Netflix’s movie lineup this week is a tad heavy on the tinsel, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have picks that aren’t snow-covered and served with cocoa. From awards-season favorites to family-friendly hits and stirring thrillers, these are the worthiest films to add to your watchlist this week, all selected by our editorial team in an effort to both shine a light on Netflix’s most engaging digital fare and help you minimize browsing through their menu while maximizing movie time, with titles equally likely to appear in an end-of-year best list or at your own future rewatch stop.
Anticipate a mix of crowd-pleasing originals that stick on the service and prestige titles that topped critics’ lists.
If you’re going back and forth between recommendations, try this one first.
What’s New and Popular on Netflix This Week
The Killer: David Fincher’s ice-cold procedural is the definition of a movie that gets better every time you see it. Featuring a precision-tooled performance from Michael Fassbender and a propulsive score, it’s one of the platform’s best-reviewed thrillers, and it regularly pops up near or at the top of Netflix’s in-app Top 10 across regions.
Leave the World Behind: A tension-riding, conversation-starting disaster mystery with Mahershala Ali, Julia Roberts, and Ethan Hawke. It generated days of social chatter upon release, and it remains a fail-safe “play next” selection for its uncannily plausible premise and the hidden complexity of its closing act.
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery: Rian Johnson’s whodunit sequel is that rare rewatchable mystery—brisk, clever, and stacked with needle-drop moments. It is one of Netflix’s most-watched English-language films to date, according to the company’s engagement reports.
Holiday Favorites With Real Heft to Stream on Netflix
Klaus: A modern classic. Handcrafted animation from Sergio Pablos and a clever origin story for Santa were widely praised, leading to major animation honors and robust family repeat views. It’s one of the few holiday films that gets better as it ages.
The Christmas Chronicles: Kurt Russell’s swaggering Santa leads a lively, effects-forward adventure that still lands with kids and parents. If your living room is looking for a crowd-pleaser that won’t try adult patience, this is the play.
Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey: An original musical full of color and choreography—not to mention a knockout performance from Forest Whitaker. It’s become a part of Netflix’s seasonal carousel, and streams of its soundtrack jump every December on all major music services—evidence of real staying power.
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio: Not technically a holiday film, but its stop-motion warmth and winter palette make it ideal December viewing. The film took home the Academy Award for Animated Feature and still stands as a masterclass in artisanal animation.
Prestige Dramas to Sink Your Teeth Into This Week
All Quiet on the Western Front: The year’s most decorated international feature, this German-language adaptation won several Oscars and demonstrates Netflix’s global production muscle. The fight scenes are brutal, but its silences last longest.
Society of the Snow: J.A. Bayona’s survival epic combines documentary rigor with cinematic sweep. It won awards internationally and was one of Netflix’s most-watched non-English films in the company’s engagement reporting, with high completion rates for a drama that ran two-plus hours.
The Irishman: Martin Scorsese’s elegiac crime saga is still the film to see on the service that financed it. Come for the De Niro–Pacino–Pesci trio; stay for a final hour that recasts an entire genre in terms of regret and consequence.
Action and Thrillers for a Cozy Night on Netflix
Extraction 2: Sam Hargrave’s corridor-and-rail-yard set pieces are textbook stunt design—no surprise it rocketed to the global Top 10 and stayed on people’s rewatch list for weeks. If you like your action maximalist and spaced clean, this is your anchor title.
His House: A taut refugee horror movie that doubles as social commentary. Its mix of inventive scares and emotional core was well received by critics, and it’s a frequent recommendation from genre curators as one of the platform’s best original horrors.
Cam: A techno-thriller that gets platform dynamics better than most. Sharp, disturbing, and under 100 minutes, it’s a shrewd choice when you feel like something smart and sinister but not two hours’ worth.
Under-the-Radar Gems to Queue Next on Netflix
I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore: Macon Blair’s dark comedy won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance and has been a word-of-mouth favorite on Netflix. It’s odd in the best sense of that term—as in funny, prickly, and unexpectedly sweet.
The Dig: A quietly riveting archaeological drama featuring Carey Mulligan and Ralph Fiennes. It was a solid performer on release in Nielsen’s streaming movie charts, an illustration of how well-made low-key stories can travel on Netflix.
Roma: Alfonso Cuarón’s black-and-white memory piece is still one of Netflix’s signature originals—Oscar-winning, deeply personal, ravishingly photographed. If you passed on it due to the subtitles, let this be your nudge.
How We Chose This Week’s Picks and What We Considered
This list is supported by Netflix’s own engagement disclosures, third-party viewership snapshots from entities like Nielsen, and other critic and user sentiment from sources like Rotten Tomatoes and industry awards bodies. More significantly, every single title here is especially user-friendly right now—easy to locate in the interface, widely available in the United States, and perfect for the season. If you’re only queuing a few, go with Klaus for families, The Killer for thriller lovers, and All Quiet on the Western Front for a night to remember at the movies.
