Initially, movies with blacks or made by blacks were backed so that the studios could boast of representation and diversity in their movies. Today, a high-budget movie headlined by a black actor or director does not come across as a surprise. But it was a struggle to make a big-budget black movie back in the day.
To pay a tribute to the success of black movies over the years, let’s have a look at the best black movies.
1. O.J.: Made in America (2016)
The rise and fall of O.J. Simpson, whose high-profile murder trial exposed the depths of racial tensions in America, revealing a shattered and divided country.
Director: Ezra Edelman
Language: English
Genre: Documentary, Biography and Crime
Main Cast:
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (archive footage)
- Mike Albanese
- Muhammad Ali (archive footage)
IMDb Rating: 8.9
Running Time: 467 minutes
Movie Trailer: O.J.: Made in America (2016) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
2. Django Unchained (2012)
In 1858, a bounty hunter named King Schultz seeks out and purchases a slave named Django in order to locate the men he is seeking for. Django wants to track down his wife, Broomhilda, who was sold separately from him by his former owner for attempting to flee. If he chooses to stay with him and be his partner, Schultz offers to assist him. They eventually learn that she was sold to a Mississippi plantation. Knowing they can’t just walk in and declare they want her, they devise a strategy to get the owner to welcome them into his home and allow them to discover a way to get her.
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Language: English
Genre: Drama and Western
Main Cast:
- Jamie Foxx
- Christoph Waltz
- Leonardo DiCaprio
- Kerry Washington
IMDb Rating: 8.4
Running Time: 165 minutes
Box Office: $426,074,373
Movie Trailer: Django Unchained (2012) – Movie Trailer (HD)
Streaming Platform: Amazon
3. Spider-Man: Into the Spider Verse (2018)
Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, the creative brains behind The Lego Movie and 21 Jump Street, bring their distinct talents to a new vision of a reimagined Spider-Man Universe, complete with a pioneering visual aesthetic that is unlike anything seen before. “Spider-Man (TM): Into the Spider-Verse” introduces Miles Morales, a Brooklyn kid, and the Spider-boundless Verse’s possibilities, where more than one person can wear the mask.
Director: Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey and Rodney Rothman
Language: English
Genre: Animation, Action and Adventure
Main Cast:
- Shameik Moore
- Jake Johnson
- Hailee Steinfeld
- Mahershala Ali
IMDb Rating: 8.4
Running Time: 117 minutes
Box Office: $375,540,831
Movie Trailer: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse Trailer (2018 ) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
4. The Temptations (1998)
From the perspective of the last surviving original member, Otis Williams, a biographical look at The Temptations, the Motown soul singing quintet that originally rose to fame in the 1960s. From their humble beginnings in the late 1950s through the deaths of the other founding members in the 1990s, the band has had a long and illustrious history.
Director: Charles Malik Whitfield, Woodside and Terron Brooks
Language: Italian
Genre: Biography, Drama and Music
Main Cast: Unknown
IMDb Rating: 8.4
Running Time: 150 minutes
Movie Trailer: The Temptations (1998) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
5. 13th (2016)
The film begins with the assertion that the United States houses 25% of the world’s jailed population. Despite the fact that the United States has only 5% of the world’s population. The film “13th” depicts the exponential expansion of America’s jail population; in 1970, there were over 200,000 inmates; today, there are over 2 million. The documentary covers a wide range of topics, including chattel slavery, D. W. Griffith’s film “The Birth of a Nation,” Emmett Till, the civil rights movement, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Richard M. Nixon, and Ronald Reagan’s declaration of war on drugs, among others.
Director: Ava DuVernay
Language: English
Genre: Documentary, Crime and History
Main Cast:
- Melina Abdullah
- Michelle Alexander
- Cory Booker
IMDb Rating: 8.2
Running Time: 100 minutes
Box Office: $566
Movie Trailer: 13th (2016) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Netflix
6. 12 Years a Slave (2013)
Based on the true story of one man’s struggle for survival and liberty. Solomon Northup, a free black man from upstate New York, is kidnapped and sold into slavery in the United States before the Civil War. Solomon fights not only to stay alive, but also to maintain his dignity, as he is confronted with violence embodied by a wicked slave owner, as well as unexpected kindnesses. Solomon’s unexpected meeting with a Canadian abolitionist in the twelfth year of his epic journey will forever change his life.
Director: Steve McQueen
Language: English
Genre: Biography, Drama and History
Main Cast:
- Chiwetel Ejiofor
- Michael Fassbender
- Lupita Nyong’o
- Benedict Cumberbatch
IMDb Rating: 8.1
Running Time: 134 minutes
Box Office: $187,733,202
Movie Trailer: 12 Years A Slave (2013) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
7. Soul (2020)
Joe is a middle-school band director whose life has not gone quite as planned. His primary love is jazz, and he’s very talented at it. However, when he journeys to another realm to assist someone in discovering their true calling, he quickly learns what it means to have soul.
Director: Pete Docter
Language: English
Genre: Animation, Adventure and Comedy
Main Cast:
- Jamie Foxx
- Tina Fey
- Graham Norton
- Rachel House
IMDb Rating: 8.1
Running Time: 100 minutes
Box Office: $119,273,208
Movie Trailer: Soul (2020) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
8. Hotel Rwanda (2004)
Director: Terry George
Language: English, French, and Kinyarwanda
Genre: Biography, Drama, and History
Main Cast:
- Don Cheadle
- Sophie Okonedo
- Joaquin Phoenix
- Nick Nolte
IMDb Rating: 8.1
Running Time: 121 minutes
Box Office: $33,882,243
Movie Trailer: Hotel Rwanda (2004) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform:Amazon
9. A Raisin in the Sun (1961)
Walter Lee Younger is a young man who is struggling to find his place in the world. He appears to be a prisoner, sharing a tiny apartment with his wife, son, sister, and mother. Until the family receives an unexpected cash windfall, that is.
Director: Daniel Petrie
Language: English
Genre: Drama
Main Cast:
- Sidney Poitier
- Ruby Dee
- Claudia McNeil
IMDb Rating: 8
Running Time: 128 minutes
Movie Trailer: A Raisin In The Sun Trailer (1961) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
10. Blood Diamond (2006)
Archer, a man tormented by his roots, is the protagonist of this narrative. He’s become a prominent figure in the conflict diamond market thanks to his excellent survival instinct. Sierra Leone is rife with political upheaval, with individuals fighting tooth and nail. Archer’s life changes forever when he meets Solomon and the lovely Maddy, as he is offered an opportunity to make peace with the war going on around him.
Director: Edward Zwick
Language: English
Genre: 8
Main Cast:
- Leonardo DiCaprio
- Jennifer Connelly
- Djimon Hounsou
- Michael Sheen
IMDb Rating: 8
Running Time: 143 minutes
Box Office: $171,720,398
Movie Trailer: Blood Diamond (2006) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
11. Do the Right Thing (1989)
On a scorching summer Sunday in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, this film depicts life. Sal Fragione opens the pizza business he’s owned for 25 years, as he does every day. In the time he’s lived there, the neighborhood has changed dramatically, and it now predominantly consists of African-Americans and Hispanics. Pino, his son, despises life there and would love nothing more than to move the restaurant to their own neighborhood. Sal, on the other hand, considers the restaurant to be a part of his life and a member of the community. Buggin Out – who wonders why he only has images of renowned Italian-Americans on the wall – begins with a simple complaint from one of his clients.
Director: Spike Lee
Language: English
Genre: Comedy and Drama
Main Cast:
- Danny Aiello
- Ossie Davis
- Ruby Dee
IMDb Rating: 8
Running Time: 120 minutes
Box Office: $37,295,445
Movie Trailer: Do the Right Thing (1989) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform:Amazon
12. The Help (2011)
Skeeter is a southern society girl who returns from college determined to become a writer, but her decision to interview the black women who have spent their lives caring for wealthy southern families turns her friends’ life — and a Mississippi town — upside down. Skeeter’s closest friend’s housekeeper, Aibileen, is the first to open up, much to her friends’ dismay in the tight-knit black society. Despite the fact that Skeeter’s long-standing friendships are in jeopardy, she and Aibileen continue their partnership, and more women soon come forward to share their stories — and it turns out that they have a lot to say.
Director: Tate Taylor
Language: English
Genre: Drama
Main Cast:
- Jessica Chastain
- Viola Davis
- Bryce Dallas Howard
- Allison Janney
IMDb Rating: 8.0
Running Time: 146 minutes
Box Office: $216,639,112
Movie Trailer: The Help – Official Trailer 2011
Streaming Platform: Amazon
13. The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)
Christopher Gardner is the subject of this film, which is based on a true storey. Gardner has made a significant investment in a technology known as a “bone density scanner.” He thinks he’s got it made selling these gadgets. They do not, however, sell well because they are just slightly better than x-ray at a much higher price. Gardner’s wife leaves him and he loses his apartment as he struggles to make ends meet. Gardner, who is forced to live on the streets with his kid, continues to sell bone density scanners while also doing an unpaid internship as a stockbroker with little hope of advancement to a paid employment. Before he can be paid, he must outperform the competitors during the course of six months of training.
Director: Gabriele Muccino
Language: English
Genre: Biography and Drama
Main Cast:
- Will Smith
- Thandiwe Newton
- Jaden Smith
IMDb Rating: 8
Running Time: 117 minutes
Box Office: $307,127,625
Movie Trailer: The Pursuit of Happyness (2006) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
14. God Grew Tired of Us (2006)
Sudan’s Muslim government decreed the killing of all males in the Christian south in 1987, prompting 27,000 boys to flee to Ethiopia on foot. They were forced to evacuate to Kenya in 1991, with 12,000 surviving to reside in a United Nations camp in Kakuma. The 1,000-mile flight is shown on archival footage, and we get a glimpse of life in the camp. We follow three young guys as they return to the United States. Daniel Abol Pach and Panther Bior travel to Pittsburgh, where John Bul Dau becomes a spokesperson for the Lost Boys and Lost Girls of Sudan by the end of the film. All of them work multiple jobs, send money back to the camp, look for relatives who were killed in the civil war, acclimate to life in the United States, pursue an education, and miss their homeland.
Director: Christopher Dillon Quinn
Language: English
Genre: Documentary
Main Cast:
- John Dau
- Nicole Kidman
- Daniel Abul Pach
- Panther Bior
IMDb Rating: 7.9
Running Time: 86 minutes
Box Office: $301,447
Movie Trailer: God Grew Tired of Us (2006) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
15. I Am Not Your Negro (2016)
James Baldwin described his next project, “Remember This House,” in a letter to his literary agent in 1979. The book was supposed to be a revolutionary, intimate narrative of three of his close friends’ lives and assassinations: Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King, Jr. Baldwin only left 30 finished pages of this manuscript behind when he died in 1987. Raoul Peck, a filmmaker, imagines the book that James Baldwin never finished.
Director: Raoul Peck
Language: English
Genre: Documentary and History
Main Cast:
- Samuel L. Jackson(voice)
- James Baldwin (archive footage)
- Martin Luther King (archive footage)
IMDb Rating: 7.9
Running Time: 95 minutes
Box Office: $8,345,298
Movie Trailer: I Am Not Your Negro (2016) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
16. The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (1974)
Jane Pittman, a 110-year-old ex-slave, granted an interview to a persistent journalist and tells the incredible narrative of her life, which begins during the racial strife of 1960s Louisiana. She is orphaned at a young age and works on a plantation until she meets a white Union soldier called Brown, who changes her life. Jane’s emancipation is simply the start of a long and painful journey that is framed by the horrors of slavery and the justice of the civil rights movement.
Director: John Korty
Language: English
Genre: Drama and History
Main Cast:
- Cicely Tyson
- Barbara Cheney
- Richard Dysart
- Katherine Helmond
IMDb Rating: 7.9
Running Time: 110 minutes
Movie Trailer: The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (1973) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
17. American Gangster (2007)
Frank Lucas positions himself as the number one heroin importer in Manhattan’s Harlem region following the death of his boss and mentor, Bumpy Johnson. He accomplishes this by purchasing heroin straight from the source in Southeast Asia and devising a novel method of bringing the opiates into the United States. As a result, his product is better than what’s currently on the market, and his pricing are lower. His status is secure thanks to his ties to the New York Mafia.
Director: Ridley Scott
Language: English
Genre: Biography, Crime and Drama
Main Cast:
- Russell Crowe
- Denzel Washington
- Chiwetel Ejiofor
- Cuba Gooding Jr.
IMDb Rating: 7.8
Running Time: 157 minutes
Box Office: $269,755,430
Movie Trailer: American Gangster (2007) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
18. Boyz n the Hood (1991)
The portrayal of societal problems in inner-city Los Angeles, California by writer and director John Singleton takes the shape of a story about three friends growing up in the “hood.” Doughboy and Ricky Baker, half-brothers, are polar opposites in personality, taking very different attitudes to their difficult circumstances. Doughboy succumbs to the violence, alcohol, and crime that surrounds him in his environment, but maintains a strong sense of pride and code of honor. Ricky is the “All-American” athlete, looking to win a football scholarship to USC and seeks salvation through sports, whereas Doughboy succumbs to the violence, alcohol, and crime that surrounds him in his environment, but maintains a strong sense of pride and code of honor.
Director: John Singleton
Language: English
Genre: Crime and Drama
Main Cast:
- Cuba Gooding Jr.
- Morris Chestnut
- Ice Cube
- Laurence Fishburne
IMDb Rating: 7.8
Running Time: 112 minutes
Box Office: $57,529,070
Movie Trailer: Boyz n the Hood (1991) Trailer #1 | Movieclips Classic …
Streaming Platform: Hulu
19. Hidden Figures (2016)
NASA discovered untapped ability in a group of African-American female mathematicians who acted as the brains behind one of the largest operations in US history as the US raced against Russia to put a man in space. We follow three of these women, known as “human computers,” as they quickly advanced through the ranks of NASA alongside some of history’s greatest brains, especially tasked with calculating the historic launch of astronaut John Glenn into space and ensuring his safe return.
Director: Theodore Melfi
Language: English
Genre: Biography, Drama and History
Main Cast:
- Taraji P. Henson
- Octavia Spencer
- Janelle Monáe
- Kevin Costner
IMDb Rating: 7.8
Running Time: 127 minutes
Box Office: $236,225,193
Movie Trailer: Hidden Figures (2016) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
20. Keep On Keeping On (2014)
Director: Alan Hicks
Language: English
Genre: Documentary
Main Cast:
- Clark Terry
- Justin Kauflin
- Quincy Jones
IMDb Rating: 7.8
Running Time: 84 minutes
Box Office: $163,745
Movie Trailer: Keep On Keepin’ (2014) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
21. Standing in the Shadows of Motown (2002)
Berry Gordy Jr. assembled the greatest musicians from Detroit’s burgeoning jazz and blues scene in 1959 to start recording tunes for his new record label. They were the heartbeat on every hit during Motown’s Detroit heyday for fourteen years. This unsung bunch of musicians had played on more number one singles than the Beach Boys, Rolling Stones, Elvis Presley, and the Beatles combined at the end of their amazing run, making them the greatest hit machine in the history of popular music. The Funk Brothers were their moniker.
Director: Paul Justman
Language: English
Genre: Documentary and Music
Main Cast:
- Joe Hunter
- Jack Ashford
- Uriel Jones
IMDb Rating: 7.8
Running Time: 116 mins
Box Office: $2,344,256
Movie Trailer: Standing In The Shadows Of Motown (2002) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
22. Straight Outta Compton (2015)
In 1987, five young men channeled their despair and rage about life in America’s most dangerous city into their most effective weapon: music, using brutally honest rhymes and heavy beats. Straight Outta Compton takes us back to the beginning, telling the true story of how these cultural outcasts, armed only with their rhymes, swagger, bravado, and raw talent, faced up to the authorities who tried to hold them down and founded the world’s most deadly group, N.W.A. And their voice sparked a social revolution that is still echoing today as they spoke the truth that no one had before and revealed life in the ghetto.
Director: F. Gary Gray
Language: English
Genre: Biography, Drama and History
Main Cast:
- O’Shea Jackson Jr.
- Corey Hawkins
- Jason Mitchell
- Neil Brown Jr.
IMDb Rating: 7.8
Running Time: 147 minutes
Box Office: $201,634,991
Movie Trailer: Straight Outta Compton (2015) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
23. The Color Purple (1985)
Celie, a little black girl growing up in the early 1900s, is the protagonist of this film. Celie is 14 when we first meet her, and she is pregnant by her father. We will accompany her for the next 30 years of her difficult existence.
Director: Steven Spielberg
Language: English
Genre: Drama
Main Cast:
- Danny Glover
- Adolph Caesar
- Oprah Winfrey
- Margaret Avery
IMDb Rating: 7.8
Running Time: 153 minutes
Box Office: $98,467,863
Movie Trailer: The Color Purple (1985) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
24. Glory (1989)
Shaw was a volunteer to lead the first company of black troops in the Federal Army during the American Civil War. Shaw had to cope with biases from both the enemy (who had instructions to murder black commanding officers) and his own colleagues.
Director: Edward Zwick
Language: English
Genre: Biography, Drama and History
Main Cast:
- Matthew Broderick
- Denzel Washington
- Cary Elwes
- Morgan Freeman
IMDb Rating: 7.8
Running Time: 122 minutes
Box Office: $26,979,166
Movie Trailer: Glory (1989) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Hulu
25. Remember the Titans (2000)
For centuries, schools in suburban Virginia have been separated. Under a federal mandate to integrate, one Black and one White high school were shuttered and students were relocated to T.C. Williams High School. The year is viewed through the eyes of the football squad, when the man hired to coach the Black school gets promoted to head coach, despite the fact that the white coach is a proven winner. Based on true events from 1971, the squad becomes the community’s unifying symbol as the boys and adults learn to rely on and trust one another.
Director: Boaz Yakin
Language: English
Genre: Biography, Drama and Sport
Main Cast:
- Denzel Washington
- Will Patton
- Donald Faison
- Nicole Ari Parker
IMDb Rating: 7.8
Running Time: 113 minutes
Box Office: $136,771,683
Movie Trailer: Remember the Titans (2000) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
26. Roots – The Next Generations (1979)
From the post-American Civil War era to Alex Haley’s genealogical hunt for his ancestors, this series follows the narrative of Alex Haley’s family line.
Director: John Erman, Charles S. Dubin, Georg Stanford Brown and Lloyd Richards
Language: English/Mandinka
Genre: Biography, Drama and History
Main Cast:
- James Earl Jones
- Dorian Harewood
- Irene Cara
- Stan Shaw
IMDb Rating: 7.8
Running Time: 14 hours
Movie Trailer: ROOTS: The Next Generations (1979) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
27. Beasts of No Nation (2015)
The story follows Agu, a young kid forced to join a troop of soldiers in a fictional West African country. While Agu fears his commander and many of the soldiers around him, the war raging across his country has cruelly broken his boyhood, and he is caught between revulsion and intrigue at first. Paints a nuanced, tough image of Agu as a child soldier, depicting the mechanics of battle and not shying away from raw, brutal detail.
Director: Cary Joji Fukunaga
Language: English and Twi
Genre: Drama and War
Main Cast:
- Idris Elba
- Kurt Egyiawan
- Jude Akuwudike
- Emmanuel “King King” Nii
IMDb Rating: 7.7
Running Time: 138 minutes
Box Office: $90,777
Movie Trailer: Beasts of No Nation (2015) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Netflix
28. Get Out (2017)
Chris and his fiancée Rose spend the weekend with her folks in upstate New York. Chris initially interprets the family’s overly accommodating behavior as worried attempts to deal with their daughter’s interracial romance, but as the weekend progresses, a sequence of progressively horrifying revelations leads him to a truth he could never have anticipated.
Director: Jordan Peele
Language: English
Genre: Horror, Mystery and Thriller
Main Cast:
- Daniel Kaluuya
- Allison Williams
- Bradley Whitford
- Caleb Landry Jones
IMDb Rating: 7.7
Running Time: 104 minutes
Box Office: $255,589,157
Movie Trailer: Get Out (2017) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
29. Malcolm X (1992)
Malcolm X, the iconic African American leader, is the subject of this biographical epic. His father, Malcolm Little, was assassinated by the Ku Klux Klan. Malcolm became a gangster and discovered Elijah Muhammad’s Nation of Islam writings while incarcerated. When he is released from prison, he preaches the teachings, but subsequently travels on a pilgrimage to Mecca, where he converts to the original Islamic religion, becoming a Sunni Muslim and changing his name to El-Hajj Malik Al-Shabazz. On February 21, 1965, he is assassinated and becomes a Muslim martyr.
Director: Spike Lee
Language: English
Genre: Biography, Drama and history
Main Cast:
- Denzel Washington
- Angela Bassett
- Albert Hall
- Al Freeman Jr.
IMDb Rating: 7.7
Running Time: 201 minutes
Box Office: $48,169,910
Movie Trailer: Malcolm X (1992) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
30. Ray (2004)
Ray Charles is a music legend whose tale is told here. We show his humble beginnings in Florida, his turbulent upbringing, which includes losing his brother and then his sight, his ascent as a pianist in a touring band, him writing his own songs and leading his own band, and finally stardom, all told in his adult life with flashbacks to his adolescence. His drug addiction and its impact on his profession and family life are also discussed.
Director: Taylor Hackford
Language: English
Genre: Biography, Drama and Music
Main Cast:
- Jamie Foxx
- Kerry Washington
- Clifton Powell
- Harry Lennix
IMDb Rating: 7.7
Running Time: 152 minutes
Box Office: $123,971,376
Movie Trailer: Ray (2004) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
31. The Central Park Five (2012)
Five black and Latino adolescents from Harlem were arrested and convicted of raping a white woman in Central Park in New York City in 1989. They spent between 6 and 13 years in prison before their convictions were reversed after a serial rapist confessed that he alone was responsible for the crime. The Central Park Five tells the story of that horrific crime, the rush to judgment by the police, a media clamoring for sensational stories and an outraged public, and the five lives upended by this miscarriage of justice, all set against the backdrop of a decaying city beset by violence and racial tension.
Director: Ken Burns, Sarah Burns and David McMahon
Language: English
Genre: Documentary, Crime and History
Main Cast:
- Antron McCray(voice)
- Kevin Richardson
- Kharey Wise
IMDb Rating: 7.7
Running Time: 119 mins
Box Office: $325,653
Movie Trailer: The Central Park Five Official Trailer (2012) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
32. Training Day (2001)
In Los Angeles, where drug traffickers have taken over the streets, people who have vowed to protect the law are breaking it to clean them up. Denzel Washington portrays L.A.P.D. detective Alonzo Harris, a seasoned narcotics officer whose methods of enforcing the law are dubious, if not outright corrupt. ‘Training Day’ follows Harris as he trains rookie Jake Hoyt over a 24-hour period. Questions arise for both Hoyt and the audience as to whether Harris’ methods for drug-freeing the streets of South-Central Los Angeles is right or bad, posing ethical issues for both.
