When you turn on the TV, it’s because you’re often looking for an escape. And there’s no greater trip than leaving your time entirely. Movies about time travel transport you to another reality, one far in the future — or far in the past. 

Here, we’ve compiled 11 films on Netflix that will have you watching the clock (or not). From comedies to sci-fi to Christmas flicks, these movies are worth your time... today. 

The Adam Project

Many time-travel movies center around the main character losing a loved one, and that’s exactly the case with The Adam Project. In a dystopian future, Adam Reed (played by Ryan Reynolds) discovers his wife has gone missing, and tries to travel back to the past to rescue her. When he crash-lands into the present, he’s forced to work with his 12-year-old self to save their future. The fun action-comedy also stars Mark Ruffalo, Jennifer Garner, Catherine Keener, and Zoe Saldaña.

The Adam Project

2022

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Back to the Future

Could you become your own grandfather? It’s the age-old time-travel question — and one that Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) inadvertently finds himself in a place to answer in Back to the Future. Marty accidentally lands in 1955 when he drives too fast in a time-traveling DeLorean built by the town’s eccentric scientist “Doc” Brown (Christopher Lloyd). In addition to figuring out how to get back to his own time 30 years in the future, Marty must ensure his parents fall in love so his own existence isn’t eliminated. No spoilers on if he succeeds, but just a hint: In Back to the Future Part II and Back to the Future Part III, which are also streaming now, he goes back to the future (and past).

Back to the Future

1985

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Captain Nova

The world is on the verge of environmental collapse, so a woman must travel back in time to save it. The only problem is, the time-travel process causes her to age backwards to her teenage self. This 2021 Dutch sci-fi film is also family friendly — and was even selected as the opening film for the 35th Cinekid Festival in the Netherlands, where it won best children’s film and best Dutch children’s film.

Captain Nova

2021

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Hot Tub Time Machine

Not every time-travel movie needs to be a deeply serious meditation on the moral implications of meddling with the past or future, right? Case in point: This 2010 comedy about estranged friends Adam (John Cusack), Lou (Rob Corddry), and Nick (Craig Robinson), who travel to a ski lodge together, with Adam’s dorky nephew Jacob (Clark Duke) in tow. After a night of partying, the four of them wind up being sent back in time via… a hot tub. (The title is not a metaphor!) Now in 1986, the four men must figure out how to return to the present, an endeavor filled with both chaotic mishaps and ’80s-era fashion. 

Hot Tub Time Machine

2010

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In the Shadow of the Moon

This sci-fi thriller is a whodunit spread over decades. Philadelphia police officers Thomas Lockhart (Boyd Holbrook) and Winston Maddox (Bokeem Woodbine) first investigate a string of murders in 1998. Nine years later, Lockhart investigates what is assumed to be copycat murders. A suspect emerges — but she appears not to age. The film, which also stars Michael C. Hall, Cleopatra Coleman, and Rudi Dharmalingam, twists and turns throughout Lockhart’s life as he becomes obsessed with finding the truth.

In the Shadow of the Moon

2019

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The Knight Before Christmas

A squire from 1334 England and a high school teacher from present-day Ohio — it’s a match made in Christmas movie heaven! Vanessa Hudgens stars as Brooke Winters, the teacher, who meets a strange man named Cole (Josh Whitehouse) around Christmas time. He’s been sent to the future to complete a quest and earn a knighthood. But will he choose knighthood or true love? We suspect you can predict the ending, but that doesn’t make the watching of this Christmas flick any less fun. 

The Knight Before Christmas

2019

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Long Story Short

What would you do if you only had a short time left with your significant other? That’s the predicament Teddy (Rafe Spall) finds himself facing in Long Story Short. A woman overhears Teddy stalling on setting a wedding date with his fiancée, Leanne (Zahra Newman), and puts a sort of hex on him, fast-forwarding time so that he only experiences one day each year. He misses his wedding, the birth of his daughter, and many other small and memorable moments in between. This Australian rom-com will have you laughing while also hoping for a happy ending.

Long Story Short

2021

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Looper

This 2012 sci-fi action-thriller from director Rian Johnson puts a slick twist on a classic time-travel story: a hitman whose latest target is himself. In 2074, time travel is invented and a criminal syndicate utilizes it to dispose of its enemies — the person is sent back 30 years, to 2044, where they’re taken out by a hired gun, or “looper.” But eventually, when those contract killers grow older… well, they get sent back too, thereby “closing the loop.” Which is how an assassin named Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) comes to be staring down his older self (Bruce Willis). The action-packed film received wide critical acclaim for its inventive premise and starry cast, which also includes Emily Blunt, Paul Dano, and Jeff Daniels. Your future self will thank you for hitting play.

Looper

2012

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Mirage

What would you do if you woke up and your husband is married to someone else and your daughter was never born? That’s what Vera (Adriana Ugarte) must figure out in Mirage, a 2018 Spanish mystery. It all starts when they move into a new apartment and find a film that was recorded on VHS during an electrical storm in 1989, when a young boy was tragically killed. When they decide to watch it, a similar electrical storm hits. Vera discovers she’s able to interact with the boy in the video, which has drastic implications for both of them. She must figure out a way to save the boy in 1989 — and her family in the present day.

Mirage

2018

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See You Yesterday

Eden Duncan-Smith stars in See You Yesterday as C.J., a teenage science prodigy who works with her best friend, Sebastian (Danté Crichlow), to develop time travel. When C.J.’s brother is murdered by the police for carrying a cellphone — which the cops mistook for a weapon — C.J. decides to fix the past. As with most time-travel movies, her changes to the timeline complicate the future. The 2019 film was written by Stefon Bristol and Fredrica Bailey and earned them an Independent Spirit Award for best first screenplay. (Also, for an extra time-travel treat, keep your eyes peeled for a cameo from a certain Back to the Future star.) 

See You Yesterday

2019

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When We First Met

In this rom-com, Adam Devine stars as Noah Ashby, a man who will go to great lengths not to be friend-zoned — even if it means time-traveling. He first meets Avery Martin (Alexandra Daddario) at a 2014 Halloween party. Avery sees Noah as a friend, and as luck would have it, she meets her future fiancé the next day. At their engagement party, Noah drunkenly passes out in a photo booth, which was also at the Halloween party. What ensues is part time travel, part Groundhog Day: Noah keeps traveling back to the day he met Avery, and takes new approaches to steal her heart.

When We First Met

2018

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