New Netflix movies: the biggest films to stream in August 2024
New Netflix movies: August 2, 2024 update
Tom Power, senior entertainment reporter
After a two week spell without a Netflix Original Movie to add to this guide’s ranks, we’re back with a vengeance to add two new films (Zack Snyder’s Rebel Moon – The Director’s Cut and Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie) to our new Netflix movies article. We’ve also removed some of the older entries in this guide because we don’t consider them to be new anymore.
It’s time to give our new Netflix movies guide a much-needed update. After a brief hiatus with no new Netflix Originals to add to this article, there are two big movies – tailormade for completely different audiences – that have joined the world’s best streaming service today (August 2). You won’t be founding wanting for new movies to stream on the platform this weekend, then.
If you’re nonplussed about either of these new flicks, don’t fret. Our best Netflix movies article has also just received a massive makeover so, with the aid of our entertainment experts, you’ll find plenty of tantalizing options in that piece. You should also check out our guide on everything new on Netflix in August to learn more about the new Netflix shows and documentaries you can stream before the month ends. For now, though, read on to find out more about all of the new Netflix films that have premiered recently.
New Netflix movies: August
Rebel Moon – The Director’s Cut
Release date: August 2
Runtime: 204 minutes (Part One); 173 minutes (Part Two)
Age rating: R (US) / 18 (UK)
Cast: Sofia Boutella, Ed Skrein, Djimon Hounsou, Michiel Huisman, Doona Bae, Ray Fisher, Charlie Hunnam, and Sir Anthony Hopkins
Director: Zack Snyder
Rotten Tomatoes (RT) score: TBC (critics); 58% (audience)
Almost eight months after Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire and four months after Part Two: The Scargiver debuted on Netflix, Zack Snyder’s “true vision” for both films have been released on the service. Gone are the PG-13 ratings of that aforementioned duo and, in their place, R-rated director’s cuts of the pair, complete with an absurd amount of new footage, have surfaced to give diehard Snyder fans the movies that they wanted all along.
So far, audience reception has been mixed to Rebel Moon‘s two director’s cuts, which have been renamed Chalice of Blood and Curse of Forgiveness to differentiate them from their forebears. I’m going to do my best to stream them this weekend but, with a combined runtime of six hours and 16 minutes – a total that Rebel Moon‘s cast couldn’t even believe when they heard the news – I’m not sure I’ll make it through both films in a single sitting.
Watch Rebel Moon – The Director’s Cut Part One on Netflix.
Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie
Release date: August 2
Runtime: 86 minutes
Age rating: U (US and UK)
Cast: Carolyn Lawrence, Tom Kenny, Wanda Sykes, Clancy Brown, Bill Fagerbakke, Mr. Lawrence, Rodger Bumpass, Johnny Knoxville, Craig Robinson, Grey DeLisle, Ilia Isorelýs Paulino, and Matty Cardarople
Director: Liza Johnson
RT score: TBC (critics); TBC (audience)
Set in the world of the famous SpongeBob SquarePants franchise, Saving Bikini Bottom is the first of many planned SpongeBob spin-off projects that’ll shine a light on its eccentric but beloved cast of characters. In the first of those productions, Sandy Cheeks (Lawrence) and SpongeBob (Tom Kenny) embark on a quest to save the titular underwater town when it’s suddenly scooped out of the Pacific Ocean by an unknown adversary.
Early reviews suggest this could be another animated movie hit for Netflix, with critics suggesting it hits all of the right nostalgia-based notes that’ll enthral SpongeBob fans. Younger viewers who are new to the franchise might get a kick out of it, too, but adults who didn’t ride the SpongeBob train years prior will wonder what all of the fuss is about.
Watch Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie on Netflix.
New Netflix movies: July
Find Me Falling
Release date: July 19
Runtime: 93 minutes
Age rating: R (US) / 15 (UK)
Cast: Harry Connick Jr, Agni Scott, Ali Fumiko Whitney, and Clarence Smith
Director: Stelana Kliris
RT score: 36% (critics); 70% (audience)
Yet another damp squib of a Netflix rom-com (according to critics; less so with general viewers), Find Me Falling stars Connick Jr as Johnny Allman, a washed-up rock star who takes a break from the music scene by holing himself on Cyprus to re-energize himself. Unfortunately for Allman, distractions – including the re-emergence of an old flame in Scott’s Sia – prevent him from re-finding his creative spark.
Initial reviews weren’t kind, with critics labeling it “predictable” and a film that “invokes no feelings in the viewers”. You might have more fun checking out season 6 of middling reality TV series Too Hot to Handle than Find Me Falling, then…
Watch Find Me Falling on Netflix.
The Imaginary
Release date: July 5
Runtime: 108 minutes
Age rating: PG (US and UK)
Cast: Louie Rudge-Buchanan, Evie Kiszel, Hayley Atwell, Sky Katz, and Jeremy Swift
Director: Yoshiyuki Momose
RT score: 91% (critics); 75% (audience)
Another acclaimed Netflix animated flick, The Imaginary, which is based on A.F. Harrold’s 2014 novel of the same name, is the first feature from beloved animation company Studio Ponoc since 2017. It tells the tale of Rudiger (Rudge-Buchanan), an invisible boy created by Amanda (Kiszel), a young girl who’s struggling to cope after a tragedy befalls her, and the adventures the pair share.
Narratively or creatively, it’s not a patch on most Studio Ghibli films, but The Imaginary is an endearing story that does more to examine the concept of imaginary friends (and what happens to them when we grow up) than Paramount Pictures’ IF did earlier this year. One of July’s new Netflix movies is gorgeous to look at, too, which always helps to sell animated movies to, well, anyone.
Watch The Imaginary on Netflix.
New Netflix movies: what’s coming in 2024?
These are all of the new Netflix movies that’ll premiere on the streaming giant’s platform before 2024 ends:
- The Union (August 16)
- Incoming (August 23)
- The Deliverance (August 30)
- Rebel Ridge (September 6)
- The Uglies (September 13)
- His Three Daughters (September 20)
- The Platform 2 (October 4)
- Family Pack (October, date TBC)
- Back in Action (November 15)
- Spellbound (November 22)
- Carry-On (November, date TBC)
- That Christmas (December, date TBC)
- The Electric State (expected 2024)
- Joy (expected 2024)
- Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (expected 2024)
- The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep (expected 2024)
- The Electric State (expected 2024)
For more Netflix-based coverage, read our best Netflix shows and best Netflix documentaries guides. Alternatively, find out how to sign up to Netflix or get the lowdown on whether it’s worth cancelling your Netflix subscription.
New Netflix movies: August 2, 2024 update Tom Power, senior entertainment reporter After a two week spell without a Netflix Original Movie to add to this guide’s ranks, we’re back with a vengeance to add two new films (Zack Snyder’s Rebel Moon – The Director’s Cut and Saving Bikini Bottom:…
