The 10 most popular movies on Netflix right now | Digital Trends (2024)

Genre

Adventure, Comedy, Drama

Stars

Shia LaBeouf, Zack Gottsagen, Dakota Johnson

Directed by

Tyler Nilson, Michael Schwartz

Watch on Netflix

In The Peanut Butter Falcon, Zak (Zack Gottsagen) is a 22-year-old with Down syndrome who dreams of becoming a professional wrestler. Zak aspires to train at a wrestling school in North Carolina under the tutelage of his hero, the Salt Water Redneck (Thomas Haden Church). One day, Zak runs away from his state-run care facility and links up with Tyler (Shia LaBeouf), an outlaw who agrees to help him get to North Carolina.

The two form a genuine friendship as they walk, talk, and even sail to evade capture. Zak’s caretaker at the nursing home, Eleanor (Dakota Johnson), eventually catches up to the duo and agrees to accompany them on their journey. The newly formed trio learns a lot about each other along the way in one of the feel-good movies of 2019.

Genre

Action, Adventure, Fantasy

Stars

Matt Damon, Jing Tian, Willem Dafoe

Directed by

Zhang Yimou

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While searching for gunpowder in China, European mercenaries are attacked by a monster near the Great Wall. Only two men — Irishman William Garin (Matt Damon) and Spaniard Pero Tovar (The Last of Usstar Pedro Pascal) — survive by slaying the monster.

At the Wall, William and Pero are taken prisoner by the Nameless Order, a group of warriors tasked with fighting alien monsters. Though William and Pero plan to escape the Order, the alien battle prevents them from leaving China. With no other options, William and Pero join the Chinese forces in the fight against the Beast Queen and her dominant army.

Genre

Thriller, Action, Crime

Stars

Denzel Washington, Marton Csokas, Chloë Grace Moretz

Directed by

Antoine Fuqua

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Denzel Washington and Antoine Fuqua collaborated for the second time in the 2014 action thriller The Equalizer. Washington stars as Robert McCall, a former military veteran and DIA assassin who insists on living a quiet life in his remaining years. Robert’s retirement is cut short after meeting Alina (Chloë Grace Moretz), a young teen wishing to escape her career as a sex worker.

After Alina winds up in the ICU from an attack by her Russian pimp, Robert cannot stay on the sidelines any longer. With his elite combat skills, Robert becomes a one-man wrecking crew, taking on the entire Russian mafia to protect Alina and free her from their wrath.

Genre

Action

Stars

Scott Adkins, Michael Jai White, Alexis Knapp

Directed by

James Nunn

Watch on Netflix

One of Hollywood’s most underrated martial artists is Scott Adkins. The British performer is the lead in the action thriller One More Shot. As the direct sequel to 2021’s One Shot, One More Shot marks the return of Adkins’s Jake Harris, an elite Navy SEAL. After a black site in Poland falls under attack, Jake must escort a notorious terrorist suspect, Amin Mansure (Waleed Elgadi), to Washington, D.C., for interrogation.

However, Amin is a wanted man, and several sinister forces attempt to disrupt the extraction to the United States. Gunned down by heavily armed mercenaries, Jake must trust his instincts and rely on his training to protect Amin and make it to the nation’s capital alive. One More Shot applies the one-take method of filming, meaning it’s edited to look like a single, continuous take.

Genre

Family, Adventure, Animation, Comedy

Stars

Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer

Directed by

Tom McGrath, Eric Darnell

Watch on Netflix

Everyone’s favorite Central Park Zoo animals — Alex the lion (Ben Stiller), Marty the zebra (Chris Rock), Melman the giraffe (David Schwimmer), and Gloria the hippopotamus — are back in Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa.The quartet attempts to return to New York City on a cargo plane with lemurs King Julien XIII (Sacha Baron Cohen), Maurice (Cedric the Entertainer), and Mort (Andy Richter).

Unfortunately for the animals, the plane never makes it to the Big Apple, crashing in continental Africa on the savannah. However, each animal is welcomed by their native species, including Alex, who reunites with his parents. Will the group live here forever or continue their original plan of returning to New York?

