The best movies leaving Netflix, HBO, and more in March to watch now

It’s the end of the month, and you know what that means: a suite of movies leaving streaming services as the calendar flips over to April. Although there are many movies to choose from you will only find the best ones. That’s where we step in, picking out the best of the best when it comes to good movies leaving streaming services.

The month of March is quite tumultuous, with streaming sites releasing more quality movies at the beginning of March. There are major franchises like the Lord of the Rings trilogy Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy, new classics like Minority Report and The PrestigeThese movies are timeless classics. The Apartment Before SunriseNumerous Denzel bangers are just a few of the many options.

Let’s get into it.

Netflix: You Can’t Leave

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy

Image by New Line Cinema

Year: 2001; 2002; 2003
Genre: Fantasy/adventure
Run time: 2h 58m (The Fellowship of the Ring); 2h 59m (Two Towers); 3h 21m (The Return of the King)
Director: Peter Jackson
Cast: Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortensen

Peter Jackson’s game-changing trilogy leaves Netflix at the end of the month — all three movies, for nine and a half hours of your viewing pleasure, with as many intermissions as you want (although time is starting to run out, so get on it). Starring in this best-ever cinematic adaptations of high fantasy is Elijah Wood. Viggo Mortensen and Ian McKellen.

Frodo Baggins’ story of Frodo and the One Ring has remained timeless. The Lord of the Rings movies, especially because of their groundbreaking special effects, have also survived remarkably well since their 2001-03 releases. Beyond blockbusters, Jackson and his crew — including screenwriters Philippa Boyens and Fran Walsh — made each film deeply personal. J.R.R. Tolkien’s prose and humanistic themes comes through in every line. We could say more (a year’s worth of more), but we don’t want to take up another nine and a half hours of your time. —Susana Polo

Netflix will be removing the Lord of the Rings trilogy from its library on April 1.

Croupier

Image: Channel Four Films

Year: 1998
Genre: Crime thriller
Run time: 1h 34m
Director: Mike Hodges
Cast: Clive Owen, Nick Reding, Nicholas Ball

Clive Owen has made an entire film career out of being dapper, suave, smug, and just a wee bit condescending — basically being a James Bond type without ever actually getting to play Bond. But he’s never been all of the above things better or more intently than in the underseen 1998 gem CroupierThe crime thriller “The Table” features Owen, who manages a casino table and mentally narrates his experience while judging everyone else. That includes his fellow croupiers, who all seem to be on the take or on the make, breaking the casino’s rules and looking for an edge. Eventually, he’s drawn into a complicated heist scheme that proves he isn’t quite as in control of the world as he imagines, but much of Croupier isn’t about the criminal plot — it’s about all the effort that goes into what seems like effortless cool. —Tasha Robinson

CroupierNetflix leaves Netflix on March 26.

Minority Report

Image by 20th Century Studios

Year: 2002
Genre:Science Fiction/Thriller
Run time:2h25 m
Director: Steven Spielberg
Cast: Tom Cruise, Colin Farrell, Max von Sydow, Samantha Morton

Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of Philip K. Dick’s short story introduced audiences to the idea of hand-gesture-assisted augmented reality and wall-scaling automobiles. Minority Report stars Tom Cruise as John Anderton, leader of a police organization dedicated to apprehending criminals before they’ve even committed a crime using a trio of psychics who invasively pore over the unconscious minds of every hapless American in the future. Anderton, who is then accused of murder preemptively, must flee the police system to which his whole life was dedicated to to protect the dark secret. —Toussaint Egan

Minority ReportNetflix leaves April 1

The Aviator

Warner Bros. Video

Year: 2004
Genre:Drama biographical
Run time: 2h 50m
Director: Martin Scorsese
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Cate Blanchett, Kate Beckinsale

After completing his massively creative 2002 dream project, he is now free to enjoy the moment. New York Gangs, Martin Scorsese teamed up with Leonardo DiCaprio once again for a 2004 biopic chronicling the meteoric rise and subsequent fall of Howard Hughes, the charismatic aviation tycoon behind Trans World Airlines who pivoted to filmmaking with projects like 1930’s Hell’s Angels and 1932’s Scarface.

