Netflix remains a premier destination for people looking for movies and shows, and with everyone ready to ring in 2026, there’s a sense of wanting to find something good to watch this week. The good news is that Netflix has just about anything a movie fan could want, from feel-good dramas to action flicks to great horror films.
The one big problem with a streaming service like Netflix is that things come and go consistently, and it’s hard to keep track of what’s available to watch. To help make things easier as 2026 rolls in, here is a look at three great movies to stream on the world’s biggest streaming service to ring in the New Year.
Stand By Me (1986)
Movie lovers recently lost one of the world’s greatest directors with the death of Rob Reiner. To celebrate his life and extraordinary career, Netflix has one of his best films available to stream. Stand By Me is a coming-of-age story that Reiner released back in 1986 that holds up as well today as when it was released.
The movie is based on a Stephen King story, but it isn’t a horror. Corey Feldman, Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, and Jerry O’Connell star as four pre-teen friends who set out to see a “dead body” they heard about in the woods. However, the story is about these kids coming of age and realizing life isn’t what they dreamed.
There might not be a better coming-of-age drama on Netflix. Between Rob Reiner’s masterful direction and the surprisingly great acting from these young stars, Stand By Me should be on everyone’s watch lists, especially for those who haven’t discovered this treasure yet.
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (2025)
If anyone missed it, a new Wallace & Gromit movie came out in 2025, and it was exclusively for Netflix. The film will be celebrating its one-year anniversary on the streamer this upcoming weekend, and there is no better time to see what you missed than by streaming it this week.
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl is a sequel to Aardman Studio’s The Wrong Trousers from 1993, but viewers don’t need to know anything about that movie other than that there is a penguin villain named Feathers McGraw that Wallace and Gromit helped put away, who is back for revenge.
The film has great British humor, a lot of wonderfully destructive garden gnomes, and all the characters that fans of the franchise have grown to love. Best of all, the movie maintains the love and quirky relationship between the scientist and his dog and stands up well with Aardman’s past Wallace & Gromit movies.
Anaconda (1997)
With the new Anaconda movie in theaters, the original film is still available to stream on Netflix. The new Anaconda stars Paul Rudd and Jack Black, and it is being pushed as a straight comedy, which has turned away many fans of the original film. However, that original is ready to be streamed right now.
The thing about the 1997 version of Anaconda is that it is a dark comedy with some gruesome and bloody scenes, although often shown ludicrously, especially since the giant Anaconda never really looks like a real snake. The cast is also impressive, with Jennifer Lopez, Ice Cube, Eric Stoltz, Owen Wilson, and more.
This is primarily a creature feature, and viewers shouldn’t expect it to take the horror seriously; they should just buckle in for a wild ride. While it received negative reviews when released, it is now a cult classic, and it is well worth watching this week on Netflix.