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Get ready for some unexpected waterworks! Join us as we count down the films that hit us right in the feels when we least expected it. From comedies that suddenly broke our hearts to action films with surprising emotional depth, these movies delivered gut punches to audiences who were completely unprepared for the emotional journey ahead.
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00:00Goodbye, everybody! Farewell, adieu!
00:04Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the movies that deliver a gut punch to audiences
00:10who expected something entirely different going in. There will be spoilers.
00:14If anyone is out there, I can provide food, I can provide shelter.
00:22Number 20. Little Miss Sunshine
00:24On the surface, Little Miss Sunshine plays like an offbeat indie comedy.
00:28Well, they just called right now and said the girl who won had to forfeit her crown.
00:32I don't know why, something about diet pills, but anyway, now she has a place in the state contest in
00:36Redondo Beach!
00:37If they want to make sure to make it, that's a call.
00:40A dysfunctional family piles into a broken-down VW bus, so young Olive can compete in a California beauty pageant.
00:46The setup promises awkward laughs and quirky mishaps.
00:49Those laughs absolutely come, of course, but they're only half the story.
00:53Beneath the deadpan humor is a surprisingly heavy emotional core.
00:56Each member of the Hoover family is quietly wrestling with their own demons.
01:00Whether failure, disappointment, or grief, they're all struggling.
01:05I don't want to be a loser.
01:07You're not a loser. Where'd you get the idea you're a loser?
01:12Because dad hates losers.
01:14Those struggles collide and slowly get easier when they lean on each other.
01:19By the time the family rallies behind Olive on stage, the movie has become a full-blown tearjerker about acceptance
01:24and unconditional support.
01:26Number 19. Love and Basketball.
01:29Basketball isn't merely the backdrop here.
01:31It's the language these characters use to love and hurt each other.
01:34Monica and Quincy grow up side-by-side.
01:37If I stayed, I wouldn't be stark.
01:39Or at least you got your priorities straight.
01:41I never asked you to choose.
01:43You never have to.
01:44Their relationship is shaped as much by missed shots and bruised egos as by romance.
01:49Every major moment in their lives is measured against the game, and the pressure never lets up.
01:54Director Gina Prince-Bythewood refuses to ever smooth those edges.
01:58Monica's talent doesn't guarantee respect.
02:00Quincy's confidence masks insecurity.
02:02Their connection constantly breaks under the weight of ambition, resentment, and unequal expectations.
02:08The movie understands that love doesn't always arrive at the right time, or on fair terms.
02:12Instead of a fairytale ending, love and basketball deliver something rarer.
02:16A brutally honest one.
02:17One game, one-on-one.
02:19For what?
02:22Your heart.
02:24Number 18. Planes, Trains, and Automobiles.
02:27I never did introduce myself.
02:28Del Griffith, American Light and Fixture, Director of Sales, Shower Curtain Ring Division.
02:35I sell shower curtain rings.
02:38Best in the world.
02:40At first glance, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles feels like a straightforward holiday comedy.
02:44Steve Martin plays Neil Page, a tightly wound executive desperate to get home for Thanksgiving.
02:48John Candy's Del Griffith is his exact opposite.
02:52Chatty, intrusive, and relentlessly upbeat.
02:55Together, they stumble through one disaster after another, leaning into their odd-couple dynamic.
03:00Audiences weren't expecting their heartstrings to be pulled, too.
03:03But even as the jokes pile up, a story unfolds about loneliness and a longing for connection.
03:09Candy's performance in particular reveals a deep sadness beneath the bluster.
03:12By the time the truth about Del's life comes into focus, the wacky scenarios and big laughs
03:17give way to something deeply moving.
03:19Murray's been dead for eight years.
03:48Number 17, Sister Act 2, Back in the House.
03:51You may not believe this, but Sister Act 2 was something of a box office disappointment.
03:55It found new life on TV, becoming a cult classic.
