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. It is earned honors at award reveals together with the Oscars, Golden Globes and Emmys.
The streaming big received three Oscars in 2025, and action-thriller Insurgent Ridge nabbed an Emmy Award for Greatest TV Film final month. Standard movies like KPop Demon Hunters, which is now the platform’s most-watched film ever, have additionally helped make it a dependable vacation spot for hits.
Whether or not you’re keen on drama, comedy, blockbusters or quiet, impartial movies, take a look at what we take into account to be the perfect films you possibly can watch on Netflix proper now. This week, take into account trying out Election, the 1999 film that helped propel Reese Witherspoon to A-list standing as an overachieving scholar who meets an unlikely adversary throughout her faculty election marketing campaign. The movie simply arrived on the platform.
Should you’d quite go along with a sequence, peruse our picks for the greatest TV reveals to observe on Netflix.
Learn extra: The place to Watch All of the 2024 Oscar Winners
Election was certainly one of filmmaker Alexander Payne’s first movies and the darkish, comedic satire nonetheless holds up, perhaps much more now that ever. Reese Witherspoon stars as Tracy Flick, an over-achieving highschool scholar operating for workplace, and Matthew Broderick is Jim McAllister, a trainer at Tracy’s faculty who makes an attempt to sabotage her marketing campaign. Skewering politics, highschool, sexism and extra, the movie is properly value a watch.
Christopher Nolan, who wrote and directed Tenet, was adamant that the movie be launched in theaters in 2020, and so it turned the primary main premiere of the COVID period. Whereas it actually deserved to be seen on an enormous display, the time-bending motion thriller that stars John David Washington and Robert Pattinson is properly value watching at house. The movie drops on Netflix Nov. 1.
Whereas the primary Paddington film, a live-action animated comedy which got here out in 2014, is basically an origin story about how a lovable bear from Peru got here to dwell with an enthralling English household, Paddington 2 is a wildly enjoyable caper starring Hugh Grant as a villainous actor who frames Paddington for against the law he did not commit. The 2017 sequel was broadly acclaimed and a delight for the entire household. It arrives to Netflix on Nov. 1.
Ip Man is among the most iconic martial arts movie franchises of the previous 20 years. Starring Hong Kong martial arts grasp Donnie Yen (perhaps you acknowledge him as Caine, the blind murderer in John Wick: Chapter 4), Ip Man and its sequels are the biographical movies in regards to the lifetime of Yip Man, the kung fu grasp who famously taught Bruce Lee. Mixing biography, drama and motion all collectively, Ip Man and its three sequels have been critically acclaimed and are beloved entries to Hong Kong cinema. All 4 movies arrived to Netflix on Oct. 5.
28 Days Later has been on lots of people’s watch lists because of the latest premiere of it is long-awaited follow-up 28 Years Later. The 2002 authentic stars Cillian Murphy as a motorbike messenger who awakens from a coma to search out that Britain has been ravaged by zombie-like creatures contaminated with a uncommon virus. Netflix had the great sense to accumulate 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later, which have each simply dropped on the platform so we are able to have a correct zombie marathon. (You’ll be able to take a look at 28 Weeks Afterward Hulu.)
Denzel Washington received his second Oscar for his function as corrupt cop Alonzo Harris in Coaching Day, which simply arrived to Netflix. The 2001 movie co-stars Ethan Hawke as Los Angeles narcotics officer Jake Hoyt, who’s partnered with a veteran cop, Harris. Harris’ strategies initially appear unorthodox, however as they experience round LA over the course of a single day, Hoyt realizes the depths of Harris’ corruption and violence. Tom Berenger and Eva Mendes co-star, and preserve a watch out for cameos from Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, and Terry Crews in his first movie function.
2008’s The Harm Locker received six Academy Awards, together with these for Greatest Image and Greatest Director (Kathryn Bigelow was the primary girl ever to obtain the award). The movie, which co-stars Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty and Ralph Fiennes, follows an a group of troopers who defuse and get rid of explosives whereas deployed in Iraq. The movie was critically lauded for its depiction of the stress and psychological toll of conflict.