Director: Antoine Fuqua
Language: English
Genre: Crime, Drama and Thriller
Main Cast:
- Denzel Washington
- Ethan Hawke
- Scott Glenn
- Cliff Curtis
IMDb Rating: 7.7
Running Time: 122 minutes
Box Office: $104,876,233
Movie Trailer: Training Day (2001) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
33. The Last King of Scotland (2006)
Nicholas Garrigan, a Scottish doctor who recently graduated from the University of Edinburgh, is flying to Uganda to work at a missionary clinic run by Dr. David Merrit and his wife, Sarah. Soon after, Garrigan has a chance meeting with the new President, General Idi Amin, who shows immediate sympathy for him. Idi Amin invites Nicholas to become his physician and modernize Uganda’s healthcare system after a while, as one thing leads to another: a once-in-a-lifetime offer that the doctor cannot refuse.
Director: Kevin Macdonald
Language: English and Swahili
Genre: Biography, Drama and History
Main Cast:
- Forest Whitaker
- James McAvoy
- Kerry Washington
- Simon McBurney
IMDb Rating: 7.7
Running Time: 123 minutes
Box Office: $48,618,191
Movie Trailer: The Last King of Scotland (2006) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
34 .The Women of Brewster Place (1989)
Based on Gloria Naylor’s novel about a group of strong-willed women who live in a decrepit housing complex on Brewster Place in an unnamed eastern metropolis and struggle against poverty, discrimination, and weak, bothersome men over three decades.
Director: Donna Deitch
Language: English
Genre: Drama
Main Cast:
- Oprah Winfrey
- Robin Givens
- Jackée
- Paul Winfield
IMDb Rating: 7.7
Running Time: 200 minutes
Movie Trailer: The Women of Brewster Place (1989) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
35. Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest (2011)
Since their much-publicized breakup in 1998, the Queens NY group known as ‘A Tribe Called Quest’ has kept a generation yearning for more of their trailblazing music, having created a 20-year run as one of the most innovative and influential hip hop acts of all time. Michael Rapaport chronicles the band’s inner workings and behind-the-scenes drama to this day. He considers what’s next for the pioneers of alternative rap, as many believe.
Director: Michael Rapaport
Language: English
Genre: Documentary and Music
Main Cast:
- Q-Tip
- Phife Dawg
- Ali Shaheed Muhammad
IMDb Rating: 7.6
Running Time: 97 minutes
Box Office: $1,200,326
Movie Trailer: Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest (2011) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
36. Creed (2015)
Adonis Johnson is the son of Apollo Creed, the legendary boxing champion who died in a boxing battle in Rocky IV (1985). Adonis was born after his father died and wishes to follow in his father’s footsteps in the sport of boxing. Rocky Balboa, the retired heavyweight boxing champion and Apollo Creed’s former friend, is the mentor he seeks. Rocky eventually accepts to be Adonis’s mentor. They aim to gain a title job with Rocky’s help and confront even deadlier opponents than his father. But it has to be seen whether he is a true fighter.
Director: Ryan Coogler
Language: English
Genre: Drama and Sport
Main Cast:
- Michael B. Jordan
- Sylvester Stallone
- Tessa Thompson
IMDb Rating: 7.6
Running Time: 133 minutes
Box Office: $173,567,581
Movie Trailer: Creed (2015) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
37. Fresh (1994)
Fresh (Sean Nelson) is a 12-year-old drug dealer who becomes caught up in a web of poverty, corruption, and racial hostility in Brooklyn. When his drug-addict sister Nichole begins sleeping with local drug lord Esteban, Fresh uses the chess skills he gained from his alcoholic father and speed-chess champion Sam to craft a sophisticated strategy that will set him and his sister free.
Director: Boaz Yakin
Language: English
Genre: Crime, Drama and Thriller
Main Cast:
- Sean Nelson
- Giancarlo Esposito
- Samuel L. Jackson
- N’Bushe Wright
IMDb Rating: 7.6
Running Time: 115 minutes
Box Office: $8,094,616
Movie Trailer: Fresh (1994) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
38. Inside Man (2006)
Director: Spike Lee
Language: English
Genre: Crime, Drama and Mystery
Main Cast:
- Denzel Washington
- Clive Owen
- Jodie Foster
- Christopher Plummer
IMDb Rating: 7.6
Running Time: 129 minutes
Box Office: $186,003,591
Movie Trailer: Inside Man (2006) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
39. Just Mercy (2019)
“Just Mercy” is a compelling and thought-provoking real story of young lawyer Bryan Stevenson and his historic fight for justice. Bryan could have had his pick of wealthy professions after graduating from Harvard. Instead, he travels to Alabama to represent those who have been wrongfully imprisoned, with the help of local campaigner Eva Ansley. Walter McMillian was sentenced to death in 1987 for the infamous murder of an 18-year-old girl, despite a preponderance of evidence indicating his innocence and the fact that the lone witness against him was a felon with an incentive to lie.
Director: Destin Daniel Cretton
Language: English
Genre: Biography, Crime and Drama
Main Cast:
- Michael B. Jordan
- Jamie Foxx
- Rob Morgan
- Tim Blake Nelson
IMDb Rating: 7.6
Running Time: 137 minutes
Box Office: $50,401,502
Movie Trailer: Just Mercy Trailer (2019) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
40. Quincy (2018)
An inside glimpse into the life of Quincy Jones, the legendary musician. For 70 years, Jones has been a singular force in music and popular culture, transcending racial and ethnic barriers; his tale is indelibly woven into the fabric of America.
Director: Alan Hicks and Rashida Jones
Language: English
Genre: Documentary and Biography
Main Cast:
- Quincy Jones
- Rashida Jones
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
IMDb Rating: 7.6
Running Time: 124 minutes
Movie Trailer: Quincy (2018) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Netflix
41. The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 (2011)
A modern Swedish filmmaker edits together footage filmed by a group of Swedish journalists documenting the Black Power Movement in the United States.
Director: Göran Olsson
Language: Swedish
Genre: Documentary and History
Main Cast:
- Stokely Carmichael
- Martin Luther King Jr.
- Eldridge Cleaver
- Bobby Seale
IMDb Rating: 7.6
Running Time: 100 minutes
Box Office: $280,256
Movie Trailer: The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 (2011) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
42. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (2019)
William Kamkwamba was born in the African country of Malawi. A catastrophic drought struck the town where he resided when he was fourteen years old. People had nothing to eat. Being an excellent student and very fond of physics, William decides to save his native village from starvation. In the library he finds books on physics. After studying the books, he got an idea to build a wind generator, to provide electricity to his family.
Director: Chiwetel Ejiofor
Language: English and Chichewa
Genre: Biography, Drama and History
Main Cast:
- Maxwell Simba
- Chiwetel Ejiofor
- Lily Banda
IMDb Rating: 7.6
Running Time: 113 minutes
Movie Trailer: The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (2019) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Netflix
43. The Five Heartbeats (1991)
The Five Heartbeats is an amateur vocal group formed in the early 1960s by a quintet of hopeful young African American men. After a difficult start, the band improves, turns professional, and rises to become a top-tier music sensation. However, the men learn a lot of harsh lessons along the way about the realities of the music industry, with its casual racism and greed, while the members’ personal flaws threaten the band’s integrity.
Director: Robert Townsend
Language: English
Genre: Drama and Music
Main Cast:
- Robert Townsend
- Michael Wright
- Leon
- Harry J. Lennix
IMDb Rating: 7.6
Running Time: 122 minutes
Box Office: $8,750,400
Movie Trailer: The Five Heartbeats (1991) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
44. The Heart of the Game (2005)
A documentary about the Roosevelt Roughriders, a Seattle-based girls’ high-school basketball team, and one player’s quest to reclaim her eligibility to play.
Director: Ward Serrill
Language: English
Genre: Documentary and Sport
Main Cast:
- Bill Resler
- Darnellia Russell
- Joyce Walker
- Ludacris
IMDb Rating: 7.6
Running Time: $11,300
Box Office: $446,446
Movie Trailer: The Heart of the Game (2005) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
45. Waves (2019)
Waves traces the epic emotional journey of a suburban African-American family – led by a well-intentioned but domineering father – as they navigate love, forgiveness, and coming together in the aftermath of a loss, set against the vibrant landscape of South Florida and featuring an astonishing ensemble of award-winning actors and breakouts alike. Waves is a heartbreaking drama about the universal ability for compassion and progress, even in the darkest of situations, from acclaimed director Trey Edward Shults.
Director: Trey Edward Shults
Language: English
Genre: Drama, Romance and Sport
Main Cast:
- Kelvin Harrison Jr.
- Lucas Hedges
- Taylor Russell
- Alexa Demie
IMDb Rating: 7.6
Running Time: 135 minutes
Box Office: $2,575,657
Movie Trailer: Waves (2019) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
46. What Happened, Miss Simone? (2015)
Nina Simone was noted for her unfettered musical expression on stage, which thrilled audiences and won her life-long fans. Simone battled to reconcile her artistic identity and aspirations with her loyalty to a movement amid the violent, haunting, and senseless day-to-day of the civil rights era in 1960s America. This new video, culled from hours of autobiographical records, reveals the unbridled ego of a brilliant artist as well as the oddities of her period. Simone moved to Liberia and stopped singing at the height of her stardom, abandoning her family, country, job, and fans.
Director: Liz Garbus
Language: English
Genre: Documentary, Biography and Music
Main Cast:
- Nina Simone (archive footage)
- Lisa Simone Kelly
- Roger Nupie
IMDb Rating: 7.6
Running Time: 101 minutes
Movie Trailer: What Happened, Miss Simone (2015) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
47. The Hurricane (1999)
This movie is about Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, an African-American boxer who climbed above his turbulent beginnings to become a top contender for the middle-weight belt, is told in this film. His hopes are destroyed, however, when he is charged with triple murder and sentenced to three natural-life terms. Despite becoming a celebrity and his tenacious efforts to prove his innocence through his autobiography, he has been disappointed as a result of his futile efforts. When an African-American child and his Canadian mentors read his book, they become convinced of his innocence and work to get him exonerated.
Director: Norman Jewison
Language: English
Genre: Biography, Drama and Sport
Main Cast:
- Denzel Washington
- John Hannah
- Deborah Kara Unger
- Liev Schreiber
IMDb Rating: 7.6
Running Time: 146 minutes
Box Office: $73,956,241
Movie Trailer: The Hurricane (1999) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
48. 42 (2013)
Jackie Robinson is a Negro League baseball player in 1946 who refuses to accept racism. Branch Rickey is the owner of a Major League baseball team who has a bold idea. To that aim, Rickey recruits Robinson to become the first modern African American Major League player, breaking the unspoken color line. As both expect, this presents a significant difficulty for Robinson and his family, as they face continuous racist animosity from both players and fans on and off the pitch. Jackie finds allies and hope in unlikely places as he fights against his propensity to bear such assault without complaining.
Director: Brian Helgeland
Language: English
Genre: Biography, Drama and Sport
Main Cast:
- Chadwick Boseman
- Harrison Ford
- Nicole Beharie
- Christopher Meloni
IMDb Rating: 7.5
Running Time: 128 minutes
Box Office: $97,470,701
Movie Trailer: 42 (2013) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
49. Amazing Grace (2018)
In January 1972, Aretha Franklin sang with her choir at the New Bethel Baptist Church in Watts, Los Angeles.
Director: Alan Elliott and Sydney Pollack
Language: English
Genre: Documentary and Music
Main Cast:
- Aretha Franklin
- James Cleveland
- Alexander Hamilton
IMDb Rating: 7.5
Running Time: 87 minutes
Box Office: $7,796,112
Movie Trailer: Amazing Grace (2018) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Hulu
50. BlacKkKlansman (2018)
Ron Stallworth was employed as the first black officer in the Colorado Springs, Colorado police department in the early 1970s. Initially, Stallworth is assigned to the records room, where he is subjected to racial slurs from his employees. Stallworth asks for a transfer to go undercover and is assigned to infiltrate a local demonstration where national civil rights leader Kwame Ture (born Stokely Carmichael) is scheduled to speak.
Director: Spike Lee
Language: English
Genre: Biography, Crime and Drama
Main Cast:
- John David Washington
- Adam Driver
- Laura Harrier
- Topher Grace
IMDb Rating: 7.5
Running Time: 135 minutes
Box Office: $93,413,709
Movie Trailer: BlacKkKlansman (2018) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
51. Fruitvale Station (2013)
This is based on the true story of Oscar, a 22-year-old Bay Area resident who feels something in the air as he wakes up on December 31, 2008. He takes it as a sign to get a head start on his New Year’s resolutions: being a better son to his mother, whose birthday falls on New Year’s Eve, being a better partner to his girlfriend, with whom he hasn’t been completely honest recently, and being a better father to T, their beautiful 4-year-old daughter. He gets off to a good start, but as the day progresses, he realizes that change isn’t going to be simple.
Director: Ryan Coogler
Language: English
Genre: Biography, Crime and Drama
Main Cast:
- Michael B. Jordan
- Melonie Diaz
- Kevin Durand
- Chad Michael Murray
IMDb Rating: 7.5
Running Time: 85 minutes
Box Office: $17,385,830
Movie Trailer: Fruitvale Station (2013) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
52. Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999)
When his recent mission does not go as planned, a hitman who lives by the samurai code works for the mafia and finds himself in their crosshairs. Now he must figure out a means to defend himself and his honor while staying true to the code he lives by.
Director: Jim Jarmusch
Language: English
Genre: Action, Crime and Drama
Main Cast:
- Forest Whitaker
- Cliff Gorman
- Henry Silva
- Isaach De Bankolé
IMDb Rating: 7.5
Running Time: 116 minutes
Box Office: $9,380,473
Movie Trailer: Ghost Dog – The Way of the Samurai (1999) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
53. Homecoming: A Film by Beyoncé (2019)
The emotional journey from creative concept to global movement is shown in this intimate, in-depth look at Beyoncé’s famous 2018 Coachella performance.
Director: Beyoncé and Ed Burke
Language: English
Genre: Documentary and Music
Main Cast:
- Beyoncé
- Jay-Z
- Kelly Rowland
- Les Twins
IMDb Rating: 7.5
Running Time: 137 minutes
Movie Trailer: Homecoming: A Film By Beyoncé (2019) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Netflix
54. John Lewis: Good Trouble (2020)
JOHN LEWIS: GOOD TROUBLE highlights Lewis’ 60-plus years of social involvement and legislative action on racial rights, voting rights, gun control, health-care reform, and immigration through interviews and rare archive footage. Porter recounts Lewis’ childhood experiences, his inspiring family, and his fateful meeting with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1957 using current-day interviews with Lewis, who is now 79 years old. Porter’s mostly cinema verité film contains interviews with political leaders, Congressional colleagues, and other persons that play heavily in Lewis’ life, in addition to her interviews with Lewis and his family.
Director: Dawn Porter
Language: English
Genre: Documentary
Main Cast:
- Elijah Cummings
- Anthony Johnson
- Hillary Clinton
IMDb Rating: 7.5
Running Time: 96 minutes
Movie Trailer: John Lewis: Good Trouble (2020) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
55. Judas and the Black Messiah (2021)
Fred Hampton, a young, dynamic activist, is elected Chairman of the Black Panther Party’s Illinois chapter, putting him squarely in the sights of the government, the FBI, and the Chicago Police Department. The authorities, on the other hand, will need a man on the inside to put down the movement.
Director: Shaka King
Language: English
Genre: Biography, Drama and History
Main Cast:
- Daniel Kaluuya
- Lakeith Stanfield
- Jesse Plemons
- Dominique Fishback
IMDb Rating: 7.5
Running Time: 126 minutes
Box Office: $6,795,355
Movie Trailer: JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH (2021)- Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
56. Menace II Society (1993)
This urban nightmare follows Caine Lawson as he struggles to flee his brutal existence in the Watts projects following his high school graduation.
Director: The Hughes Brothers
Language: English
Genre: Crime, Drama and Thriller
Main Cast:
- Tyrin Turner
- Jada Pinkett
- Larenz Tate
- Bill Duke
IMDb Rating: 7.5
Running Time: 97 minutes
Box Office: $27,912,072
Movie Trailer: Menace II Society (1993) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
57. Selma (2014)
The riv eting true narrative follows Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during a tumultuous three-month period in 1965, when he led a perilous campaign to obtain equal voting rights in the face of violent opposition. The historic march from Selma to Montgomery resulted in President Lyndon B. Johnson signing the Voting Rights Act of 1965, one of the civil rights movement’s most major triumphs. “Selma,” directed by Ava DuVernay, depicts the tale of how Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a beloved leader and visionary, and his brothers and sisters in the civil rights movement sparked transformation that permanently changed history.
Director: Ava DuVernay
Language: English
Genre: Biography, Drama and History
Main Cast:
- David Oyelowo
- Tom Wilkinson
- Carmen Ejogo
- Giovanni Ribisi
IMDb Rating: 7.5
Running Time: 128 minutes
Box Office: $66,787,908
Movie Trailer: Selma (2014) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
58. The Hate U Give (2018)
Starr Carter lives in two worlds: the underprivileged, primarily black neighborhood where she lives and the wealthy, mostly white prep school that she attends. When Starr witnesses her childhood best friend Khalil being fatally shot by a police officer, the uncomfortable balance between both worlds is destroyed. Starr must now find her voice and speak up for what is right in the face of pressures from all sides of the community.
Director: George Tillman Jr.
Language: English
Genre: Crime and Drama
Main Cast:
- Amandla Stenberg
- Regina Hall
- Russell Hornsby
- K.J. Apa
IMDb Rating: 7.5
Running Time: 133 minutes
Box Office: $34,934,009
Movie Trailer: The Hate U Give (2018) – Official Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
59. Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am (2019)
The great storyteller’s life, works, and the tremendous topics she has tackled throughout her creative career are examined in this beautiful and sensitive discourse.
Director: Timothy Greenfield-Sanders
Language: English
Genre: Documentary
Main Cast:
- Toni Morrison
- Hilton Als
- Oprah Winfrey
IMDb Rating: 7.5
Running Time: 120 minutes
Box Office: $927,495
Movie Trailer: Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am (2019) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
60. The Great Debaters (2007)
Marshall, Texas, is home to Wiley College, where, in 1935-36, inspired by the Harlem Renaissance and his clandestine work as a union organizer, Professor Melvin Tolson coaches the debate team to a nearly-undefeated season that includes the first debate between U.S. students from white and Negro colleges and concludes with a debate between U.S. students from white and Negro colleges.
Director: Denzel Washington
Language: English
Genre: Biography, Drama and Romance
Main Cast:
- Denzel Washington
- Forest Whitaker
- Nate Parker
- Jurnee Smollett
IMDb Rating: 7.5
Running Time: 126 minutes
Box Office: $30,271,556
Movie Trailer: The Great Debaters (2007) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
61. The Jacksons: An American Dream (1992)
The Jacksons are a typical working-class family from Gary, Indiana; nevertheless, when their father realizes that his children have exceptional musical abilities, they create a band. They quickly rose to fame after winning talent show after talent show when Motown called. They go on to form the now-famous Jackson 5. However, their triumph comes with it a lot of problems and strife.
Director: Karen Arthur
Language: English
Genre: Biography, Drama and Music
Main Cast:
- Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs
- Angela Bassett
- Holly Robinson Peete
- Margaret Avery
IMDb Rating: 7.5
Running Time: 300 minutes
Movie Trailer: The Jacksons: An American Dream (1992) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
62. 20 Feet from Stardom (2013)
Under the world of pop music, backup singers occupy an odd position: they are always in the shadow of the featured performers, even when they are performing in front of them, despite the fact that they offer a critical basis for the music. The history of these mostly African-American performers during the rock period is recounted through interviews with veterans and live video. In addition, special attention is given to remarkable standouts who attempted to make a living in the art despite a low profile and more personal job problems, particularly those who confronted the very different task of singing in front of the camera.
Director: Morgan Neville
Language: English
Genre: Documentary, Biography and History
Main Cast:
- Darlene Love
- Judith Hill
- Merry Clayton
- Lisa Fischer
IMDb Rating: 7.4
Running Time: 90 minutes
Box Office: $5,839,368
Movie Trailer: 20 Feet From Stardom (2013 ) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
63. Akeelah And the Bee (2006)
Akeelah Anderson’s life is difficult: her father is deceased, her mother ignores her, and her brother is involved with local gangbangers. She’s bright, but her surroundings threaten to suffocate her ambitions. In response to a threat from her principal, Akeelah enters a spelling bee to escape detention for her frequent absences. She wins, much to her surprise and chagrin. Her principal suggests that she seek coaching from Dr. Larabee, an English professor, for the more prestigious regional bee.
Director: Doug Atchison
Language: English
Genre: Drama and Family
Main Cast:
- Laurence Fishburne
- Angela Bassett
- Keke Palmer
- Curtis Armstrong
IMDb Rating: 7.4
Running Time: 112 minutes
Box Office: $18,948,425
Movie Trailer: Akeelah and the Bee (2006) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
64. Black Dynamite (2009)
This is the story of Black Dynamite, an African-American action hero from the 1970s. The Man murdered his brother, inundated the slum with counterfeit malt liquor, and injected heroin into local orphanages. The only hero willing to fight The Man all the way from the blood-soaked city streets to the sacred halls of the Honky House was Black Dynamite.
Director: Scott Sanders
Language: English
Genre: Action and Comedy
Main Cast:
- Michael Jai White
- Tommy Davidson
- Salli Richardson
IMDb Rating: 7.4
Running Time: 84 minutes
Box Office: $296,557
Movie Trailer: Black Dynamite (2009) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
65. Blindspotting (2018)
Collin must make it through the last three days of his probation to get a chance at a fresh start. He and his troubled childhood best buddy, Miles, work as movers and are forced to watch their old neighborhood gentrify. Collin misses his necessary curfew due to a life-changing event, and the two men fight to retain their friendship as the new social landscape exposes their differences. Set against the backdrop of Oakland, this film explores the interplay between race and class.
Director: Carlos López Estrada
Language: English
Genre: Comedy, Crime and Drama
Main Cast:
- Daveed Diggs
- Rafael Casal
- Janina Gavankar
- Jasmine Cephas Jones
IMDb Rating: 7.4
Running Time: 95 minutes
Box Office: $5,006,989
Movie Trailer: Blindspotting (2018) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
66. Lean on Me (1989)
When an arrogant and unconventional teacher returns as principal to the idyllic high school where he had previously been fired, he discovers it has become a nest of drug abuse, gang violence, and urban despair. He eventually succeeds, but his unconventional techniques result in a clash with city officials, which threatens to ruin all of his achievements. This film is based on a real story.