03:59This lighter, louder sequel, built around big musical numbers,
04:02finds Whoopi Goldberg's Sister Dolores trying to save a struggling Catholic school.
04:06It's a breezy crowd-pleaser aimed squarely at teens, but Sister Act 2 sneaks up on you.
04:11A little lonely out on that limb by yourself, Ms. Watson?
04:15Despite its humor, the film is incredibly sincere and leans hard into themes of self-belief and mentorship.
04:21The children and audience learn the importance of finding your voice when the world expects you to fail.
04:26The classroom scenes especially carry unexpected weight.
04:29Music isn't a gimmick for the movie, but a lifeline for its characters.
04:33If you wake up in the morning and you can't think of anything but singing first,
04:38then you're supposed to be a singer, girl.
04:42At first glance, The Last of the Mohicans looks like a cookie-cutter 90s historical epic,
04:47a set-piece for action and spectacle.
04:50Set during the French and Indian War, it's filled with battles, chases, and Daniel Day-Lewis' heroics.
04:56Is it a rugged adventure? Of course.
04:58But The Last of the Mohicans is also a deeply personal story.
05:01Beneath the violence and grandeur is a tragic tale of love, loss, and the end of a way of life.
05:07Is the hatchet buried between the English and my French father?
05:10Yes.
05:12Not a warrior has a scalp.
05:14And the white men become friends.
05:16My master owned this dance.
05:18And I have been ordered to drive off the English squatters.
05:22They have consented to go.
05:25So now I call them enemies no longer.
05:27Michael Mann lets his actress' faces do the work through moody silence, bolstered by an unforgettable score.
05:33By the devastating final act, the film shifts from historical action to full-scale tragedy.
05:38It's not just thrilling.
05:39It's mournful, romantic, and ultimately overwhelming.
05:43You've done everything you can do! Save yourself!
05:49If the worst happens...
05:51You stay alive!
05:53If they don't kill you, they'll take you north up to Huron Land.
05:57It's a bitch, you hear?
05:58It's a job to survive!
06:02You stay alive, no matter what occurs!
06:05Number 15.
06:06Meet the Robinsons.
06:07Time machines, slapstick chaos, and non-stop jokes make this feel like lightweight Disney fare.
06:13It moves fast, talks loudly, and rarely slows down.
06:16This makes Meet the Robinsons' emotional turn all the more surprising.
06:19Beneath the sci-fi antics is a story driven by loneliness and rejection.
06:23At his core, Lewis is an orphan terrified that he'll never be chosen for adoption.
06:28From failing, you learn.
06:30From success?
06:31Not so much.
06:32If I gave up every time I failed, I never would have made the meatball cannon.
06:36I never would have made my fireproof pants.
06:41Ah, still working out the kinks.
06:42While the humor is for younger kids, the themes are heady.
06:46It is a shockingly deep exploration of both the value of resilience through failure and found family.
06:51By the time the film lands on its message about perseverance and belonging, you might already be bawling.
06:56So if I go back now, then this will be my future.
07:00Well, that depends on you.
07:03Nothing is set in stone.
07:04You've got to make the right choices.
07:06And keep moving forward.
07:08Number 14.
07:10Big.
07:10Big plays out like a wish-fulfillment comedy built around a simple fantasy.
07:14What if a kid could wake up as an adult?
07:16Josh Baskin gets his wish, suddenly inhabiting a grown man's body with a child's enthusiasm.
07:21Josh.
07:26You look terrible.
07:29But adulthood is no joke.
07:32Josh may have the body, job, and freedom of an adult, but he's profoundly unprepared for the emotional cost.
07:37Loneliness, confusion, and a creeping sense of displacement set in as his childhood slips away faster than he can understand.
07:44Growing up is less of a dream than it is a profound loss thanks to the burden of responsibility.
07:49So what are you, 15, 16?
07:55I'm 13.
07:56By the time Josh is forced to choose between adulthood and the life he left behind, it's no choice at
08:01all.
