15 Emotional Movies To Watch When You Need To Cry

Across all genres of film, there are many emotional movies out there that just make audience members cry. I mean, who doesn’t love a good tear-jerker? Sometimes, we can’t just get enough of them. While most of the characters on the big screen are made up (or, at the very least, fictionalized adaptations of real people), moviegoers become attached to these characters and feel everything that these characters on screen are feeling and experiencing? As a result, some moviegoers tend to shed some tears of their own while watching these Emotional Movies. Now, with all of that being said, listed down below are 15 Emotional Movies To Watch When You Need To Cry: 

1. The Fault in Our Stars (2014)

The first of several classic emotional films that made audience members cry to be featured in this article is the 2014 Teen Drama Romance The Fault in Our Stars. The movie, which is based on John Green’s novel of the same name, follows two cancer affected teenagers (Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgot) who meet at a cancer support group and embark on a journey to find an author who inspires them in Amsterdam. In the process, Woodley’s and Elgot’s characters fall in love with each other. Many tears were shed while watching this film. Take a look a Cosmopolitan’s Guide To Crying During The Fault in Our Stars to compare which moments from the film you cried during. 

2. The Boy In the Striped Pajamas (2008)

Any film set during The Holocaust is bound to fall under the category of emotional movies due to the horrific events that Jewish people suffered at the hands of The Nazis during World War II. The 2008 film (based on the book of the same name) relates the horror of a Nazi extermination camp through the eyes of two eight-year-old boys: Bruno (Asa Butterfield), the son of the camp’s Nazi commandant (David Thewlis); and Shmuel (Jack Scanlon), a Jewish inmate. Tears will shed while watching this film, but it is the film’s heartbreaking final scene (see the video below) that will leave you flooded with tears (as in lots of them). 

3. Titanic (1997)

Another one of the classic emotional movies to watch when you need to cry is Titanic. Our hearts will go on, as the film stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet in career-defining roles as a pair of star-crossed lovers who meet at an epically tragic end. The moment from Titanic that brings all of the waterworks is when Jack dies. There was room for two people on that door. We will never let go!

4. P.S. I Love You (2007)

Another classic among the emotional movies to watch when you need to cry is P.S. I Love You. This 2007 film starring Oscar-winning Actress Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler has everything you expect from a romantic tragedy: romance, love, and tragedy. Be prepared to break out the tissues as you watch  P.S. I Love You.  

5. The Lion King (1994)

Of all the emotional films featured in this article, the 1994 animated version of The Lion King is probably one of the first movies that made people cry when they watched it as children. The tear-jerking moment in The Lion King (in both the 1994 animated version and the 2019 live-action version): Mufasa’s death scene. Cue the tears. 

6. Marley & Me (2008)

Marley being put to sleep (see the video below) is the scene that makes Marley & Me one of the most emotional films of all time. Dog lovers have shed many tears while watching this scene of the film. 

7. The Notebook (2004)

Besides being one of the most popular romance films, The Notebook is also one of the most emotional movies to watch when you need to cry! Just when you thought you would shed your last tears during Allie’s (Rachel McAdams) and Noah’s (Ryan Gosling) steamy, rain-soaked reunion (see the video below), you will learn that “It’s not over. It’s still not over.” The Notebook is simply one of those emotional movies that make audience members cry whether it be due to the romantic scenes, tragic endings, character deaths, etc. One is not a human being if he/she doesn’t shed any tears during The Notebook. 

8. The Light Between Oceans (2017)

Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander star in this 2016 romantic drama as a lighthouse keeper and his wife who rescue and adopt a baby girl (the couple is unable to have children after the wife suffers two miscarriages) after finding her at sea. Years later, the couple discovers that the child’s birth mother survived the rowboat accident and is faced with the moral dilemma of their actions. 

9. A Walk To Remember (2002)

A Walk To Remember is one of several emotional films that fall under the genre of romantic drama. Mandy Moore and Shane West star in this 2002 coming-of-age film as a couple from different sides of the tracks who totally fall in love until one of them dies. 

10. Sophie’s Choice (1982)

As I said earlier about The Boy In The Striped Pajamas (see #2 above), any film set during The Holocaust is bound to fall under the category of emotional movies due to the horrific events that Jewish people suffered at the hands of The Nazis during World War II. Meryl Streep earned her second (of eventually three Oscars) for her performance as a young Polish woman forced to make a morally impossible decision at Auschwitz. The film also covers the consequences and guilt that Streep’s character deals with in the aftermath of her decision. 

11. Call Me By Your Name (2017)

Another one of the romantic dramas among this list of emotional films is the 2017 Oscar-winning film Call Me By Your Name, which is based on the book of the same name. Set during the summer in the 1980s in Italy, the film follows the budding but shy romance between  a 17-year-old, Elio Perlman (Timothée Chalamet, who earned an Oscar Nomination for Best Actor for his performance), and Oliver (Armie Hammer), a 24-year-old graduate-student assistant to Elio’s father (Michael Stuhlbarg), an archaeology professor.

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Many tears will be shed during the film’s ending when Elio stares into the flames of the fireplace while tearfully reminisces his romance with Oliver after the latter calls to tell Elio and his parents that he’s engaged to be married.

12. One Day (2011)

Romantic tragedies are emotional films that will have everyone in tears. A good tearjerker from this genre is the 2011 film One Day, which will leave you sobbing over how unfair life can sometimes be.

13. Up (2009)

In general, many people wouldn’t consider the 2009 animated film Up as an emotional film. However, the reason why Up is included in this list of emotional movies is that the very first 10 minutes will cause the tears to flow. 

14. Stepmom (1998)

Co-parenting with an ex-boyfriend or ex-husband isn’t always easy, especially when your ex is romantically involved with another woman who’s soon to be a step-mom to the kids you share with your ex. I won’t give any spoilers to those of you who haven’t watched the film yet, but the twist will literally break your heart. Take a look at the trailer of Stepmom below to see if you can figure out what the sad plot twist is. 

15. My Girl (1991)

This 1991 coming-of-age dramedy tells the story of two friends (Anna Chlumsky and Macaulay Culkin) having a typical summer vacation in their suburban town until tragedy strikes, resulting in the death of one of the two friends. This heart-wrenching turn (not gonna give any spoilers) makes My Girl one of those emotional movies giving way to more mature explorations of early adolescence and loss.

From the 15 Emotional Movies listed above, which one(s) made you cry? Which ones made you cry the hardest? Let us know which emotional movies were your favorites in the comments section!

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