Director: John G. Avildsen
Language: English
Genre: Drama
Main Cast:
- Morgan Freeman
- Beverly Todd
- Robert Guillaume
IMDb Rating: 7.4
Running Time: 108 minutes
Box Office: $31,906,454
Movie Trailer: Lean On Me (1989) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
67. Love Jones (1997)
In Chicago, Darius Lovehall, a young black poet, begins dating Nina Mosley, a gorgeous and brilliant photographer. They hang out with their pal, talking about love and sex, while attempting to figure out if they have a “love thing” or are simply “kicking it.” Nina then puts Darius’ affections to the test and sets off a sequence of romantic problems.
Director: Theodore Witcher
Language: English
Genre: Drama and Romance
Main Cast:
- Larenz Tate
- Nia Long
- Isaiah Washington
- Lisa Nicole Carson
IMDb Rating: 7.4
Running Time: 108 minutes
Box Office: $12,782,749
Movie Trailer: Love Jones (1997) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
68. Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool (2019)
Musicians, academics, family members, and friends reflect on Miles Davis’ life to expose the man behind the legend. Rare footage and images, outtakes from recording sessions, and new interviews are all available thanks to full access to Davis’ estate.
Director: Stanley Nelson
Language: English
Genre: Documentary and Biography
Main Cast:
- Carl Lumbly(voice)
- Miles Davis (archive footage)
- Reginald Petty
IMDb Rating: 7.4
Running Time: 114 minutes
Box Office: $2,764,517
Movie Trailer: Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool (2019) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
69. Moonlight (2016)
A young African-American man fights with his identity and sexuality as he navigates the challenges of childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood.
Director: Barry Jenkins
Language: English
Genre: Drama
Main Cast:
- Trevante Rhodes
- André Holland
- Janelle Monáe
- Ashton Sanders
IMDb Rating: 7.4
Running Time: 111 minutes
Box Office: $65,336,603
Movie Trailer: Moonlight (2016) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
70. Mudbound (2017)
After WWII, two families—one black, the Jacksons, and the other white, the McAllans—are compelled to share the same area of land in the muddy Mississippi Delta, maintaining a tenuous race-based truce. The long-awaited return of two war veterans—Ronsel, the Jacksons’ eldest son, and Jamie, Henry McAllan’s younger brother—will unexpectedly nurture a developing friendship that transcends prejudice and race as they both battle with hardship and extreme poverty.
Director: Dee Rees
Language: English
Genre: Drama and War
Main Cast:
- Carey Mulligan
- Garrett Hedlund
- Jason Clarke
- Jason Mitchell
IMDb Rating: 7.4
Running Time: 134 minutes
Box Office: $85,955
Movie Trailer: Mudbound (2017) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Netflix
71. The Black Godfather (2019)
Following WWII, two families—one black, the Jacksons, and the other white, the McAllans—are forced to share a parcel of property in the muddy Mississippi Delta, maintaining a tenuous race-based peace. The long-awaited return of two war veterans—Ronsel, the Jacksons’ eldest son, and Jamie, Henry McAllan’s younger brother—will, however, unexpectedly nurture a developing friendship that transcends prejudice and race, as they both battle with hardship and extreme poverty.
Director: Reginald Hudlin
Language: English
Genre: Documentary
Main Cast:
- Hank Aaron
- Dina R. Andrews
- Clarence Avant
IMDb Rating: 7.4
Running Time: 118 minutes
Movie Trailer: The Black Godfather (2019) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Netflix
72. Antwone Fisher (2002)
A sailor with a history of violent outbursts is referred to a naval psychiatrist. The young man initially refuses to open up, but eventually does and discloses a tragic childhood. He tackles his terrible history with the help of his doctor and embarks on a search for the family he never knew.
Director: Denzel Washington
Language: English
Genre: Biography and Drama
Main Cast:
- Derek Luke
- Denzel Washington
- Joy Bryant
IMDb Rating: 7.3
Running Time: 120 minutes
Box Office: $23,367,586
Movie Trailer: Antwone Fisher (2002) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
73. Baadasssss! (2003)
Mario Van Peebles’ half-documentary, half-homage to his father Melvin Van Peebles’ film Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song (1971).
Director: Mario Van Peebles
Language: English
Genre: Biography and Drama
Main Cast:
- Mario Van Peebles
- David Alan Grier
- Nia Long
- Rainn Wilson
IMDb Rating: 7.3
Running Time: 108 minutes
Box Office: $365,727
Movie Trailer: BAADASSSSS! (2003) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
74. Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012)
Hushpuppy, a brave six-year-old girl, lives in the Bathtub with her father, Wink, in a southern Delta village on the outskirts of the world. Wink’s rough love prepares her for the universe’s disintegration; for a moment when he isn’t there to protect her. When Wink catches a mysterious ailment, nature goes haywire. Temperatures soar, ice caps melt, and an army of prehistoric animals known as aurochs is unleashed. Hushpuppy goes in quest of her missing mother as the waters rise, the aurochs approach, and Wink’s health begins to deteriorate.
Director: Benh Zeitlin
Language: English
Genre: Adventure, Drama and Fantasy
Main Cast:
- Quvenzhané Wallis
- Dwight Henry
- Levy Easterly
IMDb Rating: 7.3
Running Time: 93 minutes
Box Office: $21,107,746
Movie Trailer: Beasts of the Southern Wild (2003) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
75. Black Panther (2018)
Following the events of Captain America: Civil War, Prince T’Challa returns to Wakanda, a reclusive, technologically sophisticated African nation, to become the next king. T’Challa, on the other hand, is soon challenged for the throne by groups within his own country. When two opponents plot to destroy Wakanda, the hero known as Black Panther must join forces with C.I.A. agent Everett K. Ross and soldiers of the Dora Milaje, Wakandan special forces, to keep Wakanda out of a world war.
Director: Ryan Coogler
Language: English
Genre: Action, Adventure and Sci-Fi
Main Cast:
- Chadwick Boseman
- Michael B. Jordan
- Lupita Nyong’o
- Danai Gurira
IMDb Rating: 7.3
Running Time: 134 minutes
Box Office: $1,347,597,973
Movie Trailer: Black Panther (2018) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
76. Detroit (2017)
In 1967, a police raid in Detroit culminates in one of the greatest racial riots in US history. The plot revolves around the Algiers Motel event, which occurred on July 25, 1967, during the racially violent 12th Street Riot in Detroit, Michigan. Three black men were killed, and nine other people were brutally beaten: seven black men and two white women.
Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Language: English
Genre: Crime, Drama and History
Main Cast:
- John Boyega
- Will Poulter
- Algee Smith
- Jacob Latimore
IMDb Rating: 7.3
Running Time: 143 minutes
Box Office: $23,355,100
Movie Trailer: Detroit Trailer (2017) | Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
77. Dolemite is my Name (2019)
Eddie Murphy plays Rudy Ray Moore, a comedy and rap pioneer who defied the odds when his humorous, profane, kung-fu fighting alter ego, Dolemite, became a Blaxploitation smash in the 1970s.
Director: Craig Brewer
Language: English
Genre: Biography, Crime and Drama
Main Cast:
- Eddie Murphy
- Da’Vine Joy Randolph
- Keegan-Michael Key
- Mike Epps
IMDb Rating: 7.3
Running Time: 118 minutes
Movie Trailer: Dolemite Is My Name (2019) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Netflix
78. Friday (1995)
Craig Jones (Ice Cube) is unemployed on Friday after being fired the day before. This has caused conflict with Smokey’s (Chris Tucker) supplier, Big Worm (Faizon Love), who now demands his money, his merchandise, or Smokey’s life. Then there’s Deebo (Tommy “Tiny” Lister, Jr.), the neighborhood bully, as well as Joi (Paula Jai Parker), Craig’s possessive, neurotic girlfriend, and Debbie (Nia Long), Craig’s crush.
Director: F. Gary Gray
Language: English
Genre: Comedy and Drama
Main Cast:
- Ice Cube
- Chris Tucker
- Nia Long
- Bernie Mac
IMDb Rating: 7.3
Running Time: 91 minutes
Box Office: $28,215,918
Movie Trailer: Friday (1995) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
79. George Washington (2000)
George Washington is set in a tiny town in North Carolina and tells the story of a close-knit multi-racial group of working-class adolescents who are caught up in a catastrophic deceit. A peculiar series of events and an innocent cover-up send their insular group on separate journeys for redemption after a twelve-year-old girl breaks up with her boyfriend for a sensitive, highly contemplative thirteen-year-old boy named George.
Director: David Gordon Green
Language: English
Genre: Drama
Main Cast:
- Candace Evanofski
- Curtis Cotton III
- Donald Holden
- Damian Jewan Lee
IMDb Rating: 7.3
Running Time: 89 minutes
Box Office: $283,846
Movie Trailer: George.Washington( 2000) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
80. Hustle & Flow (2005)
With the support of several folks in his Memphis neighborhood, aspiring emcee DJay works the angles to get his debut album made. And when he hears that Skinny Black, the hip-hop superstar, is coming to town, he puts up a supreme hustle to get Skinny’s attention.
Director: Craig Brewer
Language: English
Genre: Crime, Drama and Music
Main Cast:
- Terrence Howard
- Anthony Anderson
- Haystak
IMDb Rating: 7.3
Running Time: 116 minutes
Box Office: $23,563,727
Movie Trailer: Hustle & Flow (2005) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
81. Marshall (2017)
Thurgood Marshall is an NAACP lawyer who travels the country in 1940 defending individuals of colour who have been wrongfully accused of crimes due to racial prejudice. After returning to his New York office, he is assigned to represent Joseph Spell, a chauffeur accused of rape by his white employer, Eleanor Strubing, in a case that has captivated the media. Sam Friedman, an insurance lawyer in Bridgeport, is hired by his brother to persuade Marshall to join the local bar against his will.
Director: Reginald Hudlin
Language: English
Genre: Biography, Crime and Drama
Main Cast:
- Chadwick Boseman
- Josh Gad
- Kate Hudson
- Dan Stevens
IMDb Rating: 7.3
Running Time: 118 minutes
Box Office: $10,116,816
Movie Trailer: Marshall (2017) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
82. Miss Sharon Jones! (2015)
Miss Sharon Jones: Dreams never die, but they are occasionally postponed. Miss Sharon Jones is the skilled and outgoing soul singer of “Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings,” a Grammy-nominated R&B band. Sharon Jones faces pancreatic cancer during the most difficult year of her life. The film delves into the mind and spirit of a powerful lady trying to reclaim the explosive singing career that has escaped her for 50 years as she tries to regain her health and voice.
Director: Barbara Kopple
Language: English
Genre: Documentary and Music
Main Cast:
- Sharon Jones
- Starr Duncan-Lowe
- Binky Griptite
IMDb Rating: 7.3
Running Time: 93 minutes
Box Office: $120,880
Movie Trailer: Miss Sharon Jones! (2015) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
83. Precious (2009)
An overweight, beaten, uneducated teen who is pregnant with her second child is encouraged to join in an alternative school in Harlem, New York City, approximately 1987, in the hopes that her life may take a different path.
Director: Lee Daniels
Language: English
Genre: Drama
Main Cast:
- Gabourey Sidibe
- Mo’Nique
- Paula Patton
- Mariah Carey
IMDb Rating: 7.3
Running Time: 110 minutes
Box Office: $63,649,529
Movie Trailer: Precious (2009) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
84. The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution (2015)
The birth and demise of the Black Panther Party, one of the most intriguing and controversial groups of the twentieth century, which caught the world’s attention for nearly 50 years, is chronicled in this film.
Director: Stanley Nelson Jr.
Language: English
Genre: Documentary and History
Main Cast:
- Blair Anderson
- Omar Barbour
- Julian Bond
IMDb Rating: 7.3
Running Time: 115 minutes
Box Office: $584,109
Movie Trailer: The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution (2015) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
85.The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson (2017)
Marsha P. Johnson, a black LGBT rights activist and Stonewall veteran, died mysteriously in 1992. Victoria Cruz investigates. Using new interviews with Johnson’s family, friends, and fellow activists, as well as archival conversations with Johnson.
Director: David France
Language: English
Genre: Documentary
Main Cast:
- Kurt Wolfe
- Sue Yacka
- Catherine Shugrue Dos Santos
IMDb Rating: 7.3
Running Time: 105 minutes
Movie Trailer: The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson (2017) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Netflix
86. The Last Black Man in San Francisco (2019)
Jimmie Fails IV, a third-generation San Franciscan, is a black man. Jimmie, who has a low-paying job as a nurse in a seniors’ care facility, moved back to San Francisco three years ago and has been staying in his closest buddy Montgomery Allen’s house, which he shares with his blind grandfather, Jimmie, who sleeps on the floor in Mont’s already small bedroom. Mont, despite the mansion, is in a similar predicament to Jimmie, who works at a supermarket fish counter while sketching and writing a play on the side.
Director: Joe Talbot
Language: English
Genre: Drama
Main Cast:
- Jimmie Fails
- Jonathan Majors
- Tichina Arnold
- Rob Morgan
IMDb Rating: 7.3
Running Time: 120 minutes
Box Office: $4,637,830
Movie Trailer: The Last Black Man in San Francisco (2019) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
87. What’s Love Got to Do with It? (1993)
Anna Mae Bullock’s voice was always unique. She quickly captures the attention of pop group leader Ike Turner after arriving in St. Louis to live with her mother, who had abandoned her when she was a child. She becomes the singer for his band, his wife, and the mother of his children, though not all of them are hers. In love with him and determined not to leave like her mother, she finds herself the focus of growing violence from him, who is oblivious to the fact that she is the driving force behind his band’s success.
Director: Brian Gibson
Language: English
Genre: Biography, Drama and Music
Main Cast:
- Angela Bassett
- Laurence Fishburne
- RaéVen Kelly
IMDb Rating: 7.3
Running Time: 118 minutes
Box Office: $39,100,956
Movie Trailer: What’s Love Got to Do with It (1993) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
88. Whitney (2018)
Whitney is a 2018 documentary film on Whitney Houston, an American singer and actress. It showcases an in-depth look at the life and music of Whitney Houston.
Director: Kevin Macdonald
Language: English
Genre: Documentary, Biography and Drama
Main Cast:
- Whitney Houston (archive footage)
- Ellen White
- Michael Houston
IMDb Rating: 7.3
Running Time: 122 minutes
Box Office: $4,605,123
Movie Trailer: Whitney (2018) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
89. Amistad (1997)
This film depicts the history of an 1839 revolt aboard the slave ship Amistad, which is based on a true story from America’s slave trade. Much of the action is set in a courtroom as slaves’ lawyers fight for their release and return home. The case marks a turning point in American-Spanish relations, revealing political maneuverings that had ramifications for the North-South struggle that eventually led to America’s Civil War.
Director: Steven Spielberg
Language: English, Mende, Spanish and Portuguese
Genre: Biography, Drama and History
Main Cast:
- Morgan Freeman
- Anthony Hopkins
- Djimon Hounsou
- Matthew McConaughey
IMDb Rating: 7.3
Running Time: 154 minutes
Box Office: $44,229,441
Movie Trailer: Amistad (1997) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
90. Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
Following the assassination of his childhood buddy, Axel Foley, a suave Detroit detective, travels to sunny Beverly Hills on a one-man mission to find the culprit and bring him to justice. Axel and his unconventional methods soon expose the lucrative drug enterprise of Victor Maitland, a powerful local criminal lord; nevertheless, Foley will soon find himself in serious difficulty, as Lieutenant Andrew Bogomil wants him out of town. Axel will now have to work with Detectives John Taggart and Billy Rosewood to unravel the complex conspiracy and complete what he has begun.
Director: Martin Brest
Language: English
Genre: Action, Comedy and Crime
Main Cast:
- Eddie Murphy
- Judge Reinhold
- John Ashton
- Lisa Eilbacher
IMDb Rating: 7.3
Running Time: 105 minutes
Box Office: $316,360,478
Movie Trailer: Beverly Hills Cop (1984) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
91. Claudine (1974)
While on welfare, Claudine strives to provide for her six children in Harlem. Roop, a joyful garbageman she meets while working as a maid on the side, is the love of her life.
Director: John Berry
Language: English
Genre: Comedy, Drama and Romance
Main Cast:
- Diahann Carroll
- James Earl Jones
- Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs
IMDb Rating: 7.3
Running Time: 92 minutes
Box Office: $6,000,000
Movie Trailer: Claudine (1974) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
92. Coach Carter (2005)
Ken Carter accepted the position of basketball coach at his old high school in a low-income Richmond neighborhood in 1999. Carter is as disturbed by his players’ awful attitudes as he is by their poor play performance, and he sets out to alter both. He enforces a stringent system, which includes written contracts that require athletes to behave respectfully, adhere to a dress code, and receive good grades. Any initial skepticism is quickly erased when Carter’s team becomes an unbeaten challenger. Carter, on the other hand, takes prompt action when the overconfident team’s behavior begins to veer, with too many students performing poorly in class.
Director: Thomas Carter
Language: English
Genre: Biography, Drama and Sport
Main Cast:
- Samuel L. Jackson
- Rob Brown
- Ashanti
IMDb Rating: 7.3
Running Time: 136 minutes
Box Office: $76,669,554
Movie Trailer: Coach Carter (2005) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
93. Enemy of the State (1998)
Will Smith’s character, Robert Clayton Dean, is a successful and brave labor lawyer until he bumps across an old college classmate who is in a hurry. That pal, unbeknownst to him, drops a disc and viewer carrying images of a political assassination approved by the National Security Agency’s senior counselor. Unfortunately, that politician quickly discovers what Dean has and utilizes the N.S.A.’s tremendous resources to track him down, probe him, and stop him before he goes public.
Director: Tony Scott
Language: English
Genre: Action and Thriller
Main Cast:
- Will Smith
- Gene Hackman
- Jon Voight
- Regina King
IMDb Rating: 7.3
Running Time: 132 minutes
Box Office: $250,849,789
Movie Trailer: Enemy Of The State (1998) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
94. Dave Chapelle’s Block Party (2005)
Dave Chappelle throws a once-in-a-lifetime free block celebration for a Brooklyn neighborhood. Kanye West, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Common, Dead Prez, Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, the Roots, Cody ChesnuTT, Big Daddy Kane, and – reuniting for the first time in almost seven years – the Fugees are among the musicians on the bill.
Director: Michel Gondry
Language: English
Genre: Documentary, Comedy and Music
Main Cast:
- Kanye West
- Mos Def
- Talib Kweli
- Common
IMDb Rating: 7.2
Running Time: 103 minutes
Box Office: $12,051,924
Movie Trailer: Dave Chappelle’s Block Party (2005) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
95. Dope (2015)
For the post-hip hop generation, a coming-of-age comedy/drama. Malcolm is a geek balancing his senior year of college applications, interviews, and the SAT while surviving life in The Bottoms, a rough area in Inglewood, CA filled with gangsters and drug dealers. His ambition is to study at Harvard. Malcolm and his buddies are thrown into a “only in Los Angeles” gritty adventure full of odd personalities and bad decisions after an accidental invitation to a massive underground party. Malcolm will progress from being a geek to being dope to finally being himself if he can continue.
Director: Rick Famuyiwa
Language: English
Genre: Adventure, Comedy and Crime
Main Cast:
- Shameik Moore
- Tony Revolori
- Kiersey Clemons
- Kimberly Elise
IMDb Rating: 7.2
Running Time: 103 minutes
Box Office: $17,986,781
Movie Trailer: Dope Official Trailer (2015) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
96. Fences (2016)
In 1950s Pittsburgh, Troy Maxson works as a sanitation worker. Maxson originally aspired to be a professional baseball player, but when the major leagues began admitting black athletes, he was ruled too old. Troy, enraged by his missed opportunity, adds to the strain in his family by sabotaging his son’s chances to see a college football recruiter.
Director: Denzel Washington
Language: English
Genre: Drama
Main Cast:
- Denzel Washington
- Viola Davis
- Stephen McKinley Henderson
IMDb Rating: 7.2
Running Time: 139 minutes
Box Office: $64,414,761
Movie Trailer: Fences (2016) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
97. Lee Daniels’ The Butler (2013)
Cecil Gaines was a sharecropper’s kid who grew up as a domestic worker for the white family who casually destroyed his family’s farm in the 1920s. Cecil eventually strikes out on his own in the 1950s, becoming a hotel valet of such competence and discretion that he is hired as a butler in the White House. Cecil would serve multiple US Presidents there throughout the decades as a passive observer of history as the American Civil Rights Movement gained traction, despite his family’s personal problems. Cecil must determine if he should take action in his own way while his wife, Gloria, battles with her addictions and their stubborn eldest son, Louis, works for a just world.
Director: Lee Daniels
Language: English
Genre: Biography and Drama
Main Cast:
- Forest Whitaker
- Oprah Winfrey
- John Cusack
- Jane Fonda
IMDb Rating: 7.2
Running Time: 132 minutes
Box Office: $177,313,795
Movie Trailer: Lee Daniels’ The Butler (2013) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
98. Love and Basketball (2000)
Monica moves in next door to Quincy in Los Angeles in 1981. They’re both 11 years old and, like Quincy’s father, want to play in the NBA. Except when Quincy’s parents dispute and he climbs through Monica’s window to sleep on the floor, their love-hate connection lasts until high school, with Monica’s edge and Quincy’s top-dog attitude dividing them. They become a pair as high school ends, but within a year, with both of them playing baseball at USC, Quincy’s relationship with his father deteriorates, and he breaks up with Monica. They meet again a few years later, their professional careers at a fork in the road. It’s time for a high-stakes final one-on-one game.
Director: Gina Prince-Bythewood
Language: English
Genre: Drama, Romance and Sport
Main Cast:
- Omar Epps
- Sanaa Lathan
- Alfre Woodard
IMDb Rating: 7.2
Running Time: 125 minutes
Box Office: $27,728,118
Movie Trailer: Love & Basketball (2000) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
99. My Brother’s Wedding (1983)
A man who has struggled personally is reluctantly to be the best man at his fiancée’s wedding since he has disagreements with his upwardly mobile lawyer brother and well-to-do fiancée.
Director: Charles Burnett
Language: English
Genre: Drama
Main Cast:
- Everett Silas
- Jessie Holmes
- Gaye Shannon-Burnett
IMDb Rating: 7.2
Running Time: 76 minutes
Box Office: $26,177
Movie Trailer: My Brother’s Wedding (1983) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
100. Pariah (2011)
In a frantic pursuit for sexual expression, a Brooklyn youngster juggles contradictory identities and risks friendship, heartbreak, and family.
Director: Dee Rees
Language: English
Genre: Drama
Main Cast:
- Adepero Oduye
- Kim Wayans
- Aasha Davis
IMDb Rating: 7.2
Running Time: 86 minutes
Box Office: $769,552
Movie Trailer: Pariah (2011) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
101. The Forty-Year-Old Version (2020)
Radha is a down-on-her-luck New York playwright hoping for a break before she turns 40. In order to find her own voice, she reinvents herself as rapper RadhaMUSPrime, who vacillates between the worlds of Hip Hop and theatre.
