one film a year that proves the power of the catalog

Netflix may have started out as a simple digital rental store, but within a decade it has grown into one of the biggest studios in the world. From award-winning dramas to Oscar-nominated animations, streaming has created a catalog that rivals any Hollywood giant. The company’s trajectory between 2015 and 2025 shows how cinema has changed — and how the public has learned to watch great stories without leaving home.

It all started in 2015 with Beasts of No Nationthe first original in Netflix history. Directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga, the film starring Idris Elba was a punch in the gut — a raw story about a boy forced to become a soldier in the middle of the civil war. The impact was so great that Elba was nominated for a Golden Globe and a BAFTA, opening Netflix’s doors to serious cinema.

Original streaming films

The following year, streaming bet on the emotional with The Fundamentals of Caring. The comedy-drama starring Paul Rudd, Craig Roberts and Selena Gomez won hearts with its sensitivity. The trio form an unlikely friendship during a car trip that mixes humor, illness and personal discovery.

In 2017, the platform showed that it could go further with Okjaby Bong Joon Ho. The creator of Parasite brought a powerful story about a girl and a genetically modified pig, mixing social criticism and emotion. The cast — Tilda Swinton, Paul Dano and Steven Yeun — helped turn the film into one of Netflix’s biggest moments at Cannes.

The artistic peak came in 2018 with Romaby Alfonso Cuarón. The Mexican drama was the first streaming film to compete for the Oscar for Best Film — and also won the statuettes for Best Direction, Photography and International Film. From then on, the industry’s respect for productions released directly on the platform was never the same.

In 2019, Netflix showed its strength with Klausa Christmas animation that became an instant classic. The story about a postman who inspires the emergence of Santa Claus enchanted critics and audiences, becoming the company’s first animated film nominated for an Oscar. In the same year, they debuted The Irishman, Story of a Marriage e Do Dads — a milestone for the catalogue.

Netflix scores success after success

With cinemas closed in 2020, streaming took center stage. The Supreme Voice of the Blueswith Viola Davis and Chadwick Boseman (1976-2020), brought jazz and the racial tension of the 1920s back into the spotlight. The film was nominated for five Oscars and marked Boseman’s farewell, in one of the most moving performances of the decade.

From then on, more jewels came: Tick, Tick… Boom! (2021)with Andrew Garfield shining as the creator of Rent; Pinóquio by Guillermo del Toro (2022)a dark, Oscar-winning animated tale; NIMIS (2023)a futuristic adventure with LGBTQ+ representation and stunning visuals; and, finally, The Snow Society (2024)the harrowing survival drama about the disaster in the Andes, which earned two Oscar nominations.

Netflix, however, reached its peak audience in 2025. K-Pop warriors It is the most watched film in the platform’s history. The animation became a true international phenomenon, scoring hits on Billboard.

From 2015 to 2025, Netflix proved that streaming is not the enemy of cinema — it is its new way of existing. And looking at this timeline of hits, it’s clear that the future of great stories can also start with clicking “Watch Now.”