The Best Movies on Netflix Right Now (original) (raw)

Netflix might just be the most popular streaming platform out there, and it's not just because of the staggering subscriber count it boasts. The direct-to-consumer service hosts a wide variety of films and television shows, from rom-coms to thrillers and everything in between. There's so much on Netflix at any one time that it can be difficult deciding what to watch; it's the ultimate home of decision fatigue. And with the service adding new content on a monthly basis, it can be equally difficult keeping track of everything on offer. So, we did the hard part for you and compiled a list of what you should definitely consider putting on your Watch List for this month.

Without further ado, here are the best movies on Netflix right now.

Director: Anna Kendrick
Cast: Anna Kendrick, Tony Hale, Kelley Jakle
Genre: Crime/Drama/Mystery/Thriller
Rating: R
Runtime: 1h 29m
Rotten Tomatoes: 91% (Critics), 67% (Audience)

Based on a true story, Woman of the Hour is a thrilling film about an aspiring actress (played by Kendrick) who is cast in an episode of The Dating Game alongside a serial killer. Doing double-duty in front of and behind the camera in her directorial debut, Kendrick proves herself a real talent;, capturing the insidious sexism of Los Angeles’s entertainment industry in the 1970s in a way that is both true to the period and still very current. Alongside a game cast, including an unnerving performance by Tony Hale, fans of true crime and horror will find themselves eagerly awaiting Kendrick’s next film after experiencing the psychological tension of this movie.

Director: Jacques Audiard
Cast: Zoe Saldana, Karla Sofía Gascón, Selena Gomez
Genre: Musical/Crime/Comedy
Rating: R
Runtime: 2hr 12m
Rotten Tomatoes: 76% (Critics), 77% (Audience)

Just looking at the genre mash-up of musical, crime, and comedy lets you know that Emilia Pérez is one fever dream of a ride. In it, Karla Sofía Gascón plays the titular character, a leader of a Mexican drug cartel looking to liberate herself from her responsibilities by faking her death. Full of bold musical numbers, dance sequences, and great performances from Karla Sofía Gascón, Zoe Saldana, and Selena Gomez, this wholly -original movie has the potential to polarize viewers with its style and substance, making it surprising that critics and viewers are both so aligned on Rotten Tomatoes. If you’re already subscribing to Netflix, it’s definitely worth checking out to see where you land — especially since many are calling it a Best Picture contender.

Director: Jeremy Saulnier
Cast: Aaron Pierre, Don Johnson, AnnaSophia RobbGenre: Action/Drama
Rating: R
Runtime: 2hr 11m
Rotten Tomatoes: 96% (Critics), 73% (Audience)

Need evidence that Aaron Pierre (Old, The Underground Railroad) has the goods? Look no further than his star-making turn as Terry Richmond in Rebel Ridge, a film about a former Marine trying to post bail for his cousin who goes toe-to-toe with small-town law enforcement when his money is seized. Pierre is an absolute bad-ass, making this tense action drama sing even if it is less action-packed than other revenge thrillers like Rambo or John Wick. It looks like others are paying attention to the actor’s promise, too — Pierre voices a young Mufasa in Disney’s upcoming live-action-CGI-prequel, Mufasa: The Lion King. Mark our words: this is an actor you’ll be seeing a lot more of in the coming years.

Director: Malcolm Washington
Cast: Samuel L. Jackson, John David Washington, Danielle Deadwyler
Genre: Drama/Music
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 2hr 5m
Rotten Tomatoes: 88% (Critics), 67% (Audience)

Adapted from the Pulitzer Prize-winning stage play by theatre’s celebrated “poet of Black America,” August Wilson, The Piano Lesson is a film that gives an absolutely stacked ensemble plenty of room to show off their dramatic chops. Set in Pittsburgh in the years following the Great Depression, the film charts the lives of the Charles family and their heirloom piano, which has their family’s history carved into it be an enslaved ancestor. While some film adaptations of theatre get stuck in the wordiness of their source material, Wilson’s language sings in The Piano Lesson, thanks to strong visual imagery from director Malcolm Washington and an impressive cast led by Samuel L. Jackson and John David Washington. Even if you don’t like plays, it’s a movie worth watching.

