Let’s be honest, having a big cry can be an essential part of getting through the week. And we’re not talking about shedding a single tear, we mean snotty, unapologetic, stifled breath sobs. That’s where the catharsis is at. Of course, one of the best ways to get your emotions going (other than listening to Lana Del Rey’s entire discography with a bottle of Sauvignon on your living room floor) is watching a sad film.
And it turns out that crying - even when it's artificially induced by sad, tearjerker movies - can release toxins, relieve stress and help you sleep.
What are the best sad movies?
So, in honour of the science that proves it's actually a good thing to let out all of your emotions from the privacy of your own sofa, here's a definitive list of all the best sad films to watch when you need a good cry.
1. Marley and Me
Jennifer Aniston, Owen Wilson, and an adorable Golden Retriever, what more could you want from a tearjerker? If you’ve owned, hugged or loved a dog, this will really get you going. To be honest, any film about dogs is emotional. So it’s no wonder someone has created doesthedogdie.com to warn you of the emotional storm ahead.
Marley and Me follows John and Jenny Grogan as they adopt Golden Retriever Marley - not realising that he's potentially one of the naughtiest dogs out there - in an attempt to prepare themselves for parenthood.
2. Wonder
This coming-of-age drama film tells the story of August 'Auggie' Pullman (Jacob Tremblay) - a ten-year-old boy born with a rare facial deformity called mandibulofacial dysostosis - as he starts school. Despite the best efforts of his kind-hearted parents (Julia Roberts and Owen Wilson) and sister (Izabela Vidovic), his transition to public life isn't easy.
Absolutely heart-wrenching, Jacob Tremblay's performance will have you in bits.
3. The Impossible
Based on the heartbreaking true experience of María Belón and her family in the 2004 tsunami, The Impossible is 113 minutes of tension, panic and drama that will leave you emotionally spent by the closing credits. Prepare to get particularly misty eyed at Naomi Watt’s performance.
The Impossible tells the story of Dr Maria Bennett (Naomi Watts), her husband Henry (Ewan McGregor) and their three sons (the eldest of whom is played by Tom Holland) who head to Khao Lake, Thailand for a family holiday over Christmas. Their holiday is ruined and their lives changed when on 26 December, a tsunami strikes and the Bennett family are separated. Will everyone survive the devastation? And perhaps more importantly, will they ever be able to find each other again?
Watching this film in the cinema genuinely broke us for about three days - we just couldn't stop crying.
4. My Sister’s Keeper
Based on the bestselling book by Jodi Picoult, a young girl (Abigail Breslin) decides to legally emancipate herself from her parents (Cameron Diaz and Jason Patric) after she was genetically engineered from birth to give bone marrow to her terminally ill sister.
We'll admit that it's not quite as devastating as the novel - our copy is now unreadable due to water damage from our tears - but you're completely heartless if you don't cry.
5. My Girl
Macaulay Culkin stars an unbearably cute nerd who befriends a girl called Veda (Anna Chlumsky) in this 90s coming-of-age tale that also stars Dan Aykroyd and Jamie Lee Curtis.
If you’re already scared of bees, give this one a miss. If you’re not, prepare for devastation.
6. A Star Is Born
A remake of the Barbara Streisand classic, A Star is Born is guaranteed to make you weep.
Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper star as two musicians who fall in love and well... the good news basically ends there. Think tragedy, passion and some serious demons.
If you don't have the time to watch the full movie, the movie soundtrack is just as emotive. Honestly, just whack Shallows on and you'll be in bits in now time.
7. The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas
Another film based on a completely devastating book, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas tells the story of two young boys become friends across the barrier of a concentration camp fence. One is the son of a German officer (played by Asa Butterfield), the other a Jewish prisoner called Shmuel (Jack Scanlon). Their childhood naivety stops them from fully understanding the brutality that surrounds them and their fate will leave you in pieces.
A-list actors including Vera Farmiga, David Thewliss, Rupert Friend and Sheila Hancock also star.
