Every A24 movie on Netflix ranked, from “Everything Everywhere All at Once” to “X”

The studio's many weird worlds are ready to stream now.

<p>Everett (3)</p>

Everett (3)

A24 has only been around for about a decade, but the studio has built a sterling reputation and a rock-solid brand in that short period. From breathtaking documentaries to arthouse horror to Best Picture winners, there’s seemingly nothing the studio can’t do. And now, you can watch some of the best A24 movies from the comfort of your home.

Here’s every A24 movie on Netflix right now, ranked from worst to best.

11. Open Wide (2024)

<p>A24</p>

A24

This controversial A24 documentary follows John and Mike Mew, father and son British orthodontists whose fringe theories have made them TikTok-famous. John Mew, who called ugliness a “modern epidemic,” propagates the method of orthotropics, or curing orthodontic issues (and unattractiveness), by changing the shape of the face. “Mewing,” a DIY technique for improving the jawline through facial exercises, has no credible scientific support but still went viral.

There’s value in exploring the views of controversial figures, but Open Wide fails to provide a sufficient counterweight to the Mews’ propaganda. Instead, this documentary gives them a mostly uncritical platform with barely any dissenting opinions. It also didn’t address that the Mews’ theories have become especially popular in incel and other “red pill” communities. While there may have been a right way to unpack their fame, this doc could easily be interpreted as giving their positions legitimacy.

Where to watch Open Wide: Netflix

10. White Noise (2022)

Wilson Webb/Netflix
Wilson Webb/Netflix

Many considered Don DeLillo’s novel White Noise to be “unfilmable,” and judging from Noah Baumbach’s 2022 attempt, they may be right. After years of film rights floating in production limbo, A24 and Baumbach finally adapted the postmodern classic, which follows a college professor (Adam Driver) and his fourth wife (Greta Gerwig), who are both inordinately afraid of death. But when a chemical spill from a train car causes an Airborne Toxic Event, they’re both forced to confront their mortality.

The film has a lot going for it, especially the lead performances from Driver and Gerwig, along with zany supporting turns by Don Cheadle, Jodie Turner-Smith, and André Benjamin. But tonally, the movie never quite finds its footing. The script is faithful to a fault; the dialogue that works so well on the page feels arch and mannered coming out of real people’s mouths. (It’s no coincidence that the most inspired part of the movie, the ending dance sequence, isn’t in the novel.) As EW’s critic writes, White Noise “feels like a film made with deep respect and affection for its source material. But it also seems, in nearly every scene, like he's dancing about architecture, trying to wrest something from the strange magic of those pages that refuses to be translated to the screen.”

Where to watch White Noise: Netflix

9. When You Finish Saving the World (2022)

<p>Beth Garrabrant /A24</p>

Beth Garrabrant /A24

Jesse Eisenberg’s directorial debut is a family drama-cum-social satire sending up intergenerational narcissism. Julianne Moore and Finn Wolfhard play a mother and son with a contentious relationship. She’s a social worker who spends her days helping abused women and children but can’t spare an ounce of kindness for her kin, while he’s a social media musician who writes songs with names like “Truthaches.” Instead of affection for each other, they both find emotional surrogates. Hers comes via assisting a sensitive teenage boy living in her shelter, meanwhile, her son falls in love with a stridently progressive classmate (13 Reasons Why’s Alisha Boe).

While the script has funny moments, its satire is overly broad and too often plucks low-hanging fruit. Moore’s character is cartoonishly cold and can barely hug people, being a caricature of liberal hypocrisy. Meanwhile, Wolfhard’s is a typical Gen Z stereotype (hasn’t the vapidity of influencers been skewered enough times?). However, Eisenberg’s direction shows flashes of greatness; he’s an expert at constructing cringe comedy that makes the viewer wince at awkwardness. That skill has us looking forward to his next film, A Real Pain, which received positive reviews at Sundance.

Where to watch When You Finish Saving the World: Netflix

8. The Deepest Breath (2023)

<p>Netflix</p>

Netflix

Filled with breathtaking underwater footage and heart-pumping action, The Deepest Breath chronicles freediver Alessia Zecchini’s attempt to traverse the “Blue Hole,” an extremely treacherous site on the coast of the Red Sea. Freediving, the practice of plunging deep into the ocean with a single breath, is one of the most dangerous sports in the world, which makes this documentary feel more like a thriller at times. It's also structured like a thriller, opening with a long, stunning shot of Zecchini sinking into the abyss and leaving you in suspense about her fate until much later in the runtime. As a result, the beginning is heavy on exposition, and although the outcome is technically public knowledge, packaging the story as a mystery can feel somewhat exploitative. Still, overall the film is beautiful and respectful towards its subjects, capturing the psychology of people who choose to risk their lives to plumb unexplored depths.

