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Ladies and gentlemen: the weekend. Why not celebrate the end of winter by watching a dang good movie? In order to help narrow down your choices, this list of the three best new movies on Netflix is designed to help you narrow down the latest and greatest the streamer has to offer.
Netflix adds new movies every week, and for this list, I've picked out three top films that hit the streamer earlier in the week. We've got some brain-munching horror, some campy coming-of-age with a supernatural twist, and a franchise about a green ogre and his best friend who happens to be a talking donkey.
3 new to Netflix movies to stream this weekend
Teen Wolf
Available: US/UK
No, no, not the MTV show that came out in the 2010s (though they're very much part of the same franchise). Teen Wolf stars Michael J. Fox as Scott Howard, a slightly nerdy teen on the basketball team who unfortunately inherits the family curse... and turns into a werewolf. Does being a werewolf make you a better basketball player? Well, you'll just have to watch and find out.
One my favorite fun facts about this film is the fact that Fox was filming it basically down the street from the initial production of Back to the Future, in which Marty McFly was played by none other than Eric Stoltz. Fox talks about this in depth in the incredible documentary Still (which can be streamed on Apple TV Plus), explaining that the only way he even had time to film Teen Wolf is because his hit sitcom Family Ties was taking a bit of a break because his co-star Meredith Baxter-Birney was having a baby. Otherwise, the movie would've starred another young, up-and-coming actor (and perhaps one that was a little bit better at basketball).
Watch Teen Wolf.
The Shrek movies (Shrek, Shrek 2, Shrek Forever After, Shrek the Third)
Available: US/UK
Shrek on Netflix? Shrek-flix? I'll stop. Either way, Shrek and Shrek 2 are two of the greatest animated films of all time and if you've never seen them... you need to do this weekend. Or right now. Your pick. Mike Myers provides the voice for a disgruntled ogre named Shrek, who's enjoying being alone and scary in the swamp before Lord Farquaad (John Lithgow) displaces a bunch of fairy creatures from their homes and dumps them on Shrek's land. Farquaad makes him a deal: he'll give Shrek his swamp back if he goes and rescues Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz) from her dragon-guarded castle so that Farquaad can marry her. A reluctant Shrek teams up with a talking donkey aptly named Donkey (Eddie Murphy) and the two go on what the latter describes as a "whirl-wind adventure." The second film is somehow even better.
I consider myself something of a Shrekspert, so I can tell you, with confidence, that's okay if you skip Shrek Ever After... and I'll forgive you if you decide to skip Shrek the Third.
Watch the entire Shrek franchise.
Hannibal
Available: US/UK
Not to be confused with Bryan Fuller's excellent TV show of the same name, though they both serve as adaptations of the same novel by Thomas Harris. Taking place seven years after the events of The Silence of the Lambs, Clarice Starling (this time played by Julianne Moore) all but loses her job at the FBI after being blamed for a botched drug raid that resulted in several deaths. She ends up chasing after Dr. Hannibal Lecter, hoping to apprehend him before his victim Mason Verger (Gary Oldman) can get to him first.
I know what you're thinking: why did we need a sequel to The Silence of the Lambs? Well, the studio's plan was to adapt the Harris novels as a trilogy, and the Hannibal novel is a direct sequel. The third film, Red Dragon, was released just one year later in 2002, with the franchise taking a bit of a break before the 2007 sequel Hannibal Rising (which stars the late Gaspar Ulliel).
Watch Hannibal.
Get more from your weekend with GamesRadar+
Recommendations for what to watch on Netflix this weekend have come via Will Salmon, GamesRadar+'s Senior Entertainment Writer. Lauren is a Stephen King scholar, Shrek expert (Shrekspert, if you will), and Nothin' But Trouble Apologist. If you still need a hand with what to watch this weekend, here's a little quiz to help:
Looking for something else to watch? Check out our guides to the best Prime Video shows, the best Netflix shows, and the best Paramount Plus shows.
