Just 18 Movies To Watch On Peacock When You Need A Good Cry

    Hope you like sobbing in front of your friends and loved ones!

    Ysolt
    by Ysolt

    Community Contributor

    We hope you love the shows and movies we recommend! Just so you know, BuzzFeed may collect a share of revenue or other compensation from the links on this page. Oh and FYI — platform, prices and other availability details are accurate as of time of posting.

    1. Brokeback Mountain (2005)

    A cowboy played by Jake Gyllenhaal wearing a cowboy hat
    Focus Features

    Ang Lee creates the perfect recipe for tears in this quietly affecting film, adapted from Annie Proulx's short story of the same name. It follows the hidden romance between two cowboys (Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal) who can never live fully in their truths.

    2. The Break-Up (2006)

    A couple in couple's therapy played by Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston
    Universal Pictures

    Break-ups are no picnic. Watching this movie from director Peyton Reed (most well known for "Bring It On" and "Down With Love" — two movies that you might not immediately associate with waterworks) will have you reliving the more unpleasant memories of previous relationships.

    3. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010)

    Dobby in Harry Potter's arms
    Warner Bros. Pictures

    We won't spoil this one for anyone who's just dipping their toes into the Wizarding World, but let's just say: Rowling did not hold back in portraying the senseless brutality of war in this heptalogy closer. The same is true of David Yates' film version, cut into two sections...because it's that heavy. A tip: Don't get too cozy with your favorite characters!

    4. Atonement (2007)

    A woman played by Keira Knightley crying
    Universal Studios

    When13-year-old Briony Tallis (Saoirse Ronan, in her breakthrough performance) falsely brands an innocent man a rapist, her sister's life is changed forever. Buckle up for heartbreak, regret, and, well, death in this enduring war drama with compelling performances by Keira Knightley and James McAvoy at its center.

    5. What Dreams May Come (1998)

    A couple laying on the grass hugging
    Universal Studios

    Seeing the late Robin Williams on screen is emotional enough on its own. But there's more to unpack here: In this adaptation of the 1978 Richard Matheson novel, Williams (as Chris Nielsen) attempts to reunite with his wife in the afterlife after discovering she, too, has died.

    6. Anthony (2020)

    A young man with his bride
    BBC One

    In this movie written by acclaimed screenwriter Jimmy McGovern and inspired by a true story, we get to imagine what Anthony Walker's life might have looked like had he not been murdered in a racist attack in his hometown of Huyton, Merseyside, at the age of 18.

    7. Stay (2005)

    A woman walking on a street at night
    Entertainment One

    An unexpected pregnancy causes an unconventional couple — a professor and his student — to unravel as they decide on whether or not to keep their baby in this story adapted from an Aislinn Hunter novel.

    8. A Beautiful Mind (2001)

    A young Russell Crowe standing in front of a chalkboard
    Universal Pictures

    It was hard to miss the buzz around this biographical drama when it first hit theaters in 2001 and subsequently swept at the Oscars. Among the movie's trophy winners was Jennifer Connelly, the supportive wife of Russell Crowe's John Nash, who carries the heavy burden of witnessing the gradual decline of her mathematical genius husband who has paranoid schizophrenia.

    9. Billy Elliot (2000)

    A young boy wearing gym clothes doing a dance move
    Universal Pictures

    A boy's love of ballet is showcased in this British dance drama, adapted from a play called, "Dancer" by Lee Hall. You'll want to have those Kleenex ready before his dreams materialize on center stage.

    10. One True Thing (1998)

    Two women at Christmas time played by Meryl Streep and Renee Zellweger
    Universal Studios

    A twenty-something working at New York Magazine (Renee Zellweger) puts her career on the backburner to care for her mother (Meryl Streep) who is dying of ovarian cancer. This might sound pretty heavy-handed as far as tearjerkers go, but the two leads are able to save this mother-daughter relationship drama from ever feeling soapy.

    11. Lost in Translation (2003)

    A man played by Bill Murray is with a girl in a pink wig played by Scarlett Johansson
    Focus Features

    Melancholy seeps into every frame of this Sofia Coppola flick which tells the story of two adrift Americans — an actor (Bill Murray) and a recent Yale grad (Scarlett Johansson) — who strike up an unlikely spiritual connection when their paths cross in Tokyo. You practically know how this one ends before it starts — and yet, the goodbye is gutting all the same.

    12. What Maisie Knew (2012)

    Two parents arguing while their young daughter watches
    Millennium Entertainment

    In this film, a dysfunctional couple (played by Julianne Moore and Steve Coogan) fight viciously and constantly in the presence of their young daughter. Eventually, they decide to separate, but joint custody of Maisie only makes things worse. By movie's end, you realize that the only two people who care for Maisie the way a mom and dad should are not even her own parents. They're her long-time nanny and her mother's ex-lover.

    13. Evening (2007)

    An old woman in her death bed
    Focus Features

    A dying woman (who is played by Claire Danes and, later, Vanessa Redgrave) recounts her one true love (Hugh Dancey) to her daughters. Confused, they believe her to be delusional, but in flashbacks, you soon learn she's perfectly lucid.

    14. Lorenzo's Oil (1992)

    A woman and man having a tense conversation
    Universal Pictures

    Anyone queuing this one up because they enjoyed "Happy Feet," (George Miller's much lighter animated penguin movie) will be in for a rude awakening. This one, by contrast, is about a five-year-old (Lorenzo) who is diagnosed with a rare, untreatable degenerative disease. Susan Sarandon and Nick Nolte play his parents desperate to do whatever it takes to keep him in good health.

    15. The Ultimate Gift (2006)

    A young man and a little girl talking
    20th Century Fox

    In this movie based on the best-selling Jim Stovall novel, a dying young girl (Abigail Breslin) befriends a wealthy young man (Drew Fuller) who builds a hospital in her honor.

    16. United 93 (2006)

    Two pilots holding hands while controlling a plane in the cockpit
    Universal Pictures

    You might be familiar with the events that transpired on 9/11, but likely (or rather, hopefully) you haven't experienced them this viscerally. In this Oscar-nominated film, we follow the harrowing actions of the passengers of United flight 93.

    17. Motherland (2017)

    Two mothers with their infants at a hospital in the Philippines
    CineDiaz

    in this moving documentary by Ramona S. Díaz, you'll see babies being born in one of the world's busiest maternity hospitals, which also so happens to be in a poverty-stricken area of the Philippines. Not only does this film showcase the miracle of birth, it also does a deep dive into the reproductive health policy issues plaguing the country.

    18. James White (2015)

    A son holding his dying mother
    The Film Arcade

    "Some movies are so good and true and tough-to-the-core they should just sneak up on you. James White is one of them," wrote Peter Travers about this slow-burning indie starring Christopher Abbott. You might not even realize you've fully surrendered to the film until the credits roll and you have a moment to process Cynthia Nixon's career-best performance as a mother battling cancer in New York City.

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