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Though streaming movies often get lost in the shuffle, Prime Video has managed to assemble a fairly impressive run of films that have broken through not merely in terms of viewership, but in the broader world of awards—including a handful of Best Picture Oscar nominees.
You’re probably already paying for an Amazon Prime subscription, so you might as well take advantage of Prime Video’s library of exclusive offerings. Here are some of the best of the bunch.
G20 (2025)
What do you do when you’re an EGOT laureate whose awards shelves are overflowing? Anything you want, apparently—as Viola Davis’ recent turn to action roles in the last couple of years bears out. Here she plays U.S. President Danielle Sutton, with a rebellious daughter and a plan to boost the fortunes of sub-Saharan African farmers. She’s also an Army veteran, which isn’t just a resume detail—those skills come in handy when an Australian mercenary and company ambush the G20 summit with an eye toward making a fortune in crypto. Big mistake! Viola Davis: Action President goes all Die Hard on the mercenaries, and, yes, it’s as silly as it sounds, but still a lot of fun. You can stream G20 here.
Another Simple Favor (2025)
Pretty much the whole gang’s back from the 2018 comedy/mystery, including director Paul Feig and writer Jessica Sharzer as well as our leads Stephanie (Anna Kendrick) and Emily Nelson (Blake Lively). Emily, last seen in prison for a double murder, is out of prison on appeal while Stephanie needs a boost in her book sales. She’s wrangled into becoming Emily’s maid of honor and the two are off to a destination wedding in Capri—even if Stephanie’s still a little worried that her “friend” is going to try to murder her again. This one’s got a bigger body count than the original, paying homage to bloody gialli filmmaking while the plot turns on Emily’s marrying into the mob, but the real pleasure here remain the sexy, funny, surreal chemistry between Kendrick and Lively. You can stream Another Simple Favor here.
Saltburn (2023)
Writer/director Emerald Fennell followed up her buzzy Oscar-winner Promising Young Woman with the thoroughly scandalous Saltburn, a somehow even darker spin on The Talented Mr. Ripley that sees Barry Keoghan’s Oliver Quick doing whatever it takes to ingratiate himself into the endlessly posh world of his Oxford classmate Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi). Making the most of all his skills in manipulation and bathtub cleaning, the scholarship student weasels his way onto the titular estate, and finds that the family is desperately gullible, but rich enough that they still hold all the cards. No matter: Oliver has a plan. Opinions are mixed on whether this is all smart satire or lurid trash, but it’s pretty entertaining either way. You can stream Saltburn here.
One Night in Miami… (2020)
Actress Regina King had a fair bit of experience directing television before taking on this, her first feature directorial project, and it’s an undeniably impressive debut. From a 2013 play by Kemp Powers (who also wrote the screenplay), the film offers a speculative look at a real-life meeting of four of the twentieth century’s most prominent figures at the Hampton House Motel in Florida in 1964. Kingsley Ben-Adir, Eli Goree, Aldis Hodge, and Leslie Odom Jr. star as Malcom X, Muhammad Ali (Cassius Clay at the time), Jim Brown, and Sam Cooke as the four debate and discuss their own roles in the Black power and Civil Rights movements, while also hashing out their own demons and the demands of their lives as role models. Its origins as a play are clear, but the powerhouse performances, and King’s confident direction, bring tension and power to the story. You can stream One Night in Miami… here.
Red, White, and Royal Blue (2023)
Queer people deserve dorky rom-coms as much as anybody else, and Red, White, and Royal Blue (from the Casey McQuiston bestseller) more than fits the bill. Taylor Zakhar Perez plays Alex Claremont-Diaz, son of the U.S. President (Uma Thurman) against Nicholas Galitzine’s Prince Henry, spare heir to the British throne. A public spat between the two sets off an international incident which, naturally, leads to a slow-burn romance and a couple of mildly spicy sex scenes. You can stream Red, White, and Royal Blue here.
