In order to succeed in entertainment, Black creatives are forced to work much harder than their white counterparts just to make their voices heard. Progress is being made in acknowledging the disparity that exists between races, though still, stories from Black people slip through the cracks far too often in favor of re-telling more familiar narratives that are known for selling well in Hollywood. Thanks to streaming, it’s become easier than ever to access Black movies across various platforms, and if you’re looking for a list of recommendations, we’ve rounded up some of the best.
The past decade especially has seen a notable increase in empowering Black stories coming to the forefront of media – a trend we only hope to see continue in coming years. No matter if you prefer thrillers or dramadies, modern stories or older classics, our list has something for everyone to enjoy. Keep reading to find your next movie night watch.
25. American Fiction (2023)
IMDb: 7.6/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 96%
If you haven’t already seen Oscar nominee Jeffrey Wright as “Monk” in 2023’s American Fiction, there’s no reason not to check it out on Prime Video on your next movie night in. The project is based on Percival Everett’s “Erasure” novel, which hit bookstands in 2001 as a response to discourse and criticism regarding Black literature in America. In the Cord Jefferson-directed movie, Monk, an angry novelist writes a book using a pen name to prove his point about offensive Black stereotypes that are too often used by creatives. Unfortunately, the project’s success lands him in the middle of the chaos he was seemingly condemning in the first place.
24. Sorry to Bother You (2018)
IMDb: 6.9/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 70%
For those craving more of an out-of-the-box option that’ll leave you looking at the world differently, we suggest Sorry to Bother You. The fantasy dramedy came from the mind of Boots Riley in 2018, with familiar faces like LaKeith Stanfield, Tessa Thompson, Terry Crews, and Jermaine Fowler leading the cast. Taking place in present-day Oakland, Cassius Green (Stanfield) works a menial job as a telemarketer, struggling to get by, until he unlocks a magical key that takes him to a dystopian reality where tough choices have to be made. Sorry to Bother You can be streamed on the Roku Channel or with a subscription to Mubi. Additionally, it’s available for rent/purchase on Apple TV+, Prime Video, Google Play, and YouTube.
23. 12 Years a Slave (2013)
IMDb: 8.1/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 90%
Though not at all an easy watch, 12 Years a Slave tells an important story in Black American history, taking viewers back in time to pre-Civil War days. Chiwetel Ejiofor gives an emotional and thought-provoking performance as Soloman Northup – a free Black man residing in upstate New York whose life takes a tragic turn when he’s kidnapped and sold into slavery. Throughout the physical and mental abuse he endures, Soloman strives to maintain a sense of dignity, along with the hope of one day reuniting with the family he unwillingly left behind. Other noteworthy stars include Lupita Nyong’o, Alfre Woodard and the late Michael K. Williams.
22. Paid in Full (2002)
IMDb: 7/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 93%
It’s been a few years since Cam’ron hinted that a Paid in Full sequel could be coming our way soon. While we eagerly await any more word on that from the Dipset alum, we still find ourselves revisiting the 2002 film, which stars Killa Cam alongside Mehki Phifer and Wood Harris as Harlem teenagers who get roped into a dangerous, fast-paced lifestyle of selling drugs in the late 80s. Plenty of streamers currently have the crime thriller available in their libraries, including Fubo, Paramount+, and Pluto TV.
21. The Color Purple (1985)
IMDb: 7.7/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 94%
Whoopi Goldberg has been in show business for nearly half a century, and while these days she’s best known for giving hot takes while hosting The View, back in 1985, she got her big break as Celie Johnson in The Color Purple. For the past year, movie lovers have been chattering about the 2023 remake featuring Halle Bailey, Ciara, H.E.R. and other vocal icons, but we can’t forget its inspiration, which was directed by Steven Spielberg and adapted from Alice Walker’s 1983 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel.
20. Hustle & Flow (2005)
IMDb: 7.3/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 82%
Hustle & Flow remains a throwback favorite for hip-hop heads on movie night, but in late 2023, Terrence Howard caused a stir in the media when the lead actor admitted that he only took home $12K for his work as DJay – a Memphis-based pimp with dreams of creating a bigger life for himself. Connecting with an old friend working in the music industry allows the criminal to turn his traumatic life experience into rhymes. At the time of publication, Hustle & Flow is available for streaming on Max, Direct TV, and Cinemax.
19. Zola (2020)
IMDb: 6.5/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 68%
Taylour Paige has been one to watch over the past few years, from her collaboration with Kendrick Lamar on the painfully toxic “We Cry Together” to her performance in 2020’s Zola. The latter saw the rising star get her flowers at the annual 2022 Spirit Awards, bringing home a trophy for Best Female Lead. If you have yet to see the crime comedy yourself, it’s sure to have you belly laughing as Paige and her co-stars Colman Domingo, Riley Keough, and Nicholas Braun retell a story of friendship gone awry that previously went viral on Twitter/X across 148 tweets.