Scorsese’s film is a monument to the excess and latent corruption of the Roaring ’20s, encapsulated through the story of a man whose glamorous playboy lifestyle and incorrigible ego were dwarfed only by the subsequent tragedies of his later life, irreparably scarred by a horrific plane crash and wracked by the mental strain of a lifelong private battle with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

The Aviator, much like Hughes’ own career, is a dazzling spectacle of dizzying heights and precipitous lows rendered beautifully by Robert Richardson’s extravagant cinematography and the deft editing of longtime Scorsese collaborator Thelma Schoonmaker. At nearly three hours, the film’s run time may appear daunting at first, but The AviatorThe artist makes the most of each minute by seamlessly moving from scene to set piece, before landing on the final note. His intimacy, despair, and perseverance in facing adversity are both deeply disturbingly tragic as well as profoundly moving. —TE

The AviatorNetflix leaves April 1

The Prestige

Buena Vista Pictures

Year: 2006
Genre: Mystery
Run time: 2h 10m
Director: Christopher Nolan
Cast:Christian Bale; Hugh Jackman, Scarlett Johansson

Christopher Nolan’s 2006 film The PrestigeThe film is composed (roughly speaking) of three acts, similar to a magic trick. The first part is exposition, where we’re introduced to the film’s protagonists in the form of two rival illusionists played by Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale. Second is the premise. This part focuses on the events that lead to a disastrous on-stage collision, which leads the film’s protagonists on a long and dangerous collision course. It also introduces us to the two illusionists, Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale. The third part is the climax, where the film takes everything we thought we knew about these characters and turns those assumptions on their head to pull off the single greatest cinematic twist of Nolan’s career. David Bowie, dressed as Nikola Tesla is also present. Is your attention on the details? —TE

The PrestigeHulu leaves Hulu on March 31,

The Mummy

Universal Pictures

Year: 1999
Genre: Romantic adventures
Run time: 2h 4m
Director: Stephen Sommers
Cast: Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah

Oh, The Mummy, The Mummy — how do I even begin to proclaim my love for The Mummy? The Mummy is wonderful. This is a wonderful romantic (and romanticized!) escapade. Pirates of the Caribbean). Brendan Fraser plays dashing rogue Rick O’Connell and Rachel Weisz plays plucky librarian Evelyn Carnahan, with John Hannah as her bumbling brother. It’s just plain Have fun, even if the historical aspect isn’t super accurate and even if a lot of things don’t really make sense. How do you fight off the scary mummy? Classic! Are you a creepy creature that eats flesh? Amazing! Evelyn’s drunk and passionate “I am a librarian!” ramble? Wonderful! —Petrana Radulovic

The MummyHulu leaves Hulu on March 31,

Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy

Image: Sony Pictures

Year: 2002; 2004; 2007
Genre: Superhero
Run time: 2h 1m (Spider-Man); 2h 7m (Spider-Man 2); 2h 19m (Spider-Man 3)
Director: Sam Raimi
Cast: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco

Three of the best Marvel movies ever made are leaving Hulu, so catch ’em while you can. Three? Yes.

With Sam Raimi’s latest Marvel movie out last year and new Spider-Man movies appearing left and right, we’ve talked quite a bit at Polygon about our love of his original trilogy of Spider-Man movies. With excellent use of Raimi’s horror background, a great cast with terrific villainous performances, and a strong moral center, it’s hard to beat.

I’ll happily join the masses in praising the first two movies, which are both excellent, but I’d like to take a moment to praise the third entry. It’s messy, sure, but in a really fascinating way (if you can get past the third act or all the Topher Grace-as-Venom stuff). It is Spider-Man 3, the successes of the first two movies get to Peter’s head, leaving him as an inadequate Spidey and, most importantly, a very shitty boyfriend to Mary-Jane. This movie is a lot about being a partner. Peter does not succeed in this area. If you’re one of the many people who think this movie is simply a blight on the franchise, I encourage you to give it another go. —Pete Volk

Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy leaves Hulu March 31.

