3 Best Movies To Watch On Netflix This Weekend (#1 Is Alan Ritchson's $865 Million Dystopian Sci-Fi)

Published Jul 24, 2026, 6:42 PM EDT Felipe Rangel is a Movie and TV Journalist ScreenRant. He has been writing about movies and TV since 2021. Felipe joined ScreenRant in 2022, working across different teams, covering everything from breaking news to features to reviews and more. Felipe is a writer who is an avid film and TV fan, with superhero movies and series being his biggest passion. He graduated from college in 2019, having studied Journalism. Before college, he spent a month studying at the Oxford English Centre. His superhero knowledge expands to the comics, with his undergraduate thesis being "Politics Reflected In American Comics." Sign in to your ScreenRant account Netflix is the streaming service where viewers can watch one of the major stars at the moment in two completely different projects this weekend, with a haunting new thriller adding to the equation. In last weekend's Netflix movie recommendations, I went over Heartstopper Forever, Jurassic World Dominion, and The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes. Two of those are sci-fi movies, and that led to me adding another genre release from one of the best sci-fi movie franchises to the list, and it connects to a film from last week's recommendations. Right now, none of those three movies are trending on Netflix, be it in the United States or worldwide. That said, it does not make them any less interesting for subscribers. Still, when looking at the new weekend movie picks, I felt like these three different movies that are currently trending on the streaming service could talk to a wide range of viewers. There is a new crime thriller based on a true story that promises to hook fans of the genre for all of its runtime, leaving subscribers on the edge of their seats. Then there are two movies that feature one of Hollywood's biggest stars at the moment. This actor can be seen in a dystopian sci-fi thriller, where he is not the main attraction, and a heartfelt drama where the actor shows a new side. These Netflix movies will evoke quite a few different emotions. 3 Elize: Shadows Of A Woman (2026) Starting us off is the Brazilian thriller Elize: Shadows of a Woman. The movie is based on the real story of Elize Matsunaga, who marries a wealthy man, changing her financial position, but slowly sees that she is not really in a love story. What then happens is simply one of the most well-known crimes in Brazilian history. Those who have not heard about Matsunaga must brace themselves to be left utterly shocked by Elize: Shadows of a Woman. After debuting on Netflix worldwide on July 22, the psychological thriller has shot up the streamer's charts. Viewers will not want to miss the dark story that currently makes it the most-watched movie on Netflix globally, according to FlixPatrol. 2 Ordinary Angels (2024) Ordinary Angels is a movie that will surprise many viewers, as it brings out a side many might not have yet seen of Alan Ritchson. The actor has become famous for playing the title action hero in Prime Video's Reacher series. There, Ritchson makes good use of his imposing physique, playing a character of few words, but immense determination, and sharp investigative skills. Ritchson's role in the drama that is now the most-watched movie on Netflix in the United States is very different from Jack Reacher. Ordinary Angels is a movie about faith, resilience, and community. Ritchson plays Ed Schmitt, a widowed father who gets the help of Hilary Swank's Sharon Stevens to save his 5-year-old daughter with a rare liver disease. They have to rally their community amid a historical blizzard to get the young girl to a transplant. 1 The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013) ​​​​​​​Finally, Ritchson appears one more time on this weekend's list of Netflix movie recommendations, as the actor plays Gloss, a strong District 1 tribute and an enemy of Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark, in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. The dystopian sci-fi movie is once again trending, now ranking 9th on Netflix in the United States. After The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes last week, this is a worthy follow-up. Many consider The Hunger Games: Catching Fire the best movie in the sci-fi franchise, and its near-perfect 90% critics' score on Rotten Tomatoes and 89% audience score are a testament to that. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire has it all, presenting the most visually appealing and dangerous arena in the film franchise, with the Quarter Quell upping the stakes considerably. This is the movie that will have Netflix subscribers screaming at their TVs out of happiness when certain action sequences play out. Ordinary Angels 3/10 Release Date February 23, 2024 Runtime 118 Minutes Cast Hilary Swank, Alan Ritchson, Emily Mitchell, Skywalker Hughes, Nancy Travis, Tamala Jones, Drew Powell, Amy Acker, Stephanie Sy, Erik Athavale, Dempsey Bryk, David Lawrence Brown, Darcy Fehr, Don Mike, Ryan Allen, DJ Brotherson, Gabriel Daniels, Andrea del Campo, Jean-Jacques Javier, Ernie Pitts, Nancy Sorel Director Jon Gunn The Hunger Games: Catching Fire 8/10 Release Date November 22, 2013 Runtime 146 minutes The Hunger Games: Catching Fire follows Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark as they embark on a Victor's Tour after winning the 74th Hunger Games. With unrest brewing in the districts, President Snow orchestrates the Quarter Quell, the 75th games that threaten to alter the future of Panem. Cast Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Donald Sutherland, Lenny Kravitz, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jeffrey Wright, Stanley Tucci, Toby Jones, Willow Shields, Sam Claflin, Lynn Cohen, Jena Malone, Bobby Jordan, Amanda Plummer, Jack Quaid, Taylor St. Clair, Sandra Ellis Lafferty, Paula Malcomson, Brooke Bundy, Nelson Ascencio, Afemo Omilami, Kimberley Drummond Director Francis Lawrence