Within the 10 years since releasing its first authentic movie Beasts of No Nation, Netflix has advanced into an influence participant within the film scene, incomes honors at award exhibits just like the Oscars and Golden Globes.
The streaming large acquired 18 Oscar nominations in 2025 and took house three: two for Emilia Perez and one for finest documentary quick with The Solely Lady within the Orchestra. Well-liked motion movies and comedies similar to Mad Mad: Fury Street, The Previous Guard and One among Them Days have helped make it a dependable vacation spot for hits.
Whether or not you like drama, comedy, blockbusters or quiet, unbiased movies, take a look at what we take into account to be the most effective films you possibly can watch on Netflix proper now. And if a movie is leaving quickly, we’ll let you realize so you possibly can watch it earlier than it will get pulled from the platform. This week, we’re tuning into the summer time blockbuster that began all of them, Jaws, which simply arrived. It’s possible you’ll need to catch Alfred Hitchcock classics like Vertigo, Psycho and Rear Window quickly, they go away the platform on July 31. In case you’d moderately go together with a sequence, peruse our picks for the finest TV exhibits to look at on Netflix.
Learn extra: The place to Watch All of the 2024 Oscar Winners
It is a huge 12 months for Jaws; the Steven Spielberg traditional is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary and to commemorate, the movie (and its three sequels) have simply arrived on Netflix. 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 perfomances, and a rating by John Williams that could be one in all cinema’s most memorable ever.
Based mostly on the comedian e book by Greg Rucka, the action-fantasy The Previous Guard stars Charlize Theron as one in all a gaggle of immortal mercenaries who’re capable of regenerate even after being killed. Once they’re tracked down and hunted by a pharmaceutical firm that intends to check them, they struggle again in an effort to guard themselves. The primary movie, launched in 2020, was so successful {that a} sequel, The Previous Guard 2, premiered earlier this summer time and options Uma Thurman as Theron’s latest adversary.
The 2008 documentary Man on Wire is the story of Philippe Petit’s 1974 high-wire stroll between the Twin Towers of the World Commerce Heart. The preparations for Petit’s stroll 1,350 ft above the bottom unfold like a heist film as he covertly made plans to execute the damaging that grew to become generally known as the “creative crime of the century.” The riveting movie is leaving Netflix on August 6, so tune in now earlier than it leaves.
Whereas some may name Psycho Alfred Hitchcock’s most well-known movie, Rear Window could also be his most extremely regarded. The 1954 thriller stars James Stewart as a photojournalist who finds himself confined to a wheelchair — and his residence — after an harm. With nothing higher to do than spy on his neighbors together with his long-lensed digicam, he turns into satisfied that one in all his neighbors has murdered his spouse. Grace Kelly co-stars as Stewart’s girlfriend/peeping confederate. Rear Window arrived to Netflix in June as half of a bigger Hitchcock assortment that additionally contains Vertigo, The Birds, The Man Who Knew Too A lot and others, however you will need to catch them quickly — they’re leaving the platform July 31.
Mad Max: Fury Street (2015)
Charlize Theron has grow to be probably the most dependable motion stars round (see above!), and her flip as Furiosa in Mad Max: Fury Street helped her earn that repute. The 2015 movie from writer-director George Miller is about in a post-apocalyptic desert and is basically a continuous 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: Not possible – Rogue Nation (2015)
Netflix simply launched the primary 5 films within the Mission: Not possible franchise and whereas we actually get pleasure from all of them, 2015’s Rogue Nation is one in all 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 sequence common Rebecca Ferguson. All 5 M:I movies arrived on Netflix July 1 and are the proper lead-up to watching The Closing 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 workforce is greater than only a sports activities membership; they’re the soul of the city. After the workforce’s star participant (Derek Luke) is injured, Gaines has to revive morale and spirit not simply inside his workforce however in all the group.
One among Them Days is pure comedy gold. It is the proper (R-rated) movie once you’re in search of one thing foolish and enjoyable and filled with nice jokes and performances. The film is a part of the “determined finest pals embark on a mission with a deadline” style (see additionally: Booksmart, Plan B) as finest pals, Dreux (Kiki Palmer) and Alyssa (SZA in her movie debut) attempt to observe down the hire cash that was stolen by Alyssa’s boyfriend earlier than the tip of the day. Once they understand the cash is gone, they desperately attempt to make all the cash they want in in the future, main them to promote a pair of stolen Jordans and staging an artwork present to promote a few of Alyssa’s work. The movie, which arrived to Netflix in March, options hilarious cameos from Katt Williams, Janelle James and Lil Rel Howery, amongst others. Rumor has it, a sequel is at present within the works.