Director: Radha Blank
Language: English
Genre: Comedy and Drama
Main Cast:
- Radha Blank
- Peter Kim
- Oswin Benjamin
IMDb Rating: 7.2
Running Time: 129 minutes
Movie Trailer: The Forty-Year-Old Version (2020) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Netflix
102. A Soldier’s Story (1984)
While returning to his camp in the deep south, a black soldier is killed. Initially, the white residents of the region are suspected. To find out the truth, a fierce black army attorney is brought in. In flashbacks, we learn a little more about the deceased soldier, including the fact that he was unpopular. Will the lawyer be able to track out the assailant?
Director: Norman Jewison
Language: English
Genre: Crime, Drama and Mystery
Main Cast:
- Howard E. Rollins Jr.
- Adolph Caesar
- Art Evans
IMDb Rating: 7.2
Running Time: 101 minutes
Box Office: $21,821,347
Movie Trailer: A Soldier’s Story (1984) – Movie trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
103. Cooley High (1975)
In 1964, a group of high school pals living on Chicago’s Near North Side enjoy life to the fullest…parties, hangouts, and meeting new people. Then two of the guys’ lives are turned upside down when they meet a pair of career criminals and are wrongfully jailed for stealing a Cadillac. We follow their lives as they approach the end of their senior year and the dramatic conclusion to their school year.
Director: Michael Schultz
Language: English
Genre: Comedy, Drama and Romance
Main Cast:
- Glynn Turman
- Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs
- Garrett Morris
IMDb Rating: 7.2
Running Time: 107 minutes
Box Office: $13,000,000
Movie Trailer: Cooley High (1975) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
104. I Am Legend (2007)
In this post-apocalyptic action thriller, Robert Neville plays a scientist who is powerless to stop the spread of a horrible virus that is both incurable and man-made. Neville is now the last human survivor in what’s left of New York City, if not the entire world. For the past three years, Neville has been sending out daily radio transmissions in the hopes of finding any other survivors. He is not, however, alone. The Infected, mutant plague victims, lurk in the shadows, watching Neville’s every move and waiting for him to make a deadly error.
Director: Francis Lawrence
Language: English
Genre: Action, Adventure and Drama
Main Cast:
- Will Smith
- Alice Braga
- Dash Mihok
IMDb Rating: 7.2
Running Time: 101 minutes
Box Office: $585,410,052
Movie Trailer: I Am Legend (2007) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
105. Men of Honor (2000)
The plot centers around two “honorable men” and their relationship, as well as their individual and mutual failures and achievements. In a period when prejudice is rampant, Carl Brashear is determined to be the first African American Navy Diver. Leslie Sunday, his enraged trainer, is hell-bent on seeing him fail. Fate, hardships, and circumstances bring these two men together in a tumultuous and ultimately triumphant story.
Director: George Tillman Jr.
Language: English
Genre: Biography and Drama
Main Cast:
- Robert De Niro
- Cuba Gooding Jr.
- Hal Holbrook
IMDb Rating: 7.2
Running Time: 129 minutes
Box Office: $82,343,495
Movie Trailer: Men Of Honor (2000) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
106. Rosewood (1997)
Mann is played by Ving Rhames, a vagrant stranded in Rosewood, a town rife with racial intolerance. With the help of a poor store owner played by Jon Voight, he helps the surviving African-Americans flee the town.
Director: John Singleton
Language: English
Genre: Action, Drama and History
Main Cast:
- Jon Voight
- Ving Rhames
- Don Cheadle
- Bruce McGill
IMDb Rating: 7.2
Running Time: 142 minutes
Box Office: $13,130,349
Movie Trailer: Rosewood (1997) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
107.The Secret Life of Bees (2008)
This is the story of Lily Owens, a 14-year-old girl who is haunted by the memory of her late mother and is set in South Carolina in 1964. Lily flees with Rosaleen, her caretaker and companion, to a South Carolina hamlet that bears the truth to her mother’s past, to escape her lonely life and tumultuous relationship with her father T-Ray. Lily finds consolation in the enthralling world of beekeeping after being taken in by the bright and independent Boatwright sisters.
Director: Gina Prince-Bythewood
Language: English
Genre: Drama
Main Cast:
- Queen Latifah
- Dakota Fanning
- Jennifer Hudson
- Alicia Keys
IMDb Rating: 7.2
Running Time: 110 minutes
Box Office: $39,952,437
Movie Trailer: The Secret Life of Bees (2008) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
108. The Tuskegee Airmen (1995)
During WWII, the US Army Air Corps begins a special mission to incorporate African American pilots into the Fighter Pilot Program. These guys were dubbed “Tuskegee Airmen” after the airbase where they were trained, and they were forced to suffer relentless harassment, bigotry, and a great deal of behind-the-scenes politics until they were finally able to prove themselves in combat.
Director: Robert Markowitz
Language: English
Genre: Drama, History and War
Main Cast:
- Laurence Fishburne
- Allen Payne
- Malcolm-Jamal Warner
- Courtney B. Vance
IMDb Rating: 7.2
Running Time: 106 minutes
Movie Trailer: Tuskegee Airmen (1995) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
109. A Kid from Coney Island (2019)
Stephon Marbury, an ex-NBA player, is the subject of a feature documentary chronicling his rise, fall, and rebirth.
Director: Coodie and Chike Ozah
Language: English
Genre: Documentary, Biography and Sport
Main Cast:
- Stephon Marbury
- Ronald Stewart
IMDb Rating: 7.1
Running Time: 95 minutes
Movie Trailer: A Kid From Coney Island (2019) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
110. Beats (2019)
A solitary young musical genius strikes up an odd bond with a down-on-his-luck security guard at his high school. They struggle to free one other from the evils of their past and break into the city’s music industry, united by their common passion of hip hop.
Director: Chris Robinson
Language: English
Genre: Drama
Main Cast:
- Khalil Everage
- Evan J. Simpson
- Ashley Jackson
IMDb Rating: 7.1
Running Time: 110 minutes
Movie Trailer: Beats (2019) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
111. Coming to America (1988)
On his twenty-first birthday, gracious Prince Akeem, the polished heir apparent to Africa’s opulent kingdom of Zamunda, summons the resolve to turn down an arranged marriage proposal. As a result, the young blue blood finds himself in the exotic metropolitan jungle of Queens, New York City, in search of true love. To hide his regal origins, Akeem and his trusty valet, Semmi, must now disguise themselves as modest exchange students, doing their best to interact with their peers. The aristocratic bachelor, more than anything else in the world, wishes to be appreciated for who he is, not for his rank.
Director: John Landis
Language: English
Genre: Comedy and Romance
Main Cast:
- Eddie Murphy
- Arsenio Hall
- James Earl Jones
- John Amos
IMDb Rating: 7.1
Running Time: 117 minutes
Box Office: $288,752,301
Movie Trailer: Coming to America (1988) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
112. Creed II (2018)
Years after making a name for himself under Rocky Balboa’s tutelage, Adonis Creed is crowned the World Heavyweight Champion. While Adonis’ life appears to be going well with his triumph and marriage to Bianca, trouble strikes in Philadelphia when Ivan Drago, the Russian boxer who murdered Adonis’ father, Apollo, arrives with his son, Viktor, to face Adonis. Adonis accepts the challenge against Rocky’s advice and pays the price in a brutal match that he only wins on a technicality. Adonis is now injured and discouraged, and he is unable to return to the game, putting his spirit and title in peril.
Director: Steven Caple Jr.
Language: English
Genre: Drama and Sport
Main Cast:
- Michael B. Jordan
- Sylvester Stallone
- Tessa Thompson
- Wood Harris
IMDb Rating: 7.1
Running Time: 130 minutes
Box Office: $214,215,889
Movie Trailer: Creed II (2018) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
113. Dance Dreams: Hot Chocolate Nutcracker (2020)
The Debbie Allen Dance Academy’s award-winning version of The Nutcracker, which combines a range of dance traditions, is shown behind the scenes.
Director: Oliver Bokelberg
Language: English
Genre: Documentary and Family
Main Cast:
- Debbie Allen
- Tichina Arnold
- Vivian Nixon
IMDb Rating: 7.1
Running Time: 80 minutes
Movie Trailer: Dance Dreams: Hot Chocolate Nutcracker (2020) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Netflix
114. If Beale Street Could Talk (2018)
Fonny and Tish, two African-American teen sweethearts, are torn apart after Fonny is falsely accused of raping a Puerto Rican woman due to the manipulations of a racist cop. Tish, who is pregnant, seeks justice for Fonny with the help of her Harlem community, which includes her sister, mother Sharon, and future mother-in-law.
Director: Barry Jenkins
Language: English
Genre: Drama and Romance
Main Cast:
- KiKi Layne
- Stephan James
- Colman Domingo
- Teyonah Parris
IMDb Rating: 7.1
Running Time: 117 minutes
Box Office: $20,596,567
Movie Trailer: If Beale Street Could Talk Trailer (2018) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Hulu
115. Juice (1992)
Q, Bishop, Raheem, and Steel, four Harlem teenagers, are out skipping school one day when they learn that an old acquaintance was slain in a bar shootout. Bishop then informs his friends that they don’t have any respect or power. They raid a corner grocery store to get some, but things take an unexpected turn. Only the four buddies are aware of what occurred, yet one of them is on his own.
Director: Ernest R. Dickerson
Language: English
Genre: Action, Crime and Drama
Main Cast:
- Omar Epps
- Jermaine Hopkins
- Khalil Kain
- Tupac Shakur
IMDb Rating: 7.1
Running Time: 95 minutes
Box Office: $20,146,880
Movie Trailer: Juice Trailer (1992) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
116. One Night in Miami (2020)
A fictional tale of Muhammad Ali, Malcolm X, Sam Cooke, and Jim Brown getting together to discuss their involvement in the Civil Rights Movement and cultural upheaval of the 1960s.
Director: Regina King
Language: English
Genre: Drama
Main Cast:
- Kingsley Ben-Adir
- Eli Goree
- Aldis Hodge
- Leslie Odom Jr.
IMDb Rating: 7.1
Running Time: 114 minutes
Movie Trailer: One Night in Miami (2020) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
117. Queen & Slim (2019)
When a police officer pulls Slim and Queen over for a minor traffic violation, their first date takes an unexpected turn. Slim steals the officer’s gun and shoots him in self-defense as the situation intensifies. Slim and Queen believe they have no choice but to flee and dodge the law now that they have been labelled cop murders by the media. The unwitting outlaws quickly become a symbol of anguish, dread, grief, and pain for people all throughout the country as a video of the episode goes viral.
Director: Melina Matsoukas
Language: English
Genre: Crime, Drama and Romance
Main Cast:
- Daniel Kaluuya
- Jodie Turner-Smith
- Bokeem Woodbine
- Chloë Sevigny
IMDb Rating: 7.1
Running Time: 132 minutes
Box Office: $47,860,213
Movie Trailer: Queen & Slim Trailer (2019) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
118. Rize (2005)
When a police officer pulls Slim and Queen over for a minor traffic violation, their first date takes an unexpected turn. Slim steals the officer’s gun and shoots him in self-defense as the situation intensifies. Slim and Queen believe they have no choice but to flee and dodge the law now that they have been labelled cop murders by the media. The unwitting outlaws quickly become a symbol of anguish, dread, grief, and pain for people all throughout the country as a video of the episode goes viral.
Director: David LaChapelle
Language: English
Genre: Documentary and Music
Main Cast:
- Lil’ C
- Tommy the Clown
- Miss Prissy
IMDb Rating: 7.1
Running Time: 86 minutes
Box Office: $4,646,889
Movie Trailer: Rize (2005) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
119. Tangerine (2015)
On Christmas Eve, a hooker searches Tinseltown for the pimp who crushed her heart.
Director: Sean Baker
Language: English, Spanish and Armenian
Genre: Comedy, Crime and Drama
Main Cast:
- Kitana Kiki Rodriguez
- Mya Taylor
- Karren Karagulian
- Mickey O’Hagan
IMDb Rating: 7.1
Running Time: 88 minutes
Box Office: $828,874
Movie Trailer: Tangerine (2015) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
121. The Princess and the Frog (2009)
The Frog Prince is a modern-day version of the classic fable. The lives of haughty, carefree Prince Naveen and diligent waitress Tiana cross paths in The Princess and the Frog. A cunning voodoo magician turns Prince Naveen into a frog, and Tiana follows suit after kissing the amphibious prince. Naveen and Tiana must race to break the enchantment and realize their goals with the help of a trumpet-playing alligator, a Cajun firefly, and an old blind lady who lives in a boat in a tree.
Director: Ron Clements and John Musker
Language: English
Genre: Animation, Adventure and Comedy
Main Cast:
- Anika Noni Rose
- Bruno Campos
- Keith David
- Michael-Leon Wooley
IMDb Rating: 7.1
Running Time: 97 minutes
Box Office: $267,045,765
Movie Trailer: The Princess and the Frog (2009) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
121. Introducing Dorothy Dandridge (1999)
This biography of Dorothy Dandridge follows her career from her early days on the club circuit with her sister to her film roles, including becoming the first black actress to be nominated for a Best Actress Oscar in 1954 for “Carmen Jones,” to her death from prescription drugs, which was debated as to whether it was suicide or accidental. Brent Spiner portrays her devoted manager, who has stayed by her side during her career’s ups and downs. The film also looks at her relationship with director Otto Preminger, which is revealed to have originally aided her career but subsequently caused her to make some poor choices.
Director: Martha Coolidge
Language: English
Genre: Biography, Drama and Music
Main Cast:
- Halle Berry
- Brent Spiner
- Klaus Maria Brandauer
IMDb Rating: 7.1
Running Time: 120 minutes
Movie Trailer: Introducing Dorothy Dandridge (1999) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Hulu
122. John Q (2002)
Michael Archibald, the son of John Quincy Archibald, collapses while playing baseball due to heart problems. Michael is rushed to the hospital emergency room, where John is told that his only hope is a transplant. Unfortunately, John’s insurance will not cover the transplant for his son. Because he has no other choice, John Q. holds the emergency department workers and patients hostage until the hospital doctors agree to perform the transplant.
Director: Nick Cassavetes
Language: English
Genre: Crime, Drama and Thriller
Main Cast:
- Denzel Washington
- Robert Duvall
- James Woods
- Anne Heche
IMDb Rating: 7.1
Running Time: 116 minutes
Box Office: $102,244,770
Movie Trailer: John Q (2002) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
123. Lady Sings the Blues (1972)
Billie Holiday, born Elinore Harris, had a terrible adolescence and young adulthood, which included working in brothels as a cleaning lady and a prostitute, as well as being raped. Despite the difficulties, she aspired to be a jazz vocalist. She got her first break as a vocalist when she applied for a dancer position at a Harlem bar, but was instead employed as a singer. She met and fell in love with the suave Louis McKay while she was there.
Director: Sidney J. Furie
Language: English
Genre: Biography, Drama and Music
Main Cast:
- Diana Ross
- Billy Dee Williams
- Richard Pryo
IMDb Rating: 7.1
Running Time: 144 minutes
Box Office: $19,700,000
Movie Trailer: Lady Sings the Blues (1972) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Netflix
124. Paid in Full (2002)
Ace is a naive young man who works at a dry-cleaning company. Mitch, his companion and drug dealer, gets sentenced to prison. He discovers cocaine in a pants pocket in an unrelated occurrence. Ace soon finds himself working for Lulu as a cocaine dealer. Ace rises to the top of the Harlem drug scene thanks to a series of lucky breaks and strong interpersonal skills. Unfaithful employees and/or rivals, of course, conspire to bring Ace down.
Director: Charles Stone III
Language: English
Genre: Action, Crime and Drama
Main Cast:
- Wood Harris
- Mekhi Phifer
- Cam’ron
IMDb Rating: 7.1
Running Time: 98 minutes
Box Office: $3,116,526
Movie Trailer: Paid in Full (2002) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
125. Crooklyn (1994)
Spike Lee’s vivid semi-autobiographical picture of a Brooklyn schoolteacher, her obstinate jazz musician husband, and their five children in 1973.
Director: Spike Lee
Language: English
Genre: Comedy and Drama
Main Cast:
- Alfre Woodard
- Delroy Lindo
- Spike Lee
- Zelda Harris
IMDb Rating: 7
Running Time: 115 minutes
Box Office: $13,642,861
Movie Trailer: Crooklyn (1994) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
126. Loving (2016)
Mildred Jeter, a local black woman and family acquaintance, falls in love with Richard Loving, a white construction worker in Caroline County, Virginia. They decide to marry once Mildred discovers she is pregnant, but because interracial marriage violates Virginia’s anti-miscegenation laws, they drive to Washington, D.C. to marry in 1958. Richard decides to construct Mildred a house less than a mile from her family’s home.
Director: Jeff Nichols
Language: English
Genre: Biography, Drama and Romance
Main Cast:
- Joel Edgerton
- Ruth Negga
- Marton Csokas
- Nick Kroll
IMDb Rating: 7
Running Time: 123 minutes
Box Office: $12,957,265
Movie Trailer: Loving (2016) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Netflix
127. Monster’s Ball (2001)
‘Monster’s Ball,’ set in the South, tells the story of Hank, a bigoted white guy who falls in love with Leticia, a black woman. Hank, ironically, is a Death Row jail officer who executed Leticia’s spouse. The interracial affair between Hank and Leticia causes bewilderment and sparks new ideas for the two unexpected lovers.
Director: Marc Forster
Language: English
Genre: Drama and Romance
Main Cast:
- Halle Berry
- Billy Bob Thornton
- Heath Ledger
IMDb Rating: 7
Running Time: 112 minutes
Box Office: $45,011,434
Movie Trailer: Monsters Ball (2001) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
128. Soul Food (1997)
Mama Joe has brought her family together for 40 years around a soul cuisine Sunday supper. When she is hospitalized due to diabetes, the meals are halted, and tensions between her three daughters begin to tear the family apart. Teri is envious of Maxine’s marriage and upset that everyone assumes her corporate pay is available to the rest of the family. Teri’s bossiness irritates Maxine, as does her insensitivity to family customs. Bird, the youngest and newlywed to an ex-con, accepts a favor from an old lover, resulting in her husband’s incarceration.
Director: George Tillman Jr.
Language: English
Genre: Comedy and Drama
Main Cast:
- Vanessa Williams
- Vivica A. Fox
- Nia Long
- Michael Beach
IMDb Rating: 7
Running Time: 115 minutes
Box Office: $43,700,855
Movie Trailer: Soul Food (1997) Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
129. The Wood (1999)
Things aren’t looking good on the wedding day of a writer’s buddy when the groom goes missing before the ceremony. Mike, the writer, can’t help but share the storey of his adolescence with his buddies while he and his other male friend try to find him. They had shared the similar experiences of growing up and life’s discoveries since he met them on his first day at a new school.
Director: Rick Famuyiwa
Language: English
Genre: Comedy, Drama and Romance
Main Cast:
- Taye Diggs
- Omar Epps
- Richard T. Jones
- Sean Nelson
IMDb Rating: 7
Running Time: 106 minutes
Box Office: $25,059,640
Movie Trailer: The Wood (1999) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
130. Cadillac Records (2008)
“Cadillac Records” chronicles the exhilarating but stormy lives of some of America’s musical heroes, including Muddy Waters, Leonard Chess, Little Walter, Howlin’ Wolf, Etta James, and Chuck Berry, in this tale of sex, violence, race, and rock and roll in 1950s Chicago.
Director: Darnell Martin
Language: English
Genre: Biography, Drama and Music
Main Cast:
- Adrien Brody
- Jeffrey Wright
- Gabrielle Union
- Columbus Short
IMDb Rating: 7
Running Time: 109 minutes
Box Office: $8,883,644
Movie Trailer: Cadillac Records (2002) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
131. Cool Runnings (1993)
Four Jamaicans create the nation’s first bobsled team, which will compete in the 1988 Winter Olympics. They grudgingly engage the assistance of a disgraced former Olympic gold medalist to coach them. When they arrive in Canada, however, they are viewed as outcasts by the other teams, who worry they will only serve to shame the sport.
Director: Jon Turteltaub
Language: English
Genre: Adventure, Comedy and Family
Main Cast:
- Leon Robinson
- Doug E. Doug
- Rawle D. Lewis
- Malik Yoba
IMDb Rating: 7
Running Time: 98 minutes
Box Office: $154,856,263
Movie Trailer: Cool Runnings (1993) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
132. Dead Presidents (1995)
The Hughes brothers directed this action picture, which depicts a robbery of old bills that have been removed from circulation and are slated by the government to be “money to burn.” However, it more widely discusses Black Americans’ participation in the Vietnam War and consequent disappointment with progress in social concerns and civil rights in the United States during the 1960s.
Director: Albert Hughes and Allen Hughes
Language: English
Genre: Action, Crime and Drama
Main Cast:
- Larenz Tate
- Keith David
- Chris Tucker
- N’Bushe Wright
IMDb Rating: 6.9
Running Time: 119 minutes
Box Office: $24,147,179
Movie Trailer: Dead Presidents (1995) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
133. Farewell Amor (2020)
An Angolan immigrant is reunited with his wife and daughter in the United States after 17 years apart. They discover a mutual love of dance that may help them overcome their differences as strangers sharing a one-bedroom apartment.
Director: Ekwa Msangi
Language: English and Portuguese
Genre: Drama, Music and Romance
Main Cast:
- Ntare Mwine
- Zainab Jah
- Jayme Lawson
- Joie Lee
IMDb Rating: 6.9
Running Time: 101 minutes
Box Office: $4,689
Movie Trailer: Farewell Amor (2020) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
134. Get on Up (2014)
On his way to the stage, musician James Brown reflects on a tumultuous childhood in which music served as his sole constructive outlet for his feelings. A chance exhibition of that in prison resulted in a new buddy who assisted him in getting out of prison and into a musical career. Brown became a star by defiantly creating new possibilities in show business, both on and off the stage, in the face of racism and traditional thinking, with his fire and creative audacity. Along the way, James would become a mediator, redefining and elevating the African-American community’s sense of self-worth at a time when it was most needed.
Director: Tate Taylor
Language: English
Genre: Biography, Drama and Music
Main Cast:
- Chadwick Boseman
- Nelsan Ellis
- Dan Aykroyd
- Viola Davis
IMDb Rating: 6.9
Running Time: 139 minutes
Box Office: $33,448,971
Movie Trailer: Get On Up (2014) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
135. Girlhood (2014)
Marieme, who has been oppressed by her family, dead-end school prospects, and the neighborhood’s boys law, begins a new life after meeting a group of three free-spirited females. To be welcomed into the gang, she changes her name, her dress code, and quits school, expecting that this will lead to freedom.
