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50 best films to watch on Netflix right now
Some of the best movies on Netflix right now include Inception, Sing, Wicked: Part One, Animals, Anora and Teenage Wasteland. Updated weekly.
- Radio Times staff
Published: Friday, 6 November 2026 at 4:57 pm
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Struggling to decide what to watch on your next movie night? Streaming giant Netflix's vast catalogue is packed with films for every mood and occasion, and we can guide you to the best of the bunch.
A recent addition to the service is Inception, in which director Christopher Nolan turns the puzzle-box ingenuity of Memento into a spectacular dreamscape, with Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tom Hardy and Marion Cotillard leading a superb cast. Cities fold and dreams nest within dreams, but beneath the dazzling trickery beats a human heart.
Matthew McConaughey leads the voice cast of family favourite Sing, a colourful musical comedy about a koala theatre owner who stages a singing competition in a bid to save his struggling venue. Other starry names that feature include Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johansson and Taron Egerton.
Another film for all ages is Wicked: Part One, the spectacular musical fantasy revealing the untold story of Oz’s witches, as the misunderstood Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) and popular Glinda (Ariana Grande) forge an unlikely friendship that changes both their lives.
In Star Trek Beyond, Simon Pegg (and co-writer Doug Jung) hit warp speed with a screenplay that honours Gene Roddenberry's original vision yet leaves plenty of room for Justin Lin, director of the best Fast & Furious films, to do his thing. Zachary Quinto is on typically fine form as Spock. The result: wry humour, droll camaraderie, space operatics and thrills, lots of thrills.
Godzilla Minus One is a standalone film that takes us back to basics in post-war Japan. But the latest entry in this 70 year old franchise is anything but basic. It follows a former WWII kamikaze pilot named Kōichi Shikishima (Ryunosuke Kamiki), who ended up on Odo Island just as a monster soon to be named Godzilla shows up and destroys the place. Only Kōichi and mechanic Sōsaku Tachibana (Munetaka Aoki) survived, but even two years later, the guilt of surviving when the others didn't still plagues his every moment.
New to the platform is gripping political thriller Animals, directed by and starring Ben Affleck. When the teenage son of a Los Angeles mayoral candidate is kidnapped, he and his wife are plunged into a desperate race to secure the ransom, uncovering a web of secrets, lies and moral compromises that threaten both their family and political future. Co-starring Kerry Washington, Gillian Anderson and Steven Yeun, the tense drama combines family stakes with high-pressure political intrigue.
Read on for our latest picks of the best films on Netflix – from recent releases like Train Dreams and Remarkably Bright Creatures to classics like We Don't Live Here Anymore and originals such as Roma – or head over to our guides to the best series on Netflix and best documentaries on Netflix.
Alternatively, check out our helpful list of Netflix secret codes, which can help you unlock hidden movies and TV shows.
Updated weekly.
Showing 1 to 24 of 50 results
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2016
Animation
Romance
U
Animated comedy musical featuring the voices of Matthew McConaughey, Scarlett Johansson and Reese Witherspoon. Buster Moon, the koala owner of a failing theatre, decides to hold a talent show to save it. However, a printing error adds two zeroes to the $1,000 prize, resulting in a stampede of contestants - and a big headache for Buster.
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2010
Sci-fi
Thriller
12
Action thriller starring Leonardo DiCaprio as a corporate spy who steals ideas from dreams. But his latest, most dangerous assignment requires him to implant a thought and it pulls him deep into a battle with his own subconscious where he is haunted by memories of his dead love.
-
2005
Documentary
Drama
PG
George Clooney directs and co-stars with David Strathairn in this thought-provoking period drama based on the true story of the CBS news team's fight to broadcast criticism of senator Joe McCarthy during his communist witch-hunts of the early 1950s.
-
2016
Sci-fi
Action
12
Sci-fi adventure starring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto and Idris Elba. Three years into its five-year mission, the USS Enterprise stops off at a remote outpost for maintenance and provisions. There the crew answer a distress call from a stranded ship, but they are attacked by an army of unknown aliens that overwhelms the Enterprise.
-
2025
Documentary
Music
12A
Documentary tracing the origins of the influential rock band and the recording of their first two albums in the late 1960s. Surviving members Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and John Paul Jones recall forming the band with drummer John Bonham, their electrifying early gigs and the sessions that would produce some of the most iconic songs in rock 'n' roll history.
-
2012
Comedy
Romance
15
Romantic comedy drama starring Bradley Cooper and an Oscar-winning Jennifer Lawrence. Thirty-something Pat is discharged after a mandatory stay in a mental-health institution imposed on him after he assaulted his wife's lover. After moving back in with his parents, Pat continues to struggle with his bipolar disorder - a situation made worse by his refusal to take medication. When he meets young widow Tiffany, they form an uneasy friendship, despite Tiffany having problems of her own.
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2023
Adventure
Fantasy
12A
Monster horror starring Ryunosuke Kamiki. Towards the end of the Second World War, kamikaze pilot Koichi witnesses a devastating attack on a small island by a gigantic, lizard-like sea creature dubbed "gojira". Years later, the same creature re-emerges and begins to wreak terrible destruction on Japan. Koichi is haunted by his failure to act the first time around - can he now step up and help to defeat the monster?
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2024
Fantasy
Music
PG
Fantasy musical starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande-Butera. Elphaba Thropp is an outcast among the citizens of Oz due to her green skin and magical powers. When she arrives at the prestigious Shiz University, she is given a chance to develop her abilities and finds an unlikely friend in the popular Galinda. But something's rotten in the state of Oz, and the two young women arrive at a crossroads from which there'll be no turning back.
