logo
The 30 best films on Netflix to watch now

The 30 best films on Netflix to watch now

Telegraph9 hours ago
It's a brave soul who would play pot luck with Netflix's film selection: you could easily wind up with a particularly tatty Netflix Original Movie and rue the day you subscribed. Watch out for The Titan, starring Sam Worthington as a genetically-modified ex-Marine who becomes an alabaster superhuman, or Tyler Perry's turgidly worthy war drama The Six Triple Eight, which could send whole battalions to the Land of Nod.
Luckily, I've set about sorting the wheat from the chaff. Of course, Netflix will never be the place for fans of say, 1940s screwball comedy, or the work of Akira Kurosawa. The oldest Hollywood film currently on the service, which I've included, is The Sting (1973) – and there's very little else before the late 1980s.
The algorithm is a mystery. There are films that land at number one for a week or two, and then are never heard of again. Finding the keepers on here takes a bit of digging around, then, but they do exist – at least, for as long as the service gives them legs.
Whether a film is worth a second spin, or a sixth, was probably the biggest factor in choosing what made the cut. After all, the best film dates on Netflix are almost never first-time views or punts on something shiny and new. They're more likely to be catch-ups with trusty old friends.
Skip to:
Drama
Pig (2021)
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Scarlett Johansson becomes highest-grossing lead actor EVER after Jurassic Park Rebirth opens with $318M
Scarlett Johansson becomes highest-grossing lead actor EVER after Jurassic Park Rebirth opens with $318M

Daily Mail​

time19 minutes ago

  • Daily Mail​

Scarlett Johansson becomes highest-grossing lead actor EVER after Jurassic Park Rebirth opens with $318M

Scarlett Johansson just passed her fellow Marvel Cinematic Universe co-stars Samuel L. Jackson and Robert Downey Jr. as the highest-grossing lead actor ever. The 40-year-old actress accomplished this impressive feat over the 4th of July holiday weekend, with the monstrous debut of her new film Jurassic Park Rebirth. The seventh installment of the Jurassic Park franchise took in a whopping $147.3 million at the domestic box office since opening last Wednesday, and $318.3 million worldwide. Those figures bring Johanssen's worldwide total for leading roles up to $14.61 billion, just surpassing Samuel L. Jackson ($14.60 billion) and Robert Downey Jr. ($14.3 billion), according to The Numbers. What's perhaps even more impressive than that is Johansson managed to surpass her MCU peers in just 36 movies with leading roles, compared to Jackson's 71 films and Downey Jr.'s 45 films, coming after recent comments about how she fought her way out of being cast in movies as a 'sex symbol.' She also has her male MCU co-stars beat in in average gross for her movies, with Johansson's average worldwide gross at $405.9 million, far ahead of Jackson ($205.7 million) and Downey Jr. ($318.1 million). However, both Jackson and Downey Jr. have her beat as the top stars for the domestic box office. Jackson - who also starred in the Star Wars prequel trilogy as Mace Windu - leads the way with $5.8 billion, ahead of Downey Jr. ($5.47 billion) and Johansson ($5.41 billion). Of course, not all films are counted in these grosses, including Oppenheimer, which Downey Jr. won a Supporting Actor Oscar for, so its $976 million worldwide gross is not counted for his tally. The tallies for each actor includes both traditional lead roles or 'lead ensemble' roles, which means all of the Marvel movies Johansson, Jackson and Downey Jr. starred in will count towards their grosses in this regard. With Downey returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday next year and in Avengers: Secret Wars in 2027, it's possible he could pass both Jackson and Johansson in the years to come. As for Jurassic World Rebirth - the only new release in theaters over the long holiday weekend - it took in an estimated $91.5 million from the traditional Friday-Sunday weekend, with a domestic tally since Wednesday of $147.3 million. It also took in $171 million from foreign markets for a worldwide debut of $317.8 million at the global box office. It has already nearly doubled its reported budget of $180 million in one weekend, and could be making a run at the two biggest movies of the year. As for Jurassic World Rebirth - the only new release in theaters over the long holiday weekend - it took in an estimated $91.5 million from the traditional Friday-Sunday weekend, with a domestic tally since Wednesday of $147.3 million. The top 5 was rounded out by Warner Bros.' F1 ($26 million, $109.5 million domestic), Universal's How to Train Your Dragon ($11 million, $224 million domestic), Disney's Elio ($5.7 million, $55 million domestic) and Sony's 28 Years Later ($4.6 million, $60.2 million domestic). Warner Bros.' A Minecraft Movie ($423.9 million) and Disney's Lilo & Stitch live-action remake ($408.5 million) are currently the top domestic films of 2025, though only one film has passed $1 billion this year - the Chinese-language film Ne Zha 2, which has earned a whopping $1.89 billion almost entirely from the Middle Kingdom. Jurassic World Rebirth will be facing some very stiff competition in the coming weeks, with Warner Bros.' Superman debuting this weekend, which is currently tracking to open somewhere between $130 million and $170 million at the domestic box office. Paramount's Smurfs and Sony's I Know What You Did Last Summer open on July 18 with Marvel/Disney's Fantastic Four: First Steps arriving on July 25.

