15 Best 2010s Drama Movies

By Vlad Zakh · April 28, 2025

United States Drama thought provoking

Moonlight and Parasite both won Best Picture while telling stories Hollywood rarely centered, and Whiplash proved a two-hander drama could feel as tense as any thriller. Lady Bird treats a teenage girl’s life as important, The Revenant is a brutal survival drama, and A Star Is Born still works as the fourth remake. Three Billboards, The Florida Project, Marriage Story, Nomadland, The Social Network, Her, Room and Manchester by the Sea round out the list.

Lady Bird (2017)

01

Lady Bird (2017)

TMDB ★ 7.4

A coming-of-age story that treats a teenage girl's life as genuinely important.

Directed by Greta Gerwig · 1h 34m · Rated R

Where to watch

Stream: Hulu, HBO Max Amazon Channel, Cinemax Amazon Channel, HBO Max, Cinemax Apple TV channel · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The Revenant (2015)

02

The Revenant (2015)

TMDB ★ 8.0

A brutal survival drama built on Leonardo DiCaprio's most physical performance.

Directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu · 2h 37m · Rated R

Where to watch

Stream: HBO Max Amazon Channel, HBO Max · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

A Star Is Born (2018)

03

A Star Is Born (2018)

TMDB ★ 7.6

The fourth go at this story, and it still works completely.

Directed by Bradley Cooper · 2h 16m · Rated R

Where to watch

Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)

04

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)

IMDb ★ 8.1 RT 90% Metacritic 88

A grieving mother rents three billboards to pressure police into solving her daughter's murder.

Directed by Martin McDonagh · 1h 55m · Rated R

Won 2 Oscars132 wins & 233 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: HBO Max Amazon Channel, Cinemax Amazon Channel, HBO Max, Cinemax Apple TV channel · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The Florida Project (2017)

05

The Florida Project (2017)

TMDB ★ 7.6

A childhood-poverty story told with warmth instead of misery.

Directed by Sean Baker · 1h 52m · Rated R

Where to watch

Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Marriage Story (2019)

06

Marriage Story (2019)

TMDB ★ 7.9

A divorce drama that's somehow fair to both people falling apart.

Directed by Noah Baumbach · 2h 17m · Rated R

Where to watch

Stream: Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Nomadland (2020)

07

Nomadland (2020)

TMDB ★ 7.4

A woman embraces a nomadic life on the road after losing everything in the Great Recession.

Directed by Chloé Zhao · 1h 48m · Rated R

Where to watch

Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The Social Network (2010)

08

The Social Network (2010)

TMDB ★ 7.7

A founding-myth drama about Facebook that plays like a genuine thriller.

Directed by David Fincher · 2h 01m · Rated PG-13

Where to watch

Stream: Apple TV, fuboTV, MGM+ Amazon Channel, Philo, YouTube TV, Criterion Channel · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Her (2013)

09

Her (2013)

TMDB ★ 8.0

A love story about loneliness that has only got more prophetic every year since.

Directed by Spike Jonze · 2h 06m · Rated R

Where to watch

Stream: Apple TV · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Room (2015)

10

Room (2015)

IMDb ★ 8.1 RT 93% Metacritic 86

A young mother and her son, raised in captivity, must adjust to life after their escape.

Directed by Lenny Abrahamson · 1h 58m · Rated R

Won 1 Oscar108 wins & 143 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: HBO Max Amazon Channel, Cinemax Amazon Channel, HBO Max, Cinemax Apple TV channel · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Manchester by the Sea (2016)

11

Manchester by the Sea (2016)

TMDB ★ 7.8

Grief handled with restraint instead of melodrama, which makes it land harder.

Directed by Kenneth Lonergan · 2h 18m · Rated R

Where to watch

Stream: Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

12 Years a Slave (2013)

12

12 Years a Slave (2013)

IMDb ★ 8.1 RT 95% Metacritic 96

A free Black man is kidnapped and sold into slavery in the pre-Civil War South.

Directed by Steve McQueen · 2h 14m · Rated R

Won 3 Oscars244 wins & 338 nominations

Where to watch

Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Moonlight (2016)

13

Moonlight (2016)

IMDb ★ 7.4 RT 98% Metacritic 99

A quiet, three-part coming-of-age story told with real restraint.

Directed by Barry Jenkins · 1h 52m · Rated R

Won 3 Oscars237 wins & 315 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: Netflix, Hulu, Netflix Standard with Ads · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Whiplash (2014)

14

Whiplash (2014)

IMDb ★ 8.5 RT 94% Metacritic 89

An ambitious young drummer is pushed to his psychological limits by a ruthless, abusive music conductor.

Directed by Damien Chazelle · 1h 47m · Rated R

Won 3 Oscars100 wins & 144 nominations

Where to watch

Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Parasite (2019)

15

Parasite (2019)

IMDb ★ 8.5 RT 99% Metacritic 97

A poor family schemes its way into the lives of a wealthy household, with unforeseen consequences.

Directed by Bong Joon Ho · 2h 13m · Rated R

Won 4 Oscars309 wins & 261 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, Paramount+ Amazon Channel, Paramount+ Roku Premium Channel · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, FlixFling · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Streaming availability data from JustWatch, via TMDB. Availability changes often, so check the service before you plan a movie night.

Vlad Zakh

Founder, Movieix

Founder of Movieix. He started the site because most recommendation pages felt like noise. Here, lists are sorted by who's in the film, where it's from and what mood you're in tonight.