There might be no stranger feeling in the moment than preparing to start a family movie night, only to quickly find out that the film of choice isn’t, well, what you actually selected. Unfortunately, for over 100 Amazon Prime Video users, that was the case when they attempted to rent the 2010 family comedy Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Instead of seeing Greg Heffley attempt to navigate middle school, the viewers were left gearing up for an R-rated rom-com with Jake Gyllenhaal, which is far from suitable for children.
The streaming glitch on Amazon Prime Video brought widespread reactions on social media, with the outcome ultimately being a mostly funny gaffe from the popular platform.
From a PG Family Film to R-Rated Rom-Com: How Amazon Prime Video’s Glitch Happened
While the mix-up affected only Amazon Prime Video UK subscribers, it prompted the company to issue a response and an apology. It’s likely that the file for Diary of a Wimpy Kid was accidentally swapped with another 2010 film, Love & Other Drugs, starring Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway.
Unfortunately, Love & Other Drugs features mature language and nudity, which likely isn’t ideal for at least some of the 122 UK customers who encountered the issue. This news was first reported by Ofcom, which The DisInsider revealed on X. According to the report, Amazon issued an apology for the mix-up.
Amazon has apologised after 122 UK customers tried to rent ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid’ but were given ‘Love & Other Drugs’ instead.
(Source: @Ofcom). pic.twitter.com/3CfaQRCUiP
— The DisInsider (@TheDisInsider) December 16, 2025
If there’s any bright side to how the glitch played out, it’s that those attempting to watch Diary of a Wimpy Kid had to actually rent the movie. This would have been far worse if the movie were simply available on Amazon Prime Video to stream for free, and playing it had triggered Love & Other Drugs to start. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case, as the thought of a parent turning on the PG movie for a child and walking away without catching what was playing would be a true nightmare.
Technology Can Be Imperfect, Even for Giants Like Amazon
If there’s any takeaway from the mix-up, it’s that doing a quick double-check on anything related to technology is probably smart. Accidents and errors like this are bound to happen, even with the juggernauts of the technology industry like Amazon. Of course, there was likely very little harm done from the Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Love & Other Drugs swap, assuming those who rented the former noticed that something wasn’t quite right.
After all, as JustWatch highlights, Amazon Prime Video has over 20,000 movies and 2,700 television shows streaming on its platform, and that appears to be just the content that comes with a subscription. This means including rentals, movies, and shows available for purchase, and anything in between. There’s so much content on a single streaming service that minor errors are going to happen from time to time.
Thankfully, this specific mix-up of 2010 films, one a family comedy and the other an R-rated rom-com, impacted only a small percentage of subscribers/viewers of Amazon Prime Video.
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