If you’re looking for the best Black movies to stream, we’ve got you covered. This list is just a starting point—there are hundreds of excellent Black movies.
In this version of the 1987 film Can't Buy Me, Love, nerdy Alvin (Nick Cannon) persuades Paris (Christina Milian), the most popular girl at his school, to go on a two-week date with him in exchange for him fixing her mother's totaled automobile.
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It takes a death to bring some families together. It took a funeral to rip this one apart.
Beloved father, husband, and uncle Edward Barnes has died. He wanted his memorial service to be held at home, so his eldest son, Aaron; his daughter-in-law, Michelle; and his widow, Cynthia, make that happen.
Featuring Chris Rock as Aaron; Regina Hall as Michelle; Martin Lawrence as Ryan; James Marsden as Oscar; Tracy Morga as Norman; Loretta Devine as Cynthia; Peter Dinklage as Frank; Ron Glass as Duncan; Danny Glover as Uncle Russell; Zoë Saldaña as Elaine; Columbus Short as Jeff; Luke Wilson as Derek.
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In movies, the holidays are a time when families come together, and a lifetime of secrets boil to the surface over a few short days.
In Preston A. Whitmore II’s film “This Christmas,” the Whitfields — a mother, her three sons, three daughters and two grandchildren — gather, along with various significant others, for a Christmas crammed with more melodrama than all the holiday-homecoming flicks from the past decade combined.
Written and directed by Preston A. Whitmore II; director of photography, Alexander Gruszynski; edited by Paul Seydor; music by Marcus Miller; production designer, Dawn Snyder; produced by Mr. Whitmore and Will Packer; released by Screen Gems. Running time: two hours.
With: Delroy Lindo (Joseph Black), Idris Elba (Quentin Whitfield), Loretta Devine (Ma’ Dere), Chris Brown (Michael Whitfield), Keith Robinson (Devean Brooks), Laz Alonso (Malcolm Moore), Columbus Short (Claude Whitfield), Sharon Leal (Kelli Whitfield), Lauren London (Mel Whitfield), David Banner (Mo), Mekhi Phifer (Gerald) and Regina King (Lisa Moore).
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I Am Not Your Negro is a documentary based on writer/activist James Baldwin's 1979 book proposal to write about three of his close friends: assassinated civil rights leaders Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King, Jr. Although Baldwin never wrote more than 30 pages of the manuscript, the film uses the author's own words (including letters, televised interviews, etc.) to imagine what such an exploration of the race would look like. Narrated by Samuel L. Jackson, the documentary includes contemporary examples of racial tensions in the United States as well as archival footage of lynchings, murdered civil rights leaders, the KKK, police officers hurting nonviolent protestors, and white supremacists chanting or protesting in favor of segregation. The language can get understandably strong, including frequent uses of the "N" word and more. But themes include perseverance and empathy, and Baldwin's views, despite being decades old, are still relevant and guaranteed to spark conversation.
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Nia Long and Omar Epps reunite for this thriller that tells the oh-so-familiar (but irresistible) story of a woman who encounters a seemingly innocent man from her past who turns out to be much more dangerous than he appears.
With: Nia Long, Omar Epps, Stephen Bishop, Aubrey Cleland, Maya Stojan, KJ Smith, Jason Shane-Scott, Fredella Calloway, Estelle Swaray, Jacob Gaines.
The Help is an emotionally intense adaptation of Kathryn Stockett's best-selling civil rights-era novel. Skeeter (Emma Stone) is one of the few young women in her upper-crust circle to actually graduate from college. She returns home to Jackson, Miss., where all of her friends are married young mothers who let their African-American maids do the heavy lifting while they gather for bridge games, gossip, and charity-ball planning. Unfulfilled with her job as a household-tips columnist, Skeeter pitches a book idea to a New York city editor (Mary Steenburgen): She'll write a collection of stories about THE HELP, from their point of view. But first Skeeter must convince her friends' housekeepers -- starting with Aibileen (Viola Davis) -- to be interviewed for the project. Hesitant at first, Aibileen eventually relents and nudges her best friend, the recently fired Minny (Octavia Spencer), to tell the truth about raising and loving white children who grow up to be just as racist as their parents.
With: Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer
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Former First Lady Michelle Obama’s first memoir, Becoming, was an instant success and New York Times bestseller, so it’s no surprise that her documentary of the same name is equally compelling. The Netflix original documentary takes viewers on a deeper dive of her life, beginning in the Southside of Chicago through her time as First Lady. Living under a microscope, she accurately notes that much of the world only knows her for the eight years she spent living in the White House. Becoming seeks to offer the truths of what happened on her way there.
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Throughout All Day and A Night, the narrator, Jahkor Lincoln (played by Moonlight’s Ashton Sanders), says, “Slavery taught black people how to survive, but not how to live. And that’s what we pass on to each other. My father taught me how to take my fucked-up life out on everyone else.” The rest of the film—which shows Lincoln’s struggle not to follow the fate of his father, who is serving life in prison—explores the painful refrain, showing the cycle of trauma black men face in America.
With: Ashton Sanders, Jeffrey Wright, Isaiah John
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It is a road movie set on a bus, where 12 men are bound for the Million Man March of October 16, 1995 - where blacks, spurred on by controversial "civil righter" Minister Farrakhan, marched on Washington DC to discuss strategies for "initiating positive changes in their communities and homes".
With: Ossie Davis, Charles S. Dutton, Andre Braugher
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A Memphis man is determined to fulfill his dream of becoming a master sommelier, but he's at odds with his unsupportive father, who'd much rather he take over the family barbecue business.
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In Tyler Perry's first film for Netflix, a woman named Grace works to overcome her woes in life when she meets a charming younger man. She falls in love and marries him, but he soon reveals his true, sinister intentions. Grace snaps, and soon finds herself on trial for his murder.
With: Crystal Fox, Phylicia Rashad, Bresha Webb
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Adapted from the acclaimed Broadway play that also stars Kerry Washington, American Son follows an estranged couple as they await news on their missing teen son in a Florida police station.
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In this eye-opening documentary, you're let into the untold story of Clarence Avant, known as "The Black Godfather" amongst Hollywood's elite, in the music industry, and politics. You soon learn that his mentorship and connection is so powerful, he's influenced the likes of Bill Withers, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, Jim Brown, and P. Diddy. (And that's just brushing the surface).
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As the one and only Queen Bey could do, the songstress announced her groundbreaking documentary just days before it was set to stream on Netflix. Dubbed "Beychella," the film chronicled Beyoncé's celebrated 2018 Coachella performance, not only showing the entire concert, but going behind the scenes to reveal the hours of rehearsals, HBCU influences, and its importance for Black culture.
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In this Netflix original drama, Alfre Woodard plays a woman who uproots her life to take a trip to Montana, leaving her three grown children behind in order to better herself. And fun fact: Woodard's husband, Roderick Spencer, wrote the film just for her at her personal request.
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Even over 25 years ago, cameras were still capturing footage of white police officers assaulting black men. LA 92 uses archival footage to show the impact of the 1992 Los Angeles Riots—which followed the arrest and beating of Rodney King. The documentary also includes videos of several other race-related riots in our history, showing how long the fight against police brutality and racism in America has been playing out in the streets—and how far we still have to go.
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