29 Movies That Were Waaaay Sadder Than They Looked From The Outside

"I was looking to laugh and ended the film in tears."

Some films are straight-up sad and we're ready for that going into them, but others take us fully by surprise – and we are NOT ready for the tears that follow.

New Line Cinema

So we recently asked the Buzzfeed Community which movies got them unexpectedly teary and, as usual, they didn't disappoint! Here are 29 of the best submissions.

🚨FYI – This post contains spoilers for recent films including No Time To Die, Encanto, Promising Young Woman, and Onward. 🚨

1. Slumdog Millionaire

Pathé Distribution

"Two straight hours of getting so invested and watching a person who never loses hope of being with the person he loves. But it's the end that gets me – when he can finally be with the woman he loves and the first thing he does is kiss her scar!"

—sabrinas17

2. Click

Sony Pictures Releasing

"The bit with Adam Sandler's character and his dad broke me!. Comedies are NOT supposed to make you cry!"

—zendamooney

3. Onward

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

"I didn’t expect to be hit so hard by the moment when Ian realised that Barley was the one looking out for him his whole life. And then the moment Ian sacrificed his chance to meet his dad so that Barley could give him a proper goodbye instead. I can’t even listen to the score without crying."

—katelynn41ea92daf

4. Train To Busan

New Entertainment World

"I know it's a zombie movie, but the deaths toward the end made me cry like a baby. I sobbed so hard that my eyes were still swollen the next day."

—gracelee32

5. Mama Mia: Here We Go Again

Universal Pictures

"I went to the cinema with my friends to watch it and I wasn't at all invested. I sat there perfectly happy, thinking nothing of it until I completely broke down at... Well, you know which bit! Full-on ugly crying, snotty nose sobbing. I ended up having to leave the cinema to take a breather and calm myself down, much to the surprise of the cinema worker who was emptying the bins in the corridor."

—tabithabruty

6. Encanto

Disney Studios Motion Pictures

"I didn't expect it to be so touching. I'm a very emotional person so everything makes me cry tbh. But at the beginning, I thought it was gonna be another Disney movie about family. Turns out I relate to Mirabel so much (being the family disappointment) that I felt terrible for days after watching it. Especially the scene where Mirabel and Abuela argue."

—jayy9

" I had to pause "Surface Pressure" because it hit me so hard at that moment. That whole movie was such a good and sad representation of how much pressure your own family can put you under, disguising it as 'love' and having to honour your family. Hit me right in the gut, the whole movie, but especially Luisa."

—witchyribbon84

7. Fried Green Tomatoes

Universal Pictures

"It’s a tragic and dramatic movie – so many scenes made me sob. When Ninny sits on her suitcase in front of her destroyed house, rocking back and forth. When Ruth dies and Idgie can’t look her in the eye. One of the movies that had me either crying from sadness or crying from laughter through the whole thing."

—ironic_garden_fairy

8. Dead Poets Society

Warner Bros. / Buena Vista Pictures Distribution

"Hear me out, I know it’s a sad movie, and I knew that when I watched it with my mom and sister. But what I did NOT expect was to ugly cry and continue to cry even after we’d finished it. I still get tears in my eyes when I think about it."

—ironic_garden_fairy

9. Marley & Me

20th Century Fox

"I went for my birthday thinking it would be a comedy/feel-good movie. That film DESTROYED me, I had to sit through a meal afterwards with my makeup dripping down my face! I've never watched it since."

—aziraphale20

"First I thought it was a comedy with Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson, but the end of the movie was far from comedy!"

—oreolover100

10. About Time

Universal Pictures

"It was so much more than a rom-com! Particularly the moment he had the final walk on the beach with his dad before he wouldn’t be able to visit again. I cried in the car for about 30 minutes after the movie."

—marissalopez

"Yep, that one did it for me. I actually watched that with my dad and eventually left the room because I was sobbing uncontrollably. Not what I expected when I flipped it on."

—briangosselin1

"I needed to collect myself after watching it in the theatre, that ending absolutely killed me. I know I enjoyed the movie but I’ve never watched it again."

—angelam487733d39

11. The Life Of Pi

20th Century Fox

"I cried three times over the course of that movie. First, when Pi lost his family. Second, when the *tiger* was just in the ocean (he just looked so sad and frightened), and again at the end of the movie when the tiger walks away without looking back. I don’t know why that movie tore me up so much, but by Jove, I was a mess when I left the theatre."

—hanaskye

12. The Parent Trap

Buena Vista Pictures Distribution

"When Hallie and Annie put the two ripped parts of their parents' wedding photo and realise that they are, in fact, twin sisters. As a woman with a twin sister who is my world, it broke my heart to imagine not having all those special years before forming what is truly the most indescribable and special bond there is."

—ieatraw_eggs123

13. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

"At the end, where they're having Yondu’s funeral and all of the Ravagers show up with “Fathers and Sons” playing in the background. I ugly cried from the theatre all the way home."

—emcsquared1

14. Christopher Robin

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

"I knew going into this film that the nostalgia factor alone was going to make me emotional. I can’t remember how many times I got teary-eyed while watching this. Hearing Jim Cummings voice Pooh Bear was like hearing the voice of an old friend again. Anyone looking to get back in touch with their inner child should definitely watch Christopher Robin!"

