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The Amazon Prime streaming video service originally debuted as "Amazon Unbox'' in 2006. And in the 15 years since, it has evolved--from a perk to the company's premium delivery service, to a competitive streaming platform in its own right. In 2021, Amazon acquired MGM Studios and signed a streaming rights deal with Universal Pictures. It's to the point that today, Amazon Prime offers a bigger content library than Netflix. What it lacks in trending and hype, it makes up for with sheer volume and diversity of content. There are approximately 24,000 movies currently available on Amazon Prime Video, all of which you can stream right now with a subscription. Here are 21 of the best titles, in case you're not sure what to watch next.
1. Alien
Year: 1979 Starring: Sigourney Weaver Ridley's Scott's critically acclaimed horror sci-fi franchise starts here. Weaver stars as Ripley, one of seven crew members of the spaceship Nostromo, who must escape the clutches of a hostile, parasitic alien that has invaded the ship.
2. The Big Sick
Year: 2017 Starring: Kumail Nanjiani, Zoe Kazan Kumail, a Pakistani American stand-up comedian, and Emily, a white psychology student, fall in love and face external pressures from their traditional families. Additional complications arise when Emily falls into a coma, and Kumail must take responsibility for her health. The story is based on Nanjiani's relationship with his wife, Emily Gordon.
3. Black Box
Year: 2020 Starring: Mamoudou Athie, Phylicia Rashad This is a movie in the "Welcome to the Blumhouse" horror film anthology, and it's the best of the bunch. Nolan Wright is raising his daughter by himself, after a car crash left his wife dead and him with severe amnesia. Desperate to get his life back, Nolan undergoes an experimental treatment plan run by a doctor with shady motivations.
4. Borat Subsequent Movie Film
Year: 2020 Starring: Sacha Baron Cohen, Maria Bakalova Half real, half satirical mockumentary, Cohen's second outing at Borat is a crude, clever send-up of Trump supporters, who unwittingly star as themselves in a series of candid skits. Among the numerous people who got owned: Rudy Giuliani and Mike Pence.
5. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Year: 1969 Starring: Paul Newman, Robert Redford A classic cowboy film with beautiful cinematography by Conrad Hall, this movie found humor and joy in the death of the West. Robert Redford and Paul Newman are at their charming, lackadaisical best.
6. Casino Royale
Year: 2012 Starring: Daniel Craig, Eva Green Daniel Craig's first outing as James Bond took 007 back to his roots. Based on the first James Bond book ever written, Casino Royale shows a more rough-edged Bond, who's still struggling to separate his heart from his business.
7. Children of Men
Year: 2006 Starring: Clive Owen, Julianne Moore This is a sci-fi dystopian film, set in a reality where humans have been rendered infertile and face extinction. The plot revolves around the discovery and protection of Kee, the first pregnant woman in 18 years.
8. Chi-Raq
Year: 2015 Starring: Nick Cannon, Wesley Snipes, Teyonah Parris Based on the classic Greek play Lysistrata, Chi-Raq tells the tale of a Chicago gang war that the women attempt to stop by witholding sex from the men.
9. Fight Club
Year: 1999 Starring: Edward Norton, Brad Pitt, Helena Bonham Carter One of the most misunderstood, misinterpreted films of all time, Fight Club tells the story of a white collar worker drone who tries to "be free" of the capitalist system, only to succumb to fascist ideology instead. Brad Pitt stars as Fight Club visionary Tyler Durden in a career-best performance.
10. The Handmaiden
Year: 2016 Starring: Kim Min-hee, Ha Jung-Woo, Cho Jin-Woong A dramatic Korean thriller, The Handmaiden is directed Park Chan-Wook, who also directed Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Oldboy, and Lady Vengeance--better known as The Vengeance Trilogy. Come for the erotic sex scenes, stay for the multiple plot twists.
11. Ip Man
Year: 2010 Starring: Donnie Yen This is the first in a series of Donnie Yen starring biopics about Ip Man, the Wing Chun master who would eventually teach Bruce Lee. The first movie is beloved for its intricate fight scenes, and it depicts China during the Sino-Japanese War.
12. It's A Wonderful Life
Year: 1946 Starring: James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore In this indisputable Christmas classic, a man with lots of love but very little money discovers how much people rely on and care about him, thanks to the intervention of a Guardian Angel.
13. Manchester By The Sea
Year: 2016 Starring: Casey Affleck, Michelle Williams, Kyle Chandler This is a dramatic film about a man with a tragic past, who gains custody of his dead brother's son. Casey Affleck won two Oscars his contributions to the movie: one for Best Lead Actor and the other for Best Original Screenplay.
14. Midsommar
Year: 2019 Starring: Florence Pugh From the same director who brought you the nightmarish Hereditary, Midsommar is a horror film about a Scandinavian pagan cult and the American students who are lured into it. It stars Florence Pugh; if you watched Black Widow and want to see more of her, this is a great place to start.
15. Mrs. Doubtfire
Year: 1993 Starring: Robin Williams, Sally Field, Pierce Brosnan A divorced man secretly dresses up as an old British nanny so he can spend more time with his three children. Robin Williams stars in one of his most iconic, heartwarming roles.
16. The Social Network
Year: 2010 Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake With The Social Network, screenwriter Aaron Sorkin crafted a tale of Shakespearean jealousy, betrayal, and obsession. Facebook today is more powerful and influential than it was 11 years ago, and this character study Mark Zuckerberg has gained additional poignancy in the years since.
17. Sound of Metal
Year: 2019 Starring: Riz Ahmed Sound of Metal was nominated for six Academy Awards and won two of them. It tells the story of a metal drummer who is going deaf and subsequently joins a community of deaf recovering addicts.
18. Thank You For Smoking
Year: 2006 Starring: Aaron Eckhart, William H. Macy This is a dark comedy about personal and public accountability. Aaron Eckhart stars as Nick Naylor, a spokesman for the tobacco industry who's also trying to raise his son to be a good person.
19. Train to Busan
Year: 2016 Starring: Gong Yoo, Ma Dong-Seok, Jung Yu-Mi If Squid Game turned you on to Korean films and TV shows, then Train to Busan is a great followup choice. It's by the same director of the Netflix mini-series Hellbound, and it covers the beginning of a zombie outbreak, from the perspective of a train's passengers. This movie is bloody and gory, and more touching than you might anticipate.
20. We Need to Talk About Kevin
Year: 2012 Starring: Tilda Swinton, John C. Reilly, Ezra Miller What if you were a parent, and you knew your child was a psychopath? How far could you go to prevent a terrible fate? Would anyone believe you or take you seriously? And if the worst happened, how could you carry on? This is a challenging, disturbing film about a no-win scenario.
21. You Were Never Really Here
Year: 2018 Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Ekaterina Samsonov A mercenary crosses ethical boundaries to save a politician's daughter from a human trafficking ring. Both brutal and tender, the film gives lead actor Joaquin Phoenix plenty of space to act, and he delivers, time and again.
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