The end of the year is nearly upon us, and while that means all kinds of things, one thing that might get lost is how many streaming services are cleaning out their catalogs for 2025. Of course, there will be plenty of movies added to platforms like Netflix, Prime Video, and Criterion Channel next year, but for now, we’re focusing on the best movies leaving at the end of December.
This month’s selection of movies includes a perfect companion to one of the most surprising games of the year, a perfect companion to this Christmas’ Bob Dylan biopic, one of the best comedies of the 2010s, and a horror classic.
Here are all the best movies leaving streaming in December.
Editor’s pick: Raiders of the Lost Ark
Director: Steven Spielberg Stars: Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul FreemanLeaving Prime Video: Dec. 31
The new Indiana Jones game, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, is one of the biggest and best surprises of the year as far as gaming is concerned. So if you’ve picked up the game already and are itching for some more Indiana content, there’s no better place to turn than where the game opens: Raiders of the Lost Ark.
You’ve likely already seen this movie at least once, but it’s always a great time to rewatch what is one of the best action-adventure movies ever released. Raiders of the Lost Ark is masterwork of character development, humor, suspense, and cinematic blocking, and a good reminder that when Harrison Ford wants to be, there isn’t a more charming star in the history of Hollywood.
Movies leaving Netflix
Easy A
Director: Will GluckStars: Emma Stone, Stanley Tucci, Lisa KudrowLeaving Netflix: Dec. 31
After the last few years of wonderful weirdness from Emma Stone, it’s easy to forget that for a brief period in her career she was effortlessly one of the funniest actors in Hollywood. Chief among her comedy achievements is Easy A, a clever high school comedy that felt equally ’80s humor and modern refresh.
The movie follows Olive Penderghast (Stone), who concocts a desperate lie to get out of a camping trip that snowballs into the whole school labeling her a tramp thanks to some gossiping by her devoutly religious classmate. But rather than dissuade her classmates, Olive leans into the reputation and turns the whole school on its head in the process.
Movies leaving Prime Video
The Wicker Man
Director: Robin Hardy Stars: Edward Woodward, Christopher Lee, Diane Cilento Leaving Prime Video: Dec. 31
The Wicker Man follows a police officer who’s tasked with heading to a remote island to conduct an investigation about a girl who’s been reported missing. What he finds instead is a society that follows an old pagan religion, with views he can’t make heads or tails of. But as their behavior gets stranger, he starts to wonder how much danger he might be in.
Oddly perfect for the holidays in a twisted sort of way, The Wicker Man is a horror classic whose influence is still thriving today.
Leaving Criterion Channel
Inside Llewyn Davis
Director: Joel and Ethan Coen Stars: Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, Adam DriverLeaving Criterion Channel: Dec. 31
The slightly more official Bob Dylan biopic, A Complete Unknown, may have just come out in theaters, but the best evocation of New York’s folk scene in the 1960s remains the Coen brothers’ excellent Inside Llewyn Davis.
The movie follows Llewyn Davis, a struggling folk musician in the 1960s who’s tragically talented but exactly on the wrong side of the line to make it big. The film follows Llewyn’s eternal quest to get his foot in the door of the industry without sacrificing the artistic integrity that he thinks lies in the soul of folk music, no matter what anyone around him says.
This melancholy masterpiece about chasing art and passion no matter where it takes you is one of the brothers’ best films ever, and features an absolutely incredible central performance by Oscar Isaac that’s some of the finest acting work of the 2010s. So if you need a little extra dose of folk music before or after seeing Timothée Chalamet’s version of Dylan, this is the perfect place to stop.
The post The best movies leaving Netflix, Prime Video, and Criterion Channel at the end of December 2024 appeared first on Polygon.
