Netflix is one of the most popular streaming services in the world, with nearly 250 million subscribers. And just what do those people tend to watch? In particular, what is the most popular movie on Netflix? Each week, the streaming service releases a list of its 10 most-watched movies over a recent seven-day period to keep subscribers in the loop regarding its most popular titles.
Anyone But You, the 2023 rom-com starring Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell, remains in the top spot for the second consecutive week. Unfrosted, Jerry Seinfeld’s comedy about Pop-Tarts, sits at No. 3 in its first week. Other new entries to the top 10 include The Judge at No. 2 and Miller’s Girl at No. 5. Below, we’ve listed the top 10 movies in the U.S. from April 29 to May 5, along with general information about each film, such as genre, rating, cast, and synopsis.
Looking for something else? We’ve also rounded up the best shows on Netflix, the best movies on Netflix, the best movies on Amazon Prime, and the best movies on Disney+. For Netflix fans, check out the 10 most popular shows on Netflix right now.
10. The Equalizer (2014)
Denzel Washington and Antoine Fuqua collaborated for the second time in the 2014 action thriller The Equalizer. Washington stars as Robert McCall, a former military veteran and DIA assassin who insists on living a quiet life in his remaining years. Robert’s retirement is cut short after meeting Alina (Chloë Grace Moretz), a young teen wishing to escape her career as a sex worker.
After Alina winds up in the ICU from an attack by her Russian pimp, Robert cannot stay on the sidelines any longer. With his elite combat skills, Robert becomes a one-man wrecking crew, taking on the entire Russian mafia to protect Alina and free her from their wrath.
9. Mortal Kombat (2021)
The famous fighting video game franchise comes to life in Mortal Kombat, the 2021 martial arts film and the first installment in the reboot series. In 2021, there is an ongoing battle between the Outworld and the Earthrealm, with the former defeating the latter in nine tournaments known as “Mortal Kombat.” The Outworld will conquer the Earthrealm if they win one more tournament.
The Outworld’s emperor sends his top warriors to destroy the Earthrealm’s champions, who all possess a dragon mark. One of these champions is MMA fighter Cole Young (Lewis Tan), who is unaware of his family history. Cole survives an attack by Outworld’s top warrior, Sub-Zero (Joe Taslim), and finds safety at the temple of Lord Raiden (Tadanobu Asano). Forced to fight, Cole trains with Earthrealm’s champions in preparation for the battle over the universe.
8. Smurfs: The Lost Village (2017)
The little blue creatures are back in the third and final film of Sony’s Smurfs trilogy, Smurfs: The Lost Village. Smurfette (Demi Lovato) is the only female in the peaceful Smurf Village, causing her to feel left out. After being captured by the evil wizard Gargamel (Rainn Wilson), Smurfette discovers a special map of a mysterious village.
Smurfette manages to escape Gargamel and sets out to find this village with her best friends, Hefty (Joe Manganiello), Brainy (Danny Pudi), and Clumsy (Jack McBrayer). The four Smurfs travel through the Forbidden Forest and discover a secret lost village home to more female Smurfs. It’s up to the quartet to protect this village before Gargamel can find it.
7. Shrek (2001)
Shrek is not your ordinary fairy tale. The protagonist is Shrek (Mike Myers), an antisocial ogre who wants to be alone in his swamp. Shrek’s dreams of peace are ruined when Lord Farquaad of Duloc (John Lithgow) banishes fairy-tale creatures to the swamp. Determined to win his swamp back, Shrek cuts a deal with Lord Farquaad. If Shrek rescues Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz) so she can be Farquaad’s bride, then Farquaad will move the fairy-tale creatures out of the swamp.
With Donkey (Eddie Murphy) by his side, Shrek travels to the castle to rescue Fiona, where she is being held prisoner by a fire-breathing dragon. Though the mission is successful, Fiona’s dark secret threatens to ruin Shrek’s deal with Farquaad.
