Although most of Adam Sandler’s filmography has not been popular with critics, Adam Sandler movies have always seemed to dominate Netflix. Not so for “Spaceman,” which performed terribly for such a major Netflix Original title. In fact, it ranks among the least-viewed of Adam Sandler’s Netflix films. How could a disaster like “The Ridiculous Six” beat out a thought-provoking sci-fi like “Spaceman”? Perhaps sci-fi fans were simply more drawn to “Dune: Part Two,” which hit theaters the same week “Spaceman” arrived on Netflix.

“Spaceman” is totally unlike the kind of comedy films Sandler is best known for, but Sandler proves more than capable in this dramatic role. In this movie, Czech astronaut Jakub (Adam Sandler) undertakes a solo mission into the cosmos (and may or may not be running away from problems with his marriage). While in space, he befriends a mysterious spider-like alien (Paul Dano). Critics loved Dano’s voiceover performance, which is simultaneously creepy and soothing. Audiences will also appreciate the touches of director Johan Renck (who previously directed episodes of “Chernobyl” and “Breaking Bad”). Renck and his cinematographer, regular Joachim Trier collaborator Jakob Ihre, take full advantage of the zero-gravity setting to deliver some beautiful and atmospheric shots. The tropes in “Spaceman” may be familiar — and done much more effectively in films such as “Interstellar” and “Ad Astra” — but the bizarro pairing of Adam Sandler with a giant spider alien makes this story stand out in its own right.

Daniel Kaluuya’s directorial debut alongside Kibwe Tavares, a sci-fi movie called “The Kitchen,” wasn’t exactly a hit. While critics were fond of the movie, giving the film a Rotten Tomatoes score well over 85%, Netflix viewers weren’t nearly as happy with it. “The Kitchen” landed an audience score of less than 50%. It’s true that the film made it onto Netflix’s Top 10 charts the week of its release, but compared to some other British Netflix Original films (such as “Luther: Fallen Sun” or “Persuasion”), its showing was pretty anemic.

With that being said, there’s plenty to love about his movie. Although this story is mostly grounded in reality (complete with some all-too-realistic depictions of gentrification), it also offers some fascinating sci-fi concepts. Just look at the deceptively benign Life After Life program, which seems at first like a cathartic way to see off your dead loved ones but turns out to have a much more sinister purpose.

The world of “The Kitchen” will reel you in. Rather than bombarding audiences with exposition, the film simply immerses viewers in its universe and lets them soak it in. You will fall in love with the tightly-knit community living in the tenement known as “the Kitchen.” In particular, it’s impossible not to like the grandfatherly Lord Kitchener (Ian Wright), whose friendly radio presence unites everyone in the Kitchen. You have probably never seen a dystopian film as gentle, inviting, and realistic as this one.

The farther back in time you go, the harder it is to find solid viewership data on Netflix movies. Still, we think it’s safe to say that “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” was far from popular. According to data released by Netflix in May 2024, this movie only managed to accumulate 500,000 hours viewed between July and December 2023. While newer titles from 2023 obviously fare better on this report, the performance of “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” is still pretty shabby even compared to other Netflix films from the same awards season, like “The Trial of the Chicago 7” and “Pieces of a Woman.” Even “Bird Box” still racked up 10 million hours viewed in the second half of 2023, though it had been released five years prior. Even worse, if you look at the viewership for every Netflix Original that received an Oscar nomination, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” ranks very close to the bottom, right alongside “Mank” and “Roma.”

All this to say that “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” could use a little more love. In this film, director George C. Wolfe leans into his theater roots, staying faithful to the play it’s based on, even as he also takes full advantage of the cinematic medium. There’s not a single bad performance in this movie, but the highlights are the two leads. As the Mother of the Blues, Viola Davis completely commands your attention. And in his final movie, Chadwick Boseman gives a performance so gripping that most viewers believe he should have won an Oscar for it.

