New Netflix movies: the biggest films to stream in November 2023

New Netflix movies land on the streaming platform every week, but you might not be aware what's available to watch when a new weekend (or week day) rolls around.

Luckily for you, we're here to help. In this guide, you'll find all of the new movies to hit the world's best streaming service in recent weeks – regardless of whether they're good or bad. Our selection includes Netflix Originals and third-party licensed films, which span the gamut of genres, so there's something for everyone to enjoy below.

If you're searching for even more Netflix film-based suggestions, our best Netflix movies list is packed with some of the greatest flicks to ever grace the big and small screens. For now, though, stick with this article and – particularly if you're based in the US – read on to see what's worth streaming while you tuck into those Thanksgiving dinner leftovers.

New Netflix movies: November 2023

Leo

Release date: November 21
Directors: Robert Marianetti, Robert Smigel, and David Wachtenheim
Cast: Adam Sandler, Bill Burr, and Cecily Strong

2023 feels like Adam Sandler's year on Netflix. Not content with starring in Murder Mystery 2, The Out-Laws, and You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah, he's also voicing the titular character in this family-friendly musical-comedy flick.

Sandler stars as jaded school pet lizard Leo, who's been stuck in the same Florida classroom alongside his turtle friend Squirtle (Burr) for decades. But, when Leo learns he only has a year left to live, he plans to escape from his glass-wall confinement and live life to the full for once.

Leo has been positively received by fans and critics alike, with its respective 95% and 76% scores on Rotten Tomatoes proving as much. A heart-warming flick about enjoying everything life has to offer that's sure to be on repeat throughout the festive season.

Rustin

Release date: November 17
Director: George C Wolfe
Cast: Colman Domingo, Chris Rock, Glynn Turman, CCH Pounder, and Audra McDonald

Colman Domingo delivers a powerful performance in Rustin, a film based on the architect of 1963's momentous March on Washington, which culminated with Martin Luther King giving his legendary and impactful 'I Have a Dream' speech.

Domingo portrays the titular Bayard Rustin, a political and social activist, and one of the civil rights movement's most influential men. Never one to apologize for who he was or what he believed in, the inspirational Black and gay leader helped to make history.

All of this begs the question: why has his iconic story never been told before? It's certainly long overdue, but Netflix aims to finally shine a light on Rustin in this powerful tale of resolve, faith, and standing up for what's right. It's worth watching, too, based on its 86% critical and 71% audience scores on Rotten Tomatoes.

Best. Christmas. Ever!

Release date: November 16
Director: Mary Lambert
Cast: Heather Graham, Brandy Norwood, and Jason Biggs

Christmas has come early to Netflix in this seemingly feel-good holiday flick. 

Graham (Twin Peaks, The Hangover) and Norwood (The Game) star in this feel-good holiday flick as Charlotte and Jackie respectively. Each year, the latter sends a boastful holiday newsletter to her friends, including Charlotte, who is always left feeling insignificant despite her own stable family life. When a twist of fate lands Charlotte and her family and Jackie's door one Christmas, though, Charlotte sets out to prove her former college friend's life isn't as great as she makes out.

Best. Christmas. Ever!'s trailer didn't look all that enticing. It'll come as no surprise to learn, then, that Best. Christmas. Ever! is a festive flop, so we advise you to watch these five films instead.

The Killer

Release date: November 10
Director: David Fincher
Cast: Michael Fassbender, Arliss Howard, Charles Parnell, and Tilda Swinton

David Fincher's brand-new thriller is here to, well, thrill you. The Killer, which stars Michael Fassbender, looks like another unmissable Fincher offering, especially if you take its 85% Rotten Tomatoes critics rating into account (just ignore its 59% audience rating).

Based on Alexis Nolent and Luc Jacamon's graphic novel series of the same name, The Killer sees Fassbender play an unnamed assassin. After a near-fatal miss, goes to war against his employers during an international manhunt that Fassbender's nameless protagonist insists isn't personal. Tilda Swinton and Charles Parnell are among the starry supporting cast of one of 2023's new Netflix movies. Once you've streamed it, watch these three top crime movies next.

NYAD

Release date: November 3
Directors: Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin
Cast: Annette Bening, Jodie Foster, and Rhys Ifans

Based on an incredible true story, NYAD tells the tale of journalist Diana (Bening) who, at 60 years of age, attempts to complete an epic 110-mile open ocean swim from Cuba to Florida. It's a water-based trek she's been obsessed with since she gave up marathon swimming 30 years prior. With the aid and support of long-time friend and coach Bonnie (Foster), Diana sets off on a four-year journey to tackle her biggest regret.

