Best Netflix Original Movies in 2022 (So Far)

With the arrival of July, we’re now just over halfway through 2022. Netflix has stuck to its goal of releasing at least one original film every week, so there have been a lot of new movies for subscribers to check out over the first six months of the year. Some of them have come and gone with little to no buzz or conversation at all, while others have managed to rise above the clutter and catch the attention of movie fans.

Those films have come from all kinds of different genres. Hustle, starring Adam Sandler is the kind of sports drama hit that we haven’t seen much of the last decade or so. The Sea Beast is a swashbuckling animated adventure. The House helped start a wave of great stop-motion projects that will continue on through awards season.

There have been a few really great movies to hit Netflix so far in 2022, and we wanted to take the opportunity to call them out. Below, you’ll find seven of the best films released on Netflix this year. 

Go ahead and add them to watchlist if you haven’t seen them yet.

Hustle

Adam Sandler got the chance to show his range in Hustle, blending the comedic chops that made him legend with the dramatic abilities that have always bubbled just beneath the surface. Director Jeremiah Zagar shot some of the most electric scripted basketball sequences in years. Everyone involved combined to make Hustle a modern classic sports underdog story, one that both basketball and Sandler fans will revisit for years to come.

Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood

There are few filmmakers alive that can tell a story like Richard Linklater. The Boyhood and Before Sunrise director turned back the clock for Netflix’s Apollo, using animation to tell a tale of his childhood in Texas. Jack Black, an always incredible voice actor, adds another spark by providing the narration.

The House

2022 is shaping up to be a big year for stop-motion movies. Mad God and Marcel the Shell With Shoes On have both garnered rave reviews this summer. Guillermo del Toro is releasing a stop-motion Pinocchio film on Netflix this fall. Things really got started, though, with The House, which debuted earlier this year. This anthology film tells three different, compelling stories, acting as a showcase for what stop-motion can really do.

Windfall

Windfall is the first feature film from writer/director Charlie McDowell to be released in five years. The movie boasts an all-star trio of leads in Jason Segel, Lilly Collins, and Jesse Plemons, telling the story of a break-in that was meant to be harmless but ends up going horribly wrong.

The Sea Beast

The Sea Beast is the most recent film on this list, having been released on July 8th, but it also might be one of the very best. Moana director Chris Williams tells a story of a young girl and seasoned monster hunter who get thrown into an unexpected adventure and come face-to-face with the truths they’ve been told their entire lives. It’s a beautifully animated film that continues Netflix’s current run of great animated features. Following in the footsteps of Klaus and The Mitchells vs. the Machines, The Sea Beast will likely be a major awards contender at the end of the year.

The Adam Project

The Adam Project may not be the most universally acclaimed film to hit Netflix this year, but it is certainly one of the biggest and most talked-about. Ryan Reynolds reunited with Free Guy director Shawn Levy for a time-traveling adventure that pays homage to the beloved family blockbusters of the 1980s. This film also introduced the world to young actor Walker Scobell, who will likely be a household name sooner rather than later.

Thar

A lot of American movie fans were introduced to Indian blockbusters in 2022 thanks to RRR, the S.S. Rajamouli epic that has been nothing short of an absolute phenomenon since its release. While RRR wasn’t an original Netflix film, its popularity on the streaming service helped lead subscribers to other major Indian productions. Thar is one of those films, and it was released at just the right time. From writer and director Raj Singh Chaudhary, Thar is a take on the Western genre, set in the Thar desert in the 1980s.