30 For 30, the good ESPN documentary franchise, has put out dozens of nice films that cowl a few of the most unimaginable tales in sports activities, a few of them missed and others centered on particular, notorious moments in historical past. Among the best movies to return out of the sequence is the 2010 documentary June 17, 1994, a date that’s finest remembered by many because the day of O.J. Simpson’s slow-moving 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, and plenty of of these moments, together with Recreation 5 of that 12 months’s NBA finals, Arnold Palmer’s ultimate look at a PGA tour, and Ken Griffey Jr. tying Babe Ruth’s house run document that day, have been interrupted by probably the most well-known stay information broadcasts in historical past.
Havoc was one in all this April’s largest releases on Netflix (it is at present nonetheless dominating the platform’s High 10 film checklist), due to Tom Hardy’s magnetic display presence. Hardy performs Walker, a detective who’s being pursued by a criminal offense syndicate and fellow cops after getting concerned in a drug deal gone fallacious. Violence and gore abound on this action-packed thriller that finds Walker battling corrupt politicians, criminals and his personal previous. Timothy Olyphant, Jessie Mei Li, Justin Cornwell and Forest Whitaker additionally seem.
Previous Lives is the directorial debut from Celine Music, who additionally wrote the movie. Greta Lee and Teo Yoo star as pals 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 pals discover their friendship and marvel what might 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 type of DreamWorks films that hits you with laughs, feelings and delicate contemplation. Teenage Eep is bored with her dad’s (Grug) strict guidelines and sneaking out exposes her to somebody new. New is an general theme right here in a narrative in regards to the cave-dwelling Croods after they encounter catastrophe and are pressured to discover a new place to stay. Grug does not at all times welcome studying new issues from a human and Eep’s curious, typically rebellious methods additionally contribute to household disagreements. In case you like animated comedies with a contact of household sentimentality, stream The Croods after which the spinoff sequence, Daybreak of the Croods.
Netflix’s Ok-drama assortment has a couple of hidden gems, together with Ballerina, a 2023 revenge story a couple of former bodyguard searching 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 also be an action-packed revenge story – that one’s not on Netflix, not less than not but.)
A strong story a couple of highschool basketball workforce in New Mexico, Rez Ball takes viewers on a journey with the Chuska Warriors. When a tragic occasion strikes the workforce, 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 Canines), the film relies on the novel Canyon Goals: A Basketball Season on the Navajo Nation.
Director Bong Joon-ho’s darkish, psychological thriller Parasite gained the Finest Image Oscar 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 most effective movie of the twenty first century in a New York Occasions ballot of filmmakers and actors.
The 2024 motion comedy was one in all a number of films 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 consumer — till he falls for a lady (Adria Arjona) who hires him to kill her abusive husband.
Michael Mann’s 1995 film Warmth is most well-known for being the primary movie during which appearing titans Al Pacino and Robert De Niro appeared on display in a scene collectively nevertheless it additionally includes a incredible efficiency from the late, nice Val Kilmer. The movie, which arrived on Netflix on April 1, is a criminal offense story about an LAPD detective (Pacino) attempting to take down an expert thief (De Niro) and his crew. Mann has been hinting {that a} sequel to the movie can be arriving any day now — he already penned a novel, Warmth 2, that he is been planning to adapt for the display — but when you have not seen the unique, it is a fashionable crime traditional.
My Octopus Instructor (2020)
2020’s My Octopus Instructor gained 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 12 months, Craig Foster documented the kinship he shaped with the octopus who would repeatedly and playfully strategy him. The movie explores the usually unseen persona of a creature discovered within the wild who finally ends up giving Foster perception into nature and his personal relationships. In case you’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 package deal by 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 at present Netflix’s second hottest authentic film of all time.
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. Though it solely not too long ago arrived to Netflix, it shortly grew to become one of many prime movies on the platform.
Martha Stewart is by some means 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 at all times manages to return out on prime.
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (2024)
Style: Household films
Ranking: PG
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 12 months for Finest Animated Function.
The Solely Lady In The Orchestra (2024)
Style: Documentary
Ranking: G
The Solely Lady within the Orchestra gained an Oscar this 12 months for Finest Documentary Quick and you may catch the 35-minute movie completely 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 to be and singled out for consideration due to her intercourse, she rose above all of it, staying true to her artistic 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 all the 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 contains Andrew Scott, Benedict Cumberbatch, Mark Robust and Richard Madden.
Ma Rainey’s Black Backside (2020)
Style: Drama
Ranking: R
Ma Rainey’s Black Backside is devoted to the reminiscence of Chadwick Boseman, who made his ultimate 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 classes in Nineteen 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
Ranking: 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.