Director: Céline Sciamma
Language: French
Genre: Drama
Main Cast:
- Karidja Touré
- Assa Sylla
- Lindsay Karamoh
IMDb Rating: 6.9
Running Time: 113 minutes
Box Office: $1,862,990
Movie Trailer: Girlhood (2014) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
136. Good Hair (2009)
Chris Rock, a father of two girls, inquires about what constitutes excellent hair in the eyes of Black Americans, mostly Black women. In Atlanta, he attends the Bronner Brothers’ annual hair convention. He explains sodium hydroxide, a poison that is used to relax hair. He examines weaves and visits India, where tonsure ceremonies produce much of the hair marketed in the United States. A weave is costly; thus, he inquires as to who makes the money. We go to salons and barbershops, which are very important in the Black community. Rock asks men if they can touch their friends’ hair, but they can’t because it’s just for show.
Director: Jeff Stilson
Language: English
Genre: Documentary and Comedy
Main Cast:
- Chris Rock
- Maya Angelou
- Al Sharpton
IMDb Rating: 6.9
Running Time: 96 minutes
Box Office: $4,163,135
Movie Trailer: Good Hair (2009) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
137. I Am Not a Witch (2017)
Shula, an eight-year-old girl, is accused of witchcraft after a minor event in her village. She is judged guilty after a brief trial, brought into state prison, and sent to a witch camp. She participates in an initiation ceremony at the camp, where she is taught the laws of her new life as a witch. Shula, like the other occupants, is tethered to a ribbon that is hooked to a coil atop a massive truck. She has been warned that if she cuts the ribbon, she will be cursed and turned into a goat.
Director: Rungano Nyoni
Language: English, Bemba and Nyanja
Genre: Comedy and Drama
Main Cast:
- Maggie Mulubwa
- Henry B.J. Phiri
- Nancy Murilo
IMDb Rating: 6.9
Running Time: 93 minutes
Box Office: $182,462
Movie Trailer: I Am Not A Witch (2017) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
138. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (2020)
Ma Rainey is a well-known blues singer with a strong personality who has recently been signed by white producers. The storey begins on July 2, 1927, when Ma’s manager, Irvin, schedules a recording session for her at Paramount Recording Studios in Chicago. Toledo, Cutler, and Slow Drag, members of the seasoned Georgia Jazz Band, arrive on time without Ma, which irritates her producer, Mel Sturdyvant. They’re shortly joined by Levee Green, the band’s overconfident trumpeter, who has demonstrated his original songs to Sturdyvant in the hopes of breaking away from Ma and landing his own record deal. The rest of the band is against it.
Director: George C. Wolfe
Language: English
Genre: Drama and Music
Main Cast:
- Viola Davis
- Chadwick Boseman
- Glynn Turman
- Colman Domingo
IMDb Rating: 6.9
Running Time: 94 minutes
Movie Trailer: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (2020) – Movie Trailer (2020)
Streaming Platform: Netflix
139. Set It Off (1996)
Four Black women, all of whom have experienced poverty and abuse at the hands of the majority, decide to rob banks. While they were initially successful, they are being pursued by a police officer who was involved in the shooting of one of the women’s brothers. As the women add to the booty, their likes and interests shift, and their mistrust of one another grow as the theft progresses.
Director: F. Gary Gray
Language: English
Genre: Action, Crime and Drama
Main Cast:
- Jada Pinkett
- Queen Latifah
- Vivica A. Fox
IMDb Rating: 6.9
Running Time: 123 minutes
Box Office: $41,590,886
Movie Trailer: Set It Off (1996) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
140. Sorry to Bother You (2018)
Cassius Green, a telemarketer in an alternate present-day Oakland, discovers a miraculous path to professional success, driving him into a world of greed.
Director: Boots Riley
Language: English
Genre: Comedy, Drama and Fantasy
Main Cast:
- Lakeith Stanfield
- Tessa Thompson
- Jermaine Fowler
- Omari Hardwick
IMDb Rating: 6.9
Running Time: 112 minutes
Box Office: $18,170,707
Movie Trailer: Sorry to Bother You (2018) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
141. Step (2017)
The movie follows a high school step dancing team’s senior year against the backdrop of inner-city Baltimore. The ladies seek to make their dance a success against the backdrop of social upheaval in the volatile city as they each try to become the first in their family to attend college.
Director: Amanda Lipitz
Language: English
Genre: Documentary
Main Cast:
- Blessin Giraldo
- Cori Grainger
- Tayla Solomon
- Gari McIntyre
IMDb Rating: 6.9
Running Time: 83 minutes
Box Office: $1,152,839
Movie Trailer: Step Trailer (2017) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
142. Widows (2018)
“Widows” tells the storey of four women who have nothing in common other than a debt owed to them by their dead husbands’ illegal actions. Tensions rise when Veronica (Viola Davis), Alice (Elizabeth Debicki), Linda (Michelle Rodriguez), and Belle (Cynthia Erivo) take their fate into their own hands and conspire to establish a future on their own terms in modern Chicago.
Director: Steve McQueen
Language: English
Genre: Crime, Drama and Thriller
Main Cast:
- Viola Davis
- Michelle Rodriguez
- Elizabeth Debicki
- Cynthia Erivo
IMDb Rating: 6.9
Running Time: 130 minutes
Box Office: $75,984,700
Movie Trailer: Widows (2018) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
143. Bad Boys (1995)
Marcus Burnett is a family man who has been hen-pecked. Mike Lowry is a fancy-free ladies’ man who isn’t afraid to let his hair down. Both are Miami cops with 72 hours to recover a shipment of cocaine that was stolen from under their station’s nose. To make matters more complicated, they must pretend to be each other in order to obtain the cooperation of the single witness to a murder.
Director: Michael Bay
Language: English
Genre: Action, Comedy and Crime
Main Cast:
- Martin Lawrence
- Will Smith
- Téa Leoni
- Tchéky Karyo
IMDb Rating: 6.9
Running Time: 119 minutes
Box Office: $141,407,024
Movie Trailer: Bad Boys (1995) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
144. He Got Game (1998)
The film tells the story of Jesus Shuttlesworth, the nation’s most highly coveted high school basketball prospect. Jesus’ desire of making it big in professional basketball is overshadowed by his father, Jake, who is serving a life sentence for the murder of Jesus’ mother.
Director: Spike Lee
Language: English
Genre: Drama and Sport
Main Cast:
- Denzel Washington
- Ray Allen
- Milla Jovovich
IMDb Rating: 6.9
Running Time: 136 minutes
Box Office: $21,567,853
Movie Trailer: He Got Game (1998) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
145. Ali (2001)
Muhammad Ali’s story is portrayed in three interwoven strands from 1964 to 1974. The boxer’s journey from champion to champion-to-champion. Cassius Clay converts to Islam, breaks his association with Malcolm X, may be Elijah Muhammad’s puppet, opposes enrollment into the US military, and is sentenced to five years in prison while his case is heard by the Supreme Court. He marries twice, the second of which is strained by 1974. He protects his white trainer, has a sibling in Bundini Brown, and is devious with Howard Cosell.
Director: Michael Mann
Language: English
Genre: Biography, Drama and Sport
Main Cast:
- Will Smith
- Jamie Foxx
- Jon Voight
- Mario Van Peebles
IMDb Rating: 6.8
Running Time: 157 minutes
Box Office: $87,812,729
Movie Trailer: Ali (2001) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Netflix
146. Becoming (2020)
Alex and Lisa, a couple freshly engaged and deeply in love, star in Becoming, a supernatural thriller. On a road trip, they come upon an old evil power that chooses Alex as its new host and gradually takes control of his mind and body, converting him into someone terrible and vicious. At first, the modifications are minor. It was written in his hand. His nonverbal communication. Lisa detects changes in the guy she thought she loved as Alex fights with the horror of losing his identity. Is he losing interest in her, or is it something considerably more serious? Lisa locates Kevin, a scarred survivor of the thing who has devoted his life to destroying it.
Director: Omar Naim
Language: English
Genre: Drama, Horror and Sci-Fi
Main Cast:
- Toby Kebbell
- Penelope Mitchell
- Jason Patric
IMDb Rating: 6.8
Running Time: 98 minutes
Box Office: $14,285
Movie Trailer: Becoming (2020) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
147. Our Song (2000)
The film focuses on the bonding of three female high school marching band members from Brooklyn’s “Jackie Robinson Steppers Marching Band” and the decisions the girls must make as their school closes due to asbestos clearance. This video is on a variety of subjects, not the least of which is the effort required to sustain friendships.
Director: Jim McKay
Language: English
Genre: Drama
Main Cast:
- Kerry Washington
- Melissa Martinez
- Anna Simpson
IMDb Rating: 6.8
Running Time: 95 minutes
Box Office: $254,199
Movie Trailer: Our Song (2000) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
148. Presenting Princess Shaw (2015)
A documentary about Samantha Montgomery, a New Orleans-based songwriter and YouTube sensation, and Ophir Kutiel, a composer and video artist.
Director: Ido Haar
Language: Hebrew and English
Genre: Documentary and Music
Main Cast:
- Kutiman
- Samantha Montgomery
IMDb Rating: 6.8
Running Time: 83 minutes
Box Office: $60,197
Movie Trailer: Presenting Princess Shaw (2015)- Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
149. She’s Gotta Have It (1986)
Nola Darling, her partners, and other acquaintances tell the narrative of her three simultaneous sexual engagements with three separate men. All three men wanted her to devote herself entirely to them, but Nola is adamant about not being “owned” by a single partner.
Director: Spike Lee
Language: English
Genre: Comedy and Romance
Main Cast:
- Tracy Camilla Johns
- Redmond Hicks
- John Canada Terrell
- Spike Lee
IMDb Rating: 6.8
Running Time: 84 minutes
Box Office: $7,137,502
Movie Trailer: She’s Gotta Have It (1986) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
150. Sylvie’s Love (2020)
An aspiring television producer and a brilliant musician reconnect paths years after their summer romance ends, only to discover that their love for one other haven’t changed. They must pick what matters most when their jobs take them in various ways.
Director: Eugene Ashe
Language: English
Genre: Drama, Music and Romance
Main Cast:
- Tessa Thompson
- Nnamdi Asomugha
- Ryan Michelle Bathe
- Regé-Jean Page
IMDb Rating: 6.8
Running Time: 114 minutes
Movie Trailer: Sylvie’s Love (2020) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
151. The Best Man (1999)
Harper’s autobiographical autobiography is almost finished, his girlfriend Robin is looking for a long-term relationship, and he’ll be best man at Lance’s pro athlete wedding. He arrives in New York early to meet up with Lance and other friends, including Jordan, his previous almost-girlfriend who now works in the media and has an advance copy of the book. Jordan wants to try again with Harper, at least for one night; and Harper is afraid that Lance will read his book and discover that the bride-to-be slept with him once to payback Lance’s many indiscretions.
Director: Malcolm D. Lee
Language: English
Genre: Comedy, Drama and Romance
Main Cast:
- Taye Diggs
- Nia Long
- Morris Chestnut
- Harold Perrineau
IMDb Rating: 6.8
Running Time: 120 minutes
Box Office: $34,573,780
Movie Trailer: The Best Man (1999) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
152. Time (2020)
Fox Rich is a savage. The entrepreneur, abolitionist, and mother of six boys has spent the last two decades fighting for the freedom of her husband, Rob G. Rich, who is serving a 60-year term for a heist they both committed in desperation in the early 1990s. Director Garrett Bradley creates a captivating depiction of the tenacity and radical love required to triumph over the country’s prison-industrial complex by combining video diaries Fox has filmed for Rob throughout the years with intimate views of her present-day existence.
Director: Garrett Bradley
Language: English
Genre: Documentary and Biography
Main Cast:
- Rob Rich II
- Fox Rich
- Laurence M. Rich
IMDb Rating: 6.8
Running Time: 81 minutes
Box Office: $574,361
Movie Trailer: Time (2020) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
153. Us (2019)
The Wilson family takes a trip to Santa Cruz, California to get away from their hectic lives and spend time with their friends, the Tyler family. Their young boy Jason almost walks away on a beach day, prompting his mother Adelaide to grow protective of her family. Four strange persons burst into Adelaide’s childhood house, where they’re staying, later that night. The family is taken aback when they discover that the intruders look just like them, but with ugly features.
Director: Jordan Peele
Language: English
Genre: Horror, Mystery and Thriller
Main Cast:
- Lupita Nyong’o
- Winston Duke
- Elisabeth Moss
- Tim Heidecker
IMDb Rating: 6.8
Running Time: 116 minutes
Box Office: $255,185,482
Movie Trailer: Us (2019) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon Prime
154. Life (1999)
Two convicts bury the charred bodies of two lifers at Mississippi’s infamous Parchman Farm in the mid-1990s, and a third old-timer tells the storey. They’d been framed by a local sheriff while buying moonshine whiskey for a Manhattan club owner to whom they owed money for a murder they didn’t commit. We see this unusual couple brought together, the loss of Ray’s watch, the murder and trial, Parchman’s tribulations, and Claude and Ray’s love-hate relationship as they spend 65 years fighting and yearning for a means to escape in flashbacks.
Director: Ted Demme
Language: English
Genre: Comedy, Crime and Drama
Main Cast:
- Eddie Murphy
- Martin Lawrence
- Obba Babatundé
IMDb Rating: 6.8
Running Time: 109 minutes
Box Office: $73,475,268
Movie Trailer: Life (1999) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Netflix
155. South Central (1992)
A man gets sentenced to ten years in prison. When he gets out of prison, he wants to live a regular life and quit committing crimes, but his kid has now followed in his father’s footsteps.
Director: Stephen Milburn Anderson
Language: English
Genre: Crime and Drama
Main Cast:
- Glenn Plummer
- Byron Minns
- Lexie Bigham
IMDb Rating: 6.8
Running Time: 99 minutes
Box Office: $1,373,196
Movie Trailer: South Central (1992) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
156. The Original Kings of Comedy (2000)
The Original Kings of Comedy will perform in Charlotte, North Carolina on February 26 and 27, 2000. Blacks and whites, men and women, old-school and hip-hop are among the themes. Steve Harvey emcees, celebrates ’70s music and love songs, and pokes fun at the audience. D.L. Hughley discusses his marriage and racial differences. Cedric the Entertainer gags on being an adult and having a Black president. Bernie Mac, who claims to “convey what’s in the back of our brains,” finishes with a look back at his 42nd year. The camera of Spike Lee follows us backstage and offstage with the Kings, as well as into the audience, where everyone is laughing.
Director: Spike Lee
Language: English
Genre: Comedy and Documentary
Main Cast:
- Steve Harvey
- D. L. Hughley
- Cedric the Entertainer
- Bernie Mac
IMDb Rating: 6.8
Running Time: 115 minutes
Box Office: $38,182,790
Movie Trailer: The Original Kings of Comedy (2000) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
157. Luce (2019)
After an alarming discovery by a dedicated high school teacher threatens his status as an all-star student, a married couple is forced to grapple with their idealized picture of their son, adopted from war-torn Eritrea.
Director: Arun Bose
Language: Malayalam
Genre: Drama and Mystery
Main Cast:
- Tovino Thomas
- Ahaana Krishna
- Anwar Shereef
- Nithin George
IMDb Rating: 6.7
Running Time: 151 minutes
Box Office: $2,268,204
Movie Trailer: Luce (2019) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
158. Malcolm and Marie (2021)
Following a joyous film presentation, a filmmaker returns home with his girlfriend, eagerly anticipating critical and financial success. As truths about their relationships begin to surface, the evening takes a turn, putting their love to the test.
Director: Sam Levinson
Language: English
Genre: Drama and Romance
Main Cast:
- Zendaya
- John David Washington
IMDb Rating: 6.7
Running Time: 106 minutes
Movie Trailer: Malcolm & Marie (2021) – Move Trailer
Streaming Platform: Netflix
159. New Jack City (1991)
Nino is the leader of a gang known as the Cash Money Brothers. They go into the crack industry and make a million dollars every week in no time. Scotty, a cop, is on their tail. He tries to infiltrate the gang by allowing an ex-drug addict to do so, but the plan fails terribly. The only thing that remains is for Scotty to turn into a drug dealer.
Director: Mario Van Peebles
Language: English
Genre: Action, Crime and Drama
Main Cast:
- Wesley Snipes
- Ice-T
- Chris Rock
- Mario Van Peebles
IMDb Rating: 6.7
Running Time: 100 minutes
Box Office: $47,624,353
Movie Trailer: New Jack City (1991) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
160. The Best Man Holiday (2013)
When college classmates gather for the first time in 15 years for the holidays, they find how simple it is to revive long-dormant rivalries and relationships.
Director: Malcolm D. Lee
Language: English
Genre: Comedy and Drama
Main Cast:
- Morris Chestnut
- Taye Diggs
- Regina Hall
- Terrence Howard
IMDb Rating: 6.7
Running Time: 123 minutes
Box Office: $72,835,710
Movie Trailer: The Best Man Holiday Official Trailer (2013) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
160. The Gospel According to Andre (2017)
In a moving portrait that includes cameos by Anna Wintour, Marc Jacobs, Tom Ford, Bethann Hardison, Valentino, and Manolo Blahnik, operatic fashion editor André Leon Talley’s life and career are on full show, from the segregated American South to the world’s fashion capitals.
Director: Kate Novack
Language: English
Genre: Documentary
Main Cast:
- André Leon Talley
- Bethann Hardison (archive footage)
- Marc Jacobs
IMDb Rating: 6.7
Running Time: 93 minutes
Box Office: $454,550
Movie Trailer: The Gospel According to André (2017) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
162. Devil in a Blue Dress (1995)
Ezikeal “Easy” Rawlins, an African-American World War II veteran, is looking for a job in 1948 in Los Angeles. He meets DeWitt Albright, a white man who is looking for someone to assist him to discover a missing white woman believed to be hiding somewhere in LA’s Black community, at a friend’s bar. Daphne Monet is the fiancée of Todd Carter, a wealthy “blue blood” who is presently the front-runner in the city’s mayoralty contest. Daphne Monet is well-known for frequenting LA’s Black jazz bars. Easy takes Albright’s offer innocently; but he soon finds himself in the center of murder, shady detectives, cutthroat politicians, and brutalizing hoodlums.
Director: Carl Franklin
Language: English
Genre: Crime, Drama and Mystery
Main Cast:
- Denzel Washington
- Tom Sizemore
- Jennifer Beals
- Don Cheadle
IMDb Rating: 6.7
Running Time: 102 minutes
Box Office: $16,140,822
Movie Trailer: Devil in a Blue Dress (1995) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
163. Notorious (2009)
Christopher Wallace’s story is well-known. Wallace transforms himself from a Brooklyn Street hustler (once selling crack to pregnant women) to one of the greatest rappers of all time, The Notorious B.I.G., via raw talent and sheer perseverance. Follow his remarkable climb to stardom and his reluctance to conform to expectations, redefining “The American Dream” in the process.
Director: George Tillman Jr.
Language: English
Genre: Biography, Crime and Drama
Main Cast:
- Angela Bassett
- Derek Luke
- Jamal Woolard
- Anthony Mackie
IMDb Rating: 6.7
Running Time: 123 minutes
Box Office: $44,420,167
Movie Trailer: Notorious- Trailer – YouTube
Streaming Platform: Amazon
164.All In: The Fight for Democracy (2020)
The film examines the history and ongoing activity against voter suppression, which most people are unaware is a threat to their fundamental rights as citizens of the United States.
Director: Liz Garbus and Lisa Cortés
Language: English
Genre: Documentary
Main Cast:
- Carolyn Abrams
- Robert Abrams
- Stacey Abrams
IMDb Rating: 6.6
Running Time: 102 minutes
Movie Trailer: All in the Fight for Democracy (2020) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
165. Bad Boys for Life (2020)
As they join the newly formed elite unit AMMO of the Miami police department to take down the ferocious Armando Armas, the brutal boss of a Miami drug cartel, Marcus and Mike must tackle new difficulties (job changes and midlife crises).
Director: Adil & Bilall
Language: English
Genre: Action, Comedy and Crime
Main Cast:
- Will Smith
- Martin Lawrence
- Paola Núñez
- Vanessa Hudgens
IMDb Rating: 6.6
Running Time: 124 minutes
Box Office: $426,505,244
Movie Trailer: Bad Boys for Life (2020) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
166. Bamboozled (2000)
A dark, stinging satire of television centered on an Ivy League educated black writer for a big network. He devises an absurd strategy to revive the minstrel show after his ideas for a “Cosby Show”-style take on the black family are rejected by network brass. The show’s hook is that instead of white performers in blackface, it has black actors in much more blackface. The play becomes an instant hit, but the popularity has consequences for everyone involved.
Director: Spike Lee
Language: English
Genre: Comedy, Drama and Music
Main Cast:
- Damon Wayans
- Savion Glover
- Jada Pinkett Smith
- Tommy Davidson
IMDb Rating: 6.6
Running Time: 135 minutes
Box Office: $2,463,650
Movie Trailer: Bamboozled (2000) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
167. Night Comes On (2018)
On the eve of her 18th birthday, Angel LaMere gets released from juvenile jail. She starts on a voyage with her 10-year-old sister, haunted by her past, that could wreck their future.
Director: Jordana Spiro
Language: English
Genre: Drama
Main Cast:
- Jill Rene
- Nastashia Fuller
- John Earl Jelks
IMDb Rating: 6.6
Running Time: 86 minutes
Movie Trailer: Night Comes On Trailer (2018) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
168. Above the Rim (1994)
Kyle-Lee Watson, a promising high school basketball star, and his ties with Birdie, a prominent drug dealer, and Birdie’s brother, Thomas ‘Shep’ Sheppard, a former prospective high school basketball star at Kyle’s school who now works as a security guard.
Director: Jeff Pollack
Language: English
Genre: Crime, Drama and Sport
Main Cast:
- Duane Martin
- Leon
- Tupac Shakur
- Marlon Wayans
IMDb Rating: 6.6
Running Time: 96 minutes
Box Office: $16,192,320
Movie Trailer: Above The Rim (1994) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
169. Bad Boys II (2003)
Miami is being swamped with ecstasy brought in by drug boss Johnny Tapia from Cuba. Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett, detectives on the investigation, are committed to bringing the man to justice. Friction with the DEA, which has Marcus’ younger sister Sydney among its agents, and Marcus’ possible transfer out of the department, leaving Mike without his longtime partner, add to the drama.
Director: Michael Bay
Language: English, Spanish and Russian
Genre: Action, Comedy and Crime
Main Cast:
- Martin Lawrence
- Will Smith
- Jordi Mollà
- Gabrielle Union
IMDb Rating: 6.6
Running Time: 147 minutes
Box Office: $273,339,556
Movie Trailer: Bad Boys II (2003) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
170. Don’t Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood (1996)
Director: Paris Barclay
Language: English
Genre: Comedy and Crime
Main Cast:
- Shawn Wayans
- Marlon Wayans
- Keenen Ivory Wayans
IMDb Rating: 6.6
Running Time: 89 minutes
Box Office: $20,949,601
Movie Trailer: Don’t Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Good (1996) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
171. I’m Gonna Git You Sucka (1988)
When his brother, Junebug, dies of O.G. – over gold, Jack Spade goes home from the army to his old ghetto neighborhood. Mr. Big, a strong local crime boss, is declared a target by Jack. John Slade, his childhood hero who used to fight evil men in the 1970s, commands his army.
