I'll be honest: I've been dreading the first Netflix announcement of 2018. With all the news of Disney starting up its own streaming service (and surely other studios thinking of following suit), Netflix's own desire to emphasize original content over other work and the trend of popular non-original TV shows bailing from the Big Red Monolith, I expected today's list of new arrivals for the month of January to be scarce on well-known titles and heavy on low-impact originals.
But 'tis an early Christmas miracle, because Netflix's mix of new additions for the start of the new year is incredibly loaded, from fresh new stuff ("Cars 3," "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales") to indie gems that keen Cream City cinephiles will recognize from the recent Milwaukee Film Festival ("The Force," "AlphaGo") to entire blocks of iconic movie franchises (all three "The Godfather" films, most of the Batman movies) to past Oscar winners ("Training Day," "Dallas Buyers Club") just in time for the Academy Award nominations.
And that's not even including other beloved blockbusters like "Caddyshack," "Apollo 13," "Bring It On," "Wedding Crashers" and more. There's even "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory"! See, there's nothing to be scared of!
OK, so there's that to be worried about. And I'm sure the Netflix tide will continue to turn toward originals and fewer outside hits, the streaming service acting more as its own provider rather than relying on others, as time goes on. But this is at least a comforting start to the year.
Here's the rest of the new arrivals you can expect on Netflix when we hit 2018:
For the list of what's leaving Netflix in January, click here.
Jan. 1
"10,000 BC"
"30 Days of Night"
"Age of Shadows"
"AlphaGo"
"America's Sweethearts"
"Apollo 13"
"Batman"
"Batman & Robin"
"Batman Begins"
"Batman Forever"
"Batman Returns"
"Breakfast at Tiffany's"
"Bring It On"
"Bring It On Again"
"Bring It On: All or Nothing"
"Bring It On: Fight to the Finish"
"Bring It On: In It to Win It"
"Caddyshack"
"Chef & My Fridge: 2017"
"Defiance"
"Definitely, Maybe"
"The Dukes of Hazzard"
"Eastsiders" season 3
"The Exorcism of Emily Rose"
"The First Time"
"Furry Vengeance"
NETFLIX ORIGINAL: "Glace" season 1
"The Godfather"
"The Godfather: Part II"
"The Godfather: Part III"
"How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days"
"The Italian Job"
"Justin Bieber: Never Say Never"
"King Kong"
"Lethal Weapon"
"Lethal Weapon 2"
"Lethal Weapon 3"
"Lethal Weapon 4"
"License to Wed"
"Like Chocolate for Water"
"Love Actually"
"The Lovely Bones"
NETFLIX ORIGINAL: "Lovesick" season 3
"Maddman: The Steve Madden Story"
"Marie Antoinette"
"Martin Luther: The Idea that Changed the World"
"Midnight in Paris"
"Monsters vs. Aliens"
"National Treasure"
"Sharknado 5: Global Swarming"
"The Shawshank Redemption"
"Stardust"
"Strictly Ballroom"
"Training Day"
"Treasures From the Wreck of the Unbelievable"
"Troy"
"The Truman Show"
"The Vault"
"Wedding Crashers"
"Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory"
Jan. 2
"Mustang Island"
"Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales"
"Rent"
Jan. 5
NETFLIX ORIGINAL: "Before I Wake"
NETFLIX ORIGINAL: "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee"
NETFLIX ORIGINAL: "DEVILMAN crybaby" season 1
NETFLIX ORIGINAL: "Rotten"
Jan. 6
"Episodes" seasons 1-5
Jan. 8
"The Conjuring"
Jan. 10
"47 Meters Down"
NETFLIX ORIGINAL: "Alejandro Riano Especial de stand up"
"Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie"
"In The Deep"
Jan. 12
"Colony" season 2
NETFLIX ORIGINAL: "Disjointed" part 2
"The Man Who Would Be Polka King"
NETFLIX ORIGINAL: "The Polka King"
NETFLIX ORIGINAL: "Somebody Feed Phil"
NETFLIX ORIGINAL: "Tom Segura: Disgraceful"
Jan. 14
"Wild Hogs"
Jan. 15
"2018 Olympic Winter Games Preview: Meet Team USA & Go for the Gold"
"Rehenes"
"Unrest"
Jan. 16
"Dallas Buyers Club"
NETFLIX ORIGINAL: "Katt Williams: Great America"
"Rita" season 4
Jan. 17
NETFLIX ORIGINAL: "Arango y Sanint: Riase El Show"
"Friday Night Tykes" season 4
Jan. 18
"Bad Day for the Cut"
NETFLIX ORIGINAL: "Tiempos de guerra" season 1
Jan. 19
NETFLIX ORIGINAL: "Drug Lords" season 1
NETFLIX ORIGINAL: "Grace and Frankie" season 4
NETFLIX ORIGINAL: "The Open House"
NETFLIX ORIGINAL: "Trolls: The Beat Goes On!" season 1
Jan. 23
NETFLIX ORIGINAL: "Todd Glass: Act Happy"
Jan. 24
NETFLIX ORIGINAL: "Ricardo Quevedo: Hay gente así"
Jan. 25
"Acts of Vengeance"
Jan. 26
NETFLIX ORIGINAL: "A Futile and Stupid Gesture"
NETFLIX ORIGINAL: "The Adventures of Puss in Boots" season 6
NETFLIX ORIGINAL: "Dirty Money"
NETFLIX ORIGINAL: "Kavin Jay: Everybody Calm Down!"
NETFLIX ORIGINAL: "Llama Llama" season 1
NETFLIX ORIGINAL: "One Day at a Time" season 2
NETFLIX ORIGINAL: "Sebastian Marcelo Wainraich"
NETFLIX ORIGINAL: "Mau Nieto: Viviendo sobrio ... desde el bar"
Jan. 28
"El Ministerio del Tiempo" seasons 1-2
NETFLIX ORIGINAL: "El Ministerio del Tiempo" season 3
Jan. 29
"The Force"
Jan. 30
NETFLIX ORIGINAL: "Babylon Berlin" season 1-2
"Death Race: Beyond Anarchy"
NETFLIX ORIGINAL: "Retribution" season 1
Jan. 31
"Cars 3"
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.