Director: Sean Baker
Cast: Kitana Kiki Rodriguez, Mya Taylor, Karren Karagulian
Genre: Comedy/Drama
Rating: R
Runtime: 1hr 27m
Rotten Tomatoes: 96% (Critics), 75% (Audience)

If you’re looking for a more unique Christmas flick to watch this December, skip Hot Frosty and The Merry Gentleman and check out Sean Baker’s indie film about a sex worker named Sin-Dee who embarks on a heartfelt and hilarious journey to teach her cheating boyfriend a lesson after being released from jail. As a writer/director, Sean Baker has made a career portraying the lives of sex workers (his film most recent film, Anora, has gotten lots of pre-Oscar buzz), and Tangerine shows that his instincts and empathy are two ingredients to make something engrossing. Impressively, the film was shot on three iPhone 5S smartphones, which just goes to show that an engaging story can be just as impactful without a high budget or tons of fancy equipment.

Director: Mark Molloy
Cast: Eddie Murphy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Taylour Paige, Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, Paul Reiser, Bronson Pinchot, and Kevin Bacon
Genre: Action Comedy
Rating: R
Runtime: 1h 58m
Rotten Tomatoes: 66% (Critics), 77% (Audience)

Thirty years after Beverly Hills Cop III, Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F arrived on Netflix in 2024 as the fourth installment in the Beverly Hills Cop film franchise. Eddie Murphy reprises his role as Axel Foley, with Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, Paul Reiser, and Bronson Pinchot returning to their roles from the previous films in the franchise while adding Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Taylour Paige, and Kevin Bacon to the cast.

This time around, ​​Detective Axel Foley (Murphy) is back on the beat in Beverly Hills. After his daughter’s life is threatened, she (Paige) and Foley team up with a new partner (Gordon-Levitt) and old pals Billy Rosewood (Reinhold) and John Taggart (Ashton) to turn up the heat and uncover a conspiracy. A lot has changed since Murphy gave life to this iconic character, but having this franchise live on Netflix is sure to introduce it to a whole new wave of fans.

A stranger has found his way to London's Paddington Station. He is all alone. He is looking for somebody who will take him home. Did we mention this stranger is a bear? The beloved tale of the marmalade-loving mammal comes to life. He finds a home with the Brown family who decide to call him Paddington, of course. Despite the joy he brings all who cross paths with him, a museum collector (Nicole Kidman) isn't too fond of him... alive. She wants him stuffed for her display and she'll stop at nothing to have him.

Director: Richard Linklater
Cast: Glen Powell, Adria Arjona, Austin Amelio, Retta, and Sanjay Rao
Genre: Romantic comedy
Rating: R
Runtime: 1h 53m
Rotten Tomatoes: 95% (Critics), 91% (Audience)

Glen Powell was on a mission to cement himself as the next big movie star in the summer of 2024. Before Twisters hit theaters as his first major blockbuster film, he kicked it all off with Netflix’s Hit Man. And what better way to prove your acting chops than by playing dozens of characters in the same film? ​​Inspired by an unbelievably true story, Hit Man follows a goodie-two-shoes professor named Gary (Powell), who discovers he has a hidden talent for pretending to be a hitman. He joins the New Orleans Police Department to help catch criminals looking to hire someone to commit a murder on their behalf.

Gary then falls into dangerous territory when he finds himself falling for one of the fake hitman’s potential clients, a beautiful young woman named Madison (Adria Arjona) who seeks to get rid of her husband. Hit Man is a clever comedy that is easy and fun to watch.

Director: Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson
Cast: Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Brian Tyree Henry, Lauren Vélez, Jake Johnson, Issa Rae, Daniel Kaluuya, Mahershala Ali, and Oscar Isaac
Genre: Action/Animation
Rating: PG
Runtime: 2h 20m
Rotten Tomatoes: 95% (Critics), 94% (Audience)

Miles Morales returned for the next chapter of the Oscar-winning Spider-Verse saga. The epic adventure transports Brooklyn's full-time, friendly neighborhood Spider-Man across the Multiverse to join forces with Gwen Stacy and a new team of Spider-People to go against a villain more powerful than anything they have ever encountered. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was released in 2018, and it introduced Miles as a novice superhero finding his footing. In Across the Spider-Verse, Miles is ready for what the role requires and more.