Director: Keenen Ivory Wayans
Language: English
Genre: Action, Comedy and Crime
Main Cast:
- Keenen Ivory Wayans
- Bernie Casey
- Antonio Fargas
- Isaac Hayes
IMDb Rating: 6.6
Running Time: 89 minutes
Box Office: $13,030,057
Movie Trailer: I’m Gonna Git You Sucka (1988) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
172. Jason’s Lyric (1994)
Jason (Allen Payne), a young guy, must confront his trauma-induced fear about love, as well as a sense of owing responsibility to his mother and troublesome brother Joshua, in this film (Bokeem Woodbine). Jason, electronics store assistant manager and sales clerk, falls in love with Lyric (Jada Pinkett Smith) and finds happiness, but his family history and mentally ill war veteran father, Maddog (Forest Whitaker), thwart his goals.
Director: Doug McHenry
Language: English
Genre: Crime, Drama and Romance
Main Cast:
- Allen Payne
- Jada Pinkett
- Bokeem Woodbine
- Anthony ‘Treach’ Criss
IMDb Rating: 6.6
Running Time: 120 minutes
Box Office: $20,851,521
Movie Trailer: Jason’s Lyric (1994) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
173. Jungle Fever (1991)
Director: Spike Lee
Language: English
Genre: Drama and Romance
Main Cast:
- Wesley Snipes
- Annabella Sciorra
- Spike Lee
- Ossie Davis
IMDb Rating: 6.6
Running Time: 132 minutes
Box Office: $43,882,682
Movie Trailer: Jungle Fever (1991) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
174. Mo’ Better Blues (1990)
Bleek Gilliam is a gifted but egotistical jazz trumpeter whose singular focus on his music leaves many, particularly the women in his life, vying for his attention. Bleek establishes his own band, The Bleek Gilliam Quartet, and a conflict with bandmate Shadow develops, threatening to break the quartet apart.
Director: Spike Lee
Language: English
Genre: Drama, Music and Romance
Main Cast:
- Denzel Washington
- Spike Lee
- Wesley Snipes
IMDb Rating: 6.6
Running Time: 130 minutes
Box Office: $16,153,593
Movie Trailer: Mo’ Better Blues (1990) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
175. Shaft (1971)
John Shaft is the epitome of a sophisticated black detective. He first comes up against Bumpy, the boss of the Black crime syndicate, then Black nationals, and eventually the White Mafia, who are attempting to blackmail Bumpy by kidnapping his daughter.
Director: Gordon Parks
Language: English
Genre: Action, Crime and Thriller
Main Cast:
- Richard Roundtree
- Moses Gunn
- Charles Cioffi
IMDb Rating: 6.6
Running Time: 100 minutes
Box Office: $12000000
Movie Trailer: Shaft (1971) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
176. Brown Sugar (2002)
This love comedy follows Dre, an A&R executive at a hip-hop label, and Sidney, a magazine writer who has known each other since childhood. Even though Dre is engaged and Sidney is being courted by a handsome basketball player, they find themselves moving toward being more than pals.
Director: Rick Famuyiwa
Language: English
Genre: Comedy, Drama and Music
Main Cast:
- Taye Diggs
- Sanaa Lathan
- Mos Def
- Nicole Ari Parker
IMDb Rating: 6.5
Running Time: 109 minutes
Box Office: $28,316,451
Movie Trailer: Brown Sugar (2002) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
177. Clemency (2019)
Bernadine Williams, the prison warden, has taken a toll from years of carrying out death row executions. Bernadine must confront the psychological and emotional issues her profession generates as she prepares to execute another inmate, ultimately tying her to the man she is ordered to kill.
Director: Chinonye Chukwu
Language: English
Genre: Drama
Main Cast:
- Alfre Woodard
- Richard Schiff
- Danielle Brooks
- Michael O’Neill
IMDb Rating: 6.5
Running Time: 113 minutes
Box Office: $364,952
Movie Trailer: CLEMENCY (2019) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
178. Da 5 Bloods (2020)
Spike Lee’s new film tells the narrative of four African American vets who return to Vietnam: Paul (Delroy Lindo), Otis (Clarke Peters), Eddie (Norm Lewis), and Melvin (Isiah Whitlock, Jr.). Our heroes, accompanied by Paul’s anxious son (Jonathan Majors), battle forces of Man and Nature in search of the bones of their dead Squad Leader (Chadwick Boseman) and the promise of buried gold while confronted by the long-term repercussions of The Vietnam War’s immorality.
Director: Spike Lee
Language: English
Genre: Adventure, Drama and War
Main Cast:
- Delroy Lindo
- Jonathan Majors
- Clarke Peters
- Norm Lewis
IMDb Rating: 6.5
Running Time: 156 minutes
Movie Trailer: Da 5 Bloods (2020) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Netflix
179. Dreamgirls (2006)
The early 1960s in Detroit. Curtis Taylor, Jr., a car salesman, enters the music industry with high ambitions. He signs the Dreamettes, a trio of young women, and gets them a gig as backup singers for James “Thunder” Williams, an R&B artist. Early on, he forms his own record label and begins dealing. When Early fades away, Curtis transforms the Dreamettes into the Dreams, but not before demoting Effie White, their hefty big-voiced lead vocalist, and replacing her with Deena Jones, a softer-voiced looker. He fires Effie soon after, consigning her to a life of proud poverty, and propels Deena and the Dreams to the top. Will Effie ever get her due, and how long can Curtis stay there?
Director: Bill Condon
Language: English
Genre: Drama, Music and Musical
Main Cast:
- Jamie Foxx
- Beyoncé Knowles
- Eddie Murphy
- Danny Glover
IMDb Rating: 6.5
Running Time: 130 minutes
Box Office: $155,430,335
Movie Trailer: Dreamgirls (2006) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
180. Foxy Brown (1974)
When her government agent boyfriend Michael is shot down by criminals commanded by the kinky couple of Steve Elias and Miss Katherine, a seductive black woman named Foxy Brown wants vengeance.
Director: Jack Hill
Language: English
Genre: Action, Crime and Thriller
Main Cast:
- Pam Grier
- Peter Brown
- Terry Carter
IMDb Rating: 6.5
Running Time: 91 minutes
Box Office: $2,460,000
Movie Trailer: Foxy Brown (1974) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
181. House Party (1990)
Young Kid has been invited to his friend Play’s place for a party. Kid’s father, however, grounds him following a disagreement at school. None the less, Kid sneaks out when his father falls asleep. But Kid doesn’t know that three of the thugs at school have decided to give him a lesson in behavior.
Director: Reginald Hudlin
Language: English
Genre: Comedy, Music and Romance
Main Cast:
- Kid ‘n Play
- Full Force
- Robin Harris
IMDb Rating: 6.5
Running Time: 100 minutes
Box Office: $26,385,627
Movie Trailer: House Party (1990) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
182. Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey (2020)
Legendary toymaker Jeronicus Jangle’s (Forest Whitaker) imaginative toys burst with whimsy and enchantment in the gloriously lively hamlet of Cobbleton. When his most prized creation is stolen by his loyal apprentice (Keegan-Michael Key), it’s up to his equally bright and innovative granddaughter (Madalen Mills) – and a long-forgotten invention – to heal old wounds and reignite the magic within.
Director: David E. Talbert
Language: English
Genre: Family, Fantasy and Musical
Main Cast:
- Forest Whitaker
- Madalen Mills
- Keegan-Michael Key
- Hugh Bonneville
IMDb Rating: 6.5
Running Time: 122 minutes
Movie Trailer: Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey (2020) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Netflix
183. Miss Juneteenth (2020)
A single mother and former beauty queen prepares her rebellious adolescent daughter for the “Miss Juneteenth” contest.
Director: Channing Godfrey Peoples
Language: English
Genre: Drama
Main Cast:
- Nicole Beharie
- Kendrick Sampson
- Alexis Chikaeze
IMDb Rating: 6.5
Running Time: 103 minutes
Box Office: $111,428
Movie Trailer: Miss Juneteenth Trailer (2020) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
184. Higher Learning (1995)
When students from many countries, races, and social backgrounds join at Columbus University, they are compelled to integrate. Finance, harassment, personal safety, and self-doubt are all issues that they face. Furthermore, it appears that university life is producing a problem for everyone: racism. Prejudice, inexperience, and misunderstanding affect students who are already under pressure to achieve in the classroom, on the track, or in front of their peers.
Director: John Singleton
Language: English
Genre: Crime, Drama and Thriller
Main Cast:
- Jennifer Connelly
- Ice Cube
- Omar Epps
IMDb Rating: 6.5
Running Time: 127 minutes
Box Office: $38,290,723
Movie Trailer: Higher Learning (1995) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
185. Losing Isaiah (1995)
An African-American baby, abandoned by his crack addicted mother is adopted by a white social worker and her husband. Several years later, the baby’s mother finds out her son is not dead, as she thought before and goes to court to get him back.
Director: Stephen Gyllenhaal
Language: English
Genre: Drama
Main Cast:
- Jessica Lange
- Halle Berry
- David Strathairn
- Cuba Gooding Jr.
IMDb Rating: 6.5
Running Time: 111 minutes
Box Office: $7,603,766
Movie Trailer: Losing Isaiah (1995) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
186. Purple Rain (1984)
A young man with a musical skill has embarked on a promising career path. He meets Apollonia, an aspiring singer, and discovers that skill isn’t enough. A convoluted story follows, with him emulating his father’s self-destructive conduct, losing Apollonia to another singer (Morris Day), and coming to terms with his own relationship with others.
Director: Albert Magnoli
Language: English
Genre: Drama, Music and Romance
Main Cast:
- Prince
- Apollonia Kotero
- Morris Day
- Olga Karlatos
IMDb Rating: 6.5
Running Time: 111 minutes
Box Office: $70,263,155
Movie Trailer: Purple Rain (1984) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
187. Think Like a Man (2012)
Four women had given up trying to convince their guys to do what they want until they read a Steve Harvey how-to book. They begin to follow his relationship counsel, and their husbands begin to follow suit, until the men discover what the ladies have been up to, at which point the conflict begins.
Director: Tim Story
Language: English
Genre: Comedy and Romance
Main Cast:
- Michael Ealy
- Jerry Ferrara
- Meagan Good
- Regina Hall
IMDb Rating: 6.5
Running Time: 122 minutes
Box Office: $96,070,507
Movie Trailer: Think Like a Man (2012) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
188. Beyond the Lights (2014)
In this drama about the power of choosing your own path, romance blooms between a disturbed young musician on the verge of stardom and an attractive young cop with political ambitions. Noni Jean is a gifted singer whose angelic voice has swept the music industry. However, a closer look reveals a girl who is crumbling under the pressure to reach the top of the charts. Concerned cop Kaz Nicol brings Noni back from the edge and shows her that life is still worth living. Noni and Kaz fall head over falls in love along the way. In the meantime, the powers that be plot to keep them apart and focused on their own jobs.
Director: Gina Prince-Bythewood
Language: English
Genre: Drama, Music and Romance
Main Cast:
- Gugu Mbatha-Raw
- Nate Parker
- Minnie Driver
- Machine Gun Kelly
IMDb Rating: 6.4
Running Time: 116 minutes
Box Office: $14,618,727
Movie Trailer: Beyond The Lights (2014) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
189. First Match (2018)
A teen girl from Brooklyn’s Brownsville ghetto, hardened by years in foster care, decides that joining the boys wrestling team is the only way to reconnect with her estranged father.
Director: Olivia Newman
Language: English
Genre: Drama and Sport
Main Cast:
- Elvire Emmanuelle
- Yahya Abdul-Mateen II
- Colman Domingo
- Jharrel Jerome
IMDb Rating: 6.4
Running Time: 102 minutes
Movie Trailer: First Match (2018) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Netflix
190. Hale County This Morning, This Evening (2018)
This film is constructed in a way that allows the viewer an emotive impression of the Historic South – trumpeting the beauty of life and the consequences of social construction of race, while simultaneously a testament to dreaming. It is made up of intimate and unencumbered moments of people in a community.
Director: RaMell Ross
Language: English
Genre: Documentary
Main Cast:
- Latrenda “Boosie” Ash
- Quincy Bryant
- Daniel Collins
IMDb Rating: 6.4
Running Time: 76 minutes
Box Office: $112,282
Movie Trailer: Hale County This Morning This Evening (2018) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
191. Madeline’s Madeline (2018)
When a young actress takes her role too seriously, a theatre director’s current production takes on a life of its own.
Director: Josephine Decker
Language: English
Genre: Drama
Main Cast:
- Helena Howard
- Molly Parker
- Miranda July
IMDb Rating: 6.4
Running Time: 93 minutes
Box Office: $197,309
Movie Trailer: Madeline’S Madeline – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
192. Middle of Nowhere (2012)
When Ruby drops out of medical school to focus on her detained husband’s well-being, she embarks on a voyage of self-discovery.
Director: Ava DuVernay
Language: English
Genre: Drama
Main Cast:
- Emayatzy Corinealdi
- Omari Hardwick
- Edwina Findley
- Sharon Lawrence
IMDb Rating: 6.4
Running Time: 97 minutes
Box Office: $236,806
Movie Trailer: Middle of Nowhere (2012) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
193. Nappily Ever After (2018)
Violet Jones (Lathan) is dismayed by her superficial, “perfect” existence, which she doesn’t recognize at first. She has everything she ever wanted: a good profession, friends, and a handsome doctor boyfriend (Whittle). As her fairy tale unravels, she does as well. This film depicts what a beautiful, intelligent, and accomplished lady may achieve when she turns her gaze inward rather than outward.
Director: Haifaa al-Mansour
Language: English
Genre: Comedy, Drama and Romance
Main Cast:
- Sanaa Lathan
- Ernie Hudson
- Lyriq Bent
- Lynn Whitfield
IMDb Rating: 6.4
Running Time: 98 minutes
Movie Trailer: Nappily Ever After (2018) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Netflix
194. Premature (2019)
When seventeen-year-old Ayanna meets attractive and mysterious outsider Isaiah against the backdrop of a changing Harlem landscape, her entire world is turned upside down on her quest to self-discovery as she navigates the difficult terrain of youthful love the summer before she travels for college.
Director: Rashaad Ernesto Green
Language: English
Genre: Drama, Music and Romance
Main Cast:
- Zora Howard
- Joshua Boone
- Michelle Wilson
- Alexis Marie Wint
IMDb Rating: 6.4
Running Time: 86 minutes
Box Office: $23,071
Movie Trailer: Premature (2019) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
195. Strong Island (2017)
This documentary examines the brutal killing of the filmmaker’s brother and the court system that let his killer go free, interrogating murderous fear and racist perception, and re-imagining the destruction left in disaster’s aftermath, urging us to change.
Director: Yance Ford
Language: English
Genre: Documentary and Crime
Main Cast:
- Yance Ford
- Harvey Walker
- Kevin Myers
IMDb Rating: 6.4
Running Time: 107 minutes
Movie Trailer: Strong Island (2017) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Netflix
196. Support the Girls (2017)
Lisa is the last person you’d expect to find in a highway-side sports bar with curves,’ but as the general manager of Double Whammies, she’s grown to like the establishment and its patrons. She is an incurable den mother who fiercely nourishes and protects her daughters, but her optimism is pummeling from all sides over the course of one tough day. What happens when reality pokes a number of holes in Double Whammies’ enormous, strange American fantasy?
Director: Andrew Bujalski
Language: English
Genre: Comedy and Drama
Main Cast:
- Regina Hall
- Haley Lu Richardson
- James LeGros
- Shayna McHayle
IMDb Rating: 6.4
Running Time: 91 minutes
Box Office: $139,550
Movie Trailer: Support the Girls (2018) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
197. Top Five (2014)
Chelsea Brown of the New York Times is spending the day with Andre Allen, star of the blockbuster film franchise Hammy the Bear about a cop in a bear suit, who is a comedian and recovering alcoholic. They head to Chelsea’s place first because she has forgotten her tape recorder. They talk about a magazine article about the Cinderella complex while they’re there. Cinderella left something behind to let the prince know she wanted to see him again, according to Chelsea.
Director: Chris Rock
Language: English
Genre: Comedy and Romance
Main Cast:
- Chris Rock
- Rosario Dawson
- Gabrielle Union
- Cedric the Entertainer
IMDb Rating: 6.4
Running Time: 102 minutes
Box Office: $26,117,471
Movie Trailer: Top Five (2014) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
198. Baby Boy (2001)
This is the story of Jody, an unemployed young black guy who, despite having a child of his own, has been living with his mother for some years. He’s romantically involved with two women: Yvette, his son’s mother, and a new love interest.
Director: John Singleton
Language: English
Genre: Crime, Drama and Romance
Main Cast:
- Tyrese Gibson
- Snoop Dogg
- Ving Rhames
- Omar Gooding
IMDb Rating: 6.4
Running Time: 130 minutes
Box Office: $29,381,649
Movie Trailer: Baby Boy 2001 – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
199. Sister Act (1992)
When a nightclub singer is forced to seek refuge in a convent to escape the mob, she transforms the convent choir into a soulful chorus with a Motown repertoire, until the choir’s unexpected celebrity jeopardizes her identity.
Director: Emile Ardolino
Language: English
Genre: Comedy, Family and Music
Main Cast:
- Whoopi Goldberg
- Maggie Smith
- Harvey Keitel
IMDb Rating: 6.4
Running Time: 100 minutes
Box Office: $231,605,150
Movie Trailer: Sister Act (1992) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
200. Super Fly (1972)
Super Fly is a cocaine dealer who realizes that his life is about to come to a close with either prison or death. He intends to establish a life for himself by making his greatest sale yet, changing the cocaine into cash and fleeing to begin a new life. The difficulty is that the mob has no retirement plan and will force him to choose between staying and selling for them or dying if they learn of his plans.
Director: Gordon Parks Jr.
Language: English
Genre: Action, Crime and Drama
Main Cast:
- Ron O’Neal
- Carl Lee
- Julius W. Harris
- Sheila Frazier
IMDb Rating: 6.4
Running Time: 91 minutes
Box Office: $30,000,000
Movie Trailer: Super Fly (1972) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
201. The Brothers (2001)
“The Brothers” follows four African-American brothers as they face love, sex, friendship, and two of life’s most terrible possibilities: honesty and commitment. In this boldly comedic yet achingly genuine portrayal of the war between the sexes, Jackson Smith, Brian Palmer, Derrick West, and Terry White are “The Brothers,” lifelong friends banded together to weather love’s intrinsic terrors and occasional victories. Among the career track, basketball, and bar hopping, “The Brothers” love as many women as they can, but a surprising revelation puts the foursome’s friendship to the test and forever changes their dating habits.
Director: Gary Hardwick
Language: English
Genre: Comedy and Drama
Main Cast:
- Morris Chestnut
- D.L. Hughley
- Bill Bellamy
IMDb Rating: 6.4
Running Time: 102 minutes
Box Office: $27,958,191
Movie Trailer: The Brothers (2001) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
202 .Why Do Fools Fall in Love (1998)
Three women (each accompanied by an attorney) come to the office of New York entertainment manager Morris Levy in the mid-1980s. One is a former Platters singer from Los Angeles; one is a petty crook from Philadelphia, and one is a high school teacher in a small Georgia town. Each claim to be the widow of long-dead doo-wop singer-songwriter Frankie Lyman, and both are seeking years of profits owed to his estate, which Levy has never shared. Flashbacks describe the story of each one’s life with Lyman, a boyish, high-pitched, lively entertainer who died of heroin addiction. The three widows gradually get together and form their own friendship.
Director: Gregory Nava
Language: English
Genre: Biography, Drama and Music
Main Cast:
- Halle Berry
- Vivica A. Fox
- Lela Rochon
- Larenz Tate
IMDb Rating: 6.4
Running Time: 116 minutes
Box Office: $12,461,773
Movie Trailer: Why Do Fools Fall In Love (1998) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
203. Barbershop (2002)
A day in the life of a barbershop on Chicago’s south side. Calvin, who inherited the struggling firm from his late father, considers it a burden and a waste of his time. Calvin slowly begins to comprehend his father’s vision and legacy after selling the shop to a local loan shark, and he fights with the idea that he just sold it out. Characters share their experiences, jokes, and struggles and tribulations in the barbershop.
Director: Tim Story
Language: English
Genre: Comedy and Drama
Main Cast:
- Ice Cube
- Anthony Anderson
- Sean Patrick Thomas
- Eve
IMDb Rating: 6.3
Running Time: 102 minutes
Box Office: $77,063,924
Movie Trailer: Barbershop (2002) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
204. CB4 (1993)
The journey to prominence of MC Gusto, Stab Master Arson, and Dead Mike, members of the rap group “CB4”, is chronicled in this documentary. We quickly discover that these three are not who they appear to be, and that they do not appear to know as much about rap music as they say… but a lack of musical aptitude in an artist never kills sales, does it? All you have to do is pretend to be a rap star.
Director: Tamra Davis
Language: English
Genre: Comedy and Music
Main Cast:
- Chris Rock
- Allen Payne
- Deezer D
- Charlie Murphy
IMDb Rating: 6.3
Running Time: 89 minutes
Box Office: $17,953,778
Movie Trailer: CB4 (1993) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
205. Concrete Cowboy (2020)
Cole, 15, is taken to live with his estranged father Harp in North Philadelphia in this drama based on the real-life Fletcher Street Stables. There, he uncovers the city’s thriving urban cowboy subculture, which has thrived for more than a century and provides a safe refuge for the neighborhood despite the poverty, violence, and gentrification that surrounds it.
Director: Ricky Staub
Language: English
Genre: Drama
Main Cast:
- Idris Elba
- Caleb McLaughlin
- Jharrel Jerome
- Byron Bowers
IMDb Rating: 6.3
Running Time: 111 minutes
Movie Trailer: Concrete Cowboy (2020) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Netflix
206. Keanu (2016)
When an adorable cat named Keanu arrives at Rell’s door, his life is permanently transformed. Unfortunately, Keanu is kidnapped by unknown people one weekend later. Now, against all odds, Rell and his cousin Clarence are on a mission to find Keanu. Unfortunately, the odds are stacked against them when they discover Keanu in the hands of Cheddar, a violent mobster who would only part with him for a price. These two middle-class bumblers find themselves neck deep in a hazardous foreign world of drugs and gang violence, with only their desperate daring, resourcefulness, and plain dumb luck providing them a chance to survive.
