If you’re looking for the best movies on Netflix to stream right now, then you have come to the right place. There are several thousand new titles on Netflix every single year, which can make deciding what to watch on any given night rather difficult.
We’re here to help with a list of the 42 best movies on Netflix. We will continue to update this post throughout the year as new movies start streaming on Netflix.
We’ll add new movies at the top every week, and expiring movies will be removed.
All Quiet on the Western Front (2022) – New
- Director: Edward Berger
- Cast: Felix Kammerer, Albrecht Schuch, Aaron Hilmer
- Running time: 148 minutes
Synopsis: “When 17-year-old Paul joins the Western Front in World War I, his initial excitement is soon shattered by the grim reality of life in the trenches.”
Watch now on Netflix
The Good Nurse (2022) – New
- Director: Tobias Lindholm
- Cast: Eddie Redmayne, Jessica Chastain, Nnamdi Asomugha
- Running time: 123 minutes
Synopsis: “An overburdened ICU nurse leans on her selfless new colleague at work and at home — until a patient’s unexpected death casts him in a suspicious light.”
Watch now on Netflix
Moneyball (2011) – New
- Director: Bennett Miller
- Cast: Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman
- Running time: 133 minutes
Synopsis: “Frustrated that his baseball team can’t afford big-money players, Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane bets on a bold new strategy to change the game.”
Watch now on Netflix
Wendell & Wild (2022) – New
- Director: Henry Selick
- Cast: Keegan-Michael Key, Jordan Peele, Angela Bassett
- Running time: 106 minutes
Synopsis: “Two scheming demons strike a deal with a punk rock-loving teen so they can leave the Underworld and live out their dreams in the Land of the Living.”
Watch now on Netflix
Doll House (2022)
- Director: Marla Ancheta
- Cast: Baron Geisler, Althea Ruedas, Mary Joy Apostol
- Running time: 106 minutes
Synopsis: “A troubled lead singer of a rock band sets out to rekindle the relationship he never had with his long-lost daughter.”
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Mr. Harrigan’s Phone (2022)
- Director: John Lee Hancock
- Cast: Donald Sutherland, Jaeden Martell, Joe Tippett
- Running time: 106 minutes
Synopsis: “Craig, a young boy, befriends the elderly billionaire John Harrigan. Craig then gives him a mobile phone. However, when the man dies, Craig discovers that he can communicate with his friend from the grave.”
Watch now on Netflix
A Silent Voice (2016)
- Director: Naoko Yamada
- Cast: Miyo Irino, Saori Hayami, Aoi Yūki
- Running time: 130 minutes
Synopsis: “When a grade school student with impaired hearing is bullied mercilessly, she transfers to another school. Years later, one of her former tormentors sets out to make amends.”
Watch now on Netflix
The Color Purple (1985)
- Director: Steven Spielberg
- Cast: Danny Glover, Whoopi Goldberg, Margaret Avery
- Running time: 153 minutes
Synopsis: “An epic tale spanning forty years in the life of Celie (Whoopi Goldberg), an African-American woman living in the South who survives incredible abuse and bigotry. After Celie’s abusive father marries her off to the equally debasing “Mister” Albert Johnson (Danny Glover), things go from bad to worse, leaving Celie to find companionship anywhere she can. She perseveres, holding on to her dream of one day being reunited with her sister in Africa. Based on the novel by Alice Walker.”
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Gladiator (2000)
- Director: Ridley Scott
- Cast: Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen
- Running time: 155 minutes
Synopsis: “Set in Roman times, the story of a once-powerful general forced to become a common gladiator. The emperor’s son is enraged when he is passed over as heir in favour of his father’s favourite general. He kills his father and arranges the murder of the general’s family, and the general is sold into slavery to be trained as a gladiator – but his subsequent popularity in the arena threatens the throne.”
Watch now on Netflix
Klaus (2019)
- Director: Sergio Pablos
- Cast: Jason Schwartzman, J.K. Simmons, Rashida Jones
- Running time: 97 minutes
Synopsis: “After proving himself to be the worst student at the academy, a postman is sent to a frozen town in the North where he discovers a reclusive toymaker named Klaus.”
Watch now on Netflix
Hustle (2022)
- Director: Jeremiah Zagar
- Cast: Adam Sandler, Queen Latifah, Ben Foster
- Running time: 118 minutes
Synopsis: “After a down-on-his-luck basketball scout discovers an extraordinary player abroad, he brings the phenom back without his team’s approval.”
Watch now on Netflix
National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983)
- Director: Harold Ramis
- Cast: Chevy Chase, Beverly D’Angelo, John Candy
- Running time: 98 minutes
Synopsis: “Accompanied by their children (Dana Barron, Anthony Michael Hall), Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) and his wife, Ellen (Beverly D’Angelo), are driving from Illinois to a California amusement park. As Clark increasingly fixates on a beautiful woman driving a sports car, the Griswolds deal with car problems and the death of a family member. They reach Los Angeles, but, when Clark worries that the trip is being derailed again, he acts impulsively to get his family to the park.”
