What To Watch
16 Dad-Approved Movies to Watch on Father’s Day
Grab your popcorn (and your pops), and settle in for a special movie night.
By Caitlin Busch
June 12, 2026
16 Movies to Watch with Your Dad on Father’s Day - Netflix Tudum
If you’re looking for something to stream with your dad — or the whole family — this Father’s Day, look no further. Whether your old man is into action-adventure, sports, or comedy (to add some new dad jokes to his collection), there’s a movie for him.
From The Adam Project to Hustle and the aptly named Fatherhood, there’s something here for whatever kind of Father’s Day movie night you want to have. All you need to do is bring your dad and hit play.
The Adam Project
What would you say to your younger self? Or, better yet, what would you say to your dad if you could go back in time? Time-traveling fighter pilot Adam Reed (Ryan Reynolds) finds out the answers to both questions when he crash-lands in the year 2022 and meets his 12-year-old self, played by Walker Scobell (Percy Jackson and the Olympians). The older Adam is on a mission to save his wife, Laura (Zoe Saldaña), from certain death. He’s also trying to stop his father’s former business partner, Sorian (Catherine Keener), from monopolizing time travel and taking over the future. But when he accidentally reenters the time stream in the wrong year, Adam is forced to work with his precocious, motor-mouthed tween self in order to set things right. Mark Ruffalo (Poor Things) and Jennifer Garner (Yes Day) co-star as Adam’s parents in this sci-fi adventure directed by Shawn Levy (Stranger Things).
Anaconda
This meta reboot stars Jack Black (Goosebumps) and Paul Rudd (Mute) as lifelong best friends Doug McCallister and Ronald “Griff” Griffen Jr. The pair of aspiring filmmakers get the opportunity of a lifetime: to travel to the Amazon with their pals and remake their favorite film, the 1997 horror classic Anaconda, which starred Ice Cube and Jennifer Lopez. But tragedy strikes when they accidentally kill their killer snake star, halting their already beleaguered production. Armed with a dream and not much else, they journey deeper into the jungle to recruit a new fanged fiend. What could go wrong? Steve Zahn (The Ridiculous 6) and Thandiwe Newton (Big Mouth) co-star in this buddy comedy directed by Tom Gormican (Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F).
Dog Gone
A father-son duo goes on a journey to find their beloved dog in this drama based on a true story. When Fielding Marshall (Johnny Berchtold) graduates from college with no plans for his future, he moves back home and brings his dog, Gonker, with him. While the wayward Fielding and his fuzzy best friend are wandering the Appalachian Trail one day, the lovable labrador takes off after a fox — and doesn’t come back. Panicked, Fielding recruits his dad, John (Rob Lowe), to help find Gonker before he’s lost forever. Their search soon becomes a national news story and unites the family like never before. This drama, based on Pauls Toutonghi’s 2016 book about his family’s real-life experience, also stars Kimberly Williams-Paisley (Father of the Bride) and Nick Peine (A.P. Bio).
Fatherhood
This dramatic comedy stars Kevin Hart (Funny AF with Kevin Hart) as Matt Logelin, who’s raising a daughter, Maddy (Melody Hurd), on his own after his wife tragically died a day after giving birth. While his friends and family — especially his no-nonsense mother-in-law, Marion (Alfre Woodard) — are concerned about his ability to raise a child alone, he perseveres through disastrous “mommy and me” classes, lopsided pigtails, and more. Based on the real Logelin’s 2011 memoir Two Kisses for Maddy: A Memoir of Loss and Love, this touching flick is directed by Paul Weitz (Little Fockers) and also stars Lil Rel Howery (Bad Trip), DeWanda Wise (She’s Gotta Have It), Frankie Faison (Ripple), and Anthony Carrigan (Barry).
Godzilla Minus One
When kamikaze pilot Kōichi Shikishima (Ryunosuke Kamiki) abandons his mission near the end of World War II and lands on an island base, he encounters the massive reptilian monster Godzilla. He miraculously survives the kaiju’s assault and returns to Tokyo, where he learns his family was killed. Shikishima soon rebuilds his life with two fellow orphans, Noriko Ōishi (Minami Hamabe) and Akiko (Sae Nagatani). But Godzilla still lurks nearby, threatening to steal the little peace the trio have built together. Directed by Takashi Yamazaki, Godzilla Minus One is the 37th movie starring the irradiated monstrosity, and it became the first non-English language film to win Best Visual Effects at the Oscars.
