Within the 10 years since releasing its first authentic movie Beasts of No Nation, Netflix has developed into an influence participant within the film scene, incomes honors at award exhibits just like the Oscars and Golden Globes.
The streaming big acquired 18 Oscar nominations in 2025 and took residence three: two for Emilia Perez and one for finest documentary brief with The Solely Lady within the Orchestra. In style motion movies and comedies resembling KPop Demon Hunters, The Outdated Guard and Hit Man have helped make it a dependable vacation spot for hits.
Whether or not you’re keen on drama, comedy, blockbusters or quiet, impartial movies, try what we take into account to be the perfect motion pictures you may watch on Netflix proper now. And if a movie is leaving quickly, we’ll let so you may watch it earlier than it will get pulled from the platform — the Taylor Sheridan-penned action thriller Sicario is one nice movie that is leaving the platform in September so you will need to catch that earlier than it is gone.
If you happen to’d quite go together with a collection, peruse our picks for the best TV shows to watch on Netflix.
Learn extra: Where to Watch All the 2024 Oscar Winners
KPop Demon Hunters (2025)
The Netflix authentic animated movie KPop Demon Hunters premiered in June and has already risen by means of the ranks to grow to be the platform’s most-watched authentic animated movie of all time. The movie, a couple of KPop group that performs by day and hunts demons of their down time, options tons of nice authentic music and stars Arden Cho, Could Hong and Ji Younger Yoo because the titular lady group tasked with combating off a demonic boy band.
Sicario, the 2015 thriller that includes Emily Blunt as an FBI particular agent tasked with apprehending a lieutenant in a Mexican drug cartel, was the primary screenplay penned by Yellowstone showrunner Taylor Sheridan, earlier than the Duttons have been even a glimmer in his eye. The movie, directed by Denis Villeneuve, co-stars Benicio del Toro, Daniel Kaluuya and Josh Brolin, which provides to its star energy. Netflix simply revealed that the movie can be leaving the platform on Sept. 1 so catch it now earlier than it goes.
With this yr’s launch of Jurassic World Rebirth, there is not any higher time to revisit the unique Jurassic Park movie directed by Steven Spielberg. The movie, which simply arrived to Netflix together with The Misplaced World: Jurassic Park and Jurassic Park III, was an instantaneous blockbuster when it first got here out in 1993 and has grow to be part of the popular culture lexicon within the years since. (And the place would Jeff Goldblum be with out it?)
It is nearly unattainable to decide on which of Martin Scorsese’s movies is his finest, however The Departed is the one one which (lastly) received him an Academy Award for finest director. Loosely based mostly on real-life Boston criminals like Whitey Bulger, the movie stars Jack Nicholson as Frank Costello, a mob boss who vegetation an informant inside the Massachusetts State Police. Matt Damon, Leonardo DiCaprio, Vera Farmiga and Martin Sheen all co-star within the movie that simply arrived to Netflix this month.
Clueless, which premiered in 1995, has grow to be one of many nice teen movies of all time. The outfits! The music! The endlessly quotable script! The comedy, which stars Alicia Silverstone because the seemingly vapid LA teen Cher Horowitz, is predicated loosely on Jane Austen’s novel Emma and arrived to Netflix on Aug. 1; we’re completely buggin’.
It is a huge yr for Jaws; the Steven Spielberg traditional is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary and to commemorate, the movie (and its three sequels) arrived on Netflix final month. The movie, which starred Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss and Robert Shaw as three males on the hunt for a killer shark off the seashores of a New England city, has all of it: thrills, impeccable performances and a rating by John Williams that is likely to be certainly one of cinema’s most memorable ever.
Primarily based on the comedian e book by Greg Rucka, the action-fantasy The Outdated Guard stars Charlize Theron as certainly one of a bunch of immortal mercenaries who’re in a position to regenerate even after being killed. After they’re tracked down and hunted by a pharmaceutical firm that intends to review them, they struggle again in an effort to guard themselves. The primary movie, launched in 2020, was so successful {that a} sequel, The Outdated Guard 2, premiered earlier this summer time and options Uma Thurman as Theron’s latest adversary.