8. Herself
From Phyllida Lloyd, the director of Mamma Mia (so you know it’s a triumph already), Herself follows a young mother called Sandra who escapes her abusive husband and is left living in a hotel with nowhere to go. To fight back against the broken housing system, she decides to try and build a home from scratch with help from her boss and a surly contractor.
An often over-looked, tearjerker film, Herself has an approval rating of 93% on Rotten Tomatoes with critics saying, 'sensitively directed by Phyllida Lloyd and brought to life by co-writer Clare Dunne's stunning performance, Herself charts one woman's journey with empathy and grace.'
9. One Day
Across a period of 18 years, Dexter (Jim Sturgess) and Emma (Anne Hathaway) are best friends and sometimes lovers. The will they/won't they plot watches the pair struggle, grow apart and come back together with a devastating twist before the credits roll.
Based on the best-selling novel of the same name by David Nicholls, One Day is an absolute must-watch if you need a cry. It's all about the build up.
10. Bridge to Terabithia
Allegedly, this is a children’s film, but the tears are very much adult-sized.
It all starts when a wealthy girl called Leslie (AnnaSophia Robb) moves to the countryside with her family and befriends a local boy called Jess (Josh Hutcherson). Leslie’s family shows Jess the world of art and creativity as his new friend brings some much-needed joy and magic into his life. So far, so sweet. Just to wait for the devastation - it's like no other.
11. Coco
Disney-Pixar movies have a talent for making people cry and Coco had us going for solid 45 minutes afterwards (potentially a record!).
In the 2017 cartoon, the lead character, Miguel, pursues his love of singing even though his family has a ban on music. After discovering the Land Of The Dead he learns about his heritage and great-great-grandfather who was actually an iconic singer.
Completed by a brilliant soundtrack, Coco is definitely one of the best sad movies out there.
12. Titanic
A no brainer. A classic. Was there room for Jack on that door with Rose? Absolutely, which makes the tears of frustration and sadness flow all the more easily. Leonardo DiCaprio’s face somewhat numbs the pain while you bury your face into your Kleenex, but that doesn't make the movie any less devastating.
This multi-Academy Award winning epic follows the romance between Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Rose (Kate Winslet) as they embark on a journey on the HMS Titanic, obviously not knowing that the cruise ship is heading straight for tragedy.
13. Someone Great
If you’ve just gone through a break-up, then this is essential viewing.
Jane The Virgin’s Gina Rodriguez aka Jenny has just been dumped by her long-term boyfriend and recruits her two best friends for a huge night out in NYC before she relocates to San Francisco.
It might sound like an upbeat adventure but, trust us, it’s not, although your tears will be more relief-triggered than coming from a place of utter heartbreak like some of the other movies on our list.
14. The Pursuit Of Happyness
After Chris’ wife becomes tired of his professional failures and divorces him, he’s left completely broke. Struggling for custody of his son, he takes on an unpaid internship at a brokerage firm in an attempt to turn his family’s life around.
Honestly, Will Smith (and his son Jayden Smith tbh) at his best. Their sweet relationship is bound to make you shed a tear or ten.
15. Plus One
Yes, it was billed as a rom-com but honestly Plus One is one of the best tearjerker films out there.
The plot follows long-term best friends Ben (Jack Quaid) and Alice (Maya Erskine) make a deal to be each others' dates for wedding season after all of their friends start tying the knot.
Equal parts sweet and heart-wrenching, this film is seriously relatable and an emotional rollercoaster.
16. Spider-Man: No Way Home
The conclusion to Tom Holland’s superhero adventures - which in itself is absolutely devastating news - Spiderman: No Way Home had us sobbing in ways we didn’t expect.
Speaking about the emotional side of the film Tom said, ‘What people will be really surprised about is that it’s not fun, this film. It’s dark and it’s sad and it’s going to be really affecting. You’re going to see characters that you love go through things that you would never wish for them to go through.’
The all-star cast of Tom Holland, Zendaya, Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire to name just a few are honestly outstanding.
17. The Book Thief
Based on the book by Markus Zusak, this story will break your heart into a million pieces.
