The best Disney+ movies of 2024 so far
There's more to Disney's streaming service than Marvel and Mickey Mouse. Here are 15 of the best films on Disney+
Looking for the best Disney+ movies? Then you’ve come to the right place.
Despite not being around for as long as Netflix or Prime Video, Disney+ has fully established itself as one of the best streaming services around. With hundreds of millions of users worldwide and a cavernous library of content created by some of the biggest studios in the world (Lucasfilm, Marvel, Fox, Pixar and, of course, Disney itself), it’s certainly not short of triple-A movies.
From beloved Disney classics to the latest indie gems from Searchlight Pictures, there’s something here for everybody. So much so, in fact, that it can be a tough task picking out a film to watch. That’s where this list comes in. Our square-eyed experts have spent hours poring over the Disney+ library, picking out the very best films for this crème-de-la-crème selection.
Poor Things
Emma Stone’s Oscar-winning performance as Bella – an infant mind in the body of a fully-grown woman – is the beating heart of Yorgos Lanthimos’ winsome, wicked and wild comic fantasy fable.
Despite some critics seeing it as exploitative and sexist, Poor Things seems to us a sharp and very funny critique of societal mores surrounding sex and gender roles. Meanwhile, its idiosyncratic visual style and Stone’s performance, as well as the excellent supporting performances, from Mark Ruffalo and Willem Dafoe make it a joy to watch. But perhaps not one to see with your elderly aunt Dottie.
L.A. Confidential
This adaptation of James Ellroy’s novel of the same name is a gripping journey into the dark underbelly of 1950s Los Angeles. It’s a time and place where Tinseltown, police corruption and the mob intersect – and fertile ground for a brilliantly noir-inflected tale of crooked cops, high-class hookers and grimy gossip rags.
Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce and Kevin Spacey all deliver memorable performances as three LAPD detectives with very different personalities, and L.A. Confidential’s labyrinthine plot, its beautifully realised recreation of the tarnished dream of post-Golden Age Hollywood, and its sheer attention to detail all work together to make this one of the defining movies of the late 1990s.
Watch L.A. Confidential on Disney+
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
Is Dial of Destiny a triumphant return to the glorious, rollicking and rip-roaring Indy movies of the 1980s? Not even close, but neither does it sink to the nadir of 2008’s daft Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. All in all, this latest (and last) movie in the series ends up as a reasonably fitting send-off for Harrison Ford’s swashbuckling archaeologist, now an old lonely man living in 1960s New York City and wallowing in grief. What can drag him out of this malaise? An adventure, of course – and one that features ruthless Nazis, mystical maguffins and time travel.
Watch Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny on Disney+
Die Hard
Forget the tedious argument about whether Die Hard is or is not “a Christmas film”. What’s not up for debate is its place in the action movie canon, thanks to a killer combo of charismatic, relatable hero (Bruce Willis in a career-defining role and a career-defining vest), memorable villain (the sorely missed Alan Rickman in scenery-chewing beast mode), quotable script and assured, non-showy direction by John McTiernan.
For sub-rock dwellers out there who don’t already know, the setup is simple: Willis’ New York cop flies to Los Angeles to visit his estranged wife for Christmas, rocking up at her work party in a swanky hi-tech hi-rise right as the building is hijacked by Rickman and his gang of terrorists. Cut off from the outside world, outmanned and outgunned, Willis must use his wiles to save the day. Gripping stuff to watch – at any time of the year.
No One Will Save You
A home invasion thriller with a twist, No One Will Save You eschews expository dialogue (in fact, there are just five decipherable words uttered in the entire movie) but succeeds in crafting a suspenseful, tension-filled tale of one young woman’s struggle against an unearthly menace.
That’s mostly down to the tour de force lead performance of Kaitlyn Dever, who brings depth and nuance to a character who might otherwise have come across as flat and boring. For the viewer, discovering the details of this character’s past as she battles for her future is a huge part of what makes this film feel fresh for its genre.
Watch No One Will Save You on Disney+
The Revenant
Bagging a trio of Oscars, this mud-caked adventure stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Hugh Glass, a 19th-century trapper and tracker left for dead by a double-crossing companion (a gruff, mumbling and memorable Tom Hardy) after being mauled by a grizzly bear.
After crawling out of a shallow grave, Glass sets out on the long, cold journey towards revenge, evading marauding Native Americans, hunting for food and performing gruesome self-surgery in a series of incredible sequences. Alejandro González Iñárritu’s direction – ever impressive, never showy – and the flawless camera work help the viewer live every moment of Glass’ struggle for survival.
Despite uttering just a handful of lines during the film’s nigh-on three hours of running time, DiCaprio received his first Best Actor Oscar for The Revenant. Watching what he goes through here, it’s not difficult to see why the Academy was so impressed. As a pure physical performance, it’s remarkable – and just one great aspect in a movie packed with them.
The Menu
In Mark Mylod’s devilishly enjoyable satire, Ralph Fiennes glowers as world-renowned chef Jeremy Slowik, a culinary perfectionist who makes Gordon Ramsay look like Tinkerbell.
When a young couple (Anya Taylor-Joy and Nicholas Hoult) travel to Slowik’s hyper-exclusive private island restaurant alongside a host of wealthy luminaries, the multi-course meal on offer isn’t quite what they expected: the dishes come with a side-order of terror, bloodshed and righteous score-settling. Will anyone survive Slowik’s culinary masterpiece, or is this a last supper for the whole party?
