The top 9 movies on Netflix this week, from 'American Murder' to 'Bad Teacher'

Travis ClarkOct 2, 2020, 23:56 IST

"Bad Teacher"Columbia Pictures

"American Murder: The Family Next Door" and "Bad Teacher" are among Netflix's most popular movies this week.
Netflix introduced daily top lists of the most popular titles on the streaming service in February.
Streaming search engine Reelgood keeps track of the lists and provides Business Insider with a rundown of the week's most popular movies on Netflix every Friday.

Netflix has another true-crime hit on its hands with the documentary "American Murder: The Family Next Door."

But another Netflix original movie, "Enola Holmes," dominated the streamer among its daily popularity rankings this week.

Netflix introduced daily top 10 lists of its most viewed movies and TV shows in February (it counts a view if an account watches at least two minutes of a title).

Every week, the streaming search engine Reelgood compiles for Business Insider a list of which movies have been most prominent on Netflix's daily lists that week. On Reelgood, users can browse Netflix's entire movie library and sort by IMDb or Rotten Tomatoes ratings.

Below are Netflix's 9 most popular movies of the week in the US:

9. "The Devil All the Time" (2020, Netflix original)

Robert Pattinson in "The Devil All the Time." Netflix

Description: "Sinister characters converge around a young man devoted to protecting those he loves in a postwar backwoods town teeming with corruption and brutality."

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 65%

What critics said: "To watch it is to suffer right along with its miserable characters, desperate for some ray of hope or sunshine to peek through the heavy portents of death." — Newsday

Description: Sinister characters converge around a young man devoted to protecting those he loves in a postwar backwoods town teeming with corruption and brutality.

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 65%

What critics said: To watch it is to suffer right along with its miserable characters, desperate for some ray of hope or sunshine to peek through the heavy portents of death. — Newsday

8. "Welcome to Sudden Death" (2020)

Look to the Sky Films

Description: "At a basketball game, an ex-Special Forces officer must face a group of tech-savvy hostiles when a team owner and his daughter are taken hostage."

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: N/A

What critics said: "Jackson is only out for laughs with the picture, and there aren't any of those to be found here." — Blu-ray.com

Description: At a basketball game, an ex-Special Forces officer must face a group of tech-savvy hostiles when a team owner and his daughter are taken hostage.

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: N/A

What critics said: Jackson is only out for laughs with the picture, and there aren't any of those to be found here. — Blu-ray.com

7. "American Murder: The Family Next Door" (2020, Netflix original)

Netflix

Description: "Using raw, firsthand footage, this documentary examines the disappearance of Shanann Watts and her children, and the terrible events that followed."

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 75%

What critics said: "Popplewell's film presents the Watts story as more than a crime story. It is a thematic film about marriage and the deception of social media, as well as a piercing examination of domestic violence constructed with care and undeniable craft." — New York Times

Description: Using raw, firsthand footage, this documentary examines the disappearance of Shanann Watts and her children, and the terrible events that followed.

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 75%

What critics said: Popplewell's film presents the Watts story as more than a crime story. It is a thematic film about marriage and the deception of social media, as well as a piercing examination of domestic violence constructed with care and undeniable craft. — New York Times

6. "The Take" (2016)

Anonymous Content

Description: "After a mix-up lands him in hot water, a skilled pickpocket is forced to help a no-nonsense CIA operative track a terrorist group in Paris."

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 48%

What critics said: "Elba's magnetic physical presence delivers so much without doing much of anything. But his fans deserve so much better than a couple of dumb quips and a little ultra-violence." — RogerEbert.com

Description: After a mix-up lands him in hot water, a skilled pickpocket is forced to help a no-nonsense CIA operative track a terrorist group in Paris.

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 48%

What critics said: Elba's magnetic physical presence delivers so much without doing much of anything. But his fans deserve so much better than a couple of dumb quips and a little ultra-violence. — RogerEbert.com

5. "The Social Dilemma" (2020, Netflix original)

Netflix

Description: "This documentary-drama hybrid explores the dangerous human impact of social networking, with tech experts sounding the alarm on their own creations."

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 87%

What critics said: "What the film tells us doesn't constitute breaking news, but its value lies in pulling together some alarming if abstract concepts into a genuinely scary whole." — Wall Street Journal

Description: This documentary-drama hybrid explores the dangerous human impact of social networking, with tech experts sounding the alarm on their own creations.

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 87%

What critics said: What the film tells us doesn't constitute breaking news, but its value lies in pulling together some alarming if abstract concepts into a genuinely scary whole. — Wall Street Journal

4. "Bad Teacher" (2011)

Mosaic

Description: "When a breakup foils her plan to marry rich, a self-absorbed middle school teacher pursues a new man with a scheme that leads to unexpected lessons."

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 44%

What critics said: "A frustrating mix of smart flash and smirking impudence." — Los Angeles Times

Description: When a breakup foils her plan to marry rich, a self-absorbed middle school teacher pursues a new man with a scheme that leads to unexpected lessons.

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 44%

What critics said: A frustrating mix of smart flash and smirking impudence. — Los Angeles Times

3. "The Smurfs 2" (2013)

Sony Pictures

Description: "Evil magician Gargamel continues his quest to tap the power of the Smurfs, creating a pair of his own 'Smurf-alikes' called the Naughties."

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 14%

What critics said: "'The Smurfs 2' probably isn't any worse than you might expect. On the other hand, it's almost certainly not any better." — Chicago Sun-Times

Description: Evil magician Gargamel continues his quest to tap the power of the Smurfs, creating a pair of his own 'Smurf-alikes' called the Naughties.

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 14%

What critics said: 'The Smurfs 2' probably isn't any worse than you might expect. On the other hand, it's almost certainly not any better. — Chicago Sun-Times

2. "Real Steel" (2011)

DreamWorks

Description: "A struggling fighter-turned-promoter reconnects with his estranged son to convert an old-generation robot into a mighty World Robot Boxing contender."

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 60%

What critics said: "It's more of a throwback to Horatio Alger's Ragged Dick, a rags-to-middle-class-respectability tale about the humble joy of old-fashioned decency." — Vulture

Description: A struggling fighter-turned-promoter reconnects with his estranged son to convert an old-generation robot into a mighty World Robot Boxing contender.

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 60%

What critics said: It's more of a throwback to Horatio Alger's Ragged Dick, a rags-to-middle-class-respectability tale about the humble joy of old-fashioned decency. — Vulture

1. "Enola Holmes" (2020, Netflix original)

Millie Bobby Brown stars in "Enola Holmes." Netflix

Description: "While searching for her missing mother, intrepid teen Enola Holmes uses her sleuthing skills to outsmart big brother Sherlock and help a runaway lord."

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 92%

What critics said: "If about five or 10 minutes could've been left on the floor, Enola Holmes remains enchanting, in large part because Brown is having such a good time hitting different notes." — Paste Magazine

Description: While searching for her missing mother, intrepid teen Enola Holmes uses her sleuthing skills to outsmart big brother Sherlock and help a runaway lord.