10 Movie Scenes That Make You Cry Even When You Know What's Coming

The art of making the viewer cry isn’t an easy one: films can’t just assault the viewer with sad themes and upsetting narratives, but rather they’ve got to be fine-tuned to feel realistic and authentic at the same time. When a scene is well-written, features moving performances, and has the perfect soundtrack to go alongside it, it shouldn’t matter that the audience knows what’s going to happen. These emotionally devastating moments are usually at the end of the film, as the story’s loose threads finally pay off.

10 Andy Leaves For College

Toy Story 3 (2010)

The Toy Story series is filled with emotional commentary on childhood, growing up, and moving on from our youth, but it’s the gut-wrenching conclusion to Toy Story 3 that finally brings all these ideas together as Andy is forced to say goodbye to his toys.

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It’s an incredibly sad moment that marks the end of Andy’s childhood, but it’s filled with bittersweet admiration for the toys that were always there for him.

9 E.T. Goes Home

Nobody does an emotional ending quite like Steven Spielberg, and E.T. may be his most famous of all. After building up the wholesome friendship between Elliot and E.T. for the entire film, Spielberg pulls them apart at the last moment as the alien’s family arrives on Earth to bring him home. It’s another bittersweet ending that sees both characters get their happy endings, but the audience can’t help but despair that it’s not together.

8 Mufasa Falls To His Death

The Lion King (1994)

There are plenty of extremely sad deaths in Disney movies, but Mufasa’s murder at the beginning of The Lion King may be the most moving of all. While it’s the shock factor that’s most overwhelming on the first watch, it’s Simba’s emotional reaction to the event that keeps the tears flowing on every repeat viewing. It’s the kind of unfair, needless death that’s not expected from a family movie, which is exactly why it was so effective.

7 “I Could Have Saved More”

Schindler’s List (1993)

There are countless moments in Schindler’s List that can effortlessly make the audience cry, from the striking visuals of the girl in red to the rocks being placed on Oskar’s grave, but it’s Liam Neeson’s tragic monologue in the final act that hits home the most. It’s a biting statement on the brutality of war, but more importantly, a transparent display of the character’s own humanity and selflessness that Neeson delivers with immense empathy.

6 The Opening Montage

Up (2009)

Up is widely regarded as one of Pixar’s best movies, but the film’s most emotional moment actually lands within the first ten minutes. The movie opens with a montage of Carl’s life before Russell turns up on his doorstep, following his romance with Ellie and concluding with her death in old age. It’s a heartbreaking scene that displays exactly how much emotion and feeling can be conveyed without so much as a single word.

5 Cooper’s Home Videos

Interstellar (2014)

Matthew McConaughey has received endless praise for his performance as Cooper in Interstellar, and the famous scene where he’s watching his family’s messages from home is undoubtedly his best work in the film.

The scene perfectly captures the fleeting nature of time, which is distorted even more in Cooper’s scenario - he realizes how much of his children’s lives he’s missed, questioning his own decision to leave them behind in search of a better future for humanity. It’s tragic and moving in all the right ways, giving a glimpse into Christopher Nolan’s talent for writing emotional scenes.

4 “That’s My Son!”

Harry Potter & The Goblet of Fire (2005)

Harry Potter may not be the first franchise that comes to mind when considering emotional moments, but there’s one scene in the fourth installment that immediately clarifies the series’ transition from light and wonderful to dark and gritty. Following Cedric’s death at the hands of a newly-revived Voldemort, his father begins to wail over the boy’s body and cry out for help, unwilling to accept his son’s death.

3 Marley’s Final Moments

Marley & Me (2008)

Animal deaths in movies are always sad, but Marley & Me undeniably has the most emotional of them all. The film spends its entire runtime setting up the friendship between a man and his dog, just to tear them apart at the last second as he’s forced to put down his beloved pet. While it’s not as dramatic as some of the other memorable sad scenes in cinema history, it’s arguably even more moving because it’s so grounded and familiar to lots of people.

2 Walking On The Beach

About Time (2013)

At its core, beyond the sci-fi elements and engaging romance, About Time is the story of a young man trying to connect with his father, and putting off the grief of losing him when the time comes. In the final scene, in which both father and son travel back in time for one final stroll along the beach, is a gutting moment that’s sure to break the hearts of anybody who’s experienced grief before.

1 Mia & Sebastian’s Epilogue

La La Land (2016)

While the film is mostly a happy story, La La Land’s conclusion doesn’t give the protagonists the happy ending that they deserve. Instead, Mia and Sebastian are only together in a dreamy vision of the future, before they’re dragged back to reality and forced to walk away from each other again.