3 Best Movies To Watch On Netflix This Weekend (October 17-18)

Published Oct 16, 2026, 2:30 PM EDT Felipe Rangel is a Movie and TV Journalist ScreenRant. He has been writing about movies and TV since 2021. Felipe joined ScreenRant in 2022, working across different teams, covering everything from breaking news to features to reviews and more. Felipe is a writer who is an avid film and TV fan, with superhero movies and series being his biggest passion. He graduated from college in 2019, having studied Journalism. Before college, he spent a month studying at the Oxford English Centre. His superhero knowledge expands to the comics, with his undergraduate thesis being "Politics Reflected In American Comics." Sign in to your ScreenRant account Netflix subscribers will have a wild weekend on Netflix with three movies that promise to play like a shot of adrenaline in different genres, offering something for every viewer, while all of them are equally thrilling. In last weekend's Netflix movie recommendations, I talked about Ice Age, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Animals, with the latter being a Netflix Original movie. Out of those three films, Ben Affleck's R-rated thriller, Animals, and the animated Ice Age are trending on Netflix as we head into the weekend. At the time of writing, Ice Age stands as the 7th most-watched movie on Netflix in the United States. Animals ranks higher than it on the list, with Affleck's gritty new movie being the #1 on Netflix nationwide. As such, it remains a timely option. That said, this weekend, I have come up with an entirely new lineup of movies for subscribers to enjoy on Netflix. This list makes use of a wide range of exciting titles coming to Netflix in October. That said, while I understand that we are in the month of Halloween, only one horror film appears on this weekend's Netflix recommendations. Choose the movie with the higher Rotten Tomatoes score. Anyone wanting a bigger dose of horror on the streamer can check out the new Netflix horror thriller series Below, the US' most-watched on the streaming service right now. As for movies on Netflix this weekend, a Chris Hemsworth sci-fi epic, a Keri Russell animal horror, and an action thriller with Jason Statham and several other stars appear on the list. These are the best movies to watch on Netflix this weekend: 3 Transformers One (2024) First up is Transformers One, the animated expansion of the iconic sci-fi franchise, which is already rising on Netflix as the 6th most-watched movie on the streamer in the United States at the time of writing. Transformers One arrived on Netflix on October 15. The sci-fi movie comes with a packed voice cast, featuring Chris Hemsworth as Optimus Prime, Brian Tyree Henry as Megatron, Scarlett Johansson as Elita-1, and more. Transformers One is the perfect starting point for new viewers. The animated sci-fi movie explores the origin story of Optimus Prime and Megatron, with the characters still known as Orion Pax and D-16, respectively, best friends before parting ways. The movie finally dives deep into their unique world, Cybertron, and all of its lore. Transformers One has a near-perfect 97% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. 2 Cocaine Bear (2023) Cocaine Bear is another movie on Netflix that is not only a good option this weekend, but has already started to trend on the streaming service. At the time of writing, Cocaine Bear is Netflix's 4th most popular film in the US. The animal horror is timely for two reasons. First, Cocaine Bear arrived on Netflix on October 14, making it a recent release that comes in the middle of the Halloween season. Secondly, Cocaine Bear stars Keri Russell as Sari. The actress just saw her global hit political thriller series, The Diplomat, return to Netflix for season 4 on October 15. As such, this weekend offers the perfect Russell two-punch on Netflix. Cocaine Bear is a pretty straightforward horror movie, with characters having to deal with a black bear under the effect of cocaine. The result is a hilarious, bloody, and dark horror movie to keep viewers on the edge of their seats this weekend. 1 The Fate of the Furious (2017) Ending our recommendations is the Fast & Furious franchise movie The Fate of the Furious, which arrived on Netflix this Friday, October 16. The action-packed movie comes with a star-studded lineup. Action movie fans can watch stars like Vin Diesel, Jason Statham, Dwayne Johnson, Kurt Russell, Charlize Theron, Scott Eastwood, and many more on Netflix this weekend. The Fate of the Furious comes with a major twist for the franchise. Diesel's Dominic Toretto is blackmailed into working for Theron's villain, Cipher, which puts him in a direct collision course with his team. The Fate of the Furious grossed a whopping $1.236 billion worldwide. This is the movie on Netflix for all adrenaline junkies this weekend. Transformers One 8/10 Release Date September 20, 2024 Runtime 104 Minutes Transformers One is an animated action-adventure movie that marks the first animated feature-length film for the series in decades. The film is a prequel to the franchise, and tells the story of Optimus Prime and Megatron in their early years, how they met, and a closer look at the war on their home planet, Cybertron. Cast Chris Hemsworth, Brian Tyree Henry, Scarlett Johansson, Keegan-Michael Key, Steve Buscemi, Laurence Fishburne, Jon Hamm, Vanessa Liguori, Jon Bailey, Jason Konopisos-Alvarez, Evan Michael Lee, James Remar, Isaac C. Singleton Jr., Steve Blum, Jinny Chung, Josh Cooley, Dillon Bryan Director Josh Cooley Writers Andrew Barrer, Steve Desmond, Gabriel Ferrari Cocaine Bear 7/10 Release Date February 24, 2023 Runtime 95 Minutes Based loosely on the true story, Cocaine Bear follows an oddball group of cops, criminals, tourists, and teens converging in a Georgia forest where a massive black bear stumbles upon and ingests a staggering amount of cocaine, setting the 500-pound bear on a coke-fueled rampage for more blow.. and blood. Cast Ray Liotta, Alden Ehrenreich, Christian Convery, Scott Seiss, Margo Martindale, Keri Russell, Kahyun Kim, O'Shea Jackson Jr., Brooklynn Prince Director Elizabeth Banks Writers Jimmy Warden The Fate of the Furious 6/10 Release Date April 14, 2017 Runtime 136 minutes 2017's The Fate of the Furious is the eighth installment in the Fast & Furious franchise. In it, Dom and Letty finally taste peace, but it does not last. A mysterious cyberterrorist named Cipher pulls Dom back into crime and turns him against the crew, forcing Hobbs, Letty, and the rest of the Fast family to hunt their own, all while trying to stop a global threat built on hacking, chaos, and brute force. Cast Vin Diesel, Jason Statham, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris, Charlize Theron, Kurt Russell, Nathalie Emmanuel, Luke Evans, Elsa Pataky, Kristofer Hivju, Scott Eastwood, Corey Maher, Tego Calderon, Don Omar, Patrick St. Esprit, Eden Estrella, Janmarco Santiago, Oren Hawxhurst, Celestino Cornielle, Olek Krupa, Alexander Babara, Andre Pushkin, Roberts Jekabsons Director F. Gary Gray Writers Chris Morgan, Gary Scott Thompson