Prime Video – How to Leave

Ronin

Image: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

Year: 1998
Genre: Heist thriller
Run time: 2h 2m
Director: John Frankenheimer
Cast: Robert De Niro, Jean Reno, Sean Bean

Ronin isn’t your typical heist movie. John Frankenheimer directs the American action thriller of 1998. Jean Reno stars as Jean Reno, Robert De Niro, and Jean Reno play the roles of elite mercenaries who are hired by an unknown handler to retrieve and intercept a suitcase that has been sold to the Russians. While it certainly doesn’t want for bristling gunfights and nail-biting chase sequences, the strength of RoninThe film’s third act is a meticulous, deliberate set-up. Frankenheimer’s film is as austere as it gratifying, an action film with an emphasis on richly crafted characters with byzantine alliances and a plainspoken sense of style. —TE

RoninPrime Video March 31, 2015

Inside Man

Universal Pictures

Year: 2006
Genre: Crime thriller
Run time: 2h 9m
Director: Spike Lee
Cast: Denzel Washington, Clive Owen, Jodie Foster

A rare work-for-hire gig for director Spike Lee, 2006’s Inside Man This is one of those eating-a-lot-of-it-and-having-a-cup-of-it delights. It’s a slick, sinuous, puzzle-box thriller in which Clive Owen engineers a bank robbery that is never quite what it seems. Clive Owen takes hostages. He teams up with Denzel Washington (police detective) and Jodie Foster (fixer), and all the twists and turns that lead to the bank robbery are happily reversed. Willem Dafoe (Chiwetel Ejiofor), Christopher Plummer and Christopher Plummer are all cast in minor roles. And Lee doesn’t surrender his playful, needling edge just because he’s on popcorn duty. He builds a memorable, squabbling chorus of post-9/11 New York humanity around the edges of the film, while the plot cuts right into Wall Street’s rotten heart. —Oli Welsh

Inside ManLeaves Prime Video31 March

Devil in a blue dress

Image: Sony Pictures

Year: 1995
Genre: Neo-noir mystery/thriller
Run time: 1h 42m
Director: Carl Franklin
Cast: Denzel Washington, Tom Sizemore, Jennifer Beals

Carl Franklin’s adaptation of Walter Mosley’s excellent novel has it all: steamy noir Denzel, Don Cheadle in a “you have to see it to believe it” role, and all the necessary pieces for a great LA detective movie. It’s a crying shame we weren’t treated to many more Mosley adaptations with Denzel as Easy Rawlins. —PV

Devil in a blue dress Leaf Prime VideoMarch 31,

The art of burning

Image by Well Go USA Entertainment

Year: 2018
Genre: Mystery
Run time: 2h 28m
Director: Lee Chang-dong
Cast: Yoo Ah-in, Jeon Jong-seo, Steven Yeun

Lee Chang-dong’s The art of burningThis is easily one of the best psychological thrillers of 2010. Based on Haruki Murakami’s story, the movie tells the story Lee Jong–su’s (Yoo Ah–in) story. He is an aspiring writer and reunites after many years. But does he really? Soon after, Jong-su meets Ben (Steven Yeun), a “friend” of Hae-mi’s whose extravagant lifestyle, vague occupation, and seemingly ironclad hold over Hae-mi conjures feelings of suspicion and jealousy within Jong-su. When Hae-mi suddenly disappears one day, Jong-su’s desperate search to find her unearths a web of implications that shake him to his core. The art of burningIt is a thriller-mystery that relies heavily on insinuations and a trio of skilled performances by Yoo, Jeon, as well as Yeun, who is the antagonist of Ben, one of most troubling onscreen characters in recent memories. —TE

The art of burningLeaves Prime VideoMarch 31.

The Apartment

Image by United Artists

Year: 1960
Genre: Romantic romance
Run time: 2h 5m
Director: Billy Wilder
Cast: Jack Lemmon. Shirley MacLaine. Fred MacMurray.

Billy Wilder’s 1960 rom-com is often considered one of the greatest films ever made. This reputation has been earned.