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The Nice Guys (2016)
- Director: Shane Black
- Cast: Russell Crown, Ryan Gosling, Angourie Rice
- Running time: 116 minutes
Synopsis: “Holland March (Ryan Gosling) is a down-on-his-luck private eye in 1977 Los Angeles. Jackson Healy (Russell Crowe) is a hired enforcer who hurts people for a living. Fate turns them into unlikely partners after a young woman named Amelia (Margaret Qualley) mysteriously disappears. Healy and March soon learn the hard way that some dangerous people are also looking for Amelia. Their investigation takes them to dark places as anyone else who gets involved in the case seems to wind up dead.”
Watch now on Netflix
Ocean’s Eleven (2001)
- Director: Steven Soderbergh
- Cast: George Clooney, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt
- Running time: 116 minutes
Synopsis: “Dapper Danny Ocean (George Clooney) is a man of action. Less than 24 hours into his parole from a New Jersey penitentiary, the wry, charismatic thief is already rolling out his next plan. Following three rules: Don’t hurt anybody, don’t steal from anyone who doesn’t deserve it, and play the game like you’ve got nothing to lose. Danny orchestrates the most sophisticated, elaborate casino heist in history.”
Watch now on Netflix
Risky Business (1983)
- Director: Paul Brickman
- Cast: Tom Cruise, Rebecca De Mornay, Joe Pantoliano
- Running time: 99 minutes
Synopsis: “Ecstatic when his parents leave on vacation for a few days, high school senior Joel Goodsen (Tom Cruise) cuts loose with his best friend Miles. After an attempt at securing the services of a prostitute goes slightly awry, Joel hires gorgeous Lana (Rebecca De Mornay) for a night of delight. Stunned by the amount of Lana’s “bill” the next morning, Joel grows frantic after he crashes his father’s Porsche. In an effort to raise lots of money fast, a desperate Joel turns the house into a brothel.”
Watch now on Netflix
Rush (2013)
- Director: Ron Howard
- Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Daniel Brühl, Olivia Wilde
- Running time: 123 minutes
Synopsis: “In the mid-1970s, charismatic English playboy James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth) and Austrian perfectionist Niki Lauda (Daniel Brühl) share an intense rivalry in Formula 1 racing. Driving vehicles that are little more than gas-filled, rolling bombs, Hunt and Lauda burn up the track, all the while pushing themselves to the breaking point of physical and mental endurance. Meanwhile, the women (Olivia Wilde, Alexandra Maria Lara) in their lives can only watch as both drivers risk death with every lap.”
Watch now on Netflix
Rush Hour (1998)
- Director: Brett Ratner
- Cast: Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker, Tzi Ma
- Running time: 98 minutes
Synopsis: “When a Chinese diplomat’s daughter is kidnapped in Los Angeles, he calls in Hong Kong Detective Inspector Lee (Jackie Chan) to assist the FBI with the case. But the FBI doesn’t want anything to do with Lee, and they dump him off on the LAPD, who assign wisecracking Detective James Carter (Chris Tucker) to watch over him. Although Lee and Carter can’t stand each other, they choose to work together to solve the case on their own when they figure out they’ve been ditched by both the FBI and police.”
Watch now on Netflix
Wedding Crashers (2005)
- Director: David Dobkin
- Cast: Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughn, Christopher Walken
- Running time: 119 minutes
Synopsis: “Jeremy (Vince Vaughn) and John (Owen Wilson) are divorce mediators who spend their free time crashing wedding receptions. For the irrepressible duo, there are few better ways to drink for free and bed vulnerable women. So when Secretary of the Treasury William Cleary (Christopher Walken) announces the wedding of his daughter, the pair make it their mission to crash the high-profile event. But their game hits a bump in the road when John locks eyes with bridesmaid Claire (Rachel McAdams).”
Watch now on Netflix
What We Leave Behind (2022)
- Director: Iliana Sosa
- Running time: 70 minutes
Synopsis: “Following the life of Julian Moreno, an 89-year-old who has made a 17 hour bus ride every month from Primo de Verdad, Mexico, to visit family in El Paso, Texas.”
Watch now on Netflix
Casino Royale (2006)
- Director: Martin Campbell
- Cast: Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Mads Mikkelsen
- Running time: 144 minutes
Synopsis: “After receiving a license to kill, British Secret Service agent James Bond (Daniel Craig) heads to Madagascar, where he uncovers a link to Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen), a man who finances terrorist organizations. Learning that Le Chiffre plans to raise money in a high-stakes poker game, MI6 sends Bond to play against him, gambling that their newest “00” operative will topple the man’s organization.”
