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. Apollo 13
- Streaming on: Netflix (subscription)
- Runtime: 140 minutes
- Genres: Drama and Action & Adventure
- Director: Ron Howard
- Cast: Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, and Kevin Bacon
- Release date: June 30, 1995
#19. How to Train Your Dragon
- Streaming on: Prime Video (rent/buy)
- Runtime: 98 minutes
- Genres: Action & Adventure and Animation
- Director: Chris Sanders
- Cast: Dean DeBlois, Jay Baruchel, and Gerard Butler
- Release date: March 18, 2010
#18. Spider-Man: No Way Home
- Runtime: 148 minutes
- Genres: Action & Adventure and Fantasy
- Director: Jon Watts
- Cast: Tom Holland, Zendaya, and Benedict Cumberbatch
- Release date: Dec. 15, 2021
#17. 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
#16. The Rainmaker
- Runtime: 135 minutes
- Genres: Drama and Crime
- Director: Francis Ford Coppola
- Cast: Matt Damon, Claire Danes, and Danny DeVito
- Release date: Nov. 21, 1997
#15. This Is Spinal Tap
- Streaming on: PlutoTV (free)
- Runtime: 82 minutes
- Genres: Comedy and Music
- Director: Rob Reiner
- Cast: Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer
- Release date: March 2, 1984
#14. 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
#13. Ne Zha
- Runtime: 110 minutes
- Genres: Action & Adventure and Animation
- Director: Yu Yang
- Cast: Yanting Lv, Joseph, and Mo Han
- Release date: July 13, 2019
#12. 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
#11. 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
#10. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
- Streaming on: fuboTV (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
#9. Alien
- Streaming on: Hulu (subscription)
- Runtime: 117 minutes
- Genres: Horror and Science-Fiction
- Director: Ridley Scott
- Cast: Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, and Veronica Cartwright
- Release date: May 25, 1979
#8. 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
#7. 28 Days Later
- Streaming on: PlutoTV (free)
- Runtime: 113 minutes
- Genres: Drama and Horror
- Director: Danny Boyle
- Cast: Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, and Brendan Gleeson
- Release date: Nov. 15, 2002
#6. 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
#5. Freaky Friday
- Streaming on: Disney+ (subscription)
- Runtime: 97 minutes
- Genres: Romance and Comedy
- Director: Mark Waters
- Cast: Lindsay Lohan, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Harold Gould
- Release date: Aug. 6, 2003
#4. Barbarian
- Streaming on: Netflix (subscription)
- Runtime: 102 minutes
- Genres: Horror and Mystery
- Director: Zach Cregger
- Cast: Georgina Campbell, Justin Long, and Bill Skarsgård
- Release date: Sept. 8, 2022
#3. 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
#2. 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
#1. 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
