The Bob's Burgers episode "The Amazing Rudy" (season 14, episode 2).
Regular-sized Rudy goes out to eat with his divorced parents and their new significant others. It goes horribly wrong and he runs away to the Belchers'. I tear up a little bit even thinking of it because it isn't played for laughs. I really feel for Rudy, just trying his hardest and putting way too much pressure on himself, and the way Louise steps up for her best friend is just so sweet.
The scene after where Gervais' character realizes fully what he has done, especially to himself long term, is soul crushing. The i did the right thing, but for all of the right and wrong reasons look on his face is haunting. I think it is the 2nd episode.
A lot of the episodes open with him watching his wife telling him to enjoy life. Her sitting on the hospital bed, on her final days because of cancer.
Birdman (with Michael Keaton) - nothing in the actual movie but the absolute soul crushing sadness when I realized that they weren't making a Harvey Birdman Attorney at Law movie.
A lot of seens in Logan with Professor X. His mental decline was a gut punch because I was watching my grandfather go through the same thing at the same time. His portrayal was spot on.
Happy with Stark's daughter on the porch talking about cheeseburgers. Such a small moment, but so genuine feeling.
Maes Hughes' big action moment in Full Metal Alchemist - either version.
Alternatively, the scene this music https://youtu.be/EL7e5XrzanA goes to (Ep 5 of Cowboy Bebop) - far more of a tear jerker for me than the final episode.
Cinema Paradiso. Wonderful Italian film about a boy’s relationship with an elder in the town as he mentally escapes war torn Sicily. Just wholesome and hits hard. It’s a beautiful story and the soundtrack by Ennio Morricone, ohhhh so good.
When Homer drives his mom to the middle of nowhere so she could meet up with some friends to escape the police and he just stays there even even after she’s long gone long enough for day to turn into night.
So I don't get to the cinema much, but I got to see The Muppets when it came out (over a decade ago, good grief), and Kermit singing Pictures In My Head totally broke me.
Dunno whether it will work for anyone else, but like many of a certain age, I grew up with the original Muppet Show on TV and it hit too damn hard.
Magnolia by Paul Thomas Anderson. The whole movie is pretty emotional but the scene where Tom Cruise's character confronts his absentee father on his death bed absolutely destroys me.
One of my all time favorite movies, but I gotta be ready to full on cry if I want to watch it.
“You could never just do the expected,
I was just an idea in a bog,
But you sewed up your dream and we made quite a team,
Jim and Kermit, a boy and his frog.”
So my sister bought me the wind rises... I went it watching it thinking it was another fun film... I called her after I finished and told her I was not mentally prepared for that.