Superboys of Malegaon (2024)
A thoroughly charming coming-of-age drama, Superboys of Malegaon was inspired by a 2008 documentary about the city of Malegaon in Maharashtra, India. there’s not a lot of money in Malegaon, but there is a love of film, and a thriving local arts scene that sees residents producing spoofs of popular Bollywood films. This drama, based loosely on stories from the documentary, follows a group of friends who make a very successful film in 1997, only to find that their accomplishment drives a wedge between them over the years. There’s a lot of heart here, and a real love of movies and moviemaking, without the film ever becoming cloying. You can stream Superboys of Malegaon here.
Catherine Called Birdy (2022)
Bella Ramsey (Game of Thrones and, of course, The Last of Us) stars in this adaptation of the much-loved novel from Karen Cushman, and they offer up a pretty delightful performance. 14-year-old Catherine lives in 13th-century Lincolnshire, England, and, though she’s the daughter of a lord, it’s still not the best time to be a young girl—even, or especially, one as spry and independent as Catherine (who prefers that you call her Birdy). She’s just as soon not be put on the marriage market, thank you very much, and thus concocts various schemes in order to dodge her potential fate as a commodity (rags soaked in menstrual blood get stuffed under floorboards, and salves made of shit become an unsurprisingly effective way of keeping unwanted suitors away). Director Lena Dunham and company strike an impressive balance of tones here: The stakes for Birdy are very real, but there’s still plenty of joy in the coming-of-age story. You can stream Catherine Called Birdy here.
Frida (2024)
Not to be confused with the Salma Hayek drama from way back in 2002, this one’s a clever and inventive documentary (from debut director Carla Gutierrez) that explores the real life of the iconic Mexican painter Frida Kahlo. The novelty here, aside from new animations of Kahlo’s paintings, is in the film’s format: Using existing writing and interviews, Gutierrez and company tell Frida’s story from her own, first-person perspective, as though she’s narrating her own, always fascinating, life story. What’s more, the film uses some rarely seen stills and camera footage to flesh out the narrative—some recently restored film of Frida at her Blue House, with one-time lover Leon Trotsky no less, is particularly mind-blowing. You can stream Frida here.
In My Mother’s Skin (2023)
Caring for an aging parent is tough under the best of circumstances, and these circumstances are far from ideal. It’s 1945 in the Philippines, and Japanese soldiers are terrorizing the locals as the war winds down, while a local strongman is determined to strip a once-prominent family of the wealth he thinks they’ve secreted away. Desperate for food, the two children of that family wander into the forest to forage and instead happen upon what seems like a helpful fairy, offering food and a cure for their dying mom, Ligaya (Beauty Gonzalez). The cure, though, involves “saving” Ligaya by turning her into a vampiric Aswang of Filipino legend. This grim, bloody supernatural horror is a bit under the radar, but worth a look for fans with the stomach for it. You can stream In My Mother’s Skin here.
A Million Miles Away (2023)
Michael Peña plays real-life Mexican-American astronaut José M. Hernández in this inspiring biopic. If “inspiring” sounds like damning with faint praise, that’s entirely fair—the movie is based on Hernández’s own memoir, and plays it fairly safe in any number of ways. Still—it’s a stylishly directed and well-acted movie, with Peña, Sarayu Blue, Garret Dillahunt, and Rose Salazar all putting in great performances to tell the story of a kid who traveled from Michoacán, Mexico, to California in the 1960s so that he and his family could work in the fields, who went on to become and engineer and an International Space Station mission specialist. For quality family entertainment, you could do a whole lot worse. You can stream A Million Miles Away here.
Peterloo (2018)
The great Mike Leigh (Secrets & Lies, Topsy-Turvy, Vera Drake) wrote and directed this political historical drama about the Peterloo Massacre, a peaceful gathering in Manchester to demand voting rights that was met with overwhelming force by government forces, leaving 18 dead and hundreds wounded. The film is talky, no question, at least until the violence erupts, but Leigh effectively dramatizes the questions at its core, reminding us of the modern-day relevance of the story in ways both subtle and overt. You can stream Peterloo here.
The Big Sick (2017)
This was the moment that Kumail Nanjani made clear he had talents other than comedy, even if his subsequent graduation to Marvel movies isn’t even remotely an improvement over something like The Big Sick, which he co-wrote with Emily V. Gordon. The film is based on their relationship and follows a Pakistani-American stand-up comedian and a white psychology student whose very new relationship is complicated when Emily becomes unexpectedly ill. It’s smart and funny, avoiding schmaltz in favor of a healthy cynicism and sense of humor, even as the film is frequently heartbreaking. You can stream The Big Sick here.
