Last Updated on 28 May 2025

I searched the Internet for lists of the best or greatest tearjerker movies of all time. Criteria included the movies being ranked, not just listed or in just one genre, and generally created by groups, whether teams or committees or based on general public voting (like Ranker.com).

I was able to find 30 lists. I took the 30 lists and added all their content into a spreadsheet, noting the rank of every film. I ended up averaging the rankings each movie got (there were 184 that were on at least 2 lists) and dividing that average by a factor of the number of lists that movie was on. The lowest score meant a high ranking average on many lists. The complete spreadsheet is attached at the bottom.

The movies that were on the most lists (out of 30) were:

  • Steel Magnolias (1989) – 18 lists
  • Titanic (1997) – 18 lists
  • The Notebook (2004) – 18 lists
  • My Girl (1991) – 17 lists
  • Marley & Me (2008) – 17 lists
  • Brokeback Mountain (2005) – 16 lists
  • The Pursuit of Happyness (2006) – 14 lists
  • Up (2009) – 14 lists
  • The Fault in Our Stars (2014) – 14 lists
  • Beaches (1988) – 14 lists
  • The Green Mile (1999) – 14 lists

Here are links to the lists I used along with dates the lists were created:

Best Tearjerker Movies of All TimeDownload

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