The best-rated movies on Netflix are constantly changing, and I thought it was as good a time as any, with July halfway over, to go through the top-ranking films available on the streaming service. This isn’t an exhaustive list by any means. A number of smaller movies, documentaries and shorts rank as high, but these are the best-reviewed feature films on Netflix at the time of this publication. This could change as movies come and go and as new reviews tip the scores up or down a percentage point.
The following list includes monster movies, animated family films, action flicks, Academy Award winners and much more. The oldest film in the list is from the 1950s. The newest just came to Netflix this year. The rest span decades, genres and are both animated and live-action. Note also that while most of Netflix’s catalog is available worldwide, it can vary from country to country. Without further ado, let’s dive right in starting with #20 and working our way to #1 – and please let me know what your top picks on Netflix are by shooting me a message on Twitter, Instagram, Bluesky or Facebook.
20. Train To Busan (2016) – 95% Rotten Tomatoes Score
This is one of – if not the – best zombie movies ever made. The South Korean drama takes place mostly on a train as a father and daughter, along with a colorful cast of characters, try to survive a sudden and rather terrifying zombie outbreak. Just bring a box of tissues.
19. Rebel Ridge (2024) – 95% Rotten Tomatoes Score
Netflix Originals can be pretty generic and bad, even ones with high-profile stars attached. Rebel Ridge was a pleasant surprise. It’s basically Jack Reacher if he were black and facing a racist gang of corrupt cops in the South. Also, unlike Reacher, Aaron Pierre’s Terry Richmond isn’t a killer. I’ve never seen such a non-lethal action movie before.
18. American Graffiti (1973) – 95% Rotten Tomatoes Score
Before there was Star Wars, George Lucas directed one of the greatest Americana films of all time, recreating the summer after high school in small town America in the 1950s with style and heart. Fast cars, pretty girls, and bittersweet farewells. This movie is a real gem.
17. Kpop Demon Hunters (2025) – 96% Rotten Tomatoes Score
I believe this is the newest movie on this list. Kpop Demon Hunters is a Korean animated film about, well, Korean popstar demon hunters. Rumi, Mira and Zoey are celebrities with secret identities as badass demon hunters, selling out shows and taking down evil, with plenty of fun Kpop music for the whole family to enjoy.
16. To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before (2018) – 96% Rotten Tomatoes Score
I haven’t seen this one, but if you’re in the mood for a really well-received teen rom-com, To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before follows a teenage girl’s struggles after all her love letters are made public.
15. Tangerine (2015) – 96% Rotten Tomatoes Score
Definitely not a kids movie, this one follows a transgender sex worker out to get payback on a cheating pimp/boyfriend. I haven’t seen this one, but Sean Baker has made some terrific films like The Florida Project and Anora.
14. The Lego Movie (2014) – 96% Rotten Tomatoes Score
I was so pleasantly surprised by The LEGO Movie when this came out over a decade ago. It was surprisingly funny, the music was hilarious, and the story was really well-written, with a heartwarming ending that really tied it all together. Still the best of the LEGO movies.
13. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (2020) – 97% Rotten Tomatoes Score
I’ll be honest, I hadn’t even heard of this movie until compiling this list. The logline reads: “Tensions and temperatures rise at a Chicago music studio in 1927 when fiery, fearless blues singer Ma Rainey joins her band for a recording session.” I do love period pieces and 1920s blues music, though!
12. I Lost My Body (2019) – 97% Rotten Tomatoes Score
One of a handful of animated films on this list, I Lost My Body is the story of a severed hand that escapes from a dissection lab and goes on a quest to find its body. Certainly a very unique premise, and one that critics and audiences give a high-five.
11. Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) – 97% Rotten Tomatoes Score
One of the greatest action movies of all time, Mad Max: Fury Road just blasted its way back to Netflix last week. It doesn’t matter if you’re into post-apocalyptic films or if you’ve seen any of the other Mad Max movies. This is one you simply can’t miss. It’s a genuine masterpiece, and it shocks me this isn’t at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes.
