The most popular movies to stream right now
The most popular movies to stream right now
There's no better time to be an entertainment aficionado than today. According to Nielsen's 2023 State of Play report, audiences nowadays are spoiled for choice, with more than 2.7 million video titles available across various platforms—almost a million more than just two years ago. In addition, streamers can ping pong between 167 unique streaming sources too—think Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime, just to name a few. With so much to choose from, it's not a surprise that audiences typically spend as much as 10 minutes (probably even more) looking for something to watch. With so many options, it can be hard to know where to start when picking what to stream for your next movie night.
To help narrow your options, Stacker compiled a list of the 20 most popular movies across all streaming platforms. Using data from Reelgood, with IMDb ratings and additional data points added for extra insights, the list is a far better way to select your next watch than scrolling through Netflix, Hulu, Max, Amazon Prime, etc. looking for that perfect, buzzy feature. The selection (which updates bi-monthly to keep you apprised of what's hot right now) includes a wide selection of picks, from recent Oscar nominees to the season's biggest blockbusters to genre-specific hits of the past several decades. So whether you enjoy a tense drama, a sci-fi epic, or a sweet rom-com, there's almost certainly something here that will strike your interest.
If you're more interested in what's coming soon than what's already available to stream, the list can help you there too. As existing franchises tease new installments and actors and directors announce their newest projects, the respective backlists typically see a huge resurgence in popularity. Meaning all you need to do is keep an eye on what folks are watching now and you'll have a fairly good idea of what's to come in the next several months. So without further ado, read on to see what movies audiences across the country are streaming!
#20. Species
- Runtime: 108 minutes
- Genres: Action & Adventure and Horror
- Director: Roger Donaldson
- Cast: Natasha Henstridge, Ben Kingsley, and Michael Madsen
- Release date: July 7, 1995
#19. The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
- Runtime: 157 minutes
- Genres: Drama and Action & Adventure
- Director: Francis Lawrence
- Cast: Tom Blyth, Rachel Zegler, and Peter Dinklage
- Release date: Nov. 15, 2023
#18. Mulholland Drive
- Streaming on: Prime Video (rent/buy)
- Runtime: 147 minutes
- Genres: Drama and LGBTQ
- Director: David Lynch
- Cast: Naomi Watts, Laura Harring, and Justin Theroux
- Release date: Sept. 12, 2001
#17. The Bad Guys
- Streaming on: Peacock Premium (subscription)
- Runtime: 100 minutes
- Genres: Action & Adventure and Animation
- Director: Pierre Perifel
- Cast: Sam Rockwell, Marc Maron, and Awkwafina
- Release date: March 16, 2022
#16. The Lost World: Jurassic Park
- Streaming on: Netflix (subscription)
- Runtime: 129 minutes
- Genres: Action & Adventure and Horror
- Director: Steven Spielberg
- Cast: Jeff Goldblum, Julianne Moore, and Pete Postlethwaite
- Release date: May 22, 1997
#15. Interstellar
- Runtime: 169 minutes
- Genres: Drama and Action & Adventure
- Director: Christopher Nolan
- Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, and Michael Caine
- Release date: Nov. 5, 2014
#14. 28 Weeks Later
- Streaming on: Hulu (subscription)
- Runtime: 99 minutes
- Genres: Horror and Science-Fiction
- Director: Juan Carlos Fresnadillo
- Cast: Robert Carlyle, Rose Byrne, and Jeremy Renner
- Release date: May 9, 2007
#13. Jurassic World: Dominion
- Streaming on: Peacock Premium (subscription)
- Runtime: 147 minutes
- Genres: Action & Adventure and Science-Fiction
- Director: Colin Trevorrow
- Cast: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, and Laura Dern
- Release date: June 1, 2022
#12. Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
- Streaming on: fuboTV (subscription)
- Runtime: 161 minutes
- Genres: Drama and Western
- Director: Quentin Tarantino
- Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, and Margot Robbie
- Release date: July 24, 2019
#11. How to Train Your Dragon
- Runtime: 98 minutes
- Genres: Action & Adventure and Animation
- Director: Chris Sanders
- Cast: Dean DeBlois, Jay Baruchel, and Gerard Butler
- Release date: March 18, 2010
#10. Superman
- Runtime: 143 minutes
- Genres: Action & Adventure and Crime
- Director: Richard Donner
- Cast: Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, and Gene Hackman
- Release date: Dec. 14, 1978
#9. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
- Streaming on: Peacock Premium (subscription)
- Runtime: 128 minutes
- Genres: Action & Adventure and Science-Fiction
- Director: J. A. Bayona
- Cast: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, and Rafe Spall
- Release date: June 6, 2018
#8. Jaws
- Streaming on: Netflix (subscription)
- Runtime: 124 minutes
- Genres: Action & Adventure and Horror
- Director: Steven Spielberg
- Cast: Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, and Richard Dreyfuss
- Release date: June 20, 1975
#7. Nobody
- Streaming on: Freevee (free)
- Runtime: 92 minutes
- Genres: Drama and Crime
- Cast: Connie Nielsen, Christopher Lloyd, and Michael Ironside
- Release date: March 18, 2021
#6. Jurassic World
- Streaming on: Freevee (free)
- Runtime: 124 minutes
- Genres: Action & Adventure and Horror
- Director: Colin Trevorrow
- Cast: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, and Irrfan Khan
- Release date: June 10, 2015
#5. Jurassic Park
- Streaming on: Netflix (subscription)
- Runtime: 127 minutes
- Genres: Action & Adventure and Science-Fiction
- Director: Steven Spielberg
- Cast: Sam Neill, Laura Dern, and Jeff Goldblum
- Release date: June 11, 1993
#4. The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!
- Runtime: 85 minutes
- Genres: Crime and Comedy
- Director: David Zucker
- Cast: Leslie Nielsen, Priscilla Presley, and Ricardo Montalban
- Release date: Dec. 2, 1988
#3. 28 Days Later
- Runtime: 113 minutes
- Genres: Drama and Horror
- Director: Danny Boyle
- Cast: Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, and Brendan Gleeson
- Release date: Nov. 15, 2002
#2. I Know What You Did Last Summer
- Runtime: 101 minutes
- Genres: Horror and Mystery
- Director: Jim Gillespie
- Cast: Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar, and Freddie Prinze Jr.
- Release date: Oct. 17, 1997
#1. Happy Gilmore
- Streaming on: Starz (subscription)
- Runtime: 92 minutes
- Genres: Comedy and Sport
- Director: Dennis Dugan
- Cast: Adam Sandler, Christopher McDonald, and Julie Bowen
- Release date: Feb. 16, 1996
