5 Best Netflix Movies of 2026 So Far, Ranked: ‘The Rip' and More
2026 has been a great year for theatrical movies, with films as varied as Project Hail Mary, The Devil Wears Prada 2 and Obsession breaking box-office records and receiving widespread critical acclaim.
It's been a good year for Netflix, too, as the streamer has released a steady stream of high-quality films that make it worth subscribing to – at least until the next price hike.
Watch With Us loves making "best of" lists, and it's around this time that we rank the best Netflix movies of 2026 so far.
From January's intense action flick The Rip with Matt Damon and Ben Affleck to May's quiet drama Remarkably Bright Creatures with Sally Field, these movies made a lasting impression on us and deserve to be watched by as many people as possible.
5. ‘Apex'
Thrash slams together a natural disaster epic and a shark thriller into one fun little B-movie. When a Category 5 hurricane renders most of a small South Carolina town underwater, the survivors are forced to find dry land wherever they can. Pregnant Lisa (Phoebe Dynevor) can't – she's trapped in her car and can't get out. To make matters worse, all that water lets a few hungry sharks roam the town's flooded streets – and Lisa's next on the menu.
The premise is juicy enough, but the execution is even better. Director Tommy Wirkola knows how to stage a decent action scene, and he generates ample suspense when the sharks start invading people's homes looking for their next meal. Jaws this ain't, but Thrash joins 2019's Crawl in the modern instant trash classic hall of fame.
2. ‘Remarkably Bright Creatures'
When Miami cop Dane Dumars (Matt Damon) receives a tip about a stash of illegal money hidden in a suburban house, he doesn't expect it to be $20 million. That's a lot of cash to hand over to someone else, and he's tempted to take some for himself. But he's not alone, and the rest of his team, including fellow police officer JD Byrne (Ben Affleck), are suspicious of Dumars – and each other. With a lot of cash and their careers on the line, can these cops trust each other?
The Rip is one of those Netflix films you wish had been released in movie theaters. Directed by Joe Carnahan, it has the look and feel of classic cops-and-robbers action thrillers like Miami Blues and Heat. The film's plot is a little tricky, but it all makes sense – you know who is double-crossing whom and why. The large cast, which also includes Steven Yeun, Teyana Taylor and Kyle Chandler, is on-point – you buy them as cops who might want to break their own laws to shore up their non-existent retirement accounts. Quentin Tarantino recently cited The Rip as one of the few movies he's enjoyed in the post-COVID era, which is all the praise a film like this needs.
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This story was originally published June 28, 2026 at 9:15 AM.