The 50 Best Movies to Stream on Netflix Right Now
What do No Hard Feelings, Everything Everywhere All at Once, and Tick, Tick... Boom! have in common? Well, aside from their stellar ensemble casts, they’re all streaming on Netflix right now. Not your speed? Well, Netflix has more options than you can watch in this lifetime. Don't fret: we’ve whittled things down to save you the trouble (and existential dread).
Below, you’ll find the 50 best movies on Netflix. Are you seeking a thrill? Check out Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, or the Charlie Kaufman-directed i’m thinking of ending things. Armchair detectives can investigate the whodunnit in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, while budding comedians can dissect the jokes in Dolemite Is My Name and Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga. There’s something for everyone—now, all that's left to do is choose the right film for you.
Society of the Snow
Yellowjackets fans: this one is for you. Society of the Snow follows the true story of a Uruguayan rugby team that are stranded in the Andes after a plane crash. With no help in sight, the men resort to unsavory survival tactics. Sound familiar?
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Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
Sequels are always challenging feat, but Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is so well done that you wouldn't dare compare it to the original. The film kicks off with Miles Bron, a tech billionaire who invites his friends for a weekend getaway on his private island. It doesn’t take long for someone to wind up dead, of course. You know what happens next—Detective Benoit Blanc is on the case.
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Minari
A24's Minari is a story about a Korean family who immigrates to the Ozarks. When they arrive, they find it difficult to preserve their culture. This touching story will unravel your understanding of the American dream and mold it into something new.
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Rustin
Have you heard of Bayard Rustin? His story was erased from history, but now, you can catch up with this fantastic biopic. The film stars Colman Domingo as Rustin, one of Martin Luther King’s trusted advisors who was ousted from the civil rights movement for being an openly gay man. In Rustin, his legacy finally gets the platform it deserves.
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Everything Everywhere All at Once
Everything Everywhere All at Once is about, well, everything, everywhere, all at once. In other words, it's a tale of love, betrayal, familial ties, and the beauty of connection. The saga begins with a rip in the multiverse, which forces a mother to travel through dimensions to save her daughter from eternal doom. You’ll need to watch this movie to understand, but trust us; it’s worth the journey.
No Hard Feelings
In No Hard Feelings, Jennifer Lawrence stars as Maddie, a woman in desperate need of cash. In order to save her childhood home, she agrees to date a wealthy couple's socially awkward son before he heads to college. Naturally, they become real friends, and antics ensue.
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Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
In Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, we reunite with a teenage Miles Morales. This time, he join forces with Gwen Stacy in order to take down Spot, an evil shapeshifter causing trouble in the multiverse. As usual, danger looms around every turn, forcing Miles to hone his Spidey instincts to survive.
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Fair Play
Director Chloe Domont’s debut film, Fair Play, is a thrilling story about sexism in the workplace. When Emily receives a coveted promotion, it threatens to ruin her relationship with her fiancé, Luke, who works for the same company. Their true colors are revealed when business inevitably mixes with pleasure.
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Bill Russell: Legend
This documentary tells the story of the NBA legend, Bill Russell. The basketball-player-turned-coach and civil rights advocate lived a life full of prolific twists and turns, which is chronicled in this uplifting tale.
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Homecoming
Don’t worry if you didn’t see Beyoncé perform at Coachella in 2018, because the singer filmed it all and turned it into a jaw-dropping documentary. Homecoming shows the months leading up to her historical performance, while giving viewers a front-row seat to the show.
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I Am Vanessa Guillen
This documentary tracks the tragic death of Vanessa Guillen, a United State soldier who was murdered at the Fort Hood Military Base. I Am Vanessa Guillen tracks her family's fight for justice, after they uncover what really happened to their daughter.
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Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga
In Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, Rachel McAdams and Will Ferrell play two Icelandic singers with dreams of making it big. One of their songs is called "Ja Ja Ding Dong." What else do you need to hear about this movie?
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Tick, Tick... Boom!
Tick, Tick... Boom!, which stars Andrew Garfield as the late playwright Jonathan Larson, just might be the most joyous and heartbreaking film you'll see all year. Don't miss it.
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The Guilty
Want to see Jake Gyllenhaal sweat? Want to see Jake Gyllenhaal shout various things into a headset? Want to see Jake Gyllenhaal vomit like The Exorcist kid? We knew it. The Guilty is one of our favorite rides of the year.
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Schumacher
If you're a fan of anything that goes fast, then Schumacher is more than worth your time. Netflix's portrait of one of the greatest Formula 1 drivers of all time is thrilling, detailed, and most importantly, shows compassion to Schumacher and his family.
