The 20 Best Amazon Original Films, Ranked

by Taylor Freitas, for Metacritic – July 19, 2022

In 2015, Amazon Studios—the film and TV production company owned by Amazon—co-produced its first movie: the Spike Lee musical dramedy Chi-Raq. Since then, the e-commerce giant has poured billions of dollars into its original content, including feature-length films, TV programs, documentaries, and more. In fact, last year alone, Amazon invested $13 billion into its video and music content offerings, up from $11 billion in the previous year.

As it stands today, Amazon has produced more than 100 original films, ranging from horror movies to comedies to biographies and beyond. The company also has several more movies slated for release this summer, including Anything’s Possible and Samaritan. Its movies have won Academy Awards, BAFTA Awards, Critics’ Choice Awards, Golden Globes, and more, with Amazon being the first streaming service to produce a Best Picture nominee at the Oscars.

If you’re thinking about diving into Amazon’s deep catalog of original films, you’ve come to the right place. Below, Metacritic has created a list of the company’s top movies, which includes both Amazon Studios-distributed theatrical releases as well as Prime Video exclusives.

On the list, you’ll find everything from family dramas to historical pieces to plays. You’ll also notice several appearances from acclaimed filmmaker Steve McQueen, whose Small Axe anthology takes up four slots on the list. We've chosen to include them here because critics evaluated the individual installments as their own films (even though Small Axe competed in the limited series category at the Emmys).

Here, Metacritic lists the 20 best-reviewed Amazon original films, ranked by Metascore. Documentaries and films with fewer than 7 reviews from professional critics are excluded.

All photos courtesy Amazon Studios

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90 #3 (tie): Small Axe: Mangrove

Mangrove is the first movie in Steve McQueen’s Small Axe anthology, released just a week before Lovers Rock. Set in the 1970s, the film is based on the true story of London’s Mangrove restaurant, which was owned by the Trinidad-born Frank Crichlow (Shaun Parkes). After police repeatedly targeted the Mangrove, the local community organized a protest in support of Frank and his restaurant, which led to the arrest of nine participants (known as the Mangrove Nine). Mangrove chronicles the group’s 1970 trial, including the racial issues at play throughout the process.

“Impassioned, sensitively acted and supersized in scope.” —Jimi Famurewa, Empire

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