Gal Gadot in Heart of Stone – Picture: Netflix
A new month of new releases are just around the corner and given there are well over 100 coming in total, you may be wondering which titles you should be adding to your lists. Below, we’ve picked out our eight favorite and most anticipated of the lot.
For your full look at what’s coming to Netflix in August 2023, nobody has a more complete list than us. As always, you can keep up-to-date on all the new releases via our New on Netflix section and we’ve got reviews and weekly roundups via our What to Watch section.
Now let’s dig into our eight top movie picks for next month. We’ll be splitting our picks into two halves. First, we’ll cover Netflix Original titles and then move onto licensed titles.
Best Netflix Original Movies Coming in August 2023
Heart of Stone (2023)
Coming to Netflix: August 11th
Hoping to achieve similar viewership numbers as The Mother and Extraction 2, two of Netflix’s biggest action movies to date will be this new spy thriller from director Tom Harper.
The movie is about a clandestine agent working for a secretive international peacekeeping organization who hastens to prevent a hacker from pilfering their most prized and perilous weapon.
Gal Gadot leads the cast with other big stars, including Jamie Dornan, Alia Bhatt, and Matthias Schweighöfer.
The Monkey King (2023)
Coming to Netflix: August 18th
Big animated movies are coming to Netflix thick and fast over the summer, and that continues in August with perhaps our most anticipated of the lot, The Monkey King.
Coming from the director of The Boxtrolls and the co-director of Open Season, here’s what you can expect from the new movie that will also see a very small theatrical release in Los Angeles:
“… follows a charismatic Monkey and his magical fighting Stick on an epic quest for victory over 100 demons, an eccentric Dragon King, and Monkey’s greatest foe of all —his own ego! Along the way, a young village girl challenges his self-centered attitude and shows him that even the smallest pebble can have a big effect on the world.”
The voice cast for the movie includes Stephanie Hsu, Hoon Lee, BD Wong, Jimmy O. Yang, and Bowen Yang.
You Are So Not Invited To My Bat Mitzvah (2023)
Coming to Netflix: August 25th
Picture: Netflix
One of four potential Adam Sandler projects releasing on Netflix in 2023 (Murder Mystery 2 already has released, Leo is set for November, Spaceman is still unclear) is this new comedy about a young girl prepping for her big day, her bat mitzvah but her big day is at risk of being ruined.
The movie is based on the Fiona Rosenbloom book of the same name and will see plenty of familiar faces for a Sandler-joint.
Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead (2023)
Coming to Netflix: August 3rd
On the international front, this new live-action manga movie (which coincides with weekly releases of the anime adaptation) looks to have all the hallmarks of a whacky Japanese adventure.
The movie will largely follow its source material revolving around a man who’s tired of his life and a crappy job. After wishing for more excitement, he gets his wish when a zombie horde is unleashed.
Best Licensed Movies Coming to Netflix in August 2023
As mentioned, this list primarily covers the US new releases – other regions’ availability will vary.
The Fast and Furious Franchise
Coming to Netflix: August 1st
Picture: Universal Pictures
OK, we’re cheating a little bit here as, technically, this list now contains twelve movies in total. Still, we wanted to give a shoutout to half of all the Fast and Furious movies in existence coming to Netflix for a fixed period starting on the first of the month.
While each varies in quality (for some, they’re all bad), there’s no denying the franchise’s staying power, releasing its tenth entry in theaters earlier this year (that will be on Netflix US in 2027 at the earliest).
Beginning its life as a racing-focused franchise, it’s slowly evolved to be more about the action and, of course, family.
The Wife (2017)
Coming to Netflix: August 1st
From Sony Pictures Classics, Netflix will license the Glenn Close and Jonathan Pryce drama at the start of the month.
Certified Fresh on RottenTomatoes, reviews were glowing for the feature film, mostly praising the excellent performances of the leading cast.
That sentiment was outlined brilliantly by the Irish Independent who concluded:
“[Close’s] role is a juicy one, but she capitalises on it brilliantly, and while Bjorn Runge’s film feels a little theatrical at times, the acting from Close and her co-stars more than compensates.”
The Big Short (2015)
Coming to Netflix: August 23rd
Undoubtedly Adam McKay’s finest movie to date, The Big Short seeks to retell the events that led up to the 2008 financial collapse that still plays a role in all of our lives to this very day.
The Oscar-winning movie will have you both laughing and crying thanks to wonderful performances from an all-star cast led by Ryan Gosling, Brad Pitt and Steve Carrell.
The River Wild (2023)
Coming to Netflix: August 1st
River Wild – Picture: Universal 1440 Entertainment
Leighton Meester, Adam Brody, and Taran Killam lead this new thriller that reboots the Meryl Streep and Kevin Bacon iteration from nearly 30 years ago.
Following in its footsteps, the new entry follows a pair of siblings who embark on a white-water raft trip with a small group with one crew member who holds nefarious goals.
Like all the Netflix Originals on this list, whether this is a faithful or even good reboot of the 1994 classic remains to be seen, given Netflix will be getting the movie alongside its VOD and physical release.
What movies will you be checking out this month?
