25 best films on Netflix to stream tonight

Alright, you want the best of the best? Then we’re gonna give it to you.

After months of scouring Netflix for the best thrillers, best action flicks, best romantic comedies, best horror films, best family films, and more, it’s finally come time for us to narrow down our streaming suggestions to the best films, period. That’s right — it’s superhero sagas vs. biopics vs. war dramas vs. musicals vs. comedies vs. so much more. This is the ultimate film list for when you have no idea what you want to watch outside of the general concept of an excellent movie that delivers top-tier performances, a killer script, and an engaging world.

Without further ado and in no particular order, here are the 25 best films now on Netflix.

Mashable’s Adam Rosenberg reviewed Da 5 Bloods in summer 2020, writing: “In the midst of widespread IRL social upheaval that many hope will finally start to undo the trauma wrought by centuries of deeply embedded prejudice, this new movie delivers a powerful sense of perspective.” Spike Lee’s war film, a keenly impactful meditation on systemic racism, stars Delroy Lindo, Jonathan Majors, Clarke Peters, the late Chadwick Boseman, and more.

How to watch: Da 5 Bloods is streaming on Netflix.

You know your favorite movie? “I know of it.”
Credit: universal pictures

We are Sex Bob-Omb: 1-2-3-4! Based on Bryan Lee O’Malley’s beloved graphic novel series, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is the favorite we keep coming back to. It’s got great actors: Chris Evans! Anna Kendrick! Brie Larson! Kieran Culkin! Plus, a killer soundtrack, wonderful visual effects, more references than you can count, and some of the best lines ever written. We’re in lesbians. No, wait, the other L word. Love. We’re in love.

How to watch: Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is streaming on Netflix.

First-time feature director Rohena Gera sticks the landing with 2018’s Sir, which only released in cinemas in November 2020 and hit Netflix early in 2021. It’s essential Indian cinema. Tillotama Shome stars as Ratna, a live-in housemaid to upper-middle class Ashwin. Housemaids are common in India, where the film is set, but Ratna and Ashwin develop a slow-simmering and socially unthinkable love. 

With Gera’s writing and direction, this unlikely story never feels forced. The love blooms organically, in furtive looks and hefty silence and the trust they develop as Ashwin recovers from a broken engagement and Ratna tells him about her late husband. The result is a film so soft and stirring that it will stay with you long after it ends. —Proma Khosla, Entertainment Reporter*

How to watch: Sir is streaming on Netflix.

See the late Chadwick Boseman in one of his last performances.
Credit: netflix

If Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom can’t quite escape the rhythms of the stage (it’s based on a play by August Wilson), it’s more than dynamic enough to hold its own as a movie. Set during an eventful recording session in 1927 Chicago, the film is at once a full-throated tribute to the “Mother of the Blues,” a lively celebration of Black culture and its place in history, and a sharp exploration of racial dynamics then and now — not to mention a stunning showcase for its cast, including Viola Davis as the towering legend of the title and Chadwick Boseman in his thrilling, heartbreaking final performance.* —Angie Han, Deputy Entertainment Editor

How to watch: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is streaming on Netflix.

Yes, interpretations of Noah Baumbach’s Academy Award-winning film have varied substantially among audiences. But, for the most part, critics agree that the character-driven divorce film saga represents a resonant and important viewpoint in modern relationships. Career-best performances from Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver will turn you into a sobbing puddle while Baumbach’s artful narrative-building slowly makes you whole again.

How to watch: Marriage Story is streaming on Netflix.

‘Roma’ is timelessly beautiful.
Credit: netflix

The first foreign-language film to win an Oscar for best director, Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma greets viewers at the intersection of personal reflection and cinematic excellence. The black-and-white film follows live-in housekeeper Cleo (Yalitza Aparicio), an Indigenous woman who works for an affluent family in Mexico City, finding a sense of humanity that is uniquely memorable.

How to watch: Roma is streaming on Netflix.

In writer-director Dan Gilroy’s Nightcrawler, Jake Gyllenhaal stars as a strange dude (putting it mildly) who stumbles into the lucrative but not-at-all ethical business of ambulance chasing for a local news station. Deeply fascinating and profoundly disturbing, this eerie journey chews you up and spits you out in a way only the best thrillers can. (For another great Gilroy project, cue up the underrated horror comedy Velvet Buzzsaw.)

How to watch: Nightcrawler is streaming on Netflix.

Before Ryan Coogler directed Marvel’s Black Panther, the visionary filmmaker made his debut telling the horrific true story of a 2009 shooting that killed an unarmed Black man. Fruitvale Station, named for the train station where the shooting occurred, follows the last 24 hours in the life of Oscar Grant, a 22-year-old restrained and shot in the back by a Bay Area Rapid Transit police officers on New Year’s Day. It’s an agonizing but essential watch, starring Michael B. Jordan.

