We are again back with our monthly roundup of all the best films that Netflix will remove from its library early this summer. While you wait for a whole bunch of new titles to arrive on the streamer this summer, why not check out the ones that will be gone from the platform after July 2024? We have carefully curated a list of some of the best titles, ranging from critically acclaimed to box-office hits and globally popular.

This month’s top movies range from award-winning dramas like Moneyball to legacy franchises like The Matrix, so there is something for everyone. As you prepare for the season, check out the best movies leaving Netflix this July and when you can last watch them.

‘War Dogs’

If you like war films but with more satire and less drama, then War Dogs is something to add to your list. This 2016 black comedy war film hails from Todd Phillips (The Hangover, Joker), who co-wrote it with Jason Smilovic and Stephen Chin, based on the 2011 Rolling Stone article, Arms and the Dudes, by Guy Lawson. The article was later expanded into a novel of the same name. War Dogs stars Miles Teller and Jonah Hill as two friends and arms dealers, David Packouz and Efraim Diveroli, respectively, who manage to land a contract worth $30 million with the U.S. Army to supply ammunition for the Iraq War.

Even though some of the film’s plot lines and characters are based on true events and real people, War Dogs is portrayed more as a satire on the arms trade and war profiteering. Some of the events in the film’s storyline are also said to be inspired by screenwriter Stephen Chin’s personal experiences. But apart from that, the film is essentially a darkly humorous take on ambitions, corruption, and how two average young men try to get it all.

‘Vivarium’

A must-watch for sci-fi fans, this 2019 psychological thriller hails from Irish director-writer Lorcan Finnegan, who is best known for directing Nocebo and the latest Nicolas Cage film, The Surfer. Co-written by Finnegan and Garret Shanley, Vivarium follows a young couple, Tom and Gemma, who are looking to buy a house and end up in Yonder – a sprawling suburban housing estate of identical, green homes. While looking around in one house, they find themselves stuck in a maze that also seems to be a time warp. As they try to figure out their escape plan, Tom and Gemma receive a package containing a child with instructions to raise him. What follows is a deep, confounding mystery that questions Tom and Gemma’s realities and existence.

Befitting its title, Vivarium sees the characters as subjects of study or observation from a higher, unseen authority. Also, it explores the psychological horror of self-isolation, which is shown with an intriguing narrative and intense visual effects. Academy Award-nominated Jesse Eisenberg (The Squid and the Whale) stars as Tom with Imogen Poots (Frank & Lola) as Gemma, and Éanna Hardwicke (The Doll Factory) as the child they raise. Premiered at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, Vivarium had mostly positive reviews owing to both Eisenberg and Poots’ performances.

‘Big Eyes’

Following the success of Alice in Wonderland and Frankenweenie, Tim Burton directed this 2014 biopic about American artist Margaret Keane, who achieved incredible success and fame in the 1950s and 1960s for painting portraits with big eyes. Big Eyes is written by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, and stars Amy Adams as Margaret, with Christoph Waltz as her controlling second husband, Walter. The biographical film also stars Danny Huston, Terence Stamp, and James Saito in various roles. Big Eyes retells Margaret’s relationship with Walter in a dramatized narrative, where her husband takes credit for her art, leading to a major legal battle and the end of their marriage. Amy Adams won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Comedy or Musical for her convincing performance as the shy artist and wife trying to free herself from her husband’s shadows. Waltz received a Golden Globe nomination for performance, while artist Lana Del Rey earned a Golden Globe nomination for the film’s title song, “Big Eyes.”

‘Moneyball’

In 2011, Brad Pitt produced and starred in this biopic that recounts the Oakland Athletics baseball team’s 2002 season and their general manager Billy Beane‘s attempts to assemble a competitive team. Moneyball is directed by Bennet Miller of (Capote), from a script by Steven Zaillian (Schindler’s List) and Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network), based on the 2003 nonfiction book Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game by Michael Lewis. The biographical sports drama follows Pitt as Billy Beane, the general manager of the Oakland Athletics, faced with a limited budget for the players. He hires the Yale graduate Peter Brand, played by Jonah Hill, as his assistant general manager to challenge the conventional selection method by “reinventing his team using a sabermetric model” and utilizing undervalued talent.