Netflix authentic Insurgent Ridge snagged an Emmy this 12 months for Greatest Tv Film. The motion movie stars Aaron Pierre as an ex-Marine who, in an try to submit bail for his cousin, has the bail cash stolen by corrupt cops, and the ordeal turns into an action-packed, thrilling showdown. Don Johnson has developed from taking part in suave cops like Sonny Crockett in Miami Vice to morally compromised officers of the legislation lately, and in Insurgent Ridge, he is earned accolades for taking part in a wickedly corrupt Louisiana police chief on the coronary heart of the movie.
KPop Demon Hunters (2025)
The Netflix authentic animated movie KPop Demon Hunters premiered in June and has already risen by way of the ranks to develop into the platform’s most-watched authentic movie of all time. The movie, a couple of KPop group that performs by day and hunts demons of their downtime, has a soundtrack that is already been licensed Platinum due to hits like “Golden” and “Soda Pop.” The movie stars Arden Cho, Could Hong and Ji Younger Yoo because the titular woman group tasked with combating off a demonic boy band. (Cannot get sufficient of the film? Try the theatrical sing-along model and lyric movies which might be additionally obtainable to stream.)
Will Ferrell and Harper Steele star within the Netflix authentic documentary Will & Harper as two longtime buddies reconnecting on a highway journey as they tackle Steele’s transition to life as a lady. The movie would not gloss over the hate Steele receives for her look and need to dwell authentically, and Ferrell tempers his comedic persona to function Steeles supportive buddy who is not afraid to ask typically uncomfortable questions. The movie has received a Peabody Award and was nominated for an Emmy in 2025.
Inglourious Basterds (2009)
One in every of Quentin Tarantino’s greatest, Inglourious Basterds is an alternate World Conflict II historical past that reimagines what would have occurred if a bunch of American troopers carried out a plot to assassinate a bunch of Nazis in Paris through the conflict. The movie co-stars Brad Pitt, Michael Fassbender, Melanie Laurent and Diane Kruger, and it received Christoph Waltz an Oscar for his darkly comedic portrayal of Austrian SS officer Hans Landa.
Clueless, which premiered in 1995, is among the 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 on Netflix on Aug. 1. We’re completely buggin’.
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) arrived on Netflix this summer time. The movie, which stars 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 perhaps certainly one of cinema’s most memorable ever. However you may need to watch quickly; it leaves Netflix on Nov. 14.
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 capable of regenerate even after being killed. After they’re tracked down and hunted by a pharmaceutical firm that intends to review them, they battle 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.
One in every of Them Days is pure comedy gold. It is the proper (R-rated) movie whenever you’re searching for one thing foolish and enjoyable and full of nice jokes and performances. The film is a part of the “determined greatest buddies embark on a mission with a deadline” style (see additionally: Booksmart, Plan B) as greatest buddies Dreux (Kiki Palmer) and Alyssa (SZA in her movie debut) attempt to observe down the lease cash that was stolen by Alyssa’s boyfriend earlier than the top of the day. After they notice the cash is gone, they desperately attempt to make all the cash they want in someday, 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 films that cowl a few of the most unbelievable tales in sports activities, a few of them ignored and others targeted on particular, notorious moments in historical past. Probably the greatest movies to come back out of the sequence 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. Lots of these moments, together with Recreation 5 of that 12 months’s NBA Finals, Arnold Palmer’s closing look on the PGA tour and Ken Griffey Jr. tying Babe Ruth’s house run file had been interrupted by one of the well-known dwell information broadcasts in historical past.
Netflix’s Ok-drama assortment has a couple of hidden gems, together with Ballerina, a 2023 revenge story a couple of former bodyguard looking for justice for her buddy. 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 latest 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 group in New Mexico, Rez Ball takes viewers on a journey with the Chuska Warriors. When a tragic occasion strikes the group, it faces challenges on and off the court docket — 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 Goals: A Basketball Season on the Navajo Nation.