08:02Number 13.
08:03The Sixth Sense.
08:04The Sixth Sense put M. Night Shyamalan on the map as the twist director, but the big twist makes it
08:09easy to forget that the rest of the film tears your guts out.
08:12What do you think these ghosts want when they talk to you?
08:22I want you to think about it, Cole.
08:24Haley Joel Osmond's portrayal of a child who sees ghosts is haunting.
08:29His sincerity and innocence make his suffering almost unbearable.
08:32At its core, the film is about isolation, grief, and the pain of not being believed.
08:37Cole is crushed by the loneliness of carrying it alone.
08:40Every scene is steeped in sadness, fractured families, misconnections, and words left unsaid.
08:47By the time the final reveal lands, the impact comes from the realization of how much regret was hiding in
08:52plain sight.
08:53I think I can go now.
08:59Just needed to do a couple things.
09:02Number 12.
09:03Dog.
09:04This one was marketed as a feel-good road movie about a tough guy with a difficult dog.
09:08Their cross-country trip was meant to sand down both of their rough edges.
09:11You're going to be okay, all right?
09:14Come on, man.
09:14I ain't got all day.
09:15Let's go.
09:15I'm just going to put this on you.
09:20But the film doesn't stay life for long.
09:22Channing Tatum plays Jackson Briggs, an army ranger, ordered to escort a fallen soldier's military dog to a funeral.
09:28Briggs and Lulu both carry invisible wounds from war.
09:31Neither has been given the tools to deal with them.
09:33The humor hits, but it's flavored by grief, anger, and survivor's guilt.
09:38Instead of celebrating stoicism, Dog preaches vulnerability.
09:42It's a difficult take on the cost that can come with service and what healing takes.
09:46I'm no good at this poem stuff, so I'll just get to the damn point.
09:55Thanks.
09:56Number 11.
09:57A League of Their Own.
09:58A League of Their Own is often remembered as a feel-good sports movie, rounded out by a gruff, but
10:03lovable performance from Tom Hanks.
10:05But this rousing underdog story is so much more.
10:08It's a funny, fast, and crowd-pleasing film about women playing professional baseball while the men are off at war.
10:14Are you crying?
10:15No.
10:16Are you crying?
10:18Are you crying?
10:20There's no crying.
10:22There's no crying in baseball.
10:24But A League of Their Own is also a bittersweet story of unrealized potential.
10:28Dottie and Kit's strained relationship anchors the film in emotional realism.
10:32They soon learn they aren't alone in that struggle, as each of their teammates carries her own burdens.
10:37All the while, they understand their rise to glory comes with an expiration date.
10:41Baseball is what gets inside you.
10:43It's what lights you up.
10:45You can't deny that.
10:47It just got too hard.
10:52It's supposed to be hard.
10:54If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it.
10:56Number 10.
10:57Everything Everywhere All at Once
10:59This movie throws you headfirst into chaos.
11:02Its multiverses, absurd humor, rapid-fire editing, and genre whiplash feel deliberately overwhelming.
11:08At first, it plays like a dense, high-concept sci-fi comedy.
11:11But beneath the madness is a simple, personal story.
11:15It's that we have to be kind.
11:23Please, be kind.
11:25Across timelines, the characters are mired in regret and generational trauma.
11:30Again and again, someone feels like their life never added up to what it was supposed to be.
11:34Evelyn isn't trying to save the universe so much as she's trying to understand her daughter, her marriage, and herself.
11:40The spectacle is just a venue for their grief and longing.
12:00Number 9.
12:01The Perks of Being a Wallflower
12:02High school movies usually hurdle toward big moments.
12:06The Perks of Being a Wallflower lingers in the quiet ones.
12:08Charlie isn't on a cliched quest for popularity.
12:11He's just trying to survive and not disappear entirely.
12:14He's an observer of life more than a participant, often unsure where he fits.