Home Team
This dramatic sports comedy is based on a true story about Super Bowl–winning NFL coach Sean Payton, who headed up the New Orleans Saints from 2006 to 2021. When Payton (Kevin James) is suspended from the NFL for one year, he returns home to Argyle, Texas, to coach his 12-year-old son’s (Tait Blum) middle school football team. But years away have diluted their relationship, and Payton will have to hustle in order to win back his son’s heart — and a few games. Taylor Lautner (Twilight), Jackie Sandler (Happy Gilmore 2), Rob Schneider (The Wrong Missy), and Chloe Fineman (Saturday Night Live) co-star.
Hustle
Longtime basketball fan Adam Sandler channels his love of the game into this sports drama about a burned-out scout and aspiring coach for the Philadelphia 76ers. While traveling abroad, Stanley Sugerman (Sandler) discovers a player with a controversial past — Bo Cruz (Juancho Hernangómez) — who he thinks could be the NBA’s next big name. Without his team’s approval, Stanley brings Bo to the US to prepare him for the draft. If they can work together, they might be able to prove they both have what it takes to make it in the big leagues. Produced by Sandler and LeBron James, Hustle also stars Queen Latifah (End of the Road), Ben Foster (Warcraft), Robert Duvall (The Pale Blue Eye), and Heidi Gardner (Otherhood).
Jumanji
When recently orphaned siblings Judy and Peter Shepherd (Kirsten Dunst and Bradley Pierce) move into an abandoned mansion with their aunt (Bebe Neuwirth), they discover a mysterious, jungle-themed board game, Jumanji, in the attic. The peculiar rules leave them unsettled — but they’re nothing compared to the man, Adam Parrish (Robin Williams), who leaps from the game and reveals he’s been trapped inside since he was a teenager. If they can beat the game, they’ll free Adam for good. But first, they have to battle giant bugs, hungry lions, mischievous monkeys, and an evil big-game hunter, Van Pelt (Jonathan Hyde). This 1995 family classic, directed by Joe Johnston (Honey, I Shrunk the Kids), also stars Bonnie Hunt (Cheaper by the Dozen), David Alan Grier (They Cloned Tyrone), and Patricia Clarkson (Miracle).
The Mitchells vs. The Machines
This action-packed animated flick follows the dysfunctional Mitchell family as they hit the road for eldest daughter Katie’s (Abbi Jacobson) college move-in day. Katie often clashes with her nature-obsessed, technophobic dad, Rick (Danny McBride), who gets to deliver the “I told you so” of a lifetime when the world’s electronic devices come to life in a mass revolt against humans, setting off apocalyptic chaos. With the help of two outcast robots, the Mitchells must unite to fight back against the technological uprising. The voice cast of this Oscar-nominated film also includes Maya Rudolph (Big Mouth), Eric André (Disenchantment), and Olivia Colman (Paddington in Peru).
My Octopus Teacher
In this Academy Award–winning documentary, filmmaker and diver Craig Foster filmed his experience getting to know an octopus off the coast of Cape Town, South Africa. Foster followed and interacted with her for nearly a year, and the octopus grew increasingly more comfortable with him, showing off her home, how she hunted and defended herself, and even her playful side. In addition to learning all about this sea creature’s life, Foster also learned to form a stronger relationship with his son, who follows in his diving footsteps.
Nobody 2
Lethal assassin or loving suburban dad? Hutch Mansell (Bob Odenkirk) is the best of both worlds in Nobody 2. After saving his wife, Becca (Connie Nielsen), and kids, Brady (Gage Munroe) and Sammy (Paisley Cadorath), from Russian mobsters in the series’ first installment, Hutch is living that killer-for-hire life again. To celebrate their family’s newfound trust in each other, the Mansells take a rare vacation to an old theme park Hutch visited with his dad as a child. But danger lurks around every corner after a corrupt local sheriff (Colin Hanks) begins to suspect that Hutch is in town to screw with his black market dealings. Can’t a father with a casual license to kill catch a break? Christopher Lloyd (Wednesday), RZA (The Dead Don’t Die), and Sharon Stone (The Laundromat) also star in this action flick directed by Timo Tjahjanto (The Night Comes for Us).