—emilyaautry

15. King Kong (2005)

Universal Pictures

"When they were skating in Central Park, I knew how the movie was going to end. I sobbed all the way into the parking lot. it's been over 15 years and I can't bring myself to watch it again."

—reneesphone33

16. Don't Look Up

Netflix

"I can be a very tender soul at times so it didn’t really surprise me, but Don’t Look up made me sob after watching it. It really made me contemplate the declining state of our planet and my complicity in the destruction."

—ninablack

17. Everybody's Fine

Miramax Films

"I thought it was going to be a cute, wholesome comedy about a man trying to reconnect with his kids. The next thing I know I'm balling my eyes out when he ends up getting a heart attack near the end of the movie. That movie was an emotional rollercoaster. I was looking to laugh and ended the film in tears."

—brymakingthosequizzes

18. Seeking a Friend for the End of the World

Lionsgate

"I thought that somehow at the last minute the Earth would be saved. Nope! It ends with the two main characters and the dog they found along the way laying down together, scared but assuring each other things will be okay and they love each other before the earth is wiped out."

—monikap6

19. Promising Young Woman

Universal Pictures

"I bawled my eyes out at the ending. Cassie was such a relatable character in many ways, and towards the end of the movie, you think she's lost out on getting justice for her best friend. So when she finally avenges her in the best, most iconic way possible with the perfect song playing over the credits it's super emotional! It’s amazing and heartbreaking at the same time."

—birdieebee

20. Only Yesterday

Toho

"It's a pretty grounded tale from Studio Ghibli, but what I didn't expect was to be overwhelmed by nostalgia. The whole story of a woman looking back on her childhood was strangely emotional for me."

—lucaiacobucci

21. No Time to Die

Universal Pictures

"This is the first time I ever cried at a Bond movie. The ending utterly broke me. Seeing Bond bid farewell to Madeleine after getting infected with the Heracles is devastating. I was bawling my eyes out to the point I ended up sick with headache, nausea, and fever."

—tanyam44ab2253d

22. A Dog's Purpose

Universal Pictures

"I cried so much in A Dog's Purpose that my husband actually turned it off, saying 'oh hell no, it's getting too much!' Then I started crying because he turned it off and I wanted to see the rest – it was a real sobfest for me!"

—mjjk31314

23. Inside Out

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

"I knew there would be some touching moments, but I was NOT expecting to bawl my eyes out. As soon as Bing Bong realised what he had to do, I started sobbing. I didn't stop until Riley got home safe.

—etconner

24. The Green Mile

Warner Bros.

"I remember going to the ladies' room after watching The Green Mile. The woman in front of me was in tears (as was I) and she said 'Don't watch Green Mile' and I said 'Too late'."

—vasato

"Oh, The Green Mile KILLS me! The ending is a gut punch but there are other scenes that make me cry. I get chills just thinking about it. The book is just as brutal."

—am301394wne

"No matter how many times I watch it, I always find myself blubbering lol. I thought by now I'd be able to pull myself together – but it's proving impossible."

—dalemcmahon123

25. A League of Their Own

Columbia Pictures

"I happy cry when they reunite at the end. I love when Doris throws the ball at Dottie, and they all knew it was her, or when we see Stillwell grown up. The most famous line of the movie is 'There's no crying in baseball', but I sob every time! LOL."

—vasato

"I tear up when Stillwell tells Dottie that his mom passed away, and he wanted to come because she always said it was one of the best times in her life. Ugh, welling up just thinking about it."

—angelam487733d39

26. Big Fish

Sony Pictures Releasing

"My friend promised me that Big Fish was this cute quirky film and I’d love it. I did. I also cried big ugly tears at the end."

—katerumtruffle

"The bit where his wife is waiting for him in the river gets me every time... Can't even tell someone about it without blubbing!"

—victoriawatt86

"That’s probably in my top five favourite films, but I can only watch it once every few years because it makes me so emotional."

—emilyaautry

27. The Bucket List

Warner Bros. Pictures

"It has Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, who play terminal cancer patients from different backgrounds. They become friends and tackle a bucket list together. Without spoiling it, I lose it at one of the characters' deaths."

—brilynmit

28. Million Dollar Baby

Warner Bros. Pictures

"I didn't know the story before watching it, so the sad ending hit me like a truck! I was crying for ages after the ending, and I couldn't stop. I refuse to rewatch it because of how much I cried."

—louisep24

29. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Warner Bros. Pictures

"Particularly the scene where Cedric dies and his father cries 'My son!'. I knew it was going to happen from reading the book, but I wasn't prepared for how it was going to be acted."

—brilynmit

"I love both the film and book of Goblet of Fire, but that scene is so much better in the film than the book. I can't watch it when there's anyone else around, because I just howl. The actor, Jeff Rawle, deserves a special award for that."

—emilyw4e084a1ff

"Omg, The Goblet of Fire – I genuinely have to skip that part of the film it is soul-destroying."

—CallMeCrazy

What are the movies that made you cry more than you thought they would? Let us know in the comments below!

Don't miss Sam Claflin in the new rom-com Book of Love from BuzzFeed Studios, available on Sky Cinema.

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