The 30 Best Movies on Netflix Right Now

November 30, 2024

Netflix Movies by Category

This post is updated regularly as movies leave and enter Netflix. *New additions are indicated with an asterisk.

With hundreds of films from around the world on the streaming giant that changed the game, how does one even know what to watch when they fire up their Netflix? Start here! We’ve gone through the many films available on the platform and pared down the selection to 30 must-see titles, including acclaimed dramas, action films, comedies, horror flicks, and even stuff for the whole family, with Netflix Originals peppered in throughout, alongside its licensed films. No algorithm nonsense here: Our picks represent the personal favorites of seasoned movie critics, and they’re updated every week and month to include or remove films that join or depart from the streaming service. This list represents the best of Netflix’s movie offerings, and it starts with a new rotating critic’s pick of the week.

This Week’s Critic’s Pick

*Mystic River

Year: 2003
Runtime: 2h 17m
Director: Clint Eastwood

Clint Eastwood found material perfectly suited for his style in Dennis Lehane’s devastating novel about loss and vengeance. The mystery of a murdered girl in a Boston community became one of Eastwood’s biggest critical darlings, winning Oscars for stars Sean Penn and Tim Robbins, and nominations for Best Picture and Best Director.

Mystic River watch on netflix

How We Pick Our Films

Critic Brian Tallerico watches and writes about movies and TV every day. To curate this list, he dives into Netflix’s catalogue to surface acclaimed, surprising, or otherwise noteworthy titles — using his taste and a lifetime of cinema study as his guide, instead of whatever the algorithm happens to be pushing. After triple-checking to make sure they’re still available, he watches each, organizes them by category, then writes his recommendation. We highlight more than just Oscar winners or popcorn flicks: These films present interesting ideas, made an impact on cinema, and changed our culture. Read on to find something to watch.

Drama

Call Me by Your Name.

Call Me by Your Name

Year: 2017
Runtime: 2h 6m
Director: Luca Guadagnino

One of the best films of the 2010s, this drama stars Timothée Chalamet as a boy who discovers his own sexuality when he’s wooed by an older man, played by Armie Hammer. Delicate and moving, this is a remarkable drama because of how true it feels, anchored by great performances throughout, not just from the two leads but the amazing Michael Stuhlbarg too.

Call Me by Your Name watch on netflix

The Conversation.

*The Conversation

Year: 1974
Runtime: 1h 53m
Director: Francis Ford Coppola

One of the best directors of the ‘70s took a break from The Godfather movies to write, produce, and direct one of his masterpieces, a study in paranoia that gave Gene Hackman a chance to deliver arguably his best screen performance. The legendary actor plays a surveillance expert who stumbles onto what could be a potential murder, leading him down a rabbit hole of violence and paranoia. The Conversation is a must-see that’s as powerful today as when it was released.

The Conversation Watch on netflix

L.A. Confidential.

L.A. Confidential

Year: 1997
Runtime: 2h 17m
Director: Curtis Hanson

Curtis Hanson directed this adaptation of James Ellroy’s epic crime novel of 1950s Los Angeles. Starring Guy Pearce, Russell Crowe, Kevin Spacey, and Kim Basinger, it’s a perfect thriller and one of the best movies of the ‘90s. So many films since this one have tried to mimic the tough-talking thrills of it and fallen completely flat. It’s harder than it looks to be this cool.

L.A. Confidential watch on netflix

May December

Year: 2023
Runtime: 1h 57m
Director: Todd Haynes

Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman star in the latest from Carol and Far from Heaven director Todd Haynes, a stunning character study of an actress who discovers that some people are impossible to figure out. Portman plays a star who tries to get under the skin of Moore’s character, a woman who raped a child when she was a teacher, and later married that young man. Charles Melton is phenomenal as the now-grown victim, stuck in perpetual adolescence.

May December watch on netflix

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.

*One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

Year: 1975
Runtime: 2h 13m
Director: Milos Forman

See where the story of Netflix’s Ratched led by watching the Milos Forman classic that inspired Ryan Murphy’s show into existence. Jack Nicholson gives one of his most iconic performances as Randle McMurphy, a new patient at the mental institution run by the rigid Nurse Ratched, a role that won Louise Fletcher an Oscar. It’s a timeless tale of individualism and fighting back against blind authority.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest watch on netflix

The Power of the Dog.

