A new month means it’s time to look at the list of movies coming to Netflix in August. First up is a documentary that might make you look at fried chicken in a new light. Two days later, a mysterious sci-fi thriller hits the service, and it looks like a mix between Signs and Twilight Zone: The Movie.
Adam Sandler is not the only person in his family who makes movies. One of his daughters is the star of a teen drama that subscribers should watch with a box of tissues. The other two featured movies include a documentary about a fascinating whistleblower and a crime thriller starring a multi-time Oscar winner. All five movies can be streamed in the U.S.
The movies on this list are presented in release order.
Big Chicken: A Fast Food Conspiracy
Fast food fans should look away
Remember the documentary Super Size Me? During that experiment, Morgan Spurlock ate only McDonald’s food for every meal for 30 days to show the negative impact fast food has on your health. Take Super Size Me, put the focus on poultry, and you get Big Chicken: A Fast Food Conspiracy.
Comedian Mo Gilligan is interested in the business of fried chicken. For 28 straight days, Gilligan plans to eat fried chicken three times a day. Obviously, Gilligan will run into some health issues. However, this documentary also takes an investigative approach to the subject as Gilligan examines where the fried chicken we eat comes from. As for the answer to that mystery, I don’t think you’re going to like what Gilligan discovers.
Big Chicken: A Fast Food Conspiracy streams on August 5.
Quiz
8 Questions · Test Your Knowledge
Summer 2026’s hottest new documentaries
Trivia challenge
From Wall Street scandals to pop legends — how much do you know about this
summer’s must-watch docs?
True CrimeMusicSportsHollywoodFinance
Begin
Paramount+’s The Real Wolf of Wall Street focuses on which convicted fraudster at
the center of the Stratton Oakmont scandal?
ABernie MadoffBJordan BelfortCIvan BoeskyDFrank DiPascali
Correct! Jordan Belfort, the self-styled ‘Wolf of Wall Street,’ ran
Stratton Oakmont and was convicted of fraud and money laundering. The Paramount+ documentary revisits
his story beyond what was depicted in Martin Scorsese’s famous 2013 film.
Not quite. The documentary centers on Jordan Belfort, the notorious
stockbroker whose Stratton Oakmont firm bilked investors out of hundreds of millions of dollars. Bernie
Madoff and Ivan Boesky were separate high-profile Wall Street criminals.
Continue
In The Real Wolf of Wall Street, Stratton Oakmont was notorious for using which
illegal sales practice to inflate stock prices?
AInsider tradingBPonzi schemingCPump and dumpDFront running
Correct! Stratton Oakmont used a classic pump-and-dump scheme,
artificially inflating the price of penny stocks through aggressive sales tactics before selling their
own shares at the peak, leaving investors with near-worthless holdings.
Not quite. The firm’s signature crime was the pump-and-dump scheme, in
which brokers hyped up cheap penny stocks to unsuspecting investors, drove the price up, then sold their
own shares for enormous profit. Ponzi schemes and insider trading are distinct types of securities
fraud.
Continue
The Real Wolf of Wall Street documentary on Paramount+ includes testimony from which
type of key sources to help reexamine the Stratton Oakmont story?
AFictional dramatizations and actorsBSurviving victims, former brokers, and investigatorsCOnly journalists and academicsDExclusively Jordan Belfort himself
Correct! The documentary draws on accounts from surviving victims of the
fraud, former Stratton Oakmont brokers, and law enforcement investigators, giving a fuller and more
grounded picture of the scheme than Belfort’s own self-promotional memoir.
Not quite. The film incorporates perspectives from victims who lost
money, former brokers who worked at the firm, and the investigators who brought it down — offering a
counterpoint to the glamorized version of events that Belfort himself has often promoted.
Continue
HBO Max’s Marc by Sofia is a documentary about fashion designer Marc Jacobs directed
by which filmmaker?
ASofia CoppolaBSofia VergaraCSofia AlaouiDSofia Bohdanowicz
Correct! Sofia Coppola, the acclaimed director behind films like Lost in
Translation and The Virgin Suicides, directed Marc by Sofia, offering an intimate portrait of her
longtime friend and fashion icon Marc Jacobs.
Not quite. The documentary is directed by Sofia Coppola, the
Oscar-winning filmmaker known for her visually lyrical style. Her personal friendship with Marc Jacobs
gave the film an unusually candid, behind-the-scenes quality.
Continue
Marc by Sofia on HBO Max primarily explores Marc Jacobs through which lens?
AA courtroom drama about his legal battlesBAn intimate portrait of his creative process and personal evolutionCA financial history of his fashion empireDA retrospective narrated entirely by celebrity clients
Correct! The documentary offers an intimate look at Marc Jacobs’
creative process and personal journey, including his struggles with addiction and recovery, his
identity, and what drives his singular artistic vision in fashion.
Not quite. Rather than focusing on business or legal matters, Marc by
Sofia takes a deeply personal approach, exploring Jacobs’ inner world, his sobriety journey, and the
emotional fuel behind his influential career in fashion.
Continue
Netflix’s Chris & Martina: The Final Set documents the legendary rivalry between
Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova. How many times did the two face each other in their careers?
A37 timesB60 timesC80 timesD53 times
Correct! Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova faced each other an
extraordinary 80 times over their careers, making it one of the greatest rivalries in tennis history.
The Netflix documentary revisits their competitive and personal relationship as both faced serious
health challenges.