Looking back, 2022 was a bad year for independent animation on Netflix. Just like “Apollo 10 1⁄2: A Space Age Childhood” and “Wendell & Wild,” the film “My Father’s Dragon” barely made a dent on the viewership charts despite being one of the best family movies of 2022. Compared to licensed titles not owned by Netflix — like “The Bad Guys,” which dropped on Netflix in the U.S. the same month — “My Father’s Dragon” just wasn’t very popular with kids. If it’s any consolation, the film probably would have been even more of a flop if the filmmakers had tried for a wide theatrical release, so perhaps it’s better that it came out on Netflix.

“My Father’s Dragon” is a sweet and sincere animated movie, an increasingly rare breed. The story follows a boy named Elmer (Jacob Tremblay) as he searches for a dragon on the magical Wild Island. The movie has great voice work all around, especially Whoopi Goldberg as the talking cat and Gaten Matarazzo as Boris the dragon. Of course, it’s not just for kids. Watching Elmer acting as a surrogate parent to Boris — and along the way, understanding the struggles of his own single mother (Golshifteh Farahani) — will resonate with many adults in the audience, especially those who are parents themselves. “My Father’s Dragon” may be the lowest-rated movie from Irish animation studio Cartoon Saloon, but even the lowest-rated Cartoon Saloon movie is still impressive by any other metric.

“Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths” joins the ranks of Oscar hopefuls that were largely ignored by Netflix audiences. This magical realism drama about a navel-gazing artist might remind viewers of “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance).” But while “Birdman” won Alejandro González Iñárritu multiple Oscars and brought Michael Keaton into the spotlight once more, “Bardo” received only one Oscar nomination and failed to show up on any major viewership rating list. In fact, “Bardo” is the lowest-rated film in the director’s entire filmography.

Audiences were likely turned off by the film’s two-and-a-half hour runtime. However, if you’re willing to endure the long running time, watching “Bardo” can be a rewarding experience. Some of the film’s most surreal moments are moving or hilarious — or both. For example, in one scene, Silverio (Daniel Giménez Cacho) awaits the birth of his newborn son, only to find that the baby has no interest in coming into this world. Instead, the baby wants to climb right back into the womb, and the doctors assist him in doing exactly that. This is arguably the strangest and most memorable depiction of a miscarriage in the history of cinema. As well, “Bardo” is loaded with beautifully-composed shots from cinematographer Darius Khondji, ranging from a metro train with fish flopping on the floor to Silverio’s elongated shadow as he drifts above the desert. The film may not always make sense, but its images will stay with you.

Have you ever wanted to enjoy the campy fun of a ’70s B-Movie without any of the dated tropes? If so, “They Cloned Tyrone” is the answer to your prayers, a socially conscious and wickedly funny update of the genre. Too bad it was one of Netflix’s biggest flops of 2023. Netflix was likely hoping “They Cloned Tyrone” would be one of their biggest releases of the summer. Unfortunately, the movie soon became a footnote in the conversation, thanks to the cinematic showdown of Barbenheimer. Why Netflix thought it would be a good idea to release “They Cloned Tyrone” the same weekend as these two box office behemoths is anyone’s guess. It’s a damn shame, because “They Cloned Tyrone” is an awesome movie and definitely worth watching.

“They Cloned Tyrone” follows the unlikely team of a drug dealer (John Boyega), a sex worker (Teyonah Parris), and a pimp (Jamie Foxx) as they uncover a conspiracy so deep that it literally extends beneath their entire community. The film takes concepts that would sound downright absurd on paper (mind control via fried chicken???) and weaves them together to form a razor-sharp thriller. Of course, underneath all the clones and fried chicken, there’s actually some acute social commentary. The film explores systemic racism and the way marginalized communities are trapped in the roles that society has written for them. Combining a timely message with pure entertainment, “They Cloned Tyrone” gives you the best of both worlds.