The best Netflix movies of 2023, ranked (2024)

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17. "Sly"

Rotten Tomatoes: 81%

Netflix synopsis: "His love of film began as an escape from a rocky childhood. From underdog to Hollywood legend, Sylvester Stallone tells his story in this documentary."

"Worshipful, relatively brief bio offers such fascinating details, we're left wanting more," Richard Roeper wrote for the Chicago Sun-Times.

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16. "Leo"

Rotten Tomatoes: 81%

Netflix synopsis: "Adam Sandler is a lizard named Leo in this coming-of-age musical comedy about the last year of elementary school as seen through the eyes of a class pet."

"Brightly animated and with moments of surprising insight, there's a warm likability to Leo that radiates, for those still in the classroom and those who left it long ago," wrote The Guardian's Benjamin Lee.

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15. "El Conde"

Rotten Tomatoes: 82%

Netflix synopsis: "After living for over two centuries, Augusto Pinochet is a vampire ready to die... but the vultures around him won't let him go without one last bite."

Peter Travers of ABC News said the satire, which portrays the former president of Chile as a vampire, "speaks scarily to the undying nature of tyranny."

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14. "Money Shot: The p*rnhub Story"

Rotten Tomatoes: 84%

Netflix synopsis: "Featuring interviews with performers, activists, and past employees, this documentary offers a deep dive into the successes and scandals of p*rnhub."

Critics agree this is a fascinating, well-made documentary on one of the internet's most popular websites without demonizing the subject or its users.

For the New York Times, Natalia Winkelman writes, "Here is a documentary that casts a clear eye on the offenses of an industry driven by capitalism while never losing sight of the workers whose safety and success should be that profession's number one priority."

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13. "Rustin"

Rotten Tomatoes: 84%

Netflix synopsis: "Activist Bayard Rustin faces racism and hom*ophobia as he helps change the course of Civil Rights history by orchestrating the 1963 March on Washington."

Colman Domingo has been nominated for best actor at the Golden Globes for playing the titular role in the biopic.

Manohla Dargris wrote for The New York Times, "Every so often an actor so dominates a movie that its success largely hinges on his every word and gesture. That's the case with Coleman Domingo's galvanic title performance in 'Rustin.'"

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12. "The Deepest Breath"

Rotten Tomatoes: 84%

Netflix synopsis: "Two passionate freedivers find purpose in one of the world's most extreme sports — and a kindred spirit in each other. But their bond soon gets deeper."

"'The Deepest Breath' rivals Free Solo as one of the most anxiety-inducing extreme sports documentaries ever," writes Maxwell Rabb for the Chicago Reader.

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11. "The Killer"

Rotten Tomatoes: 85%

Netflix synopsis: "After a fateful near miss, an assassin battles his employers — and himself — on an international hunt for retribution he insists isn't personal."

"The Killer is not Fincher's best; it's more of an offbeat character study with impressive production values than a fully realized drama," Moira MacDonald wrote for the Seattle Times.

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10. "Nyad"

Rotten Tomatoes: 86%

Netflix synopsis:"Athlete Diana Nyad sets out at 60 to achieve a nearly impossible lifelong dream: to swim from Cuba to Florida across more than 100 miles of open ocean."

"Bolstered by the splashy performances of Bening and co-star Jodie Foster, "Nyad" is the kind of crowd-pleasing true story that will make audiences stand up and cheer," wrote IndieWire's Kate Erbland.

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9. "Fair Play"

Rotten Tomatoes: 86%

Netflix synopsis: "An unexpected promotion at a cutthroat hedge fund pushes a couple's romance to the brink, threatening to unravel far more than their recent engagement."

The film was nominated for the dramatic grand jury prize at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.

"This workplace psycho-romance traces the resentments that can asphyxiate a couple when one partner's career escalates as the other's falters, and it does so in the service of a bigger picture," writes Stephanie Zacharek for Time magazine.

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8. "Wham!"

Rotten Tomatoes: 89%

Netflix synopsis: "Through archival interviews and footage, George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley relive the arc of their Wham! career, from 70s best buds to 80s pop icons."

The critical consensus is that the documentary offers a fun and "worthwhile" look at the rise and sudden dissolution of the '80s band that struggled with fame.

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7. "You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah"

Rotten Tomatoes: 91%

Netflix synopsis: "BFFs Stacy and Lydia are both planning epic bat mitzvahs. But it all unravels when a popular boy — and middle school drama — threaten to ruin everything."

John Nugent wrote for Empire Magazine, "The rare teen movie that recognizes crushes are never as important or powerful as BFFs — and one that marks an intriguing new direction for Adam Sandler's Happy Madison productions."

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6. "May December"

Rotten Tomatoes: 91%

Netflix synopsis: "Decades after their scandalous relationship made headlines, a couple starts to unravel when a famous actor arrives to research them for new film."

Alison Willmore writes for New York Magazine, "Todd Haynes's latest is a brilliant ode to female toxicity that begins at a place of camp and ends at one that's closer to horror."

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5. "American Symphony"

Rotten Tomatoes: 93%

Netflix synopsis: "In this deeply intimate documentary, musician Jon Baptiste attempts to compose a symphony as his wife, writer Suleika Jaouad, undergoes cancer treatment."

TheWrap's Steve Pond wrote, "'American Symphony' is about the creation of art in the face of pressure, tragedy and heartbreak, and about the tension between the glory of creation and the pain of living. It manages to capture the glory but it never ignores the price."

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4. "Nimona"

Rotten Tomatoes: 95%

Netflix synopsis: "A knight framed for a tragic crime teams with a scrappy, shape-shifting teen to prove his innocence. But what if she's the monster he's sworn to destroy?"

"'Nimona' tells its story tenderly, poignantly and offers up a parable on learning not to fear those who are different from you and demolish the pious barriers that separate us," writes Randy Myers for the San Jose Mercury News.

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3. "They Cloned Tyrone"

Rotten Tomatoes: 95%

Netflix synopsis: "An eerie series of events leads an unlikely trio down a rabbit hole into a sinister neighborhood conspiracy. John Boyega stars opposite Teyonah Parris and Oscar winner Jamie Foxx in this pulpy comedic sci-fi caper directed and co-written by Juel Taylor."

Whelan Barzey wrote for Time Outthe film's "satirical unpacking of the Black community's cornerstones – food, music and religion – thrillingly tackles the uncomfortable idea that outsiders gain more from these institutions than the Black community itself."

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2. "Pamela, A Love Story"

Rotten Tomatoes: 96%

Netflix synopsis: "In her own words, through personal videos and diaries, Pamela Anderson shares the story of her rise to fame, rocky romances, and infamous sex tape scandal."

The 2023 documentary, directed by Ryan White, received two 2023 Emmy nominations for outstanding documentary and outstanding music composition for a documentary series or special.

Salon's Alison Stine hailed the doc for "presenting a more thoughtful, haunting and emotional side of Anderson's story."

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1. "Mars One"

Rotten Tomatoes: 97%

Netflix synopsis: "Following a tense election, a tight-knit family works to navigate life changes while chasing separate goals — including a secret dream to live on Mars."

After premiering at the Sundance Film Festival and becoming Brazil's Oscar entry at the 2023 Academy Awards, Ava DuVernay's distributor Array Releasing purchased the film. Through a deal with Netflix, the film began streaming on the service in January.

"'Mars One' nimbly centers each of its four main characters, elegantly weaving their stories into a poignant familial whole," wrote Jude Dry for IndieWire. "All relatable, flawed, and charming in their own ways, they antagonize each other without anyone losing their humanity."