Emma Stone black comedy The Favourite – and everything leaving Netflix NZ in July

As any Netflix viewer knows, with one hand the streamer may giveth movies and series, but with the other it taketh away… Steve Newall lets you know what’s leaving Netflix in July, so you can arrange some last-chance viewing accordingly.

My list of The 50 best movies on Netflix always requires a few adjustments each month—but July’s departing titles put a dent in the list.

I’ll figure out suitable replacements soon enough, but for now, consider watching best 50 selections Boy (July 4), Galaxy Quest (July 8), Step Brothers (July 15), The Unknown Saint (July 16), Carol (July 18), or Top Gun: Maverick (July 24) before they leave Netflix.

Also on my Top 50 and bidding farewell: It took five years for director Yorgos Lanthimos to follow up The Favourite, the director’s first collaboration with Emma Stone before recent superb Oscar contender Poor Things. Now, of course, he can’t get enough of Stone, with Poor Things itself followed in rapid succession by Kinds of Kindness and the upcoming Bugonia, both starring Stone alongside Jesse Plemons.

Back in 2018, in a sign of things to come perhaps, some Flicks readers who got an early look at black comedy The Favourite were a little unprepared for the language and sex on offer, perhaps not what some would have expected from Olivia Colman, Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz.

If you’re the sort of pearl-clutcher that walks out of a preview screening because it’s too risqué (as at least one couple did), maybe steer clear. For those of us who like to be more challenged, this tale of women at court vying for the attention/affection of Queen Anne has plenty to offer—from bawdy laughs to excellent performances (Colman won a BAFTA, an Oscar and more) and a wonderfully-crafted tone.

As Katie Parker’s review at the time observed, The Favourite is a rare period drama that goes beyond merely re-hashing a sensationalised past: “Instead, Lanthimos uses this fascinating, and apparently forgotten, moment in history to create a strange, twisted and darkly funny love story that is truly one of a kind.”

The Favourite leaves Netflix on July 23. Read on for the full list of departing titles, and prepare yourself to farewell a large number of other faves, including the likes of The Running Man, Unfaithful, The Nightingale and Sonic the Hedgehog 2.

Leaving Netflix July 1

David Foster: Off the Record
Asinamali
The Layover
Night School
Learning Songs by Little Baby Bum: Nursery Rhyme Friends: Season 1
Omo Ghetto: the Saga
Men in Black
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
Acts of Violence
Scorpion King 5: Book of Souls
I Saw the Light
46: Season 1
Rock Dog
Escape Plan 2: Hades
Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation
An Easy Girl
Marley & Me
Pororo – The Little Penguin: Season 5
Leprechaun Returns
Mr. & Mrs. Smith
Masha’s Tales: Season 1
Skyscraper
Mortal Engines
Bride Wars
The Remains of the Day
Aquaman
Octonauts: Season 3
Octonauts: Season 2
Shazam!
Men in Black II
Perfect Stranger
Masha and the Bear: Season 2
Battle of the Year
Cult of Chucky
Woody Woodpecker
Samurai 7: Season 1
Yolngu Boy
Unfaithful
Open Water
The Warriors: Season 1
Brawl in Cell Block 99
War Against Women
The Running Man
Masha’s Spooky Stories: Season 1
Sing
American Made

Leaving Netflix July 2

Upper-Body Workouts: Volume 1
10 Minute Workouts: Volume 1
Fitness for Runners: Volume 1
Bodyweight Burn: Volume 1
High Intensity Training: Volume 1
Ignite & Inspire with Kirsty Godso: Volume 1
Football-Inspired Workouts for All: Volume 1
HIT & Strength with Tara: Volume 1
Lower-Body Workouts: Volume 1
Feel-Good Fitness: Volume 1
Fire & Flow: Volume 1
Kickstart Fitness with the Basics: Volume 1
Two Weeks to a Stronger Core: Volume 1
Kick Off with Betina Gozo: Volume 1
20 Minute Workouts: Volume 1
Abs & Core: Volume 1
20 Minute Workouts: Volume 2
Fall in Love with Vinyasa: Volume 1
Yoga with Xochilt: Volume 1
30 Minute Workouts: Volume 1
10 Minute Workouts: Volume 2
30 Minute Workouts: Volume 2
RattleSnake – The Ahanna Story
Yoga: Volume 1
High Intensity Training: Volume 2
Bodyweight Burn: Volume 2

Leaving Netflix July 3

Infinite
Oh My Baby: Season 1

Leaving Netflix July 4

Good Burger
Boy

Leaving Netflix July 7

Alice
Ghosts of War
Dual
Transporter 2

Leaving Netflix July 8

Galaxy Quest
The Proposal

Leaving Netflix July 12

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

Leaving Netflix July 13

Warrior

Leaving Netflix July 15

Long Story Short
Legion: Season 3
What a Girl Wants
Bastille Day
Legend
The Nightingale
Step Brothers
HELL DRIVER
What’s Your Number?
Legion: Season 2
First Daughter
Murder on The Orient Express
Just Go With It
Man on Fire
A 2nd Chance
Journey 2: The Mysterious Island
The Prince
Jersey Girl
Legion: Season 1
Abducted in Plain Sight
True Story
Long Shot