Mad Max: Fury Highway (2015)
Charlize Theron has grow to be one of the dependable motion stars round (see above!), and her flip as Furiosa in Mad Max: Fury Highway helped her earn that repute. The 2015 movie from writer-director George Miller is ready in a post-apocalyptic desert and is basically a nonstop battle sequence the place hero Max Rockatansky (Tom Hardy) groups up with Theron’s Imperator Furiosa to wage battle in opposition to warlord Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne) and his military. Nicholas Hoult, Rosie Huntington-Whitely and Zoe Kravitz additionally star.
Mission: Unimaginable – Rogue Nation (2015)
Netflix simply launched the primary 5 motion pictures within the Mission: Unimaginable franchise and whereas we actually take pleasure in all of them, 2015’s Rogue Nation is certainly one of our favorites. Rogue Nation was the primary movie within the franchise to be directed by Tom Cruise’s frequent collaborator Christopher McQuarrie and it is the movie that brings Cruise’s Ethan Hunt along with ex-MI6 agent Ilsa Faust, performed by collection common Rebecca Ferguson. All 5 M:I movies arrived on Netflix July 1 and are the proper lead-up to watching The Last Reckoning, which can (or might not) be the final movie within the franchise.
Friday Night time Lights (2004)
Peter Berg’s 2004 drama Friday Night time Lights spawned one of many nice exhibits of the early aughts however the movie stands by itself as a sports activities traditional. Billy Bob Thornton stars as Odessa, Texas, soccer coach Gary Gaines, whose highschool crew is greater than only a sports activities membership; they’re the soul of the city. After the crew’s star participant (Derek Luke) is injured, Gaines has to revive morale and spirit not simply inside his crew however in the complete group.
Considered one of Them Days is pure comedy gold. It is the proper (R-rated) movie while you’re on the lookout for one thing foolish and enjoyable and filled with nice jokes and performances. The film is a part of the “determined finest mates embark on a mission with a deadline” style (see additionally: Booksmart, Plan B) as finest mates, Dreux (Kiki Palmer) and Alyssa (SZA in her movie debut) attempt to monitor down the lease cash that was stolen by Alyssa’s boyfriend earlier than the top of the day. After they understand the cash is gone, they desperately attempt to make all the cash they want in sooner or later, main them to promote a pair of stolen Jordans and stage an artwork present to promote a few of Alyssa’s work. The movie, which arrived on Netflix in March, options hilarious cameos from Katt Williams, Janelle James and Lil Rel Howery. Rumor has it a sequel is within the works.
30 for 30: June 17, 1994 (2010)
30 for 30, the nice ESPN documentary franchise, has put out dozens of nice motion pictures that cowl a few of the most unimaginable tales in sports activities, a few of them ignored and others centered on particular, notorious moments in historical past. Among the best movies to come back out of the collection is the 2010 documentary June 17, 1994, a date that’s remembered by many because the day of O.J. Simpson’s police chase in a white Ford Bronco. The televised chase would have been infamous sufficient however what the doc factors out is that that date was an enormous second throughout a number of sports activities. A lot of these moments, together with Sport 5 of that yr’s NBA Finals, Arnold Palmer’s closing look on the PGA tour and Ken Griffey Jr. tying Babe Ruth’s residence run file have been interrupted by one of the well-known dwell information broadcasts in historical past.
Previous Lives is the directorial debut from Celine Tune, who additionally wrote the movie. Greta Lee and Teo Yoo star as mates Nora and Hae Sung who met as youngsters in South Korea however misplaced contact after Nora’s household relocated to Canada. After reconnecting, the 2 mates discover their friendship and surprise what may need been had Nora by no means left. The movie was nominated for finest image on the 2024 Oscars.
Fashionable animated classics are a factor and The Croods is a kind of DreamWorks motion pictures that hits you with laughs, feelings and refined contemplation. Teenage Eep is bored with her dad’s (Grug) strict guidelines and sneaking out exposes her to somebody new. New is an total theme right here in a narrative in regards to the cave-dwelling Croods once they encounter catastrophe and are pressured to discover a new place to dwell. Grug would not all the time welcome studying new issues from a human and Eep’s curious, typically rebellious methods additionally contribute to household disagreements. If you happen to like animated comedies with a contact of household sentimentality, stream The Croods after which the spinoff collection, Daybreak of the Croods.
