A new year means a batch of new movies on your favorite streaming service, and this month brings a mountain of new releases and originals in addition to terrific library additions. Below we’ve put together a curated list of some of the best new movies streaming on Netflix, Prime Video, Max, Hulu, Paramount+, Peacock and beyond this month, from streaming debuts of some of 2024’s best films to starry rom-coms to a good old fashioned Western.
Check out our list of the best new movies streaming in January below.
“Don’t Die: The Man Who Wants to Live Forever”
Netflix – Jan. 1
The latest must-see Netflix documentary centers around Bryan Johnson, a tech millionaire who is on an eternal quest to turn back the clock. Chris Smith, the filmmaker behind “Wham” and an executive producer of “Tiger King,” directs the new film, which Netflix says, “dives deep into his psyche, revealing the drastic shifts that took the entrepreneur from his own personal struggles to dedicating his time and energy — and a considerable amount of his fortune — to living long beyond even the most ambitious human life expectancy.” Sounds weird as heck! We’re in! – Drew Taylor
“The Fall Guy”
Prime Video – Jan. 2
One of the year’s most entertaining (and oddly overlooked) movies, “The Fall Guy” deserves your time. Based on the 1980’s television series that starred Lee Majors, it concerns a Hollywood stuntman (Ryan Gosling), who is injured on the job but reluctantly returns to help a first-time director and his one-time love interest (Emily Blunt) solve a mystery on the set, involving a missing actor (Aaron Taylor-Johnson). Of course, from there, the intrigue significantly deepens. And all the while Gosling and Blunt’s chemistry sparks. “The Fall Guy” was directed by David Leitch, a former stuntman and stunt double, who gives the entire production a sense of authenticity and reverence that would have been missing had any other filmmaker attempted it. Fun of fun supporting performances (from Hannah Waddingham, Winston Duke, Stephanie Hsu and Teresa Palmer), wonderfully staged action set pieces and a nicely twisty script (by Drew Pearce), “The Fall Guy” is, yes, a love letter to moviemaking but more specifically a celebration of the stunt community, an often-overlooked group that make the movies you love possible. “The Fall Guy” is a total joy. – DT
“Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl”
Netflix – Jan. 3
Wallace and Gromit are back. In their latest adventure – their first full-length feature since 2005’s “Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit” (see below) – absentminded inventor Wallace (now voiced by Ben Whitehead) and his silent pooch Gromit find themselves on the wrong end of a revenge plot, orchestrated by villainous penguin Feathers McGraw. If that name sounds familiar, that’s because Feathers McGraw, who disguises himself as a rooster with the help of a red rubber glove, was the antagonist of the Oscar-winning 1993 short “The Wrong Trousers.” Feathers gains access to Wallace’s latest invention – Norbot, a helpful gardening gnome that promises to revolutionize lawncare. (And, yes, there is definitely some additional commentary here, with a movie about the dangers of AI being made in the most lovingly handcrafted animated form.) Nick Park, who created the characters for his 1989 short “A Grand Day Out,” returns to direct alongside Merlin Crossingham, and they bring all of the visual wit and wonder that you’ve come to expect from the characters and their associated films, ending with a climactic chase that is every bit as exciting and hilarious as the train chase from “The Wrong Trousers,” and just as unexpected. – DT
“Look Into My Eyes”
Max – Jan. 10
A24’s “Look Into My Eyes,” which was named one of the top five documentaries of the year by the National Board of Review, follows an eclectic group of psychics as they perform readings in New York City. As directed by Lana Wilson, director of “After Tiller” and the Taylor Swift doc “Miss Americana,” “Look Into My Eyes” is nonjudgmental, resisting the urge to very into anything too sensational or manufactured. Instead, both the psychics and their clients, come across as complicated and, yes, a little bit sad. They are, ultimately, human beings desperate to form a connection – with each other, with themselves and with something beyond. It’s fascinating and odd and heartbreaking. In other words: it’s a must-watch documentary for these troubled (and troubling) times. – DT
“Unstoppable”
Prime Video – Jan. 16
Ready for an inspirational, based-on-a-true-story sports drama? Here we go! In “Unstoppable,” based on the nonfiction book “Unstoppable: From Underdog to Undefeated: How I Became a Champion” by Anthony Robles and Austin Murphy, Jharrel Jerome plays a one-legged wrestler. Jennifer Lopez plays his single mother. If you aren’t sold already, you should probably know that the cast also includes Bobby Cannavale, Don Cheadle, Michael Peña and Shawn Hatosy. Unstoppable, right? – DT
“A Real Pain”
Hulu – Jan. 16
