How are you going to spend Super Bowl Sunday? If you’re not into football or you aren’t interested in the Super Bowl commercials, there’s no reason not to get together with your friends and family to do something else on the big day. And if you’re a Netflix subscriber, then you’ve got everything you need for a movie party without having to turn on the Super Bowl.
Whether you’re flying solo this weekend or getting together with other people, these are the five best Netflix movies to watch besides the Super Bowl. Our list features one of the most successful animated movies of all time, the return of everyone’s favorite superhero, Keanu Reeves’ action comeback, Jennifer Lawrence’s big screen return, and a musical rom-com that might be the life of a party by itself.
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The Batman (2022)
For all of the talk about the DC Extended Universe movies and shared continuity, the average moviegoer doesn’t care about fifth-stringers like Shazam or Blue Beetle. But everybody loves Batman, and Netflix is home to the most recent cinematic reboot of the Dark Knight.
Robert Pattinson’s first outing as Batman takes place early in his superhero career, when the mob, led by Carmine Falcone (John Turturro), still has a stranglehold on Gotham City. That’s why no one is prepared for Riddler (Mr. and Mrs. Smith‘s Paul Dano) when he unleashes his lethal games to expose Gotham’s darkest secrets. James Gordon (Jeffrey Wright) is the only man on the GCPD who trusts Batman, but Bruce Wayne also finds an ally in Selina Kyle (Zoë Kravitz), a thief who has her own reasons for aiding Gotham’s newest hero.
Watch The Batman on Netflix.
John Wick (2014)
For the older action fans in your household or at your non-Super Bowl gathering, there’s really only one choice: John Wick. The hard R-rated action of Keanu Reeves’ comeback flick is unsuitable for young kids, but it’s more than just a cult classic now. John Wick is arguably one of the greatest action movies ever made, and it plays well with anyone who loves the genre.
Reeves portrays the title character as emotionally bereft while mourning the loss of his wife, Helen (Bridget Moynahan). Only the dog that Helen bought for John gives him any happiness. Iosef Tarasov (Alfie Allen), a vicious criminal who is the son of a Russian crime boss, Viggo Tarasov (Michael Nyqvist), makes the serious mistake of crossing John, stealing his car, and murdering his dog. Iosef doesn’t even fully grasp what he’s done when his father reveals that John is a legendary killer in the criminal underworld. But Iosef will learn a fatal lesson about antagonizing “Baba Yaga.” And so is everyone else who gets between them.
Watch John Wick on Netflix.
No Hard Feelings (2023)
If your non-Super Bowl gathering is looking for something other than action, the romantic comedy No Hard Feelings will be a good choice. Jennifer Lawrence has a lot of crossover appeal between men and women, and she absolutely goes all-out in her big-screen comeback as Maddie Barker, a woman who is at the end of her financial rope.
Maddie’s one lifeline is a bizarre ad placed by Laird Becker (Matthew Broderick) and his wife, Allison (Laura Benanti). In exchange for a car that she desperately needs, the Beckers hire Maddie to date their awkward son, Percy (Andrew Barth Feldman), so he can get some confidence before he goes off to college. Of course, Percy is in the dark about this plan, and he proves to be very difficult to woo even when aggressively pursued by Maddie herself.
Watch No Hard Feelings on Netflix.
Mamma Mia! (2008)
Our final choice for a suitable non-Super Bowl gathering is the musical rom-com Mamma Mia!, which is based on the hit Broadway show. You’ll hear all of the ABBA songs you can take as Sophie Sheridan (Amanda Seyfried) tries to get her father to walk her down the aisle as she marries Sky Ramand (Dominic Cooper). The problem is that there are three possible candidates who might be Sophie’s dad: Sam Carmichael (James Bond actor Pierce Brosnan), Harry Bright (Colin Firth), and Bill Anderson (Stellan Skarsgård).
Sophie’s mother, Donna Sheridan (Meryl Streep), is unnerved by the sudden return of her former lovers, and she isn’t even sure which one is Sophie’s father. However, all three men quickly believe that they are Sophie’s dad, and they all want the honor of giving her away. Make sure you’re sitting down because it will take a lot of singing and dancing to sort this out. But if the rest of your party is dancing and singing along with the songs, then that’s your cue to do the same.
Watch Mamma Mia on Netflix.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)
How big is The Super Mario Bros. Movie? It’s been on Netflix for months, and it’s still in the top 10 most popular movies on Netflix. That’s the definition of a crowd-pleaser and the first film that you want to put on instead of the Super Bowl if you’ve got kids or if you’re looking for family entertainment. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse might work as an alternative, but this one is perfect for that spot.
Although the Mario games are world-famous, you don’t need to know anything about them to enjoy Mario (Chris Pratt) and Luigi (Charlie Day) as a pair of good-natured plumbers who accidentally find themselves in the Mushroom Kingdom. Luigi quickly winds up as a captive of Bowser (Jack Black) and his evil Koopas. Meanwhile, Mario befriends Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy), Toad (Keegan-Michael Key), and even Donkey Kong (Seth Rogen) as they go off on a rescue mission and attempt to defeat Bowser.
Watch The Super Mario Bros. Movie on Netflix.
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