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34 best films on Netflix for your next movie night

Popcorn at the ready.
34 best films on Netflix for your next movie night
Sasidis Sasisakulporn/Netflix © 2024

Searching for the best films on Netflix can be a bit of a chore when you don't know what you're looking for – but you can always count on the streaming giant to offer something for everyone, whatever our mood.

Most of us have pretty much worked our way through the streaming service's extensive catalogue of films, but if you still feel like there are quite a few movies you still haven't had the chance to catch, then fear not – because we've researched the best films you absolutely need to watch on Netflix UK.

From the talk of the town, newer arrivals such as Mother of the Bride and Atlas or the real-life-inspired movie The Swimmers, to cult classics like Lost In Translation and Jaws.

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There are also sad movies based on complex, real-life societal issues that have us working our way through a tissue box, such as The Trial Of The Chicago 7.

But we get it, sometimes you just want to head to Netflix for the best feel-good films, and Enola Holmes, starring Millie Bobby Brown, doesn't disappoint. So we're saving you an hour, we're saving you an argument, we're giving you fail-safe options for guaranteed entertainment with the following list of best films on Netflix. You are most welcome.

Scroll down for GLAMOUR's pick of the 34 best films on Netflix right now…

If you're still after more specific entertainment options, check out our galleries on the best sad movies (if you want a good cry), the best romantic comedies, or the best Korean drama and Scandi crime series on Netflix for some international flair. If you're after shorter instalments, here's our round-up of the best TV series (to binge-watch to your heart's content), and in times of need, here are some much-appreciated movies for hangovers…

  • Starring Jennifer Lopez Simu Liu Lana Parrilla What's it about Atlas Shepherd plays a data analyst who mistrusts AI....
    Ana Carballosa/Netflix

    Atlas

    Starring: Jennifer Lopez, Simu Liu, Lana Parrilla

    What's it about? Atlas Shepherd (Lopez) plays a data analyst who mistrusts AI. But when she finds herself on a mission go wrong, she has to align herself with the technology to survive.

  • Brian Roedel/Netflix © 2024

    Hit Man

    Starring: Glen Powell, Adria Arjona, Austin Amelio

    What's it about? A classic boy meets girl – except not really. Glen Powell plays professional killer Gary Johnson who breaks the rules when he starts to fall for the wife of the man he's been tasked to kill.

  • Sasidis Sasisakulporn/Netflix © 2024

    Mother of the Bride

    Starring: Brooke Shields, Miranda Cosgrove, Chad Michael Murray, Benjamin Bratt, Rachael Harris

    What's it about? Lana (Shields) faces all kinds of awkward situations and feelings when she finds out that the man her daughter is engaged to is the son of the man who broke her heart years ago (Bratt).

  • © 2023 Netflix, Inc.

    Scoop

    Starring: Billie Piper, Gillian Anderson, Rufus Sewell, Keeley Hawes

    What's it about? This Netflix movie takes a deep dive into the true-life story of the BBC Newsnight journalists who organised and conducted Prince Andrew's car crash interview back in 2019, which outlined his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein.

  • © 2023 Netflix, Inc.

    Shirley

    Starring: Regina King, Lucas Hedges, Christina Jackson, Reina King

    What's it about? This biopic follows the life of Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman to be elected to Congress. Back in 1972, she made a trailblazing run for the Democratic presidential nomination, and Shirley tells this amazing story of a Black woman fighting for power and representation.

  • © 2023 Netflix, Inc.

    You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah

    Starring: Adam Sandler, Jackie Sandler, Sunny Sandler, Sadie Sandler

    What's it about? This is one heck of a family affair, with the whole Sandler family coming together for this comedy movie centred on the coming-of-age Jewish ritual of bat mitzvahs. During BFF Stacy and Lydia's planning for their bat mitzvahs, things go awry when middle school drama threatens their rite of passage.

  • ANDREA RESMINI/NETFLIX

    Bird Box Barcelona

    Starring: Georgina Campbell, Mario Casas, Patrick Criado, Naila Schuberth

    What's it about? Just like the Sandra Bullock-starring Netflix Original Bird Box from 2018, Bird Box Barcelona sees Sebastian navigating his own survival journey through the desolate streets of Barcelona when a mysterious and terrifying force decimates the world's population.

  • © 2022 Netflix, Inc.

    Love At First Sight

    Starring: Haley Lu Richardson, Ben Hardy

    What's it about? Two twenty-something strangers keep running into each other in airports worldwide but keep missing their chance to take their fledgling feelings for one another to the next level. Will fate intervene to bring these two back together, or is it a purely missed connection? Tune in to find out...

