5 Best Drama Movies to Watch in October, Ranked by Rotten Tomatoes Score
All of the major streamers have a robust selection of drama movies in their libraries for discerning and mature audiences.
However, not all of the dramas are created equal or exclusive to a single platform.
To find the top selections of the month, Watch With Us has picked the five best drama movies to watch in October as ranked by Rotten Tomatoes score.
HBO Max‘s drama selection was a little light this month, but Netflix filled the gap with two picks, including one of 2025’s most underrated movies.
Volume has never been a problem for Amazon Prime Video, which has a wide selection of films across all genres, including drama movies. Quality, however, remains an ongoing issue. Not everything on Prime Video is exactly “must-watch.” Thank You! You have successfully subscribed. Subscribe to newsletters Please enter a valid email. Subscribe By signing up, […]
5. ‘Gangs of New York’ (2002)
Rotten Tomatoes rank: 72 percent
Leonardo DiCaprio and director Martin Scorsese have worked together on six films to date, but Gangs of New York was their very first collaboration. This period crime drama unfolds in New York during the Civil War, as Amsterdam Vallon (DiCaprio) returns after two decades to kill the man who murdered his father, William “Bill the Butcher” Cutting (Daniel Day-Lewis).
Bill’s gang has reigned supreme for years, and Amsterdam successfully infiltrates it to get closer to Bill. That was the easy part of the plan. Actually going through with his revenge could prove to be more challenging for Amsterdam. There’s a bond between the two men that may only end with blood.
Gangs of New York is streaming on Paramount+.
4. ‘Steve’ (2025)
Rotten Tomatoes rank: 77 percent
If Netflix lands a movie in this year’s Oscar race for Best Picture, it’s probably going to be Steve. Cillian Murphy leads the cast as the title character, one of the teachers at an all-boys reform school in England in 1996. On the same day that Steve and his boss, Amanda (Tracey Ullman), host a camera crew at the school, they’re blindsided by the news of its imminent closure.
The pressures of the job are getting to Steve, and he’s barely holding himself together. Meanwhile, one of Steve’s charges, Shy (Jay Lycurgo), is emotionally falling apart after getting some devastating news. Shy’s struggles may be more pronounced than Steve’s, but they’re both hanging on by a thread as their lives blow up around them.
Steve is streaming on Netflix.
3. ‘Drinking Buddies’ (2013)
Rotten Tomatoes rank: 84 percent
Drinking Buddies could comfortably fit on a list of great comedies and great dramas, and it does an excellent job of blending the two genres. Olivia Wilde and Jake Johnson star as coworkers Kate and Luke, a pair who would probably be a great couple. However, they’re already dating Chris (Ron Livingston) and Jill (Anna Kendrick), respectively.
The story never quite goes where you expect it, as even breaking up one of the couples can’t seem to push Kate and Luke together. That’s the underlying tension that makes watching the film so intriguing, especially since they can’t easily detach themselves from each other’s lives.
Drinking Buddies is streaming on Hulu.
2. ‘My Friend Dahmer’ (2017)
Rotten Tomatoes rank: 86 percent
Over two decades ago, Derf Backderf discovered that his high school friend Jeffrey Dahmer had become an infamous serial killer. Backderf responded by turning his experiences with Dahmer into a graphic novel, My Friend Dahmer, which was in turn adapted for the screen by director Marc Meyers.
Ross Lynch plays young Dahmer, and he’s anything but normal even at this age. Young John is portrayed by Alex Wolff as a peer who genuinely tries to connect with Dahmer, but he’s not close enough to see the warning signs of what the latter would become. Dahmer doesn’t commit any on-screen murders in this film, but the weight of his future crimes colors every interaction he has with other people.
My Friend Dahmer is streaming on Netflix.
1. ‘The Ballad of Wallis Island’ (2025)
Rotten Tomatoes rank: 96 percent
The No. 1 movie on this month’s list is another comedy/drama, The Ballad of Wallis Island. It’s a bit quirkier than the other selections, but there’s great tension between Herb McGwyer (Tom Basden) and his ex-lover and former musical partner, Nell Mortimer (Carey Mulligan). Their partnership was ended by a bad breakup, but reclusive millionaire Charles Heath (Tim Key) paid them an exorbitant amount of money to reunite for a private concert.
Theaters may be dominated by blockbuster action and superhero flicks, but it’s the drama movies that define the decades and win the vast majority of awards. The downside of dramas is that quality films don’t always find a warm reception at the box office. With rare exceptions, dramas tend to draw fewer fans into theaters. […]
No one is a bigger fan of McGwyer Mortimer than Charles is, and he’s hopeful that this reunion can permanently bring them back together. However, Nell is already married to another man, Michael (Akemnji Ndifornyen), and Herb is still living in the past and unable to move on. There may not be romance in their future, but they can still make beautiful music together if they choose to.
The Ballad of Wallis Island is streaming on Prime Video.