12:18What unfolds is far heavier than its indie coming-of-age label suggests.
12:23Beneath the mixtapes and late-night drives is a story about trauma and repression.
12:28Sam.
12:29Sam.
12:29I really didn't mean anything by it.
12:31I'm sorry.
12:33What the hell is wrong with you?
12:34Charlie's friendships bring joy and connection, but they don't erase the pain he's carrying.
12:39The film understands that healing isn't clean or linear.
12:42Joy and pain often overlap.
12:44When Charlie's past surfaces, the film is forced to confront the cost of carrying trauma alone.
12:49And you're not small.
12:51You're beautiful.
12:54Number 8.
12:55Toy Story 3
12:56This was supposed to be a fun one.
12:58What's happening?
12:59We're getting thrown out, you idiot.
13:00That's what's happening.
13:01Toy Story 3 follows a franchise built on jokes, nostalgia, and the comfort of familiar characters.
13:06When it was released, audiences thought they knew the formula.
13:09They were wrong.
13:11Toy Story 3 forces the children who grew up with these characters to confront the fact that they grew up.
13:15Andy is heading to college, and the toys we all grew to love are abandoned.
13:19The film doesn't soften their anxiety.
13:21It leans into it.
13:22Moments meant to be playful turn existential on a dime.
13:26At the end of the film, it's not the toys that have you crying.
13:29It's how the march of time ultimately brings every childhood to an end.
13:33We leave mourning our own.
13:34So long, partner.
13:40Number 7.
13:41I Am Legend
13:41I am a survivor living in New York City.
13:45I am broadcasting on all AM frequencies.
13:49For most of its runtime, I Am Legend is a survival thriller.
13:52An empty New York City, filled with mutated creatures in the dark, torments the world's seemingly last man.
13:57It features the usual tension and jump scares, but Will Smith's Robert Neville is haunted as much by loneliness as
14:03he is by his failures.
14:05Stripped of society, Neville fights his own grief and inner demons just as much as he fights mutants.
14:10We witness the slow erosion of his hope in real time.
14:13Samantha.
14:15Samantha.
14:15Look at me, girl.
14:16Hey.
14:17You're okay.
14:18You're okay.
14:19Samantha.
14:20Just gotta get you home.
14:22His routines are as much about staying sane as they are survival.
14:25His apocalypse is a portrait of depression and mourning, made sharper by how little human connection remains.
14:32Number 6.
14:33Big Fish
14:34Big Fish doesn't feel like a Tim Burton film at all.
14:37There's no gothic gloom, no creeping shadows, no macabre fixation.
14:41Instead, it's bright, whimsical, and warm, built around tall tales and exaggerated myth-making.
14:48You don't even know me.
14:50I'll have the rest of my life to find out.
14:53It is gentle, even playful.
14:56That tonal shift is the point.
14:58Beneath the fantastical stories is a deeply emotional meditation on memory and aging.
15:03It centers the stories we tell ourselves to survive loss.
15:06Edward Bloom's larger-than-life legends frustrate his son, who wants facts instead of fantasy.
15:11What the film slowly reveals is that those stories aren't evasions at all.
15:15They're how Edward expresses his emotions.
15:17As the line between truth and myth blurs, we come to believe that emotional truth is the only truth that
15:23matters.
15:24You've become what you always were.
15:28A very big fish.
15:30Number 5.
15:31About Time
15:32When About Time came out, it was marketed as a soft, whimsically romantic romp through time.
15:37Few were prepared for the ensuing ugly crying.
15:39Mary.
15:42Would you like to marry me?
15:44The time travel meet-cutes mask the fact that the relationship that matters most is the bond between a son
15:50and his father.
15:52With age and experience comes wisdom, and Tim learns the true value of time travel.
15:57Fixing mistakes becomes less important than savoring moments that can't be held onto forever.
16:01As Tim learns the limits of his power, the movie quietly pivots from fantasy to something devastatingly real.
