It shouldn’t be a surprise to find out that Netflix has a very strong lineup of movies in January, most of which came from outside studios.
This is what Netflix does best, after all. Many of its best movies don’t crack the streamer’s top 10, but they are essential viewing.
The Watch With Us team has selected three new Netflix movies that you need to watch in January 2026, as ranked by IMDb.
Two of the three are very different biopics, while the third is an all-time great comic book flick.
‘Hellboy’ (2004)
IMDb rank: 6.9
If you’ve had the misfortune of seeing the 2019 reboot of Hellboy or the even more egregious 2024 film, Hellboy: The Crooked Man, then maybe now you can appreciate just how good the original Hellboy was. Future Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro just loves making films about sympathetic monsters, and that was needed to bring Mike Mignola‘s signature creation to the big screen.
Ron Perlman portrays Hellboy, a literal demon from Hell, who was brought to Earth as a baby. Instead of giving in to evil, Hellboy was raised to be a hero among the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense. But in the present, Hellboy feels the weight of his demonic heritage and silently carries a torch for his best friend and fellow BPRD agent, Liz Sherman (Selma Blair). It’s an emotional connection that the forces of evil will use against him.
Hellboy is streaming on Netflix.
‘Erin Brockovich’ (2000)
IMDb rank: 7.5
Before Erin Brockovich, Julia Roberts was largely the queen of the rom-coms with only a handful of dramatic films under her belt. Under the watchful eye of director Steven Soderbergh, Roberts delivered the performance of her career as Erin Brockovich, a woman who was struggling in her life until she started working for her attorney, Edward L. Masry (Albert Finney).
Through her own investigation, Brockovich discovered that Pacific Gas and Electric Company had contaminated Hinkley, California with carcinogens that were making the residents deathly ill. Brockovich was also instrumental in helping Masry put together a class action suit against PG&E while keeping their clients on the same page. This is the closest thing to a populist legal drama that you’re going to find, and it even feels inspirational.
Erin Brockovich is streaming on Netflix.
’12 Years a Slave’ (2013)
IMDb rank: 8.1
12 Years a Slave was 2013’s winner for Best Picture, and it was also the movie for which Lupita Nyong’o earned her Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. The film is based on the account of Solomon Northup, a freed Black man who was kidnapped in 1841 and forced to endure 12 years of slavery under multiple owners.
Chiwetel Ejiofor led the cast as Solomon, and he was surrounded by an incredible lineup of actors, including Michael Fassbender, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Dano and Paul Giamatti. Brad Pitt has a small but pivotal role as Samuel Bass, a man who was one of the rare friends Solomon made who was willing to do something to help him escape from bondage.
12 Years a Slave is streaming on Netflix.
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