Best movies on Netflix in August 2024

Are you overwhelmed by choice when it comes to finding a movie to watch on Netflix? Look no further, here we bring you a list of the best movies in Britain right now, ranging from action and adventure to thrillers and musicals.

If you’re looking for TV shows to watch on Netflix UK, check out our article on the best TV shows on Netflix. You can also check out our guide to all Netflix subscriptions.

This list is updated every month, but the movies on Netflix change every day. That could mean that one or two of these films will no longer be available to watch by the time you get around to reading this article, and there may be some good new films out there.

Then let’s get started. These are the best movies you can watch on Netflix in the UK right now.

No

Get Out and Us creator Jordan Peele brings another horror story. Nope is set on a horse farm in California, where siblings discover something strange lurking in the sky nearby. It explores the themes of spectacle and how people try to profit from unusual events with horrific consequences. A word of warning for the chimpanzee scene, which is brutally gory.

Dune

Warner Bros.

Warner Bros.

Warner Bros.

Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two hit theaters last month and is still going strong. If you haven’t seen the first film yet, you can stream it on Netflix now. Paul Atreides is a gifted young man who must travel to an extremely dangerous planet to protect his people and legacy. However, a conflict over a scarce resource leads to chaos.

Godzilla Minus one

Perhaps you are most familiar with the American Godzilla series, with ridiculous blockbusters such as Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire. However, Godzilla Minus One is the only film in the franchise to win an Oscar, and for good reason. This critically acclaimed Japanese film follows a former kamikaze pilot who is still recovering from the effects of World War II and the atomic bombs. From the destruction a monster is born.

Top Gun: Maverick

Decisive

Decisive

Decisive

Top Gun: Maverick is the sequel to the 1986 film Top Gun, starring Tom Cruise as Captain Pete “Maverick” Mitchell as he reluctantly returns to the United States Navy Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor program. There he trains a group of young recruits, including the son of his deceased best friend. The film was one of the most popular titles of 2022 and is a great action film for fans of the original and newcomers alike.

Parasite

If you missed Bong Joon Ho’s Oscar-winning thriller Parasite (the first non-English film to win Best Picture), now’s the time to catch up. This nerve-wracking film follows the Kim family as they struggle to keep their heads above water in Seoul, South Korea. When a job opportunity arises in the wealthy Park household, the Kims become entangled in a complex domestic dilemma centered on class.

Past lives

Past Lives is an emotionally cathartic film that follows a pair of former childhood friends, Nora and Hae Sung. Nora’s family emigrated from South Korea when she was young, but the couple is reunited for a week in New York. There, old feelings blossom again – but everything has changed in the years since they met.

Glass onion

Rian Johnson’s sequel to the hit Knives Out has everything you need from a murder mystery. Southern detective Benoit Blanc is back to solve another complex case when he is invited to a luxurious island owned by a tech billionaire. One of those present is killed and Blanc must find out who is guilty.

Don’t look up

Don’t Look Up is a black comedy that follows two astronomers who discover that a giant comet is on its way to hit Earth and cause a mass extinction. However, it proves difficult to warn the general public and the media because people simply do not want to look up and face the truth.

No news from the western front

All Quiet on the Western Front is the second most nominated film at the 2023 Oscars, earning nine awards. This adaptation of a 1929 novel charts the final days of the First World War, from the eyes of a young German soldier. Gradually he learns about the horrors of battle as he struggles to survive.

Tap, tap… Boom!

Tap, tap…Boom! is the biographical story of Jonathan Larson (the creator of Rent), an aspiring musical creator in New York City who questions whether he is on the right career path while trying to juggle his own personal relationships. If that’s not enough for you, it stars Andrew Garfield and is directed by musical royalty Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Ghostly away

There are a ton of Studio Ghibli films on Netflix now, and one of the most beloved is Spirited Away – which has received numerous accolades, including ranking sixteenth on the ‘best films of the 21st century’ list. The film follows young Chihiro, who must prevent her parents from turning into animals forever.

Beasts of no nation

Netflix’s first original film may boast Idris Elba in its cast, but as great as he is, he’s not the real star here. That honor goes to Abraham Attah, the Ghanaian teenager who makes his acting debut here as a young boy who is drafted into service as a child soldier in a brutal civil war. Unsurprisingly, it’s quite disturbing stuff, but it’s undeniably powerful and hard to forget.

Under the shade

Set in Tehran during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, this Persian-language film is that rarest: a horror film that feels genuinely new. This is partly due to the relatively new monster (the shadowy Djinn), partly to the setting and partly to the brilliant central performance of Narges Rashidi. It also manages to be totally terrifying while barely spilling a drop of blood.

The Mitchells versus the machines

The Mitchells vs. the Machines is one of the funniest family animated films in years, and criminally underrated. Katie Mitchell goes to film school. However, her family insists on taking her on a road trip to college. Their journey is interrupted by the impending robot apocalypse, and as such the four must work together to save the world.

Marriage story

Brace yourself for an emotional conversation with Marriage Story as we watch the gradual process of divorce unfold over the course of a few hours, becoming more toxic and ugly over time. It shows the complexity of how a relationship breaks down, and how the legal elements of divorce conflict with the couple’s emotions. It’s not the easiest watch, but it’s certainly enlightening and quite heartbreaking.

Destruction

This clever sci-fi film from director Alex Garland (of the also excellent Ex Machina) received a theatrical release in the US, but went straight to Netflix here in the UK. Don’t take that as a bad sign, though: it’s not that Annihilation is bad, but simply that studio Paramount was worried that its mix of trippy visuals, dark horror, and loose plot wouldn’t result in big box office returns. This isn’t an easy watch, but trust us, it’s worth it.

Anima

Anima is slightly different: this 15-minute short film is essentially an extended music video. However, it is an extended music video starring Thom Yorke for three songs from his album Anima, and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. Turn up the volume and enjoy a surreal, dystopian dance that would be the perfect warm-up for a meatier film.

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

This Western anthology by the Coen brothers tells six different, unrelated stories in the old West. Pay no attention to character connections – there are none – but instead follow the ebb and flow of the theme as the directors explore mortality, kindness and the futility of existence in these utterly distinct, utterly memorable stories.

The night comes for us

If you loved the Indonesian martial arts epic The Raid but thought it could be a little more violent, then The Night Comes for Us might be for you. The Raid star Iko Uwais returns – albeit this time in a supporting role – and the martial arts action is just as impressive, but now backed by enough gore to make The Evil Dead blush.

Paddington2

Both Paddington films are on Netflix, but Paddington 2 is one of the few films to ever achieve a near-perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes (and for good reason). It’s about the beloved bear going on an adventure through London, a heartfelt family story that will leave you in tears, and a flamboyant Hugh Grant as the villain. What else do you want?