Director: Elegance Bratton
Cast: Jeremy Pope, Raúl Castillo, McCaul Lombardi, Aaron Dominguez, Bokeem Woodbine, and Gabrielle Union
Genre: Drama
Rating: R
Runtime: 1h 34m
Rotten Tomatoes: 88% (Critics), 91% (Audience)

In Elegance Bratton’s deeply moving film inspired by his own story, a young, gay Black man named Ellis French (Jeremy Pope) is rejected by his homophobic mother Inez (Gabrielle Union), who kicks French out of their home, leaving him homeless since he was 16. With few options for his future, he enlists in the Marines as a last-ditch effort for him to do whatever it takes to succeed in a system that would cast him aside.

But even as he battles deep-seated prejudice and the grueling routines of basic training, he finds unexpected camaraderie, strength, and support in this new militant community, giving him a hard-earned sense of belonging that will shape his identity and change his life forever. The A24 film spotlights Pope as an actor to watch, while Union gives the most powerful and most memorable performance of her career

Director: Jeymes Samuel
Cast: LaKeith Stanfield, Omar Sy, RJ Cyler, David Oyelowo, Teyana Taylor, Caleb McLaughlin, James McAvoy, and Benedict Cumberbatch
Genre: Comedy
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 2h 9m
Rotten Tomatoes: 67% (Critics), 80% (Audience)

The Harder They Fall director Jeymes Samuel once again puts together a stellar cast of actors to tell yet another larger-than-life story with his second film, The Book of Clarence. The film follows a down-on-his-luck man named Clarence (LaKeith Stanfield), who struggles to find a better life for his family as he fights to free himself of debt. While he is living a life of crime, he becomes captivated by the power and glory of the rising Messiah, so Clarence concocts a plan to ride on the coattails of the Messiah’s popularity and leads people to believe he is also a chosen one. Alongside his best friend Elijah (RJ Cyler), Clarence becomes convincing enough that he creates his own following and starts changing his luck, only to discover that the redemptive power of faith may be his only way out. It doesn’t matter if you are a believer or not, LaKeith’s performance is powerful enough to make you reconsider.

Director: Craig Gillespie
Cast: Paul Dano, Pete Davidson, Vincent D'Onofrio, America Ferrera, Nick Offerman, Anthony Ramos, Sebastian Stan, and Shailene Woodley
Genre: Comedy/Drama
Rating: R
Runtime: 1h 45m
Rotten Tomatoes: 84% (Critics), 85% (Audience)

Dumb Money is perhaps some of the most fun you can have right from the comfort of your home. The film is based on the riveting true story of everyday people who flipped the script on Wall Street and got rich by turning GameStop into the world's hottest company on the stock market. In the middle of everything is regular guy Keith Gill, incredibly well played by Paul Dano, who starts it all by sinking his life savings into the stock and livestreaming about it. When his social media posts start blowing up, so too does his life and the lives of everyone following him. As a stock tip becomes a movement, everyone gets rich until the billionaires fight back, and both sides find their worlds turned upside down. The story gives you so many people to root for, all played by an exciting and extremely fun cast that includes Pete Davidson, America Ferrera, Nick Offerman, Seth Rogen, Anthony Ramos, and more

Director: George C. Wolfe
Cast: Colman Domingo, Chris Rock, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Jeffrey Wright, and Audra McDonald
Genre: Drama
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 1h 48m
Rotten Tomatoes: 84% (Critics), 83% (Audience)

Bayard Rustin, the man behind 1963's March on Washington, was one of the greatest activists and organizers the world has ever known. But due to homophobia, he was almost forgotten. Rustin follows the activist, who was an advisor to Martin Luther King Jr. and dedicated his life to the quest for racial equality, human rights, and worldwide democracy. As an openly gay Black man in the 1960s (in politics, of all fields), he was nearly erased from the civil rights movement he helped build.

Colman Domingo, who nabbed the Best Actor nomination for the role at the 96th Academy Awards, helps shed an overdue spotlight on the man who, alongside giants like the Reverend King, Adam Clayton Powell Jr., and Ella Baker, dared to fight to make the world better for all. Rustin’s story is one everyone can learn from, and Domingo’s Oscar-nominated performance takes it to an even higher level.

Director: Todd Haynes
Cast: Natalie Portman, Julianne Moore, and Charles Melton
Genre: Drama/Romance
Rating: R
Runtime: 1h 57m
Rotten Tomatoes: 91% (Critics), 65% (Audience)

May December was a hit with critics. The film is loosely based on the real-life events of Mary Kay Letourneau, a 34-year-old teacher who victimized and began a sexual relationship with her then 12-year-old student, Vili Fualaau, in 1996, becoming a tabloid fixture. Twenty years after their notorious tabloid romance gripped the nation, May December follows the fictitious version of the scandalous pair, Gracie Atherton-Yu (Julianne Moore) and her husband Joe (Charles Melton), as they prepare for their twins to graduate high school.

