Netflix movies with strong Black leads that you can watch right now
If you're looking for movies with strong Black leads, Netflix has a great selection. In fact, it's got a whole category dedicated to them. Here we've rounded up 19 of our favourite movies showcasing the best of Black cinema on Netflix to get you started.
Fast Color
Gugu Mbatha-Raw's character Ruth goes on the run when her uncontrollable supernatural powers are discovered. Years after deserting her family, the only place she can hide is home. The movie brings together three generations of strong Black women who come to accept their superhero abilities.
Fast Color provides a refreshing contrast to a genre largely dominated by white men.
Watch Fast Color on Netflix
Lionheart
Nollywood Royalty Genevieve Nnaji directs and stars in this movie which sees her character Adaeze Obiagu fight for leadership of her father's company in a male-dominated world.
Jumping the Broom
Paula Patton plays Sabrina, a bride-to-be who's getting married at her parents' waterfront mansion on Martha's Vineyard, bringing together two very different families and their drama. Salim Akil directs this romantic comedy which also stars Waiting to Exhale's Angela Bassett and Loretta Devine.
Watch Jumping the Broom on Netflix
Related: Films and documentaries about racism to help you be a better ally
Juanita
Based on the novel Dancing on the Edge of the Roof by Sheila Williams, the movie sees Juanita (Alfre Woodard) take a sabbatical from her exhausting, unfulfilling life through a 20-hour Greyhound bus ride to Butte, Montana, in search of a fresh start.
Think Like a Man
Based on Steve Harvey's book Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man, the movie sees Mya (Meagan Good), Candace (Regina Hall), Kristen (Gabrielle Union), Lauren (Taraji P Henson) and Sonia (La La Anthony) test out the book's advice on their men who quickly realise the game they're playing and try to turn the tables.
Needless to say it backfires, horribly.
Watch Think Like a Man on Netflix
Friday
It's Friday and two pot-smoking friends Craig Jones (Ice Cube) and Smokey (Chris Tucker) "ain't got shit to do" – and end up getting into trouble with local bullies, drug dealers and girlfriends in their South Central LA neighbourhood. Written by Ice Cube and DJ Pooh and directed by F Gary Gray.
As a warning, we feel it's important to point out that the film includes a number of homophobic slurs/scenes, which damage the film's legacy.
Nappily Ever After
Sanaa Lathan plays perfectionist Violet Jones who goes on a journey of self-discovery after doing the big chop and embracing her natural hair. A story that raises important issues surrounding Black women's beauty standards through a liberating hair journey.
Watch Nappily Ever After on Netflix
The Brothers
A movie about Black brotherhood, love and taking on two of life's most terrifying prospects; honesty and commitment. Four close friends Terry (Shemar Moore), Jackson (Morris Chestnut), Brian (Bill Bellamy) and Derrick (D L Hughley) come together every week to play basketball and discuss the issues they're facing with the (many) women in their lives, until one of the men makes a shocking revelation, he's getting married.
The film's not too hard on the eyes either.
Catching Feelings
Set in post-apartheid Johannesburg, English Professor Max (Kagiso Lediga) and his wife Sam (Pearl Thusi) have their loving marriage tested by a combination of money problems, infidelity and a new houseguest Heiner (Andrew Buckland), an older white man who moves in with the couple after a Viagra-induced heart attack while having a threesome.
Watch Catching Feelings on Netflix
The Best Man Holiday
Sequel to 1999 movie The Best Man, The Best Man's Holiday reunites college friends Lance (Morris Chestnut), Harper (Taye Diggs), Quentin (Terrence Howard), Julian (Harold Perrineau) and Brian (Eddie Cibrian), which reignites forgotten rivalries and romances.
There's also another sequel in the works The Best Man Wedding, which is yet to come out.
Watch The Best Man Holiday on Netflix
Blue Streak
Jewel thief Miles Logan (Martin Lawrence) poses as a detective to find a diamond he hid under a police station (which was once a construction site). This is no Bad Boys but makes for good, light-hearted fun.
About Last Night
Kevin Hart, Regina Hall and Michael Ealy team up again for this romantic comedy which also stars Joy Bryant. The plot sees new couples Bernie (Hart) and Joan (Hall) and Danny (Ealy) and Debbie (Joy Bryant) who find that their racy relationships may not stand the test of time.
Watch About Last Night on Netflix
A Fall from Grace
When law-abiding citizen Grace Waters (Crystal Fox) is arrested for murdering her husband, her skeptical lawyer Jasmine Bryant (Bresha Webb) suspects something else is at play and sets out to prove her innocence.
Aside from the occasional filming blunders (don't think we didn't spot that camera equipment in shot), there were plenty of plot twists from director Tyler Perry to keep us on the edge of our seats and earn it a place on this list nonetheless.
Watch A Fall from Grace on Netflix
Uncorked
Elijah (Mamoudou Athie) finds himself torn between his dreams of becoming a master sommelier and his father's dreams of him running the family's BBQ business in Memphis.
Written and directed by Insecure producer Prentice Penny, Uncorked provides a revitalising look into the way story's of Black families are presented in film.
The Holiday Calendar
If, like us, you're a sucker for a feel-good Christmas movie then The Holiday Calendar is worth the watch. The story follows talented photographer Abby Sutton (Kat Graham) who inherits an antique advent calendar with psychic abilities.
Watch The Holiday Calendar on Netflix
Mudbound
Mudbound tells the tale of two families turned against one another due to the brutal realities of social hierarchy and racism in the rural American South during World War II.
Roxanne Roxanne
Roxanne Roxanne is a dramatised biopic about hip-hop artist Roxanne Shante's life. Taking place in the late 80s, Roxanne Shante (Chanté Adams) is a fierce battle MC in Queens, New York, on her way to becoming a hip-hop legend but carries the weight of the world on her shoulders.
Moonlight's Mahershala Ali and Friday's Nia Long also star.
Watch Roxanne Roxanne on Netflix
For more information on how you can support Black Lives Matter, please visit its official website or donate here. Readers can also donate to the UK anti-discrimination group Stand Up To Racism, and the Unite Families & Friends Campaign, which supports those affected by deaths in police, prison and psychiatric custody.
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