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i'm thinking of ending things
If you're part of the rather large group of Netflixers who slept on Charlie Kaufman's i'm thinking of ending things, let's fix that now. The book-to-film treatment is just as weird, true to life, and deeply unsettling as its source material.
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Concrete Cowboy
You know the feeling: When you pull up a title on Netflix, see the first three actors on the bill, and immediately press play. How about Idris Elba, Caleb McLaughlin, and Jharrel Jerome? Easy choice.
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I Care A Lot
Is this a true story? Is it actually possible? Is she really still alive? How do I choose between human trafficking and abusing the elderly?
These are all questions you will ask while watching I Care a Lot. Starring Rosamund Pike, Peter Dinklage, and Chris Messina's very specific suit line up, the crime thriller from Netflix is one of the most egregious, devious films to debut in years. And it's delicious.
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Speed Cubers
You might remember the kid from your middle school who thought he was the goddamn shit because he knew his way around a Rubix Cube. Now, that kid has a Netflix documentary. Fuck that kid.
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Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
In this film adaptation of one of August Wilson's most unforgettable plays, Chadwick Boseman delivers his final performance. Starring alongside a just-as-stellar Viola Davis, Boseman plays the troubled trumpeter Levee, which should squarely put him in the favorite position for an Oscar this year.
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The Trial of the Chicago Seven
Aaron Sorkin's newest creation for Netflix is proving to be a massive contender at the 2021 Oscars. Starring Sacha Baron Cohen and Mark Rylance in award-winning turns, the film is based on the story of seven defendants charged with conspiracy against the government.
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Mank
David Fincher was never out of the game—just merely waiting in the wings for the next perfect project. That came in the form of Mank, the story of how Citizen Kane was written. With big performances from Gary Oldman and Amanda Seyfried, Fincher captures the Golden Age of Hollywood and the drama between Herman J. Mankiewicz and Orson Welles.
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David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet
Just that name alone should sell this film. Attenborough has been doing environmentally-focused documentary work for years, and in a time where we really could be paying more attention to our environment, his Netflix documentary is a must watch. Not only does it offer some keen perspective on Attenborough’s life, but it highlights just how much nature has changed since the natural historian has been alive.
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Uncorked
Courtney B. Vance and Niecy Nash alone should be enough to get anyone onboard with Uncorked. It tells the story of a young man caught between his parents’ expectations that he take over the family barbecue restaurant and his dream of becoming a master sommelier.
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A Secret Love
Terry Donahue and Pat Henschel fell in love in 1947 and built a relationship that spanned six decades, all while hiding the truth of their romance from friends and loved ones in the face of rampant homophobia. You might think you're made of tough stuff if you can make it through the trailer without welling up, but there's no way anyone could sit through the whole film without getting teary.
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13th
Before she told us America’s story of mass incarceration through the eyes of the Exonerated Five in When They See Us, Ava Durvernay took it on in 13th. Featuring interviews with Van Jones, Grover Norquist, and Lisa Graves, 13th compares our criminal justice system to American slavery—showing how for-profit systems have corrupted our jails, with corporations making money from the mass incarceration crisis.
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The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson
Stonewall was a riot first and foremost. Those with an interest in the LGBTQ rights movement know that on that fateful June day in 1969, it was Marsha P. Johnson, a trans woman of color, who threw a brick and helped launch the Stonewall riots into the annals of history. What most don’t know is that her suspicious death in 1992 has gone unsolved, and the NYPD has neglected to provide answers for her untimely end. The Life and Death of Marsha P. Johnson looks into the mysterious passing and all the stones left unturned by those who were responsible for solving her murder.
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Disclosure
Featuring interviews with Laverne Cox, Susan Stryker, Alexandra Billings, Jamie Clayton, Chaz Bono, and many more, Disclosure looks at Hollywood's depiction of transgender people on screen told by the artists and storytellers who are making great strides for inclusion today.
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Da 5 Bloods
In his follow-up to the Oscar-winning BlackKklansman, Spike Lee sends four Black Vietnam War vets back to the country, where they set off on an adventure to find the body of the leader and the buried treasure they left behind. The film—with a powerhouse performance by Delroy Lindo—is a stunning response to decades of Vietnam films that have ignored the stories of Black heroes.
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Becoming
Former First Lady Michelle Obama’s first memoir, Becoming, was an instant success and New York Times bestseller, so it’s no surprise that her documentary of the same name is equally compelling. The Netflix original documentary takes viewers on a deeper dive of her life, beginning in the Southside of Chicago through her time as First Lady. Living under a microscope, she accurately notes that much of the world only knows her for the eight years she spent living in the White House. Becoming seeks to offer the truths of what happened on her way there.
