Guillermo del Toro's long-gestating adaptation of Mary Shelley's classic arrives as one of February's most anticipated films. Del Toro brings his signature gothic visuals and creature-empathy to the story of Victor Frankenstein and his creation, treating the monster not as villain but as abandoned child. It promises to be the most emotionally devastating version of the material yet committed to screen.

“Ranked #1 — Del Toro's Frankenstein is the kind of event film Netflix rarely produces, a genuine auteur vision with a legacy property.”

Cast: Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, Christoph Waltz, Mia Goth

The third Benoit Blanc mystery from Rian Johnson arrives on Netflix in February, reuniting the detective with another labyrinthine case involving wealthy eccentrics and buried secrets. Following the success of Knives Out and Glass Onion, this installment reportedly takes Blanc into even more surreal territory, with a larger ensemble and a more ambitious narrative structure.

“Ranked #2 — The Knives Out franchise has become Netflix's most reliable prestige event; Wake Up Dead Man has the highest expectations of the three.”

Cast: Daniel Craig, Josh O'Connor, Glenn Close, Josh Brolin

An adaptation of Ruth Ware's bestselling thriller novel, following journalist Lo Blacklock who witnesses what appears to be a murder aboard a luxury cruise ship — but the ship's manifest shows no record of the woman she saw. The film builds a taut psychological mystery around questions of credibility, perception, and who gets believed.

“Ranked #3 — A well-cast adaptation of a hugely popular thriller novel with a built-in audience ready to see the film version.”

Cast: Keira Knightley, Guy Pearce, David Ajala, Gitte Witt

The viral horror sensation returns with a sequel that picks up after the events of the original, as M3GAN — now more advanced and more dangerous — finds a way back. The film reportedly doubles down on the social satire embedded in the first film while escalating the horror set pieces that made the original a cultural moment.

“Ranked #4 — M3GAN became an unexpected phenomenon and the sequel arrives with significant audience appetite.”

Cast: Allison Williams, Amie Donald, Violet McGraw, Jenna Davis

An adaptation of Emily Henry's romantic novel, following two best friends who take an annual summer vacation together for years until a mysterious fight tears them apart. The film jumps between present and past as they try to figure out what went wrong and whether it can be repaired.

“Ranked #5 — Emily Henry adaptations have strong track records and this is one of her most beloved novels.”

Cast: Emily Bader, Tom Blyth, Sarah Catherine Hook, Jameela Jamil

An action thriller starring Austin Butler and directed by Darren Aronofsky, following a bartender in 1990s New York who inadvertently becomes the target of multiple criminal factions after agreeing to watch his neighbor's cat. The film is based on Charlie Huston's acclaimed crime novel and promises a brutal, propulsive noir energy.

“Ranked #6 — Aronofsky and Butler is a collaboration no one saw coming, and the combination promises something genuinely unpredictable.”

Cast: Austin Butler, Regina King, Zoë Kravitz, Matt Smith

An A24-style period drama adapted from Denis Johnson's novella, following a logger and itinerant worker in early 20th century Idaho whose quiet life is shattered by personal tragedy. The film has the spare, elemental quality of Johnson's prose and a performance at its centre that early screenings have called extraordinary.

“Ranked #7 — A prestige literary adaptation with serious awards pedigree arriving in the February window.”

Cast: Joel Edgerton, Felicity Jones, Nathaniel Arcand, Clifton Collins Jr.

Kathryn Bigelow returns to directing with this nuclear thriller set against the backdrop of Cold War geopolitics. The film follows a team of weapons inspectors who uncover evidence of an active nuclear device during a routine inspection, triggering a race to prevent catastrophe while navigating institutional obstruction.

“Ranked #8 — Bigelow's return to cinema is itself an event, and the nuclear thriller premise plays to her strengths as an action filmmaker.”

Cast: Idris Elba, Rebecca Ferguson, Gabriel Basso, Jared Harris

A crime thriller starring Matt Damon and Ben Affleck — reuniting the duo onscreen for the first time in years — following two brothers on opposite sides of a criminal investigation that threatens to destroy both their careers and their relationship. The film has been described as a taut, dialogue-driven thriller in the vein of classic 90s crime cinema.

“Ranked #9 — The Damon-Affleck reunion is the kind of casting event that generates enormous audience goodwill.”

Cast: Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Teyana Taylor, Steven Yeun

A science fiction action film set in a near-future battlefield where autonomous combat drones have replaced most human soldiers. When the drones begin behaving unexpectedly, a single human soldier is sent into a hot zone to determine whether the malfunction is a technical failure or something more deliberate.

“Ranked #10 — A high-concept sci-fi action premise with strong visual execution and timely themes around automated warfare.”

Cast: Alan Ritchson, Dennis Quaid, Stephan James, Jai Courtney

A psychological thriller following a woman who begins experiencing vivid, terrifying episodes of sleepwalking that blur the boundary between her waking life and her dreams. As the incidents escalate, she becomes increasingly unsure whether the crimes she witnesses are real or imagined — and whether she herself might be responsible.

“A taut, unsettling psychological thriller that works both as genre entertainment and as a meditation on perception and guilt.”

Cast: Ralph Carlsson, Tuva Novotny, Ewa Carlsson, Anders Palm

A dramatisation of the 2002 kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart, one of the most high-profile abduction cases in American history. The film follows both the nine months Smart spent in captivity and the unprecedented national search that eventually led to her recovery, drawing on Smart's own account of her experience.

“A true-crime dramatisation of one of the most shocking cases of the early 2000s, bringing renewed attention to Smart's story and advocacy work.”

Cast: Elizabeth Smart, Steevan Glover, John Stableforth, Brian David Mitchell