The Power of the Dog

Year: 2021
Runtime: 2h 6m
Director: Jane Campion

The film that finally won an Oscar for Jane Campion for directing is one of the most acclaimed in the history of the streaming giant. Campion helmed this adaptation of the novel of the same name by Thomas Savage, the story of a vicious landowner (Benedict Cumberbatch) who torments the new wife (Kirsten Dunst) of his brother (Jesse Plemons). A drama that plays like a thriller, this gorgeously rendered period piece unpacks themes of toxic masculinity and manipulation in a way that makes it impossible to turn away. It’s not just one of the best Netflix Original films, it’s one of the best, period, of the 2020s so far.

The Power of the Dog Watch on Netflix

Whiplash.

Whiplash

Year: 2014
Runtime: 1h 46m
Director: Damien Chazelle

Chazelle may still be startled by the divisive response to last year’s Babylon, but he can go back to the near-universal praise for the film that really broke him, earning one of its stars an Oscar and getting a nomination for Best Picture. Damien Chazelle’s drama about a perfectionist drummer and his militaristic teacher thrilled viewers from the minute it premiered at Sundance. It was a major piece of pop culture, a film that feels like it’s being referenced more every year.

Whiplash watch on netflix

Action

Dune.

Dune

Year: 2021
Runtime: 2h 35m
Director: Denis Villeneuve

The directorial king of the smart blockbusters released another one in 2021 in this highly acclaimed adaptation of the Frank Herbert novels, which premiered on HBO Max along with theaters for a brief window on its way to massive worldwide acclaim and success. Timothee Chalamet stars in this sci-fi epic that was actually the most Oscar-winning film of 2021, taking home six trophies. Part Two was delayed until 2024, but the first half of this story is on Netflix to make the pain easier to take.

Dune watch on netflix

Gravity.

*Gravity

Year: 2013
Runtime: 1h 30m
Director: Alfonso Cuarón

Alfonso Cuarón’s Oscar winner has rarely been on streaming services so take this chance to watch his sci-fi masterpiece while you can. Sandra Bullock gives arguably her best performance as an astronaut who gets stranded in space, forced to find her way back to Earth on her own. Yes, it plays best in theaters, but it’s a movie worth watching in whatever manner possible.

Gravity watch on netflix

Heat.

Heat

Year: 1995
Runtime: 2h 50m
Director: Michael Mann

Robert De Niro and Al Pacino star in one of the best movies of the ‘90s, a stunning cat-and-mouse game between a career criminal and a workaholic cop. The book release of Heat 2 in 2022 brought a lot of people back to this movie, one that has held up remarkably well over the nearly three decades since it was released. It’s a masterpiece.

Heat watch on netflix

John Wick.

*John Wick

Year: 2014
Runtime: 1h 41m
Director: Chad Stahelski

The one that started it all! Actually, all of the first three films in the series about the assassin who destroys worlds when his dog gets murdered are on Netflix, just waiting for the excellent fourth film to join them. Have a marathon and admire the incredible stunt choreography and charismatic leading man work from Keanu Reeves. There’s not a bad film in this franchise.

John Wick watch on netflix

Jurassic Park.

*Jurassic Park

Year: 1993
Runtime: 2h 6m
Director: Steven Spielberg

An instant classic when it was released in 1993, Steven Spielberg’s dinosaur blockbuster spawned a franchise that’s still humming almost three decades later with the 2022 release of the wildly successful Dominion. The first three films in the series, including Spielberg’s sequel The Lost World, are on Netflix right now, alongside the pretty fun Camp Cretaceous.

Jurassic Park watch on netflix

*Oldboy

Year: 2003
Runtime: 2h
Director: Park Chan-wook

It’s hard to explain to people how this movie moved through the film-loving world before Film Twitter was a thing. Recently restored for its 20th anniversary, Oldboy has now been dropped on Netflix again, and it’s lost none of its searing power. It’s the tale of a man who is kidnapped, and its genius is that it’s not a whodunit as much as a whydunit, forcing viewers and protagonists to wonder about a truly grisly motive until the final unforgettable act.