How to watch: Fruitvale Station is streaming on Netflix.

“One, two, five!”
Credit: Filmstore/Shutterstock

There are tons of great Monty Python films to pick from (including Life of Brian, which is also streaming on Netflix), but The Holy Grail holds a special place in our hearts. It’s endlessly quotable, stupidly funny, and captures everything that made this comedy team spectacular. Not to mention it forever changed how we see coconuts, swallows, hamsters, and elderberries. 

How to watch: Monty Python and the Holy Grail is streaming on Netflix.

Chronicling the true story of late comedian Rudy Ray Moore — also known as Dolemite — this Eddie Murphy vehicle is worth every minute of viewing. Dolemite Is My Name is at once a poignant look at the life of an underdog and an unbelievably good time. With supporting performances by Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Wesley Snipes, Craig Robinson, and more, this biopic offers more beat-for-beat joy than many fictional comedies. Sensational, aspirational, and electric, you’ll love it.*

How to watch: Dolemite Is My Name is streaming on Netflix.

“The letters are out.”
Credit: netflix

Based on Jenny Han’s novel of the same name, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is a defining romantic comedy for the streaming generation. Bask in the chemistry of leads Lana Condor and Noah Centineo. Delight in the drinkable yogurt representation. Consider why you never dressed this well in school. Then, send out your letters and watch the sequels!

How to watch: To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is streaming on Netflix. 

It is as agonizing bummer that Inglourious Basterds is no longer on Netflix. Thankfully, the service has a handful of other Quentin Tarantino titles, among them Django Unchained and The Hateful Eight. The latter, a western from 2015 that was controversial for its handling of racism and sexism, stars Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and more in a high-octane action adventure that is unquestionably well-executed in terms of technique and craftsmanship. Results on your feelings about the story itself may vary.

How to watch: The Hateful Eight is streaming on Netflix.

Nominated for eight Academy Awards, writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson’s There Will Be Blood is an epic cinematic experience. Daniel Day-Lewis, who won Best Actor for his performance, leads this sweeping period drama as an aspiring oil tycoon in 1927 California. Full of classically excellent storytelling and tension building, this lengthy film is worth the investment for memorable scenes an an explosive final act that instantly earned the title iconic status.

How to watch: There Will Be Blood is streaming on Netflix.

David Fincher’s moody study of Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg may need some serious updating given the political powerhouse the company has become, but as a matter of viewing, The Social Network is as strong as ever. Taking home Oscars for best adapted screenplay, best film editing, and best original score at the 83rd Academy Awards, this movie remains a quintessentially immersive and entertaining experience.

How to watch: The Social Network is streaming on Netflix.

‘Creep’ is terrifying in all the best ways.
Credit: the orchard

In his directorial debut, found-footage genre genius Patrick Brice stars as Aaron, a freelance videographer who accepts a job working for a strange client played by Mark Duplass. A spectacular combination of comedy and chills, Creep does a lot with a little — delivering a horror gem so good it merited a phenomenal sequel starring Desiree Akhavan that’s also on Netflix.

How to watch: Creep is streaming on Netflix. 

Director Tom McCarthy’s sensational film tells the true story of the Boston Globe journalists responsible for exposing systemic abuse of children by Catholic priests in a series of investigative stories published in 2003. Winner of the Academy Award for best picture, this moving biographical drama stars Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Mark Ruffalo, John Slattery, and Stanley Tucci.

How to watch: Spotlight is streaming on Netflix.

Leave it to the Safdie brothers to create what is easily the most panic-inducing selection on this list. Adam Sandler stars in Uncut Gems as a jeweler and gambling addict who must navigate increasingly slippery circumstances to pay off his debts and save his business from ruin. A breakneck ride that never stops, this is over two hours of seat-grabbing agony that pays off.

How to watch: Uncut Gems is streaming on Netflix.

Loved ‘Parasite’? Well, then you better double-back for ‘Okja’!
Credit: netflix

Fall under the spell of Parasite director Bong Joon-ho once more with Netflix’s Okja. When a terrible fate befalls a genetically modified kind of “super pig” named Okja thanks to the evil Mirando corporation, Mija (Ahn Seo-hyun) will stop at nothing to save her friend and take down Mirando’s CEO Lucy (Tilda Swinton.)

How to watch: Okja is streaming on Netflix.

This 2016 adventure about bad egg Ricky Baker (Julian Dennison) and his curmudgeonly foster father Hec (Sam Neill) is the kind of eccentric delight that writer/director Taika Waititi specializes in (this time co-writing with Barry Crump, who wrote the original book). 