Where to watch The Deepest Breath: Netflix

7. The Disaster Artist (2017)

Justina Mintz/A24
Justina Mintz/A24

Based on the memoir of the same name by Greg Sestero, The Disaster Artist follows the bizarre, often hilarious story behind the production of The Room, the so-called “Citizen Kane of bad movies.” Director/star James Franco transforms almost beyond recognition to play The Room’s eccentric mastermind, Tommy Wiseau, while his real-life brother Dave Franco plays Sestero, the wide-eyed aspiring actor who gets caught in Wiseau’s strange orbit. There's also a plethora of celebrity cameos, including Dave’s real-life spouse Alison Brie as Sestero’s girlfriend, Seth Rogen as a disgruntled crew member, and Zac Efron as a super committed bit player.

The Room has a long, notorious legacy as perhaps the worst movie of all time, so much of the humor is inevitably at Wiseau’s expense. But underneath the joke-dense script is a loving, often moving portrayal of two men who go to extreme lengths to follow a dream. Franco admitted that he had never seen The Room before reading Sestero’s book, but he was “taken with the story of these guys trying to break into this creative industry that’s incredibly hard to break into.” He thus found the human element within Wiseau, a hulking, intimidating man with an unplaceable European accent who insisted he was an all-American boy from New Orleans. Franco’s sexual assault allegations dampened its cultural impact, but it remains a funny and surprisingly touching film.

Where to watch The Disaster Artist: Netflix

6. Marcel the Shell With Shoes On (2022)

<p>Courtesy of A24</p>

Courtesy of A24

Marcel the Shell wasn’t the hero we deserved, but the hero we needed. He arrived at the height of the pandemic when everyone was emotionally burned out and looking for soothing, heartwarming content (Ted Lasso, anyone?). Enter Marcel (voiced by Jenny Slate), an adorable anthropomorphic shell with an expressive googly eye and, of course, shoes. In the film, a recently divorced documentarian (director Dean Fleischer Camp) chronicles Marcel’s journey to find his lost family, stealing America’s hearts along the way.

While the story is sweet and light, it’s far from lightweight, as Marcel makes many simple but profound observations about life, love, and loss. And it’s all the more poignant thanks to its autobiographical slant; the character of Marcel originated as a series of YouTube shorts by Slate and then-husband Camp, and they collaborated again on the feature film after their divorce. "There's a lot of autofiction in this movie, a lot of personal experience repurposed," Slate told EW in 2022. "That's, for me, why it feels so alive. It's a moving photographic image of my own emotions or something. I love it so much.”

Where to watch Marcel the Shell With Shoes On: Netflix

5. Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022)

Gwen Capistran/A24
Gwen Capistran/A24

Part arthouse horror, part comedy of manners, Bodies Bodies Bodies is the ultimate Gen Z movie. Based on the story by “Cat Person” writer Kristen Roupenian, and boasting an all-star cast including Amandla Stenberg, Rachel Sennott, and Borat Subsequent Moviefilm’s Maria Bakalova, the film follows a group of twenty-somethings with a long catalog of resentments who attend a “hurricane party” at the summer house of a wealthy friend (Pete Davidson). When one of them actually dies during a murder mystery game, their toxic dynamics quickly rise to the surface as they try to find the killer.

While the slasher premise is typical, the execution is anything but. The script is witty and timely, almost to a fault, expertly capturing how woke language can be weaponized to a lethal effect. And the cast is hilarious, especially scene-stealer Sennott and lone millennial Lee Pace. Director Halina Reijn is an acclaimed theater actress, so she encouraged the actors to improvise and choreographed the film more like a stage production, where bodies are moving past each other in a small space. "I'm obsessed with power and sexuality in a pressure-cooker environment," Reijn told EW, "...and we basically treated [Bodies Bodies Bodies] almost as if it was a Chekhov play."

