Netflix is one of the most popular streaming services in the world, with over 280 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.
Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz have returned to the top of Netflix with their new movie, Back in Action. The action comedy earned the best opening weekend for an English-language film since 2022’s The Adam Project. The other new movie in the top 10 is Hereditary, a terrifying horror by Ari Aster. Below, we’ve listed the top 10 movies in the U.S. from January 13 to January 19, along with general information about each film, such as genre, rating, cast, and synopsis
1. Hereditary – 2018
Ari Aster wrote and directed Hereditary, one of the scariest movies of the last decade. The Graham family consists of Annie (Toni Collette), her husband Steve (Gabriel Byrne), her son Peter (Alex Wolff), and her daughter Charlie (Milly Shapiro). The movie opens with the funeral of Annie’s mother, Ellen.
After the funeral, grief begins consuming the family as they grow apart. Then, tragedy strikes again with another death. When Annie tries to speak with the dead, strange occurrences haunt the family. This spirit is not peaceful, as a sinister force threatens the Graham’s livelihood.
2. Rush Hour 2 – 2001
Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker reprise their roles as Chief Inspector Lee of the HKPF and LAPD Detective James Carter in the second installment of the Rush Hour franchise. Carter accompanies Lee to Hong Kong for a vacation, but the holiday abruptly ends after an explosion at the American embassy.
Lee suspects that his father’s former police partner, Ricky Tan, might have been responsible for the explosion. As Lee and Carter investigate the explosion, the duo learns about a counterfeiting scandal that could have major implications for the global economy.
3. The Age of Adaline – 2015
Blake Lively plays a woman who remains young in The Age of Adaline. Adaline Marie Bowman (Lively) was born in 1908. At the age of 29, Adaline crashes her car into a ravine and dies in a freezing lake. However, a lightning strike revives her body. As a result, Adaline never ages again and must live the rest of her life on the run from sinister forces trying to study her.
In 2015, under the alias Jennifer Larson, Adaline falls for Ellis Jones (Michiel Huisman), a charming philanthropist. Even though she knows it can never last, Adaline chooses to pursue a relationship anyway. Adaline is stunned to learn that Ellis’ father is William Jones (Harrison Ford), a man who once wanted to marry her. With her identity compromised, Adaline must decide if a life with Ellis is worth the risk.
4. The Secret Life of Pets – 2016
When their owners are away, the animals come to life in The Secret Life of Pets. Max (Louis C.K.) is a Jack Russell Terrier who lives a good life with his owner Katie (Ellie Kemper). When Katie goes away, Max converses with the other pets in the building, including Chloe the cat (Lake Bell), Buddy the mini dachshund (Hannibal Buress), and Mel the pug (Bobby Moynihan).
One day, Katie adopts Duke (Eric Stonestreet), a big Newfoundland dog. Duke and Max do not like each other, so the former tries to leave the latter in an alley. When the doggy duo run into alley cats, Snowball (Kevin Hart), a white rabbit, saves them. In exchange for saving their lives, Max and Duke must join Snowball’s gang, who want to exact their revenge on humans.
5. Hotel Transylvania 2 – 2015
Halloween might have passed, but spooky movies like Hotel Transylvania 2 live on even in April. After the events of Hotel Transylvania, Drac (Adam Sandler) is now a grandfather to Dennis (Asher Blinkoff), the son of his daughter, Mavis (Selena Gomez), and son-in-law, Johnny (Andy Samberg). When Dennis fails to grow fangs as a toddler, Drac worries that his grandson is not a vampire.
When Johnny and Mavis travel to California to visit Johnny’s parents, Drac enlists the help of his friends to babysit Dennis and train him in the ways of a monster. Hotel Transylvania 2 is fun for the entire family, so stream it on your next movie night!
6. Rush Hour – 1998
Detective Inspector Lee (Jackie Chan), an excellent cop in Hong Kong, is summoned to Los Angeles to help find the daughter of a Hong Kong diplomat. However, the FBI does not want any outside help, so they assign Detective James Carter (Chris Tucker) to look after Lee and keep him out of the investigation.
Both Lee and Carter refuse to sit on the sidelines, so the duo forms an unlikely partnership to track down the diplomat’s daughter. This buddy cop film was a huge hit, grossing over $244 million worldwide, and spawned two sequels.
7. Despicable Me – 2010
Before the Minions became a billiondollar spinoff, they were the goofy sidekicks to an evil mastermind in the animated Despicable Me. Gru (Steve Carell) is a supervillain who plots to steal the moon. To acquire a shrink ray, Gru adopts three girls (voiced by Miranda Cosgrove, Dana Gaier, and Elsie Fisher) so he can steal the device.
However, Gru begins to feel something he’s never felt before: love. Will he continue with his plans, or will Gru accept goodness and embrace his feelings for the girls?
8. Despicable Me 2 – 2013
Gru, the Minions, and the three girls return for more hijinks in Despicable Me 2. Gru is called into action by Lucy Wilde (Kristen Wiig) to investigate a mutagen stolen from the Artic Circle.
This prompts a showdown between Gru and El Macho (Benjamin Bratt), a supervillain who seeks to rule the world. The sequel to Despicable Me is the perfect family film to watch on movie night. Plus, the Minions are up to their usual hilarity once again.
9. Ad Vitam – 2025
Guillaume Canet headlines Ad Vitam, a French action thriller that plays like a milder Mission: Impossible. Franck (Canet) is a former member of the National Gendarmerie Intervention Group (GIGN) who falls in love with his fellow trainee, Léo (Stéphane Caillard). Now, the couple is having a baby.
What should be a time for joy quickly shifts to chaos as masked men infiltrate Franck’s house and demand answers for an event from his past. When Franck denies it, the men beat him to a pulp and kidnap his wife. Franck now scrambles into survival mode as he searches for the answers the nefarious group seeks and plans a rescue mission to save his wife.
10. Back in Action -2025
For Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz, Back in Actionis an appropriate title for the comeback movie. Foxx suffered a stroke in 2023 that nearly killed him. For Diaz, it’s her first film since 2014’s Annie. Together, Foxx and Diaz play Matt and Emily, former CIA spies who left the world of espionage to start a family.
15 years later, Matt and Emily live with their two children in Atlanta. Their quiet life ends after a former enemy discovers their location. With their cover blown, the couple must turn back the clock, unearth their combat skills, and act like elite special agents to protect their family.