With an 85% critical and 82% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes, it seems NYAD is absolutely worth catching. Just make sure you have a box of tissues handy for those tear-jerking moments.

New Netflix movies: October 2023

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Release date: October 31 (US only)
Directors: Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K Thompson
Cast: Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Oscar Isaac, Jake Johnson, Issa Rae, and Daniel Kaluuya

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse made its unexpected streaming debut in late October. The spectacularly assembled animated superhero film only arrived in theaters in June, so we were taken aback to see it join Netflix's film library (in North America, anyway) so soon.

Still, we're delighted it has as it's one of 2023's best movies. Set 14 months after Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, viewers are reunited with Miles Morales, Gwen Stacey, and Peter B Parker as they embark on a new multiverse-spanning journey that, unlike its forebear, won't be such an easy one to navigate.

In our Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse review, we said it “fulfils its ambitious promise to deliver an amazing follow-up to its 2018 predecessor”. Once you've watched it, read our Across the Spider-Verse ending explained article to see how it sets up its Beyond the Spider-Verse sequel. Then, see where it ranks in our best Spider-Man movies guide, or find out how to watch the Spider-Man movies in order.

(NB: Available to rent or buy on Apple TV, Amazon, Google Play, the Microsoft Store, and YouTube in the UK and Australia.)

Pain Hustlers

Release date: October 27
Director: David Yates
Cast: Emily Blunt, Chris Evans, and Andy Garcia

In our minds, Pain Hustlers looked like a medical Wolf of Wall Street. Previously, we said if it's half as good as that movie was, we're in for a real treat. Based on its god-awful 23% critical Rotten Tomatoes score, though, we wish to retract our statement. That's in spite of its more favorable 67% audience rating, too.

Anyway, for those interested: Pain Hustlers stars Blunt as Liza Drake, a blue-collar mom who loses her job and winds up being hired by a pharmaceutical firm. However, Drake soon finds herself grappling with the company's ethical ambiguity and dangerous rackateering scheme, as well as dealing with her fellow explosive and chauvinistic employees, including Pete Brenner (Evans) and unhinged CEO Jack Neel (Garcia).

Despite us expecting Pain Hustlers to pull in millions of people, it only ended up drawing in 14.1 million views in its first week on the platform. In short: this is one of 2023's new Netflix movies that could've performed way better.

Old Dads

Release date: October 20
Director: Bill Burr
Cast: Bill Bur, Bobby Cannavale, and Bokeem Woodbine

A flick that's got comedian Bill Burr's fingerprints all over it – he's written, directed, and stars in this film – Old Dads is another Netflix comedy film that might appeal to you, depending on your sense of humor.

Also starring Ant-Man's Bobby Cannavale and the Halo TV show's Bokeem Woodbine, Old Dads tells the tale of “three best friends [who] become fathers later in life and find themselves battling preschool principals, millennial CEOs, and anything created after 1987”.

With a terrible 28% critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes, this is one film we'd ordinarily suggest you avoid. But, with a far more positive 86% audience score, Old Dads may be worth watching.

New Netflix movies: what’s coming in 2023?

Want to know about all of new Netflix movies set to arrive before New Year's Eve? See what's coming below:

Family Switch

Release date: November 30

Family Switch is an upcoming comedy-drama flick that'll immediately draw comparisons to other humorous body-swap movies like Freaky Friday and 13 Going on 30.

Ed Helms and Jennifer Garner play Bill and Jess Walker, who find themselves swapped into their children's bodies – and vice versa – after the family, who have grown distant amid the kids growing older, have a chance run-in with a seemingly magical astrology reader. Unsurprisingly, its schtick is that they only have 24 hours to work out why they've swapped places – otherwise, they'll be trapped in each other's bodies forever. One that may do okay post-Thanksgiving, especially if you're looking for a PG-friendly film to watch with your own kids.

May December

Release date: December 1 (US and Canada only)

Billed as an unsettling romantic drama, May December brings two titans of the acting game – Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore – together in a flick that could be unexpectedly great.

Portman plays Elizabeth Berry, an actress who's set to portray a fictionalized version of Moore's Gracie Atherton-Yoo on the big screen. Berry visits Atherton-Yoo and the latter's toy boy Joe Yoo, whose romantic dalliance-turned-marriage was front page news two decades earlier, to learn more about the woman she's set to play. However, Berry's arrival and intrusion upsets the couple's private life, which threatens their until-now stable relationship. 