10. Jaws (1975) – 97% Rotten Tomatoes Score
The classic monster movie turns 50 this year. That’s pretty crazy to think about. Jaws pretty much created its own suspense drama, leading to all sorts of great films from Jurassic Park to The Meg. You can’t beat the cast or what Spielberg did with the special effects back in the 70s. This is one of the few movies I have a poster for up on my wall.
9. Psycho (1960) – 97% Rotten Tomatoes Score
I’ll be honest, as much as I love Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, it’s probably not even in my top five. Don’t get me wrong, it’s terrifying and suspenseful and brilliantly shot, but the ending just drives me crazy. I swear, next time I watch it I’m just going to turn it off before that final god awful scene with the psychologist. Other than that, it’s a masterpiece!
8. Rear Window (1954) – 99% Rotten Tomatoes Score
When this came to Netflix a few weeks ago, I called it “one of the best thrillers ever made” and that’s just the cold, hard truth. Not only that, it’s one of the best Jimmy Stewart movies ever made, and I say that as a massive superfan. (My other favorites include It’s A Wonderful Life, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The Philadelphia Story and Harvey).
7. Miss Juneteenth (2020) – 99% Rotten Tomatoes Score
The story of a former beauty queen preparing her rebellious teenage daughter for the Miss Juneteenth pageant. This one was a bit more divisive, with critics giving it a much higher score than audiences (57%).
6. Under The Shadow (2016) – 99% Rotten Tomatoes Score
A woman’s building is hit by a missile during the Iran-Iraq War and one of her neighbors suggests that the missile was cursed, and that it was carrying a malevolent spirit. The woman, Shideh, becomes convinced that the now-haunted building is attempting to possess her daughter, Dorsa. It’s an interesting blend of horror and war story.
5. The Forty-Year Old Version (2020) – 99% Rotten Tomatoes Score
Perhaps the only movie on this list that is also a pun, playing off the wildly different 40-Year Old Virgin, this one is about a down-on-her-luck playwright named Radha trying to catch a break before she turns 40. She turns to hip hop instead, and the worlds of rap and the theater collide.
4. Parasite (2019) – 99% Rotten Tomatoes Score
The brilliantly unsettling Parasite is a must-watch film for anyone who enjoys dark comedy and suspense, though I have to say this really defies genres in so many ways it’s almost hard to pin down. It’s a story about family and class and the ways disparity can create suffering. The South Korean film really defies all expectations. You just have to watch it, honestly.
3. Godzilla Minus One (2023) – 99% Rotten Tomatoes Score
I’ve never really been a huge fan of Godzilla movies outside of the classics. Most American Godzilla films are all about the big special effects and massive destruction and seem to lack the kind of important social commentary that’s always been at the heart of these films. Godzilla Minus One is a modern Japanese take on the monster movie, and it’s brilliant. What they did on a shoestring budget is just remarkable.
2. Grave Of The Fireflies (1988) – 100% Rotten Tomatoes Score
Siblings and war orphans Seita and Setsuko struggle to survive during the final months of the Pacific War as WWII draws to a close. Watch this before Godzilla Minus One, since that films takes place in the years after the war and the nuclear bomb. This is one of so many brilliant Studio Ghibli films, though it’s as tragic as it is beautiful.
1. Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (2024) – 100% Rotten Tomatoes Score
This lovely, hilarious, charming family movie tops our list today. Wallace & Gromit, our claymation dog and farmer duo, return for yet another wonderfully eccentric romp involving vengeful penguins and a “smart gnome.” The return of Feathers McGraw (after more than three decades) and our two heroes make this one of the more delightful family movies out there.
That’s all folks! Are any of these in your top picks? Let me know on Twitter, Instagram, Bluesky or Facebook. Also be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel and follow me here on this blog. Sign up for my newsletter for more reviews and commentary on entertainment and culture.