“A Real Pain” is hilarious and moving, a small-scale character study that is still as dazzling as any Hollywood blockbuster. Jewish cousins David (Jesse Eisenberg, who also wrote and directed) and Benji (recent Golden Globe winner Kieran Culkin) travel to Poland to go on a Holocaust tour and to see where their recently deceased grandmother once lived. Benji is more outgoing and gregarious, David more reserved and interior. As the cousins start to learn about themselves and some of the other members of the tour (a wonderful Jennifer Grey is also on the trip and Will Sharpe from “White Lotus” plays their guide), sparks will fly. The less you know, the better. But you will be utterly charmed and quietly wrecked by this wonderful film. And the best part? “A Real Pain” clocks in at 88 minutes. You’ll have your whole night ahead of you! – DT
“Back in Action”
Netflix – Jan. 17
If it’s one thing streaming movies can’t resist, it’s the story of a former spy who is called back into duty, upending their new identities. “The Union.” “The Family Plan.” “Ghosted.” The list goes on and on. And now, to add to that list – “Back in Action.” Perhaps most notable as being the movie where Jamie Foxx suffered his medical emergency that landed him in an Atlanta hospital for months. (He recently revealed, in his Netflix special, that he suffered a stroke.) In fact, this very scary element of the film’s production was enough to obscure the fact that this is Cameron Diaz’s first starring role since “Annie,” more than a decade ago (which also starred Foxx). That alone is a very big deal. In “Back in Action,” Diaz and Foxx are a married couple whose secret identities are exposed, forcing them back into (you guessed it) action. As you can imagine, their kids are very surprised. Featuring a surprisingly stellar supporting cast that includes Glenn Close, Kyle Chandler, Andrew Scott and Jamie Demetriou and a solid creative team led by director Seth Gordon (“Horrible Bosses,” “The King of Kong”), could “Back in Action” rise above the rest of the former-spies-brought-back-into-the-fold streaming movies? Only one way to find out. – DT
“A Different Man”
Max – Jan. 17
A24’s “A Different Man” has been a darling of sorts on the critical and awards circuit this year, and writer-director Aaron Schimberg’s film is certainly unique. Sebastian Stan stars as a man with a disfigurement who undergoes a procedure to alter his face so that he looks, well, like Sebastian Stan. But after the transformation, he finds a man who looks exactly like he used to (played by Adam Pearson) living a full, happy life. It’s a darkly comedic trip. – Adam Chitwood
“Memoir of a Snail”
AMC+ – Jan. 17
Australian filmmaker Adam Elliot returns for his first film since 2009’s wonderful “Mary and Max.” Stop-motion feature “Memoir of a Snail” stars Sarah Snook as Grace, a woman with a cleft lip, who befriends a snail at a young age and starts to collect snail artifacts in adulthood. She sees herself as something of a snail and is looking for somewhere to escape, from the cruel realities of her life – her failed relationships, her twin brother being taken away from her (and raised in an environment that tries to change who he is) and more. And just when you think “Memoir of a Snail” can’t get any sadder, it hits you with the most strangely uplifting ending – something you won’t expect but will totally obliterate you anyway. Odd, adult and esoteric, “Memoir of a Snail” proves that animated features don’t have to be slick kiddie fair; they can be sophisticated and hand-made. And they can break your little heart. – DT
“Blink Twice”
Prime Video – Jan. 21
Zoë Kravitz’s directorial debut, which she also co-wrote with E.T. Feigenbaum, follows a young woman (Naomi Ackie) who is invited to a fabulous tropical island by a recently canceled billionaire (Channing Tatum). As you can imagine, things go from bad to worse as she and her BFF (played by Alia Shawkat) are surrounded by viperous men (including Simon Rex, Christian Slater and Haley Joel Osment) and oddly complacent women (Adria Arjona and Geena Davis). Of course, there’s an even bigger mystery at the heart of “Blink Twice,” which at times plays like a Jordan Peele-adjacent social thriller, particularly in the movie’s third act. While the movie stumbles a bit in its conclusion, “Blink Twice” is an odd and arresting debut from Kravitz, well-acted and beautifully photographed (by Adam Newport-Berra). And unlike most of the movies released these days, it’ll get you talking. Ready to discuss? – DT
“Sleep”
Hulu – Jan. 21
Behold! A new horror comedy from Bong Joon-ho’s protégé Yu Ja-son about a young couple “whose domestic bliss is disrupted when Hyun-su begins speaking in his sleep, ominously stating, Someone’s inside. From that night on, whenever he falls asleep, he transforms into someone else, with no recollection of the night before,” according to the official synopsis. If all of that isn’t enough to entice you to watch “Sleep,” then the movie’s stellar reviews and recommendations from genre legends like Mick Garris (director of the original version of “The Stand”), should be the extra push you need. – DT
“The Wild Robot”
Peacock – Jan. 24