18. Menace II Society (1993)
IMDb: 7.5/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 93%
The Hughes brothers left their mark on the film industry in 1993 with Menace II Society before telling other stories like Dead Presidents, American Pimp, and The Book of Eli. In their debut, Allen and Albert explore gang culture in Los Angeles, where 18-year-old Caine Lawson (played by Trin Turner) is seeking a way out of the karmic cycles he’s grown up around. Thanks to the help of his girlfriend (Jada Pinkett Smith) and a supportive teacher, Caine creates a plan for his future, but rude awakenings keep him all too aware of how difficult it can be to break generational curses.
17. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
IMDb: 8.4/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 94%
If the past few years have taught us anything about Spider-Man, it’s that he’s not limited to the Tobey Maguire-as-Peter Parker version many of us grew up with. Thanks to the animated take on the superhero story that began with Into the Spider-Verse in 2018, the world has fallen in love with Miles Morales (voiced by Shameik Moore) as he learns to make good use of his new and mysterious powers. Besides entertaining millions, the first movie in the ongoing series earned Peter Ramsay the first Animated Film Oscar awarded to a Black person.
16. Inside Man (2006)
IMDb: 7.6/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 85%
Anyone with subscriptions to Peacock and/or Starz will be glad to know that Spike Lee’s crime thriller, Inside Man is currently available for their streaming enjoyment. Denzel Washington takes the lead as Detective Keith Frazier, a New York City-based policeman whose reputation has been tarnished by scandal. Nevertheless, he remains persistent to make First Grade when a clever bank robber and high-power broker conveniently come into his life to shake things up.
15. Fruitvale Station (2013)
IMDb: 7.5/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 87%
Two Black entertainers who’ve stayed consistently booked and busy in recent years are Michael B. Jordan and Octavia Spencer. The former’s claim to fame lately has been his directorial debut, Creed III, which he also stars in, while the latter’s kept us laughing in comedies like Spirited and Thunder Force. Back in 2013, Jordan and Spencer came together for Ryan Coogler’s Fruitvale Station, based on the inspiring true story of a young man who wound up in San Quentin after an unexpected altercation with police went tragically wrong.
14. Boyz n the Hood (1991)
IMDb: 7.8/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 93%
Another story on our list that takes place on the sunny West Coast is 1991’s Boyz n the Hood, starring Cuba Gooding Jr., Ice Cube, and Laurence Fishburn as Tre, Furious, and Doughboy respectively. When Tre moves to South Central LA to live with his father (played by Fishburn), he connects with a loving girlfriend, Brandi (Nia Long), who teaches him about faith while also learning important lessons from Fury. Unfortunately, Doughboy and another friend of Tre’s, Ricky (Morris Chestnut) lack the same support in their personal lives, and fall victim to the harsh realities of gang culture instead.
13. Judas and the Black Messiah (2021)
IMDb: 7.4/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 95%
For his second appearance on our Best Black movies round-up, LaKeith Stanfield appears opposite Daniel Kaluuya in Judas and the Black Messiah, which helped educate film lovers on the history of the Black Panther party in 2021. Shaka King was in the director’s chair for the Academy Award-winning project, which follows William O’Neal (Stanfield), who infiltrates the activist group’s Chicago chapter after the FBI offers him a plea deal in exchange for intel on Chairman Fred Hampton (Kaluuya).
12. Waiting to Exhale (1995)
IMDb: 6/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 79%
Whitney Houston is best known for her vocal prowess, but throughout her tragically short career, she impressed us with a few acting roles as well. One of them came in 1995’s Waiting to Exhale, based on a novel of the same name by Terry McMillan. It follows four unique Black women in America (Angela Bassett, Loretta Devine, and Lela Rochon star alongside Houston) and their sometimes confusing love lives, among other adventures. A few years back Lee Daniels and ABC confirmed a Waiting to Exhale TV series was in the works with a script commitment from the network, but we’re curious to see if it’ll come to fruition nearly three decades later.
11. Creed (2015)
IMDb: 7.6/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 89%
Following the massive success of Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky franchise, it only makes sense to continue on the legacy with a spin-off that follows the notorious fighter’s former’s late rival-turned-friend, Apollo Creed, whose son turns to Rocky Balboa for mentorship in 2015’s Creed. The ambitious Adonis is brought to life by Michael B. Jordan, who made his directorial debut in Creed III last year after Ryan Coogler was behind the lens for the first and Steven Caple Jr. took over for the sequel.
10. Pariah (2011)
IMDb: 7.2/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 82%
2011’s Pariah is an LGBTQ+ story about teenage Alike (played by Adepero Oduye), who resides in the Fort Greene area of Brooklyn. The young woman quietly embraces her lesbian identity, and is on the hunt for a lover to share her life with, but can’t help but wonder if she can count on her loved ones to support her in coming out while navigating their own strained relationships. As it turns out, though, an unexpected connection brought forth by her mother proves to bring the warmth Alike has been missing.
