It’s been a bit of a dud year for Netflix on the movie front. The streaming service has offered subscribers an awful lot of subpar flicks, and even the ones I’ve enjoyed (like Tom Hardy's "Havoc") aren't exactly flawless. Fortunately, the tide looks to be turning in the weeks and months ahead.
Netflix has a habit of saving its very best original movies of the year for the fall season, typically for awards campaign purposes, and that doesn’t look to be changing in 2025. I don’t want to set my expectations too high, but as we exit summer, things look set to heat up on Netflix with new movies from acclaimed directors and adaptations of very popular novels.
I can’t forget to mention the return of the uber-popular "Knives Out" franchise either. So, there’s going to be plenty of new movies that should be worthy of your Netflix watchlist arriving pretty soon. These are the five upcoming Netflix movies I really wish I could watch right now.
'The Woman in Cabin 10' (October 10)
Ruth Ware’s best-selling novel of the same name is being adapted into a slick-looking Netflix mystery thriller, and I’m ready to step aboard.
"The Woman in Cabin 10" appears to have all the ingredients for a compelling watch, with a twisting plotline at its core, and Keira Knightley in the leading role. The first look images also do a great job of setting the high-sea stakes.
In "The Woman in Cabin 10," Knightley plays Laura Blacklock, a journalist traveling on a luxury cruise liner to cover its maiden voyage. But this swanky trip turns into a psychological nightmare when she witnesses a passenger being thrown overboard.
The wrinkle is that nobody seems to believe what she saw, and according to the passenger manifesto, all the guests and crew are accounted for. I’m getting big shades of 2005’s "Flightplan" with Jodie Foster here, which is certainly no bad thing.
'A House of Dynamite' (October 24)
We haven’t even got a trailer for "A House of Dynamite" yet, but I’ve already got real confidence that this political thriller is going to be among the best Netflix movies of the year.
It comes from director Kathryn Bigelow, the Oscar-winning filmmaker behind "The Hurt Locker" and "Zero Dark Thirty," and boasts a very strong cast including Idris Elba, Rebecca Ferguson, Kaitlyn Dever and Anthony Ramos.
The movie will see a group of government officials scrambling to form an action plan in the wake of a missile being launched at the U.S. It’s a setup ripe for clock-ticking tension, and almost certainly a healthy dose of timely commentary.
We may only have a few details to go off right now, but "A House of Dynamite" is already extremely high on my watchlist.
'Ballad of a Small Player' (October 29)
Last year, director Edward Berger delivered one of my favorite movies of 2024 with "Conclave" (and his 2022 spin on "All Quiet on the Western Front" was also fantastic), so "Ballad of a Small Player" had my interest before I’d even seen a single frame of footage.
Now that we have a first trailer, my anticipation levels for this neon-drunk psychological thriller have only increased even further. Colin Farrell plays a man in an increasingly desperate situation as he attempts to outrun his past by lying low in Macau (known as the "Last Vegas of Asia").
He fills his days drinking and gambling, but is offered a lifeline by a mysterious casino employee (Fala Chen). At the same time, a private investigator (Tilda Swinton) is on his tail and looking to bring his dark past to the surface.
'Frankenstein' (November 7)
Guillermo del Toro and Netflix have become great bedfellows in recent years, and the already fruitful partnership is continuing in 2025 for a new adaptation of Mary Shelley’s iconic novel, "Frankenstein."
Yes, this legendary (and still timely) story has served as the inspiration and source material for more movies and TV shows than I could list here, but when del Toro is behind the camera, you better believe I’ll be watching day one.
If you somehow don’t know the story of "Frankenstein," it centers on a genius scientist who creates a monstrous creature, but as the story unfolds, the lines between monster and man blur.
Oscar Isaac will be playing Victor Frankenstein, with Jacob Elordi in the role of Frankenstein’s monster. Plus, Mai Goth, Christoph Waltz and Charles Dance are in supporting roles.
The trailer suggests "Frankenstein" will be another visual stunner from del Toro, and we already know the source material holds up even after two centuries. It's hard not to be hyped.
'Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery' (December 12)
"Knives Out" and its excellent sequel "Glass Onion" are two of my favorite murder mystery movies of all time, and frankly, I’ll happily watch Daniel Craig’s Benoit Blanc crack a new case on an annual basis.
I don’t even need to hear any more details about this third entry in the "Knives Out" series. Writer/director Rian Johnson has earned my total trust already.
Alongside Craig, we know "Wake Up Dead Man" will also feature an all-star cast including Josh O'Connor, Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner, Kerry Washington, Andrew Scott and Cailee Spaeny.
The nature of the mystery Blanc will be attempting to solve is being kept under wraps for now, but that suits me fine; I don’t want any spoilers.
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