This article sets out to illustrate the power of fictional film to present cautionary tales around climate change. Three commercially and critically acclaimed films are randomly selected from the same period across what can roughly be categorized as mainstream and independent sectors of Hollywood production. Their reception together with their authorial intentionality is examined to help tease out some of the unique environmental affordances presented by such texts. Close textual readings are carried out to help point towards their emotional and ecological preoccupation with loss and trauma, which reflect ongoing global tensions around humans’ undeniable role and responsibility in the struggle to actively address climate change concerns.