(NB: UK viewers will be able to catch this on Sky Cinema in early December.)

The Archies

Release date: December 7

Based on the famous US comic book series of the same name, this 1960s-set live-action musical comedy aims to cut through the festive film noise to deliver something fresh for audiences to enjoy.

Per the movie's story synopsis, The Archies is “a coming-of-age musical following the lives of the town’s favorite set of teenagers – Archie, Betty, Veronica, Jughead, Reggie, Ethel and Dilton. Seen through the lens of the unique Anglo-Indian community, The Archies explores friendship, freedom, love, heartbreak and rebellion.”

One of the new Netflix movies with a sizeable slice of Hindi representation, The Archies might become an unexpected sleeper hit.

Leave the World Behind

Release date: December 8

This Julia Roberts, Ethan Hawke, and Mahershala Ali-starring apocalyptic sci-fi thriller might be an enticing alternative to the swathe of Christmas movies we'll get later this year.

Leave the World Behind, which is based on Rumaan Alam's book of the same name, tells the story of married couple Amanda (Roberts) and Clay (Hawke), whose vacation is interrupted by the mysterious G.H. (Ali) and his daughter Ruth (Myha'la). The two visitors bring news of an impending cyberattack and seek refuge in the home, which Amanda and Clay have rented for the weekend, G.H. and Ruth claim is theirs. As the disaster unfolds, the two families become trapped in a terrifying and escalating situation.

Award-winning writer and director Sam Esmail (Mr. Robot) leads production on the film, so we're confident it'll be an electrifyingly dramatic watch in December. Check out the trailer above, which we described as horribly hair-raising.

Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget

Release date: December 15

Having pulled off a death-defying escape from Tweedy’s farm, Ginger has finally found her dream – a peaceful island sanctuary for the whole flock, far from the dangers of the human world in Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget. 

When she and Rocky hatch a little girl called Molly, Ginger’s happy ending seems complete. However, back on the mainland, the whole of chicken-kind faces a new and terrible threat. This time around, instead of breaking out, they're breaking in. That's right, get ready for everyone's favorite anthropomorphic chickens (and rats!) to ruffle some feathers by performing their own egg-cellent heist.

Maestro

Release date: December 20 (in select theaters from November 24)

Produced by Todd Phillips, Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, and leading man Bradley Cooper (who also directs and stars in the film), Maestro centers on the life and legacy of West Side Story composer Leonard Bernstein. 

Judging by the prosthetics used to transform Cooper into the much older Bernstein, we expect this entry in our new Netflix movies list to be a shoo-in for next year's Best Makeup and Hairstyling Oscar. Early reactions to Maestro have called it Michelle Williams' best performance in years, too, so expect her to be in the running for multiple Best Actress awards early next year.

For those interested, here's Maestro's story synopsis: “Maestro is a towering and fearless love story chronicling the lifelong relationship between Leonard Bernstein and Felicia Montealegre Cohn Bernstein.  A love letter to life and art, Maestro at its core is an emotionally epic portrayal of family and love.”

Rebel Moon Part 1: A Child of Fire

Release date: December 22

Writer-director Zack Snyder returns with Rebel Moon, a stunning space opera that doesn't just look like Netflix's pretty good answer to Star Wars, but could also be the epic sci-fi fantasy franchise Netflix has been searching for.

“When a peaceful colony on the edge of a galaxy finds itself threatened by the armies of a tyrannical ruling force, Kora (Sofia Boutella), a mysterious stranger living among the villagers, becomes their best hope for survival,” its synopsis reads.

“Tasked with finding trained fighters who will unite with her in making an impossible stand against the Mother World, Kora assembles a small band of warriors – outsiders, insurgents, peasants and orphans of war from different worlds who share a common need for redemption and revenge. As the shadow of an entire Realm bears down on the unlikeliest of moons, a battle over the fate of a galaxy is waged, and in the process, a new army of heroes is formed.”

Rebel Moon Part 1: A Child of Fire , which has a stacked cast including – deep breath – Sofia Boutella, Charlie Hunnam, Ray Fisher, Djimon Hounsou, Jena Malone, Corey Stoll, Ed Skrein, and Anthony Hopkins, releases this December. Part 2: The Scargiver is  due out in April 2024.

For more Netflix-based coverage, read our best Netflix shows and best Netflix documentaries guides. Alternatively, find out how to sign up to Netflix or get the lowdown on whether it's worth cancelling your Netflix subscription.