Julian McMahon dead at 56: Nip/Tuck and Fantastic Four star passes away after private health battle
Julian McMahon dead at 56: Nip/Tuck and Fantastic Four star passes away after private health battle

Daily Mail​

time31 minutes ago

  • Daily Mail​

Julian McMahon dead at 56: Nip/Tuck and Fantastic Four star passes away after private health battle

Julian McMahon - who starred in Nip/Tuck and FBI: Most Wanted - has passed away at 56 after a private health battle. The 56-year-old Australian-American actor had been secretly battling cancer, his wife Kelly revealed in a heartbreaking statement on Friday. His wife said : 'With an open heart, I wish to share with the world that my beloved husband, Julian McMahon, died peacefully this week after a valiant effort to overcome cancer.' Julian's last public appearance was alongside Nicolas Cage at SXSW in Austin, Texas back in March as he looked thin as he promoted psychological thriller The Surfer. Kelly - whom he married in 2014 - continued by expressing the love Julian had for his fans and those around him and what being an actor meant to him during his life. 'Julian loved life. He loved his family. He loved his friends. He loved his work, and he loved his fans. His deepest wish was to bring joy into as many lives as possible. The talented actor (left) was best known for his role as Dr. Christian Troy on the FX series Nip/Tuck; he is seen with costar Dylan Walsh (right) in 2003 'We ask for support during this time to allow our family to grieve in privacy. And we wish for all of those to whom Julian brought joy, to continue to find joy in life. We are grateful for the memories, she added in her statement obtained by Deadline. The talented actor was best known for his role as Dr. Christian Troy on the FX series Nip/Tuck. He starred alongside Dylan Walsh who portrayed Sean McNamara in the campy medical drama which ran for six seasons from 2003 to 2010. The star was even nominated for the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Drama Television Series in 2004 where he was bested by Ian McShane for his role in HBO series Deadwood. Julian later starred as Jess LaCroix on the CBS series FBI: Most Wanted beginning 2020 but made a surprise exit in March 2022 after three seasons. He previously made his name on Australian television soap opera Home & Away in which he starred as main star Ben Lucini from 1990 to 1991. The actor went on to star as Detective John Grant in American crime drama Profiler from 1996 to 2000. He then won the hearts of many as he portrayed Cole Turner in Charmed seasons 3 through 5 from 2000 to 2003 before returning as a guest for season 7 in 2005. Julian's last public appearance was alongside Nicolas Cage at SXSW in Austin, Texas back in March as he looked thin as he promoted psychological thriller The Surfer The Sydney, Australia native also had success on the big screen as he starred as iconic supervillain Dr. Doom in two Marvel movies Fantastic Four (2005) and Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer (2007). He also starred alongside Sandra Bullock in 2007 supernatural psychological thriller Premonition. Julian and wife Kelly had been together for 11 years before marrying in a romantic ceremony in Lake Tahoe, a lakeside area on the edge of California and Nevada, in 2014. It was his third marriage. Julian was previously married to model and Baywatch actress Brooke Burns from 1999 to 2001 as they share 25-year-old daughter Madison Elizabeth McMahon together. He also was famously married to Australian singer and TV personality Dannii Minogue from 1994 to 1995. Julian also has ties to the government of Australia as he was the only son of Sir William McMahon, a former Prime Minister of Australia, who served from 1971 to 1972 and held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. He talked about his childhood in an interview with the Herald Sun in 2018 as he said: 'My Dad... was born in 1908. That's a very different time to what it was when he was raising me. 'He must have gone through a strange misunderstanding of how you were parented in 1908 versus how you parent in 1972; it would have been so conflicting. Also how you be a husband in that period of time would have been different. ' His final role was a bit of a full circle moment as he portrayed the Australian Prime Minister in Netflix murder mystery series The Residence.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store