Old Dads
In his directorial debut, Bill Burr (Bill Burr: Live at Red Rocks) portrays middle-aged father Jack, who owns a throwback sports apparel company with his longtime friends and fellow dads, Mike (Bokeem Woodbine) and Connor (Bobby Cannavale). While the raucous trio does their best to stay up to date on all the latest trends, they often fall short. So when they decide to sell their business to a millennial CEO, they find themselves navigatinghow to succeed as both parents and professionals in a more progressive world than the one they came up in. This comedy about parenthood, friendship, and one man’s bad temper also stars Rachael Harris (Lucifer), Jackie Tohn (GLOW), Reign Edwards (The Wilds), and Miles Robbins (Blockers).
Rocky
This 1976 sports drama classic was nominated for 10 Academy Awards and received three, including for Best Director and Best Picture. Directed by John G. Avildsen (The Karate Kid), Rocky was written by and stars Sylvester Stallone (Sly) as Rocky Balboa, who’s handpicked by heavyweight boxing world champion Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) for a title match after Creed’s original opponent is unable to compete. Rocky, aka “The Italian Stallion,” is a southpaw with a sordid past, and regularly works as a loan collector for the Mafia. Though hesitant at first,, Rocky agrees to the challenge, and undergoes an unorthodox training regimen. During his grueling preparation, Rocky attempts to woo his best friend Paulie’s (Burt Young) beautiful sister, Adrian (Talia Shire), who helps him begin to believe that he can go the distance. But is Rocky really a match for a legend like Creed? He’ll have to step into the ring to find out.
Rocky’s five sequels and all three Creed spin-off films are also available to watch on Netflix.
Ultraman: Rising
Calling your dad your hero is one thing, but what if he actually is one? Ultraman has made decades of appearances across TV and film, and this time around, the titular superhero finds himself facing what could be his biggest challenge yet: caring for a baby kaiju. All-star athlete Ken Sato (Christopher Sean) already has complicated feelings about being Ultraman in the first place, but having to save Tokyo from monsters bent on its destruction with a kid in tow? Well, nobody ever said juggling work and parenthood would be easy. Directed by Shannon Tindle (Lost Ollie), this animated flick also features voice talent from Gedde Watanabe (The Last Word), Tamlyn Tomita (The Karate Kid Part II), and Keone Young (Yasuke).
War Machine
Alan Ritchson (Reacher) stars in this military thriller as a combat engineer who attempts to realize his late brother’s childhood dream by entering the elite US Army Ranger selection. During the final stage of the rigorous training program, the candidates face a giant, otherworldly killing machine and must work together to survive. Dennis Quaid (The Long Game), Stephan James (Night Always Comes), Jai Courtney (American Primeval), Esai Morales (Ozark), and Daniel Webber (The Dirt) are also in the cast of this sci-fi spectacle, directed by Patrick Hughes (The Man from Toronto).
Waterworld
Dads come in all shapes and sizes. And sometimes, they come with gills. Kevin Costner (Yellowstone) leads this waterlogged post-apocalyptic action flick as the Mariner, a mutant drifter living in the year 2500. The polar ice caps have melted and flooded the planet, leaving humanity’s survivors to live in floating towns and scavenge for supplies as they dream of the promised“Dryland.” Exiled from society, the Mariner is taken aback when he encounters a strong-willed young woman, Helen (Jeanne Tripplehorn), and a girl, Enola (Tina Majorino), who beg him to take them along on his journey so they can escape the Smokers, a fearsome pirate crew. The Mariner agrees, reluctantly, and learns why the two are being hunted: Enola has a map tattooed on her back that might lead to the elusive Dryland. Can these outcasts protect each other and find a new home, or will Waterworld prove too formidable? Dennis Hopper (True Romance) and Michael Jeter (The Green Mile) co-star.
Additional reporting by Jessie Mooney and Jolie A. Doggett.
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