Netflix's December 2026 film slate is headlined by two heavyweight originals: Brad Bird's animated noir *Ray Gunn* on December 18 and David Fincher's *The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth* on December 23. Around them sit four more originals — the holiday rom-com *In a Holidaze* (December 2), the Cameron Diaz action comedy *Bad Day* (December 11), the animated feature *In Waves* (December 11), and a Jean-Michel Basquiat documentary (December 11). That is a dense month by Netflix standards, and an unusually auteur-driven one. Below is what each film is, when it lands, which titles reach cinemas first, and which widely discussed projects are not December movies at all despite showing up on roundups.
Table of Contents
- The two December originals worth planning around
- Which of these you can see in a cinema first
- The December 11 cluster
- Opening the month: In a Holidaze
- Three titles that are not December Netflix movies
- How to check the slate yourself before you plan
- Frequently Asked Questions
The two December originals worth planning around
The supporting cast is deep: Elizabeth Debicki, Scott Caan, Carla Gugino, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Peter Weller. As The Playlist reported, the project shifted out of an earlier summer/fall 2026 window into this Thanksgiving-IMAX-then-December-streaming plan — a scheduling change worth remembering if you saw an older date quoted somewhere.
- Ray Gunn* is Brad Bird's retro-futurist animated detective story, with Sam Rockwell voicing private eye Raymond Gunn and Scarlett Johansson as Venus Nova. According to Netflix's animation slate announcement from Annecy, it streams globally on December 18, 2026, and it is Bird's first film made for the service. Bird directed *The Iron Giant*, *The Incredibles* and *Ratatouille*, so this is the rare Netflix animated feature arriving with a track record attached.
- The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth* is the other event title. Fincher directs from a Quentin Tarantino script, with Brad Pitt returning as the stuntman he played in *Once Upon a Time in Hollywood*, now in a 1977-set story. Netflix's Tudum post on the film gives it a December 23, 2026 streaming date following a global IMAX-exclusive run that starts November 25.
Which of these you can see in a cinema first
Both headliners have theatrical windows ahead of streaming, which is not Netflix's usual pattern. *Cliff Booth* opens in IMAX on November 25, roughly four weeks before it hits the service.
If you want Fincher's compositions at that scale, the IMAX run is the only version that offers it. One caveat on the theatrical dates specifically: the December 4 *Ray Gunn* run is carried by fewer outlets than the December 18 streaming date, which Netflix itself announced. Treat the streaming date as fixed and the cinema engagement as the detail to confirm against your local theater before making plans around it.
- Ray Gunn* has the narrower window and the more interesting format. Coverage of the film's trailer, including Cartoon Brew's report, describes select cinema engagements from December 4 — two weeks before streaming — with some screenings in 70mm. Limited 70mm bookings typically mean a handful of venues in major cities, so checking local listings early matters more here than for a wide release.
The December 11 cluster
Three originals land on the same day, and they have almost nothing in common with each other. *Bad Day* is a Cameron Diaz action comedy in which she plays a single mother, with Ed O'Neill, Danielle Brooks, Ben Schwartz and Mark Duplass alongside her.
What's on Netflix lists it for a global December 11 release; it is Diaz's second Netflix film after *Back in Action*. The third is a feature documentary on Jean-Michel Basquiat, the painter whose neo-expressionist work defined the 1980s New York art scene before his death at 27. Netflix's new-movies listing places it on December 11 after a Tribeca Film Festival run — meaning it arrives already reviewed, which is useful if you want critical reaction before committing two hours.
- In Waves* is an animated feature with Will Sharpe and Stephanie Hsu among its voices. Its December 11 date means Netflix releases two theatrical-scale animated features within three weeks, which is a notable concentration for a service that usually spaces them out across a year.
Opening the month: In a Holidaze
The slate starts on December 2 with *In a Holidaze*, a Christmas time-loop romantic comedy. Maddie Ziegler plays Mae, with Graham Phillips and Rob Lowe in support, per What's on Netflix's release listing.
The time-loop structure is the hook — a *Groundhog Day* frame applied to a family Christmas. If you are building a December watchlist chronologically, this is the first new film on it, and the only one in the month aimed squarely at the holiday-comfort slot.
Three titles that are not December Netflix movies
A few heavily covered projects keep turning up on December lists where they do not belong. Checking these saves you from waiting for something that will not appear:.
- **Murder of JonBenét Ramsey** (Melissa McCarthy, Clive Owen) — this is a series, not a film, and it carries no announced date.
- **Ink**, directed by Danny Boyle — it opens in theaters on December 11, but Netflix's own Tudum post puts the streaming debut on January 8, 2027. A December theatrical date is easy to misread as a December streaming date.
- **Cliff Booth's IMAX run** — November 25 is the cinema date, not the Netflix date. The service gets it on December 23.
How to check the slate yourself before you plan
Announced dates move, and the six originals above are the part of December that Netflix controls directly. The library films — the licensed back catalogue that rotates in and out — are a different matter: they typically change on the 1st of the month, and the lineup varies by country. That regional split is the most common source of confusion.
The UK December lineup differs from the US one, so a list written for one market will mislead readers in the other on licensed titles. Originals like *Ray Gunn* and *Bad Day* are global releases and do not have this problem. The practical check takes under a minute: open Netflix in-app and scroll the "Coming Soon" row, which reflects your country and updates as dates firm up. Do that before December 1 and again mid-month, since the library rotation is the part no announcement covers in advance.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a cinema ticket to see Ray Gunn, or will streaming be the same film?
The same film streams on December 18. The December 4 cinema run, including limited 70mm engagements, offers it earlier and at scale, but nothing is cut from the Netflix version.
Is The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth a sequel to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood?
It continues Brad Pitt's character into a 1977-set story, written by Tarantino and directed by Fincher. It is set after the 1969 events of the original film.
Why are older articles giving Cliff Booth a summer 2026 date?
The release moved. The current plan is a global IMAX run from November 25, 2026, then Netflix streaming on December 23, 2026.