Netflix has been having an incredible 2020 between its subscriber spike early this year and the string of hits that now call the streaming service home. A few highlights of the year have been action epic Extraction, Spike Lee’s Oscar contender Da 5 Bloods and the delightful Enola Holmes and platform is not backing down just because the year is almost over. There are a number of huge Netflix movies to look forward to between this month and December, including David Fincher’s Mank.
The leader in streaming has a good variety of original titles coming at us, whether you’re in the mood to get into the Christmas spirit, prep for the later-than-usual Oscar season or add some spring in your step with a new song to sing. Check out all the big movies coming to Netflix before the end of 2020 here:
Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey - November 13
First up grab some early Christmas cheer with the fantasy musical, Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey. The movie stars Forest Whitaker as fictional legendary toymaker Jeronicus Jangle, who gets betrayed by Keegan-Michael Key’s Gustafson, Jangle’s trusted apprentice. Gustafson steals his most prized possession and it is up to Jangle and his granddaughter to “heal old wounds.” The movie also has some incredible music talent, with the voice of Princess Tiana Anika Noni Rose and Ricky Martin. Jingle Jangle looks like a visually stunning, adorably sweet story with some major production value and music numbers. Plus, there’s a cute toy called Buddy that I’m already in love with. It looks to have the makings of becoming a family favorite this holiday season.
The Life Ahead - November 13
Considering Parasite took home last year’s Best Picture Oscar, foreign films are hotter than ever. Keep this major international Netflix feature on your radar as it hits the streaming service just as the Oscar conversation begins. The Life Ahead is an Italian language film starring Hollywood Golden Age icon Sophia Loren in her first starring role in over decade. Loren stars as a Holocaust survivor who forms a friendship with a young immigrant from Senegal after he robs her. The Life Ahead could be a contender for the Foreign Film category at the Academy Awards considering it’s early good reviews. Not to mention the last time its source material was adapted into 1977’s French film Madame Rosa, it won the Best Foreign Film Oscar.
The Princess Switch: Switched Again - November 19
In the last few years, Netflix has been really getting into the Christmas movie game and it's taking aim at the sort of movies Hallmark prides itself on. Following the viral release of A Christmas Prince, the streaming service served up The Princess Switch, a sugar-coated modern take on Mark Twain’s The Prince & the Pauper with two spoonfuls of Vanessa Hudgens. The 2018 rom-com followed a baker Stacy who switches places with Lady Margaret Delacourt, Duchess of Montenaro, who is desperate to get out of the spotlight for a couple days. The Princess Switch: Switched Again will add a third lookalike into the mix, a “party girl” named Fiona, who will foil the plans for Stacy and Margaret to switch places again amidst a royal wedding.
Dolly Parton’s Christmas On The Square - November 22
Moving right along with more Netflix Christmas content coming this season is Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square. This is another Xmas-themed musical from the streaming service starring America’s Sweetheart Dolly Parton, who wrote 14 original songs for the film. The 74-year-old will play an angel to Christine Baranski (of Chicago and Mamma Mia), a hum-bug who returns to her hometown to threaten homeowners with replacing their properties with a mall following the death of her father. The movie is directed by Debbie Allen, who previously helmed and starred in the original Fame series.
Shawn Mendes: In Wonder - November 23
Even more music is coming to Netflix soon with a documentary film from pop star Shawn Mendes called In Wonder. The feature film will come days before the 22-year-old musician releases his fourth album Wonder on December 4. The documentary will take fans and curious casual listeners who have undoubtedly had his hits like “Treat You Better” and “Señorita” stuck in their heads about his life and journey to mega stardom. The movie will have footage from Mendes last world tour in 2019, so if you’re missing the concert experience In Wonder might be the perfect film for you.
Hillbilly Elegy - November 24
Could this finally be the answer to the injustice of Amy Adams having zero Oscars to her name? Hillbilly Elegy is another title that is screaming to enter the Oscar conversation. It’s a Ron Howard film, based on a true story that was immortalized by J.D. Vance’s bestselling memoir. It follows a man studying at Yale, who gets pulled back to his hometown Middletown, Ohio, allowing him to reflect on three generations of his family. Gabriel Basso and Owen Asztalos play the central character at different ages, while Adams and Glenn Close play his mom and grandmother. Get ready for some powerhouse performances!
Christmas Chronicles Part 2 - November 25
Another Christmas movie sequel coming soon to Netflix is Christmas Chronicles Part 2, just in time for Thanksgiving weekend. The movie once again has Kurt Russell playing a silver fox Santa Clause, but this time we’ll get to meet his wife, Mrs. Clause, played by the actor’s longtime lady Goldie Hawn. The couple met back in 1966 during Russell’s Disney days, but started dating in the ‘80s while working together, iconically starring in Overboard together later. We can’t wait to see the pair back on screen in the exciting family film.
Mank - December 4
A ton of huge filmmakers have been making movies with Netflix and David Fincher has built a great relationship with the streaming service for Mindhunter prior. The director is now releasing his first film since Gone Girl with Mank, a black and white biopic about the making of Orson Welles’ movie Citizen Kane. The 1941 movie is a landmark film in cinema that will be told through the eyes of its screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz, who will be played by Gary Oldman. The stylish period piece also starring Amanda Seyfried, Lily Collins, Tom Burke and Charles Dance will dazzle film fans. And it’s another big one to keep your eye on for the award season ahead.
The Prom - December 11
Netflix is also bringing together an all-star cast for a movie musical of the Broadway show The Prom this December. Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, Kerry Washington, Keegan-Michael Key, Tracey Ullman and James Corden are coming together for a comedy about a bunch of theater stars who journey to a small conservative Indiana town to put on a prom for a high school girl hoping to spend the milestone night with her girlfriend. The movie will have Ryan Murphy returning to his Glee roots. The Prom looks like a glittery, feet-stomping good time for fans of Mamma Mia with a sweet message of acceptance.
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom - December 18
The theater is also coming to Netflix in the form of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, an adaptation of a Pulitzer Prize winning play by August Wilson (who also wrote Fences). The story is about a Chicago recording session for Ma Rainey, a blues singer of the ‘20s and her trumpeter Levee. Viola Davis will play Rainey and the late Chadwick Boseman is Levee – the film will mark the Black Panther actor’s final performance freshly following his tragic passing this year. Along with The Life Ahead, Hillbilly Elegy and Mank, this one has great Oscar conversation potential.
The Midnight Sky - December 23
Last but not least, coming the week of Christmas is The Midnight Sky, a high profile sci-fi offering starring and directed by George Clooney. The movie is about a lonely scientist living in the Arctic with his daughter, who races to stop a group of astronauts (played by Felicity Jones, David Oyelowo, Kyle Chandler) from returning home to the global catastrophe Earth is in the midst of. Midnight Sun looks like a simultaneously intriguing and heartwarming addition to Netflix’s final offerings of the year.
There’s so many exciting titles coming to Netflix in the last two months of 2020! Look out here on CinemaBlend for coverage on these big releases and check out what’s coming next year with our 2021 release schedule.