Heat
Michael Mann’s iconic 90s thriller is probably best known for cramming movie legends Robert De Niro and Al Pacino into a scene together for the first time. That being said, it’s also a stylish, shrewd and culturally significant movie that everybody should watch at least once. Oh, and it features arguably the best heist scene ever captured on celluloid.
De Niro plays it low-key as a stoic but highly driven master thief seeking out one final big bank job with his crew, while Pacino soars in full scenery-munching mode as the veteran cop trying to stop him. It’s a simple setup, but the two leads’ performances, the grudging respect between their characters and the film’s exceptional action sequences add depth aplenty.
The Banshees of Inisherin
What happens when your best friend decides they no longer like you? Martin McDonagh’s pitch-black tragicomedy reunites the In Bruges pairing of Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson as two former pals on the fictional Irish island of Inisherin. Farrell’s wide-eyed Padraig is abruptly ‘dumped’ by Gleeson’s gloomy Colm; even when eventually given the reason he refuses to accept this situation, leading the duo down a darker and darker path.
Set in 1923 against the backdrop of the Irish Civil War (which some have claimed the film is an allegory for – far too simplistic a take for us), this is a beautifully written, shot and acted film that might be McDonagh’s most accomplished yet. The critics certainly think so, with the film attracting glowing reviews and armfuls of award nominations (including nine Oscar nods). It might well deserve them all.
Watch The Banshees of Inisherin on Disney+
Prey
The latest film in the somewhat patchy Predator series takes things back to basics, and it’s all the better for it. Skipping cinemas and landing straight on Disney+, Prey is set in 18th Century America and its lead is a young Comanche woman determined to prove her worth as a hunter. She’s about to come up against one of the best in the galaxy though: a two-metre tall alien with an array of lethal gadgets, the ability to all but disappear and a hankering for trophies.
What follows is arguably the best Predator film since the Arnie-starring 1987 original, as our heroine must use all her wiles and cunning to avoid becoming the next prize skull in the monster’s cabinet.
Alien
The best horror sci-fi movie ever made (not to mention one of the best horror movies full stop) and one that spawned a sprawling franchise based around its iconic titular “xenomorph”, Alien is a masterpiece of tension and visuals.
When the crew of commercial deep space vessel the Nostromo (a fantastic cast of “normal”, highly relatable working joe characters rather than exaggerated, OTT personalities) detect a transmission from an unexplored moon, they land to investigate and discover a strange derelict craft full of large eggs. When one of these hatches, it sparks off a deadly sequence of events. It’s fantastic cat-and-mouse stuff, and – courtesy of director Ridley Scott’s mastery of lighting and the stellar production design, looks so, so good for a 40 year-old movie.
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Based on three novels from Patrick O’Brian’s beloved Aubrey-Maturin series, this rollicking Napoleonic Wars epic is probably one of the most historically accurate depictions of early 19th century naval life (and death) ever put on screen. You can practically smell the sea salt, boiled cabbage, unwashed bodies and gunpowder as the HMS Surprise’s crew, led by Captain “Lucky” Jack Aubrey (Russell Crowe) and his faithful physician friend Stephen Maturin (Paul Bettany), pursue a French privateer across the South Atlantic and Pacific.
From tense evasive manoeuvres to ship’s dinners to battles filled with smoke, flame and splintered wood, this movie’s authenticity and attention to detail shines through – and almost all of it achieved without CGI chicanery, too. It’s a real pity no more Aubrey-Maturin movies followed – with 21 books in O’Brian’s series, there’d have been no shortage of source material.
Watch Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World on Disney+
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Writer and director Martin McDonagh’s follow-up to In Bruges offers a similar mix of pathos, violence and pitch-black comedy, as Frances McDormand’s grieving mother challenges the cops of her small southern US town to step up and catch her daughter’s murderer.
Such direct action – she purchases space on the three advertising billboards to publicly shame the police – brings her into conflict with Woody Harrelson’s respected chief and his bigoted, immature and angry deputy Sam Rockwell, sparking off an unpredictable sequence of events and an unforgettable conclusion. We won’t spoil any of that, but suffice to say the Oscars won by McDormand and Rockwell for their roles were well-earned, and this movie will likely stay in your head for a long time after the credits roll.
Watch Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri on Disney+
Star Wars: A New Hope
The original (and probably second-best) Star Wars movie, A New Hope is now well over 40 years old. There are few signs of a mid-life crisis here: it still looks and sounds fantastic (partly due to director George Lucas’s inability to stop tinkering with it years after its release), but this trailblazing space opera adventure is beloved for more than just the spectacle of zero-g dog fights and light saber duels. Star Wars’ enduring characters and mythology are introduced and established in this movie, but it also serves as a fantastic self-contained adventure story about a simple farm boy who becomes the heroic figurehead of a revolution. It’s simple stuff at its core, but done so brilliantly that you can’t help but be sold.
Watch Star Wars: A New Hope on Disney+
Free Solo
Captivating and terrifying in equal measure, this remarkable film documents the ever-so-slightly bonkers free solo climber Alex Honnold, whose lifelong dream is to scale the 3,200-foot El Capitan in Yosemite National Park without any ropes or equipment. Those who aren’t keen on heights are advised to watch from behind the sofa, but for everyone else, the Oscar-winning Free Solo is a thrill ride that not even Star Wars and the MCU can compete with. But thanks to Disney’s ownership of National Geographic, Disney+ subscribers can have all three.
Sam Kieldsen
Contributor 