After losing his foster mother, Ricky flees into the forests of New Zealand, pursued by Hec only to learn that the older man also feels no need to return to civilization. Together they become the wilderpeople, living off the land and evading capture from authorities, including Thor: Ragnarok‘s Rachel House. Wilderpeople is equal parts stirring, hilarious, and absurd — a story of found family and adventure that can be loved by all.* —P.K.

How to watch: Hunt for the Wilderpeople is streaming on Netflix.

Saoirse Ronan plays “the titular role” in writer-director Greta Gerwig’s transporting coming-of-age tale Lady Bird. A stellar ensemble cast including Laurie Metcalf, Beanie Feldstein, Timothée Chalamet, and Lucas Hedges make this a must-watch look at growing up and feeling misunderstood.

How to watch: Lady Bird is streaming on Netflix.

Truly, it’s a perfect film.
Credit: NETFLIX

Revel in the ridiculousness of Bad Trip. Brought to you by three of the dudes behind The Eric Andre Show, this mostly improvised romantic comedy stars Eric Andre as Chris, a hopeless romantic seeking a second chance with his high school crush. Lil Rel Howery co-leads as Bud, Chris’ best, er, bud (ha!) who agrees to a moonshot road trip in hopes of finding his friend’s lost love. Tiffany Haddish steals the show as Bad Trip‘s main antagonist, Bud’s sister Trina who is newly escaped from prison and wildly unpredictable.

It’s hands-down one of the funniest films of 2021, and also one of the most inventive. The movie’s meandering plot features a lineup of outrageous hidden camera pranks that cast innocent bystanders as extras in this rom-com from hell, and their genuine reactions make for an entertaining and surprisingly wholesome watch you’ll remember for a very long time. *

How to watch: Bad Trip is streaming on Netflix.

Take your typical family road trip comedy, toss in a robot apocalypse, and top it all off with a heavy smattering of meme-worthy filters, doodles, and GIFs, and you might end up with something like The Mitchells vs. The Machines: a truly fun-for-the-whole-family feature that hinges on whether an artsy teen (voiced by Abbi Jacobson) and her luddite dad (voiced by Danny McBride) can set aside their differences long enough to save all of humanity from being launched into space by Siri Pal.

Come for the jokes about our impending AI-led dystopia, stay for the heart-tugging moments of Mitchell family bonding. Seriously, we might never hear T.I. and Rihanna’s “Live Your Life” without tearing up ever again. — A.H. *

How to watch: The Mitchells vs. The Machines is streaming on Netflix.

From the moment Boogie Nights‘ breathtaking opening shot — packed wall-to-wall with star reveals and late ’70s set dressing — grabs your attention, writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson knows he’s got you. Set in the raunchy world of “porno chic,” this timeless dramedy follows a lowly nightclub dishwasher (Mark Wahlberg) as he ascends to NSFW stardom under the name “Dirk Diggler.” Supporting performances by Julianne Moore, Burt Reynolds, Don Cheadle, John C. Reilly, William H. Macy, and the late Philip Seymore Hoffman make this a whirlwind of Hollywood talent.

How to watch: Boogie Nights is streaming on Netflix.

This one’s trippy in ways you’re not expecting.
Credit: Mary Cybulski/NETFLIX

Emotional demolitions expert/filmmaker Charlie Kaufman destroys audiences once more in the mind-boggling I’m Thinking of Ending Things. Adapted from Iain Reid’s novel of the same name, this cryptically titled psychological thriller follows a woman, played by Jessie Buckley, and her boyfriend, played by Jesse Plemons, on a disturbing visit to his parents’ remote farmhouse. What follows? Well, that depends on who you ask.

A transfixing meditation on art, existence, value, authorship, isolation, and more, I’m Thinking of Ending Things is a truly one-of-a-kind experience as profound as it is disquieting. You may not have a great time in this house of abstract horrors (especially when Toni Collette is onscreen doing those classically terrifying Toni Collette things), but it will be a lasting one. *

How to watch: I’m Thinking of Ending Things is streaming on Netflix.

Both the Coen brothers’ most indisputably hilarious film and the greatest cinematic tribute to nihilistic philosophy in history, The Big Lebowski is more than a movie. It is, dear reader, a way of life. Jeff Bridges stars as “The Dude” — a simple Los Angeles man seeking justice after a case of mistaken identity leads a stranger to urinate on his living room rug. Enjoy.

How to watch: The Big Lebowski is streaming on Netflix.

Need even more streaming recommendations? Mashable Streaming Guides can help. You can find:

Asterisks (*) indicate the entry comes from a previous Mashable list.