Director: Peter Atencio
Language: English
Genre: Action, Comedy and Crime
Main Cast:
- Jordan Peele
- Keegan-Michael Key
- Tiffany Haddish
- Method Man
IMDb Rating: 6.3
Running Time: 100 minutes
Box Office: $20,651,333
Movie Trailer: Keanu (2016) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
207. Southside with You (2016)
The film depicts the summer afternoon in 1989 when Barack Obama, the future President of the United States, wooed Michelle Obama, his future First Lady, on a first date through Chicago’s South Side.
Director: Richard Tanne
Language: English
Genre: Biography, Drama and History
Main Cast:
- Parker Sawyers
- Tika Sumpter
- Vanessa Bell Calloway
IMDb Rating: 6.3
Running Time: 84 minutes
Box Office: $6,628,603
Movie Trailer: Southside with You (2016) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
208. Uncorked (2020)
Elijah must strike a balance between his ambition to become a master sommelier and his father’s desire for him to continue running the family’s Memphis BBQ establishment.
Director: Prentice Penny
Language: English
Genre: Drama
Main Cast:
- Mamoudou Athie
- Courtney B. Vance
- Niecy Nash
- Matt McGorry
IMDb Rating: 6.3
Running Time: 104 minutes
Movie Trailer: Uncorked (2020) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Netflix
209. Blue Streak (1999)
Miles Logan is a professional jewel thief who recently made it big by stealing a massive diamond. After two years in prison, he discovers that he concealed the diamond in a police station that was under construction at the time of the theft. He impersonates an L.A.P.D. officer in order to reclaim his diamond.
Director: Les Mayfield
Language: English
Genre: Action, Comedy and Crime
Main Cast:
- Martin Lawrence
- Luke Wilson
- Dave Chappelle
- Peter Greene
IMDb Rating: 6.3
Running Time: 93 minutes
Box Office: $117,758,500
Movie Trailer: Blue Streak (1999) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
210. How High (2001)
Silas and Jamal, two boys named Silas and Jamal, decided to smoke something miraculous one day, which helped them ace their college entrance exam. This leads them to Harvard, where they become immersed in the world of Ivy Leaguers. Despite the fact that their new lifestyle is vastly different from their previous one, they continued to have a good time until their supernatural smoke ran out. They are now on their own and must rely on one another to survive.
Director: Jesse Dylan
Language: English
Genre: Comedy and Fantasy
Main Cast:
- Method Man
- Redman
- Obba Babatundé
- Mike Epps
IMDb Rating: 6.3
Running Time: 93 minutes
Box Office: $31,283,740
Movie Trailer: How High (2001) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
211. In Too Deep (1999)
Jeff Cole is a recent Cincinnati police academy graduate who aspires to work undercover. His request is realized, and he is tasked with apprehending Dwayne Gittens, or “God,” a state-wide crack dealer. Gittens is known for being a family man and a people’s man who gives back to his community and helps those in need. However, he also has another side, that of a merciless crime lord who will torture or murder anyone without hesitation. Cole forms a good friendship with Gittens over time. Cole’s superiors are concerned that the boundary between cop and bad guy is blurring, and that the two personas are merging.
Director: Michael Rymer
Language: English
Genre: Crime, Thriller and Drama
Main Cast:
- Omar Epps
- LL Cool J
- Nia Long
- Stanley Tucci
IMDb Rating: 6.3
Running Time: 104 minutes
Box Office: $14,011,454
Movie Trailer: In Too Deep (1999) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
212. Major Payne (1995)
Major Benson Winifred Payne is leaving the Marine Corps. Payne is a ruthless killer, but world conflicts are no longer waged on the battlefield. He’s a career Marine with no idea what to do as a civilian, so his commander finds him work as the commanding officer of a local school’s JROTC program, a ragged group of hopeless losers. Payne begins to create hope in the Corps by using live grenades and actual bullets as instructional tools.
Director: Nick Castle
Language: English
Genre: Adventure, Comedy and Family
Main Cast:
- Damon Wayans
- Karyn Parsons
- Michael Ironside
IMDb Rating: 6.3
Running Time: 95 minutes
Box Office: $30,112,050
213. The Bodyguard (1992)
When a pop artist receives threatening letters, her manager employs a bodyguard who is known for his professionalism. The singer’s and most of her entourage’s feathers are ruffled when the bodyguard tightens security beyond what they believe is required. The bodyguard is troubled by the thought that he was a member of Reagan’s secret service yet was not present to prevent Hinckley’s attack. When the stalker strikes close to home, the singer and the bodyguard have an affair, and she begins to believe his precautions are justified.
Director: Mick Jackson
Language: English
Genre: Action, Drama and Music
Main Cast:
- Kevin Costner
- Whitney Houston
- Gary Kemp
- Bill Cobbs
IMDb Rating: 6.3
Running Time: 129 minutes
Box Office: $411,006,740
Movie Trailer: The Bodyguard (1992) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
214. This Christmas (2007)
This is the narrative of a middle-class African-American family who reunites for the first time in years for Christmas. Ma’dere (Loretta Devine) is the Matriarch, and the most of the action takes place in her Los Angeles house. There are several topics that should be avoided at any family gathering. When they are discussed here, they result in verbal or physical conflicts.
Director: Preston A. Whitmore II
Language: English
Genre: Comedy, Drama and Romance
Main Cast:
- Delroy Lindo
- Idris Elba
- Loretta Devine
- Chris Brown
IMDb Rating: 6.3
Running Time: 119 minutes
Box Office: $49,778,552
Movie Trailer: This Christmas (2007) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
215. Girls Trip (2017)
Sisterhoods are rekindled, wild sides are rediscovered, and there’s enough dancing, drinking, brawling, and romancing to make the Big Easy blush as four lifelong friends travel to New Orleans for the annual Essence Festival.
Director: Malcolm D. Lee
Language: English
Genre: Adventure, Comedy and Drama
Main Cast:
- Regina Hall
- Tiffany Haddish
- Larenz Tate
- Mike Colter
IMDb Rating: 6.2
Running Time: 122 minutes
Box Office: $140,552,359
Movie Trailer: Girls Trip (2017) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
216. High Flying Bird (2019)
Ray Burke (André Holland) is a sports agent who finds himself caught in the middle of a pro basketball lockout between the league and the players. Ray’s career is on the line, but the stakes are bigger for him. He outmaneuvers all the major players while uncovering a loophole that might change the game forever with only 72 hours to pull off a bold plan. The result begs the question of who owns the game – and who should.
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Language: English
Genre: Drama and Sport
Main Cast:
- André Holland
- Zazie Beetz
- Melvin Gregg
- Sonja Sohn
IMDb Rating: 6.2
Running Time: 91 minutes
Movie Trailer: High Flying Bird (2019) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Netflix
217. It Comes at Night (2017)
The shaky domestic order he has formed with his wife and kid is put to the ultimate test with the advent of a desperate young family seeking safety within a dismal home while an unnatural threat terrorizes the planet. Despite both families’ best efforts, paranoia and mistrust rise as the monsters outside grow closer, waking something hidden and horrible within him as he discovers that his family’s safety comes at the expense of his soul.
Director: Trey Edward Shults
Language: English
Genre: Horror, Mystery and Sci-Fi
Main Cast:
- Joel Edgerton
- Christopher Abbott
- Carmen Ejogo
- Kelvin Harrison Jr.
IMDb Rating: 6.2
Running Time: 91 minutes
Box Office: $19,735,344
Movie Trailer: It Comes At Night (2017) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
218. Roxanne Roxanne (2017)
In Queens, New York, in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the most feared combat MC was a strong young girl carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders. Lolita “Roxanne Shanté” Gooden was on her path to become a hip-hop legend when she was 14 years old, hustling to pay for her family while defending herself from the horrors of the Queensbridge Projects’ streets.
Director: Michael Larnell
Language: English
Genre: Biography, Drama and Music
Main Cast:
- Chanté Adams
- Mahershala Ali
- Nia Long
- Elvis Nolasco
IMDb Rating: 6.2
Running Time: 100 minutes
Movie Trailer: Roxanne Roxanne (2017) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform:Netflix
219. ATL (2006)
As four friends prepare for life after high school, they face various hardships that lead to pivotal moments in their lives. At Cascade, their neighborhood roller skating rink, the dramas play out and are resolved.
Director: Chris Robinson
Language: English
Genre: Comedy, Crime and Drama
Main Cast:
- T.I.
- Lauren London
- Evan Ross
- Jackie Long
IMDb Rating: 6.2
Running Time: 105 minutes
Box Office: $21,170,563
Movie Trailer: ATL (2006) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
220. Belly (1998)
Tommy Brown and his pal Sincere are gangsters who have figured out how to make a life selling drugs and committing armed robberies. Tommy and Sincere have been able to move out of the Queens ghetto and into an elite Manhattan neighborhood; they appear to have it all, but they both recognize that their lives are heading towards a dead end. Tommy undergoes a religious epiphany and joins the Nation of Islam, while Sincere reconnects with his African roots and tries to persuade his girlfriend Tionne to emigrate to the Motherland.
Director: Hype Williams
Language: English
Genre: Crime and Drama
Main Cast:
- Nas
- DMX
- Taral Hicks
- T-Boz
IMDb Rating: 6.2
Running Time: 92 minutes
Box Office: $9,639,390
Movie Trailer: Belly (1998) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
221. Mahogany (1975)
Tracy, a budding fashion designer from Chicago’s slums, attends fashion school in the aspirations of becoming one of the world’s best designers. Her ambition brings her to Rome, forcing her to choose between her newfound success and the man she loves.
Director: Berry Gordy
Language: English
Genre: Drama and Romance
Main Cast:
- Diana Ross
- Billy Dee Williams
- Jean-Pierre Aumont
- Nina Foch
IMDb Rating: 6.2
Running Time: 109 minutes
Box Office: $5,000,000
Movie Trailer: Mahogany (1975) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Netflix, Amazon
222. Next Friday (2000)
Debo has escaped prison and plans to get vengeance on Craig. So, Craig’s father transports him to Rancho Cucamonga, where he meets up with his Uncle Elroy and cousin Day-Day, who moved to the suburbs after winning the jackpot. Craig and Day-Day, however, have a series of suburban misadventures that make his South-Central adventures look harmless.
Director: Steve Carr
Language: English
Genre: Comedy
Main Cast:
- Ice Cube
- Mike Epps
- John Witherspoon
- Tamala Jones
IMDb Rating: 6.2
Running Time: 98 minutes
Box Office: $59,827,328
Movie Trailer: Next Friday (2000) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
223. Roll Bounce (2005)
This coming-of-age comedy is fueled by 1970s roller-skating jams, as X and his friends, who run their local rink, are stunned when their home base closes. When they arrive at the Sweetwater Roller Rink, they discover that their modest abilities are no match for the trick skaters and gorgeous girls who watch their every move.
Director: Malcolm D. Lee
Language: English
Genre: Comedy, Drama and Music
Main Cast:
- Bow Wow
- Chi McBride
- Mike Epps
- Wesley Jonathan
IMDb Rating: 6.2
Running Time: 112 minutes
Box Office: $17,521,290
Movie Trailer: Roll Bounce (2005) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
224. Two Can Play That Game (2001)
To “get him in line,” an ambitious business lady engages in a series of callous mind games with her lover, only to realize that he has his own tricks up his sleeve.
Director: Mark Brown
Language: English
Genre: Comedy and Romance
Main Cast:
- Vivica A. Fox
- Anthony Anderson
- Wendy Raquel Robinson
- Tamala Jones
IMDb Rating: 6.2
Running Time: 90 minutes
Box Office: $22,391,450
Movie Trailer: Two Can Play That Game (2001) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
225. Burning Sands (2017)
A valued pledgee is caught between obeying his rule of silence and standing up to the escalating savagery of subterranean hazing as Hell Week progresses.
Director: Gerard McMurray
Language: English
Genre: Drama
Main Cast:
- Trevor Jackson
- Alfre Woodard
- Steve Harris
- Tosin Cole
IMDb Rating: 6.1
Running Time: 102 minutes
Movie Trailer: Burning Sands (2017) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Netflix
226. Dear White People (2014)
A group of black students navigates many forms of racial and other types of discrimination at a largely white Ivy League college.
Director: Justin Simien
Language: English
Genre: Comedy and Drama
Main Cast:
- Tyler James Williams
- Tessa Thompson
- Kyle Gallner
- Teyonah Parris
IMDb Rating: 6.1
Running Time: 108 minutes
Box Office: $4,633,961
Movie Trailer: Dear White People (2014) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
227. Fast Color (2018)
When a woman’s superhuman talents are uncovered after years of hiding, she is compelled to flee. After abandoning her family for years, the only place she has left to hide is at home.
Director: Julia Hart
Language: English
Genre: Drama, Sci-Fi and Thriller
Main Cast:
- Gugu Mbatha-Raw
- Lorraine Toussaint
- Saniyya Sidney
- Christopher Denham
IMDb Rating: 6.1
Running Time: 102 minutes
Box Office: $76,916
Movie Trailer: Fast Color (2018) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
228. Poetic Justice (1993)
After witnessing the murder of her first and only boyfriend, Justice decides to forego college and pursue a career as a hairdresser in South Central Los Angeles, California. Her only way to cope with her despair is to write wonderful poetry, which she does by avoiding friends. She is compelled to ride with an independent-minded postal worker with whom she has had a tense relationship in the past on her way to a convention in Oakland. Following a series of disagreements with their friends, they begin to realize that their views on violence, both socially and domestically, are similar. Justice may finally realize she isn’t as alone as she once was.
Director: John Singleton
Language: English
Genre: Drama and Romance
Main Cast:
- Janet Jackson
- Tupac Shakur
- Tyra Ferrell
- Regina King
IMDb Rating: 6.1
Running Time: 109 minutes
Box Office: $27,515,786
Movie Trailer: Poetic Justice (1993) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
229. Class Act (1992)
Duncan is a true talent. Blade, a student, is a delinquent adolescent. However, due to a mix-up in their school records, everyone believes they are the same person. Duncan now enjoys the attention that comes with being thought of as a nasty guy, if only the school bullies would stop attempting to bully him. Blade prefers to be thought of as significant rather than troublesome, if only the teacher would quit pursuing him for a date.
Director: Randall Miller
Language: English
Genre: Comedy
Main Cast:
- Christopher Reid
- Christopher Martin
- Andre Rosey Brown
IMDb Rating: 6.1
Running Time: 98 minutes
Box Office: $13,272,113
Movie Trailer: Class Act (1992) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
230. Deliver Us from Eva (2003)
Eva Dandridge is a haughty young woman who meddles in the affairs of her sisters and their husbands on a regular basis. Her in-laws, fed up with Eva’s intrusion into their lives, intend to pair her up with someone who will allow her to leave them alone. Ray, the local “playboy,” is eventually paid $5,000 to date her. The plot goes off without a hitch, but problems arise when Ray falls in love with Eva.
Director: Gary Hardwick
Language: English
Genre: Comedy, Drama and Romance
Main Cast:
- LL Cool J
- Gabrielle Union
- Duane Martin
- Essence Atkins
IMDb Rating: 6.1
Running Time: 105 minutes
Box Office: $17,573,594
Movie Trailer: Deliver Us from Eva (2003) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
231. For Colored Girls (2010)
The play “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enough” by Ntozake Shange is the inspiration for the film. The movie has given each of the 20 characters names, unlike the original performance, which had only 7 ladies known by their colors reciting a set of 20 poetry. Each poem is a thought-provoking commentary on what it means to be a female of color in the world, dealing with serious topics that disproportionately affect women.
Director: Tyler Perry
Language: English
Genre: Drama
Main Cast:
- Janet Jackson
- Loretta Devine
- Kimberly Elise
- Thandiwe Newton
IMDb Rating: 6.1
Running Time: 133 minutes
Box Office: $37,981,984
Movie Trailer: For Colored Girls (2010) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
232. Harlem Nights (1989)
“Sugar” Ray is the owner of an illegal casino who has to deal with the pressures of ruthless gangsters and crooked cops who want him to close down. Any nasty tactic is fair in the 1930s world of organized crime and police corruption.
Director: Eddie Murphy
Language: English
Genre: Comedy, Crime and Drama
Main Cast:
- Eddie Murphy
- Richard Pryor
- Redd Foxx
IMDb Rating: 6.1
Running Time: 116 minutes
Box Office: $60,864,870
Movie Trailer: Harlem Nights (1989) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
233 .Juanita (2019)
Juanita, fed up with her life, abandons her grown children and sets out on the road in search of a new beginning.
Director: Clark Johnson
Language: English
Genre: Drama
Main Cast:
- Alfre Woodard
- Bonnie Johnson
- Jordan Nia Elizabeth
IMDb Rating: 6
Running Time: 90 minutes
Movie Trailer: Juanita (2019) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Netflix
234. School Daze (1988)
Confrontations are taking place in the South of the United States between two groups of students who have opposing opinions and are unable to accept the opponents’ recommendations.
Director: Spike Lee
Language: English
Genre: Comedy, Drama and Musical
Main Cast:
- Larry Fishburne
- Giancarlo Esposito
- Tisha Campbell
- Kyme
IMDb Rating: 6
Running Time: 121 minutes
Box Office: $14,545,844
Movie Trailer: School Daze (1988) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
235. Waiting to Exhale (1995)
This drama, based on Terry McMillan’s best-selling novel, follows four African-American women as they try to deal with their own lives. As men, professions, and families drive them in various directions, friendship becomes the primary tie between these women. This film, which is often lighthearted, discusses some of the challenges and struggles modern women confront in today’s world.
Director: Forest Whitaker
Language: English
Genre: Comedy, Drama and Romance
Main Cast:
- Whitney Houston
- Angela Bassett
- Loretta Devine
IMDb Rating: 6
Running Time: 124 minutes
Box Office: $81,452,156
Movie Trailer: Waiting to Exhale (1995) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
236. A Low Down Dirty Shame (1994)
While looking for a fortune in lost drug money, a black investigator becomes entangled in a web of danger. Throughout his research, he runs into a number of former acquaintances before finally facing the criminal guilty for Shame’s dismissal from the force. Angela, an old flame, and Peaches, his lively but obnoxious sidekick, are two ladies he must cope with.
Director: Keenen Ivory Wayans
Language: English
Genre: Action, Comedy and Crime
Main Cast:
- Keenen Ivory Wayans
- Charles S. Dutton
- Jada Pinkett
- Salli Richardson
IMDb Rating: 6
Running Time: 100 minutes
Box Office: $29,392,418
Movie Trailer: A Low Down Dirty Shame (1994) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
237. Shaft (2000)
Detective John Shaft of the New York Police Department is the primary detective on a difficult case in which a young black man has been badly abused. Shaft learns from the man’s companions that their friend embarrassed the person who was hurling racial obscenities at him. When Shaft confronts him, he reveals himself to be Walter Wade Jr., the rich son of a wealthy man. Shaft discovers that he has the identification of a lady who works as a waitress at the pub where Wade and the assailant were. Shaft strikes Wade after he continues to make racist remarks. Wade was granted bail and fled as a result of Shaft’s actions; Shaft subsequently discovers. Wade reappears two years later, and Shaft arrests him.
Director: John Singleton
Language: English
Genre: Action, Crime and Thriller
Main Cast:
- Samuel L. Jackson
- Vanessa Williams
- Jeffrey Wright
- Christian Bale
IMDb Rating: 6
Running Time: 99 minutes
Box Office: $107,626,125
Movie Trailer: Shaft (2000) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
238. A Fall from Grace (2020)
Grace Waters, a long-serving member of her Virginia community, maintains her composure after her ex marries his mistress and her son relocates. She tries putting herself first with the help of her best friend Sarah, and a lovely stranger becomes her unexpected second love. Grace’s new husband, on the other hand, quickly destroys her life, her work, and – many believe – her sanity. Grace is imprisoned in a jail awaiting trial for his murder, and Jasmine Bryant, a public lawyer who has never tried a case, is his sole hope for justice.
Director: Tyler Perry
Language: English
Genre: Drama, Fantasy and Thriller
Main Cast:
- Crystal Fox
- Phylicia Rashad
- Bresha Webb
- Mehcad Brooks
IMDb Rating: 5.9
Running Time: 120 minutes
Movie Trailer: A Fall From Grace (2020) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Netflix
239. Barbershop: The Next Cut (2016)
We have not been to Calvin’s Barbershop in over a decade. Calvin and his longstanding team are still on the job, but the store has changed dramatically. Most notably, our sanctuary, which was once controlled by men, is now co-ed. The females contribute their own flavor, drama, and gossip to the establishment, constantly challenging the fellas. Despite the wonderful times and camaraderie within the shop, the surrounding community has deteriorated, prompting Calvin and our crew to band together to save not only the shop but their neighborhood as well.
Director: Malcolm D. Lee
Language: English
Genre: Comedy and Drama
Main Cast:
- Ice Cube
- Cedric the Entertainer
- Regina Hall
- Anthony Anderson
IMDb Rating: 5.9
Running Time: 112 minutes
Box Office: $55,030,051
Movie Trailer: Barbershop: The Next Cut (2016) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
240. Deuces (2016)
Jason Foster, a determined undercover agent, finds himself identifying more with the crooks than with his own circumstances. But when he learns that his smart boss Stephen “Deuces” Brooks is linked with someone close to him, things get even more convoluted as they both become entangled in Deuce’s web.
Director: Jamal Hill
Language: English
Genre: Action, Crime and Drama
Main Cast:
- Larenz Tate
- Meagan Good
- Lance Gross
- Siya
IMDb Rating: 5.9
Running Time: 87 minutes
Movie Trailer: Deuces (2016) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Netflix
241. Drumline (2002)
A comedy about a brilliant Harlem Street drummer who enrolls in a Southern university in the hopes of leading the marching band’s drumline to victory. He struggles at first in his new environment before recognizing that success requires more than talent.
Director: Charles Stone III
Language: English
Genre: Comedy, Drama and Romance
Main Cast:
- Nick Cannon
- Zoe Saldana
- Orlando Jones
- Leonard Roberts
IMDb Rating: 5.9
Running Time: 120 minutes
Box Office: $57,588,485
Movie Trailer: Drumline (2002) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
242. Monsters and Men (2018)
The aftermath of a police shooting of a black man, as seen through the eyes of a bystander who filmed the incident, an African-American cop, and a high-school baseball phenom spurred to take a stand.
Director: Reinaldo Marcus Green
Language: English
Genre: Crime, Drama and Thriller
Main Cast:
- John David Washington
- Anthony Ramos
- Kelvin Harrison Jr.
IMDb Rating: 5.9
Running Time: 95 minutes
Box Office: $510,967
Movie Trailer: Monsters and Men (2018) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
243. The Wedding Party (2016)
A virgin bride who is insecure. A groom who is no longer a playboy. Two obnoxious mothers who are unable to stand each other. One philandering hubby, to be sure. A wedding planner with a lot on her plate. An invasion of rambunctious villagers. A best man carrying a flash drive brimming with information. A thief has escaped. A seductive ex who is out for vengeance. Two obedient bridesmaids, ready to fight. The approval of his father is sought by a brother. When you mix them all together, you get a funny pot of potential calamity.
