2026 has been a great year for theatrical movies, with films as varied as Project Hail Mary<\/em><\/a>, The Devil Wears Prada 2<\/em><\/a> and Obsession<\/em> breaking box-office records<\/a> and receiving widespread critical acclaim.<\/p>\n It\u2019s been a good year for Netflix<\/a>, too, as the streamer has released a steady stream of high-quality films that make it worth subscribing to \u2013 at least until the next price hike.<\/p>\n Watch With Us<\/a> loves making \u201cbest of\u201d lists, and it\u2019s around this time that we rank the best Netflix movies of 2026 so far.<\/p>\n From January\u2019s intense action flick The Rip<\/em> with Matt Damon<\/strong> and Ben Affleck<\/strong><\/a> to May\u2019s quiet drama Remarkably Bright Creatures<\/em> with Sally Field<\/strong>, these movies made a lasting impression on us and deserve to be watched by as many people as possible.\n<\/p>\n Still mourning the loss of her husband, Sasha (Charlize Theron<\/strong><\/a>) travels to Australia for two weeks of rock climbing, kayaking in rough rivers and camping in the wilderness. She gets to do all those things, but not in the way she imagined when she runs into Ben (Taron Egerton<\/strong>), a seemingly nice guy who really wants to hunt and kill her for sport. Sasha doesn\u2019t want to die, but she\u2019s at a disadvantage in a land Ben knows all too well. It\u2019s a fight to the death between Ben and Sasha, and only one of them will emerge victorious.<\/p>\n Apex<\/em> is an effective survival thriller that blends elements of The River Wild<\/em> with Meryl Streep<\/strong> and The Silence of the Lambs<\/em> with Anthony Hopkins<\/strong><\/a>\u2018 charismatic cannibal, Hannibal Lecter. Ben isn\u2019t just a deranged hunter \u2013 he\u2019s also a deranged serial killer who likes to eat his victims. Theron\u2019s already proven herself in the action genre, and her genre is another fierce yet flawed heroine who isn\u2019t going to go quietly into that good night.<\/p>\n I\u2019m a sucker for \u201chow did we get here\u201d documentaries, and Inside the Manospher<\/em>e provides some juicy insight into a subculture that made Andrew Tate<\/strong> and Clavicular<\/strong><\/a> household names. The British journalist Louis Theroux<\/strong> spends the bulk of the documentary<\/a>\u2019s 90-minute runtime interviewing key figures in the alpha male movement, like Harrison Sullivan<\/strong> (better known as HSTikkyTokky<\/strong><\/a>) and Justin Waller<\/strong>, to find out what makes these guys tick.<\/p>\n The answer isn\u2019t a surprise \u2013 it\u2019s money. None of these really believe the toxic ideologies they\u2019re selling; they just know they can sell them to a young male audience squeezed out by the economy and raised on a digital diet of easy-to-access porn. Inside the Manosphere<\/em> deals with serious issues, but it often feels like an extended episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm<\/em>. Theroux can\u2019t quite believe these guys act the way they do, and when he holds a mirror to his subjects, the reflection isn\u2019t pretty \u2013 it\u2019s hysterical. No documentary this year has captured its subjects so truthfully, and it\u2019s that honesty that makes Inside the Manosphere<\/em> a social comedy worthy of Larry David<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n Thrash<\/em> slams together a natural disaster epic and a shark thriller into one fun little B-movie. When a Category 5 hurricane renders most of a small South Carolina town underwater, the survivors are forced to find dry land wherever they can. Pregnant Lisa (Phoebe Dynevor<\/strong><\/a>) can\u2019t \u2013 she\u2019s trapped in her car and can\u2019t get out. To make matters worse, all that water lets a few hungry sharks roam the town\u2019s flooded streets \u2013 and Lisa\u2019s next on the menu.<\/p>\n The premise is juicy enough, but the execution is even better. Director Tommy Wirkola<\/strong> knows how to stage a decent action scene, and he generates ample suspense when the sharks start invading people\u2019s homes looking for their next meal. Jaws<\/em> this ain\u2019t, but Thrash<\/em> joins 2019\u2019s Crawl<\/em> in the modern instant trash classic hall of fame.<\/p>\n Octogenarian aquarium worker Tova (Sally Field<\/strong><\/a>) doesn\u2019t expect much out of life, so it\u2019s a surprise to even her that she worms so quickly to drifter Cameron (Lewis Pullman<\/strong>), who is young enough to be her grandson. They\u2019re both lost souls looking for friendship and a little closure. By working together, they eventually find a way to confront some painful trauma from their pasts.<\/p>\n You have successfully subscribed.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n There\u2019s nothing revolutionary about Remarkably Bright Creatures<\/em>; it\u2019s a simple picture about simple people who can\u2019t quite get over the pain they feel resulting from the absence of a loved one. But it has a quiet grace few modern movies lack, and it gives Field another complicated woman for her to bring to life. Plus, any film with an omniscient orange octopus has to be good, right?<\/p>\n When Miami cop Dane Dumars (Matt Damon<\/strong><\/a>) receives a tip about a stash of illegal money hidden in a suburban house, he doesn\u2019t expect it to be $20 million. That\u2019s a lot of cash to hand over to someone else, and he\u2019s tempted to take some for himself. But he\u2019s not alone, and the rest of his team, including fellow police officer JD Byrne (Ben Affleck<\/strong>), are suspicious of Dumars \u2013 and each other. With a lot of cash and their careers on the line, can these cops trust each other?<\/p>\n The Rip<\/em> is one of those Netflix films you wish had been released in movie theaters. Directed by Joe Carnahan<\/strong>, it has the look and feel of classic cops-and-robbers action thrillers like Miami Blues<\/em> and Heat<\/em>. The film\u2019s plot is a little tricky, but it all makes sense \u2013 you know who is double-crossing whom and why. The large cast, which also includes Steven Yeun<\/strong><\/a>, Teyana Taylor <\/strong>and Kyle Chandler<\/strong><\/a>, is on-point \u2013 you buy them as cops who might want to break their own laws to shore up their non-existent retirement accounts. Quentin Tarantino<\/strong> recently cited The Rip<\/em> as one of the few movies he\u2019s enjoyed in the post-COVID era<\/a>, which is all the praise a film like this needs.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n5. \u2018Apex\u2019<\/h2>\n
\n Taron Egerton as Ben and Charlize Theron as Sasha in Apex.<\/span> Kane Skennar\/Netflix \u00a9 2026<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n4. \u2018Louis Theroux: Inside the Manosphere\u2019<\/h2>\n
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\n Ed Matthews, Louis Theroux in Louis Theroux: Inside the Manosphere.<\/span> Netflix<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n3. \u2018Thrash\u2019<\/h2>\n
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\n Phoebe Dynevor in Thrash.<\/span> Netflix<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n2. \u2018Remarkably Bright Creatures\u2019<\/h2>\n
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\n Lewis Pullman and Sally Field in Remarkably Bright Creatures.<\/span> Netflix<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/wp-content\/themes\/us-weekly\/assets\/img\/newsletter-bg-narrow.jpg\")
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<\/p>\nThank You!<\/h3>\n
1. \u2018The Rip\u2019<\/h2>\n
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\n Scott Adkins, Ben Affleck, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Teyana Taylor and Daisuke Tsuji in The Rip<\/span> Claire Folger\/Netflix \u00a9 2025.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n