Netflix is one of the most popular streaming services in the world, with more than 220 million subscribers. And just what do those people tend to watch? In particular, what is the most popular movie on Netflix?
Each week, the streaming service releases a list of its 10 most-watched movies over the preceding seven days. Below, we’ve listed the top 10 movies in the U.S. from July 17 to July 23, along with general information about each film, such as genre, rating, cast, and synopsis.
Looking for something else? We’ve also rounded up the best shows on Netflix, the best movies on Netflix, the best movies on Amazon Prime, and the best movies on Disney+. For Netflix fans, check out the 10 most popular shows on Netflix right now.
10. The Deepest Breath (2023)
Enter the amazing world of freediving in the documentary The Deepest Breath. Imagine climbing the side of a mountain without a rope. That’s freediving, but instead of a mountain, it’s underwater. And the rope in this scenario is oxygen, as free divers do not use oxygen tanks to breathe. Instead, they train to hold their breath for long periods.
The Deepest Breath chronicles the story of two freedivers: Alessia Zecchini, an Italian freediving champion who set many records, and Stephen Keenan, Zecchini’s safety diver. Zecchini is training to break the record at Blue Hole, one of the most dangerous dives in the world. The Deepest Breath covers the ultimate highs in the sport, as well as the tragic lows that are part of the unavoidable risks the dives present.
9. The Boss Baby (2017)
Boss Baby (Alec Baldwin) is not your typical infant. Boss Baby wears a suit and tie, carries a briefcase, and acts like a boss (pun intended). When he arrives home from the hospital, Boss Baby meets his 7-year-old brother Tim (Miles Bakshi; Tobey Maguire voices Adult Tim), beginning a sibling rivalry. However, Boss Baby takes pity on his older brother after he’s grounded and reveals his plans to Tim.
Boss Baby is on a mission to investigate the recent uptick in adults’ love for puppies while making babies the dominant force in their parents’ lives again. Boss Baby incorporates a fairly high concept for children, but at the end of the day, it’s a kids’ movie, so there are plenty of bathroom jokes and friendly bits that will make children laugh.
8. 65 (2023)
65 million years ago, a pilot named Mills (Adam Driver) from the planet Somaris crash-lands on Earth while piloting a two-year space exploration. Mills accepted the job to pay for his daughter’s medical treatment. All passengers on the ship die except for one: a young girl named Koa (Ariana Greenblatt). Mills and Koa have difficulty communicating due to the language barrier.
The ship is beyond repair, and the only chance for survival is to travel across the woods and pilot the escape shuttle that landed on top of the mountain. There’s only one problem: dinosaurs roam the Earth, and they do not like humans. It’s a race against time in 65 as Mills and Koa must work together to reach the mountain and fly home.
7. Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie (2017)
Captain Underpants: The First Movie is the long-awaited adaptation of the children’s book series of the same name. Fourth graders George Beard (Kevin Hart) and Harold Hutchins (Thomas Middleditch) spend their days carrying out pranks and writing comic books about a superhero named “Captain Underpants.”
This happiness and joy do not mesh well with their grumpy school principal, Mr. Krupp (Ed Helms). When Mr. Krupp threatens to place Geroge and Harold in separate classes, the boys hypnotize their principal into thinking he’s Captain Underpants. The plan works as Mr. Krupp transforms into the underwear-wearing superhero.
6. Unknown: Cave of Bones (2023)
What does it mean to be human? Paleontologist Lee Berger is on a mission to learn about ancient relatives of humans in Unknown: Cave of Bones. About 240,000 years ago, Homo naledi were believed to walk the Earth before Homo sapiens (humans). The Homo naledi had brains about one-third of the size of humans, but they walked on two legs like humans.
Berger and his team went to South Africa to inspect a collection of bones believed to be Homo naledi. What the expedition uncovers is a tomb of bones, meaning the Homo naledi practiced advanced burial techniques. This discovery could change the way we view the evolution of man.
5. The Out-Laws (2023)
Meeting your in-laws is scary, but what if your in-laws are criminals? That’s the premise of The Out-Laws, the new action comedy starring Adam DeVine. The film follows DeVine’s Owen Browning, a bank manager set to marry Parker (Nina Dobrev). During the wedding week, Owen’s bank is robbed by a famous group of notorious criminals, the Ghost Bandits.
Things take an interesting turn when Owen believes Parker’s parents — Billy (Pierce Brosnan) and Lilly (Ellen Barkin) — are the Ghost Bandits. When Parker is kidnapped, Owen must team up with the Ghost Bandits to rescue his bride in time before the wedding. As director Tyler Spindel described it, The Out-Laws is “the action version of Meet the Parents.”
4. Bird Box Barcelona (2023)
In 2018, Bird Box became a global phenomenon. The thriller where humans must cover their eyes outside to avoid spotting the strange entity is Netflix’s fourth-most watched English film of all time. Bird Box Barcelona is the spin-off sequel set in Spain. Set in a parallel timeline to the original, Barcelona is experiencing the same anomaly: look into the daylight, and you will want to kill yourself.
Sebastián (Mario Casas) and his daughter Anna (Alejandra Howard) are forced to shield their eyes or face the deadly consequences. As they traverse through Barcelona, the blindfolded duo makes a shaky alliance with other survivors. As we’ve learned from the first film, it’s tough to trust others when you can’t see.
3. They Cloned Tyrone (2023)
In the sci-fi Blaxploitation comedy They Cloned Tyrone, an unexpected trio tackles a wicked government conspiracy. A drug dealer named Fontaine (John Boyega) learns the government is conducting experiments on the residents of his neighborhood. Fontaine eventually teams up with Slick Charles (Jamie Foxx), a crafty pimp, and Yo-Yo (Teyonah Parris), an ambitious sex worker, to investigate the strange occurrences in the neighborhood.
The trio uncovers a cloning lab and questions why it’s happening in predominantly Black neighborhoods. Anchored by an intriguing premise and charismatic cast, They Cloned Tyrone is a clever sci-fi adventure.
2. Ride Along (2014)
In the buddy comedy Ride Along, Kevin Hart plays Ben Barber, a security guard who wishes to one day become a cop. Ben is in love with his girlfriend, Angela Payton (Tika Sumpter), and wants to marry her. The only thing stopping him is Angela’s brother, James (Ice Cube), a tough, no-nonsense police detective.
When Ben asks James for his blessing to marry Angela, James agrees on one condition: Ben must come on a ride-along to prove he is worthy of her love. If Ben succeeds, James will give him his blessing and a recommendation to the police academy. When James takes Ben on a shift to scare him, the night changes when the unlikely duo must work together to bring down a dangerous criminal.
1. Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022)
Remember the swashbuckling cat from Shrek 2? That ferocious feline is back for a new adventure in Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. After finding himself in a battle against a sleeping giant, Puss (Antonio Banderas) wakes up in a hospital and learns that he lost eight of his nine lives. Afraid of dying, Puss decided to track down the Wishing Star to restore his lost lives.
Along the way, Puss finds help from Kitty (Salma Hayek Pinault) and Perrito (Harvey Guillén). However, Puss isn’t the only one after the Star. Goldilocks (Florence Pugh) and her Three Bears Crime Family as well as “Big” Jack Horner (John Mulaney) want to secure the Star for themselves, so it’s an all-out race to its location.
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