Finally, 2023 is on its last legs, and yet there are so many movies left to see, especially with the holidays around the corner. To make room for a non-stop holiday binging session, Netflix is clearing out its library, and this time, it’s a long list of purged titles. That means you will have to catch up on all the great movies that will leave the streamer this December. While that list is a long one, we managed to pick the best seven titles that would make for a great watch. From highly acclaimed, award-winning films, to box-office-breaking modern classics, and legacy adaptations, the last list of 2023 is packed with exciting titles. And if you miss them now, you won’t get a chance to watch them anytime soon, not at least until next year. So, dive into the best seven films you can watch on Netflix in 2023 before they leave the streamer. When we return next time, it will be with a whole new list for a whole new year.
The article lists the actual date/day of removal, which means the last day to watch the title is the day before. For e.g., if a movie is leaving on December 1, the last day to watch would be on November 30.
Read more about what’s streaming on Netflix:
‘American Made’ (Leaving December 1)
Release Date September 29, 2017
Director Doug Liman
Cast Tom Cruise, Domhnall Gleeson, Sarah Wright, Caleb Landry Jones, Jesse Plemons
Rating R
Runtime 115 minutes
Main Genre Action
In his second movie of 2017, Tom Cruise starred in this action-comedy film directed by Doug Liman of The Bourne Identity and Mr. & Mrs. Smith fame. American Made also marks the reunion of Liman and Cruise, since their 2014 film, Edge of Tomorrow. Written by Gary Spinelli, American Made is inspired by true events from the life of Barry Seal, a former TWA pilot who flew missions for the CIA and became a drug smuggler for the Medellín Cartel in the 1980s. Later, to avoid jail time, Seal became an informant for the DEA. Liman’s film is a fictional take on this event that follows the wild ride of a pilot-turned-drug runner-turned-informant in an action-comedy narrative. Cruise portrays the reel version of Barry Seal, a commercial airline pilot working for the CIA, who gets involved in smuggling drugs and weapons. But to escape incarceration, Seal becomes a government informant in a clandestine operation. The film also stars Sarah Wright (Parks and Recreation), Caleb Landry Jones (Get Out), Alejandro Edda (Narcos: Mexico), and Jesse Plemons (Breaking Bad). On its release, American Made was a box office success and also received positive reviews from critics and fans alike, who praised Cruise’s performance of Barry Seal.
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‘Fences’ (Leaving December 1)
Release Date December 16, 2016
Director Denzel Washington
Cast Denzel Washington, Viola Davis, Mykelti Williamson, Russell Hornsby, Jovan Adepo, Saniyya Sidney
Rating PG-13
Runtime 138
Main Genre Drama
Writers August Wilson
Tagline Some people build fences to keep people out, and other people build fences to keep people in.
Two-time Academy winner, Denzel Washington directs, co-produces, and stars in this critically acclaimed 2016 film based on the 1985 Pulitzer Prize-winning eponymous play by August Wilson (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom). Set in the 1950s Fences explores the life, dreams, and family relationship of Troy Maxson (Washington). An African-American working-class man, Troy, a garbage collector, lives with his wife and son. He once dreamed of becoming a baseball player, but by the time the major leagues began admitting black athletes, he was deemed too old. Bitter about his missed opportunities, Troy begins to take out his frustration on his son Cory, who also wants to be a sportsman, and squashes his dreams. EGOT-winning Viola Davis stars as Troy’s wife, Rose Lee Maxson, in a critically acclaimed performance that earned her an Academy (her first) and a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress. On its release, Fences was immensely praised and critically acclaimed for the cast performance and story, and earned four nominations at the 89th Academy Awards.
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‘Groundhog Day’ (Leaving December 1)
Release Date February 11, 1993
Director Harold Ramis
Cast Bill Murray, Andie MacDowell, Chris Elliott, Stephen Tobolowsky, Brian Doyle-Murray, Marita Geraghty
Rating PG
Runtime 101
Main Genre Comedy
Studio Columbia Pictures
Writers Danny Rubin, Harold Ramis
Tagline He’s having the worst day of his life… over, and over.
Not all time-travel stories are about doing something scientifically significant and prominent; sometimes it’s about the simpler things in life. This 1993 Bill Murray-starrer comedy is a fun, exciting, and hilarious take on time travel that makes you look at life from a different angle, even after all these years. Directed, co-written, and co-produced by Harold Ramis of Ghostbusters fame, Groundhog Day follows the story of Phil Connors, played by Murray. A weatherman by profession and cynical by nature, Phil is assigned to cover the annual festivities of Groundhog Day in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. Unhappy with his assignment, Phil constantly keeps complaining about the small-town environment and its people, when he finds himself stuck in a time loop, making him live the day over and over. For those who love classic, 90s comedies, Groundhog Day is a must-watch, especially for its comedic moments and impeccable delivery of humor by Murray. There’s also a little philosophy of life subtly thrown into the plot as an underlying concept, which works with the plot. This classic sci-fi comedy is considered one of the greatest films ever made and remains an inspiration for several filmmakers of the following decades.
