The Best Movies on Netflix Right Now

Too much to scroll through and not enough time to watch it all. These are the best movies streaming on Netflix right now, pulled straight from my reviews and updated every month as titles come and go. Every pick is something I’ve seen and stand behind, with a link to the full review if you want the long version.

Last updated: October 16, 2026

Looking for something scarier? Here are the best modern horror movies on Netflix.

THE END OF THE TOUR (2015)

Both life-affirming, deeply-affecting and willing to play a dangerous game of bringing you to the brink of tears, The End of the Tour is essential watching, a lovely, beautiful tragedy that will shake you to the bone.▶ Watch on Netflix · Read the full review

TOP GUN: MAVERICK (2022)

Top Gun: Maverick is precisely the type of old-school action blockbuster that Hollywood no longer makes, feel-good and utterly thrilling, with edge-of-your-seat stunt work and mesmerizing star power in the form of Tom Cruise. The legacy sequel doesn’t lean too much on nostalgia for its own sake, packing plenty of emotional heft and boasting pitch-perfect pacing that keeps audiences pumping their fists and celebrating as if they too were flying high in the skies with the Top Gun grads.▶ Watch on Netflix · Read the full review

ZOLA (2021)

Janicza Bravo’s snappy and stylized Zola is a bottle-rocket of artistic energy boasting four of the most-notable performances of the year from Taylour Paige, Riley Keough, Colman Domingo, and Nicholas Braun. An all-around electrifying watch despite a weak ending.▶ Watch on Netflix · Read the full review

PHANTOM THREAD (2017)

A beautiful and thought-provoking slice of cinematic perfection, Phantom Thread is just aces across the board. Smart, rebellious, sneakily funny, and strangely romantic, performed with the measured gusto of those working at the tippy top of their game, and characterized by sterling technical precision, Phantom Thread is a perfect representation of cinema at its most fine-tuned and narratively daring.▶ Watch on Netflix · Read the full review

22 JUMP STREET (2014)

While their matching at first looked like some kind of Frankenstein’s monster, in 22 Jump Street, they really are two peas in one hell of a funny pod.▶ Watch on Netflix · Read the full review

WIND RIVER (2017)

Wind River is an uncompromising, impressive motion picture, without any grandiose effort to be either.▶ Watch on Netflix · Read the full review

ZERO DARK THIRTY (2012)

To some, Zero Dark Thirty may overindulge in its 157 minute run time, but to call the end product unfulfilling is to misunderstand the journey.▶ Watch on Netflix · Read the full review

I SWEAR (2025)

I Swear, Kirk Jones’ biographical account of Tourette’s advocate John Davidson, is a moving and often very funny drama that finds compassion in contradiction, anchored by a breakout performance from Robert Aramayo.▶ Watch on Netflix · Read the full review

THE IMPOSSIBLE (2012)

It’s the realism that Bayona has honed in on and managed to simulate here that makes everything seem so important and at the same time thrilling.▶ Watch on Netflix · Read the full review

HOW TO HAVE SEX (2023)

Manning-Walker’s shattering film debut explores the self-inflicted violence of youth, famously opined to be wasted on the young, with great care before shifting to a heartbreaking meditation on sexual consent, steadied by a ravishingly raw central turn from newcomer Mia McKenna-Bruce. Even for a debut film, How to Have Sex feels explosive and must-see.▶ Watch on Netflix · Read the full review

GREEN ROOM (2016)

Jeremy Saulnier’s grotesquely violent Green Room pits a hapless punk band against a group of militant Neo Nazis in almost pornographically gruesome fashion. A relentlessly fierce examination of violence meets punk, this well-acted violent venture is a must for those compelled to see such material.▶ Watch on Netflix · Read the full review

NIGHTCRAWLER (2014)

If not for those few minor miscalculations, Nightcrawler could have driven itself into a sheer state of perfection.▶ Watch on Netflix · Read the full review

FRANCES HA (2013)

The comedy is easy and the drama meaningful in Baumbach and Gerwig’s Frances Ha, making it a perfect storm of societal commentary that doesn’t wield its satire like a knife’s edge but rather picks and jabs in a playful manner.▶ Watch on Netflix · Read the full review

SWISS ARMY MAN (2016)

One of the most bizarre and bizarrely beautiful films to grace the Sundance Dramatic Competition in quite some time, Swiss Army Man is not a film to be puzzled out in one go but that’s ok. It’s mightily entertaining, features two standout performances and has enough raw originality coursing through its veins to make it truly stand in a league of its own.▶ Watch on Netflix · Read the full review

ROMA (2018)

Alfonso Cuarón’s return behind the camera marks his most personal chapter yet in this subtle masterclass of filmmaking. Roma is a textured, richly-detailed dream; a sympathetic memory of maternal grace that’s anything but the placid surface it presents.▶ Watch on Netflix · Read the full review

UNDER THE SKIN (2014)

Under the Skin is sure to be the talk of cinephile’s niche circles like Enemy was last month and for good reason: it’s engaging, seductive and totally f*cked in the head.▶ Watch on Netflix · Read the full review