Director: Kemi Adetiba
Language: English, Yoruba, and Igbo
Genre: Comedy and Romance
Main Cast:
- Adesua Etomi
- Banky Wellington
- Richard Mofe Damijo
- Sola Sobowale
IMDb Rating: 5.9
Running Time: 110 minutes
Box Office: $1,100,797.02
Movie Trailer: The Wedding Party (2016) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
244. Waist Deep (2006)
While driving his loving son Junior home from school in South Los Angeles, the paroled ex-convict O2 tells his son that he will always come back to him and will never leave him alone. His automobile, however, is hijacked, and Junior is abducted. Without a lead, O2 pushes street vendor Coco to assist him in locating the location where his automobile may have been shipped for disassembly. Meanwhile, Lucky, O2’s addicted brother, discovers that the Outlaw Syndicate’s sadistic boss, drug lord Meat, has the youngster imprisoned and is demanding a ransom of US$ 100,000.00, which he believes O2 has from an old heist. O2 and Coco devise a plan to pit pimp P-Money and meat against one another.
Director: Vondie Curtis-Hall
Language: English
Genre: Action, Crime and Drama
Main Cast:
- Tyrese Gibson
- Meagan Good
- Larenz Tate
- The Game
IMDb Rating: 5.9
Running Time: 97 minutes
Box Office: $21,353,303
Movie Trailer: Waist Deep (2006) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
245. All About the Benjamins (2002)
Bucum Jackson (Ice Cube) teams up with the small-time con artist Reggie Wright (Mike Epps), whom he is pursuing, to track down a lost hoard of diamonds and a million-dollar lottery ticket. Bucum and Reggie find themselves in a race to the finish line as they form an odd alliance that should, in the end, be beneficial to both of them.
Director: Kevin Bray
Language: English
Genre: Action, Comedy, and Crime
Main Cast:
- Ice Cube
- Mike Epps
- Eva Mendes
- Tommy Flanagan
IMDb Rating: 5.9
Running Time: 98 minutes
Box Office: $26,306,533
Movie Trailer: All About the Benjamins (2002) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
246. Just Wright (2010)
Leslie Wright is a straight-shooting physical therapist who lands a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work with NBA All-Star Scott McKnight. Everything is going swimmingly until Leslie falls for Scott, leaving her to choose between her job and the tug of war inside her heart. McKnight is lured to the charms of Leslie’s childhood friend Morgan, who has her sights set on being an NBA trophy wife, despite her romantic overtures. Is Leslie destined to be Scott’s “best friend” for the rest of his life, or will he finally realize what he’s always desired is right in front of him?
Director: Sanaa Hamri
Language: English
Genre: Comedy, Romance and Sport
Main Cast:
- Queen Latifah
- Common
- Paula Patton
IMDb Rating: 5.9
Running Time: 101 minutes
Box Office: $21,584,424
Movie Trailer: Just Wright (2010) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
247.Red Tails (2012)
It’s 1944 in Italy. As the war takes its toll on Allied troops in Europe, the Tuskegee Airmen, a squadron of black pilots, are finally given the chance to prove themselves in the air, despite discrimination on the ground. It’s a tribute to the unsung heroes who persevered in the face of adversity and went on to make history.
Director: Anthony Hemingway
Language: English and German
Genre: Action, Drama and History
Main Cast:
- Nate Parker
- David Oyelowo
- Ne-Yo
- Elijah Kelley
IMDb Rating: 5.9
Running Time: 125 minutes
Box Office: $50,365,498
Movie Trailer: Red Tails (2012) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
248. Sugar Hill (1993)
Roemello Skuggs, a hardened, unrepentant drug dealer, chooses to leave his scumbag profession in order to start a fresh life with his girlfriend. However, he quickly discovers that getting out is far more difficult than getting in, as everything leads up to a tragic conclusion.
Director: Leon Ichaso
Language: English
Genre: Crime, Drama and Thriller
Main Cast:
- Wesley Snipes
- Michael Wright
- Theresa Randle
IMDb Rating: 5.9
Running Time: 123 minutes
Box Office: $18,225,518
Movie Trailer: Sugar Hill (1993) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
249. The Players Club (1998)
Diana, a young mother who works at a shoe store, meets Tricks and Ronnie, two strippers. They advise her to work for a large sum of money at The Playa’s Club. The woman accepts and introduces her cousin to the club shortly afterwards. Then she discovers that her cousin has been bribed to make house calls by Tricks. After nearly being raped by an obsessed fan, Diana goes home to find her cousin sleeping with her ex-boyfriend. She throws her cousin out and begins dating Blue, a club DJ. Diana’s cousin contacts her one night, requesting her to fetch her up from a bachelor celebration. Diana refuses, and her cousin is raped shortly after.
Director: Ice Cube
Language: English
Genre: Comedy and Drama
Main Cast:
- Lisa Raye
- Bernie Mac
- Monica Calhoun
- A. J. Johnson
IMDb Rating: 5.9
Running Time: 104 minutes
Box Office: $23,261,485
Movie Trailer: The Players Club (1998) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
250. All Day and a Night (2020)
As Jahkor Abraham Lincoln tries to keep his goal of rapping alive in the midst of a gang battle in Oakland, his ill-fated existence and real-world obligations force him further and further across the line of good and wrong, with disastrous repercussions. After landing in jail alongside his father, J.D., whom he never wanted to be like, Jahkor begins on an improbable voyage of self-discovery, researching the events that brought them together in the hopes of helping his newborn son escape an unbreakable cycle.
Director: Joe Robert Cole
Language: English
Genre: Drama
Main Cast:
- Ashton Sanders
- Jeffrey Wright
- Regina Taylor
- Yahya Abdul-Mateen II
IMDb Rating: 5.8
Running Time: 121 minutes
Movie Trailer: All Day and A Night (2020) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Netflix
251.American Son (2019)
Kendra Ellis-Connor (Kerry Washington), frantic with fear, paces the waiting area of a Miami police station. Jamal, her 18-year-old son and a top student ready to enter West Point, went out with friends early in the evening and has not returned or called her, which is unusual for him. Officer Paul Larkin (Jeremy Jordan) interviews Kendra while she waits for her estranged husband Scott (Steven Pasquale), who assures her that his questions concerning Jamal’s priors, street name, and gold teeth are purely routine and not discriminatory.
Director: Kenny Leon
Language: English
Genre: Drama
Main Cast:
- Kerry Washington
- Steven Pasquale
- Jeremy Jordan
- Eugene Lee
IMDb Rating: 5.8
Running Time: 90 minutes
Movie Trailer: American Son (2019) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Netflix
252. Barry (2016)
A look at Barack Obama’s early years. He was one of the few black students at Columbia University in New York in the early 1980s, before becoming President of the United States. He attempts to find his place in the world, surrounded by critical and bigoted ideas.
Director: Vikram Gandhi
Language: English
Genre: Biography and Drama
Main Cast:
- Devon Terrell
- Anya Taylor-Joy
- Jason Mitchell
- Ashley Judd
IMDb Rating: 5.8
Running Time: 104 minutes
Movie Trailer: Barry (2016) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Netflix
253. Chi-raq (2015)
After a child is killed by a stray gunshot, a group of women lead by Lysistrata organizes against the ongoing violence in Chicago’s Southside, resulting in a movement that questions the nature of race, sex, and violence in America and around the world.
Director: Spike Lee
Language: English
Genre: Comedy, Crime and Drama
Main Cast:
- Nick Cannon
- Wesley Snipes
- Teyonah Parris
- Jennifer Hudson
IMDb Rating: 5.8
Running Time: 127 minutes
Box Office: $2,719,699
Movie Trailer: Chi-Raq (2015) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
254. Next Day Air (2009)
When a delivery driver makes a mistake and accidentally delivers a package containing hidden bricks of cocaine to the wrong address, it sets off a desperate search and battle for the cocaine between the enraged dealer who sent it, the fearful intended recipients who missed it, and the conniving accidental recipients who plan to sell it. Time is running out, and everyone is frantically attempting to obtain the parcel that has been sent.
Director: Benny Boom
Language: English
Genre: Action, Comedy and Crime
Main Cast:
- Donald Faison
- Mike Epps
- Wood Harris
- Omari Hardwick
IMDb Rating: 5.8
Running Time: 84 minutes
Box Office: $10,172,519
Movie Trailer: Next Day Air (2009) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
255. Straight Out of Brooklyn (1991)
A poor young man devises a scheme to rob a drug dealer and change his family’s fortunes.
Director: Matty Rich
Language: English
Genre: Drama
Main Cast:
- George T. Odom
- Ann D. Sanders
- Lawrence Gilliard Jr.
- Mark Malone
IMDb Rating: 5.8
Running Time: 91 minutes
Box Office: $2,712,293
Movie Trailer: Straight Out Of Brooklyn (1991) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Netflix
256. Bébé’s Kids (1992)
Robin Harris recalls his terrible first date with Jamika, a lovely young lady. Jamika’s mild-mannered son Leon and Jamika’s friend Bebe’s three rude, crass, and annoying children accompany her on the date to Fun World, a theme park. When Bebe’s children arrive at the theme park, they are pursued by a gang of government agents, they ruin the Titanic, and they are put on trial. Also generating havoc when Harris’ alimony-demanding ex-wife Dorthea and her closest friend Vivian interfere with a first date.
Director: Bruce W. Smith
Language: English
Genre: Animation, Comedy and Fantasy
Main Cast:
- Faizon Love
- Nell Carter
- Myra J.
- Vanessa Bell Calloway
IMDb Rating: 5.8
Running Time: 72 minutes
Box Office: $8,442,162
Movie Trailer: Bebe’s Kids (1992) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
257. Daddy’s Little Girls (2007)
While attempting to reclaim custody of his three girls from his treacherous ex-wife and her larcenous boyfriend, a mechanic enlists the help of a wealthy, but lonely attorney. The business relationship between the blue-collar father and his uptown attorney develops into something more along the line. This is a simple, moving narrative of two people trying to overcome their disparate backgrounds in order to discover love, a down-on-his-luck guy trying to protect his children from abuse and neglect, and a community striving to rid itself of the crooks plaguing his neighborhood.
Director: Tyler Perry
Language: English
Genre: Drama and Romance
Main Cast:
- Gabrielle Union
- Idris Elba
- Louis Gossett Jr.
IMDb Rating: 5.8
Running Time: 95 minutes
Box Office: $31,609,243
Movie Trailer: Daddy’s Little Girls (2007) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
258. Diary of a Mad Black Woman (2005)
Helen McCarter has it all: a beautiful home and a wealthy husband. Helen turns to her mother, grandmother Madea, and cousin Brian for help after her husband Charles throws her out of the house after she admits to having an affair. They take her in and help her return to God. Helen learns to stand up on her own for the first time in her life and is ready to end her relationship with Charles and begin a new one with Orlando. Helen questions whether she has the heart to forgive her husband after he is nearly killed by an angry client.
Director: Darren Grant
Language: English
Genre: Comedy, Drama and Romance
Main Cast:
- Kimberly Elise
- Steve Harris
- Shemar Moore
- Cicely Tyson
IMDb Rating: 5.8
Running Time: 116 minutes
Box Office: $50,652,203
Movie Trailer: Diary of a Mad Black Woman (2005) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
259. Friday After Next (2002)
Craig and Day had finally left their parents’ homes and settled into their own crib. The cousins work as security guards at a local mall on nights. When their house is plundered on Christmas Eve, they band together to find the thief.
Director: Marcus Raboy
Language: English
Genre: Comedy and Drama
Main Cast:
- Ice Cube
- Mike Epps
- John Witherspoon
- Don “D.C.” Curry
IMDb Rating: 5.8
Running Time: 85 minutes
Box Office: $33,526,835
Movie Trailer: Friday After Next Trailer (2002) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
260. The Family That Preys (2008)
Alice Pratt was a dedicated Christian mother who ran her own café while raising her two daughters. Andrea, her snooty, haughty daughter, earned a bachelor’s degree in economic science and now works for a construction firm, while her sister Pam stayed with Alice and worked in the cafe. Andrea is married to Chris, a construction worker who works for Andrea’s company but aspires to start his own. Andrea is having an affair with Chris’s boss, William Cartwright, the affluent son of Alice’s best friend, Charlotte Cartwright. While Alice and Charlotte are on a road trip, William’s ambition and infidelity set in motion a chain of events that will impact both families’ relationships.
Director: Tyler Perry
Language: English
Genre: Drama
Main Cast:
- Alfre Woodard
- Sanaa Lathan
- Rockmond Dunbar
- KaDee Strickland
IMDb Rating: 5.8
Running Time: 106 minutes
Box Office: $37,105,289
Movie Trailer: The Family That Preys (2008) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
261. Lionheart (2018)
Running a business can be difficult, especially for a woman in a male-dominated field. When her father, Chief Ernest Obiagu, is forced to take a step back due to health difficulties, Adaeze rises to the occasion. Ironically, he instead selects Godswill, his crass, eccentric brother, to oversee the company with his young daughter. When they realize that the family firm is in financial trouble, complications develop, and Adaeze and Godswill individually strive to save the company, with bizarre and frequently humorous outcomes.
Director: Genevieve Nnaji
Language: English and Igbo
Genre: Comedy
Main Cast:
- Genevieve Nnaji
- Nkem Owoh
- Pete Edochie
- Onyeka Onwenu
IMDb Rating: 5.7
Running Time: 95 minutes
Box Office: $51,759.33
Movie Trailer: ‘Lionheart’ (2018) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Netflix
262. The Holiday Calendar (2018)
A struggling but skilled photographer inherits an ancient holiday advent calendar whose contents appear to foretell the future. Will she fall in love with the festive season thanks to this amazing calendar?
Director: Bradley Walsh
Language: English
Genre: Drama, Fantasy and Romance
Main Cast:
- Kat Graham
- Quincy Brown
- Ethan Peck
- Ron Cephas Jones
IMDb Rating: 5.7
Running Time: 95 minutes
Movie Trailer: The Holiday Calendar (2018) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Netflix
263. A Thin Line Between Love and Hate (1996)
In this ‘Fatal Attraction’-style comedic thriller, an observable, fast-talking party man Darnell Wright gets his retribution when one of his conquests takes it personally and returns for vengeance.
Director: Martin Lawrence
Language: English
Genre: Comedy, Crime and Drama
Main Cast:
- Martin Lawrence
- Lynn Whitfield
- Regina King
- Bobby Brown
IMDb Rating: 5.7
Running Time: 108 minutes
Box Office: $35,599,803
Movie Trailer: A Thin Line Between Love and Hate (1996) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
264. Barbershop 2: Back in Business (2004)
The barbers at Calvin’s Barbershop continue their exploits. Gina, a stylist at the beauty salon next door, is now attempting to compete with him. Calvin is once again fighting to preserve his father’s shop and traditions, this time against urban developers who want to replace mom and pop shops with name-brand chains. The world changes, but some things never go out of style—you can still say whatever you want at the barbershop about anything from current events and politics to relationships and love.
Director: Kevin Rodney Sullivan
Language: English
Genre: Comedy and Drama
Main Cast:
- Ice Cube
- Cedric the Entertainer
- Sean Patrick Thomas
- Eve
IMDb Rating: 5.7
Running Time: 106 minutes
Box Office: $65,991,448
Movie Trailer: Barbershop 2: Back in Business Official Trailer #1 – Ice …
Streaming Platform: Amazon
265. How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1998)
Stella Payne, a prosperous forty-something stock broker in San Francisco, California, is convinced to take a well-deserved first-class holiday to Jamaica by her colorful New York City lover Delilah Abraha. As she takes in the beauty of the island, she meets Winston Shakespeare, a muscular young islander. Stella is forced to take stock of her life and find a balance between her want for love and companionship and her responsibilities as a mother and business executive as his aspirations for her blossom into a heated and erotic affair.
Director: Kevin Rodney Sullivan
Language: English
Genre: Comedy, Drama and Romance
Main Cast:
- Angela Bassett
- Taye Diggs
- Regina King
- Whoopi Goldberg
IMDb Rating: 5.7
Running Time: 125 minutes
Box Office: $39,278,722
Movie Trailer: How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1998) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
266. Jumping the Broom (2011)
Sabrina Watson comes from a wealthy background and is a successful business lawyer. She thinks she’s met Mr. Right when she meets Jason Taylor, and after a whirlwind courtship, she excitedly accepts the Wall Street worker’s marriage proposal. When Sabrina’s aristocratic parents meet Jason’s postal worker mother at their Martha’s Vineyard estate, however, the class divide appears to be very vast indeed.
Director: Salim Akil
Language: English
Genre: Comedy and Drama
Main Cast:
- Angela Bassett
- Paula Patton
- Laz Alonso
- Loretta Devine
IMDb Rating: 5.7
Running Time: 112 minutes
Box Office: $38,158,601
Movie Trailer: Jumping the Broom (2011) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
267. Boomerang (1992)
Marcus is a successful advertising executive who has an uncanny ability to attract and bed women. Following a firm merger, he discovers that his new boss, the gorgeous Jacqueline, is treating him the same way. As a result of this, he is completely traumatized, and his career suffers as a result. However, Jacqueline’s more understatedly attractive assistant, Angela, who has been dating Marcus’ best buddy, appears to be concerned about his precarious situation.
Director: Reginald Hudlin
Language: English
Genre: Comedy, Drama and Romance
Main Cast:
- Eddie Murphy
- Halle Berry
- Robin Givens
- David Alan Grier
IMDb Rating: 5.6
Running Time: 117 minutes
Box Office: $131,052,444
Movie Trailer: Boomerang (1992) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
268. Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (1993)
The sisters return to Whoopi Goldberg’s program to convince her to reprise her role as Sister Mary Clarence and teach music to a group of youngsters at their religious school, which is on the verge of closing. Despite the fact that the choir has advanced to the state championship, Rita Watson, the most skilled of the group, is banned to sing by her mother, Florence Watson. They are being pursued by a gang of monks who are attempting to stop them.
Director: Bill Duke
Language: English
Genre: Comedy, Family and Music
Main Cast:
- Whoopi Goldberg
- Kathy Najimy
- James Coburn
- Maggie Smith
IMDb Rating: 5.6
Running Time: 107 minutes
Box Office: $57,319,029
Movie Trailer: Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (1993) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
269. The Nutty Professor (1996)
Sherman Klump, a brilliant but obese scientist, invents a magical weight-loss treatment. A despondent Klump tries the solution on himself after a terrible date with chemistry student Carla Purty. Despite the fact that he sheds 250 pounds right away, he develops a second personality: Buddy Love, an insufferable self-assured braggart. Buddy is more popular than Sherman, but his hubris and bad behavior spin out of control quickly.
Director: Tom Shadyac
Language: English
Genre: Comedy, Romance and Sci-Fi
Main Cast:
- Eddie Murphy
- Jada Pinkett
- James Coburn
- Dave Chappelle
IMDb Rating: 5.6
Running Time: 96 minutes
Box Office: $273,961,019
Movie Trailer: The Nutty Professor (1996) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
270. The Preacher’s Wife (1996)
Pleasant natured Reverend Henry Biggs discovers that his marriage to choir mistress Julia is failing, because of his absence caring for the underprivileged neighborhood they live in. To add to his woes, his church is under threat from real estate developer Joe Hamilton. In desperation, Rev. Biggs sends prayers to God for aid – and help arrives in an angel named Dudley. However, Dudley’s entry causes even more chaos.
Director: Penny Marshall
Language: English
Genre: Comedy, Drama and Fantasy
Main Cast:
- Denzel Washington
- Whitney Houston
- Courtney B. Vance
IMDb Rating: 5.6
Running Time: 124 minutes
Box Office: $48,102,795
Movie Trailer: The Preacher’s Wife (1996) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
271. White Chicks (2004)
Kevin and Marcus Copeland, FBI agents, are disgraced at the agency after an unsuccessful mission. They decide to work undercover on an abduction case as the vain, spoiled white daughters of a tycoon, Brittany and Tiffany Wilson.
Director: Keenen Ivory Wayans
Language: English
Genre: Comedy and Crime
Main Cast:
- Shawn Wayans
- Marlon Wayans
- Jaime King
IMDb Rating: 5.6
Running Time: 109 minutes
Box Office: $113,100,873
Movie Trailer: White Chicks (2004) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon
272. Been So Long (2018)
While out for a rare night on the town with her friends, Simone, a single mother, meets and falls in love with a handsome stranger named Raymond. The film poses the following questions: Can Simone loosen her heart enough to allow someone close to her? Is Raymond, who is out on parole, deserving of her trust? Simone’s disabled daughter, her daughter’s estranged father, and Simone’s friendship with her best friend are all featured in the series. Raymond is being pursued by a wild knife-wielding young man in the background. Camden Town, London, is the setting, with scenes set in Camden Market, Regent’s Canal, and Primrose Hill.
Director: Tinge Krishnan
Language: English
Genre: Drama, Musical and Romance
Main Cast:
- Michaela Coel
- Mya Lewis
- Arinzé Kene
IMDb Rating: 5.5
Running Time: 100 minutes
Movie Trailer: Been So Long (2018) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Netflix
273. Burning Cane (2019)
An ageing mother struggles between her religious convictions and her son’s love in the cane fields of rural Louisiana.
Director: Phillip Youmans
Language: English
Genre: Drama
Main Cast:
- Wendell Pierce
- Karen Kaia Livers
- Dominique McClellan
- Braelyn Kelly
IMDb Rating: 5.5
Running Time: 77 minutes
Movie Trailer: Burning Cane (2019) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Netflix
274. Step Sisters (2018)
Jamilah has everything figured out in her life. She’s the president of her sorority, captain of their titleholder step dance crew, and student liaison to the college dean, with Harvard Law School on the horizon. Isn’t it true that she has it all? When the school is embarrassed by the hard-partying white girls from Sigma Beta, Jamilah is summoned to help. Her goal is to win the Steptacular, the most competitive dance competition, not just to teach the rhythmically challenged girls how to step dance.
Director: Charles Stone III
Language: English
Genre: Comedy
Main Cast:
- Megalyn Echikunwoke
- Lyndon Smith
- Eden Sher
IMDb Rating: 5.5
Running Time: 108 minutes
Movie Trailer: Step Sisters (2018) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Netflix
275. Whose Streets? (2017)
An unwavering look at how the cop killing of 18-year-old Mike Brown prompted a worldwide movement and helped inspire a community to fight back.
Director: Sabaah Folayan
Language: English
Genre: Documentary
Main Cast:
- Lezley McSpadden
- Michael Brown Sr.
- David Whitt
IMDb Rating: 5.5
Running Time: 103 minutes
Box Office: $182,799
Movie Trailer: Whose Streets? Trailer (2017) – Movie Trailer
Streaming Platform: Amazon