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2015
Drama
Romance
12A
Romantic drama starring Saoirse Ronan and Domhnall Gleeson. County Wexford, 1950: young Eilis Lacey is sponsored for a job in America by a visiting priest and so she leaves her mother and sister for New York. The metropolis offers the chance of a career and romance, but the big city can be a lonely place for a small-town girl.
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2014
Animation
Comedy
U
Animated comedy adventure featuring the voices of Will Ferrell and Chris Pratt. When the evil Lord Business attempts to take over the Lego world using a mystical super-weapon called the Kragle, it falls to an unlikely hero, construction worker Emmet, to save the day.
-
2026
Thriller
Crime/detective
15
Ben Affleck returns to the director's chair for the first time since 2023's sporting drama Air to helm, co-write and star in this tense political thriller. Los Angeles mayoral candidate Mark Kimball (Ben Affleck) has invested the majority of his family's personal fortune into his high-profile campaign, supported by his wife Abigail (Kerry Washington) and son Denny (Christopher Woodley). When Denny is kidnapped and held for ransom, the Kimballs have a few precious hours to conjure up money they don't have. Mysterious fixer Dayle (Gillian Anderson) is drafted in to oversee the negotiation, which may involve Mark and Abigail revealing the dark secrets they never intended to bring to light
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1957
Drama
War
PG
Second World War epic starring Alec Guinness, William Holden and Jack Hawkins. Despite being held in a Japanese PoW camp in Burma, Colonel Nicholson still runs his regiment by the military textbook. However, Nicholson meets his match in the equally stubborn prison commander Colonel Saito, and the two find themselves on a collision course when Saito gets orders to build a strategically important railway bridge.
-
2023
Drama
Documentary
18
Historical drama telling the remarkable story of Irena Gut as she risked her life to save a generation of Jews from the atrocities of the Holocaust
-
1998
Animation
Crime/detective
18
A fading pop idol attempts to salvage her career by joining a soap opera, but her life soon takes a sinister twist. She begins to imagine a mirror-image of herself as a singing star, Internet sites about her appear, a stalker follows her every move and friends are threatened and even killed. Will she ever be able to separate reality and illusion? Japanese animation, with the voices of Junko Iwao, Rica Matsumoto, Shinpachi Tsuji and Masaaki Okura
-
2024
Comedy
Action
12A
After 93-year-old Thelma is conned by a phone scammer, she embarks on a risky journey across LA with only one thing on her mind - revenge. Comedy, starring June Squibb, Fred Hechinger, Parker Posey, Clark Gregg and in one of his final films, Richard Roundtree
-
2024
Adventure
Animation
U
Diabolical nemesis Maxime Le Mal and his femme fatale girlfriend Valentina target Anti-Villain League agent Gru, girlfriend Lucy, their girls Margo, Edith and Agnes and new addition Gru Jr. The family goes on the run while the Minions invade AVL HQ. Animated sequel, with the voices of Steve Carell and Will Ferrell
-
2003
Comedy
Music
12A
Satirical comedy co-written and directed by Christopher Guest. Following the death of legendary folk music promoter Irving Steinbloom, his son Jonathan organises a concert in his memory. But time hasn't been kind to the once legendary acts that assemble at New York's Town Hall.
-
Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio
2022
Animation
Family
PG
Oscar-winning filmmaker Guillermo del Toro reinvents the classic story of a wooden puppet brought to life in this stunning stop-motion musical tale. Animated family drama, with the voice of Ewan McGregor, David Bradley, Gregory Mann and Finn Wolfhard
-
2018
Comedy
Drama
12
Romantic comedy starring Constance Wu, Henry Golding and Michelle Yeoh. New Yorker Rachel Chu travels to Singapore with her partner, Nick, for a friend's wedding, and discovers that Nick's family is hugely wealthy. They also expect him to remain in Singapore to inherit their hotel business - a plan that, as Nick's imperious mother Eleanor makes quite clear, does not involve Rachel.
-
2003
Drama
Romance
15
An academic who neglects his alcoholic wife, and routinely sleeps with his students, begins an affair with a bored housewife - but the pair are unaware their own partners are also about to start a relationship with each other, and that their children know all about their parents' lies and infidelities. Drama, starring Mark Ruffalo, Naomi Watts, Laura Dern and Peter Krause
-
Schumacher '94: the Birth of a Legend
2026
Documentary
Sport
12
Michael Schumacher's first World Championship win roars to life through personal interviews and archival footage of the legendary 1994 Formula 1 season
-
Birds of Prey: and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn
2020
Adventure
Fantasy
15
Having split from The Joker, psychotic psychiatrist Harley Quinn joins forces with other superheroes to save a girl from the clutches of the villainous Roman Sionis, aka Black Mask. Director Cathy Yan's fantasy adventure spun off from Suicide Squad, starring Margot Robbie, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Ewan McGregor
-
2021
Crime/detective
Drama
15
Convict Ruth Slater is released back into society after serving a long sentence for a violent crime. She reluctantly returns home to track down her younger sister Katie, who she was forced to leave behind. Back in the place where her life whirled out of control, Ruth encounters anger, disbelief and harsh judgement.
-
2009
Animation
Comedy
PG
Animated sci-fi comedy featuring the voices of Reese Witherspoon, Seth Rogen and Hugh Laurie. Susan Murphy is in love and about to marry her weatherman fiancé Derek when she is struck by a meteorite that endows her with extraordinary powers. Codenamed Ginormica, she is enlisted by the military to join other "monsters" in defending the Earth from alien invasion.
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