Hollywood actress Elizabeth Berry (Natalie Portman) comes to spend time with the family to get inside Gracie’s mind since she will be playing her in a film. The family dynamics begin to unravel under the pressure of the outside gaze. Having never processed what happened in his youth, Joe starts to face the reality of life as an empty-nester at 36 and all that he didn’t experience after getting into a relationship so young. Todd Haynes' movie might make viewers uncomfortable, but it's not any easier to watch than following the real-life disturbing story all those years ago.

Director: Antoine Fuqua
Cast: Denzel Washington, Dakota Fanning, Eugenio Mastrandrea, David Denman, and Gaia Scodellaro
Genre: Action, Mystery & Thriller
Rating: R
Runtime: 1h 49m
Rotten Tomatoes: 76% (Critics), 94% (Audience)

The Equalizer 3 was a hit with fans when it arrived in theaters, and now it’s available on Netflix. While the first two are not on the streamer, fans of the franchise can find them on other platforms before sinking their teeth into the third installment. In 3, Robert McCall (Denzel Washington) has struggled to reconcile with the horrific things he's done in the past after giving up his life as a government assassin and finds a strange peace in serving justice on behalf of the oppressed. Now at his new home in Southern Italy, he discovers his new friends are under the control of local crime bosses. McCall vows to stop the Italian crime syndicate from brutalizing and extorting the residents of a small coastal town who have won over his heart and his trust. As events turn deadly, McCall becomes his friends’ protector in ways only he can.

Director: Julio Quintana
Cast: Jay Hernandez, Gregory Diaz IV, Cheech Marin, Oscar Nuñez, Paulina Chávez, José Julián,, Dennis Quaid, Julian Works, Jaina Lee Ortiz, and Brett Cullen
Genre: History/Drama
Rating: PG
Runtime: 1h 52m
Rotten Tomatoes: 82% (Critics), 97% (Audience)

Based on Humberto G. Garcia's Mustang Miracle, The Long Game is an inspiring movie that will make you root for the underdog. In 1956, JB Peña (Jay Hernandez) and his wife moved to the small town of Del Rio, Texas, partly for a job as a school superintendent, but mostly to pursue JB's dream of joining the prestigious, all-white Del Rio Country Club. So, when JB is rejected because of his skin color, he is devastated. But he soon encounters a group of young Latino golf caddies who work at the country club, lighting a fire in his spirit. JB is inspired by the handmade course the boys built in the country to teach themselves golf. With little experience and even fewer resources, JB convinces the boys to start their own high school golf team, starting them all on a journey where they learn it takes more than just golf skills to make history.

Director: J. A. Bayona
Cast: Enzo Vogrincic, Agustín Pardella, Esteban Bigliardi, and Simón Hempe
Genre: Drama
Rating: R
Runtime: 2h 24m
Rotten Tomatoes: 90% (Critics), 88% (Audience)

In 1972, Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 went down in the Andes Mountains region with 45 passengers and crew members on board. After 72 days, 16 survivors were rescued just days before Christmas. The harrowing event has simultaneously been called the "Miracle of the Andes" as well as the "Andes Flight Disaster," two very different names trying to capture the brutality of survival and the astonishing rescue.

For the past 50 years, the crash has inspired countless media, including 1993’s Alive and 2021’s hit television series Yellowjackets. This film is based on the book of the same name by Pablo Vierci, who happened to grow up with several of the survivors.

Director: Rian Johnson
Cast: Daniel Craig, Ed Norton, Kate Hudson, and Dave Bautista
Genre: Thriller
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 2h 20m
Rotten Tomatoes: 91% (Critics), 92% (Audience)

The world-renowned detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) returns in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Blanc receives an invitation to join tech billionaire Miles Bron (Edward Norton) on his private island. The retreat with his close friends happen to include a controversial starlet (Kate Hudson), an MRA Twitch streamer (Dave Bautista), and the governor of Connecticut (Kathryn Hahn)—just to name a few. Despite his reputation, Bron does not know who invited the sleuth but welcomes him anyway. The reunion turns deadly when one of them is killed, leading to the unraveling of long-held secrets. It’s up to Blanc to peel back the layers to figure out which one of the attendees it is before the killer can claim another victim.