Oldboy watch on netflix

Snowpiercer.

Snowpiercer

Year: 2013
Runtime: 2h 6m
Director: Bong Joon-ho

Bong Joon-ho became a household name (at least in cinephile circles) when he won the Oscar for Parasite, but he had a hit before that in this 2013 sci-fi action flick starring Chris Evans, Song Kang-ho, Tilda Swinton, Octavia Spencer, and John Hurt. It’s a brilliant allegory for society as a train has been divided into classes per car, and the peasants form a revolt. Visually striking and narratively ambitious, this is a film that only seems to grow in esteem with each passing year, especially now that Bong is increasingly famous.

Snowpiercer watch on netflix

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Year: 2023
Runtime: 2h 20m
Director: Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson

What a gift to Netflix subscribers for this to already be on the service, mere weeks after playing in theaters and landing on Blu-ray. This is how you do a big-budget blockbuster sequel, developing the themes of the first movie and setting up the stake for what now appears will be one of the best trilogies in superhero history. Packed with so much detail and creativity, it’s a film Netflix subscribers will want to watch over and over again. Do so while you still can.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse watch on netflix

The Woman King.

The Woman King

Year: 2022
Runtime: 2h 14m
Director: Gina Prince-Bythewood

Living legend Viola Davis stars in this retelling of the all-female warriors of the kingdom of Dahomey in the 19th century. She plays General Nansica, who trains young women to follow in her footsteps, and leads a rock star ensemble of future stars that includes Thuso Mbedu, Lashana Lynch, and Sheila Atim. You’ll know all their names soon enough.

The Woman King watch on netflix

Wonder Woman.

Wonder Woman

Year: 2017
Runtime: 2h 21m
Director: Patty Jenkins

Ignore the disastrous Wonder Woman 1984 and go back and check out the phenomenal 2017 Patty Jenkins original, the best non-Nolan film in the modern DC Universe. Gal Gadot stars in the title role and really anchors what’s an old-fashioned adventure film, one that owes as much to serial action flicks of the ‘40s and ‘50s as it does to movies with Batman and Superman.

Wonder Woman watch on netflix

Comedy

Blazing Saddles.

*Blazing Saddles

Year: 1974
Runtime: 1h 32m
Director: Mel Brooks

The ultimate “could they make that movie anymore” conversation piece remains one of the funniest films ever made. Cleavon Little plays the new Sheriff in town as Brooks and his team skewer Western genre conventions and race relations in a way that’s unforgettably hysterical. It’s quite literally one of the funniest movies ever made.

Blazing Saddles watch on netflix

The Blues Brothers.

*The Blues Brothers

Year: 1980
Runtime: 2h 12m
Director: John Landis

One of the most beloved comedies of all time, this musical classic stars John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd as Jake and Elwood Blues, characters they developed together on Saturday Night Live. The humor in John Landis’ classic has held up, but the music really holds it together, including appearances from James Brown, Cab Calloway, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, John Lee Hooker, and Chaka Khan.

The Blues Brothers watch on netflix

Lady Bird.

Lady Bird

Year: 2017
Runtime: 1h 33m
Director: Greta Gerwig

The Barbie director’s last Best Picture nominee is one of the most personal and striking coming-of-age films in years. Saoirse Ronan stars as the titular character, a young Californian who longs for someplace cooler than her own hometown. It’s a heartfelt and very smart film, buoyed by great performances throughout, including Ronan, Tracy Letts, Timothee Chalamet, Lucas Hedges, Beanie Feldstein, and Laurie Metcalf, who was robbed of that Oscar.

Lady Bird watch on netflix

Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Year: 1975
Runtime: 1h 29m
Director: Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones

During a hiatus between the third and fourth seasons of Monty Python’s Family Circus, the gang of mega-talented comedians decided to make movie history. Inspired by the King Arthur legend, Holy Grail is a timeless comedy, the rare kind of film that will still be making people laugh hundreds of years from now. And while the Monty Python boys were already famous, this film took them to another level, cementing their place in movie history.