  • © 2023 MRC II Distribution Company, L.P.

    Fair Play

    Starring: Phoebe Dynevor, Alden Ehrenreich

    What's it about? Have you ever wondered what it feels like when you and your secret fiancé are up for the same promotion at work... and you end up bagging it? Well, there's a lot of spiralling misogyny and double standards at play, which is brilliantly depicted in Chloe Domont's Fair Play, which sees the toxic and challenging battle play out at the expense of the couple's once picture-perfect relationship.

  • Allen Fraser/Netflix

    Run

    Starring: Sarah Paulson, Kiera Allen

    What's it about? Homeschooled disabled teenager Chloe is kept in isolation by her mother, who has always been concerned with her daughter's safety out in the world. However, Chloe soon begins suspecting her mother's reasons for keeping her hidden are more sinister than what she once thought, and she soon begins investigating to discover the terrifying truth.

  • Photo Credit: Barbara Nitke

    Happiness for Beginners

    Starring: Ellie Kemper, Luke Grimes

    What's it about? It's been a year since her divorce, and 32-year-old Helen Carpenter is still down in the dumps and cynical about everything in life. As a result, her brother persuades her to sign up for a wilderness survival course, where she soon learns the beauty of life, finds joy in the wilderness and begins to develop feelings for someone new.

  • Photo Credit: Boris Martin

    Senior Year

    Starring: Rebel Wilson, Angourie Rice, Alicia Silverstone

    What's it about? This fun, light-hearted Netflix comedy sees a high-school cheerleader fall into a coma following a nasty accident before her prom. She wakes up twenty years later, and immediately wanting to reclaim her glory days, she returns to high school in a bid to become prom queen.

  • © 2023 Netflix, Inc.

    True Spirit

    Starring: Teagan Croft, Anna Paquin, Cliff Curtis

    What's it about? Based on a remarkable true story, True Spirit follows a sixteen-year-old Australian girl's courageous journey to become the youngest person to have sailed the world solo. While fulfilling her dreams, the teen also faces her greatest fears at the same time.

  • CHRIS HARRIS/NETFLIX

    The Strays

    Starring: Ashley Madekwe, Bukky Bakray, Jorden Myrie, Maria Almeida, Samuel Paul Small, Justin Salinger

    What's it about? A light-skinned Black woman appears to be living in a wonderful life of privilege with her husband and their two children. However, her meticulously crafted life begins to unravel when two strangers from her past show up in her idyllic suburban town demanding answers.

  • Kim Simms/Netflix

    Do Revenge

    Starring: Maya Hawke, Camila Mendes

    What's it about? When former 'Queen Bee' Drea reveals she wants revenge on her ex-boyfriend for publishing her sex tape, and exchange student Eleanor says she wants revenge on an old school bully, they team up for justice against their tormentors.

  • Sony

    Erin Brockovich

    Starring: Julia Roberts

    What's it about? A legal assistant in Hinkley, California, discovers that a big company's deepest secret affects the health of the town's residents and sets off to seek justice with the help of her employer.

  • © 2022 Netflix, Inc.

    The Good Nurse

    Starring: Jessica Chastain, Eddie Redmayne

    What's it about? Based on a true story, nurse Amy Loughren is forced to protect herself and her children after discovering that one of her colleagues and close friends, Charlie Cullen is responsible for the deaths of dozens of patients across nine hospitals.

  • Saeed Adyani

    Bird Box

    Starring: Sandra Bullock, Sarah Paulson, Machine Gun Kelly, Trevante Rhodes

    What's it about? A woman and her children embark on a dangerous journey through the woods and down the river as they cover their eyes from the evil chasing them – because if you see it, you die.

  • © 2022 Netflix, Inc.

    Luckiest Girl Alive

    Starring: Mila Kunis, Chiara Aurelia, Finn Wittrock

    What's it about? The filming of a true crime documentary forces a writer to confront her harrowing high school history – leaving her perfectly crafted New York City life to fall apart.

  • KIMBERLEY FRENCH/NETFLIX © 2021

    The Unforgivable

    Starring: Sandra Bullock, Jon Bernthal

    What's it about? A recently released inmate, Ruth Slater, attempts to re-enter society but finds that putting her life back together is challenging in a world where people refuse to forgive her past.

  • © 2022 Netflix, Inc.