Netflix’s Okay-drama assortment has a number of hidden gems, together with Ballerina, a 2023 revenge story a couple of former bodyguard looking for justice for her pal. Jang Okay-ju stops at nothing to make the offenders pay on this action-packed thriller. (Simply do not get this Ballerina confused with the current launch of the identical identify starring Ana de Armas, which can be an action-packed revenge story — that one’s not on Netflix, at the very least not but.)
A robust story a couple of highschool basketball crew in New Mexico, Rez Ball takes viewers on a journey with the Chuska Warriors. When a tragic occasion strikes the crew, it faces challenges on and off the courtroom — however nonetheless goals for a championship title. Co-written by Sydney Freeland and Sterlin Harjo (co-creator of Reservation Canine), the film is predicated on the novel Canyon Desires: A Basketball Season on the Navajo Nation.
Director Bong Joon-ho’s darkish, psychological thriller Parasite received the Oscar for finest image in 2019 (together with the awards for finest director, finest authentic screenplay and finest worldwide function). The movie, a couple of poor household who infiltrates the house and lives of a rich household, was not too long ago named the best film of the 21st century in a New York Instances ballot of filmmakers and actors.
The 2024 motion comedy was certainly one of a number of motion pictures starring Glen Powell that helped cement his leading-man standing. The movie, co-written by Powell and director Richard Linklater, stars Powell as a nerdy professor drawn into an undercover investigation. Disguising himself as a hitman, he adopts a brand new persona for every shopper — till he falls for a lady (Adria Arjona) who hires him to kill her abusive husband.
My Octopus Trainer (2020)
2020’s My Octopus Trainer received an Oscar for finest documentary function for telling a private and poignant story of the friendship between a person and an octopus he meets whereas diving. Filmed over the course of a yr, Craig Foster documented the kinship he shaped with the octopus who would repeatedly and playfully strategy him. The movie explores the customarily unseen persona of a creature discovered within the wild who finally ends up giving Foster perception into nature and his personal relationships. If you happen to’re impressed by the pure world, the movie’s director Pippa Ehrlich’s follow-up function, Pangolin: Kulu’s Journey, is on Netflix now, too.
In Carry-On, which arrived on Netflix in December, Taron Egerton performs Ethan Kopek, a TSA agent who’s being blackmailed by a mysterious traveler (performed by Jason Bateman) into permitting a harmful bundle by means of safety and onto a flight on Christmas Eve, endangering everybody aboard. The movie is an exhilarating recreation of cat-and-mouse and has confirmed so fashionable that it is presently Netflix’s second hottest authentic film of all time.
Martha Stewart is one way or the other concurrently elusive and fully accessible in her Netflix documentary Martha. Though she’s spent a lot of her life — a extremely curated, seemingly excellent one — within the highlight, Stewart opens up about her most intimate and typically controversial moments, from a marital affair to her imprisonment for insider buying and selling. But, she all the time manages to come back out on high.
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (2024)
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl is the newest movie from Aardman animation studio, starring the beloved canine and his hapless, cheese-loving grasp. The Netflix authentic movie a couple of robotic backyard gnome that wreaks havoc on the person and his finest pal arrived to the platform not too long ago and acquired an Oscar nomination this yr for finest animated function.
The Solely Lady In The Orchestra (2024)
The Solely Lady within the Orchestra received an Oscar this yr for finest documentary brief and you may catch the 35-minute movie solely on Netflix. The movie is the story of Orin O’Brien, the primary girl employed to carry out within the New York Philharmonic (by Leonard Bernstein, no much less). Usually ogled for her seems and singled out for consideration due to her intercourse, she rose above all of it, staying true to her inventive ideas to grow to be one of many orchestra’s most famous musicians for many years.
1917, the critically lauded, Oscar-winning movie directed by Sam Mendes about World Struggle I used to be outstanding for the truth that it was filmed with the intent of constructing it seem as if the complete film was shot as two lengthy, steady takes. The film stars George MacKay and Dean-Charles Chapman as British troopers touring throughout a harmful battle zone rigged by Germans in an effort to ship a message to their superiors, warning them of an impending assault. The movie’s stellar supporting forged consists of Andrew Scott, Benedict Cumberbatch, Mark Sturdy and Richard Madden.
