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What are the best new movies on Netflix? With the streaming service offering a wide array of comedies, action movies, thrillers, and more, it can be difficult to choose what to watch. Sure, Netflix aims to promote their latest releases to grab your attention. But just because it’s new doesn’t mean it’s worth your time.
Fret not. We’ve done the hard part for you. Below, you’ll find the very best Netflix original films of 2024, now streaming. Whether you want something heartwarming, mind-bending, pulse-racing, funny-bone-tickling, or gut-wrenching, we’ve got you covered with the top tier of Netflix’s new dramas, docs, true crime, animated movies, action-adventures, and more.
22. How to Rob a Bank
Netflix’s true crime section is so vast that it can be difficult to pluck the treasures from the trash. For every Amanda Knox, there’s a bunch of unsavory options. Thankfully, Amanda Knox producer Stephen Robert Morse teamed with Class Action Park director Seth Porges for this curious bank robber bio-doc, How to Rob a Bank.
Brought to life with animated reenactments, news footage, home movies, and a slew of interviews, the film unfurls the stranger-than-fiction story of a bank robber known to the police as “Hollywood.” This was because he had a penchant for modeling his crimes after movies (Point Break chief among them) and used prosthetic makeup to successfully disguise his face. But who was the man behind the mystique? Talking with the cops who tracked him and the family and friends who loved him, How to Rob a Bank explores that complicated question with unsettling results. — Kristy Puchko, Entertainment Editor
How to watch: How to Rob a Bank is now streaming on Netflix.
21. Damsel
She’s a damsel. She’s in distress. She can handle this. Have a nice day. Millie Bobby Brown gives one of her strongest performances to date in Damsel, Juan Carlos Fresnadillo’s film about a princess named Elodie who’s yeeted into a dragon’s lair by her extremely fresh prince husband (Nick Robinson) on their wedding day. But what seems like quite a flippant premise actually ends up being a kick-ass survival film.
There are plenty of surprises as Elodie scrambles to escape the cave using only her dress for equipment, before solving the mystery of why the hell she was thrown in there in the first place. Robin Wright and Angela Bassett are impeccable as the cold Queen Isabelle and Elodie’s loving stepmother, Lady Bayford, respectively. As Belen Edwards wrote in her review, “Yes, Damsel isn’t like most other fairy tales. But with its blend of dark fantasy and themes of self-empowerment, it makes for a gripping story that’s great fun to experience.” — Shannon Connellan, UK Editor
How to watch: Damsel is now streaming on Netflix.
20. Spaceman
When Adam Sandler teams up with Netflix, the results are often willfully stupid comedies like Hubie Halloween, The Do-Over, and the infamously repugnant Western The Ridiculous 6. But the Sandman’s been on a roll recently, with the sweet coming-of-age comedy You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah, which stars his real-life daughters; the charming animated musical Leo; and this bizarre and bittersweet sci-fi drama about a sad astronaut and a giant space spider voiced by Paul Dano.
Directed by Johan Renck and written by Colby Day, Spaceman (which is based on Jaroslav Kalfar’s novel Spaceman of Bohemia) stars Sandler as Czech astronaut Jakub Prochazka, who is six months deep on a solo mission. Back on Earth, his pregnant wife (Maestro‘s Carey Mulligan) is seriously considering dumping his oft-space-trekking butt. Enter Hanus, a giant, talking space spider who loves the hum of a toilet, the taste of Nutella, and giving life advice to his “skinny human” friend. Spaceman is as unexpected as it is surreal and strangely enchanting. — K.P.
How to watch: Spaceman is now streaming on Netflix.
19. Emilia Pérez
French filmmaker Jacques Audiard has previously wowed critics with dramas like Rust and Bone, A Prophet, and The Sisters Brothers. Now, he traverses daring new terrain with a musical with a telenovela plotline. Its story begins with a cartel boss (transgender telenovela star Karla Sofía Gascón), who is looking to leave a life of crime behind and become the woman she’s always believed she could be. This means transitioning through medical procedures, faking her death, and changing her name to Emilia Pérez. However, the film that bears her name also weaves in the dramatic journeys of the women around her, including her oft-stressed lawyer (Zoe Saldaña), the wife she leaves behind (Selena Gomez), and her new love interest (Adriana Paz). Passionate and provocative, it’s a musical that dances to its own beat.
