Let’s be real: Netflix’s 2025 movie slate is overflowing with star power, big swings, and enough variety to keep every type of film fan happy. From long-awaited sequels to bold new experiments, this year’s lineup feels like a mix of comfort food and high art. Whether you’re craving monster mayhem, nostalgic comedies, or slick murder mysteries, Netflix is making sure your watchlist stays stacked. Here are the 12 original films everyone’s talking about in 2025, descending to the one that’s looking like the biggest knockout of the year.
12. Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
Aardman Animations is reviving Britain’s best-loved clay pair for another romp. This time, Wallace and his faithful hound Gromit must face up to their arch-enemy Feathers McGraw, who’s now equipped with an AI-empowered garden gnome. The stop-motion wizardry is as enchanting as ever, and long-time viewers will adore that this tale follows directly after The Wrong Trousers. It’s nostalgia with an update, and just the way to remind a whole new generation of Wallace and Gromit.
11. Fear Street: Prom Queen
The Fear Street franchise is back with an all-new standalone slasher in 1988. When a surprise nominee for prom queen at Shadyside High is put on the ballot, the evening rapidly becomes from tiaras to terror when girls begin to disappear. With a fresh cast and a campy retro vibe, this installment bridges the timeline between Fear Street: 1978 and Fear Street: 1994. Expect blood, drama, and a killer prom night that fans of the series won’t want to miss.
10. The Woman in Cabin 10
Keira Knightley stars in this sharp thriller based on Ruth Ware’s hit novel. A reporter on a luxury boat sees what she thinks is a murder, but the other passengers won’t support her. Simon Stone directs, and among the supporting cast are Guy Pearce, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, and Kaya Scodelario. This bodes stylish suspense and a big helping of paranoia. Gone Girl at sea.
9. The Ballad of a Small Player
Colin Farrell stars in this dark, high-roller drama as a compulsive gambler on the run in Macau, where fate and debt are intertwined. With Tilda Swinton, Fala Chen, and Deannie Yip in supporting roles, and All Quiet on the Western Front director Edward Berger at the helm, this promises to be a hushed-up slow-burner of a thriller. Deep down, it’s about fortune, redemption, and the price of taking chances, a great fit for Farrell’s brooding intensity.
8. Steve
Cillian Murphy leaves gangsters and nuclear physicists behind to play a reform school headteacher through one life-altering day in the 1990s. Tim Mielants directs, and Tracey Ullman and Jay Lycurgo co-star in the film, which is adapted from the novel Shy by Max Porter. Get ready for a close-up, emotionally bare performance from Murphy in a tale of second chances, survival, and self-doubt.
7. The Thursday Murder Club
What do you have when Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley, and Celia Imrie join forces to crack crimes? A murder mystery dream cast. From the bestselling novel by Richard Osman, this comedy-whodunit follows a team of retirees who discover they have more than they bargained for. Directed by Chris Columbus, the movie offers equal doses of smart intrigue and warm humor. With this cast, it’s already a crowd-pleaser in waiting.
6. Frankenstein
Guillermo del Toro finally confronts the monster that’s been obsessed with him for decades. His take on Mary Shelley’s gothic masterpiece boasts Oscar Isaac as Victor Frankenstein and Jacob Elordi as the Creature, with Mia Goth and Christoph Waltz. With del Toro’s classic combination of gothic splendor and existential terror, this is going to be more than a monster movie; it’s a tragedy about creation, obsession, and what it means to be human. One of the year’s most daring undertakings, hands down.
5. Happy Gilmore 2
Adam Sandler dusts off his putter almost 30 years later, delivering a sequel nobody ever thought they would see. Julie Bowen and Christopher McDonald return in their iconic roles, and this time around, Bad Bunny gets in on the action. Yes, it’s all nostalgia bait, but it’s also the sort of goofball, feel-good humor that Netflix subscribers consume. Love it or leave it, Sandler’s comedy reign on the service is unquestionable.
4. The Old Guard 2
Charlize Theron’s immortal fighter Andy is returning, and things are only going to get more complicated. With Uma Thurman and Henry Golding joining the cast, and Quynh hell-bent on revenge, this sequel takes a deeper look into the mythos of immortals while turning up the intensity. Bigger battles, more emotional gut-punches, and a story that examines what it actually means to live forever await.
3. The Electric State
The Russo brothers’ newest is a retro-futuristic action movie with Millie Bobby Brown as a teenage girl on a quest to find her brother among a wasteland of robots. Chris Pratt is her grudging companion, and Anthony Mackie provides the voice for her snarky robot sidekick. Blending live action and revolutionary animation, the movie boasts an A-list supporting cast and some of the Russos’ most daring visuals to date. Stranger Things by way of Blade Runner.
2. Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
Benoit Blanc returns, and Daniel Craig’s Southern detective is presented with his most challenging case to date. The loaded cast features Josh O’Connor, Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner, and Kerry Washington. With Rian Johnson back at the helm to write and direct, be prepared for scything wit, surprise turns, and plenty of humor among the murder and mayhem. This could be the last Knives Out entry under Netflix’s behemoth deal, so enjoy it.
1. Havoc
Leading the charge is Havoc, Gareth Evans’ next American-set film after The Raid. Tom Hardy plays Walker, a corrupt cop trekking through a violent criminal world to save a politician’s son. Forest Whitaker, Timothy Olyphant, Luis Guzmán, and Jessie Mei Li join him in what promises to be sheer pandemonium. Be prepared for bone-crunching violence, breakneck speed, and Hardy in his most feral form. If Evans brings even half the intensity of his earlier work, Havoc could be Netflix’s biggest action hit ever.
From slapstick comedies to gothic horror to bone-shattering action, Netflix is swinging for the fences in 2025. Whether you’re in the mood for laughs, chills, or edge-of-your-seat thrills, this lineup proves the streamer isn’t slowing down anytime soon.