Bud Baxter, played by Jack Lemmon, is a lonely office worker who allows executives to use his apartment as a place for extramarital affairs. This will allow him to rise in the large insurance company where he works. He does make some financial gains, but his superiors have more time and space than Bud, which leaves Bud unable or unwilling to use his bed and access his house.

Bud meets Shirley MacLaine (an elevator operator) and falls in love with her. This gives him the courage to get back control of his own life. But when Bud discovers she’s been having an affair in the apartment with his boss (Fred MacMurray), things get even more complicated.

It’s a heartfelt and hilarious romantic comedy, and Wilder deftly balances the combination of corporate fatigue and newfound love with the outstanding comedic abilities of the cast. The ApartmentThis is one movie that everyone needs to see. —PV

The ApartmentLeaves Prime VideoMarch 31,

The Man from Nowhere

Image: Well Go Entertainment USA

Year: 2010
Genre: Take Action
Run time: 1h 59m
Director: Lee Jeongbeom
Cast: Won Bin, Kim Sae-ron, Kim Tae-hoon

Lee Jeong-beom’s 2010 action thriller The Man from Nowhere feels like a spiritual precursor to Derek Kolstad’s John Wick series, albeit more subdued and emotionally driven and as such less reliant on extravagant gun-fu theatrics and neo-noir comic book aesthetics. Won Bin portrays Cha Tae-sik (a former special agent who is now a pawnshop keeper). Despite living in isolation, Cha Tae-sik forms an unlikely relationship with So-mi Kim Sae-ron, a young girl who lives within the same apartment block. When So-mi mother’s steals a package of heroin from a ruthless gang of human traffickers and she and her daughter are abducted in an attempt to recover it, Cha Tae-sik embarks on a bloody conquest to exact revenge on them and rescue So-ni, all while the South Korean DEA attempts to unravel the mystery of his past and bring both him and the traffickers to justice.

The film is a methodical slow burn that explosively culminates in one of the most breathtaking knife-fight showdowns I’ve ever seen in an action film. Won Bin’s terse, nuanced performance is magnetic in its appeal, drawing the audience in while propelling the action forward. His presence in this film only enhances the mystery and appeal of his appearance. Kim Sae-ron is terrific here as well, delivering a speech toward the tail end of the first act that’s beautiful and devastating in its emotional appeal. From its stirring performances, don’t-blink-or-you’ll-miss-it action sequences, and engrossing score courtesy of Oldboy composer Shim Hyun-jung, The Man from NowhereThis is an action film that will satisfy anyone looking for more emotional thrills. —TE

The Man from NowhereLeaves Prime Video31 March

HBO Max: How to Leave

Before Sunrise and Before Sunset

Columbia Pictures

Year: 1995; 2004
Genre: Romance
Run time: 1h 41m (Before Sunrise); 1h 20m (Before sunset)
Director: Richard Linklater
Cast: Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy

The Before trilogy seems like a complete miracle. Had the story of Céline (Julie Delpy) and Jesse’s (Ethan Hawke) whirlwind Vienna romance simply concluded with Before Sunrise’s bittersweet ending, it alone would have easily endured as one of the greatest romantic dramas of its era. But when joined with 2004’s Before sunset and 2013’s After Midnight (not on HBO Max, but rentable and on Mubi), Richard Linklater’s decade-spanning romance culminates into something even more transcendent: a meditation on the peculiar tenacity and tenuousness of love under the strain of time and circumstance. You can experience life-changing moments by watching the Before trilogy with your loved ones. —TE

Before Sunrise Before sunsetLeave HBO Max March 31.

