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The 7 Best New Movies Coming to Netflix in December 2024 were Carry-On, Maria, The Six Triple Eight, That Christmas, The Children’s Train, Mary and Ferry 2. The historical Netflix U.S. premieres ran from December 4 to December 20, 2024, with choices for families, thriller fans, prestige-drama viewers and international-cinema audiences.
This retrospective guide uses “best” as an editorial recommendation based on premise, variety, seasonal usefulness and audience fit—not as a claim about universal ratings. Release dates refer to Netflix’s U.S.-oriented schedule, and availability may differ by country or change after the original December 2024 release.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
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Maria Callas: The Woman behind the Legend | $13.78 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
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Maria Callas: An Intimate Biography | $13.86 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
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MARIA CALLAS: Sacred Monster | $33.11 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
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Maria Callas: The Exhibition | $29.95 | Buy on Amazon |
| 5 |
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The Callas Imprint: A Centennial Biography | $11.25 | Buy on Amazon |
Key takeaways
- Carry-On, released on Netflix U.S. on December 13, 2024, is the clearest pick for viewers who want a fast holiday thriller.
- Maria arrived on December 11, 2024, with Angelina Jolie portraying opera legend Maria Callas in a creative reimagining of Callas’s final days.
- That Christmas, released December 4, 2024, is the most accessible family and all-ages choice in the group.
- The Six Triple Eight, released December 20, 2024, is a World War II drama inspired by a real Women’s Army Corps unit rather than a documentary.
- Mary, The Children’s Train and Ferry 2 provide biblical, intimate international and Dutch crime-drama alternatives.
Release dates in this article are historical Netflix U.S. dates from December 2024, not upcoming dates in 2026. Netflix catalogs vary by country and change over time, so a film’s original U.S. premiere does not guarantee that the title remains available in every region.
How were the best new Netflix movies in December 2024 selected?
This is an editorial ranking, not a list of the seven objectively highest-rated films. The selection weighs breadth of appeal, strength of premise, seasonal usefulness, distinctiveness and the value of offering genuinely different viewing choices. The list includes holiday entertainment, prestige drama, historical fiction, family animation, biblical drama and international crime cinema.
#1 Best Overall
| Film | Netflix U.S. release date | Genre and mood | Best for | Historical or real-life basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carry-On | December 13, 2024 | Action thriller; tense and accessible | Airport suspense and ticking-clock action | Fictional thriller premise |
| Maria | December 11, 2024 | Biographical drama; reflective and operatic | Prestige drama and music lovers | Creative reimagining of Maria Callas’s final days |
| The Six Triple Eight | December 20, 2024 | World War II historical drama | Historical drama audiences | Inspired by a real Women’s Army Corps unit |
| That Christmas | December 4, 2024 | Animated holiday comedy; warm and family-friendly | Families and younger viewers | Based on Richard Curtis’s children’s books |
| The Children’s Train | December 4, 2024 | Italian social-issue drama; intimate and serious | Viewers who like literary family dramas | Adapted from a book |
| Mary | December 6, 2024 | Biblical coming-of-age drama; dramatic and seasonal | Christmas-season biblical storytelling | Dramatization of a biblical story |
| Ferry 2 | December 20, 2024 | Dutch crime drama and thriller; dark and adult-oriented | International crime-thriller viewers | Fictional sequel in the Ferry universe |
1. Is Carry-On worth watching?
Carry-On is the best December 2024 Netflix choice for a high-concept holiday thriller. The film premiered on Netflix U.S. on December 13, 2024, and turns Christmas Eve travel anxiety into a contained action plot: a young TSA agent is blackmailed into allowing a dangerous package onto a flight.
Taron Egerton leads the cast with Jason Bateman, Sofia Carson and Danielle Deadwyler, while Jaume Collet-Serra directs. The premise gives the movie an immediate ticking clock and a recognizable setting, making it an easy recommendation for viewers who want suspense rather than seasonal sentimentality. Netflix’s 2024 movie release calendar lists the film’s original date and core release information.
Choose it if: you like airport suspense, star-driven action and stories built around one escalating security problem. Skip it as a first choice if: you want a gentle family Christmas film or a historically rigorous drama.
2. What is Maria on Netflix about?
Maria is a prestige biographical drama in which Angelina Jolie portrays opera legend Maria Callas during the final days of Callas’s life in Paris. The film arrived on Netflix U.S. on December 11, 2024, with Pablo Larraín directing.
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Choose it if: you want a reflective performance piece, opera-related subject matter and a film centered on identity, memory and artistic legacy. Do not choose it as: a substitute for a documentary or a complete historical biography of Callas.
Rank #2
For readers who want the real-life story: A Maria Callas biography such as Anne Edwards’s Maria Callas: An Intimate Biography can provide background beyond the film’s dramatic reimagining. The book is a separate biographical source, not an official Netflix companion.
3. Is The Six Triple Eight based on a true story?
The Six Triple Eight is a historical drama inspired by the first and only Women’s Army Corps unit of color to serve overseas during World War II. Netflix scheduled the film for December 20, 2024, after a limited theatrical release beginning December 6. Kerry Washington plays Major Charity Adams, and Tyler Perry wrote and directed the film.
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Choose it if: you want a broadly accessible World War II drama about military service, institutional barriers and an overlooked contribution. Viewers seeking a documentary should look for a nonfiction production separately rather than treating the feature film as archival proof.
4. What new family movie was on Netflix in December 2024?
That Christmas was the clearest new family movie on Netflix in December 2024. The animated holiday comedy premiered on December 4 and interweaves stories about family, friendship, love, loneliness and Santa Claus making a major mistake.