Watch now on Netflix
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009)
- Director: Phil Lord & Christopher Miller
- Cast: Bill Hader, Anna Faris, James Caan
- Running time: 90 minutes
Synopsis: “When hard times hit Swallow Falls, its townspeople can only afford to eat sardines. Flint Lockwood, a failed inventor, thinks he has the answer to the town’s crisis. He builds a machine that converts water into food, and becomes a local hero when tasty treats fall from the sky like rain. But when the machine spins out of control and threatens to bury the whole world under giant mounds of food, Flint finds he may have bitten off more than he can chew.”
Watch now on Netflix
The End of Evangelion (1997)
- Director: Kazuya Tsurumaki & Hideaki Anno
- Cast: Megumi Ogata, Megumi Hayashibara, Yūko Miyamura
- Running time: 87 minutes
Synopsis: “NERV face off against the Eighteenth Angel, humanity itself, but in the end the fate of the world depends upon Shinji’s choices.”
Watch now on Netflix
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)
- Director: John Hughes
- Cast: Matthew Broderick, Mia Sara, Alan Ruck
- Running time: 103 minutes
Synopsis: “Ferris Bueller (Matthew Broderick) has an uncanny skill at cutting classes and getting away with it. Intending to make one last duck-out before graduation, Ferris calls in sick, “borrows” a Ferrari, and embarks on a one-day journey through the streets of Chicago. On Ferris’ trail is high school principal Rooney (Jeffrey Jones), determined to catch him in the act.”
Watch now on Netflix
The Hunt for Red October (1990)
- Director: John McTiernan
- Cast: Sean Connery, Alec Baldwin, Scott Glenn
- Running time: 135 minutes
Synopsis: “Based on the popular Tom Clancy novel, this suspenseful movie tracks Soviet submarine captain Marko Ramius (Sean Connery) as he abandons his orders and heads for the east coast of the United States. Equipped with innovative stealth technology, Ramius’ submarine, “Red October,” is virtually invisible. However, when an American sub briefly detects the Russians’ presence, CIA agent Jack Ryan (Alec Baldwin) sets out to determine Ramius’ motives, fearing he may launch an attack on the U.S.”
Watch now on Netflix
Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016)
- Director: Taika Waititi
- Cast: Sam Neill, Julian Dennison, Rhys Darby
- Running time: 101 minutes
Synopsis: “A boy (Julian Dennison) and his foster father (Sam Neill) become the subjects of a manhunt after they get stranded in the New Zealand wilderness.”
Watch now on Netflix
The Hurt Locker (2008)
- Director: Kathryn Bigelow
- Cast: Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty
- Running time: 131 minutes
Synopsis: “Following the death of their well-respected Staff Sergeant in Iraq, Sergeant JT Stanborn and Specialist Owen Eldridge find their Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit saddled with a very different team leader. Staff Sergeant William James is an inveterate risk-taker who seems to thrive on war, but there’s no denying his gift for defusing bombs.”
Watch now on Netflix
If Beale Street Could Talk (2018)
- Director: Barry Jenkins
- Cast: Adale Romanski, Sara Murphy, Dede Gardner
- Running time: 117 minutes
Synopsis: “In early 1970s Harlem, daughter and wife-to-be Tish vividly recalls the passion, respect and trust that have connected her and her artist fiancé Alonzo Hunt, who goes by the nickname Fonny. Friends since childhood, the devoted couple dream of a future together, but their plans are derailed when Fonny is arrested for a crime he did not commit.”
Watch now on Netflix
The Irishman (2019)
- Director: Martin Scorsese
- Cast: Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci
- Running time: 209 minutes
Synopsis: “In the 1950s, truck driver Frank Sheeran gets involved with Russell Bufalino and his Pennsylvania crime family. As Sheeran climbs the ranks to become a top hit man, he also goes to work for Jimmy Hoffa — a powerful Teamster tied to organized crime.”
Watch now on Netflix
It (2017)
- Director: Andy Muschietti
- Cast: Jaeden Lieberher, Bill Skarsgård, Jeremy Ray Taylor
- Running time: 135 minutes
Synopsis: “Seven young outcasts in Derry, Maine, are about to face their worst nightmare — an ancient, shape-shifting evil that emerges from the sewer every 27 years to prey on the town’s children. Banding together over the course of one horrifying summer, the friends must overcome their own personal fears to battle the murderous, bloodthirsty clown known as Pennywise.”
Watch now on Netflix
It Follows (2014)
- Director: David Robert Mitchell
- Cast: Maika Monroe, Keir Gilchrist, Daniel Zovatto
- Running time: 100 minutes
Synopsis: “After carefree teenager Jay (Maika Monroe) sleeps with her new boyfriend, Hugh (Jake Weary), for the first time, she learns that she is the latest recipient of a fatal curse that is passed from victim to victim via sexual intercourse. Death, Jay learns, will creep inexorably toward her as either a friend or a stranger. Jay’s friends don’t believe her seemingly paranoid ravings, until they too begin to see the phantom assassins and band together to help her flee or defend herself.”
