12 Best Movies for a Solo Weekend

By Vlad Zakh · August 4, 2026

United States Drama thought provoking slow and atmospheric solo weekend

A weekend with nobody to answer to calls for something slower and quieter, and this list has not a single explosion, which is the point. Lost in Translation is the definitive alone-in-a-city-but-content movie, Her is a melancholy film about loneliness that leaves you feeling less alone, and Paterson is a week in the life of a bus driver who writes poems. Columbus is an unhurried film about architecture and connection. Wendy and Lucy, Into the Wild, Frances Ha, A Ghost Story and Nomadland round out the list.

Lost in Translation (2003)

IMDb ★ 7.7 RT 95% Metacritic 91

Two lonely Americans form an unexpected bond while both staying at the same Tokyo hotel.

Directed by Sofia Coppola · 1h 42m · Rated R

Won 1 Oscar98 wins & 133 nominations

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

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

Paterson (2016)

TMDB ★ 7.4

A bus driver and amateur poet finds quiet inspiration in the small, repetitive rhythms of his daily life.

Directed by Jim Jarmusch · 1h 58m · Rated R

Where to watch

Stream: Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads · Rent: Amazon Video · Buy: Amazon Video, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Columbus (2017)

TMDB ★ 7.3

Two strangers bond over their shared love of a small town's remarkable modernist architecture.

Directed by Kogonada · 1h 44m · Rated PG-13

Where to watch

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

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Wendy and Lucy (2008)

TMDB ★ 7.1

Spare and devastating, but never in a way that feels manipulative, just honest.

Directed by Kelly Reichardt · 1h 20m

Where to watch

Stream: Philo, Hoopla, OVID, MUBI Amazon Channel, Fandor Amazon Channel, Cineverse Amazon Channel · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Into the Wild (2007)

IMDb ★ 8.0 RT 83% Metacritic 73

A college graduate gives away his savings and walks into the Alaskan wilderness alone.

Directed by Sean Penn · 2h 28m · Rated R

Nominated for 2 Oscars23 wins & 106 nominations

Where to watch

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

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

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

Frances Ha (2012)

IMDb ★ 7.4 RT 92% Metacritic 82

A struggling dancer drifts between apartments and friendships in black-and-white New York.

Directed by Noah Baumbach · 1h 26m · Rated R

1 win & 49 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: Netflix, Philo, AMC Plus Apple TV channel, AMC+ Amazon Channel, AMC+, Sundance Now · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

A Ghost Story (2017)

TMDB ★ 6.8

A man comes back as a sheeted ghost and watches his own house outlive him.

Directed by David Lowery · 1h 33m · 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

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

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

Drive My Car (2021)

TMDB ★ 7.6

A grieving theatre director forms an unexpected bond with the quiet young woman assigned as his driver.

Directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi · 2h 59m · Rated NR

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, 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.

12 Best Movies for a Solo Weekend

Lost in Translation (2003)

Her (2013)

Paterson (2016)

Columbus (2017)

Wendy and Lucy (2008)

Into the Wild (2007)

The Florida Project (2017)

Frances Ha (2012)

A Ghost Story (2017)

Manchester by the Sea (2016)

Nomadland (2020)

Drive My Car (2021)

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