The film is based on Richard Curtis’s children’s books and marks Simon Otto’s feature directorial debut. Its connected-story structure makes it a straightforward seasonal recommendation for households looking for animation and Christmas themes. Younger viewers may respond most strongly to the visual style and holiday premise, while adults may notice more of the separate relationship and loneliness storylines. Netflix included the film in its 2024 holiday feature.
Rank #3
Choose it if: you need an all-ages seasonal option. Among these seven films, That Christmas is the safest starting point for family viewing, although individual age suitability still depends on a child’s comfort with the film’s emotional and intertwined stories.
5. What is The Children’s Train about?
The Children’s Train is an Italian drama about a mother who sends her son north in late-1940s Italy, where he encounters a life beyond the poverty he knows. Netflix released the film on December 4, 2024.
Netflix classifies the movie as an Italian, book-based social-issue drama. The postwar setting and separation between mother and child make it the list’s most intimate family story, but the film is aimed more at viewers seeking emotionally serious drama than at families looking for uncomplicated holiday entertainment.
Choose it if: you prefer literary adaptations, postwar settings and quieter stories about family, class and opportunity. The official Netflix page for The Children’s Train confirms the title’s synopsis and Italian-drama classification.
6. Is Mary a historical movie or a biblical drama?
Mary is a dramatized biblical coming-of-age epic, not a historical documentary. The film premiered on Netflix U.S. on December 6, 2024, and follows Mary after her miraculous conception as King Herod pursues her and Joseph while they try to protect the newborn Jesus.
Noa Cohen stars as Mary and Anthony Hopkins plays Herod. The Christmas-season timing makes Mary a natural inclusion, but viewers should separate the biblical source material from the film’s invented or expanded dramatic choices. Netflix says the filmmakers consulted religious scholars and leaders; that consultation does not make every onscreen event independently verified history. The official Netflix page for Mary provides the film’s synopsis and cast information.
Rank #4
Director D.J. Caruso described the subject this way: “Mary is the most extraordinary woman ever to walk this earth, yet her story remains largely unknown beyond a few passages in the Bible.” Choose it if: you want a seasonal biblical adventure with a young Mary at its center and are comfortable with a cinematic interpretation rather than a documentary account.
7. Does Ferry 2 require seeing the first film?
Ferry 2 is the best choice here for an adult-oriented international crime thriller, and familiarity with the earlier Ferry story will make the sequel easier to follow. Netflix released the Dutch crime drama on December 20, 2024.
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Choose it if: you want a darker counterweight to the holiday films, prestige drama and historical selections. Start elsewhere if: you are looking for a family movie, Christmas atmosphere or a self-contained first entry into the character’s story.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Which December 2024 Netflix movie should you watch?
| If you want… | Start with… | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A Christmas thriller | Carry-On | Its Christmas Eve flight setting and dangerous-package premise create immediate suspense. |
| A family holiday movie | That Christmas | Animated storytelling and multiple connected Christmas stories make it the most accessible family option. |
| Prestige drama and opera | Maria | Angelina Jolie plays Maria Callas in a reflective creative reimagining of the singer’s final days. |
| Historical drama | The Six Triple Eight | The film dramatizes a World War II mission inspired by a real Women’s Army Corps unit. |
| A serious international family drama | The Children’s Train | The Italian postwar story focuses on poverty, separation and a child’s changed life. |
| A biblical Christmas-season epic | Mary | The film centers on Mary, Joseph, Herod and the protection of the newborn Jesus. |
| A Dutch crime sequel | Ferry 2 | Ferry Bouman’s attempt to leave the criminal underworld collapses when his past returns. |
What connects these seven Netflix releases?
The strongest seasonal choices are That Christmas, Carry-On and Mary, because Christmas or December travel is part of their identity. Maria, The Children’s Train, The Six Triple Eight and Ferry 2 work better as broad new-release recommendations than as holiday movies.
The lineup also reaches beyond Hollywood. Italian drama The Children’s Train and Dutch thriller Ferry 2 sit alongside English-language Netflix productions, while the seven films move from family animation to adult crime drama. The real-life and historical categories require different levels of caution: Maria is a creative reimagining, The Six Triple Eight is inspired by history, and Mary dramatizes a biblical story.
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Because these were December 2024 releases, current availability should be checked on the Netflix service in the viewer’s country. The official Netflix release calendar is evidence of the original U.S.-oriented premiere schedule, not a permanent catalog guarantee.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Carry-On worth watching?
Carry-On is the best new Netflix movie from December 2024 for viewers who want a high-concept holiday thriller. The film follows a young TSA agent blackmailed into allowing a dangerous package onto a Christmas Eve flight.
Is The Six Triple Eight based on a true story?
The Six Triple Eight is inspired by the first and only Women’s Army Corps unit of color to serve overseas during World War II. The feature film dramatizes that history, so it should not be treated as a documentary or as proof that every scene happened exactly as shown.
What new family movies were on Netflix in December 2024?
That Christmas is the strongest family choice among these seven December 2024 Netflix movies. The animated holiday comedy is based on Richard Curtis’s children’s books and connects several stories involving family, friendship, love, loneliness and Santa Claus.
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What is Maria on Netflix about?
Maria is a creative biographical drama about opera legend Maria Callas’s final days in Paris, with Angelina Jolie portraying Callas. The movie is a reimagining rather than a documentary or definitive biography.
The Bottom Line
Bottom line: Start with Carry-On for suspense, That Christmas for family viewing, Maria for prestige drama, The Six Triple Eight for World War II history, The Children’s Train for intimate international drama, Mary for biblical storytelling or Ferry 2 for a darker Dutch crime sequel. These rankings describe different strengths, not an objective ratings order.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
