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With the first third of 2026 behind us (yes, it's gone fast), now is a good time to take stock of all the Netflix’s No. 1 movie of the year so far.
As of May 1, exactly 10 movies have risen to the top of the Netflix top 10 most-watched movies list and claimed the No. 1 crown. In fact, a couple of them held onto the title for several weeks before being dethroned. However, don’t mistakenly believe that a Netflix No. 1 is a guarantee of quality. In fact, there’s been more duds than winners to reach the summit.
That’s why I’ve collected together every Netflix No. 1 movie of 2026 to date, and then picked out the three that genuinely deserved the honor. Here are the No. 1 movies worth watching. Get these in your watchlist right now.
Article continues belowBest Netflix No. 1 movies in 2025 (so far)
‘The Rip’
Netflix kicked off the year with “The Rip” in January, and three months later, it remains my favorite Netflix movie of 2026 so far. The latest collaboration between longtime professional partners Matt Damon and Ben Affleck is a crime thriller that keeps you engaged throughout. The opening act sets the high stakes and starts to ramp up the tension, and eventually “The Rip” builds into an action-packed finale. Not to mention there's a neat twist.
“The Rip” centers on a group of Miami cops who stumble upon a stash of ill-gotten cash in a derelict suburban house. This forces the squad into a tricky position as they attempt to figure out whose money they’ve just found, and more importantly, who can be trusted when there’s eye watering sums of money on the table. Damon and Affleck work great as a pair, and the thriller takes place over a single night, which adds to the drama and keeps the pacing strong.
Watch "The Rip" on Netflix now
‘Anaconda’
My colleague Malcolm McMillan labeled “Anaconda” the funniest movie of 2025, and while I can’t quite go that far (for me, that honor went to “Friendship”), it’s an easy-going, enjoyable adventure-comedy that manages to swerve the pitfalls that so many Hollywood reboots fall into. Rather than just remaking 1997’s B-movie cult classic “Anaconda,” this new spin on the franchise opts for a meta approach. This works particularly well and is charmingly novel.
Anchored by strong comedic talent in Jack Black and Paul Rudd, the pair play lifelong friends who are fed up with their unsatisfying lives. To break out of the ruts they find themselves in, they head into the Amazon Rainforest to film a low-budget remake of their favorite movie, “Anaconda.” But once on location, they are stalked for real by a gigantic reptile. Watch out for a hilarious recurring joke about movies having themes.
Watch "Anaconda" on Netflix now
‘Apex’
Netflix’s current No. 1 (as of writing) is the survival thriller “Apex,” which plays out like a collection of genre tropes. There’s nothing original about this Netflix effort, which doesn’t make it bad per se, but it’s certainly not the most memorable movie you’ll watch this year. Still, its brisk 95-minute runtime makes it an appealing pick if you need a digestible Netflix movie after a busy working day, and it stars Charlize Theron and Taron Egerton.
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: Theron plays a grieving widow, traveling to the Australian outback for a spot of adventurous risk-taking. There she stumbles upon Egerton’s unhinged hunter, who forces her into a cat-and-mouse game with life-or-death stakes. Egerton fully embraces his psychopathic character, while Theron handles the protagonist's emotional arc with ease. “Apex” is fine, but its inclusion on this list speaks more to the subpar nature of Netflix’s No. 1 movies this year, rather than its quality.
Watch "Apex" on Netflix now
Every Netflix No. 1 movie in 2025 (so far)
- "People We Meet on Vacation"
- "The Rip"
- "The Investigation of Lucy Letby"
- "Joe’s College Trip Road"
- "Jurassic World Rebirth"
- "War Machine"
- "Gaslit By My Husband: The Morgan Metzer Story"
- "Anaconda"
- "Thrash"
- "Apex"
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