10 Great Movies to Watch Before They Leave Netflix at the End of September 2025

FOCUS 2015 – Warner Bros film with Margot Robbie and B D Wong

Every month, Netflix kicks off with a rotation of movies, often including a large exodus of dozens of films from various distributors. October 2025 will be no different, with over 100 titles currently due to expire. Which ones should you catch before it’s too late? Here are our top 10 great movies to watch as we head into October.

As always, you can find the full list of what’s leaving Netflix in the US (and UK) in our posts through our leaving soon section that we keep updated regularly, and we’re the only outlet that provides the most comprehensive, exhaustive list of what’s set to depart. You can find all the October 2025 departures here.

Please note: This list primarily covers Netflix US – other regions lineups will vary.

Although leaving Netflix in September, it’s a little later in the month, and an underappreciated gem from the past few years, I wanted to give it one final shoutout before it departs. Heading to Netflix as its SVOD debut as part of the Sony first window deal, the quaint and inspiring feel-good movie tells the story of a Marine who gets wounded in Afghanistan and finds solace by fishing alongside a former Vietnam veteran. 

It’s a short movie that didn’t quite get the attention it deserved upon its release on Netflix, and if you do check it out, be sure to read our interview with director Joshua Caldwell. 

Picture: A24

Earlier this year, Danny and Michael Philippou cemented their status as horror aficionados with the release of Bring Her Back, but their real start came in the 2022 movie Talk To Me, which has come to Netflix along with some of A24’s best in recent months and years. The Australian supernatural horror film follows a group of teenagers who discover they can conjure spirits and experience temporary possession by using a mysterious, embalmed severed hand.

The film has been praised for its unique take on the possession subgenre and its effective use of practical effects and suspense. It’s well-acted, and while I’ve found it doesn’t hold up on multiple watches, your first run-through is an absolute trip. 

Picture: Lionsgate

Talk about poor timing for this one! You’d think Lionsgate would want people to continue watching both Now You See Me entries on Netflix ahead of Now You See Me: Now You Don’t dropping in theaters on November 14th, but that won’t be the case. 

Featuring an ensemble cast including Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher, Dave Franco, Michael Caine, Lizzy Caplan, and Morgan Freeman, the frankly overlooked movie follows a team of illusionists putting their skills to use to conduct incredible heists. The second film was a major step up from the first, but both are still widely entertaining. 

Will Smith is gearing up for his big movie comeback on Netflix in the coming months, starring in Fast and Loose, a new action-comedy. If you’re looking to watch something to tide you over, Focus is easily one of his best films from the past decade, where he stars alongside Margot Robbie. 

Written and directed by Glenn Ficarra, the story has a few ties to the aforementioned Now You See Me in that it follows Nicky Spurgeon (Will Smith), a highly skilled and cynical con artist having a few illusion tricks of his own. While on a job, he is approached by Jess Barrett (Margot Robbie), a small-time grifter who attempts to con him. Nicky, seeing through her amateur ruse, exposes her and her accomplice. Impressed by her audacity, he reluctantly takes her under his wing and teaches her the art of “misdirection.”

While Studio Ghibli is undoubtedly the gold standard when it comes to anime films, Studio Ponoc has been hot on its heels, especially in recent years, with the studio arguably punching well above its weight in terms of quality. Two of their films, distributed by GKIDS, are set to depart Netflix at the beginning of next month, and both are worthy of your time.  

Modest Heroes is an anthology film comprising three visually rich shorts, each exploring themes of courage and resilience in everyday and fantastical settings. Meanwhile, Mary and the Witch’s Flower is a full-length fantasy adventure that follows a young girl who stumbles upon a mysterious flower granting her magical powers and entrance to a secret witch school, only to discover darker truths beneath the surface. 

Paramount Pictures – Bad Robot – FilmWorks / DR

Five of the now eight Mission: Impossible movies have been streaming on Netflix together for the first time. While the newer movies are still locked to Paramount+ (Fallout, Dead Reckoning Part One, and Dead Reckoning Part Two), these older entries arguably have the most charm, with Tom Cruise displaying his acting chops and his ability to perform death-defying stunts.

If you want to dive in and watch in order, here’s the order to do just that:

• Mission: Impossible (1996)
• Mission: Impossible II (2000)
• Mission: Impossible III (2006)
• Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol (2011)
• Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation (2015)

Another actor who has a big Netflix movie coming up is George Clooney, who recently took part in the world premiere of Jay Kelly, the new movie from Noah Baumbach that is heading to Netflix this December. While there are a million films you could list as your favorite of Clooney’s, for me, The American is up there among his very best. It’s an action thriller on the face of it, but it’s actually much smarter and more well-constructed.

The slow-burning character study follows a hitman’s final mission to explore themes of isolation, loneliness, and the possibility of redemption. 

WYATT EARP

Kevin Costner continues to be a huge draw for both movies and series in his multi-decade-long career, and arguably is still at the height of his game. 30 years ago, he starred in this epic biographical Western film that aims to tell the entire life story of the legendary lawman alongside Ian Bohen, Gene Hackman, and Dennis Quaid. 

Set during the height of the Wild West, the film has aged gracefully and remains a solid watch, depicting how, from Wichita to Dodge City to the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Wyatt Earp learns that nothing matters more than family and the law. Joined by his brothers and Doc Holliday, Earp wages war on the dreaded Clanton and McLaury gangs.

As you may know, Netflix released a multi-part docu-drama series (Wyatt Earp and the Cowboy War) last year, covering the story. If you’re looking for a comprehensive history lesson on Wyatt Earp, Netflix is your go-to destination for the next few weeks. 

Looking for an action thriller to watch? Last Seen Alive, featuring Gerard Butler, is for you. The movie picked up big numbers on Netflix upon its release, but its time on the service is now coming to an end. Centering on Will Spann (Butler), you’ll witness a wealthy real estate agent who is driving his estranged wife, Lisa (Jaimie Alexander), to her parents’ house. During a stop at a gas station, however, Lisa disappears, and unable to get the authorities to act quickly, he takes matters into his own hands.

Yes, this movie has nearly every cliche imaginable, but god, it’s an entertaining conspiracy thriller. If you’re looking to turn your brain off for 1 hour and 35 minutes, you could do a lot worse. 

Leaving Netflix a few days into the month, we have a severely underrated British crime drama headed up by James McAvoy (X-Men, Split) alongside Imogen Poots, Jamie Bell, and Eddie Marsan. Based on the novel by Irvine Welsh, with Jon S. Baird both adapting it into a screenplay and directing, the film covers a corrupt policeman who is just a few moments away from a big promotion, but a new case to solve a brutal murder has him stirring up a web of lies that becomes difficult to maintain. Beautifully shot and genuinely funny, the movie is a perfect weekend watch. 

Are you going to be catching any of these movies before they depart? Let us know in the comments down below.