Where to watch Bodies Bodies Bodies: Netflix

4. Waves (2019)

<p>Courtesy of A24</p>

Courtesy of A24

Lyrical, graceful, and gorgeously shot, Waves is a heartbreaking meditation on loss. The first half pens a slow-burn portrait of Tyler (Kelvin Harrison Jr.), a high school wrestling star who struggles with the expectations of his well-meaning but domineering father (Oscar nominee Sterling K. Brown) and hides the severity of a recent shoulder injury by stealing his dad’s pain medication. In the second half, the film shifts perspective to his sister Emily (Bones and All star Taylor Russell) as their broken family tries to pick up the pieces after a sudden tragedy.

Like A24’s Moonlight, Waves is patient in its storytelling and bold in its unconventional structure. The performances are impeccable and the direction by Trey Edward Shults is unforgettable, with every frame composed like a painting. The film didn’t find much of an audience or awards buzz, save for a few Gotham nominations, but we hope it’s getting the love it deserves from Netflix viewers.

Where to watch Waves: Netflix

3. Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)

Allyson Riggs/A24
Allyson Riggs/A24

Just like its name, Everything Everywhere All at Once is ambitious, messy, and dazzling. The Daniels — the bizarre creative minds who brought you that unhinged “Turn Down for What?” music video — tell the story of Evelyn, a Chinese immigrant woman who runs a laundromat with her husband, Waymond (Ke Huy Quan), and has a troubled relationship with her daughter Joy (Stephanie Hsu), who has come out as queer. Evelyn soon has to jump between universes and inhabit infinite versions of herself, including a kung fu master and a world-famous movie star, to prevent a parallel version of her daughter from destroying the multiverse.

This beautifully chaotic film became the highest-grossing A24 movie (until Civil War unseated it in 2024) and swept at the Oscars in 2023. While the Daniels throw in plenty of hilariously random gags — like a universe in which Evelyn and Joy are rocks or giving Jamie Lee Curtis hot dog fingers — the script has profound things to say about the immigrant experience and healing intergenerational trauma (even if those insights are reached in front of a nihilistic everything bagel).

Where to watch Everything Everywhere All at Once: Netflix

2. Minari (2020)

<p>Melissa Lukenbaugh/A24</p>

Melissa Lukenbaugh/A24

Based on director Lee Isaac Chung’s upbringing, Minari is a devastating slice-of-life film about the hopes and disenchantments of the American dream. Steven Yeun and Yeri Han star as Jacob and Monica Yi, a couple who immigrated from Korea to California for a better life, only to find themselves wasting away by sexing chickens all day. Like Chung’s father, Jacob decides to move the family to Arkansas so they can start a vegetable farm, which exacerbates their already strained marriage. But the film’s emotional heart is the burgeoning relationship between their young son (Alan Kim) and his bawdy grandmother (Yuh-Jung Youn), who comes to the U.S. to live with them.

Chung takes a naturalistic approach to the material, making the film feel as authentic as his own memories with quiet nostalgia and disillusionment around the edges. The acting is also stellar, which led to a historic and endlessly charming Oscars campaign. Yeun became the first Asian-American Best Actor nominee, while Kim stole our hearts when he burst into tears accepting his Critics’ Choice Award. But the film ultimately belongs to Youn, who is hilarious and heartbreaking as the inappropriate grandma. She became the first Korean woman to win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress and began her speech by saying she was excited to “finally” meet Brad Pitt, who produced the film.

Where to watch Minari: Netflix

1. X (2022)

<p>Christopher Moss/A24</p>

Christopher Moss/A24

Kicking off Ti West’s instantly iconic (and ongoing) trilogy, X is a masterfully atmospheric homage to ‘70s slashers, following a group of amateur creatives filming a porno at an isolated Texas farm. The crew includes Mia Goth as aspiring Hollywood actress Maxine; Jenna Ortega as the director’s shy, religious girlfriend who becomes curious about switching to the other side of the camera; and Brittany Snow and Kid Cudi as fellow pornographers. In a less interesting movie, Ortega’s character would be the POV character, but X belongs to Goth, who plays dual roles as the decidedly non-virginal Final Girl and the sinister elderly woman who owns the farmhouse.

The last decade has been defined by so-called “elevated horror,” but in X, West doesn’t try to elevate genre tropes. Instead, he revels in them and stretches them beyond recognition. The film wears its influences on its sleeve; the farm looks suspiciously (and intentionally) like the set of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and the filmmaking pays homage to everything from Psycho to Debbie Does Dallas. The result is more than the sum of its parts, a funny, self-aware exploitation flick that doubles as an exploration of beauty, sexuality, and self-worth.

Where to watch X: Netflix

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.