters (played by Pugh, Emma Watson, Eliza Scanlen, and Saoirse Ronan) fully rounded characters you root for—even if it means another sister might suffer.
Call Me by Your Name
We can forgive Call Me By Your Name’s final shot of Timothée Chalamet silently crying into a fireplace because the movie is so full of gorgeous snaps of Italy. But like, when Timothée cries, we all cry, you know?
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