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‘Matilda’ (Leaving December 1)
Release Date August 2, 1996
Director Danny DeVito
Cast Mara Wilson, Danny DeVito, Rhea Perlman, Embeth Davidtz, Pam Ferris, Paul Reubens
Rating PG
Runtime 98
Main Genre Comedy
Writers Roald Dahl, Nicholas Kazan, Robin Swicord
Tagline Somewhere inside all of us is the power to change the world.
Danny DeVito directs, co-produces, and stars in this first film adaptation of Roald Dahl’s 1988 novel of the same name. A fantasy comedy film, Matilda follows the story of the titular character, played by Mara Wilson. A six-year-old precocious, well-mannered girl with a dash of mischief, Matilda lives in a dysfunctional family with negligent parents and a brother. Her school life is equally traumatic with a tyrannical principal who tortures other children and the only teacher who seems to care about Matilda. To be able to deal with all these, Matilda somehow develops psychokinetic abilities which she uses to teach everyone a lesson. DeVito serves a dual role as Matilda’s ignorant father and the story’s narrator. On its release, Matilda was unsuccessful at the box office but was a critical success, earning positive reviews from critics for DeVito’s direction that matched the sentiment of the original novel.
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Sam Raimi’s ‘Spider-Man’ Trilogy (Leaving December 1)
Way before the MCU existed, Sam Raimi, the filmmaker renowned for creating the Evil Dead franchise, adapted Spider-Man’s stories into three consecutive live-action films. Taken from Stan Lee and Steve Ditko’s eponymous, super-successful Marvel character, the Spider-Man trilogy of the early 2000s remains an original classic (not considering the earlier films from the 70s and 80s). The first of these three films, Spider-Man, released in 2002, chronicles the transformation of Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) from an average, high-school kid to a superhero and serves as Spider-Man’s origin story while exploring his love interest with Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst) and his friendship with Harry Osborn (James Franco). With his superhuman abilities, the masked superhero fights crime and brings justice to New York City, while also facing his dangerous nemesis, Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe). In Spider-Man 2, set two years after the events of the first film, Spider-Man struggles to keep his powers intact and deals with an existential crisis, while also trying to stop Dr. Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina) from recreating a dangerous experiment.
In the third and final installment of the trilogy, Spider-Man 3, Peter strives to fix a fragmented relationship with Mary Jane, faces his Uncle Ben’s killer, Sandman (Thomas Haden Church), while his best friend, Harry tries to seek revenge for killing his father. But when Peter bonds with an alien symbiote, he finds it his greatest challenge ever. All three films were commercially and critically successful and were nominated for several awards. Most importantly, this trilogy became a career breakthrough for Tobey Maguire. Maguire, Dunst, and Franco reprise their roles in all three films, along with Rosemary Harris as Aunt May.
Watch Spider-Man on Netflix
‘Other People’ (Leaving December 8)
Release Date September 9, 2016
Director Chris Kelly
Cast Molly Shannon, Jesse Plemons, Bradley Whitford, Maude Apatow, Zach Woods
Rating R
Runtime 96 minutes
Main Genre Comedy
Comedian, writer, and SNL alum Chris Kelly marks his feature directorial debut with this 2016 dramedy that looks at death from a very refreshing perspective. The film is said to be an autobiographical take on Kelly’s family. Other People follows David (Jesse Plemons), a struggling comedy writer fresh off a breakup, who moves back to his hometown to help his ailing mother, Joanne (Molly Shannon). But as he continues to spend time at his childhood home with his conservative father and younger sisters, David feels alienated from everyone around him. Additionally, with his mother’s worsening condition, David tries to convince himself and everyone around him that his life is not falling apart. While death might be an integral part of the plot, the film hinges more on the subtle family dynamics and David’s grasp of his life and emotions. On its release, Other People was highly acclaimed for Shannon and Plemons’ respective performances as well as Kelly’s direction, with Collider’s review calling it “A tremendous first feature from writer-director Chris Kelly.”
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‘Tammy’ (Leaving December 14)
Release Date July 2, 2014
Director Ben Falcone
Cast Melissa McCarthy, Susan Sarandon, Kathy Bates, Allison Janney, Dan Aykroyd, Mark Duplass
Rating R
Runtime 97
Main Genre Comedy
Writers Melissa McCarthy, Ben Falcone
Tagline Coming in hot.
After an entire list of award-winning, critically acclaimed, serious films, here’s one just for laughs, because sometimes, all you need is a crazy and wild road trip with Melissa McCarthy and Susan Sarandon. And that’s why, despite a 24% Rotten Tomato score, Tammy is on this list. Directed by Ben Falcone (God’s Favorite Idiot) in his directorial debut, the comedy drama follows Tammy (McCarthy) who loses her job and also finds out that her husband has been cheating on her. Frustrated with her life, Tammy hits the road, robbing stores and escaping the police, until she ends up at her alcoholic, profane grandmother, Pearl (Sarandon). Together, they decide to set out on a road trip to Niagara Falls. While it may sound like a crude, modern version of Thelma and Louise, it’s a far cry from that. Despite generally negative reviews from critics, the film grossed well at the box office. The movie also stars Toni Collette, Nat Faxon, Dan Aykroyd, and Sandra Oh.
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