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February may be the shortest month, but it sees a huge increase in new movie releases Netflix. The streaming platform is launching a slew of popular library titles this month, including the live-action remake of How To Train Your Dragon, 2021 horror The Black Phone, and the critically acclaimed sports drama The Iron Claw – as well as an impressive slate of new original films.
Among the new offerings are the documentaries “The Chess Queen,” about Hungarian chess prodigy Judit Polgár, and “A Matter of Time,” with Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder, who held a charity concert for the treatment of epidermolysis bullosa, a disease close to his family’s heart. Director Tyler Perry’s latest film, Tyler Perry’s Joe’s College Road Trip, will also arrive this month, along with a whole host of international films.
These films and more are new to Netflix in February. Here’s a look at the titles we can’t wait to watch.
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“The Chess Queen” is a new Netflix documentary about the career of Judit Polgár, the Hungarian chess grandmaster who was declared the best female chess player in the world at the age of 12. She decided that she wanted to prove that she could beat the most famous male chess players of the time, including top-ranked player Garry Kasparov. Over the course of 13 years, I set out to do just that. This film, directed by Rory Kennedy, features interviews with Judit (now in her 40s), her family, Kasparov, and other chess stars, as they reflect on her success and ambition.
In 2010, Eddie Vedder and his wife, Jill, founded the EB Research Partnership, a non-profit organization dedicated to funding research to treat and cure the rare, life-threatening genetic skin condition epidermolysis bullosa. In October 2023, Vedder performed two solo shows at Benaroya Hall in Seattle, with proceeds going to fund research into the disease. “A Matter of Time” is a musical with a cause, following Vedder as he collects and performs, while weaving stories from researchers, patients, and loved ones affected by the disease.
How to Train Your Dragon (February 10)
The live-action fantasy-adventure film How To Train Your Dragon stars Mason Thames as Hiccup, a Viking boy who befriends the Night Fury dragon whom he lovingly names Toothless. Although Hiccup is training to become a dragon hunter, his friendship with Toothless makes him reconsider as he tries to show the rest of his fellow dragon apprentices how to coexist peacefully with dragons. The film, which co-stars Nico Parker, Gerard Butler and Nick Frost, was a box office success and will arrive on Netflix on February 10.
The Brazilian thriller State of Fear, which is scheduled to premiere on February 11, is a spin-off of Netflix’s popular Brotherhood Brazil series, created by director Pedro Morelli. In the film, Elisa (Camila Damião), the teenage daughter of Edson (Siu Georgi), the founder of a criminal organization known as the Brotherhood, is kidnapped by corrupt police officers. As Elisa’s aunt Cristina (Naruna Costa) tries to save her, the Brotherhood orders a “State of Fear,” a wave of violent attacks against police and security forces that turns São Paulo into a war zone.
Black Phone (February 12)
Ethan Hawke stars in the 2021 film The Black Phone, which arrives on Netflix on February 12. Hawke plays a serial child killer known as The Grabber, who kidnaps a boy named Finney (Mason Thames). Vinnie soon discovers an old rotary phone that allows him to communicate with Grabber’s victims (who are dead) as they help him escape his captor. (If you want a double feature, Black Phone 2 is streaming On the peacock now.)
Tyler Perry’s trip to Joe’s College (February 13)
Tyler Perry returns with his latest film, Tyler Perry’s Joe’s College Road Trip, on February 13. In the film, Perry reprises his role as Joe Simmons, Madea’s brother, who takes his grandson P.J. on a cross-country trip to teach him some life lessons.
In the critically acclaimed 2023 sports drama The Iron Claw, Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White and Harris Dickinson play three of the Von Erich brothers, wrestlers whose family is struck by tragedy. Based on a true story, the film chronicles the brothers’ careers and the setbacks they and the rest of their family face.
Swedish Connection (February 19)
The Swedish Connection, which premiered on Netflix on February 19, is a relatively little-known story about the efforts of a group of Swedish officials to help save Jews from the Holocaust in 1942. The film stars Grief Triangle actor Henrik Dorsen alongside Sisila Benn, Jonas Karlsson, and Marian Mørk.
Money Heist star Belén Cuesta stars in Firebreak, a Spanish thriller about a family trapped in their country house as a massive fire breaks out. Cuesta plays a widow named Mara who travels with her daughter and in-laws to their family’s summer house to prepare to sell it. Their journey is initially fraught with emotion, and becomes even more terrifying when Mara’s daughter runs into the forest just as they are ordered to evacuate due to the fire. But Mara won’t leave without her missing daughter, putting the entire family in danger.
The South Korean romantic drama Pavane tells the story of the relationship that develops between two lonely outcasts (Snowpiercer actress Go Ah-Sung and Moon Sang-min, star of the Netflix series Under The Queen’s Umbrella) and the friendship they forge with their matchmaker, played by Byun Yu-han.