The 47 Best Movies on Netflix This Week

Netflix has plenty of movies to watch, but it’s a real mixed bag. Sometimes finding the right film at the right time can seem like an impossible task. Fret not, we’re here to help. Below is a list of some of our favorites currently on the streaming service—from dramas to comedies to thrillers.

If you decide you’re in more of a TV mood, head over to our collection of the best TV series on Netflix. Want more? Check out our lists of the best sci-fi movies, best movies on Amazon Prime, and the best flicks on Disney+.

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Six months into a solo mission to investigate a strange interstellar cloud beyond Jupiter, cosmonaut Jakub Procházka (Adam Sandler) might be going the teensiest bit stir crazy. How else to explain Hanuš, the giant telepathic spider (voiced by Paul Dano) who's just turned up on board? But with no one else to talk to, Jakub and his unlikely new traveling companion—who definitely can't be real, right?—begin to reflect on Jakub's life on Earth, including his fractured marriage to Lenka (Carey Mulligan), whom he abandoned for his current mission. Spaceman is undoubtedly a strange film and will be too dry by far for some—but it succeeds as an examination of loneliness and isolation, even within a relationship, exploring those themes through a very strange sci-fi lens.

Music student Andrew Neiman (Miles Teller) is an eager young jazz drummer, keen to follow in the footsteps of the greats of the genre. When he attracts the attention of Terence Fletcher (J.K. Simmons), the fierce conductor of his university's studio band, Andrew thinks he has found his break, dedicating himself to Fletcher's grueling rehearsal regime. Yet even as the sessions become increasingly brutal, with Fletcher physically assaulting and psychologically tormenting his students, Andrew throws himself in ever deeper, ignoring family and abandoning relationships—with potentially fatal consequences. A drama that often feels more like a horror due to the menacing presence of Simmons' Fletcher, Whiplash is a brutal look at the lengths people will go to in pursuit of greatness—whatever that means to them.

An intricate study of a cinematic masterpiece or two hours and 11 minutes of Gary Oldman lying around and getting tanked in bed? Mank is both. After Roma, David Fincher got his turn at a monochrome, prestige Netflick with this look at screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz, otherwise known as the guy who wrote Citizen Kane with Orson Welles. Or, more accurately, as the film demonstrates, for Orson Welles. All that old Hollywood fancy and snappy dialog is here, but Fincher's also interested in movie moguls, fake news, the women behind the men, and creative credit. Bonus points for Amanda Seyfried’s wonderful turn as actress Marion Davies.

A colossal hit in its native China, The Wandering Earth earned more than $700 million at the country's box office, prompting Netflix to snap up the rights to stream the sci-fi sensation internationally. The film follows a group of astronauts, sometime far into the future, attempting to guide Earth away from the Sun, which is expanding into a red giant. The problem? Jupiter is also in the way. While Earth is being steered by 10,000 fire-blowing engines that have been strapped to the surface, the humans still living on the planet must find a way to survive the ever-changing environmental conditions. An adaptation of a short story by Cixin Liu, this is the perfect lead-in for Netflix's upcoming adaptation of Liu's The Three-Body Problem.

By any measure, Masamune lives a normal teenage existence in his rural Japanese hometown—until the local steel works erupts, mysteriously sealing the entire town in an inexplicable time bubble where no one ages. As the small community struggles to adapt, a culture that fears change emerges, initially from the presumption that residents would need to rejoin the outside world as they left it, and eventually forbids even new relationships. Yet when Masamune's strange classmate Mutsumi lures him to the ill-fated factory and introduces him to a feral young girl who should not exist, the bizarre reality they all inhabit begins to collapse. A fantasy twist on notions of youthful rebellion, the prison of familiarity, and fears of change, Maboroshi—meaning "illusion"—is a dazzling sophomore feature from director Mari Okada—whose 2018 debut Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms won accolades around the globe—and one that firmly establishes her as one of the most exciting creators working in animation today.

Young Orion is afraid of everything—but especially the dark. Sure would be a shame if the manifestation of darkness itself turned up one night, huh? While a small twist in tone could make for a horror story, this charming animated feature from DreamWorks is instead a delight, as Dark—along with the other embodiments of the night, including Sweet Dreams and Insomnia—take Orion on a journey to show that the night isn't anything to be afraid of. Hitting similar vibes as Inside Out, this exploration of childhood fears—and overcoming them—makes for a great family feature.