Watch now on Netflix
Marriage Story (2019)
- Director: Noah Baumbach
- Cast: Scarlett Johannson, Adam Driver, Laura Dern
- Running time: 137 minutes
Synopsis: “A stage director and his actor wife struggle through a gruelling, coast-to-coast divorce that pushes them to their personal and creative extremes.”
Watch now on Netflix
The Meyerowitz Stories (2017)
- Director: Noah Baumbach
- Cast: Adam Sandler, Ben Stiller, Dustin Hoffman
- Running time: 112 minutes
Synopsis: “Estranged siblings come together to celebrate their father and his work as an artist. Harold Meyerowitz’s children reunite in New York.”
Watch now on Netflix
Mirai (2018)
- Director: Mamoru Hosoda
- Cast: Moka Kamishiraishi, Haru Kuroki, Gen Hoshino
- Running time: 98 minutes
Synopsis: “A young boy named Kun feels forgotten by his family when his little sister Mirai arrives. Running away from home, Kun stumbles upon a magical garden that serves as a time-travelling gateway where he encounters his mother as a little girl and has a series of adventures with his baby sister, who is all grown up, opening a new perspective on his world.”
Watch now on Netflix
The Mitchells vs. the Machines (2021)
- Director: Mike Rianda
- Cast: Abbi Jacobson, Danny McBride, Maya Rudolph
- Running time: 114 minutes
Synopsis: “Young Katie Mitchell embarks on a road trip with her proud parents, younger brother and beloved dog to start her first year at film school. But their plans to bond as a family soon get interrupted when the world’s electronic devices come to life to stage an uprising. With help from two friendly robots, the Mitchells must now come together to save one another — and the planet — from the new technological revolution.”
Watch now on Netflix
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
- Director: Terry Gilliam & Terry Jones
- Cast: Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle
- Running time: 92 minutes
Synopsis: “A comedic send-up of the grim circumstances of the Middle Ages as told through the story of King Arthur and framed by a modern-day murder investigation. When the mythical king of the Britons leads his knights on a quest for the Holy Grail, they face a wide array of horrors, including a persistent Black Knight, a three-headed giant, a cadre of shrubbery-challenged knights, the perilous Castle Anthrax, a killer rabbit, a house of virgins, and a handful of rude Frenchmen.”
Watch now on Netflix
Paddington (2014)
- Director: Paul King
- Cast: Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, Julie Walters
- Running time: 95 minutes
Synopsis: “After a deadly earthquake destroys his home in Peruvian rainforest, a young bear (Ben Whishaw) makes his way to England in search of a new home. The bear, dubbed “Paddington” for the london train station, finds shelter with the family of Henry (Hugh Bonneville) and Mary Brown (Sally Hawkins). Although Paddington’s amazement at urban living soon endears him to the Browns, someone else has her eye on him: Taxidermist Millicent Clyde (Nicole Kidman) has designs on the rare bear and his hide.”
Watch now on Netflix
The Power of the Dog (2021)
- Director: Jane Campion
- Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons
- Running time: 126 minutes
Synopsis: “A domineering rancher responds with mocking cruelty when his brother brings home a new wife and her son, until the unexpected comes to pass.”
Watch now on Netflix
RRR (2022)
- Director: S. S. Rajamouli
- Cast: N. T. Rama Rao Jr., Ram Charan, Ajay Devgn
- Running time: 182 minutes
Synopsis: “A tale of two legendary revolutionaries and their journey far away from home. After their journey they return home to start fighting back against British colonialists in the 1920s.”
Watch now on Netflix
The Sea Beast (2022)
- Director: Chris Williams
- Cast: Karl Urban, Zaris-Angel Hator, Jared Harris
- Running time: 119 minutes
Synopsis: “A young girl stows away on the ship of a legendary sea monster hunter, turning his life upside down as they venture into uncharted waters.”
Watch now on Netflix
Spider-Man 2 (2004)
- Director: Sam Raimi
- Cast: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco
- Running time: 127 minutes
Synopsis: “When a failed nuclear fusion experiment results in an explosion that kills his wife, Dr. Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina) is transformed into Dr. Octopus, a cyborg with deadly metal tentacles. Doc Ock blames Spider-Man (Tobey Maguire) for the accident and seeks revenge. Meanwhile, Spidey’s alter ego, Peter Parker, faces fading powers and self-doubt. Complicating matters are his best friend’s (James Franco) hatred for Spider-Man and his true love’s (Kirsten Dunst) sudden engagement to another man.”
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