The Vast of Night (2019)
Director Andrew Patterson made a wildly confident debut with this film that takes us back to the 1950s, to a small town in New Mexico on the night of the big basketball game. A young local disc jockey, Everett (Jake Horowitz) and his best friend, local switchboard operator Fay (Sierra McCormick) are caught up in a series of bizarre events that begin when Everett’s show is interrupted by a strange signal. The premise involves any number of UFO-movie cliches, but none of that is really the point: The film has a phenomenal visual flair, and makes the typical alien invasion stakes feel deeply personal for this small town. You can stream The Vast of Night here.
Judy Blume Forever (2023)
The documentary covers Judy Blume’s life, and a half-century career that’s included such triumphs as Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret (1970), Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing (1972), and Blubber (1974), to name a few. If that were all it were, it would be worth it, and it’s a joy to hear insights from Blume herself. The timing couldn’t be better, though, given Blume’s hard-earned reputation for covering subjects once (and often still) not considered fit for young adult audiences: menstruation and puberty, divorce, molestation, and what we’d now call body dysmorphia. Given the current culture of hostility toward libraries, Blume’s trajectory isn’t merely fascinating—it’s essential. You can stream Judy Blume Forever here.
Lucy and Desi (2022)
Released in the wake of Aaron Sorkin’s Desilu drama (see below), Amy Poehler’s documentary takes an intimate look at one of Hollywood’s great power couples, with a focus on their fiery personal lives. Though it seems as though there wouldn’t be much left to be said about Lucy and Desi, Poehler makes extensive use of never-released recordings, with the full cooperation of the estate. That kind of family seal of approval can be a mixed blessing, but nothing here feels safe or watered-down. It’s an insider look at the events and emotions going on behind the scenes while the two were crafting TV’s most popular show and running the production powerhouse Desilu. You can stream Lucy and Desi here.
Being the Ricardos (2021)
Stepping back for the Oscar-nominated Aaron Sorkin docudrama, the focus here is on the critical period early in the run of of I Love Lucy, circa 1953, when Ball was under investigation for potential communist ties. It feels like a play in many ways, but the two leads are great: Javier Bardem captures Desi’s business acumen and undeniable charisma, making clear both the positive and negative impacts that charm had on his personal life. Nicole Kidman doesn’t do a straight-up Lucy impression, and the movie is the better for it; while she doesn’t necessarily capture that distinctive comic styling, she’s impeccable as the more serious, mature, behind-the-scenes Lucy. You can stream Being the Ricardos here.
Get Duked! (2019)
Probably my personal favorite of the films on this list, this dark British comedy finds a group of slacker students dropped off in the Scottish highlands in pursuit of the Duke of Edinburgh Award (a real thing), requiring them to navigate the landscape with no more than a paper map. The teens are soon pursued by hunters (Eddie Izzard’s involved) who’ve come to appreciate the opportunity to cull the louder, more ungrateful kids. Utterly ill-prepared for nature, much less for fleeing from serial killers, the kids face complications that pile up in increasingly, and genuinely, gasp-worthy ways. With its mix of class commentary and wild sense of humor, it’s like a stoner Triangle of Sadness, but at a much more reasonable length. You can stream Get Duked! here.
The Voyeurs (2021)
I’m not going to make the case that Voyeurs is a great movie, or even that it’s some kind of misunderstood cult gem. Nope. It’s a fairly silly erotic thriller, but no less entertaining for it. Sydney Sweeney plays Pippa (just “Pippa”), who lives with her boyfriend Thomas (Justice Smith) in an apartment that looks across to another building inhabited by a sexy couple with a wild sex life. At first the voyeurism is a turn-on, but then, Rear Window-style, things get freaky in a less-hot way. The twists and turns that follow are as juicy as they are ridiculous, but if you can turn off your higher-order thinking, it’s a lot of horny fun. You can stream The Voyeurs here.
