Amazon Prime Video has a massive selection of movies, so it can be hard to know what’s worth watching.
Here’s the five best movies added to the service for May 2025.
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The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
It’s a bit surprising that these three films weren’t already on Prime Video, considering Amazon paid $250 million just for the rights to make TV shows of J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic fantasy series. The trilogy of epic fantasy adventures from director Peter Jackson are some of the finest films ever made, with 17 Academy Awards across all three. The third film, Return of the King, is the first (and likely last) epic fantasy film to win Best Picture at the Oscars. If you’ve never experienced the LOTR trilogy, you owe it to yourself to dive in.
The Exorcist
Often named one of the scariest movies ever made, this 1973 horror classic from legendary director William Friedkin can still give you goosebumps even today. The film follows the demonic possession of a young girl, and the attempts of two Catholic priests to rescue her through an exorcism. The film was wildly popular and wildly controversial, with tons of reports of moviegoers vomiting or fainting in the theater. The film was considered so terrifying that several cities across America tried to outright ban it from being played. Why not give it a spin and see what made it such a hot topic?
In The Heat of the Night
One of the most important American films of all time, this mystery drama still rings true today. Virgil Tibbs (played by screen legend Sidney Poitier), a Black detective from Philadelphia, gets caught up in a murder investigation while passing through small-town Mississippi. While most of the town’s residents—including his fellow policemen—are incredibly racist and are openly hostile, even initially suspecting Tibbs just because he’s Black, he resolves to discover the truth. Also, the score is from Quincy Jones and Ray Charles, which is reason enough to throw this on.
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NEW YORK CITY – DECEMBER 19: "Toil and Trouble" – Elsbeth is thrown into the world of television after the showrunner of a long-running police procedural is brutally murdered in his office, and although it appears to be the act of a disgruntled fan, she begins to suspect the show's longtime star Regina Coburn (Laurie Metcalf) who yearns for artistic fulfillment. Meanwhile, Judge Crawford (Michael Emerson) continues to be a thorn in Elsbeth's side, on the CBS original series ELSBETH, Thursday, Dec. 19 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and streaming on Paramount+ (live and on demand for Paramount+ with SHOWTIME subscribers, or on demand for Paramount+ Essential subscribers the day after the episode airs). Pictured (L-R): Carrie Preston as Elsbeth Tascioni and Carra Patterson as Kaya Blanke. (Photo by Michael Parmelee/CBS via Getty Images) -
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