Revealed: The Nation’s Weepiest Film Moment

Cooped up in back to back lockdowns, Brits have been watching more TV than ever before.

Now that’s not news – but what is a bit of a shocker is that we are a nation of big soppy cry babies.

Turns out we all love a good old blub, and according to new research into the saddest on-screen moments, what really makes us ugly cry is anything involving animals and animated characters.

And the vote revealed that the saddest moment of all is the weepy one when Mufasa died in The Lion King.

In fact we are clearly a nation of animal lovers, since a whopping 60% of the things that get us whimpering revolve around our furry friends – and do not feature humans at all.

From the demise of Harry Potter’s house elf Dobby to the final scene of Friends where the gang go their separate ways, we have all witnessed plenty of TV and movie tearjerkers over the years. But which on-screen moment is guaranteed to make us all bawl and break that poker face as we reach for the tissues?

According to the findings from 1500 Brits the, the top ten saddest on-screen moments of all time are:

1. Mufasa’s death in ‘Lion King’ (25%)

2.Marley’s death in ‘Marley and Me’ (21%)

3.Bambi’s mum dying in ‘Bambi’ (20%) 

4.Tony Stark in ‘Avengers: Endgame’ (19%).

5.Old couple cuddling in bed before the ship sinks in ‘Titanic’ (19%)

6.Will being stood up by his biological father in ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (16%)

7.Dobby’s death in ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 1’ (13%)

8.When the toys are in the incarcerator in ‘Toy Story 3’ (13%)

9.The final scene, leaving the keys on the table in ‘Friends’ (12%)

10.Ellie’s death in ‘UP’ (11%)

The Lion King was ranked the highest among 25-34 year olds, perhaps because they are more emotionally bonded with the film as it was released in 1994.

In fact, after the movie’s remake in July 2019, Google searches for ‘Mufasa’ skyrocketed by a massive 204%.

And when the doggy drama Marley and Me was released in March 2009, the question ‘Why did Marley die?’ saw a huge 285% increase in searches from viewers.

When Dobby pledged his loyalty to Harry Potter by sacrificing himself, there was a 733% increase in searches after the movie was released in November 2010. 

Looking at the women versus men divide, it seems women and men do not tend to get emotional over the same on-screen moments. Based on the results, the tragic death of Mufasa was the first choice for women (27%), whereas Tony Stark’s death made 23% of the male respondents tear up the most.

Only seven per cent of people asked said they had never been reduced to tears during a sad moment. 

Commenting on the research, Thibault Richard-Folian, General Manager at Replay Poker said: “Showing emotion is something you don’t want to do when playing poker and you need to make sure your poker face is strong so nobody can read you – but a good cry can be therapeutic. 

“With the current global situation, we know that people are spending more time at home and watching more TV and film than ever before.

“We conducted this survey as a fun and interesting way of understanding the psychological link between entertainment and emotions, and how the emotional elements of film and TV can really affect viewers.

“This in turn provides insight into how different situations can affect our players, helping us find new ways to offer the best user experience to them from an emotional standpoint.”

To find out more about the saddest on-screen moments visit: Tear Jerkers: The Saddest Moments in Film and TV.