The Tomorrow War (2021)
Solidly entertaining, if somewhat forgettable, The Tomorrow War is a reasonable choice when you’re looking for sci-fi action that doesn’t require a ton of brainpower. The movies’ third- or fourth-favorite Chris (Pratt) plays a biology teacher/former Green Beret who finds himself drafted in 2022 to fight a war against aliens in 2048. Pratt is fine, but Sam Richardson steals the movie as a nerdy scientist and fellow draftee, blending a comic relief role with real emotion. With a $200 million budget, this has been one of the most expensive of the COVID-era movies to debut on streaming, and a sequel (in the works since the original’s release, is still on the way. You can stream The Tomorrow War here.
Uncle Frank (2020)
Alan Ball (Six Feet Under, True Blood) directs this 1970s period piece starring Paul Bettany as a closeted gay man roadtripping with his 18-year-old niece (Sophia Lillis), and surprised when his partner of a decade, Wally, joins them on the road (Peter Macdissi). The resulting complications set up some poignant drama, but the movie doesn’t lack a sense of humor either; it’s as much about broader family dynamics as it is about secrets and the closet. The three primary cast members are all pretty fantastic, and it’s nice to be reminded that Bettany is more than just Marvel’s Vision. You can stream Uncle Frank here.
Master (2022)
The phenomenal Regina Hall stars in this masterful psychological thriller as Gail Bishop, the first Black master of Ancaster, a fictional elite New England university. The school is haunted by the 1965 suicide of its first Black undergraduate, and strange doings are soon afoot involving Bishop and new freshman Jasmine Moore (Zoe Renee), a Black student working hard to fit in with the school’s clique of rich white girls. The narrative shifts in unpredictable ways, leaving us as off-balance as the lead characters. The screenplay’s abundant ideas don’t always get the development that they deserve, but the finished product is nevertheless appropriately haunting. You can stream Master here.
Sound of Metal (2019)
A movie about a heavy metal drummer slowly losing his hearing could easily have been excessively on the nose, but Sound of Thunder avoids the obvious traps to finds the heart and fury in the lead character of Ruben Stone, played by Riz Ahmed. He’s joined by Paul Raci playing Joe, an alcoholic war veteran who runs a shelter for deaf addicts; both actors received well-earned Oscar nominations for their work, and the film was nominated for Best Picture. The film is perfectly content to challenge assumptions about deafness, but the understated character piece never feels like a lecture. You can stream Sound of Metal here.
Time (2020)
This documentary takes a look at the American prison-industrial complex from a deeply personal vantage point. It’s the story of Sibil Fox Richardson, fighting for the release of her husband, Rob, who is serving a six-decade prison sentence in Louisiana for his role in an armed robbery. Director Garrett Bradley at first planned a short film on the story of the family, but after getting access to hours and hours of home video of Rob in his pre-incarceration life, realized she had something much deeper on her hands. I’m not sure that there’s a more concise or persuasive argument for the dehumanizing nature of our incarceration system, nor is it easy to come away from the film still thinking of prisoners as something other than humans worthy of your compassion. You can stream Time here.
You Were Never Really Here (2017)
It sounds like a spin on John Wick: Joaquin Phoenix plays a mercenary named Joe, hired by a politician to retrieve his kidnapped daughter, and to eliminate the criminal network that took her. Writer/director Lynne Ramsey (Ratcatcher, Morvern Callar, We Need to Talk About Kevin), though, has something deeper and darker in mind, and the resulting film feels less like an action thriller then it does an impossibly tense spin on Taxi Driver, with Phoenix and Ekaterina Samsonov as the young girl involved in a story about facing lifelong trauma rather than than solving problems with bullets. You can stream You Were Never Really Here here.
I Am: Celine Dion (2024)
Across decades, Celine Dion has never been a controversial figure in the slightest, but with that comes the fact that it’s been hard to feel like we know the real person behind the stage presence. In that regard, this documentary feels like a revelation: Dealing in large part with the singer’s recent medical problems, it cuts through the veneer to feel intensely raw and personal. One of our most polished modern superstars suddenly feels very much like a human being, and that’s a wildly impressive and unexpected feat in a world of celebrity docs that barely scratch the surface. You can stream I Am: Celine Dion here.