Walter and Helga Willoughby love each other very much, with a passion that has withstood years of marriage. Unfortunately, they’re less enamored of their four children—Tim, Jane, and twins Barnaby A and Barnaby B (the parents having given up any pretense of caring about their progeny by that point). After putting up with years of abuse, the Willoughby kids have finally had enough—and hatch a scheme to get rid of their cruel parents and find a family that actually cares about them, by whatever means necessary. Based on the book by Lois Lowry, The Willoughbys tonally blends The Addams Family, A Series of Unfortunate Events, and the works of Roald Dahl—plus a dash of Wes Anderson’s trademark “rich people malaise” for flavor—to present a delightfully dark animated fable that’s mischievous enough for younger viewers while avoiding schmaltzy tropes about “the importance of family” that older watchers will be tired of. Better still, it’s all beautifully presented with a unique CGI animation style that adopts an almost stop-motion aesthetic, and packs in a phenomenal voice cast including Maya Rudolph, Terry Crews, and Jane Krakowski.

Written by and starring Ali Wong and Randall Park, Always Be My Maybe tells the story of two inseparable childhood friends whose lives veer dramatically apart after a grief-stricken rendezvous in their teenage years. Wong plays Sasha Tran, a superstar chef whose stratospheric career barely papers over the cracks in her faltering relationship. Park, meanwhile, plays Marcus Kim, whose ambitions have taken him no further than the local dive bar and his father's air conditioning firm. Fate—and a bizarre cameo from Keanu Reeves—conspire to bring the two leads back together in a thoughtful and hilarious romantic comedy.

A weekend getaway at a luxury vacation rental property for Amanda, Clay, and their kids, Archie and Rose, takes a sinister turn in the wake of an inexplicable blackout. When the house's owner, George, and his daughter, Ruth, return early, suspicions mount—but a growing herd of deer lurking outside the house, failing vehicles, and scattered reports of attacks across the country force the two families to rely on each other in the face of what may be the end of the world. Adapted from the novel of the same name by Rumaan Alam, and with a star-studded cast including Julia Roberts, Mahershala Ali, Ethan Hawke, Myha'la, and Kevin Bacon, this film relishes in keeping the audiences as uncertain as its characters are, explaining little and leaving questions you'll be mulling for days.

Written and directed by Dan Levy, this touching drama explores the difficulty of moving on from tragedy. When Marc's (Levy) husband Oliver dies, he is unable to grieve after learning of an affair—and a weekend in Paris with his supportive friends Sophie (Ruth Negga) and Thomas (Himesh Patel), each facing their own existential relationship dilemmas, only makes things worse when it's revealed Oliver was secretly renting an apartment there. While the mournful subject matter will be tonal whiplash for anyone drawn to this by Levy's performance in Schitt's Creek, Good Grief proves an empathetic exploration of the complexities of bereavement, one that's a lot warmer and more life-affirming than viewers might expect going in.

Directed by George C. Wolfe (Ma Rainey's Black Bottom), this biopic explores the life of civil rights activist Bayard Rustin. While perhaps best known as one of the chief organizers of 1963's March on Washington, Rustin was also openly, unapologetically gay at a time when that was phenomenally rare—and the film doesn't shy away from how that alienated many of the people he worked with, his sexuality often seen as a threat to the movement. A much-needed spotlight on an overlooked but pivotal figure in the Civil Rights Movement, elevated by a central performance from a spectacularly well-cast Colman Domingo as Rustin himself.

The long, long, long awaited sequel to 2000's classic Chicken Run is finally here, allowing studio Aardman Animations to once again prove itself the undisputed master of stop-motion animation. While it's been nearly a quarter-century for us, Dawn of the Nugget picks up shortly after Ginger (Thandiwe Newton) and Rocky (Zachary Levi) helped their entire flock fly the coop from Tweedy's Farm. With the arrival of daughter Molly (Bella Ramsey), life on an island bird sanctuary seems perfect—until Molly's rebellious teen phase sees her escape back to the mainland, only to face a new threat that makes getting baked into a pie look like a good option. While this goes into somewhat obvious territory for a sequel—Ginger and Rocky breaking into a facility to rescue Molly, versus the original's breakout—this is packed with all the wit and charm that made the original so beloved.