Ma Rainey’s Black Backside (2020)
Ma Rainey’s Black Backside is devoted to the reminiscence of Chadwick Boseman, who made his closing display look within the movie earlier than his dying in 2020. The movie stars Boseman as Levee Inexperienced, a member of blues singer Ma Rainey’s band (Viola Davis), and takes place amid one of many band’s conflict-ridden and turbulent recording periods in Twenties Chicago. Taylour Paige, Colman Domingo and Glynn Turman all co-star within the movie that was tailored from August Wilson’s 1982 play.
His Three Daughters (2024)
Style: Drama
Score: R
In His Three Daughters, Carrie Coon, Natasha Lyonne and Elizabeth Olsen star as three estranged sisters who come collectively of their dying father’s small New York residence to take care of him in his final days. Author-director Azazel Jacobs coaxes some unimaginable performances out of every actress for this intimate, emotional and infrequently humorous research of household dynamics.
Colman Domingo earned an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of civil rights activist Bayard Rustin on this movie a couple of man whose legacy has typically been ignored in civil rights historical past. Bayard Rustin fought alongside Martin Luther King Jr. and helped set up the 1963 March on Washington and the Freedom Rides, amongst different main historic occasions.
Rustin’s outspoken activism and homosexuality made him a goal — not only for political adversaries however typically even amongst his allies. The movie explores the lifetime of a person whose legacy has lengthy been ignored.
At all times Be My Perhaps (2019)
At all times Be My Perhaps stars Ali Wong and Randall Park as Sasha and Marcus, childhood finest mates who grew up subsequent door to 1 one other in San Francisco. The 2 fall out after making an attempt the entire “mates with advantages” factor as teenagers, however 15 years later, they reunite — uncomfortably — when Sasha returns to her hometown for work.
As Marcus struggles together with his emotions for Sasha, she goes off and dates Keanu Reeves (taking part in a hilariously over-the-top model of himself), as she tries to determine how she feels about her outdated pal. Charming and candy, the movie is a rom-com that is reliably humorous because of its leads and wonderful supporting performances from Michelle Buteau, Vivian Bang and Reeves.
This biographical movie nabbed seven Academy Award nominations, together with Greatest Unique Screenplay, Greatest Cinematography and Greatest Image. Maestro tells the story of conductor Leonard Bernstein (Bradley Cooper) and his relationship with actor Felicia Montealegre (Carey Mulligan). Along with starring within the romance drama, Cooper additionally directed and co-wrote the movie and produced it alongside Hollywood legends Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg.
Godzilla Minus One (2023)
Godzilla Minus One is an Academy Award-winning Japanese-language film written and directed by Takashi Yamazaki. Set in 1945, the story facilities round Kōichi Shikishima, a younger pilot coping with PTSD in a post-World Struggle II period. After surviving an encounter with Godzilla, he and others understand the kaiju is gearing as much as assault Tokyo. The Sony movie is out there to stream on Netflix now.
Primarily based on the novel by Elena Ferrante, The Misplaced Daughter stars Olivia Colman as a girl touring alone to a seaside resort the place she observes a mom and daughter. They ship her right into a little bit of a spiral, recalling her personal experiences as a younger mom. The screenplay was tailored and directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal in her directorial debut.
Society of the Snow (2023)
The award-winning movie, Society of the Snow, is predicated on true occasions and tailored from the e book of the identical identify. In 1972, a rugby crew from Uruguay boarded a airplane to Chile for a recreation. The airplane crashed within the Andes mountains, leaving survivors to deal with accidents, sickness, chilly temperatures and dying. Not everybody makes it and people going through dying make agonizing selections to dwell.
The Best Night time in Pop (2024)
If you happen to weren’t round on the time, it is arduous to clarify simply how big We Are the World was. Recorded by a supergroup of fashionable musicians — assembled on the fly on the night time of the 1985 American Music Awards — the charity single benefiting Ethiopian famine victims bought greater than 20 million copies and featured the likes of Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and Diana Ross. (It feels unattainable to think about so many mega-stars assembling in a single room for one thing like this right now.)
Fortunately for us, there have been cameras rolling the complete time as dozens of the world’s most well-known musicians pulled the epic all-night recording session. The not too long ago departed Quincy Jones proves to be the night time’s true star, wrangling a studio filled with nerves, egos, and a bit an excessive amount of wine to supply one thing genuinely particular.