In his Mashable review out of Cannes, Siddhant Adlakha wrote, “The Spanish-language Cannes title not only won Audiard the Jury Prize — the festival’s third most prestigious accolade — but it was also awarded the Best Actress trophy to not one but four of its central performances, each of which brings a unique thoughtfulness and passion to the screen… Above all else, the film’s four leading ladies are perfectly attuned to Audiard’s volatile mixture of operatic emotion and naturalistic cinematic influence. The result is a dazzling, dramatic high-wire act that’s always fun to watch, and is frequently invigorating, too.”* — K.P.
Starring: Zoe Saldaña, Karla Sofía Gascón, Selena Gomez, and Adriana Paz
How to watch: Emilia Pérez is now streaming on Netflix.
18. The Greatest Night in Pop
Travel back to 1985, when some of the biggest names in music — Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, Michael Jackson, Cyndi Lauper, Willie Nelson, Bette Midler, Bob Dylan, Ray Charles, and more — came together for a charity single in hopes of making a better world.
Centering on interviews with the artists and technicians who made the charity single “We Are the World,” this delightful doc is full of flashy anecdotes, zinging one-liners, and even some heartache. (You deserved better, Sheila E.!) While plenty of interviewees offer fun and insights, Lionel Richie, who also produced the doc, proves the MVP, providing not only plenty of context, but also some stellar impressions of Michael Jackson and his exotic pets.* — K.P.
How to watch: The Greatest Night in Pop is now streaming on Netflix.
17. The Union
Mark Wahlberg and Halle Berry team up for an action-comedy that is surprisingly charming! He’s a Boston everyman who works construction by day and by night hooks up with local hotties (including his former seventh-grade English teacher). She’s a globe-trekking secret agent — and his high school girlfriend — who shows up at their old dive bar out of the blue to invite him in on a secret mission. Together, they’re working for The Union.
Explosive espionage action blends with rom-com chemistry as Wahlberg and Berry delve into car chases, gun fights, and plenty of bouncy banter. J.K. Simmons brings gruff bravado, while Evil‘s Mike Colter delivers breathtaking swagger. Full of thrills, fun, and verve, The Union is a great pick for movie night at home. — K.P.
How to watch: The Union is now streaming on Netflix.
16. Orion and the Dark
Charlie Kaufman, the brilliantly twisted mind behind movies like Being John Malkovich, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and I’m Thinking of Ending Things, tried his hand at family-friendly fare in 2024 with Orion and the Dark.
Centering on a fearful 11-year-old boy (voiced by Jacob Tremblay), this adaptation of Emma Yarlett’s children’s book follows Orion on an adventure way past bedtime, when the Dark he feared comes out of hiding to introduce himself. Together, they travel the world with the creatures of night and learn what wonders can come from confronting what scares you. An animated adventure about the anxieties of children and their grown-ups, Orion and the Dark is a winsome and weird wonder for all ages. But maybe don’t watch it right before bed. It’s not nightmare fuel, but it’s so surreal it could toy with your dreams! — K.P.
How to watch: Orion and the Dark is now streaming on Netflix.
15. Maria
“‘Come with me,’ said the diva, and there was really no need to ask where.” Angelia Jolie gives an exquisite performance as prima donna assoluta Maria Callas in Pablo Larraín’s latest biopic, another of the Spencer director’s introspective, finely focused films about a famous, publicly scrutinised woman.
Wandering the gilded halls of her Parisian apartment in magnificent outfits and dropping erudite one-liners on her staff, we find the iconic opera singer retreated from public life, with her health in steep decline, mere days before her death at 53. Through a series of surreal chapters, Maria reflects on her life of audience adulation, esteemed opera career, suppressed trauma, and complicated love affairs — while her beloved butler and housekeeper watch her lose touch with reality. “What is real and what is not real is my business,” she quips.
Both a complex ode to a true diva and a fleeting overview of Callas’ seemingly glittering life in opera, Maria is indeed a film about music, bursting with music, with Larraín wielding silence as a brutal reminder of loss for his proud protagonist. And while lip-synching is an art form that’s gone either way for music biopic stars, Jolie makes you feel every one of Callas’ notes. — Shannon Connellan, UK Editor
How to watch: Maria will be in select cinemas on Nov. 27 before streaming on Netflix on Dec. 11.