Director Bong Joon-ho’s darkish, psychological thriller Parasite received the Oscar for greatest image in 2019 (together with the awards for greatest director, greatest authentic screenplay and greatest worldwide function). The movie, a couple of poor household who infiltrates the house and lives of a rich household, was just lately named the perfect movie of the twenty first century in a New York Occasions ballot of filmmakers and actors.
The 2024 motion comedy was certainly one of 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.
My Octopus Instructor (2020)
2020’s My Octopus Instructor received an Oscar for greatest 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 fashioned 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. Should 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 way of safety and onto a flight on Christmas Eve, endangering everybody aboard. The movie is an exhilarating sport of cat-and-mouse and has confirmed so fashionable that it is at present Netflix’s third hottest authentic film of all time.
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (2024)
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl is the most recent 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 greatest buddy arrived to the platform just lately and acquired an Oscar nomination this 12 months for greatest animated function.
The Solely Woman In The Orchestra (2024)
The Solely Woman within the Orchestra received an Oscar this 12 months for greatest documentary quick and you’ll 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). Typically ogled for her seems to be and singled out for consideration due to her gender, she rose above all of it, staying true to her artistic ideas to develop into one of many orchestra’s most famous musicians for many years.
1917, the critically lauded, Oscar-winning movie directed by Sam Mendes about World Conflict I used to be outstanding for the truth that it was filmed with the intent of creating 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 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 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 house to look after him in his final days. Author-director Azazel Jacobs coaxes some unbelievable performances out of every actress for this intimate, emotional and infrequently humorous examine 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 generally even amongst his allies. The movie explores the lifetime of a person whose legacy has lengthy been ignored.
All the time Be My Perhaps (2019)
All the time Be My Perhaps stars Ali Wong and Randall Park as Sasha and Marcus, childhood greatest buddies who grew up subsequent door to at least one one other in San Francisco. The 2 fall out after making an attempt the entire “buddies 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 previous buddy. 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.
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 Conflict II period. After surviving an encounter with Godzilla, he and others notice 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 lady 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 group from Uruguay boarded a airplane to Chile for a sport. The airplane crashed within the Andes mountains, leaving survivors to cope with accidents, sickness, chilly temperatures and dying. Not everybody makes it and people dealing with dying make agonizing decisions to dwell.
The Best Night time in Pop (2024)
Should 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 evening of the 1985 American Music Awards — the charity single benefiting Ethiopian famine victims offered 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 at this time.)
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 just lately departed Quincy Jones proves to be the evening’s true star, wrangling a studio filled with nerves, egos and just a little an excessive amount of wine to provide 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 buddies 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 Dec. 12.
Depart the World Behind (2023)
An absorbingly unsettling psychological thriller, Depart 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 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 12 months 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 pretend 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 greatest movies of 2024 by the American Movie Institute.
This animated drama, primarily based on the graphic novel of the identical identify, is about 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 educated 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 Conflict I drama primarily based on the traditional novel of the identical identify, this epic depicts the horrors of conflict by way of the eyes of 17-year-old German soldier Paul Bäumer (Felix Kammerer). At first enthused about becoming a member of the military, regardless of his dad and mom’ needs, Bäumer will get a violent wake-up name. All Quiet on the Western Entrance was a dominating power on the ninety fifth Annual Academy Awards, because it was nominated for 9 Oscars and finally walked away with 4, together with greatest worldwide function movie.
Annette Bening and Jodie Foster each scored Oscar nominations (for greatest actress and greatest 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 shouldn’t be a full biopic however a chapter of Nyad’s achieved 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 develop into the primary individual to complete the swim with out a shark cage, the movie is a narrative of Nyad’s willpower, 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 12 months, too), a primary for a foreign-language movie. Its 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 along 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)
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 easiest is the 2021 documentary referred to as Crime & Penalties. It is a couple of minor league hockey group that an alleged mob boss purchased as a present for his teenage son, who turned out to be a reasonably good group supervisor. Even when a few of the film’s principal gamers is perhaps criminals, the story behind this ragtag group of brawling bros proves fact is commonly stranger than fiction.
