Today Netflix released its final list of new arrivals leading into the new year – as well as leading into what looks like a new era for Netflix.
You may notice that this December lineup seems a little light on theatrical releases and leans a little heavier on Netflix Original content – and that's not an accident. Netflix announced last month that it plans to release 80 – 80! – original movies in 2018, which is more than every theatrical movie studio out there. It's more than several theatrical movie studios combined. And that's not including its insane amount of original TV shows Netflix puts out (for instance, did you know there's a Richie Rich kids show on Netflix? TWO SEASONS of it?! And enough animated shows to put Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon to shame?).
Combine that with other studios' taking their content to start their own streaming services (cough, Disney, cough) and just their general distain for Netflix – its secretive numbers and seemingly bottomless pockets for buying up stand-up specials and indie films – and the future of Netflix is more original content than familiar outsider names. After all, original content is the key ways to make sure your network is the one that people NEED to get in a growingly crowded streaming world.
But is that worth losing more of the big names that people recognize from standard movies and television – especially when Netflix struggles to market many of its projects? Is "The Crown," the Will Smith orc cop movie blockbuster "Bright" and Errol Morris' latest doc "Wormwood," about the eerie origins of the CIA, worth it? Time will tell.
That's not to say there's no outside movies to get excited about in December. Not one but TWO "Ace Ventura" movies will pop back on the service, as well as "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2," giving you unlimited opportunities to watch Baby Groot bop around like the most precious sentient murder tree in the comfort of your own living room.
Oh, and "Pottersville" a holiday drama starring Michael Shannon (really?) as a businessman who drunken poses as Bigfoot (REALLY!?) to bring Christmas cheer to his small town.
I take it all back: Netflix could only bring in new seasons of "Richie Rich" for the rest of time, and "Pottersville" would be worth it all.
For the list of what's leaving Netflix in December, click here.
Dec. 1
"8 Mile"
"Ace Ventura: Pet Detective"
"Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls"
NETFLIX ORIGINAL: "All Hail King Julien" season 5
NETFLIX ORIGINAL: "A StoryBoys Christmas"
"August Rush"
"Chef & My Fridge: 2017"
NETFLIX ORIGINAL: "Dark" season 1
"Diana: In Her Own Words"
"Dreamcatcher"
NETFLIX ORIGINAL: "DreamWorks Home: For the Holidays"
NETFLIX ORIGINAL: "Easy" season 2
"Exporting Raymond"
"Forbidden Games: The Justin Fashanu Story"
"Full Metal Jacket"
"Hitch"
NETFLIX ORIGINAL: "My Happy Family"
"Nacho Libre"
"Sahara"
"The Farthest - Voyager in Space"
"The Little Rascals"
"The Wackness"
"The Young Victoria"
"Tyson"
"V for Vendetta"
"Turn: Washington's Spies" season 4
NETFLIX ORIGINAL: "Voyeur"
"While You Were Sleeping"
Dec. 4
"When Calls the Heart" season 4
Dec. 5
NETFLIX ORIGINAL: "Craig Ferguson: Tickle Fight"
"Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2"
Dec. 6
"Trolls Holiday Special"
Dec. 8
NETFLIX ORIGINAL: "El Camino Christmas"
NETFLIX ORIGINAL: "The Crown" season 2
Dec. 11
"Catwoman"
"The Magicians" season 2
Dec. 12
"The Santa Clause"
"The Santa Clause 2"
"The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause"
NETFLIX ORIGINAL: "Judd Apatow: The Return"
Dec. 14
"41 Dogs in My Home"
"A&E: When Patients Attack"
"Ainsley Eats the Streets" season 1
"Halt and Catch Fire" season 4
Dec. 15
"A Five Star Life"
NETFLIX ORIGINAL: "Christmas Inheritance"
"Discovering Bigfoot"
"El Senor de los Cielos" season 5
NETFLIX ORIGINAL: "Erased" season 1
"Freeway: Crack In The System"
"Neverlake"
"Pottersville"
"Reggie Yates Outside Man: Volume 2"
"The Haunting of Helena"
"The Mafia Kills Only in Summer"
NETFLIX ORIGINAL: "The Ranch" part 4
NETFLIX ORIGINAL: "Trollhunters" part 2
NETFLIX ORIGINAL: "Ultimate Beastmaster"
NETFLIX ORIGINAL: "Wormwood"
Dec. 18
NETFLIX ORIGINAL: "Hello, My Twenties!" season 2
Dec. 19
"Miss Me This Christmas"
NETFLIX ORIGINAL: "Russell Howard: Recalibrate"
NETFLIX ORIGINAL: "The Indian Detective" season 1
"You Can't Fight Christmas"
Dec. 20
NETFLIX ORIGINAL: "La Casa de Papel" season 1
Dec. 21
NETFLIX ORIGINAL: "Peaky Blinders" season 4
Dec. 22
NETFLIX ORIGINAL: "72 Dangerous Animals: Latin America" season 1
NETFLIX ORIGINAL: "Bright"
NETFLIX ORIGINAL: "Dope" season 1
NETFLIX ORIGINAL: "Fuller House" season 3
"Rosario Tijeras" season 1
NETFLIX ORIGINAL: "The Toys That Made Us" season 1
Dec. 23
"Creep 2"
"Myths & Monsters" season 1
Dec. 25
NETFLIX ORIGINAL: "Cable Girls" season 2
"Planet Earth II"
Dec. 26
NETFLIX ORIGINAL: "Todd Barry: Spicy Honey"
NETFLIX ORIGINAL: "Travelers" season 2
"All Hail King Julien: New Year's Eve Countdown 2018"
"Beat Bugs: New Year's Eve Countdown 2018"
"Larva: New Year's Eve Countdown 2018"
"Pororo: New Year's Eve Countdown 2018"
"Puffin Rock: New Year's Eve Countdown 2018"
"Skylanders Academy: New Year's Eve Countdown 2018"
"Trollhunters: New Year's Eve Countdown 2018"
"True and the Rainbow Kingdom: New Year's Eve Countdown 2018"
"Word Party: New Year's Eve Countdown 2018"
Dec. 27
"Pusher"
Dec. 29
NETFLIX ORIGINAL: "Bill Nye Saves the World" season 2, part 1
"Killer Legends"
NETFLIX ORIGINAL: "La Mante" season 1
"Shelter"
NETFLIX ORIGINAL: "The Climb"
Dec. 31
NETFLIX ORIGINAL: "Dave Chappelle: Equanimity"
"Fun Mom Dinner"
As much as it is a gigantic cliché to say that one has always had a passion for film, Matt Mueller has always had a passion for film. Whether it was bringing in the latest movie reviews for his first grade show-and-tell or writing film reviews for the St. Norbert College Times as a high school student, Matt is way too obsessed with movies for his own good.
When he's not writing about the latest blockbuster or talking much too glowingly about "Piranha 3D," Matt can probably be found watching literally any sport (minus cricket) or working at - get this - a local movie theater. Or watching a movie. Yeah, he's probably watching a movie.