Style: Drama/Biopic
Ranking: R
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 usually been missed 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 missed.
At all times Be My Perhaps (2019)
Style: Comedy
Ranking: PG-13
At all times Be My Perhaps stars Ali Wong and Randall Park as Sasha and Marcus, childhood finest pals who grew up subsequent door to 1 one other in San Francisco. The 2 fall out after making an attempt the entire “pals 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 (enjoying 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 due to its leads and wonderful supporting performances from Michelle Buteau, Vivian Bang and Reeves.
Style: Drama
Ranking: R
This biographical movie nabbed seven Academy Award nominations, together with Finest Authentic Screenplay, Finest Cinematography and Finest 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)
Style: Motion
Ranking: PG-13
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 offered to stream on Netflix now.
Style: Drama
Ranking: R
Based mostly 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)
Style: Drama
Ranking: R
The award-winning movie, Society of the Snow, relies on true occasions and tailored from the e book of the identical identify. In 1972, a rugby workforce from Uruguay boarded a airplane to Chile for a recreation. The airplane crashed within the Andes mountains, leaving survivors to take care of accidents, sickness, chilly temperatures and dying. Not everybody makes it and people dealing with dying make agonizing selections to stay.
The Best Night time In Pop (2024)
Style: Documentary
Ranking: PG-13
In case you weren’t round on the time, it is exhausting to elucidate simply how enormous 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 inconceivable to think about so many mega-stars assembling in a single room for one thing like this as we speak.)
Fortunately for us, there have been cameras rolling all the 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 stuffed with nerves, egos, and a little bit an excessive amount of wine to supply one thing genuinely particular.
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Thriller (2022)
Style: Thriller/Comedy
Ranking: PG-13
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 pals to his non-public 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)
Style: Drama/Thriller
Ranking: R
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 house. 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 individuals reflecting on potential “hidden messages” and real-life parallels. Test it out and see what you make of it.
Style: Drama/Musicals
Ranking: R
Selena Gomez, Zoe Saldaña and Karla Sofía Gascón star in Emilia Pérez, a movie that earned a whopping 10 Golden Globe nominations this 12 months and picked up 4 awards, together with Finest Image Musical or Comedy and the Finest Supporting Actress trophy for Saldaña. Within the movie, Gascón stars as Mexican cartel chief Emilia who hires a lawyer (Saldaña) to assist pretend her dying in order that Emilia can lastly stay 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.
Style: Household films
Ranking: PG
This animated drama, based mostly on the graphic novel of the identical identify, is about in a futuristic medieval world, during which a knight (Riz Ahmed) is framed for a criminal offense. A shapeshifting teenager named Nimona (Chloë Grace Moretz) — whom he is been educated to destroy — could also be his solely hope for proving his innocence.
Style: Drama
Ranking: PG-13
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)
Style: Drama
Ranking: R
A World Struggle I drama based mostly on the traditional novel of the identical identify, this epic depicts the horrors of battle by 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 pressure 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.
Style: Drama
Ranking: PG-13
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 grew to become obsessive about finishing the arduous, near-impossible 110 mile swim from Cuba to Florida. Decided to grow to be the primary particular person to complete the swim with no shark cage, the movie is a narrative of Nyad’s dedication, ushered alongside by the help of these closest to her.
Style: Motion
Ranking: PG-13
The Netflix authentic Again in Motion topped the Netflix High Ten when it arrived in January nevertheless it’s not too late to catch the excitement on this entertaining motion romp. The movie reunites Cameron Diaz, who has spent the previous few years away from the highlight, with Jamie Foxx for his or her third movie. The duo star as former CIA brokers who’ve tried to get out of the spy enterprise and lift a household, solely to get pulled again into their outdated jobs.
Style: Drama
Ranking: R
Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma nabbed him the most effective director Oscar in 2018 (the movie earned two different Oscars that 12 months, 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 Nineteen 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 throughout the household she works for and the escalating political turmoil within the metropolis round her.
Untold: Crime & Penalties (2021)
Style: Documentary
Ranking: TV-MA
Untold is Netflix’s reply to ESPN’s 30 For 30 and the documentary sequence options dozens of fascinating behind-the-scenes tales from the world of sports activities. One of many best is the 2021 documentary known as Crime & Penalties. It is a couple of minor league hockey workforce that an alleged mob boss purchased as a present for his teenage son, who turned out to be a reasonably good workforce supervisor. Even when a few of the film’s major gamers could be criminals, the story behind this ragtag workforce of brawling bros proves reality is usually stranger than fiction.
