Back in the old days, when theaters still made actual money showing movies that weren’t part of a “cinematic universe,” December was the best time of year to be a cinema junkie. That was when, in the final weeks of the year, studios would release all of their most lavishly produced, high-minded star vehicles, in the hopes they would be fresh in voters’ minds come awards season. And even if franchise films and the shift to at-home viewing has basically killed the concept of blockbuster movies for grownups, Netflix’s December slate is still keeping the spirit alive with a trio of new films from lauded creators.
First up is Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro’s passion project, a new stop-motion animated adaptation of the classic novel Pinocchio that looks, from the trailer, to be a more wide-ranging and emotionally wrenching take on the all-too-familiar story. The character designs are singularly arresting and oh-so-slightly creepy, as you would expect from the helmer of Pan’s Labyrinth, and early buzz is it’s good enough to snag a Best Picture Oscar nod.
Noah Baumbach’s last Netflix film, 2019’s Marriage Story, received six Oscar nominations and secured a win for co-star Laura Dern, but the prospects don’t look quite so bright for his weirdly expensive followup, an adaptation of author Don DeLillo’s zeitgeist-y mid-’80s masterpiece White Noise. Adam Driver and Greta Gerwig headline this darkly comic tale of suburban angst and environmental disaster, and word out of the film festival circuit suggests the director didn’t quite manage to adapt the so-called unadaptable book. Still, if nothing else, it should be interesting.
And last but certainly not least is Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, the second in Rian Johnson’s planned series of whodunnit yarns featuring Daniel Craig’s drawling detective Benoit Blanc. The followup to the supremely entertaining and surprisingly successful first entry ($312 million, unheard of these days for a movie with nary an explosion) features even more big name stars than the first, if that’s possible—Edward Norton, Dave Bautista, Katheryn Hahn, and Kate Hudson among them—and a gorgeous Grecian backdrop for another tale of murderous hijinks. Let’s see if Netflix got it’s $450 million worth.
And that’s not all: Netflix will also debut Troll (Dec. 1), a Norwegian disaster film in which an accident in the remote mountains of Norway awakens an ancient, slumber menace; the trailer promises plenty of silly fun.
A new adaptation of D.H. Lawrence’s one-time salacious sensation Lady Chatterly’s Lover arrives Dec. 2 to heat up your holiday season; the script is from Oscar-nominated screenwriter David Magee. And while you enjoy the sexy adult fare, your kids can be traumatized by the 300th version of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, as we’re getting yet another CGI animated take on the enduring story that same day.
Other good stuff: “Sr.”, a documentary from Robert Downey, Jr. exploring the life of his actor father, premieres Dec. 1; The Witcher: Blood Origin, a prequel to the bloody fantasy hit series, arrives Dec. 25; and Matilda: The Musical brings the stage version of the beloved Roald Dahl novel to the small screen, also on Christmas day.
Here’s everything coming to and leaving Netflix in December 2022. See you next year, y’all.
What’s coming to Netflix in December 2022
Table of Contents
Coming Soon (date TBA)
Arriving Dec. 1
Arriving Dec. 2
Arriving Dec. 3
- The Best of Me
- Bullet Train
Arriving Dec. 4
- The Amazing Race: Season 17
- The Amazing Race: Season 31
Arriving Dec. 5
Arriving Dec. 6
Arriving Dec. 7
Arriving Dec. 8
Arriving Dec. 9
Arriving Dec. 10
Arriving Dec. 13
Arriving Dec. 14
Arriving Dec. 15
- The Big 4 — Netflix Film
- The Hills: Season 1
- The Hills: Season 2
- Sonic Prime — Netflix Family
- Violet Evergarden: Recollections — Netflix Anime
- Who Killed Santa? A Murderville Murder Mystery — Netflix Comedy
Arriving Dec. 16
Arriving Dec. 18
Arriving Dec. 19
- Trolley — Netflix Series
- Trolls
Arriving Dec. 20
Arriving Dec. 21
Arriving Dec. 22
Arriving Dec. 23
Arriving Dec. 25
Arriving Dec. 26
- No Escape
- Treason — Netflix Series
Arriving Dec. 27
Arriving Dec. 28
- 7 Women and a Murder — Netflix Film
- A Night at the Kindergarten — Netflix Film
- The Circle: Season 5 — Netflix Series (New episodes weekly)
- Stuck with You — Netflix Film
Arriving Dec. 29
Arriving Dec. 30
Arriving Dec. 31
- Best of Stand Up 2022 — Netflix Comedy
- Lady Voyeur — Netflix Series
What’s leaving Netflix in December 2022
Leaving Dec. 9
Leaving Dec. 10
Leaving Dec. 11
Leaving Dec. 14
- Black Ink Crew New York: Seasons 3-4
- The Challenge: Season 12
- The Challenge: Season 25
- Merlin: Seasons 1-5
- Teen Mom 2: Seasons 3-4
Leaving Dec. 15
Leaving Dec. 27
Leaving Dec. 28
Leaving Dec. 31
- 1BR
- A Cinderella Story
- A Clockwork Orange
- A Little Princess
- Blood Diamond
- Blow
- Blue Jasmine
- Casino Royale
- Chocolat
- Eyes Wide Shut
- I Love You, Man
- Life as We Know It
- Men in Black
- Men in Black II
- Men in Black 3
- National Lampoon’s European Vacation
- National Lampoon’s Vacation
- New York Minute
- Point Break
- Police Academy
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie