The 15 best films on Apple TV to watch in January 2026
If you've never seen Napoleon or Killers of the Flower Moon, you should sign up for Apple TV
Apple TV is about to add one of the best movies of 2025 to its library, so we’ve rounded up all the films you should watch this month.
Since the streaming platform’s 2019 arrival, everyone from Scarlett Johansson to Denzel Washington has made an Apple Original.
In the definitive list below, we’ve sectioned off the top 15 movies for readers to lose themselves in. Trust us, load ’em up and switch off from the outside world (as a certain Mark Strong used to so smoothly encourage at Vue chains).
The best Apple TV movies
Napoleon
- Genre: Drama
- Year: 2023
- Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Vanessa Kirby
- Director: Ridley Scott
- Runtime: 2 hours 37 minutes
What it’s about: Historical figure Napoleon Bonaparte rises to power amid the French Revolution. Yet his tumultuous relationship with Joséphine brings him down a peg or two when he’s not orchestrating battle triumphs.
Why to watch: This 2023 epic marked a welcome reunion for Gladiator’s Ridley Scott and Joaquin Phoenix; the latter coming off a career-best performance as Arthur Fleck in Joker. As we’ve come to expect from the filmmaker, Napoleon’s blistering battlefields are something to behold.
The Gorge
- Genre: Sci-fi, Horror
- Year: 2025
- Cast: Miles Teller, Anya Taylor-Joy, Sigourney Weaver
- Director: Scott Derrickson
- Runtime: 2 hours 7 minutes
What it’s about: Levi and Drasa are snipers manning two separate guard towers that bracket a gorge. They’re told that the gorge is the gateway to Hell and must destroy anything that tries to climb out of it.
Why to watch: Considering director Scott Derrickson’s history behind the camera, this creature feature is nowhere near as scary as it could’ve been. Instead, he hones in on the forbidden relationship between the elite marksmen played by a flirtatious Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy.
The Lost Bus
- Genre: Drama, Thriller
- Year: 2025
- Cast: Matthew McConaughey, America Ferrera, Yul Vazquez, Ashlie Atkinson
- Director: Paul Greengrass
- Runtime: 2 hours 10 minutes
What it’s about: During California’s 2018 Camp Fire, bus driver Kevin McKay navigates the swirling flames with 22 school children and their teachers onboard.
Why to watch: Another real-life American hero finds himself at the centre of a star-backed drama. Good job this story is in the hands of Matthew McConaughey and the Bourne franchise’s Paul Greengrass, because The Lost Bus could’ve easily turned out to be an offensive Speed knockoff.
Eternity
- Genre: Drama, Romance
- Year: 2025 (on Apple TV from February 13)
- Cast: Elizabeth Olsen, Miles Teller, Callum Turner
- Director: David Freyne
- Runtime: 1 hour 54 minutes
What it’s about: After death comes the junction, where everyone must decide how to spend their eternity. For Joan, that means choosing between her longtime husband Larry, or her first love, Luke, who died when they were just newlyweds.
Why to watch: Eternity is a rare thing, especially on streaming: a movie that looks and feels like a movie, with gorgeous, top-to-bottom production values, three mega-watt stars, and a story that’s all too easy to get overly invested in. It also finds the exact right ending, against the odds.
Tetris
- Genre: Drama
- Year: 2023
- Cast: Taron Egerton, Nikita Efremov, Toby Jones
- Director: Jon S. Baird
- Runtime: 1 hour 58 minutes
What it’s about: Tetris follows Dutch computer game specialist Henk Rogers on his dangerous mission to the Soviet Union to acquire the rights to the titular game.
Why to watch: A pulse-quickening video game origin story set during the Cold War, what’s not to get behind? The best compliment this movie ever received was praise from the real-life Henk and Tetris creator Alexey Pajitnov.
Highest 2 Lowest
- Genre: Crime, Thriller
- Year: 2025
- Cast: Denzel Washington, Jeffrey Wright, Ilfenesh Hadera, A$AP Rocky
- Director: Spike Lee
- Runtime: 2 hours 13 minutes
What it’s about: New York City music magnate David King has a decision to make when his son and his best friend’s son are kidnapped for ransom.
Why to watch: Highest 2 Lowest is the fifth meeting of minds between Spike Lee and Denzel Washington, following their stellar and stylish work on the likes of Inside Man and Malcolm X. Come for that promise of quality, stay for the soundtrack, cinematography, and its compelling moral quandary.
Emancipation
- Genre: Drama
- Year: 2022
- Cast: Will Smith, Ben Foster, Charmaine Bingwa
- Director: Antoine Fuqua
- Runtime: 2 hours 12 minutes
What it’s about: 1860s Louisiana. While relentlessly pursued by slave hunters, can escapee Peter make it all the way to the Union Army, fuelled by nothing but his wits and love for his family?
Why to watch: Inspired by the harrowing ‘Whipped Peter’ photos from the same time period, Will Smith’s slave survival tale deserves to be seen by as many eyes as possible. A stomach-churning reminder of mankind’s cruel history, with unbreakable faith shining through.
The Tragedy of Macbeth
- Genre: Drama, Thriller
- Year: 2021
- Cast: Denzel Washington, Frances McDormand, Alex Hassell
- Director: Joel Coen
- Runtime: 1 hour 45 minutes
What it’s about: One of William Shakespeare’s most popular creations sees General Macbeth persuaded by a sorcerous prophecy and his ambitious wife to usurp King Duncan.
Why to watch: It’s another Denzel Washington entry in the 15 best Apple TV movies to stream this month. Joel Coen’s idiosyncratic vision is somehow even more elevated by Kathryn Hunter as the three witches whispering in the murderer’s ear. Brendan Gleeson and Frances McDormand co-star.
Fingernails
- Genre: Romance, Sci-fi
- Year: 2023
- Cast: Jessie Buckley, Riz Ahmed, Jeremy Allen White
- Director: Christos Nikou
- Runtime: 1 hour 53 minutes
What it’s about: Even though they’ve taken a test to prove their perfect love, Anna begins to doubt her relationship with Ryan. Getting a job at the Love Institute, she hopes to find out whether the gnarly process is flawed.
Why to watch: A sweeter and more sophisticated cousin of this very list’s All of You, Fingernails contains yet another example of Jessie Buckley’s bottomless abilities. Riz Ahmed is on top form as fellow institute employee Amir, who might just put a spanner in the works for Anna and Ryan.
Wolfwalkers
- Genre: Animation, Fantasy
- Year: 2020
- Cast: Honor Kneafsey, Eva Whittaker, Sean Bean
- Director: Tomm Moore, Ross Stewart
- Runtime: 1 hour 43 minutes
What it’s about: Apprentice hunter Robyn Goodfellowe and her father journey to Ireland to bring an end to the last wolf pack. But when she befriends a werewolf named Mebh, Robyn’s allegiance is deeply challenged.
Why to watch: Nominated for Best Animated Feature Film at the Oscars, Cartoon Saloon’s mesmerising Wolfwalkers is for adults and kids alike, proving that Pixar and Disney do not hold a monopoly on animated masterpieces.
Echo Valley
- Genre: Thriller, Drama
- Year: 2025
- Cast: Julianne Moore, Sydney Sweeney, Domhnall Gleeson, Kyle MacLachlan, Fiona Shaw
- Director: Michael Pearce
- Runtime: 1 hour 43 minutes
What it’s about: Kate, who recently lost her husband, is paid a visit by her wayward daughter with somebody else’s blood on her clothes. How far will she go to protect her child?
Why to watch: Generational talents cross paths in Echo Valley as Julianne Moore and Sydney Sweeney deliver one of this year’s finest psychological thrillers. The way it unfolds is so nail-biting that you’ll be down to the lunula in no time. Plus, who knew Domhnall Gleeson could be such a [bleep]?
Swan Song
- Genre: Sci-fi, Drama
- Year: 2021
- Cast: Mahershala Ali, Naomie Harris, Glenn Close, Awkwafina
- Director: Benjamin Cleary
- Runtime: 1 hour 52 minutes
What it’s about: Husband and father Cameron is diagnosed with a terminal illness. He has two choices: leave his family forever broken, or get himself cloned so they at least have a superficial copy to hold onto.
Why to watch: Cloning dramas are rarely so well executed, with filmmakers tending to get carried away in the science of it all. Mahershala Ali could well be the difference, whose CV is littered with bangers such as Moonlight and The Place Beyond the Pines.
CODA
- Genre: Drama
- Year: 2021
- Cast: Emilia Jones, Troy Kotsur, Marlee Matlin, Eugenio Derbez
- Director: Siân Heder
- Runtime: 1 hour 51 minutes
What it’s about: Teenager Ruby is the only member of her family who isn’t deaf. As the tight-knit group’s interpreter, she’s struggling to balance her obligations with a dream of attending a prestigious music school.
Why to watch: Together with predecessor Sound of Metal, CODA (which stands for Child of Deaf Adults) broke boundaries across the industry, putting an underrepresented community full of colourful characters on the mainstream screen. Troy Kotsur went on to win an Oscar for his patriarchal role.
Causeway
- Genre: Drama
- Year: 2022
- Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Brian Tyree Henry, Linda Emond
- Director: Lila Neugebauer
- Runtime: 1 hour 32 minutes
What it’s about: US Army engineer Lynsey swaps Afghanistan for New Orleans following a traumatic brain injury. Naturally, adjusting to normal life is difficult, but she finds a kindred spirit in James, a local mechanic.
Why to watch: This is a must for any self-respecting Jennifer Lawrence fan out there. We love her when she’s wild or bossing the Hunger Games, but the more introspective work is where the real juice is.
Killers of the Flower Moon
- Genre: Crime, Drama
- Year: 2023
- Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Lily Gladstone, Robert De Niro, Jesse Plemons
- Director: Martin Scorsese
- Runtime: 3 hours 26 minutes
What it’s about: The Osage Nation in 1920s Oklahoma is being mysteriously obliterated after oil is discovered on their land.
Why to watch: Based on the shocking nonfiction book by David Grann (The Lost City of Z), Killers of the Flower Moon proved to be fertile, blood-splashed ground for a Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese collaboration. Crime drama meets the Western. Strap in.
Read more: The best Apple TV shows to watch right now