6. Blended (2014)
After The Wedding Singer and 50 First Dates, Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore collaborated for their third rom-com with 2014’s Blended. Jim (Sandler) is a widowed father of three kids. Lauren (Barrymore) is a recently divorced mother of two. The two meet on a blind date in hopes of finding love again. To call the date a disaster would be an understatement.
To escape their love lives, Jim and Lauren each purchase a vacation package to a South African resort. However, Jim and Lauren bought one-half of the same vacation package, meaning they and their children are forced to spend their trip in the same suite. Can Jim and Lauren sacrifice their pride and coexist for the sake of their children?
5. Miller's Girl (2024)
Be prepared to see a different side of Martin Freeman and Wednesday’s Jenna Ortega in Miller’s Girl. Cairo Sweet (Ortega) is an intelligent 18-year-old high school senior tasked with writing a college admission essay about her “greatest achievement to date.” Cairo’s friend Winnie (Gideon Adlon) convinces her to have an affair with creative writing teacher Jonathan Miller (Freeman).
Miller, a former author, is living an uninspired life due to an emotionless marriage with his wife, Beatrice (Dagmara Domińczyk). When Miller asks Cairo to write a story in the style of her favorite author, she chooses Henry Miller and gets to work on seducing her teacher. Is Miller strong enough to withstand Cairo’s temptation?
4. The Great Wall (2016)
While searching for gunpowder in China, European mercenaries are attacked by a monster near the Great Wall. Only two men — Irishman William Garin (Matt Damon) and Spaniard Pero Tovar (Pedro Pascal) — survive by slaying the monster.
At the Wall, William and Pero are taken prisoner by the Nameless Order, a group of warriors tasked with fighting alien monsters. Though William and Pero plan to escape the Order, the alien battle prevents them from leaving China. With no other options, William and Pero join the Chinese forces in the fight against the Beast Queen and her dominant army.
3. Unfrosted (2024)
Jerry Seinfeld tackles the story of Pop-Tarts in his directorial debut, Unfrosted. As Seinfeld explained in an interview with Netflix, the story in Unfrosted “happened in Battle Creek, Michigan, where Kellogg’s and Post were located, and they did compete to come up with this product.” However, the rest of it is “complete lunacy.”
In Unfrosted, Seinfeld stars as Bob Cabana, an employee of Kellogg’s in early 1960s Michigan. Kellogg’s is in a bitter battle with a rival company, Post, over a breakfast pastry. Both companies are known for cereal, which is why being the first to release a breakfast pastry will change the world.
2. The Judge (2014)
After the death of his mother, Hank Palmer (The Sympathizer‘s Robert Downey Jr.), a defense attorney in Chicago, returns to his small hometown in Indiana. Hank reunites with his older brother, Glen (Vincent D’Onofrio), and younger brother, Dale (Jeremy Strong), before reluctantly meeting with his estranged father, Judge Joseph Palmer (Robert Duvall).
Hank is about to leave town when his father gets arrested for a hit-and-run death. Hank must swallow his pride and defend his father, even though the judge wants nothing to do with his son. While working on the case, Hank learns about a secret that could explain why his father has been hard on him his entire life.
1. Anyone But You (2023)
Anyone But You is one of the biggest box office success stories of the past 12 months. And Will Gluck’s rom-com is now a huge Netflix streaming hit. After meeting at a coffee shop, Bea (Sydney Sweeney) and Ben (Top Gun: Maverick‘s Glen Powell) embark on a great first date. However, the connection ends the next morning after some choice words from Ben.
Six months later, Bea and Ben cross paths again at a wedding in Australia between Bea’s sister (Hadley Robinson) and Pete’s sister (Alexandra Shipp). Their mutual attraction at the coffee shop has turned into mutual hatred. However, Bea and Ben agree to pose as a couple to put everyone else at ease and make their exes jealous. As always, things always become complicated when someone gets feelings in rom-coms.
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