Thanksgiving is traditionally a big day for football fans if they want to want to watch some NFL games on the holiday. But since not everyone is a sports fan, families and friends may have more fun watching movies together. Thanks to the large number of streamers, many of this year’s biggest hits are already at your fingertips. However, there are a handful of older movies that will also play well with a family crowd.
This year’s selections for the 10 great movies to watch on Thanksgiving include a sampling of several different streamers. Three of our choices are even on streaming services that you can watch for free, and sometimes that’s the best price to pay.
Need more Thanksgiving recommendations? Then try 5 great comedy movies to watch on Thanksgiving, 5 great dramas you should watch on Thanksgiving, and Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade 2024: all confirmed performers.
Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)
Deadpool & Wolverine may not be the best movie of 2024, but it might be the best time you have at the movies this year. It’s everything that Ryan Reynolds and Marvel have promised for years: an R-rated, profane, and hilarious send-up of superhero movies that still manages to be a pretty great action comedy. Regardless, you might want to send your youngest children to bed before turning this film on during Thanksgiving.
The death of Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) in Logan has unexpected consequences for Deadpool (Reynolds) and his world. If Deadpool can’t find a replacement Wolverine from across the multiverse, then everyone he loves is doomed. However, the Wolverine that he gets isn’t interested in helping out, and it’s going to take an extended — and nostalgic — trip alongside some of 20th Century Fox’s Marvel heroes to get the title characters of this film on the same page.
Watch Deadpool & Wolverine on Disney+.
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024)
Ghostbusters: Afterlife transformed the franchise from a comedian showcase into a family affair for the Spenglers. By the time Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire arrives, the Spenglers aren’t quite sure how they fit together as a family. Gary Grooberson (Paul Rudd) is dating Callie Spengler (Carrie Coon), but he can’t seem to figure out how to be a stepfather to Phoebe (Mckenna Grace) and Trevor (Finn Wolfhard).
When Phoebe is benched from the Ghostbusters over her age, she finds herself at the center of a ghostly conspiracy to unleash an ancient spirit from its prison. If that happens, New York City is taking a one-way trip back to the ice age.
Watch Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire on Netflix.
The Lego Batman Movie (2017)
Lego Batman (Will Arnett) is simultaneously every Batman we’ve ever seen before, and also a distinct version of the Dark Knight who doesn’t believe he needs any family or friends. The Lego Batman Movie challenges the title character’s position when Gotham City is ready to move on beyond its hero, thanks to the new police commissioner, Barbara Gordon (Rosario Dawson).
Batman feels so threatened by this turn of events that he barely notices that he’s adopted an orphan, Dick Grayson (Michael Cera). Additionally, Batman’s thoughtless insult to the Joker (Zach Galifianakis) leads the Clown Prince of Crime to come up with a scheme to destroy Gotham City alongside some of the worst villains in the Lego multiverse.
Watch The Lego Batman Movie on Hulu.
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
It’s been 23 years since The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings hit theaters, and no other fantasy film has come close to matching its impact except the other two installments in this trilogy. It’s not just one of the best fantasy movies of all time, it’s one of the best movies, period.
Director and co-writer Peter Jackson poured his heart and soul into this adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s novels, and it shows up everywhere on screen. Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood) is the unlucky recipient of the magic ring that once belonged to his uncle, Bilbo (Ian Holm). The evil Sauron needs that ring to complete his conquest of the world, and the only way to prevent those plans is by destroying the ring. The wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen), the ranger known as Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), and six others volunteer to accompany Frodo on his quest. But not all of them will make it to the end.
Watch The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring on Max.
Wonka (2023)
Last year’s holiday sensation is one of this year’s top streaming options. We’ll probably be saying this about Wicked in 2025. But in 2024, it’s Wonka‘s time to shine in a musical prequel to Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Unlike the trickster he’s destined to become, the young Willy Wonka (A Complete Unknown‘s Timothée Chalamet) is an idealistic dreamer who has a song in his heart. Or several songs, as well as a passion for combining chocolate and magic.
Arthur Slugworth (Paterson Joseph) and his Chocolate Cartel can’t have some upstart threatening their business with his delightful and affordable treats, so they try to destroy Willy at every turn. Fortunately, Willy’s not without a few allies of his own, including a young girl named Noodle (Calah Lane). Together, they’re going to make something special.