14. Joy
If you don’t know about the beginnings of IVF, and what a landmark moment this was, you need to see Joy. Set in the late ’60s and early ’70s (with all the detailed costumes and intricate set details that go with it), Ben Taylor’s excellent debut directorial feature follows the British scientists who pioneered in vitro fertilization. The core cast — Thomasin McKenzie as nurse/embryologist Jean Purdy, James Norton as scientist Robert Edwards, Bill Nighy as surgeon Patrick Steptoe, and Tanya Moodie as operating theatre supervisor Muriel Harris — give brilliant performances as the persevering medical professionals who successfully worked toward the birth of Louise Joy Brown, the first baby born through IVF, on July 25, 1978.
The film not only explores the groundbreaking scientific innovation of this group, but also sees them facing battles on all fronts, within their crucial, difficult research, among their peers, and with the public — church, state, you name it, they’re up against it. Joy makes plenty of room to humanize and reflect on the bravery and sustained hope of the self-named “Ovum Club,” the courageous women who trialled early forms of IVF with the group, and includes beautiful, moving, deeply personal conversations around infertility as a medical issue under immense social pressure. — S.C.
How to watch: Joy is streaming on Netflix Nov. 22.
13. Ultraman: Rising
Forget Iron Man and Superman, and get ready for the epic adventures of Ultraman! The Japanese sci-fi hero has been the subject of TV shows, movies, and comic books dating back to 1966. But even if you’re not up on all that, don’t worry, because Ultraman: Rising is a terrific entry point for those new to the franchise.
Directed by Shannon Tindle, Ultraman: Rising is a vivid, animated action-comedy that centers on pro-baseball player Kenji “Ken” Sato (voiced by Days of Our Lives‘ star Christopher Sean) as he takes on the mantle of Ultraman. This means not only donning the signature masked, metal super suit and growing to massive size to battle kaijus, but also keeping his identity secret from the press — including keen-eyed reporter Ami Wakita (Julia Harriman). This balance becomes even more precarious when Ken accidentally adopts a baby kaiju, who is as adorable as she is catastrophically destructive. (So, basically your average toddler, but giant, with laser vision!) Packed to the brim with humor, heart, action, and parent-child bonding, Ultraman: Rising is the feel-good superhero 2024 needed. — K.P.
How to watch: Ultraman: Rising is now streaming on Netflix.
12. The Platform 2
Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia’s sequel takes us back to the nightmarish world of the original: A vertical prison with a table of food that travels slowly from the top to the bottom, with the prisoners at the top eating well — and the ones at the bottom starving to death.
“The original’s nightmarishly simple concept was so compelling I wanted to see more from that world, but I also worried about what a sequel could say or show that the first movie hadn’t,” I wrote in my Mashable review. “I’m happy to report my fears weren’t necessary. The Platform 2 is a powerful continuation of the bad dream that began with Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia’s 2019 movie, building upon its brutalist universe while changing the rules just enough to send a new message.”
Oh, and if you get to the end and you’re scratching your head a bit, we have an explainer here. — Sam Haysom, Deputy UK Editor
How to watch: The Platform 2 is now streaming on Netflix.
11. Daughters
This heartfelt documentary from directors Angela Patton and Natalie Rae explores the father-daughter relationships between four young Black girls and their incarcerated dads. More specifically, Daughters shows both sides of this bond as they prepare for a daddy-daughter dance, which is held within prison facilities to aid fathers in nurturing their connection even while incarcerated. At this lovely event, the girls will wear finery and their fathers don suits, and all get to share a dance and make treasured memories.
In Mashable’s review, critic Monica Castillo cheered, “Daughters is easily one of the best documentaries you’ll see all year. It’s enlightening, it’s moving, and it’s stunning to watch. Patton and Rae focus on the experience of four little girls to illustrate such a specific loss that’s often overlooked in conversations about the criminal justice system. The documentary leaves you with more to think about, some tears to dry, and perhaps the feeling you should call your dad to tell him you love him.” — K.P.
How to watch: Daughters is now streaming on Netflix.
10. Power
This brand-new doc from Oscar-nominated writer/director Yance Ford (Strong Island) examines the history of policing in the United States, from its roots in frontier militias, slave patrols, and strike-breaking to the symbiotic relationship of modern policing and the military, the murder of George Floyd, and Biden’s “fund the police” speech. Ford’s deft directorial hand, extensive archival footage, and voice-over asking viewers to be curious — if not downright skeptical about who the police serve and protect — makes this vital viewing. The scholarly interviews are grounded by time spent with Minneapolis Police Inspector Charlie Adams, who comes across as thoughtful and deeply empathetic.