We named Chris Sanders’ “The Wild Robot” the very best animated feature of the year, which is impressive given the amount of outstanding animated films released in 2024. But we stand by it. Based on the book by Peter Brown, “The Wild Robot” follows ROZZUM Unit 7134 aka “Roz” (voiced by Lupita Nyong’o), a sophisticated machine that washes ashore on an island populated solely by animals. Devoid of her usual directives, she decides to raise a young goose named Brightbill (Kit Connor), whose family Roz accidentally destroyed. It’s through her relationship with Brightbill that she rewrites her own programming and comes to love all of the creatures on the island, like her fox friend Fink (Pedro Pascal) and a possum mom named Pinktail (Catherine O’Hara). Animated with a delicate beauty that gives three-dimensional computer animation a painterly, gently surreal quality. It’s one of the most gorgeous looking animated films you’ll ever see. But, while the film is visually dazzling, it’s the movie’s heart that will move you the most. It’s such an earnest, lovely film, full of moments of delicate, quiet warmth. If you aren’t sobbing through most of movie’s runtime, then you might be an automaton yourself. Ready to fall in love with “The Wild Robot?” – DT
“You Hurt My Feelings”
Netflix – Jan. 26
What if you told your significant other the truth? That’s essentially the plot at the center of Nicole Holofcener’s (“Enough Said”) 2023 film “You Hurt My Feelings,” which stars Tobias Menzies as a man whose wife (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) overhears what he really thinks about her first novel. It’s funny and sad but mostly funny, and boasts a terrific supporting performance by Michaela Watkins. – AC
“You’re Cordially Invited”
Prime Video – Jan. 30
Time to RSVP to “You’re Cordially Invited,” a brand-new comedy from writer/director Nicholas Stoller (“Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” “Neighbors,” “The Five-Year Engagement”) that stars Will Ferrell and Reese Witherspoon. The plot concerns a wedding venue that has been double-booked for two weddings. As you can imagine, things escalate quickly and spin wildly out of control (the trailer heavily features a moment where Ferrell, for whatever reason, has an alligator in his bed). With a starry cast of very funny people (including Geraldine Viswanathan, Jack McBrayer, Jimmy Tatro and Cecilia Watson) and an irresistible comedic premise (plus a more permissive R-rating), “You’re Cordially Invited” is something of a must-see. Just remember to save the date. – DT
“Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1”
Netflix – Jan. 1
Kevin Costner’s epic Western “Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1” makes its Netflix debut this month. The film – which is the first in a four-part franchise – opened in theaters last summer to underwhelming box office, but the “Yellowstone” star remains committed to seeing this saga through. He writes, directs, produces and stars in the film which starts in 1859 and charts a sweeping story through the years and across various landscapes. “Chapter 2” is finished but has yet to be released. – AC
“The LEGO Movie”
Prime Video – Jan. 1
“The LEGO Movie” endures thanks to the brilliance of writer-directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller, who refused to make a cash-grab IP movie and instead crafted something subversive, hilarious and surprisingly moving. “The LEGO Movie” tackles the notion of consumerism vs. creativity head-on without ever feeling preachy, while the stop-motion-inspired CG-animation is a stunningly effective way to tell this particular story. While subsequent sequels and spinoffs never matched the heights of this one, “The LEGO Movie” remains one of the best animated films of the century. – AC
“Interstellar”
Netflix – Jan. 1
Christopher Nolan’s sci-fi epic “Interstellar” has only risen in esteem since it was first released in 2014, when it received a somewhat mixed response from critics. The film stars Matthew McConaughey as a pilot who is enlisted by a secret NASA program to search for a new home for humanity after a blight is rendering Earth uninhabitable. He’s tasked with visiting three different planets with his crew, which includes Anne Hathaway and David Gyasi, but their journey takes them through uncharted territory in both time and space. It’s a big swing, and Hans Zimmer does career-best work here with an organ-infused score. – AC
Sam Raimi’s “Spider-Man” Trilogy
Netflix – Jan. 1
It’s always a good time to revisit Tobey Maguire and director Sam Raimi’s original “Spider-Man” trilogy. The 2002 film is one of the most influential comic book adaptations of all time, as Raimi’s colorful yet grounded approach to Peter Parker’s journey laid the foundation for innumerable superhero movies to come. “Spider-Man 2” is one of the best sequels ever made, as the stakes increase on both a physical and emotional level for Peter. And “Spider-Man 3”… well it has its moments. – AC
“Something’s Gotta Give”
Prime Video – Jan. 1
If you’re in the mood for a great rom-com, Nancy Meyers’ 2003 film “Something’s Gotta Give” will do the trick. This movie has everything: Jack Nicholson as a womanizing record company owner; a gorgeous Hamptons beach house; Diane Keaton having a hilarious meltdown; Keanu Reeves as a dreamy doctor. It’s a grown-up love story with the wit and warmth we’ve come to expect from Meyers’ films (see also: “The Holiday”), and by the end you’ll feel all fuzzy inside. – AC