9. Coming to America (1988)
IMDb: 7.1/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 85%
Coming to America isn’t currently available for streaming on any platform, though you can rent it for only a few dollars on Prime Vide, Apple TV+, Google Play, or YouTube. The 1988 Eddie Murphy comedy found itself rising in popularity again when the 2021 sequel had viewers desperate to see what would happen when Prince Akeem finally travelled to New York to bring his long-lost son back to Zamunda to claim his rightful spot on the throne.
8. Set It Off (1996)
IMDb: 6.9/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 89%
For the most part, Black movies about crime tell the stories of dangerous men getting into trouble with the law, which is part of what helps the female-centric Set It Off remain a standout to this day. Jada Pinkett Smith, Queen Latifah, Vivica A. Fox, and Kimberly Elise all star in the cult classic, which follows the group of friends as they turn to bank robbery out of desparation. Unsurprisingly, the pressure leads them to begin turning on one another, making for some seriously interesting cinema.
7. Get Out (2017)
IMDb: 7.8/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 86%
Jordan Peele’s Get Out birthed a new sub-genre of horror that’s since been explored in Us, The Menu and The Invitation, just to name a few, after its’ 2017 debut. Daniel Kaluuya’s performance as Chris Washington earned him multiple awards, while Peele’s creativity brought recognition from the Oscars, Critcs Choice Awards and Writers Guild of America, among countless others.
6. Foxy Brown (1974)
IMDb: 6.5/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 66%
As far as female sex symbols go when it comes to Black movies, Pam Grier as Foxy Brown is among the first to come to mind. Those who aren’t subscribed to any streamers can find the 1974 flick for free on Tubi, and Prime Video users will be able to revisit the iconic throwback with ease too. The Blaxploitation story follows Foxy after the murder of her boyfriend (Terry Carter), an undercover cop, which was set up by her brother – a hustler named Link (Antonio Fargas). In her quest for vengeance, she poses as a prostitute and takes help from vigilantes in the neighborhood to track down the Mafia bosses responsible for her lover’s death.
5. Moonlight (2016)
IMDb: 7.4/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 79%
Like most A24 movies, Moonlight was a huge success with both general audiences and critics after its 2016 arrival. The next year director Barry Jenkins and his cast nabbed trophies at the Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor and Best Writing, not to mention accolades that came from the Indepedent Spirit and SAG Awards. Chiron is the character at the center of the emotionally riveting story, which takes us through three defining chapters of his life as a Black boy growing up in Miami.
4. Juice (1992)
IMDb: 7/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 90%
Had he not lost his life so tragically early on in his career, some argue that Tupac Shakur had the potential to be an even better actor than he was lyricist. Besides his work opposite Janet Jackson in Poetic Justice, we also saw the “Hit ‘Em Up” artist portray Bishop in 1992’s Juice. He and three friends (played by Omar Epps, Jermaine Hopkins and Khalil Kain) spend their free time engaging in petty crime, but when their interests begin to pull them in different directions, things between Bishop and his friends take a turn for the worse.
3. Black Panther (2018)
IMDb: 7.3/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 79%
Another entertainer taken from the world far too soon is Chadwick Boseman, who gave a legendary performance as T’Challa – Marvel’s first Black superhero in Black Panther. Ryan Coogler was on board as director for the 2018 film, which followed our leading man’s ascension to the throne of Wakanda. His love interest, Nakia, is brought to life by the beautiful Lupita Nyong’o, and frequent flyer Michael B. Jordan shows us his bad side as Erik Killmonger, T’Challa’s notorious opp.
2. Friday (1995)
IMDb: 7.2/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 91%
When you’re in the mood for a laugh, you can always count on Ice Cube’s Craig Jones and Chris Tucker’s Smokey to keep you smiling with their antics. Their hilarious work on the 1995 movie led to Next Friday (2000) and Friday After Next (2002); to this day, Black comedy lovers are beginning the N.W.A. alum to release a fourth installment with Tucker and co. F. Gary Gray directed the stoner comedy, which sees early performances from Nia Long, Regina King, Meagan Good and many more.
1. Love & Basketball (2000)
IMDb: 7.2/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 95%
There’s no avoiding the fact that a large number of successful Black movies are centered around traumatic stories and toxic stereotypes, which is why it’s so important to keep feel-good options like Love & Basketball within reach when you’re feeling down. The early 2000s sports comedy follows childhood friends Monica and Quincy (Sanaa Lathan and Omar Epps) as they develop feelings for one another while bonding over their shared love for basketball. Ambitions threaten to pull them apart, but at the core of everything the duo endures, one thing keeps them coming back to one another – love.