While it’s not a particularly easy watch, Ford is especially considered about how this may affect viewers. (Watching footage of a person being murdered is, despite what social media may have you think, not your responsibility, and it is traumatizing.) As he told Netflix, “We chose to obscure the George Floyd murder in a way that completely blots out Mr. Floyd on the ground, but also as a result, highlights the officer and the two people who were demanding that he check Mr. Floyd’s pulse. In that way, one of the things that we achieved was this focus on who was complicit in Mr. Floyd’s murder and who had power to intervene but chose not to.” It’s this sort of brilliance in filmmaking and editing (kudos to co-writer/editor Ian Olds) that makes Power unmissable. — Jenni Miller, Contributing Writer
How to watch: Power is now streaming on Netflix.
9. It’s What’s Inside
One of the most mind-bending movies of 2024 begins with a slasher setup: Years after a dramatic falling-out, a gaggle of college friends reunite on the eve of one of their crew’s wedding to reconnect and party hard. But rather than a masked killer in their midst, the mayhem device in this clever thriller from writer/director Greg Jardin is a party game that offers players the power to swap bodies. Dare to give it a go?
Slipping into the skin of lovers, frenemies, and rivals, these twentysomethings flirt, fight, and deceive until a deadly turn raises the stakes. And every step of this movie is gleefully twisted. In his Mashable review, Siddhant Adlakha raved, “Wielding devilishly enjoyable visual language, it provides winking hints of catharsis that make even its most audacious, galaxy-brained genre swerves feel like a couple’s therapy session atop the world’s tallest, fastest roller coaster. It’s a frenetic and fascinating film that can’t be missed.” — K.P.
How to watch: It’s What’s Inside is now streaming on Netflix.
8. The Kitchen
Kibwe Tavares and Daniel Kaluuya’s film The Kitchen is more than a sci-fi drama set in near-future London; it’s a sharp commentary on privatization and oppression, police brutality, and the power of community resistance. It’s also Kaluuya’s directorial debut, and a hell of a watch.
Protagonists Izi (Top Boy star Kane Robinson) and Benji (Jedaiah Bannerman) live within the titular neighborhood known as The Kitchen, the last remaining bastion of independent housing in London. Plagued by brutal police raids and skint resources, the community is constantly under threat. It’s a brilliantly shot, superbly acted, and all-too-real cautionary tale. — S.C.
How to watch: The Kitchen is now streaming on Netflix.
7. The Imaginary
Director Yoshiyuki Momose, who had a hand in such Studio Ghibli classics as Spirited Away and Porco Rosso, offers a fresh tale of adventure with this animated darling.
The Imaginary centers on Rudger, a blonde boy who is the devoted imaginary friend to a mischievous little girl named Amanda. Together, they can get up to all kinds of extraordinary adventures. But when a strange man begins poking around, seeking to steal Rudger away, the boy will have to rely on his newfound community of “imaginaries” to get back to Amanda and save her from emotions so big they could swallow her whole. Featuring voice work from Louie Rudge-Buchanan, Evie Kiszel, Hayley Atwell, Sky Katz, Jeremy Swift, Kal Penn, LeVar Burton, and many more, this Netflix original is as full of charm as it is astounding visuals. — K.P.
How to watch: The Imaginary is now streaming on Netflix.
6. Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F
Coming back onto the scene 30 years after Beverly Hills Cop III flopped, this fourth installment of the comedic crime-solving adventures of Detroit police officer Axel Foley has no right to be as good as it is. Not only did screenwriters Will Beall, Tom Gormican, and Kevin Etten have to manage how public opinion has shifted when it comes to cops who play by their own rules, but also how to approach Axel’s wise-cracking sense of humor that traditionally put just about everyone in its crosshairs. Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F manages both in a way that gives fresh life to the character without casting aside the fans who loved his wild ways.
As I wrote in my rave review, “Eddie Murphy is as good as ever as Axel Foley.” Plus, he’s got his old friends, like John Ashton, Judge Reinhold, Paul Reiser, and Bronson Pinchot back and in action. It’s an absolute blast to see all these energies colliding, and yet there’s room for newcomers, like the dynamic Taylour Paige and the ever-solid Joseph Gordon-Levitt, both of whom prove to be compelling foils to the ever-quipping Murphy. “In the end, Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F isn’t just a great sequel, or an awesome action-comedy; it might just be the most entertaining movie of the year.” — K.P.
How to watch: Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F is now streaming on Netflix.