Leo has spent the last 74 years trapped in an elementary school classroom. Underappreciated but dedicated teacher? Nope: lizard, and long-suffering class pet. Finally deciding to live for himself, Leo sees a weekend in a student's care as a chance to make a break for freedom—only to discover he might have a penchant for teaching after all. Yes, a talking animal animated film could be cloying pablum, but with Adam Sandler at his most cantankerous voicing the titular tuatara, and with a script that manages to serve up some surprisingly insightful and poignant moments, Leo evolves into that rarest of beasts: a family feature that the whole family really can enjoy.

Fleeing war-torn South Sudan, Bol (Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù) and Rial (Wunmi Mosaku) are now living in a run-down house at the edge of London, harassed by their neighbors even as they try to fit in. The couple are also haunted by the lives they left behind—both figuratively and (possibly) literally, with visions of their late daughter Nyagak, who did not survive the journey, fading in and out of the walls of their dismal new home. The real horror of His House isn't the strange visions, haunted house, or potential ghosts, though—it’s the bleakness of the lives Bol and Rial are forced into, the hostility and dehumanization of the UK asylum process, the racism both overt and casual, all coupled with the enormous sense of loss they carry with them. Blending the macabre with the mundane, director Remi Weekes delivers a tense, challenging film that will haunt viewers as much as its characters.

Paul Edima (Richard Mofe-Damijo) lives a peaceful life as a church deacon, trying to atone for—or at least forget—his former deeds as a highly trained special agent. Plans to leave his violent and bloody past behind fall apart when his son is framed for a murder and then killed by corrupt police, forcing him to fall back on old skills as he seeks vengeance. Shades of Taken, yes, but it's director Editi Effiong's raw energy and fresh takes on familiar action movie formulas that—backed by one of the highest budgets in "Nollywood" history—have this gritty outing topping the most-watched lists as far afield as South Korea. Expand your cinematic horizons and see what the fuss is about.

There's about 110 miles of mean water between Cuba and Florida, filled with jellyfish, man o' wars, and sharks and prone to terrible weather. The idea of trying to swim the route solo might raise a few concerns, let alone doing it with as few protective measures as possible—but that's exactly what long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad did, and at the age of 64, no less. This biopic from directors Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin (Free Solo) casts Annette Bening as an almost monomaniacally obsessed Nyad, determined to prove to everyone—or maybe just herself—that she can complete the marathon swim that had bested her all her life. Meanwhile, Jodie Foster's turn as Bonnie Stoll, Nyad's friend, coach, and ex-partner, provides a sense of stability against the force of nature that the increasingly, almost dangerously determined Nyad becomes. While Nyad is somewhat more fanciful than Vasarhelyi and Chin's documentary works and glosses over some aspects of the real-life Nyad's history, it stands as a testament to human determination, friendship, and the power of sheer stubbornness.

This is a wild one—a Chilean black comedy satire reimagining dictator Augusto Pinochet as a centuries-old vampire who is just done with it and now craves his own final death. Not bizarre enough? As director and co-writer Pablo Larraín's farce continues, it incorporates Vampire Pinochet's children, the exorcist nun they hire to kill their father for the inheritance, a Russian vampire butler, and—in a gloriously deranged twist—Margaret Thatcher. Shot in black and white, and almost entirely in Spanish, El Conde sits somewhere in the space between high schlock and high art. It's absolutely not going to win everyone over, but if you're craving something different from cinema's norms, you can't get much more different than this.

Ignore its 41-minute runtime and set aside any arguments over whether its brevity "counts" as a movie—this fantastic outing sees Wes Anderson adapt a Roald Dahl work for the first time since 2009's Fantastic Mr. Fox, and the result is just as brilliant. Rather than stop-motion, as with Mr. Fox, this is a live-action affair headlined by a top tier performance from Benedict Cumberbatch as the eponymous Henry Sugar, a bored rich man who gains a strange power and ultimately uses it to better the world. With a broader cast including Dev Patel, Ralph Fiennes, and Ben Kingsley, and shot with all of Anderson's trademark aesthetic sensibilities, this really is a wonderful story. And, if you're still bothered by the short run time, take solace in the fact that this forms a tetraptych with The Rat Catcher, The Swan, and Poison; 15-minute shorts with same cast, directed by Anderson, and all adapting other Dahl tales in his signature style.