You can get comprehensive lists of everything coming to streaming services anywhere. But half of those titles you don’t care about, and the other half are terrible. Where’s the good stuff? io9 is here to help.
Below you’ll find what we deem to be the best sci-fi and fantasy movies and TV coming to Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, and Disney+ in March. Let’s get to it.
Netflix
Available March 1
Corpse Bride - Don’t call it The Nightmare Before Christmas 2 because this Tim Burton stop-motion animated film...isn’t that good. But the story of a man who mistakenly marries a dead woman is still pretty good and worth seeing.
Hook - Steven Spielberg’s unofficial Peter Pan sequel remains as star-studded and gorgeous as ever. But, I will admit, though I loved this movie unequivocally as a kid, it hasn’t stood the test of time that well. It’s coming to Netflix, though, so you can be the judge. And Rufio still, absolutely, rules.
Hugo - Oscar-winning director and famous Marvel fan Martin Scorsese usually keeps his movies pretty grounded. The biggest exception is Hugo, which stars Asa Butterfield as a boy in 1930s Paris who must solve a mystery regarding an automaton. It’s a magical, beautiful, and frankly underrated film.
Kung Fu Panda 2 - The Kung Fu Panda movies don’t get enough love. It’s just a fact. In terms of humor and heart and badass action in an animated film, they’re right up there with How to Train Your Dragon or even some Pixar movies. And the second film is almost as good, if not better than, the first.
Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events - Wait, this wasn’t on Netflix previously? Didn’t Netflix do a whole show on it? I’m guessing the streamer didn’t want to confuse people with its own production, but now that that show is over and done with, it seems you can watch either Jim Carrey or Neil Patrick Harris harass some kids.
Looney Tunes: Back in Action - I will admit, I’ve never seen Looney Tunes: Back in Action. It doesn’t have the best of reputations either. But, we all love Brendan Frasier, right? And Bugs Bunny? Could the two of them in a movie together be all that bad? (Don’t answer that if you’ve seen, or if you plan to watch, this movie.)
Outbreak - Considering what’s happening in the world today, maybe the story of a killer virus that threatens to spread and destroy the world isn’t quite sci-fi? But nevertheless, this 1995 Wolfgang Petersen film was great when it came out, and we’re guessing it holds up.
Resident Evil: Apocalypse and Resident Evil: Extinction - The Resident Evil movies are an acquired taste. Either you love them, you hate them, or you’ve never tried them. I come from the third category, having only seen the first film when it was released, but I know there are lots of fans out there and having these available to watch will be very much appreciated.
Richie Rich - When most people think Macauley Culkin, they think Home Alone. And rightfully so. But some people think of Richie Rich too, which was a fun comic book adaptation when it came out and will probably still make your kids happy.
Space Jam - Oh yeah, it’s a Looney Tunes party on Netflix this month! In addition to Back in Action, it has the excellent Space Jam, in which Michael Jordan teams up with the Looney Tunes to defeat aliens who have stolen the skills of NBA players. If you grew up when this movie came out, you won’t believe how nostalgic it makes you.
The Gift - A Sam Raimi-directed murder mystery about a clairvoyant, played by Cate Blanchett, who helps to solve the murder of a young woman, played by Katie Holmes. Keanu Reeves, Hilary Swank, J.K. Simmons, and so many others are in this movie that always flies under the radar, but it is very good.
Available March 3
Freaks - You’ve got to see this one. Period. It got a small release last year but deserved more. Emile Hirsch stars as a father protecting his daughter from the world around her. Because she’s special. Special in that she has powers. It’s great.
Available March 16
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy - There’s nothing ultra techie about this period spy movie starring Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Mark Strong, and others. But fans of Mission Impossible and the James Bond and Jason Bourne films will love this incredible movie if they haven’t seen it.
Available March 20
The Platform - This Spanish Netflix original is like Snowpiercer if the train was a prison and it was up and down instead of side to side. I have yet to see it but everyone I talk to who has seen it says it’s incredible.
Amazon
Available March 1
Kung Fu Panda - Well look at that. The first Kung Fu Panda is on Amazon. I said some nice things about the second one in the above write up and it all goes here too. Very fun, funny series.
Night of the Living Dead and Night of the Living Dead: Resurrection - Everyone’s favorite entries in the Night of the Living Dead series, the *checks notes* 2007 remake and its *this can’t be right* 2013 sequel? Are these real films? Apparently so. (Also on Hulu)
The Crazies - Timothy Olyphant and Radha Mitchell star in this slightly unconventional zombie remake about a town that’s hit with a virus and the people who have to fight their way out of the quarantine.