Philip Seymour Hoffman reunites with Miller from Capote, and stars in the biopic as former MLB player Art Howe. Moneyball opened to great box office success and widespread critical acclaim and was praised for the screenplay and cast performance, earning six nominations for Academy Awards, including Best Actor for Pitt and Best Supporting Actor for Hill.

‘The Matrix’

The Matrix marks the first entry in the eponymous film series that paved the way for The Matrix franchise, expanding to four sequels, animated films, video games, and comic books. The 1999 cyberpunk sci-fi film is written and directed by The Wachowskis (V for Vendetta) in their second film project. The Matrix is set in a dystopian future where intelligent machines have trapped humans inside a simulated reality called the Matrix to harvest their bioelectric energy. Thomas Anderson, aka Neo, a computer programmer who has always questioned the world around him, befriends Morpheus, a rebel leader, and joins a rebellion against the machines. Thematically, the film references several cinematic and literary works and alludes to religious, mythological, and philosophical concepts. Keanu Reeves gained widespread acclaim for his iconic performance as the story’s hero, Neo, which he reprised in the subsequent films.

The slick action set pieces featured in the film are influenced by anime and martial arts. The Matrix is also credited for introducing the “bullet time” or “frozen moment” visual effect that became a benchmark for future films in the genre. The film popularized pop culture terms like “red pill” and “blue pill”, metaphoring the concepts of awareness/knowledge and contentment from ignorance. The fourth highest-grossing film of that year, The Matrix was a massive box office success during its release and became the highest-grossing Warner Bros. film of 1999.

‘The Theory of Everything’

Academy Award-winning British documentary filmmaker James Marsh (Man on Wire) directed this 2014 biopic depicting the life of physicist Stephen Hawking, adapted by Anthony McCarten. A Theory of Everything is a biographical drama adaptation of the 2007 memoir Travelling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen by Jane Hawking that details Jane’s relationship with her ex-husband, his illness, and his success in the field of physics. A Theory of Everything focuses on a significant phase in the lives of Stephen Hawking and his wife, Jane Wilde, as they “struggle to balance his advancing illness and rising fame with her search for a purpose beyond marriage.”

Eddie Redmayne (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them) portrays the reel version of Hawking in a stellar performance that earned him a BAFTA and an Academy Award. Felicity Jones (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) plays the role of Jane Hawking, earning nominations for a BAFTA and Academy Award for Best Actress. Stephen Hawking himself provides his own Equalizer-computerized voice in the film. A Theory of Everything has been well-received by critics and fans alike and praised for its sensitive and touching narrative, beautiful cinematography, music, and cast performance.

‘Shrek’

More than 20 years ago, DreamWorks produced this animated fantasy comedy that would quickly evolve into one of the highest-grossing animated franchises. Loosely based on William Steig’s eponymous 1990 children’s picture book, Shrek is directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson in their directorial debut and written by Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, Joe Stillman, and Roger S. H. Schulman. The first film in the series, Shrek follows the anti-social and highly resentful ogre named Shrek, who finds his home in the swamp teeming with various fairy-tale creatures banished by the villainous ruler, Lord Farquaad of Duloc. Shrek teams up with the talkative Donkey and makes a pact with Furquaad to rescue his potential wife, Princess Fiona, in exchange for regaining control of his swamp.

Mike Myers voices Shrek with Eddie Murphy as Donkey amid an ensemble cast that features Cameron Diaz, Vincent Cassel, and John Lithgow. Myers, Murphy, and Diaz reprise their roles in the following films, with Antonio Banderas joining from the second film as another iconic character – Puss in Boots, among several new ones. Since its release in 2001, Shrek has grown into a globally popular, multi-billion-dollar media franchise, spawning several spin-offs, television series, games, theme park attractions, and a musical. On its release, the film became a huge success, critically and commercially, and influenced several animated films of the following years that parodied fairy tales and folklore. A new fifth film is currently in development.