Not quite. The two icons met a remarkable 80 times in their careers,
with Navratilova holding the edge in their head-to-head record. The Netflix doc frames their rivalry
through the lens of friendship and mutual support as both women confronted cancer diagnoses.
Continue
Netflix’s Michael Jackson: The Verdict examines public and legal reactions to the
allegations against Jackson. What major legal moment does the documentary reference as a turning
point in his legacy?
AHis 1993 civil settlementBHis 2005 criminal trial acquittalCThe posthumous 2019 release of Leaving NeverlandDA 2001 congressional inquiry into his finances
Correct! Jackson’s 2005 criminal trial, in which he was acquitted on all
counts of child molestation, is a central legal moment the documentary examines. The film explores how
that verdict shaped public perception and the ongoing debate about his legacy.
Not quite. The documentary focuses heavily on the 2005 criminal trial
acquittal as a defining legal moment, while also weighing it against the renewed allegations brought by
the 2019 documentary Leaving Neverland and the court of public opinion.
Continue
Peacock’s documentary Lorne is a profile of which legendary television producer?
ALorne GreeneBLorne MichaelsCLorne BalfeDLorne Cardinal
Correct! Lorne Michaels, the Canadian producer who created Saturday
Night Live in 1975 and has shepherded it for nearly five decades, is the subject of Peacock’s
documentary simply titled Lorne. The film digs into the enigmatic figure behind one of TV’s most
enduring institutions.
Not quite. The Peacock documentary profiles Lorne Michaels, the famously
private and influential creator of Saturday Night Live. Despite shaping American comedy for generations,
Michaels has rarely spoken openly about himself — making this documentary a rare glimpse behind the
curtain.
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The Last House
Once you’re inside, you can’t leave
The Last House taps into one of the worst fears for anyone who hates being stuck inside. Directed by Louis Leterrier, the film centers around Ann (Greta Lee) and Jason (Wagner Moura), a married couple who live with their two children. One day, the family becomes trapped inside the house. Days turn into weeks, and weeks turn into years, and still the group remains inside.
Over three years later, Ann and Jason have turned the house into their entire world, to the point where they grow plants inside. After trying to escape for years, the family is surprised to learn that someone—or something—has been preventing them from leaving. What that is, I’m not sure, but the trailer teases a nefarious creature of some sort. The tense thriller is a Netflix movie I’ve been looking forward to this year.
The Last House streams on August 7.
The Last House
Release Date
August 7, 2026
Runtime
110 minutes
Director
Louis Leterrier
Don’t Say Good Luck
A mother-daughter tearjerker
In the Sandler family, the apple does not fall far from the tree. Sunny Sandler, the youngest daughter of Adam, has been quietly carving out an impressive resume on Netflix. Three years ago, Sunny starred in the sweet coming-of-age film You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah. Now, she’s growing up and headlining a new teen drama, Don’t Say Good Luck.
Sophie Birenbaum (Sunny Sandler) wants nothing more than to star in her school’s production of the musical Waitress. Just as Sophie gets her big break, her family receives terrible news. Sophie’s mother, Elizabeth (Melanie Lynskey), has cancer again. Don’t Say Good Luck will certainly take viewers through the full range of emotions in what will surely be a story that will cause a river of tears.
Don’t Say Good Luck streams on August 14.
Don’t Say Good Luck
Release Date
August 14, 2026
Director
Julia Hart
Writers
Jordan Horowitz, Julia Hart, Laura Hankin
Freefall: A Reckoning for Boeing
The fight for justice continues
In 2022, director Rory Kennedy released Downfall: The Case Against Boeing, a documentary that investigates the Boeing Company and the crashes of two 737 MAX planes. Behind the giant corporation is a system of corruption and malpractice. Four years later, Kennedy’s sequel, Freefall: A Reckoning for Boeing, continues its inquiry into Boeing, which includes a terrible tragedy.
John Barnett was a whistleblower who came forward with his complaints about Boeing, which included reports of defective parts and failures with emergency oxygen equipment. On the third day of his deposition, Barnett was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Since Barnett’s death, more whistleblowers have come forward, and Kennedy is there to record it all.
Freefall: A Reckoning for Boeing streams on August 19.
Freefall: A Reckoning for Boeing
Release Date
June 14, 2026
Runtime
93 minutes
Director
Rory Kennedy
The Whisper Man
The race to save an abducted boy
The Whisper Man is the type of spooky crime thriller that makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up. Based on Alex North’s novel, The Whisper Man stars Adam Scott as a widowed crime writer who lives in the town of Featherbank with his eight-year-old son. A father’s worst nightmare becomes a reality after his boy is abducted. There might be a connection to Whisper Man, a notorious serial killer from the past.
The catch is that the Whisper Man has been in prison after being caught by the writer’s estranged father and former police detective (Robert De Niro). Is it a new version of the Whisper Man, or did the old killer have an accomplice that is now taking over his mantle? Either way, the father and son will team with a female detective (Michelle Monaghan) in a race to save the young boy.
The Whisper Man streams on August 28.
The Whisper Man
Release Date
August 28, 2026
Runtime
106 minutes
Director
James Ashcroft
You can always find more things to watch on Netflix
Netflix is still one of the most popular streaming services. Take advantage of its many features, including offline downloads and secret codes. When you sit down to watch something, check out one of its many award-winning programs, including Train Dreams and Rocky.
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