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Thriller (2022)
A standalone sequel to 2019’s hit movie Knives Out, Glass Onion follows detective Benoit Blanc’s (Daniel Craig) mission to uncover a mysterious dying, after tech billionaire Miles Bron (Edward Norton) invitations mates to his personal Greek island. The movie options enjoyable plot twists and is damaged up by lighthearted humor and aloof characters performed by an all-star forged. The third Knives Out movie, Wake Up Lifeless Man, is arriving to the streamer on December 12.
Go away the World Behind (2023)
An absorbingly unsettling psychological thriller, Go away the World Behind chronicles the unusual occasions that come up throughout a household’s getaway at an opulent rental residence. A blackout renders their telephones, TVs and different electronics ineffective and two strangers present up on the door. TikTok has been flooded with clips and analyses of this apocalypse film, with folks reflecting on potential “hidden messages” and real-life parallels. Test it out and see what you make of it.
Selena Gomez, Zoe Saldaña and Karla Sofía Gascón star in Emilia Pérez, a movie that earned a whopping 10 Golden Globe nominations this yr and picked up 4 awards, together with Greatest Image Musical or Comedy and the Greatest Supporting Actress trophy for Saldaña. Within the movie, Gascón stars as Mexican cartel chief Emilia who hires a lawyer (Saldaña) to assist faux her dying in order that Emilia can lastly dwell authentically as her true self. The crime-comedy-musical that defies all labels was additionally named one of many 10 finest movies of 2024 by the American Movie Institute.
This animated drama, based mostly on the graphic novel of the identical identify, is ready in a futuristic medieval world, through which a knight (Riz Ahmed) is framed for against the law. A shapeshifting teenager named Nimona (Chloë Grace Moretz) — whom he is been skilled to destroy — could also be his solely hope for proving his innocence.
This biographical movie tells the story of two sisters, Yusra (Nathalie Issa) and Sarah Mardini (Manal Issa), who escape war-torn Syria. Amid all of the strife and upheaval, Yusra works towards her dream of swimming within the Olympics. It is a touching narrative of hope and survival.
All Quiet on the Western Entrance (2022)
A World Struggle I drama based mostly on the traditional novel of the identical identify, this epic depicts the horrors of warfare by means of the eyes of 17-year-old German soldier Paul Bäumer (Felix Kammerer). At first enthused about becoming a member of the military, despite his mother and father’ needs, Bäumer will get a violent wake-up name. All Quiet on the Western Entrance was a dominating drive on the ninety fifth Annual Academy Awards, because it was nominated for 9 Oscars and finally walked away with 4, together with finest worldwide function movie.
Annette Bening and Jodie Foster each scored Oscar nominations (for finest actress and finest supporting actress) for his or her roles in Nyad, the Netflix authentic movie about marathon swimmer Diana Nyad and her devoted coach Bonnie Stoll.
The outstanding true story just isn’t a full biopic however a chapter of Nyad’s completed life when, on the age of 60, Nyad turned obsessive about finishing the arduous, near-impossible 110 mile swim from Cuba to Florida. Decided to grow to be the primary individual to complete the swim with no shark cage, the movie is a narrative of Nyad’s dedication, ushered alongside by the assist of these closest to her.
Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma nabbed him the perfect director Oscar in 2018 (the movie earned two different Oscars that yr, too), a primary for a foreign-language movie. It is inclusion within the award present marked the primary time a movie distributed by a streaming platform was eligible for main awards. The movie, set within the early Seventies, stars Yalitza Aparicio because the live-in housekeeper for a rich Mexico Metropolis household as she offers together with her personal being pregnant, the troubles inside the household she works for and the escalating political turmoil within the metropolis round her.
Untold: Crime & Penalties (2021)
Untold is Netflix’s reply to ESPN’s 30 for 30 and the documentary collection options dozens of fascinating behind-the-scenes tales from the world of sports activities. One of many best is the 2021 documentary referred to as Crime & Penalties. It is a couple of minor league hockey crew that an alleged mob boss purchased as a present for his teenage son, who turned out to be a reasonably good crew supervisor. Even when a few of the film’s major gamers is likely to be criminals, the story behind this ragtag crew of brawling bros proves reality is usually stranger than fiction.