    The Swimmers

    Starring: Nathalie Issa, Manal Issa, Matthias Schweighöfer

    What's it about? Two Syrian sisters swim for hours in the choppy, dangerous Mediterranean seas to reach Greece as asylum seekers after fleeing their war-torn home in Damascus before going on to compete at the Rio Olympic Games. Based on an inspiring true story.

  • Barry Wetcher

    The Girl on the Train

    Starring: Emily Blunt, Haley Bennett, Rebecca Ferguson, Luke Evans, Justin Theroux, Lisa Kudrow

    What's it about? Divorcee Rachel begins to idealise a young couple named Scott and Megan, who lives next to her ex-husband. However, when Megan suddenly goes missing, Rachel finds herself dragged into the shocking investigation.

  • Mary Cybulski/NETFLIX

    I'm Thinking of Ending Things

    Starring: Jessie Buckley, Jesse Plemons, Toni Collette

    What's it about? Things take a bizarre turn as a young woman makes the long journey through the chilly, snowy winter with her boyfriend to meet his odd parents at their secluded farm.

  • Ivan Šardi/Netflix

    The Weekend Away

    Starring: Leighton Meester, Christina Wolfe, and Ziad Bakri

    What's it about? Do you know when you go on a girly holiday and end up being questioned on suspicion of committing murder? Nah, neither do we. But Beth, played by Leighton, sadly does. 

  • NIKO TAVERNISE/NETFLIX

    Don't Look Up

    Starring: Meryl Streep, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Jennifer Lawrence, and Ariana Grande.

    What's it about? As two scientists desperately attempt to convince the world that a giant comet is hurtling towards the Earth, they must deal with the President of the USA constantly undermining their efforts. Come for the political commentary; stay for Ariana Grande's comedic timing.

  • @ 2022 Netflix, Inc.

    Windfall

    Starring: Jesse Plemons, Lily Collins, and Jason Segel.

    What's it about? Netflix describes it as a “noir thriller," which follows a “young couple who arrive at their vacation home only to find it’s being robbed.” The stuff of nightmares. 

  • Columbia Pictures

    Little Women

    Starring: Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Saoirse Ronan, Eliza Scanlen, and Timothée Chalamet. 

    What's it about? Directed by Greta Gerwig, Little Women is based on the novel of the same name by Louisa May Alcott, which follows four sisters as they come of age in Massachusetts during the 19th century.

  • YANNIS DRAKOULIDIS/NETFLIX © 2021

    The Lost Daughter

    Starring: Olivia Coleman, Dakota Johnson, and Paul Mescal

    What's it about? A professor is forced to confront her troubled past after meeting (and becoming obsessed with) a young woman and her daughter on a holiday in Italy. 

  • ROBERT VIGLASKI /LEGENDARY ©2020

    Enola Holmes

    Starring: Millie Bobby Brown, Henry Cavill, Sam Claflin

    What's it about? Forget Sherlock Holmes, we're more interested in his teenage sister, Enola, who becomes a detective in her own right after her mother goes missing. 

  • Doane Gregory

    The Adam Project

    Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Zoe Salanda, Jennifer Garner, and Mark Ruffalo

    What's it about? Ryan Reynolds plays Adam, a fighter-pilot-come-time-traveller that crashes back into the year 2022. Seeking refuge in his childhood house, Adam meets and later enlists his 12-year-old self on an adventure to save the future. 

  • NICO TAVERNISE/NETFLIX © 2020

    The Trial Of The Chicago 7

    Starring: Sacha Baron Cohen, Jeremy Strong, Eddie Redmayne, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Michael Keaton.

    What's it about? This film is based on the true story of a group of anti-Vietnam war protestors, who were charged with conspiracy and crossing state lines with the intention of inciting the riots that erupted at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

  • LARRY HORRICKS/NETFLIX © 2021

    The Dig

    Starring: Lily James, Ralph Fiennes, and Carey Mulligan.

    What's it about? Another true story. This time, it's about an archaeologist who embarks on the historically important excavation of Sutton Hoo in 1938. It's way more exciting than it sounds, trust us. 

  • The Irishman

    Starring: Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, and Stephen Graham. 

    What's it about? If you love a gangsta film, this is the one for you. It follows Frank Sheeran, an ex-mobster, as he reflects on the disappearance of his life-long friend, Jimmy Hoffa, the former president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.

  • Wilson Webb

    Marriage Story

    Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Adam Driver, and Laura Dern.

    What's it about? Don't watch this if you aren't in the mood for a cry. It follows a couple as they navigate the realities of getting divorced and co-parenting. You've been warned. 

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