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Prime Day may not be until July 11, but that hasn’t stopped Amazon from already loading up their site with some great deals for all you folks out there looking to build up your digital libraries. Personally, I am very much a physical media person and prefer to use my digital library as a backup. But I understand that I am not most people, and digital movie watching and collecting is the norm.
Usually, these cheap deals for digital movies end up mostly being for a lot of stuff that nobody really wants to own anyway. There is a bit of that this Prime Day. Like, if you were just dying to own 2010’s “The A-Team,” you can do so now for $4.99, but my guess is you may be looking for some deals for some top-shelf entertainment. Luckily, I am here to point you in the right direction to tell you the best films you can find for the lowest prices possible. And this post will continue to be updated through Prime Day on July 11 as more deals show themselves.
The true bargains
The digital deals that I cannot resist are the ones where the film is under $5. Prime Day offers some pretty terrific films for that low price, and if I hadn’t already purchased them at an earlier date myself, I would be grabbing these without question.
- “The Cabin in the Woods” — I could not have been more skeptical of Drew Goddard’s directorial debut before I saw it at the South by Southwest Film Festival. I had not been a fan of Joss Whedon’s overly cutesy banter, and he and Goddard taking on this well-worn horror genre in a self-referential way could’ve been excruciating. But I was floored, and it ranks highly amongst my favor horror pictures of the 2010s. Also, Drew Goddard needs to direct more movies.
- “Dumb & Dumber” — Nobody had a better 1994 than Jim Carrey, who had three movies release that year: “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective,” “The Mask,” and “Dumb & Dumber.” Carrey went into that year as the guy who was on “In Living Color.” He left it one of the biggest movie stars in Hollywood. He and co-star Jeff Daniels not only have great chemistry and are screamingly funny together, but there’s a real heart at the core of that friendship that truly makes you care about these outrageous characters. If you haven’t revisited “Dumb & Dumber” lately, snatch it up for $4.99.
- “Good Will Hunting” — The fact that it took nearly 25 years after “Good Will Hunting” for Matt Damon and Ben Affleck to realize that their creative partnership never should’ve broken apart is insane. Their Oscar-winning screenwriting debut remains as moving and well-observed as it ever was, and every year that passes makes you yearn for a time where this kind of movie could make a similar impact.
Other films you can check out for $4.99:
Masterpieces under $10
If you’re willing to put down a couple extra dollars for your movies, there are still some great prices for movies I consider to not just be some of the finest of the last five years, but straight-up five-star masterpieces.
- “Babylon” — It is time for the “Babylon” hive to rise up and make some noise. Damien Chazelle’s ode to Hollywood at the time of the sound revolution is one of the most audacious uses of a major studio’s money in some time. It’s a three-hour extravaganza that is as indulgent and romantic about show business as it is cynical. So much of the talk around “Babylon” upon its release were its commercial woes and not its artistic achievement, which is a shame. It’s bold, hilarious, depressing, and exciting all wrapped up in a bow. Check it out for $7.99.
- “The Fabelmans” — “Babylon” ranked high on my favorites of 2022, but my number one, without question, was Steven Spielberg’s highly autobiographical flick “The Fabelmans.” This was one where I think people let their preconceived notions get the better of them. People assumed this would be a rose-colored, nostalgic love letter to the power of movies, and that’s not really what this is. It is an oddly structured, often funny coming of age tale about a kid who can only process his emotions through art. You can get it for $9.99.
- “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood” — I often struggle with whether I consider Quentin Tarantino’s supposedly penultimate film to be his best. I think we’re still a little too close to it to fully judge. Regardless, his historical fiction comedy set in 1969 Hollywood primarily about the dearly departed Rick Dalton again proves that Tarantino is a rare singular voice in big-budget entertainment. And it’s just $6.99.
Other films for under $10:
Bundle it up
Perhaps even more than the under $5 titles, I can get roped into buying a well-priced bundle of digital movies pretty easily. Prime Day has a choice selection for you on that front as well.
- “Indiana Jones 4-Movie Collection” — Prime Day is offering each individual Indiana Jones film for $7.99 apiece, but if you really want them, you can save even more money by just getting the bundle of the first four with “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” on the horizon. Look, it’s Steven Spielberg. It’s Harrison Ford. It’s some of the best action adventure filmmaking of all time. It’s four movies for $19.99. Why not?
- “Mission: Impossible Collection” — There is not a better franchise going than “Mission: Impossible.” I already have tickets to multiple different showtimes of “Dead Reckoning Part One.” If I was solely a digital movie person and didn’t own any of these films, I would snatch up this bundle of the first six films in a heartbeat. In terms of being a deal, it’s rather steep at $69.99, but the films are so good that it’s easily worth the price (though you can get the 4K disc collection for even cheaper).
- “Spider-Man Trilogy” — I am not as high on Sam Raimi’s “Spider-Man” trilogy as most, but I still put them head and shoulders above most of the superhero franchises we have been inundated with over the last 20 years. There’s so much personality in every frame that even the ones that don’t work for me still stick in my head far more than most in the genre. Granted, I haven’t seen them in many years, so perhaps this $29.99 bundle will get me to check them out again.
Other bundle deals:
