Tom Power, senior entertainment reporter
After another two week absence without a new Netflix Original Movie to enjoy, Mark Wahlberg and Halle Berry are here to save the day with The Union, a new action-comedy that's exclusively available on the world's biggest streamer. We've also removed The Imaginary from this article as it's no longer considered new enough to keep around.
Welcome to our new Netflix movies article. In this guide, we've rounded up the latest Netflix Originals Films that have debuted on the world's best streaming service since late July, including the Mark Wahlberg and Halle Berry-starring The Union, which is the newest addition to this Netflix-centric article.
Not a fan of either actors' work and want to check out a plethora of other options – both new movies and classics – elsewhere? Our best Netflix movies guide is crammed with other top-tier suggestions. Other genre aficionados will also want to read our piece on everything new on Netflix in August, which contains series and documentary-based recommendations that are sure to pique your interest. We'd recommend bookmarking those pages for later, though, and reading on to see if any of this list's new Netflix movies take your fancy first.
New Netflix movies: August
The Union
Release date: August 16
Runtime: 109 minutes
Age rating: PG-13 (US) / 12 (UK)
Cast: Mark Walhberg, Halle Berry, Mike Colter, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Jessica De Gouw, Alice Lee, Jackie Earle Haley, and J.K. Simmons
Director: Julian Farino
Rotten Tomatoes (RT) score: 70% (critics); TBC (audience)
Action-oriented flicks have become a staple of both Wahlberg and Berry's back catalogs in recent times, but I imagine that very few of them have been positively received by critics (those who post their reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, anyway) as The Union.
That's a surprising turn of events, too, because Netflix's new action-comedy flick looks and sounds quite generic by design. Wahlberg plays Mike, an unassuming New York construction worker who, one day, serendipitously crosses paths with his former high-school sweetheart Roxanne (Berry). Unbeknownst to Mike, though, Roxanne isn't here to rekindle their romance – instead, she recruits him for a dangerous, cross-continental covert mission that, for some reason, only he can help her with. Still, critics suggest it's dumb but enjoyable genre fare, so it sounds like it's worth a spin this weekend.
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
RT score: 53% (critics) and 74% (audience) for Part One; 64% (critics) and 78% (audience) for Part Two
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.
Overall critical recpetion 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, has been mixed, but general viewers seemed to enjoy it. 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 – though, you'll want to break them up into manageable chunks. Plan your snack and bathroom breaks accordingly.
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: 62% (critics); 23% (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 suggested this could be another animated movie hit for Netflix, with critics suggesting it hits all of the right nostalgia-based notes, but diehard SpongeBob fans have slammed it for its "horrible acting" and "nightmare" plot. Younger viewers who are new to the franchise might get a kick out of it, mind you...
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: 41% (critics); 69% (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", but it's gone done better with casual observers. There's plenty genre fare out there but, if you're a big fan of romantic comedies and have nothing better to stream, this might scratch that particular itch of yours.
Watch Find Me Falling on Netflix.
New Netflix movies: what's coming in 2024?
Here's a substantial rundown of the biggest new Netflix movies we expect to see before December 31, 2024 (NB: we'll be adding to this list as new announcements are made):
- Incoming (August 23)
- The Deliverance (August 30)
- Rebel Ridge (September 6)
- The Uglies (September 13)
- His Three Daughters (September 20)
- Rez Ball (September 27)
- The Platform 2 (October 4)
- Family Pack (October, date TBC)
- Back in Action (November 15)
- Spellbound (November 22)
- That Christmas (December 6)
- Carry-On (November, 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)
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.
