12 of the Best Movies to Watch on Peacock That Won’t Let You Down

The big-budget, big-screen musical adaptation of the hit Broadway play, which stars Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba and Ariana Grande as Glinda, took the box office by storm. Wicked — which is the first half of a two-movie journey — follows the duo, who become unlikely friends during their time as students at Shiz University, and gives a look at the Land of Oz before Dorothy’s house landed on the Wicked Witch of the East.

The Wild Robot, which is based on Peter Brown’s best-selling book, follows a shipwrecked robot named Roz who does her best to make an unfamiliar island her new home by connecting with the animals who live there — including one lucky baby goose. The Oscar-nominated movie stars Lupita Nyong’o, Pedro Pascal, Catherine O’Hara, Kit Connor, Bill Nighy, Stephanie Hsu and Mark Hamill.

Christopher Nolan’s Oscar-winning film explores the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer (played to perfection by Cillian Murphy), the physicist who played a pivotal role in developing the atomic bomb. The story unfolds throughout various points of Oppenheimer’s life, offering a well-rounded and thought-provoking look at the man who pushed the world to the brink. The production value, direction and performances by its ensemble cast resulted in an epic cinematic experience. It’s no wonder the movie brought home the Academy Award for Best Picture.

The Holdovers tells the story of Paul Hunham (Paul Giamatti), Mary Lamb (Da’Vine Joy Randolph) and Angus Tully (Dominic Sessa), three lonely characters left behind at a New England prep school during Christmas break. These outcasts — a curmudgeonly teacher, a grieving cook (the role that won Randolph the Oscar) and a disruptive student — create an unlikely bond. Set amid the backdrop of the Vietnam War, the trio finds a sense of belonging and closure in each other, resulting in a story that is as quirky and off-beat as it is heartfelt and poignant.

Casino is a Martin Scorsese classic and once again teams the director up with actors Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci. Based on the book by Nicholas Pileggi, the drama follows Sam “Ace” Rothstein (De Niro) as he takes on the responsibility of heading the Tangiers Casino for the mob. Also starring in the movie are Sharon Stone, who plays Ginger, Ace’s ex-hustler wife and James Woods as Lester Diamond, her criminal ex. 

It’s not hyperbole when I say Pulp Fiction changed Hollywood. Reservoir Dogs may have grabbed Quentin Tarantino out of obscurity, but it was the 1994 drama that put the filmmaker on the map. It has a stellar cast, which includes unforgettable roles for John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson, as well as numerous memorable scenes that have since become part of the pop culture lexicon. Tarantino’s talent for dialogue is on full display here; the movie’s split-up, unchronological narrative structure helped pave the way for the new generation of indie filmmakers of the ’90s. Three decades later, the soundtrack still slaps.

Taking inspiration from the hit Broadway musical, Dreamgirls follows the fictional R&B girl group The Dreams through their rise to stardom. The story takes place during the formidable years of the American R&B music scene. It features standout performances by Beyonce, Anika Noni Rose, Jamie Foxx and Jennifer Hudson, who took home the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. 

Talk about a game-changing movie! Trainspotting, which was Danny Boyle’s second feature film, put him on the map, just like it did its star, Ewan McGregor. The 1996 release, based on the story by Irvine Welsh, follows a group of 20-something friends, bonded by their harsh surroundings and shared heroin addiction. Thanks to its gritty style and unflinching tale, along with strong performances and a killer soundtrack, Trainspotting is a riveting classic that hits all the right notes. 

Bob Odenkirk, action star? I don’t think anyone had this on their bingo card, but after the release of 2021’s Nobody, that all changed. In the movie, produced by David Leitch (of John Wick fame), Odenkirk plays Hutch, a pushover who is pushed into violence after his family is put in danger. It turns out, in another life, Hutch led a life of brutality. Plenty of epic gunfights and fisticuffs populate this fun movie, which is elevated by Odenkirk’s grounded performance.

Based on the memoir by Elliot Ness, The Untouchables left its stylish mark when it was released in theaters in 1987. Directed by Brian De Palma with a score by legendary composer Ennio Morricone, the movie follows Ness, a Prohibition Bureau agent, as he struggles to take down crime boss Al Capone and the city’s corrupt leadership. Kevin Costner leads a stacked cast, which includes Sean Connery as Jim Malone, Andy Garcia as George Stone, Charles Martin Smith as Agent Oscar Wallace and Robert De Niro as Capone. 

Brad Pitt stars as Billy Beane, the general manager of the Oakland Athletics, in Moneyball. The movie, which was written by Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin and Stan Chervin, draws inspiration from Michael Lewis’s book, Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, and explores Beane’s unconventional approach to assembling a strong baseball team. Jonah Hill, Robin Wright, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Chris Pratt also star.

What do you get when you put John Travolta and Nicolas Cage in a John Woo action movie? The magnificently chaotic thrill ride that is Face/Off, that’s what. The film follows enemies, FBI agent Sean Archer (Travolta) and unhinged terrorist Castor Troy (Cage), who engage in an intense cat-and-mouse pursuit after Archer undergoes a procedure to have Troy’s face surgically attached to his own. His plan of using the disguise to bring Troy to justice backfires when Troy takes Archer’s face as his own. It sounds nuts, because it is. And that’s what makes it so much fun.