So, it’s Thursday night. You’ve probably spent twenty minutes scrolling through Netflix, watching auto-play trailers until the sound of the Netflix "ta-dum" makes you want to throw your remote. Honestly, the choice paralysis is real. But if you’re hunting for the best film to watch tonight, stop the scroll.
January 15, 2026, has actually turned out to be a massive day for movie drops. While most of us are still catching up on the 2025 Oscar leftovers like Sinners or One Battle After Another, today marks the official arrival of several heavy hitters on streaming. If you want something fresh, gritty, and—let's be real—a little bit stressful, you need to pull up The Rip.
Why The Rip is the best film to watch tonight
Technically, The Rip hits wide release tomorrow, January 16, but Netflix has been doing that "early access" thing for premium subscribers, and the buzz is already deafening. This isn't your standard "cops and robbers" flick. Directed by Joe Carnahan—the guy who gave us The Grey and Smokin' Aces—this film feels like a fever dream set in the humid, neon-soaked streets of Miami.
It stars Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, back together again, but they aren't playing the charming heroes this time. They’re Lieutenant Dane Dumars and Detective Sergeant JD Burn. They stumble upon a massive hidden fortune during a drug raid, and things go south. Fast. Basically, it’s a study in how quickly trust dissolves when there are millions of dollars in untraceable cash sitting in the trunk of a car.
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What makes it the best film to watch tonight isn't just the star power. It’s the tension. Carnahan uses these long, unbroken takes that make you feel like you're stuck in the room with these guys while they realize they’ve made a fatal mistake. It’s messy. It’s loud. It’s exactly what you want when you’re trying to forget about work for two hours.
If you’re not in the mood for a thriller
Look, I get it. Sometimes you just want to turn your brain off. If a Miami drug heist sounds too intense, there are a few other contenders for that "best film" title tonight.
- 007 Spectre (Netflix): This actually just landed back on the platform today. If you haven't seen Daniel Craig’s penultimate outing as Bond in a while, it’s worth a rewatch for that opening Day of the Dead sequence in Mexico City alone.
- The Prism of Love (Netflix): For the anime fans, this just dropped today. It’s a historical romance set in 1914 London. It sounds niche, but the animation is stunning—it’s that high-budget, cinematic style that looks incredible on a 4K screen.
- Twisters (Peacock): If you missed the big-scale disaster vibes of last year, Twisters just hit Peacock today. It’s pure spectacle. Don't think too hard about the science; just enjoy the flying trucks.
The Bond marathon is calling
One of the weirdest, most exciting things about tonight is that Netflix just dumped a huge portion of the James Bond catalog. If you’re the type of person who likes to start a series and lose a whole weekend to it, this is your sign. Starting tonight with Spectre or maybe dipping back into the older classics is a solid move. It’s "nostalgia bait," sure, but it works.
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What most people get wrong about January releases
There’s this old myth that January is the "dumping ground" for bad movies. Studios used to put their tax write-offs and boring dramas here. That’s just not true anymore.
Look at the Critics Choice winners that were just announced. Films like Frankenstein (Guillermo del Toro’s version on Netflix) and Marty Supreme are dominating the conversation. Frankenstein actually just won big for Costume Design and Makeup at the 2026 Critics Choice Awards, and it’s still sitting there on your dashboard. If you haven't seen Jacob Elordi as the Monster yet, you’re missing out on a performance that is genuinely heartbreaking.
Finding the right vibe for your living room
When we talk about the best film to watch tonight, we have to acknowledge that "best" depends on your mood.
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- The "I want to be on the edge of my seat" choice: Stick with The Rip. The chemistry between Affleck and Damon is different here—it’s antagonistic and jagged.
- The "I want to feel something" choice: Go for People We Meet on Vacation. It’s been out for about a week on Netflix, and while it’s a rom-com, Emily Bader and Tom Blyth actually have soul. It’s not just fluff.
- The "I want to be weirded out" choice: Check if you have Peacock and put on Bugonia. It’s Yorgos Lanthimos’ English remake of Save the Green Planet!. If you’ve seen Poor Things, you know what kind of ride you’re in for. It’s bizarre, it involves aliens (maybe?), and it’s definitely not for everyone.
A quick note on the Lord of the Rings hype
You might see people talking about The Fellowship of the Ring tonight. Fathom Events is bringing the trilogy back to theaters starting tomorrow for the 25th anniversary. If you're planning to go see those in the cinema this weekend, maybe tonight isn't the night for a rewatch. Save the magic for the big screen. The presales for those screenings are already hitting $5 million, which is wild for movies that are decades old.
How to actually choose
Stop overthinking it. Seriously.
If you want a movie that’s going to be the talk of the "water cooler" (or the Slack channel) tomorrow morning, it’s The Rip. It’s the first major blockbuster-feeling thriller of 2026. It’s got the pedigree, the budget, and the kind of ending that makes you want to immediately go on Reddit and see if everyone else interpreted it the same way you did.
Check your Netflix account. If you’ve got that early access, click play. If not, Twisters on Peacock is the safest bet for a good time. Just make sure you’ve got the popcorn ready because these 2026 runtimes are not getting any shorter.
Actionable steps for your movie night:
- Verify your subscriptions: The Rip is early access on Netflix; Twisters is Peacock; 007 Spectre is standard Netflix.
- Check the runtime: The Rip clocks in at 134 minutes, so if you're starting after 10 PM, prepare for a late one.
- Sync the sound: If you’re watching Twisters, turn up the bass. The sound design is the best part of the movie.
- Avoid spoilers: If you choose The Rip, stay off Twitter (X) until you finish. The mid-movie twist is already starting to leak.