16:07Life can be tweaked, relived, even perfected in small ways, but it still moves forward.
16:12Loss can't be avoided forever, even with magical powers.
16:24Number 4.
16:25Marley and Me
16:26You're so sweet, you're like a little clearance puppy.
16:30There was a real divide between people who read the book and those who didn't.
16:33Audiences expected Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston to lead a goofy family comedy about a lovable, out-of-control dog.
16:40The trailers leaned hard on slapstick chaos and promised a light holiday crowd-pleaser.
16:44What we got was something far more emotionally taxing.
16:48Marley and Me tracks a marriage, a family, and an entire stage of life through the lens of the dog
16:53who's there for all of it.
16:55We witness joy, frustration, growing pains, and the quiet moments you don't notice until they're over.
17:00Marley is a constant in a life that keeps changing, until he isn't.
17:04His death at the film's climax is now infamously heart-rending.
17:08I want you to remember you're a great dog, Marley.
17:12You're a great dog.
17:14Number 3.
17:15Bridesmaids
17:16Bridesmaids arrived marketed as a raunchy ensemble comedy, built to shock and provoke laughter.
17:21I'm not gonna say I survived, I'm gonna say I thrived.
17:24I met a dolphin down there, and I swear to God that dolphin looked, not at me, but into my
17:29soul.
17:30And yes, it absolutely delivers on that promise.
17:32The set pieces are outrageous, the jokes relentless, and the performances fearless.
17:37But buried under the hilarity is something unexpectedly raw.
17:41Kristen Wiig's Annie isn't just unlucky, her life is unraveling.
17:44Career failure, financial stress, and the slow erosion of adult friendships leave her feeling replaced and invisible.
17:51The movie lets her be messy without turning her into a punchline.
17:54Female friendship isn't idealized here, it's competitive, bruising, and emotional.
17:59The comedy works because it's fueled by tangible insecurity and grief.
18:03Bridesmaids is as much about surviving adulthood when nothing goes according to plan as it is about friendship.
18:09Everything's kind of out of control, my dad.
18:12Can't afford the wedding, and this has been really hard to do without you.
18:18Number 2.
18:19Click
18:19A magic remote and fart jokes.
18:22In many ways, click is a high concept excuse for easy laughs.
18:26Does it come with directions?
18:27Not necessary.
18:29Just point.
18:31Click.
18:32And eventually, it will program itself.
18:36It had all the ingredients of a silly, but forgettable comedy.
18:39What we couldn't expect was the sharp emotional turn it takes.
18:43Beneath the gags is a sad story about time slipping away.
18:45Michael Newman is equal parts ambitious and unfulfilled.
18:49He fast forwards through arguments, boredom, and responsibility, convinced he can deal with the important stuff later.
18:55But later never comes.
18:57Michael soon realizes he skipped past all the moments that mattered most.
19:01He fast forwards to the very end of his life, having lost too much time with his father, wife, and
19:06kids.
19:07That realization reframes everything.
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19:34Number 1.
19:35Train to Busan
19:36What starts as a simple trip between cities turns into a pressure cooker of fear, morality, and loss.
19:43A zombie outbreak erupts mid-journey, trapping strangers together inside a speeding train.
19:48Panic spreads fast, as do difficult choices.
19:51We see exactly who these ordinary people become when survival is on the line.
19:55Si-yuk-woo begins the film emotionally distant.
19:58A father who treats responsibility as an inconvenience.
20:00His child becomes his sole purpose as the crisis worsens.
20:14All the while, others carry out weighty acts of both cruelty and kindness.
20:18The horror hits hard, but the emotional devastation is far worse.
20:22Train to Busan doesn't feel like a zombie movie.
20:24It comes across as a powerful drama, leaving you utterly drained in the best possible way.
20:43Which movie on this list made you cry when you absolutely did not expect to?
20:46Let us know in the comments below.
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