Watch Wonka on Max.
Transformers One (2024)
In the lore of the Transformers, it was already known that Optimus Prime and Megatron used to be friends. The animated prequel Transformers One is the first theatrical story that truly explores their bond. At this point in their shared history, Autobots and Decepticons weren’t even a thing, while Orion Pax (Chris Hemsworth) and D-16 (Brian Tyree Henry) were like brothers to each other.
As Orion and D-16 make friends with B-127 (Keegan-Michael Key) and Elita-1 (Scarlett Johansson), they discover a conspiracy that has oppressed their people on Cybertron for generations. Orion and D-16 agree that their planet’s false leaders have to be deposed, but their disagreements over how to do that will tear their friendship apart and set the stage for a new war.
Watch Transformers One on Paramount+.
Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F (2024)
Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) is back in town in Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F. And as the song goes, The Heat is On! Foley’s return to the West Coast comes after he’s warned that his estranged daughter, Jane Saunders (Taylour Paige), is in danger by his old pal, Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold).
When Axel arrives, he doesn’t have many allies left who are still in the Beverly Hills PD aside from Jane’s ex-boyfriend, Detective Bobby Abbott (Joseph Gordon-Levitt). That’s never stopped Axel from taking down the bad guys before, and it certainly won’t start now. Axel’s brand of justice involves a lot of mayhem, and he’s very good at it.
Watch Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F on Netflix.
Fighting with My Family (2019)
Before her breakout role in Midsommar, Florence Pugh established herself as a leading woman in Fighting with My Family. This is the largely true story about Saraya “Paige” Bevis (Pugh), a woman whose parents and siblings are all wrestlers in England. Saraya and her brother, Zak (Jack Lowden), both have big dreams about coming to America and becoming stars for WWE. But only Saraya gets the chance to see that through.
Vince Vaughn plays Hutch Morgan, the primary trainer for Saraya, who doesn’t give her an easy time during her developmental years. In fact, Saraya has a difficult time establishing herself as a performer because she doesn’t fit the conventional mold of a female wrestler, and she can’t start a women’s revolution alone.
Watch Fighting with My Family on YouTube.
Galaxy Quest (1999)
December 2024 will mark the 25th anniversary of Galaxy Quest, but why wait to revisit a classic when you can watch it for free on YouTube? Admittedly, this is a movie that’s best enjoyed with a healthy appreciation of Star Trek. But it’s also such a fantastic sci-fi action comedy that it works as a standalone film. There are no sequels to Galaxy Quest, because what could possibly be as great as the original?
The short version is that the washed-up stars of an old sci-fi series find themselves roped into a real outer space adventure. For Jason Nesmith (Tim Allen), it’s the chance to become the hero he always pretended to be. The late Alan Rickman co-stars as Shakespearean actor Alexander Dane, who loathes his character, Dr. Lazarus. Yet even Alexander slowly transforms into his character even as his makeup and mask peel away. The cast is fantastic from top to bottom, including hilarious turns by Sigourney Weaver, Tony Shalhoub, Sam Rockwell, Enrico Colantoni, and more.
Watch Galaxy Quest on YouTube.
Coraline (2009)
Earlier this year, Coraline was rereleased for its 15th anniversary, and it proved to be a hit with movie-lovers yet again. The Nightmare Before Christmas director Henry Selick adapted Neil Gaiman’s dark children’s novella about Coraline Jones (Dakota Fanning), a young girl whose parents, Melanie “Mel” Jones (Teri Hatcher) and Charlie Jones (John Hodgman), are too busy to give her the attention she needs.
After moving into their new home, Coraline finds an entrance to an alternate world inhabited by bizarre variants of her parents who lavish her with treats and the love she craves. All of this comes with a price, and the other world isn’t what it appears to be. Coraline’s alternate mother is hiding a dark secret, and if Coraline can’t figure it out then she may never find her way home again.
Watch Coraline on Tubi.
We also have guides to the best movies on Netflix, the best movies on Hulu, the best movies on Amazon Prime Video, the best movies on Max, and the best movies on Disney+.