Monty Python and the Holy Grail watch on Netflix

School of Rock.

*School of Rock

Year: 2003
Runtime: 1h 49m
Director: Richard Linklater

Richard Linklater directed Jack Black to the best comedy of his career in this movie about a guitarist who becomes a substitute teacher at a prep school and teaches the stuck-up kids there how to rock. It’s a smart, funny family comedy with a huge heart and one of Black’s most truly wonderful performances.

School of Rock watch on netflix

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

Year: 2010
Runtime: 1h 52m
Director: Edgar Wright

Michael Cera stars in Edgar Wright’s vibrant adaptation of Bryan Lee O’Malley’s graphic novel, a movie that feels like it could come out exactly the same way today, almost 15 years after its release. Wright’s style is perfect for this material, capturing the tone and structure of the source material with his razor-sharp editing and wit. Note: Netflix has returned to this world with the animated series Scott Pilgrim Takes Off.

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World watch on netflix

Horror

Black Swan.

Black Swan

Year: 2010
Runtime: 1h 48m
Director: Darren Aronofsky

Natalie Portman won her only Oscar for her fearless performance in Aronofsky’s study of commitment and madness. She plays a ballerina who will go to whatever lengths necessary to nail a new production of Swan Lake, even as she fends off the competition of a new dancer, played by Mila Kunis. Unforgettable and terrifying, it’s a true horror film that captures how dedication can be pushed far enough to tear apart reality.

Black Swan watch on netflix

Gerald’s Game.

Gerald’s Game

Year: 2017
Runtime: 1h 43m
Director: Mike Flanagan

Before he helmed The Haunting of Hill House, Mike Flanagan co-wrote and directed one of the best Netflix Original horror films in this adaptation of Stephen King’s 1992 novel of the same name. Carla Gugino is phenomenal as a woman who gets handcuffed to her bed by her toxic husband…and then he has a heart attack. As she tries to figure out how she will survive, she accesses the trauma of her past.

Gerald’s Game watch on netflix

For Kids & Family

How to Train Your Dragon.

*How to Train Your Dragon

Year: 2010
Runtime: 1h 39m
Director: Dean DeBlois, Chris Sanders

The movies based on the book by Cressida Cowell comprise one of the best trilogies of the 2010s. It all started with this DreamWorks adventure film about a boy (Jay Baruchel) who befriends a dragon named Toothless, despite his people’s fear of the flying creatures. A classic tale of never judging a book by its cover, How to Train Your Dragon is a beautiful tale, a movie with equal amounts of heart and spirit.

How to Train Your Dragon watch on netflix

Pinocchio.

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio

Year: 2022
Runtime: 1h 56m
Director: Guillermo del Toro, Mark Gustafson

The Oscar-winning director took his visionary skills to stop-motion animation with this instant classic, a retelling of the beloved fairy tale about the wooden boy who longed to be real. With spectacular voice work, this version reimagines Pinocchio during the period before World War II, allowing del Toro to explore his themes of innocence and violence again. It’s a deeply personal, beautiful film.

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio watch on netflix

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish.

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish

Year: 2023
Runtime: 1h 42m
Director: Joel Crawford

No one would have predicted that the presumed-dead Shrek franchise had another spin-off sequel of this caliber yet to be released, but December 2022 saw the critical and commercial success of arguably the best film in the entire series. Using a style more reminiscent of Into the Spider-verse than typical DreamWorks, The Last Wish is a gorgeous and surprisingly moving story of the title character dealing with something he never expected to face: mortality. It’s funny, clever, and memorable.

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish watch on netflix

Wendell & Wild.

Wendell & Wild

Year: 2022
Runtime: 1h 46m
Director: Henry Selick

The director of A Nightmare Before Christmas and Coraline finally returned this year with this clever and twisted tale co-written by Oscar winner Jordan Peele. The comedian also co-stars as one of the title characters, the literal demons for a girl who blames herself for the death of her parents. Selick is a master of stop-motion animation and this project allows him to stretch his visual prowess in new, gross ways. It’s a new Halloween classic (that can be watched any time, of course!)

Wendell & Wild watch on netflix

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