5. The Remarkable Life of Ibelin
World of Warcraft provides an eye-opening look into a deceased gamer’s online life in the documentary The Remarkable Life of Ibelin. The film introduces us to 25-year-old Mats Steen, who died in 2014 from Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Before he passed away, he spent much of his time gaming, leading his parents to believe that he led a solitary life. But when condolences and fond memories start pouring in from his fellow World of Warcraft players, they realize Mats was a key part of a vibrant community.
Director Benjamin Ree brings Mats’ time in WoW to life using animated recreations, showing how Mats, playing as his character Ibelin, fostered friendships in the game. Members of his role-playing guild also reveal the various ways in which he touched their lives. The result is a moving memorial to Mats that will certainly leave you teary, as well as a broader gesture to the power of online spaces and the digital ties that bind. — B.E.
How to watch: The Remarkable Life of Ibelin is now streaming on Netflix.
4. Rebel Ridge
Director Jeremy Saulnier serves up one of 2024’s best thrillers with Rebel Ridge, an unforgettable look at corruption in small-town America featuring a star-making turn from Aaron Pierre (The Underground Railroad).
‘Rebel Ridge’ review: Aaron Pierre and Jeremy Saulnier’s cop corruption thriller will floor you
Pierre plays ex-Marine Terry, who’s heading into the small town of Shelby Springs to post bail for his cousin. However, when cops pull him over and seize all his bail money, Terry’s forced to take matters into his own hands. His quest to save his cousin leads him down a rabbit hole of town-wide corruption, all stemming from the deeply maddening practice of civil asset forfeiture. The ensuing stand-off between Terry and the cops is a tour de force of perfectly calibrated tension, courtesy of Saulnier. And while there isn’t as much action as the film’s trailer may have you believe, the buildup to every brawl — plus Pierre’s commanding performance — gives each punch that much more weight. As I wrote in my review, Rebel Ridge “checks all the boxes any thriller aficionado could possibly want, and then some.” — B.E.
How to watch: Rebel Ridge is now streaming on Netflix.
3. Hit Man
Richard Linklater and Glen Powell reunite for Hit Man, a rom-com that is killer in all senses of the word.
Powell plays Gary Johnson, a college professor whose side gig as an undercover hit man leads to an unexpected meet-cute with would-be client Madison (Andor‘s Adria Arjona). The pair’s connection (and electrifying chemistry) sparks a delightful game of false identities, reinvention, and twisted love that toggles between hilarious, thrilling, and sexy at a moment’s notice. Oh, who am I kidding; sometimes it’s all three at once!* — B.E.
How to watch: Hit Man is now streaming on Netflix.
2. His Three Daughters
One of Mashable’s favorites out of TIFF 2023, His Three Daughters centers on a trio of sisters struggling to cope as their elderly father enters his final days of at-home hospice care. Stuck together in a cozy but emotionally claustrophobic New York City apartment, they face sibling rivalry, philosophical differences, and heated emotions.
Each member of writer/director Azazel Jacobs’ cast is stellar. And as I wrote in my review, “His Three Daughters is a simple but elegant drama that grapples with the ugliness of grief and comes out with as happy an ending as a shattering death might bring. It’s chaotic, charismatic, and ultimately cathartic.” Don’t pass it up.* — K.P.
How to watch: His Three Daughters is now streaming on Netflix.
1. Will & Harper
Since their early days at Saturday Night Live, Will Ferrell and Harper Steele have had a strong connection when it comes to comedy. This would flourish as they made movies together, including the sublime Lifetime movie parody A Deadly Adoption, the absolutely epic musical comedy Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, and now their most personal of all, Will & Harper. Helmed by Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar director Josh Greenbaum, this documentary follows the two longtime friends and colleagues on a road trip across America, as they navigate what their friendship means now that Harper has come out as a trans woman.
While her devoted pal is by her side at visits to dive bars, pro basketball games, and a surly Texas steakhouse, not all of the Americans they run across are so welcoming. Through this vulnerable and wonderfully vibrant film, this dynamic duo offers plenty of jokes, but also a thoughtful exploration of what it means to be trans in America in this moment. In Mashable’s review out of TIFF, I declared, “Will & Harper is a resoundingly joyful and moving documentary, resplendent in its openness. It’s their love story, and it’s glorious.” — K.P.
How to watch: Will & Harper is now streaming on Netflix.
* denotes that this blurb appeared in a previous Mashable list.
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All the best new movies on Netflix that are streaming now, in 2024.
