Ever since the Sundance indie CODA won the Best Picture Oscar in 2022, the first all-original streaming platform, Apple TV+, has been building a promising lineup of movies to run parallel to its growing slate of engaging TV shows.
From the 2022 BAFTA-winning British animation film The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse to the 94th Oscar nominee The Tragedy of Macbeth, the OTT platform is the owner of some of the best silver-screen gems.
Available on the Apple TV+ app in over 100 countries and regions in more than 40 languages, it makes watching some of the best Apple TV+ shows and movies easy across one billion screens, including iPhone, iPad and Apple TV+.
The streaming giant has also ensured to rope in major arthouse favourites, like Sofia Coppola and Werner Herzog, and big industry names, such as Adrien Brody, Meryl Streep and Jennifer Lawrence, to create high-quality content and enhance the viewing experience.
Additionally, the Chris Evans-starrer Ghosted became the most-watched movie on Apple TV+ after its premiere on 21 April 2023. As reported by Deadline (via Samba TV), the film racked up a whopping 328,500 viewers in its first two days.
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These are some of the most popular Apple TV+ movies
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Directed by: Dexter Fletcher
Cast: Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Adrien Brody
Year of release: 2023
Synopsis: Bachelor Cole (Evans) ends up being ghosted by his love interest, the elusive Sadie (De Armas). He later discovers that she is an undercover agent and realises the risk of being involved with her. However, Cole decides to risk it all for love but is soon entangled in an international mission with Sadie.
(Image credit: Apple TV/Twitter)
Directed by: Cooper Raiff
Cast: Cooper Raiff, Dakota Johnson, Vanessa Burghardt
Year of release: 2022
Synopsis: After being cooped up in his New Jersey home without a goal in life, 22-year-old college graduate Andrew (Raiff) finds himself a new job as a party starter at Bar Mitzvahs. Upon befriending a local named Domino (Johnson) and her daughter Lola (Burghardt) there, he finally starts dreaming of a future he would want.
About the film: Cha Cha Real Smooth premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on 23 January 2022 and won the Audience Award in the US Dramatic category.
(Image credit: Apple TV)
Directed by: Lila Neugebauer
Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Brian Tyree Henry
Year of release: 2022
Synopsis: Lynsey (Lawrence), a war veteran, who is trying to cope with being back home in New Orleans, US, has a chance encounter with James (Henry), a lonely car repairer. With time, the duo forms an unusual friendship that seems to offer both of them some relief from their internal conflicts.
(Image credit: Apple TV/Twitter)
Directed by: Antoine Fuqua
Cast: Will Smith, Ben Foster, Charmaine Bingwa
Year of release: 2022
Synopsis: Peter (Smith), a strong-willed slave, depends on his unwavering hope and immense love for his family to escape from the clutches of slavery. Finally, due to his relentless efforts, he is able to leave behind the barbaric plantation owners in Louisiana, US, and journey back home to his family.
About the film: Emancipation is inspired by the 1863 photos of Gordon, aka “Whipped Peter,” taken during a Union Army medical examination that first appeared in Harper’s Weekly. Smith also won Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture at the 54th Annual NAACP Image Awards for the film.
(Image credit: Apple TV/Twitter)
Directed by: Sian Heder
Cast: Emilia Jones, Marlee Matlin, Troy Kotsur, Eugenio Derbez
Year of release: 2021
Synopsis: Young Ruby (Jones) — a CODA, child of deaf adults — functions as the sole hearing member of a deaf family. When Ruby’s singing talent at school is discovered by their choirmaster (Derbez), she is encouraged to apply to a prestigious music school. However, Ruby finds herself torn between her own dreams and her duty of being the interpreter for her deaf parents (Matlin and Kotsur).
About the film: CODA became the first film with a predominantly deaf cast to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards in Los Angeles. Kotsur won an Oscar for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role and became the first deaf male actor to win the prestigious award. Additionally, while Siân Heder won Best Adapted Screenplay, CODA became the first movie produced by a streaming service to win Best Motion Picture of the Year.
(Image credit: IMDb)
Directed by: Joel Coen
Cast: Denzel Washington, Frances McDormand, Alex Hassell
Year of release: 2021
Synopsis: Scottish lord Macbeth (Washington) is convinced by a prophecy of three witches that he will be the next king of Scotland, and his scheming wife Lady Macbeth (McDormand) will do anything to support him in his plans of seizing the crown. Will the prophecy prevail or will greed lead to doom?
About the film: At the 94th Academy Awards, The Tragedy of Macbeth was nominated for Best Actor (Washington), Best Production Design (Stefan Dechant and Nancy Haigh) and Best Cinematography (Bruno Delbonnel).
(Image credit: Apple TV)
Directed by: Ross Stewart and Tomm Moore
Cast: Honor Kneafsey, Eva Whittaker, Sean Bean
Year of release: 2020
Synopsis: A young, amateur hunter Robyn (Kneafsey) accompanies her father on a journey to Ireland to help wipe out the last wolf pack. In a turn of events, she forms a friendship with a mysterious girl Mebh (Whittaker) from an unusual tribe that is rumoured to transform into ‘wolfwalkers’ by night.
About the film: The widely acclaimed movie was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the 2021 Oscars.
(Image credit: Apple TV/Twitter)
Directed by: Sofia Coppola
Cast: Bill Murray, Rashida Jones, and Marlon Wayans
Year of release: 2020
Synopsis: Laura (Jones), based out of New York, starts suspecting her husband Dean (Wayans) of having an extramarital affair. In order to tail him, she teams up with her charming father Felix (Murray), who insists they investigate the situation and get to the truth.
(Image credit: IMDb)
Directed by: George Nolfi
Cast: Nicholas Hoult, Nia Long, George Nolfi, Samuel L. Jackson, Anthony Mackie
Year of release: 2020
Synopsis: Two African-American entrepreneurs Bernard Garrett (Mackie) and Joe Morris (Jackson) devise a plan to overthrow the racist establishment of the 1960s. To do so, they train a white man called Matt Steiner (Hoult) to pretend to be the head of the burgeoning real estate and banking empire. Will the trio be able to expose the corrupt elites and achieve equal access to the American Dream?
(Image credit: IMDb)
Directed by: Minhal Baig
Cast: Geraldine Viswanathan, Jack Kilmer, Gabriel Luna
Year of release: 2019
Synopsis: A 17-year-old Pakistani American teenager Hala (Viswanathan) fights to experiment with her womanly desires amid familial and religious obligations. Her discovery of a secret, however, threatens to turn the peace of her traditional family upside down.
About the film: Hala was an official selection of the 2019 Sundance Film Festival and the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival.
(Image credit: Apple TV)
(Hero and Featured image credits: IMDb)
This story first appeared on Lifestyle Asia Singapore
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
The Jennifer Garner-starrer, 'The Last Thing He Told Me', is one of the most popular Apple TV shows. As per a 2023 'Variety' report (via Nielsen data), it became the OTT's most-watched limited series in 2023, garnering 4.5 million viewers in the first 31 days of its release.
There's an array of good content available to stream on Apple TV+. While some of its best shows include 'Pachinko', 'Slow Horses', 'Black Bird', 'Ted Lasso' and 'Severance', the best movies to watch on the OTT include 'CODA', 'Wolfwalkers', 'Ghosted', 'Emancipation' and 'Hala'.