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Crip Camp
Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution tells of the spirited and subversive history of Camp Jened in the 1970s. A camp based in the Catskills for young adults with developmental disabilities, Camp Jened became known for its liberating approach to fostering community and empowering its campers.
The Florida Project
The Florida Project is a true A24 film in all the best ways: gorgeous color palettes, perfectly-executed shots, nuanced characters, and, in special cases, an appearance from Willem Dafoe. Set in Orlando, Florida, at a motel nestled just before the highway exit for Disney World, The Florida Project is a distinct portrait of childhood amidst warm, vibrant, and harsh surroundings.
Silver Linings Playbook
David O. Russell’s bittersweet comedy about mental illness is one of the best of the past decade. Starring Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper, the film tackles the struggle of loss, the joy of finding new love, and the very complicated path that is being a Philadelphia Eagles fan. Go birds.
Velvet Buzzsaw
Velvet Buzzsaw is a glorious mess. Part gay fantasia, part art snobbery, and part horror, the film manages to be so uneven and ridiculous that it's a perfectly acceptable wild ride. Bonus: Toni Collette is perfect.
The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected)
Let it be noted: Adam Sandler can be a good actor. This literally had Oscar buzz. An Oscar. For Adam Sandler.
Always Be My Maybe
In this rom com, two childhood sweethearts reconnect after years apart, and as you can imagine... the sparks return. But the most important part is that Ali Wong and Randall Park are incredible at carrying a rom-com.
Beasts of No Nation
Beasts of No Nation, a war film released in 2015, was one of Netflix's first bona fide award contenders. Though it didn't fully get off the ground, it was a great vehicle for Idris Elba and an even better flex for Netflix.
Okja
In a way, Okja feels like Netflix's first breakaway hit, an environmentalist tale that pits big business against environmental morality made Netflix worthy of being looked at as a contender in the film space.
Dolemite is My Name
There was a time when Eddie Murphy was one of the most famous actors (if not the most) in the world. And after over a decade of largely out-of-form work, it took Dolemite is My Name—where Murphy plays a struggling entertainer, full of heart and humor—to remind us of that.
The Irishman
Yes, we heard you: The Irishman is too long. Got it. If you’re willing to get over that, let us direct you to a holy grail of performances from Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, and Joe Pesci, in another all-timer of a mob epic from the mind of Martin Scorsese.
The Two Popes
There are few things that would make the film version of the complicated real-life relationship between Pope Benedict and Pope Francis a must-watch. Casting heavyweights Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Pryce, respectively, as the former (and current) leaders of the Catholic church is one of them.
Marriage Story
In this moving film written and directed by Noah Baumbach, Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver portray an actress and stage director slogging through a grueling, bi-coastal divorce, which forces them to confront the long-held resentments that simmered throughout their marriage. Compassionate, funny, and deeply specific, Marriage Story is a portrait of how marriage changes us over time, and of how divorce turns us into our worst selves.
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
The Coen Brothers teamed up with the streaming service for this Netflix original, an anthology film featuring six stories set in the American west that's full of outlaws, pioneer women, double-crossing, and one singing cowboy.
Casting JonBenet
Decades after the still-unsolved murder of JonBenét Ramsey, director Kitty Green goes to Boulder, Colorado to cast local actors in a film about the murder—only to discover the lasting impact the little girl's murder has left on the area's residents.
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
The Authurian legend get the parody treatment in this absurd—and endlessly quotable—cult classic in which the Monty Python players star as the Knights of the Roundtable on the search for the legendary treasure.
Mudbound
Dee Rees's Academy Award-nominated drama tells the story of two families—one white, one black—who are linked by their neighboring land in post-World War II Mississippi and are caught in the complicated racial tensions of the era.
Roma
Alfonso Cuarón's gorgeous autobiographical film follows Cleo (Oscar nominee Yalitza Aparicio), a live-in maid for a middle-class Mexico City family, throughout one year as both her life and the lives of her employers are changed forever.
She's Gotta Have It
Spike Lee's first feature film is an indie black-and-white comedy starring Tracy Camilla Johns as a young woman in Brooklyn who juggles three potential boyfriends.
Strong Island
Director Yance Ford's Oscar nominated feature looks into the 1992 murder of his brother William and the ensuing case, which saw an all-white grand jury chosing not to indict the white man who killed him.
What Happened, Miss Simone?
This film examines the career of Nina Simone, the acclaimed singer, songwriter, and activist whose tumultuous life influenced her fierce and dynamic artistry—but, at times, proved too intense for Simone herself.
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