You can also get a dose of nostalgia by revisiting “The Wiz” and “Smokey and the Bandit.”

10 movies coming to Netflix in April 2026 — including a new Charlize Theron action film

You can also get a dose of nostalgia by revisiting "The Wiz" and "Smokey and the Bandit."

By Randall Colburn

Randall Colburn

Randall Colburn is a writer and editor at **. His work has previously appeared on The A.V. Club, The Guardian, The Ringer, and many other publications.

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March 31, 2026 5:59 p.m. ET

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Ryan Reynolds in 'IF'; Lena Horne in 'The Wiz'; Sadie Sandler in 'Roommates'. Credit:

Jonny Cournoyer/Paramount Pictures; Silver Screen Collection/Getty; Courtesy of Netflix

If a trip to the cinema is out of the question this month, your Netflix account should come in handy. From new releases and documentaries to time-tested classics, the streamer is celebrating the arrival of spring with several crowd-pleasing titles.

Budding film lovers can bond with their parents over the vintage charms of *Smokey and the Bandit,* *The Wiz*, and *Kindergarten Cop*, or make them feel 100 years old with *Roommates*, a Netflix original starring Adam Sandler's 19-year-old daughter Sadie.

Other new releases include *Apex*, an Australia-set action movie starring Charlize Theron, and *Chess Mates*, the latest entry in Netflix's *Untold* series of sports documentaries.

Below are 10 movies coming to Netflix this month you'll want to check out.**

American Gangster (2007)

Denzel Washington in 'American Gangster'.

David Lee/Universal

**Available to stream:** April 1

A top-notch cast led by Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, and Josh Brolin brings grit and machismo to Ridley Scott's 2007 film, which comes with a script by Oscar-winning scribe Steven Zaillian.

Upon its release, ** lauded *American Gangster* as "meticulous and detailed, a drug-world epic that holds you from moment to moment, immersing you in the intricate and sleazy logistics of crime... It’s like *The Godfather*, *Serpico*, *Scarface*, and *The French Connection* all mashed in a blender, along with a heavy helping of synthetic cocktail mix."

**Director: **Ridley Scott

**Cast:** Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Cuba Gooding Jr., Josh Brolin, Ted Levine, and RZA**

Everest (2015)

Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Kelly, and Josh Brolin in 'Everest'.

Jasin Boland/Universal Pictures

**Available to stream:** April 1

Baltasar Kormákur's 2015 survival thriller is based on a real-life 1996 expedition to the summit of Mount Everest that ended in tragedy. The incident was chronicled in Jon Krakauer's 1997 book *Into Thin Air*, though the film's script pulled from a number of different sources, including then-unheard audio tapes between the climbers and base camp.**

“None of the books that have been written had access to these tapes,” Kormákur previously told EW. “They put them away and wanted to try to move onward with their life. But they listened to it with us which was incredibly moving and, of course, very traumatic for them to go through again. But it was also very informative because we got all the small details. There were very different stories out there in many of those books and we wanted to try to understand what was misunderstood. And a lot of this came through those tapes.”

It's a harrowing watch, but you're in good company with an A-list ensemble that includes Jake Gyllenhaal, Jason Clarke, Josh Brolin, and Robin Wright.******Director:** Baltasar Kormákur

**Cast:** Jason Clarke, Jake Gyllenhaal, Josh Brolin, Robin Wright, Emily Watson, John Hawkes, Keira Knightley, and Sam Worthington

Kindergarten Cop (1990)

Arnold Schwarzenegger in 'Kindergarten Cop'.

Bruce McBroom/Universal Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection

**Available to stream:** April 1

After establishing himself as a larger-than-life action star in violent genre flicks like *The Terminator* and *The Predator*, Arnold Schwarzenegger flaunted his softer side (and crack comic timing) in the Ivan Reitman movies *Twins* and *Kindergarten Cop*, both of which cleaned up at the box office.

*Kindergarten Cop* is particularly notable for reconciling the Austrian giant's dueling sides — as Det. John Kimball, he gets to unload shotguns and absorb bullets in one breath, then banter with adolescent moppets about ferrets in the next. He even finds chemistry with costar Penelope Ann Miller, who plays a teacher at the school where he goes undercover.**

**Director:** Ivan Reitman

**Cast:** Arnold Schwarzenegger, Penelope Ann Miller, Richard Tyson, Pamela Reed, and Linda Hunt**

Smokey and the Bandit (1977)

Burt Reynolds and Sally Field in 'Smokey and the Bandit'.

FilmPublicityArchive/United Archives via Getty

**Available to stream:** April 1

Burt Reynolds and Sally Field are a revelation in this beloved road film, which plants the pair in a Pontiac Trans Am with Sheriff Buford T. Justice (Jackie Gleason) hot on their tail. The movie was such a hit — raking in $127 million on a $4 million budget — that it spawned two sequels.

"Field's performance as runaway bride Carrie, a.k.a. 'Frog,' is the fuel that powered the car chase picture's financial haul," EW wrote when ranking Field's best roles, "as her plucky heroine was a hit with audiences and has remained so in the decades since its release."

