5 best LGBTQ movies to watch during Pride Month

Pride month is finally here, and honestly, what better way to celebrate all the love, identity, and beautiful queerness out there than through some killer movies? Whether you’re craving sweet romances, powerful coming-of-age vibes, or stories that flip the script and challenge the norm, these 5 LGBTQ films have got you covered for your Pride Month watchlist.

Some will make you laugh, some might make you ugly cry (you’ve been warned), but all of them remind us why every queer story deserves its time in the spotlight and not just during Pride Month. So grab your snacks, dim the lights, and press play, because these movies are way more than just entertainment; they’re a full-on celebration of who we really are.

Call Me By Your Name (2017)

We're starting off Pride Month strong with a novel adaptation that has slowly become one of the biggest cult classics in queer cinema. Call Me By Your Name is one of those rare Achillean romances that explores queerness without using any of the queer words even once. Based on Andre Aciman's hit novel, which made the characters gender fluid rather than assigning them an orientation, it's a wonderful celebration of sexuality without any labels or messy explanations and coming out of the closet stories. Set in the sun-soaked, lazy summers of 1980s northern Italy, it tells the tender and bittersweet story of Elio, a sensitive 17-year-old, and Oliver, a charismatic American scholar who comes to stay with Elio’s family. Their connection blossoms slowly, full of curiosity, longing, and the messy sweetness of first love.

The movie captures the ache and beauty of youth with such raw honesty that you would find yourself swaying to Sufjan Stevens' soundtrack as the two fall in love. The Italian countryside isn’t just a backdrop. It’s a character in itself, soaking the story in warmth and nostalgia. The performances, especially by Timothée Chalamet, who received his first Oscar nomination for the role, feel so authentic and make you live inside the frame as the two lovers find their way to each other. If you’re into films that blend emotional depth with stunning visuals and a killer soundtrack, this one’s a must-watch this Pride Month.

Available on: Netflix

Mulholland Drive (2001)

Mulholland Drive is a wild 2001 mystery flick from David Lynch, the king of all things weird and trippy. Naomi Watts plays an aspiring actress who lands in LA and immediately gets sucked into a crazy dream-meets-reality mess that’ll twist your brain in the best way. It’s all about queer vibes, secret desires, and the messy, beautiful chaos of figuring out who you really are.

It dropped at Cannes and instantly became a cult favorite, with Lynch snagging a Best Director nod. Honestly, Mulholland Drive is basically Pride Month gold. It’s perfect for when you want to vibe with a movie that’s spooky, stunning, and totally about owning your queer self. Besides, looking at its release year, the film was way ahead of its time.

So if you’re down for a movie that’s equal parts mind-boggling and emotional, with some deep queer juice, this one’s a must-watch. Just buckle up and get ready to have your whole perspective flipped in the best way possible.

Available on: Prime Video and Apple TV

Brokeback Mountain (2005)

Brokeback Mountain, directed by Ang Lee, is a solid choice for your Pride Month movie marathon if you're looking for a devastating and equally refreshing film. Set against the sweeping, lonely beauty of the American West, it tells the love story of Jack Twist, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, and Ennis Del Mar, played by Heath Ledger - two cowboys who fall for each other in a world that refuses to let them just be. What starts as a summer gig herding sheep turns into a decades-long, hidden love that’s tender, tragic, and painfully real.

This movie isn’t loud about its queerness, instead, it hums with it. It’s about the love that blooms quietly, the kind that’s tucked away in glove compartments and whispered into the wind. It’s about fear, too, and what happens when the world you live in won’t let you love freely.

Brokeback Mountain picked up eight Oscar nominations and won three, but honestly? The real win is how it carved out space for queer stories in the mainstream. For Pride Month, this one’s a must-watch. It’s tragic, tender, and totally unforgettable. The kind of film that leaves you staring at the credits in silence, feeling everything all at once.

Available on: Prime Video and Disney+

Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019)

We're adding a dash of French cinema to your Pride Month movie marathon, and we promise that you'll thank us. Portrait of a Lady on Fire, directed by Céline Sciamma, is less of a film and more of a slow-burning, sapphic fever dream. Set in 18th-century France, it follows Marianne, a painter commissioned to secretly paint Héloïse, a young woman about to be married off. But surprise- Héloïse is not into being painted or married, and Marianne ends up falling for her in the middle of all this stolen-glance, windswept-cliffside, candlelit-tension glory.

This film is like one long-held breath. Every look, every pause, every brushstroke is so loaded with desire it’s insane. No background music, no dramatic outbursts. Just raw, yearning queer energy simmering just under the surface until it finally explodes into pure emotion. It’s poetry in motion, but with sapphic eye contact so intense it could start actual fires.

It won the Queer Palm at Cannes. And for Pride Month? You bet this is the perfect watch. It’s all about queer love, autonomy, and that sharp sting of loving someone when the world isn’t ready for it.

Available on: Prime Video

Red, White & Royal Blue (2023)

Taking a break from the weepy classics, here's a fresh, funny, and giddy romance that has made its way into most must-watch listicles for this Pride Month. Red, White & Royal Blue, directed by Matthew López, is like queer fanfiction got a glow-up, slipped on a crown, and strutted into your heart with zero apologies. Based on Casey McQuiston’s bestselling novel, it follows Alex Claremont-Diaz, the charming First Son of the United States, and Prince Henry of Wales, the royal heartthrob with a stiff upper lip and a closet full of secrets. When a very public cake-related disaster forces them into a fake friendship for damage control, things get very real very fast- and we’re talking steamy emails, secret rendezvous, and enough passion to cause a diplomatic incident.

This movie isn’t just queer, it’s unapologetically, deliriously, joyfully queer. It’s a rom-com where the gays get the meet-cute and the big dramatic declaration, and the happily ever after. No one dies. No one cries (well, not too much). They fall in love, and the world just has to deal with it.

For Pride Month, it’s the perfect watch when you want something that feels like a warm hug and a cheeky wink. Politics? Royalty? Gay angst with a side of kissing in the rain? Absolutely yes.

Available on: Prime Video