The premier awards show for movies remains the Oscars. The year 2025 marks the 97th edition of the Academy Awards. That’s nearly 100 years of award-winning movies to watch, debate, and discuss. With the rise of streaming, many of these Oscar winners are now on streaming services.
For example, Oppenheimer is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video. Christopher Nolan’s magnum opus still holds up nearly two years after its theatrical release. Even without an IMAX theater, the Trinity Test scene will still be jaw-dropping on your television. Besides Oppenheimer, what other Oscar-winning movies are on Prime Video? Browse our selections below.
We also have guides to the best new movies to stream, the best movies on Netflix, the best movies on Hulu, the best movies on Amazon Prime Video, the best movies on Max, and the best movies on Disney+.
Oppenheimer (2023)
After over two decades of making movies, Nolan finally won his coveted Oscar in Oppenheimer. Deemed by many, including our website, as the movie of 2023, Oppenheimer is a three-hour period piece about J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy), the nuclear physicist who aided in the construction of the atomic bomb in World War II. Nolan depicts Oppenheimer as a conflicted hero who wrestles with the moral dilemma of unleashing nuclear war on the world.
Like many of Nolan’s films, Oppenheimer is presented in a nonlinear narrative, focusing on Oppenheimer’s work in Los Alamos and the post-WWII years, including the Senate confirmation hearing for Lewis Strauss (Robert Downey Jr.) Nominated for 13 Oscars, Oppenheimer won seven: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Murphy), Best Supporting Actor (Downey Jr.), Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, and Best Original Score.
Stream Oppenheimer on Prime Video.
Platoon (1986)
Oliver Stone applied the phrase “war is hell” quite literally in Platoon, the anti-war film set during the late 1960s. After enlisting in the U.S. Army, Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen) is assigned to an infantry platoon in South Vietnam. The young soldiers rely on guidance from the ruthless Staff Sergeant Barnes (Tom Berenger) and the free-spirited Sergeant Elias (Willem Dafoe).
As the war wages on, Chris’ optimistic outlook on the war quickly transforms into pessimism as he routinely witnesses horrific acts of violence, including some from his own comrades. Eventually, Chris will have to choose whom to follow, but he quickly learns that there are no winners in war. There are only those who survive and those who die. Nominated for eight Oscars, Platoon won four: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Sound, and Best Film Editing.
Stream Platoon on Prime Video.
Manchester by the Sea (2016)
The tragic loss in Manchester by the Sea is a parent’s worst nightmare. After the surprising death of his older brother Joe (Kyle Chandler), Lee Chandler (Casey Affleck) returns to his hometown of Manchester-by-the-Sea to settle his family’s affairs. Much to Lee’s shock, Joe made him the legal guardian of his teenage son Patrick (Lucas Hedges).
Due to the winter’s frozen ground, Joe cannot be buried until the spring, so Lee remains in Manchester-by-the-Sea and looks after Patrick. While in his hometown, Lee runs into his ex-wife, Randi (Michelle Williams), whom he left after a tragic accident rocked their family. Manchester by the Sea’s authentic depiction of grief and loss provides the basis for several heartbreaking scenes that will touch your soul. Nominated for six Oscars, Manchester by the Sea won two: Best Actor (Affleck) and Best Original Screenplay.
Stream Manchester by the Sea on Prime Video.
Dances with Wolves (1990)
Dances with Wolves is not an overrated Best Picture winner. Should it have won over Goodfellas? Absolutely not. When the Goodfellas piece is removed from the conversation, Dances With Wolves is a sweeping epic from the ambitious star-turned-director Kevin Costner. While serving in the Union Army during the Civil War, John J. Dunbar transfers to the American frontier on an outpost in present-day Colorado.
Despite being alone, Dunbar successfully established communication with the Lakota Indians, exchanging customs with the natives and learning their language. Dunbar grows to love and appreciate the Lakota’s culture as the natives welcome him into their tribe. The peace eventually ends when the Union Army moves West, complicating Dunbar’s duty to serve his country with his choice to respect the Lakotas. Nominated for 12 Oscars, Dances with Wolves won seven: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Film Editing, Best Cinematography, Best Original Score, and Best Sound Mixing.
Stream Dances with Wolves on Prime Video.
Moonstruck (1987)
Let’s turn back time to the 1980s, when Cher acted consistently. Her top roles included Silkwood, Mask, Suspect, The Witches of Eastwick, and the Oscar-winning rom-com Moonstruck. Directed by Norman Jewison from a screenplay by John Patrick Shanley, Moonstruck stars Cher as Loretta Castorini, an Italian-American widow living in Brooklyn with her parents (Olympia Dukakis and Vincent Gardenia).
After reluctantly accepting a marriage proposal from her boyfriend, Johnny (Danny Aiello), Loretta must invite his estranged brother Ronny (Nicolas Cage) to the wedding. With Johnny out of town, Loretta falls in love with Ronny as an unintended consequence. Sparks fly whenever Cher and Cage are on screen together, and their chemistry is one of the many reasons why Moonstruck has become one of the greatest romance movies. Nominated for six Oscars, Moonstruck won three: Best Actress (Cher), Best Supporting Actress (Dukakis), and Best Original Screenplay.
Stream Moonstruck on Prime Video.