The Book Thief tells the story of Liesel (Sophie Nelisse) is living with an adoptive German family during the Nazi era. Thanks to the kind heart of her foster father (Geoffrey Rush), she starts borrowing books and sharing them with a Jewish refugee (Ben Schnetzer) who is hidden in her home.
18. Forrest Gump
Equal parts comedy and tragedy, Forrest Gump is considered one of the most emotive films in cinema history.
Tom Hanks plays a kind-hearted man from Alabama (Forrest Gump) who lives many lives as a college football star, soldier in the Vietnam war, and captain of a Shrimp boat. But through it all he never forgets his troubled childhood love Jenny Curran (Robin Wright).
As well as being an absolute tearjerker, Forrest Gump brought us many of the iconic movie lines that we still say today like 'Run, Forrest, run'.
19. Me Before You
Another emotive book made into a brilliant Hollywood film, Me Before You sees Emilia Clarke's Lou takes on a job as a carer to help her family financially. Her client is a paralysed young banker called Will (Sam Claflin) who was in an accident two years before. When the pair meet, Will is seriously cynical but, the more time they spend together, he starts to thaw and their lives change in ways they never expected.
An honest to the novel adaptation, that really brought our favourite characters to life - with absolutely heart wrenching consequences on course.
20. The Notebook
An all-time favourite. Who wouldn’t cry at the memory of young love erased by Alzheimer's? We'd be highly remiss to not include it on our list.
The Notebook tells the story of Noah Calhoun (Ryan Gosling) and Allison 'Allie' Hamilton (Rachel McAdams) as a young couple who fall in love in the 1940s. Their heartbreaking romance is revealed to us gradually as being read from a notebook in the present day by an elderly man, as he tells the tale to a fellow nursing home resident.
Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams have serious chemistry, the 1940s clothes are sensational and, as an added bonus, it will punch you right in the feels.
21. The Fault in Our Stars
Based on the novel of the same name by John Green (that's how you know it's going to get the tears flowing), The Fault in Our Stars broke everyone's hearts when it was released back in 2014 and now that it's available to watch on Disney+, it's time to start sobbing all over again.
The story centres on a sixteen-year-old cancer patient, Hazel Grace Lancaster (Shailene Woodley), who is forced by her parents to attend a support group, where she meets and subsequently falls in love with another cancer patient, Augustus 'Gus' Waters (Ansel Elgort).
22. P.S. I Love You
Another incredible film based on an absolutely devastating book is P.S. I Love You starring Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler.
The plot follows the recently widowed Holly Kennedy (Hilary Swank) as she receives a series of letters from her deceased husband Gerry (Gerard Butler) on her 30th birthday, which encourage her to live life again, make the most of every day and even welcome new love should it come her way.
23. Inside Out
Inside Out makes a case for the argument that Disney films are equally for adults. This animated film guarantees to have you bawling your eyes out.
With an all-star cast that includes Amy Poehler, Bill Hader and Mindy Kaling, this film tells the story of the inner workings of the mind of a young girl named Riley. When Riley's family relocate and she struggles to adapt, her personified inner thoughts of Joy, Sadness, Fear, Anger and Disgust try to make her feel better about it.
24. If Beale Street Could Talk
With a beautiful love story at its core, If Beale Street Could Talk is a hard-hitting romantic drama that deals with racism, assault and wrongful convictions. Rather than only getting you right at the end, this film is basically one long cry.
Having been friends their whole lives, Clementine 'Tish' Rivers (KiKi Lane) and Alonzo 'Fonny' Hunt (Stephan James) are forced to navigate both their blossoming romance and Fonny's arrest when he is accused of raping a woman named Victoria (Emily Rios).
25. Dead Poets Society
To be fair, any film starring Robin Williams makes us want to cry now - even Mrs Doubtfire - but without a doubt the saddest of the lot is Dead Poets Society.
The film tells the story of an English teacher (Robin Williams) who inspires his students (including Ethan Hawke, Robert Sean Leonard and Josh Charles) to pursue their passions through his teaching of poetry.
Yes it's a devastating story, but it will really encourage you to make the most of every day, so ultimately there's a happy ending.