3 New Movies Coming to Netflix in January 2025

With the new year comes new entries into streaming platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and more. From originals to films that Netflix has acquired for distribution to just old films that find a place on the streaming platform, it balances its slate each year. This month there are quite a few films from each category that will make it to Netflix screens.

A couple of classics are set to be available on the streaming platform from January 1. Films like 13 Going on 30, Dallas Buyers Club, Interstellar, Inception, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Erin Brockovich, Notting Hill, the Rush Hour franchise, and the Spider-Man trilogy from Sam Raimi are set to be available on Netflix. There are a few originals in the pipeline too.

1 Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl – January 3, 2025

A still from Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl | Credits: Netflix

The British stop-motion animation franchise Wallace & Gromit has been an irreplaceable part of British culture since its debut in 1989. Created by Nick Park, the comedy franchise sees the adventures and antics of the rural inventor Wallace and his beagle Gormit. Initially starting with four short films, the franchise expanded into feature films and a spinoff series.

The latest addition to the franchise is the upcoming feature film Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl. The fim will be produced by Aardman Animations in collaboration with Netflix. This would be the second feature film in the franchise after the 2005 film Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit.

Back in 2019, the creator and director Nick Park had stated that the feature-film format was too tiring and despite having a lot of ideas, he liked the half-an-hour format. Though he said that it was not a rejection of a possible feature film, he liked the short form better. He said to THR,

I feel I’m onto a good idea and I can’t give too much away because it would spoil it really, but it’s Wallace & Gromit up to their old antics.

The villainous character Feathers McGraw is set to make a return to the franchise. The antagonist penguin was last seen in the Oscar-winning short Wallace & Gromit: The Wrong Trousers. The Netflix film will also be the first feature-length performance of Ben Whitehead as Wallace after taking over from Peter Sallis.

2 Umjolo: My Beginnings, My End! – January 3, 2025

A still from Umjolo: My Beginnings, My End! | Credits: Netflix

Apart from the new Wallace & Gromit film, Netflix will be releasing the Afrikan film Umjolo: My Beginnings, My End! on the same day. The film stars Nombulelo Mhlongo, Busisiwe Mtshali, and Nirvana Nokwe-Mseleku in the lead roles along with Yonda Thomas. It is directed by Zuko Nodada.

According to Rotten Tomatoes, the film is a rom-com that follows the protagonist Mayi, who meets a new man a few weeks before her wedding and falls in love with him. The trailer hints at the conflict between her new lover, who is a saxophonist at a club, and her betrothed, who is a member of the royal family of Jama.

3 Back in Action – January 17, 2025

A still from Back in Action | Credits: Netflix

Cameron Diaz is back from her retirement after ten years with the aptly titled Back in Action. The actress was last seen in Annie and Sex Tape, which also starred Jamie Foxx. She reunites with Foxx on the upcoming Netflix original, which follows a family of spies who go on the run after their secret identities are exposed.

The trailer hints at Diaz and Jamie Foxx being a couple who are former CIA operatives. They have been living with their two children with a secret identity when they get exposed. After an intense action set-piece, their secret is out to their children and they have to relocate while trying to escape the people after them.

Foxx mentioned that he had convinced her to step back into the game after she retired from acting in 2014. He said to Entertainment Tonight that he enticed Diaz with the fun script and genre of Back in Action. He said,

Cameron is such an incredible force and she has done so much in this business. We love her…[I asked], ‘Do you wanna have some fun? Just have some fun!’ And I think that’s what brought her to it.

The Netflix film is written by Seth Gordon and Brendan O’Brien, with the former taking over directing duties as well. It also features Glenn Close, Kyle Chandler, and Andrew Scott. It was initially set to release in November 2024 but was subsequently delayed to the present date.