A QUIET PLACE: DAY ONE (2024)

Essentially an art film about a dying woman’s quest for a final slice of NYC pizza, trojan-horsed into a genre flick, A Quiet Place: Day One boasts an excellent performance by Lupita Nyong’o (Joseph Quinn is also outstanding), helping keep this franchise fresh, relevant, and true to form.▶ Watch on Netflix · Read the full review

HAMNET (2025)

A profoundly moving portrait of family, tragedy, and how art binds us, Hamnet is a stunning return to form for director Chloé Zhao, boasting one of the year’s best performances from Jessie Buckley and sure to leave you emotionally hammered.▶ Watch on Netflix · Read the full review

GREEN BOOK (2018)

Green Book works pretty much however you break it down. Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali are divine as a traveling odd couple, Peter Farrelly’s directorial skills are in sharp focus, and the story is both good-natured and vital. It’s the kind of family-friendly message movie that comes too infrequently, made with all the right attention to detail.▶ Watch on Netflix · Read the full review

THE GENTLEMEN (2020)

I absolutely loved The Gentlemen. It’s hip and hilarious. Punchy and penetrating. It can be a mean film but it means well. Its central goal is to keep the mob in the audience gratified and giggling into their popcorn buckets. In that respect, it’s a home run. I’m honestly hopeful we’ll see the sequel hinted at in the third act.▶ Watch on Netflix · Read the full review

ELYSIUM (2013)

Overflowing with sly wit and stylish cinematography, Elysium is a meaningful addition to a genre that is as much about prognosticating events to come as it is about action.▶ Watch on Netflix · Read the full review

BUGONIA (2025)

Amongst my favorite working directors, Yorgos Lanthimos has a way of poking at how we perceive reality that is unsettling, absurdist, and deeply satirical, and with Bugonia he applies an unsettling sci-fi edge to further knock us off-kilter. Emma Stone, shaved head and all, is great, but Jesse Plemons proves once again that he too is one of the greats.▶ Watch on Netflix · Read the full review

M3GAN (2022)

M3gan sets the stage for a strong 2023 with a horror-comedy that actually brings the laughs. And plenty of them. Though its never very scary, this never-dull camp-fest serves up societal anxieties aplenty, leaning into its ridiculous premise to mock our reliance on technology in every aspect of our modern lives. The two leads are sturdy as can be. See it with a packed crowd.▶ Watch on Netflix · Read the full review

DALLAS BUYERS CLUB (2013)

As a piece of cultural import, Dallas Buyers Club works so well because it is just as poignant look at drug administration as corporate bully and the monumental failings of the U.▶ Watch on Netflix · Read the full review

THE MENU (2022)

The Menu is a riotous dark satire that uses the upper-echelon of the food world to satirize class warfare. As if run through a Paco Jet, Ralph Fiennes delivers an icy tour-de-force as a mesmerizing, disturbed chef at the end of his rope. Full of twists and full-bellied laughs, consider The Menu a dish that should be consumed immediately.▶ Watch on Netflix · Read the full review

MARRIAGE STORY (2019)

As real and unblinking a tale of American divorce as there has ever been, ’Marriage Story earns career best performances from Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson who brilliantly wield Noah Baumbach’s powerful script to punch-drunk results.▶ Watch on Netflix · Read the full review

THE NORTHMAN (2022)

A cinematic wonder of Viking violence and old-school melodramatic barbarity, The Northman is an unrelenting and gruesome historic epic that showcases an absolutely berserk performance from Alexander Skarsgård and all the visual style and fascinating dialogue you’d expect from auteur Robert Eggers.▶ Watch on Netflix · Read the full review

28 YEARS LATER: THE BONE TEMPLE (2026)

Nia DaCosta proves a steady hand in continuing the 28 Years Later story, this time framing it as an ideological battle between two opposing forces: Ralph Fiennes’ atheist humanist Dr. Kelso and Jack O’Connell’s sadistic satanist Jimmy. The result is weird, singular, and enthusiastically carries the story forward.▶ Watch on Netflix · Read the full review

BOYHOOD (2014)

A monolith of cinema, Richard Linklater‘s Boyhood is a soaring accomplishment of product and process.▶ Watch on Netflix · Read the full review

1917 (2019)

1917 takes an intimate humanist approach to war epics to often staggering results, the proven pairing of Sam Mendes and cinematography Roger Deakins impress top technicians working at the top of their craft to tell a ground-level story of the solitude of heroism.▶ Watch on Netflix · Read the full review

Frequently asked questions

What are the best movies on Netflix right now?

This month’s top picks include The End of the Tour, Top Gun: Maverick, Zola, Phantom Thread and 22 Jump Street. The full list of 30 films is drawn from Silver Screen Riot reviews and updated monthly.

How often is this list updated?

Every month. Films that leave Netflix are removed, and newly added movies we’ve reviewed are added. Last updated October 16, 2026.

What are the best horror movies on Netflix?

See our separate guide to the best modern horror movies on Netflix: the best horror movies on Netflix