The Descent and The Descent: Part 2 - The first Descent is one of the best horror movies of the 2000s. It follows a group of women who go spelunking and end up being hunted by mysterious creatures who live in the caves. Seriously, if you haven’t seen it and like being scared, you have to check it out. I can’t vouch for part two but if it follows up on the ending of the first one, it seems like it could be fun as well. (Also on Hulu)
Wayne’s World 2 - One of the many, many things that makes Wayne’s World great is that you never quite know when it’s going to go into a fantasy sequence. There are no rules. And so I’m claiming the Wayne’s World movies as io9 movies, no matter what anyone says.
Available March 19
Pet Sematary - This is the new version with John Lithgow and Jason Clarke, not the first film from the 1980s. Which, frankly, is probably the better scenario for most of us who probably missed the new one in theaters. Any new Stephen King adaptation seems worthy of a stream. (Also Hulu)
Hulu
Available March 1
Charlotte’s Web - If you grew up in the 1980s or 1990s, you’ve almost certainly seen this 1973 animated classic based on the famous book. Which means you know how good it is. And if you are younger or haven’t seen it, this is simply an all-time family classic.
Free Willy, Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home, and Free Willy 3: The Rescue - I don’t know. I just felt like it was oddly pleasing that this cinematic trilogy was coming to streaming. *Raises fist in the air as whale jumps over me*
Natural Born Killers - Oliver Stone’s intense, violent rumination on society may have been released over 25 years ago but it’s as poignant as ever. Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis shine as two criminals beloved for their insanity.
Wayne’s World - Since Wayne’s World has now, officially, been claimed as an io9 movie, I’d like to thank Hulu for putting the original classic on streaming. Party time! Excellent!
Available March 5
Devs - Alex Garland, the man behind Ex Machina, Annihilation, and others, brings his unique brand of sci-fi to the small screen. We’ve reviewed it and here are our thoughts.
Available March 6
Knives and Skin - A 2019 festival darling about a young girl’s disappearance and how it impacts a town, in ways that aren’t entirely natural. It’s supposed to be trippy and powerful and darkly comic all rolled into one. A true streaming discovery.
Disney+
Available March 1
Doctor Dolittle 2 - Mere weeks after the Robert Downey Jr. film hit theaters, Disney+ has the sequel! No, not really, but that would’ve been wild right? This is the Eddie Murphy sequel, which was much, much more successful.
Ice Age - Did you know there have been five Ice Age movies? Five. So you have to guess the first movie about a group of animals surviving during the titular time period is fairly good. And it is. Charming and heartfelt through and through.
Available March 4
Black Panther - Marvel Studios’ first Best Picture nominee is one of the best superhero movies ever. What else needs to be said beyond that? Wakanda forever!
Available March 5
Bedtime Stories - It seems oddly appropriate in a time when fans are appreciating Adam Sandler all over again, thanks to his R-rated performance in Uncut Gems, that one of his more family-friendly comedies is coming to streaming. Bedtime Stories isn’t Sandler’s best film, but it’s him doing Disney and that’s a win.
Available March 15
G-Force - I haven’t seen G-Force since it came out back in 2009, but I remember thinking the story of highly trained mice (voiced by the likes of Will Arnett and Zach Galifianakis) was pretty entertaining. It’s also been overlooked since its release so it’s nice that it’s getting back out there.
Available March 25
A Wrinkle in Time - Ava DuVernay’s adaptation of Madeleine L’Engle’s novel isn’t entirely successful, but it’s stunningly beautiful and is sure to become a family favorite now that it’s on streaming.
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DISCUSSION
Apparently, when the original Night of the Living Dead was first in theaters in 1968, the theatrical distributor forgot to put the copyright indication on the prints, which, at the time, meant that it basically entered the public domain immediately. (It was on the original title, Night of the Flesh Eaters, but they forgot to put it on when they switched it out for the new title, Night of the Living Dead.)
So yeah, that’s why anyone can make a remake (3D or not) or prequel or sequel to Night. It helps that it’s also one of the most famous horror movies of all time and anyone can sell a copy, since, you know, no copyright. Most of them are super crappy.
The only good versions of Night of the Living Dead are the 1968 original and the 1990 remake directed by Tom Savini, which actually managed to do something different with the film and was the only version aside from the original written by George Romero.