Moon

Image: Sony Pictures Classics

Year: 2009
Genre: Sci-fi
Run time: 1h 37m
Director: Duncan Jones
Cast: Sam Rockwell, Kevin Spacey, Dominique McElligott

One of the all-time greats in the “Watch this movie without reading anything about it first” category, Moon This movie is a good example of all the other small-scale, character-intense, science fiction films that have followed. Ex Machina To Vesper. Sam Rockwell portrays a contractor in the film, who is responsible for overseeing lunar resource harvesting equipment. Kevin Spacey voices the robot that’s his only companion. All other events that occur from there are left up to the audience, so they can explore it at their own pace. It’s a tense, emotional, but ruthlessly low-key movie for smart, alert science fiction fans who can handle slow-burn drama. If the movie’s slow pace feels like it is too much, you can spend time looking at the design. Moon A tactile sensation that’s as unnatural as dirt and feels like it has been there all along. 2001: A Space OdysseyThe film is as well-researched as Star Wars films. —TR

Moon Leaf HBO Max31 March

My Cousin Vinny

Image: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

Year: 1992
Genre:Comedy
Run time: 1h 59m
Director: Jonathan Lynn
Cast: Joe Pesci, Ralph Macchio, Marisa Tomei

Two New Yorkers, including Ralph Macchio, the Karate Kid, are wrongly accused of murdering in Alabama. One calls Joe Pesci, his cousin, who finally passes the bar exam, after many failed attempts. That cousin, Vinny, and his fiancée Mona Lisa Vito (Marisa Tomei) travel to the Deep South to attempt to win a trial with the odds stacked against them.

It’s a mix of a culture-clash comedy and a legal drama. My Cousin Vinny Its central performances are what make it so successful. Pesci plays Vinny brilliantly, who is at times too confident, sometimes without any confidence, and at other times deeply concerned about his family. Tomei was the star of the show and won rightly an Oscar for his incredibly rich performance. —PV

My Cousin VinnyLeaves HBO Max31 March

Popstar Popstar Never Stops.

Image: Universal Pictures Home Entertainment

Year: 2016
Genre:Comedy
Run time: 1h 27m
Directors: Jorma Taccone, Akiva Schaffer
Cast: Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, Akiva Schaffer

Pop icon Conner “Conner4Real” Friel steps on stage in a varsity jacket to an adoring crowd. He breaks out into the opening verse of his hit single “I’m So Humble”:

Bar none I am the most humblest/Number one at the top of the humble list/My apple crumble is by far the most crumblest/But I act like it tastes bad out of humbleness/The thing about me that’s so impressive/Is how infrequently I mention all of my successes/I pooh-pooh it when girls say that I should model/My belly’s full from all the pride I swallow

Adam Levine, a hologram, appears on stage to perform a song. Instantly, there are dozens upon dozens of holograms on the stage dancing together and being silly. Then we move on to The Mariah Carey. We reflect upon the significance of that song for her.

“I’m So Humble” — I instantly connected with that, because I’m the most humble person I know.

That’s the opening credits sequence of Lonely Island’s PopstarIt is one the funniest films of the decade. And it’s also the longest feature-length skit SNL has ever created. The reliable trio of Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, and Akiva Schaffer (the latter two directed) play a famous former boy band group who have long since split up, with Samberg’s Conner as the only one to make a real solo career for himself. This movie’s got heart in the same way many of these comedies about adult-sized children do, but the real treat is the nonstop barrage of hilarious gags from start to finish, with pitch-perfect parody songs and a endless array of mind-blowing celebrity cameos. It’s a blast. —PV

Popstars Never Stop Never Giving UpLeaves HBO MaxMarch 31.

Little Tokyo Showdown

Warner Home Video

Year: 1991
Genre: Take Action
Run time: 1h 19m
Director: Mark L. Lester
Cast: Dolph Lundgren, Brandon Lee, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa

It’s Dolph Lundgren and Brandon Lee doing a buddy-cop action movie — what more is there to say?

OK, I’ll give you a little more. Lundgren portrays Chris Kenner as an American cop, who is strongly connected to Japanese culture and was born in Japan. Lee, in his third film role three years ago CrowJohnny Murata (played by ), is an American with mixed Japanese heritage. He doesn’t care about Japanese culture. They attempt to dismantle a yakuza band in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles.

Kick-ass fighting scenes, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa’s villain, and plenty of Dolph Lundgren almost nude moments. Little Tokyo Showdown is a lean 79 minutes of early-’90s action genre fare. For those not familiar with the film, there is a small scene of sexual violence. —PV

Little Tokyo Showdown Leaf HBO MaxMarch 31,