**Director: **Hal Needham

**Cast:** Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, Jackie Gleason, Jerry Reed, Pat McCormick, Paul Williams, and Mike Henry**

The Wiz (1978)

Ted Ross, Michael Jackson, Diana Ross and Nipsey Russell in 'The Wiz'.

Michael Ochs Archive/Getty

**Available to stream:** April 1

*The Wiz* is an all-Black reimagining of *The Wizard of Oz* that debuted on Broadway in 1975 before coming to life onscreen with Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, and Richard Pryor on the marquee and Oscar-nominated director Sidney Lumet behind the lens.

When EW ranked all the *Oz* films, we counted *The Wiz* as the best of them (outside of the original, of course). "There's an uncanniness to 1970s Harlem here; a magical-realist urban sprawl that's both palpably gritty and like something from a fairy tale," our writer noted. "Meanwhile, Lumet's Oz is like a mystical New York City. It's a sprawling canvas that evokes a disused theme park, stretching from the recesses of Munchkinland to the gleaming streets of the Emerald City."

**Director:** Sidney Lumet

**Cast:** Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Nipsey Russell, Ted Ross, Lena Horne, and Richard Pryor

Untold: Chess Mates (2026)

Magnus Carlsen in 'Untold: Chess Mates'.

Courtesy of Netflix

**Available to stream:** April 7

"How did a match between chess grandmasters," reads the logline for *Chess Mates*, "devolve into a bizarre scandal about anal beads?" We'll admit that caught our attention.

*Chess Mates*, the latest in Netflix's *Untold* series of sports documentaries, centers on the feud between chess grandmasters Magnus Carlsen and Hans Niemann, the latter of whom cultivated a strong following in online chess circles.

"Niemann’s ascension culminates in an epic, controversy-shrouded victory over Carlsen, eventually leading to allegations of cheating," reads a synopsis. "Determined to clear his name, Niemann fights his way back to the top of the chess world, setting the stage for a high-stakes rematch with Carlsen."**

**Director:** Thomas Tancred**

Cailey Fleming in 'IF'.

Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

**Available to stream:** April 9

In this family film, IFs are imaginary friends who've been left behind after their real-life friends grew up. Together, 12-year-old Bea (Cailey Fleming) and her neighbor Cal (Ryan Reynolds) work to pair these abandoned IFs with new kids in need of a companion.

The movie was written and directed by *The Office* alum John Krasinski, who explained to EW that he wanted to explore a world where "imaginary friends are not just adorable creatures."

He continued, "They're these time capsules for everyone's hopes, dreams, ambitions, and this place that we can always go back to that we all think that as adults we leave behind, but we didn't. They're right there. We just have to turn around and look at them again."**

**Director:** John Krasinski

**Cast: **Ryan Reynolds, Cailey Fleming, Fiona Shaw, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Louis Gossett Jr., and Steve Carell

Roommates (2026)

Scott Yamano/Netflix

**Available to stream:** April 17

Sadie Sandler, daughter of Adam, stars in this Netflix original as a shy first-year college student who's first enamored, then annoyed by her extroverted, hard-partying roommate (Chloe East). Along the way, the pair grapple with romance, friendship, and the pressures of encroaching adulthood.

*Saturday Night Live* standouts Sarah Sherman and Martin Herlihy costar alongside veterans like Natasha Lyonne, Nick Kroll, and Carol Kane.

**Director:** Chandler Levack

**Cast:** Sadie Sandler, Chloe East, Sarah Sherman, Natasha Lyonne, Nick Kroll, Storm Reid, and Carol Kane

Marlon Wayans as Isaiah in 'Him'.

Universal Pictures

**Available to stream:** April 19

Produced by *Get Out*'s Jordan Peele, *Him* is a horror movie set against the world of professional football, with Tyriq Withers starring as a talented quarterback working through head trauma who begins training with a legend played by Marlon Wayans. Things get pretty grisly from there.

Director Justin Tipping previously spoke with EW about how so many athlete stories feature characters in search of "the Fountain of Youth," adding, "They're trying to be Father Time."

**Director:** Justin Tipping

**Cast:** Marlon Wayans, Tyriq Withers, Julia Fox, Tim Heidecker, and Jim Jefferies

Eric Bana in 'Apex'.

Kane Skennar/Netflix

**Available to stream:** April 24

Charlize Theron's action-star era continues with *Apex*, a new Netflix original that comes on the heels of 2020's *The Old Guard *and its 2025 sequel. In *Apex*, she stars as an adrenaline junkie whose latest thrill ride puts her face to face with a chrome-domed psychopath played by Taron Egerton.

“This is a psychological thriller,” Theron told Netflix's Tudum. “It’s really a story about survival, not just physically but emotionally. And it’s about finding out what you’re made of."

**Director:** Baltasar Kormákur

**Cast:** Charlize Theron, Taron Egerton, and Eric Bana

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