Genre

Comedy, Adventure, Fantasy, Animation, Family

Stars

Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz

Directed by

Mike Mitchell

Watch on Netflix

The adventures of Shrek (Mike Myers) continue in the fourth film, Shrek Forever After. Shrek is married to Fiona (Cameron Diaz), a father to their children, and a celebrity because of his actions in the previous films. However, Shrek longs for the days of his privacy in the swamp.

Shrek signs a contract with Rumpelstiltskin (Walt Dohrn) to become a “real ogre” for a day. However, Shrek is sent to an alternate reality where he has never met Fiona and where Rumpel is the leader. Shrek eventually teams up with Donkey (Eddie Murphy) to undo the contract and return to his old life in the franchise’s final film.

Genre

Drama

Stars

Robert Downey Jr., Robert Duvall, Vera Farmiga

Directed by

David Dobkin

Watch on Netflix

After the death of his mother, Hank Palmer (The Sympathizer‘s Robert Downey Jr.), a defense attorney in Chicago, returns to his small hometown in Indiana. Hank reunites with his older brother, Glen (Vincent D’Onofrio), and younger brother, Dale (Jeremy Strong), before reluctantly meeting with his estranged father, Judge Joseph Palmer (Robert Duvall).

Hank is about to leave town when his father gets arrested for a hit-and-run death. Hank must swallow his pride and defend his father, even though the judge wants nothing to do with his son. While working on the case, Hank learns about a secret that could explain why his father has been hard on him his entire life.

Genre

Comedy, History

Stars

Jerry Seinfeld, Melissa McCarthy, Jim Gaffigan

Directed by

Jerry Seinfeld

Watch on Netflix

Jerry Seinfeld tackles the story of Pop-Tarts in his directorial debut, Unfrosted. As Seinfeld explained in an interview with Netflix, the story in Unfrosted “happened in Battle Creek, Michigan, where Kellogg’s and Post were located, and they did compete to come up with this product.” However, the rest of it is “complete lunacy.”

In Unfrosted, Seinfeld stars as Bob Cabana, an employee of Kellogg’s in early 1960s Michigan. Kellogg’s is in a bitter battle with a rival company, Post, over a breakfast pastry. Both companies are known for cereal, which is why being the first to release a breakfast pastry will change the world.

Genre

Animation, Comedy, Fantasy, Adventure, Family

Stars

Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz

Directed by

Vicky Jenson, Andrew Adamson

Watch on Netflix

Shrek is not your ordinary fairy tale. The protagonist is Shrek (Mike Myers), an antisocial ogre who wants to be alone in his swamp. Shrek’s dreams of peace are ruined when Lord Farquaad of Duloc (John Lithgow) banishes fairy-tale creatures to the swamp. Determined to win his swamp back, Shrek cuts a deal with Lord Farquaad. If Shrek rescues Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz) so she can be Farquaad’s bride, then Farquaad will move the fairy-tale creatures out of the swamp.

With Donkey (Eddie Murphy) by his side, Shrek travels to the castle to rescue Fiona, where she is being held prisoner by a fire-breathing dragon. Though the mission is successful, Fiona’s dark secret threatens to ruin Shrek’s deal with Farquaad.

Genre

Romance, Comedy

Stars

Brooke Shields, Miranda Cosgrove, Benjamin Bratt

Directed by

Mark Waters

Watch on Netflix

Brooke Shields plays a mother concerned with her daughter’s upcoming marriage in Mother of the Bride. After the death of her husband, Lana (Shields), has dedicated her life to being a great mother to her daughter, Emma (Miranda Cosgrave). Years later, a now-grown-up Emma returns from working abroad to tell Lana about her plans to marry her boyfriend, RJ (Sean Teale). Much to Lana’s surprise, the wedding is one month away in Thailand.

Lana eventually comes around and agrees to support her daughter. However, things get complicated soon after Lana arrives and discovers RJ’s father is Will Jackson (Benjamin Bratt), her ex-boyfriend and the man who broke her heart. Weddings facilitate love, so perhaps rekindling with a former flame is on Lana’s agenda.