The best movies on Apple TV+ form an impressive collection of streaming content for subscribers. From documentaries about renowned performers to awards season darlings — including a Best Picture Oscar winner — the catalog of great films on Apple TV+ is only expanding. Spike Jonze and Joel Coen are a couple of the directors whose movies are currently streaming on the online service. Apple TV+ has plenty of solid movies to watch right now across every genre, though when it comes to Drama few streaming services can rival its impressive and high-quality content.
Indeed, while Apple TV+ is popular for its streaming series such as Ted Lasso, Severance, and Schmigadoon!, its movie roster is definitely worthy of consideration. By combining the works of both iconic and newcomer directors and studios alongside its own Apple TV+ originals, the service has established a strong foothold in a streaming industry dominated by even bigger names. Just as the best TV shows on Apple TV+ showcase a diverse range of talent, so do the best Apple TV+ movies.
Perhaps the most celebrated original movie on Apple TV+, CODA was the first film distributed by a streaming service to win the Oscar for Best Picture. The movie follows 17-year-old Ruby (Emilia Jones), the only hearing member of her family, who must navigate the difficulties of teenagehood with the sense of responsibility she feels towards her nearest and dearest.
While working on her father’s fishing boat and assisting as her brother’s and parents’ interpreter, she finds herself torn between exploring her dreams of singing and the obligations she feels to her family. The Apple TV+ movie holds a Certified Fresh 94% critic score and 91% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes, proving its popularity isn’t confined to the Academy.
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Already hailed as a Martin Scorsese masterpiece, Killers of the Flower Moon is based on a true story and the David Grann book of the same name, Killers of the Flower Moon is about the 1920s Oklahoma murders of Osage people after oil was discovered on their land. At the center of it all is Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo DiCaprio), a WW1 vet whose rancher uncle, William King Hale (Robert De Niro), convinces him to marry an Osage woman named Mollie (Lily Gladstone), whose family is wealthy from oil money.
Killers of the Flower Moon is a film so harrowing and engrossing that viewers will forget its three-and-a-half-hour runtime. Scorsese doesn’t shy away from the injustices and brutalities committed against the Osage by white men like Hale, and members of the Osage were consulted when filming the movie, providing the story with the authenticity it needs. From the heart-wrenching performances by the Killers of the Moon cast (particularly Gladstone) to Robbie Robertson’s heart-pulsing score, the movie is a searing critique of an ugly chapter in American history and easily one of the best dramas on Apple TV+.
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Ridley Scott’s 2023 epic Napoleon is now available to stream on AppleTV+. Starring Joaquin Phoenix as the titular French general and, later, Emperor, Napoleon is a historical biopic that rival’s Scott’s seminal work, 2000’s Gladiator. With solid performances throughout and some truly breathtaking scenes, there are few new movies on AppleTV+ — or any other streaming platforms for that matter — that are quite as grand in scale or scope as Napoleon.
2023 was a solid year for film, and the fact Napoleon didn’t win more awards is purely a testament to its competition, which included the likes of Barbie and Oppenheimer. However, as far as movies available to watch on AppleTV+ right now go, Napoleon stands out as one of the absolute best.
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Bryan Tyree Henry earned a Best Supporting Actor nomination at the 2023 Oscars for his performance in Causeway, which is a much-deserved recognition of his centrality to the movie’s success. Also starring Jennifer Lawrence in a gripping lead performance, the Apple TV+ Original movie follows Lawrence’s Lynsay, a soldier who struggles to adjust to life back home after she returns to New Orleans. Causeway deservedly ranks among the best Apple TV+ movies, proving a hit with both casual viewers and professional critics alike.
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From Academy Award-winning filmmaker Sofia Coppola, On the Rocks is an Apple TV+ Original reminiscent of the director’s much-lauded 2003 hit Lost in Translation. The movie stars Bill Murray and Rashida Jones as father-daughter duo Felix and Laura, who team up to spy on her husband Dean (Marlon Wayans).
The light-hearted dramedy has been praised by critics for its nuanced exploration of marriage, Murray’s everlasting charm, and inventively entertaining premise. Boasting an impressive 87% on Rotten Tomatoes, On the Rocks is one of the best movies available on Apple TV+.
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Oscar-winner Mahershala Ali stars alongside Glenn Close, Naomie Harris, and Awkwafina in Swan Song, a romantic sci-fi film that raises existential questions about what it means to be human. The movie tells the story of a terminally ill man given the option to replace himself with a clone and spare his family’s grief, leaving him to contemplate whether to discuss the offer with his wife.
Apple TV+’s Swan Song has been praised for its cast, particularly Ali, who was nominated for a BAFTA Film Award and a Golden Globe for his performance, and deservedly ranks as one of the best movies on Apple TV+.
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Part biopic, part Cold War thriller, Tetris is more than a video game movie adaptation. The Apple TV+ movie tells the surprisingly dark story of how the titular game became a global phenomenon. In 1988, US-based entrepreneur and video game designer Henk Rogers (Taron Egerton) worked to obtain the rights to Tetris from its programmer Alexey Pajitnov (Nikita Yefremov).