Happy Saturday, everyone. Alyse can’t be here this week to provide her usual expert eye on what to watch, so I’m (figuratively) stepping into her shoes to give my opinion on the top ten trending Netflix movies to help you sift the cinematic magic from the disappointing duds.
Despite the critically panned “72 Hours” finally losing the number-one slot after two weeks, it’s somewhat slim pickings in the top ten. Still, I’ve picked out the best of the bunch: a gripping true crime documentary, an animated family comedy, and what one of our writers dubbed “one of the most underrated movies of 2024.”
(I would have highlighted “Spider-Man: Homecoming”, but Alyse flagged it last week when it first re-entered the charts, and I don’t want to look too unoriginal…).
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Of course, your tastes may differ, so you can see Netflix’s full top ten list for the weekend below. And if you’re new to Netflix, you should check in on our favorite five of the year so far, too.
This article is based on Netflix’s top 10 movies list in the U.S. as of Saturday, August 8, 2026.
Best movies in the Netflix top 10
‘In the Land of Saints & Sinners’ (2024)
This week’s new number one isn’t super recent, but you may have missed it when it was first released two years ago. If you did, now is the perfect time to see what you missed, as our own Senior Entertainment Writer, Rory Mellon, called it “one of the most underrated movies of 2024” when he wrote about it last year.
Set in Troubles-era Ireland, “In the Land of Saints & Sinners” is the kind of action-thriller movie that Liam Neeson excels in. As World War II veteran Finbar Murphy, Neeson is called upon to use his combat experience as a contract killer, with Jack Gleeson (King Joffrey from Game of Thrones) as his eager apprentice. Murphy’s desire to leave the criminal life behind is complicated when a group of IRA members arrives, causing trouble in the local community.
It pulled in a solid 83% fresh critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, making it a deserved number one this week. And running at under two hours, you won’t have to devote a whole evening to it, either.
Watch “In the Land of Saints & Sinners” on Netflix now
‘A Toxic Love Story’ (2026)
“A Toxic Love Story” has been in Netflix’s top ten for three weeks now, but after a fortnight in second spot, it finally looks like it’s retreating. Sitting in ninth spot this week, there’s a good chance the true-crime documentary won’t be here this time next week.
If you haven’t caught it yet, you really should. This is regarded as a return to form for Netflix’s true-crime documentaries: a story that starts off as simple yet intriguing (a couple starts receiving anonymous threats after getting married) but ends up spiraling in plenty of unexpected directions before the full 88-minute run time elapses.
Reviewers loved it, with a 100% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and while the viewer score is considerably more mixed at 64% positive, it’s well worth watching if you miss the kind of jaw-dropping true-crime stories that Netflix used to put out.
Watch “A Toxic Love Story” on Netflix now
Coming in at number ten, a complete change of pace. “Smallfoot” is a family animation from Warner Brothers which entertainingly turns the Bigfoot myth on its head. What if Yeti don’t believe humans exist?
That’s the conceit, until teenage Yeti Migo (Channing Tatum) accidentally finds a real-life smallfoot (or human to, uh, humans) in the wild. Said human turns out to be a struggling TV wildlife documentarian (James Corden) who himself has been trying to fake Yeti footage to recover his tumbling ratings.
You can probably guess where the story is going, with the formation of an odd-couple friendship, but while “Smallfoot” isn’t up to Pixar standards, it charmed reviewers enough upon its release in 2018. It boasts a 76% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and at just 96 minutes long, it doesn’t outstay its welcome.
Watch “Smallfoot” on Netflix now
Netflix top 10 movies right now
1. “In the Land of Saints & Sinners” (2024)
2. “72 Hours” (2026)
3. “Minions” (2015)
4. “Terry McMillan Presents: His, Hers & Ours” (2025)
5. “Black Adam” (2022)
6. “Chief of Station” (2024)
7. “Spider-Man: Homecoming” (2017)
8. “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2” (2025)
9. “A Toxic Love Story” (2026)
10. “Smallfoot” (2018)
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