The 7 Best New Movies Streaming on Netflix in January 2025

“Inception” (Streaming now)

Christopher Nolan has spent much of his post-Batman career alternating between ambitious genre flicks and grounded historical projects. And while just about anything he touches can become a summer box office phenomenon, “Inception” remains his sincerest effort at making an original crowd-pleasing blockbuster — and one of his most rewatchable films. 

The term “Inception” as a means of describing a complicated story that contains multiple stories has entered the lexicon so thoroughly that everyone now knows what Nolan’s dream-centric reverse movie is about. But if you haven’t rewatched recently, it’s easy to forget how immaculately crafted the script is, combining esoteric ideas with popcorn thrills in a way that evokes Nolan at his best. More approachable than future projects like ‘Tenet’ and “Interstellar” (more on that one later), “Inception” is the ultimate distillation of Nolan’s ability to blend the cerebral with cinematic spectacle.

“Melancholia” (Streaming now)

If cold weather and early sunsets have you in a seasonal rut from which you’re not quite ready to rebound, Lars von Trier movies offer a perfect opportunity to submerge yourself even deeper. And this month, Netflix is adding one of the Danish auteur’s masterpieces to its streaming library. The second film in von Trier’s loose Depression Trilogy, “Melancholia” is an opus of sci-fi malaise that encapsulates his irreplicable style. Kirsten Dunst stars as a new bride whose wedding happens to line up with an interstellar event that could cause the impending end of the world. The timing sends her into a depressive spiral that von Trier captures with brilliant expressionism, and remains relatable to anyone who is still feeling down after the holidays.

“Notting Hill” (Streaming now)

There’s nothing like rewatching a comforting rom-com on a cold winter day, and Netflix is offering its subscribers multiple opportunities to do just that. Several classics scripted by Richard Curtis are hitting the streamer this month, including “Love Actually.” But given that many fans likely rewatched that one over the holidays, it might be time to revisit “Notting Hill” instead. The 1999 rom-com paired Hugh Grant at the height of his powers with Julia Roberts in a timeless story of an actress falling in love with a travel bookstore owner during a press tour. Your snow day entertainment awaits. 

“Interstellar”

“Interstellar” certainly wasn’t a failure upon its initial release, but its ranking within Christopher Nolan’s filmography has grown significantly in the ten years following its release. A 70mm re-release in December sold out rapidly, with diehard Nolan loyalists paying exorbitant resale ticket prices for a chance to revisit his wormhole travel saga on the biggest screens imaginable. 

Whether you missed out on the re-release or are already eyeing your next watch, Netflix has you covered this month. With the benefit of hindsight, “Interstellar” now feels like a skeleton key to unpacking much of Nolan’s filmography, as it perfectly captures the tension between the unforgiving, indifferent universe he portrays and the belief in humanity that lurks beneath all of his puzzles and mind games. And you have to watch something while you wait two years for his take on “The Odyssey.”

“Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl” (Streaming January 3)

Aardman Animations’ Wallace and Gromit are some of the most beloved characters in the modern animation canon, but prior to this year they had only appeared in one feature-length outing: 2005’s “Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit.” The legendary claymation studio opted to revisit the enterprising inventor and his loyal dog for “Vengeance Most Fowl,” a new adventure that sees the duo once again squaring off with their penguin adversary Feathers McGraw. Any new Aardman film is something to celebrate, and “Vengeance Most Fowl” should be essential viewing for families and animation junkies alike. 

“Hereditary” (Streaming January 15)

2025 could be a big year for Ari Aster, with his star-studded pandemic Western “Eddington” hitting theaters and likely haunting the nightmares of horror fans around the world. But if you don’t want to wait that long for the latest look inside his dark mind, Netflix subscribers can revisit his breakout masterpiece “Hereditary.”

One of the definitive films of the A24-dominated “elevated horror” era that emerged in the late 2010s, “Hereditary” remains one of the most genuinely scary films in recent memory. It might have spawned countless inferior copycats that attempted to use the same “generational trauma is the real monster” device to less compelling effect, but that shouldn’t be held against it. A brilliant performance by Toni Collette and a flawlessly executed twist make it one of the great horror movies of the century, establishing Aster as an essential voice in genre filmmaking. 

“Back in Action” (Streaming January 17)

Netflix’s biggest original movie of the month has a title that’s appropriate on multiple levels. “Back in Action” is a spy comedy that stars Cameron Diaz and Jamie Foxx as retired CIA operatives who get sucked back into espionage after their identities are exposed. The “Mr. and Mrs. Smith”-esque premise was interesting enough on its own, but fans should also be excited to see its two stars back in action. The film marks Diaz’s first onscreen role since 2014, and Foxx’s first major acting project since a health scare took him out of the public eye. Two beloved stars returning to the spotlight is always something to celebrate, so here’s hoping Seth Gordon’s comedy ends up being a delightful piece of winter escapism.