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3 movies leaving Netflix by September 1 you should watch

With August nearing its end, Netflix is about to do its monthly withdrawal of films and TV shows from its streaming library. This may be an unfortunate time for certain subscribers, as Netflix will be removing some popular and iconic movies on September 1st, including Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Bruce Almighty, Magic Mike, and all three Rush Hour films.

But with the summer winding down to its last days, audiences should use whatever vacation time they have left to view these three films before they leave Netflix.

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American Graffiti (1973)

Harrison Ford in "American Graffiti."
Universal Pictures / Universal Pictures

Directed by George Lucas and starring legends like Harrison Ford, Richard Dreyfuss, and Ron Howard, American Graffiti tells the interconnected stories of a group of teenage misfits through the streets of Modesto, California. Fans of Happy Days will surely enjoy this film, as it sends audiences on a nostalgia-fueled road trip back to 1962, complete with classic cars, drive-in diners, drag racing, and rocking and bopping music.

With the leading players about to leave for college and say goodbye to their pals and crushes, this comedy-drama is an exciting and beautiful masterpiece that explores the universal struggle of transitioning to adulthood. Now couldn’t be a better time to watch American Graffiti, as audiences can wrap up the sunny season by joining Curt, Steve, John, and Terry on their last summer night together.

Paranormal Activity (2007)

Screenshot of Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat from "Paranormal Activity."
Paramount Pictures / Paramount Pictures

In this modern horror classic, couple Katie and Micah find themselves tormented by a demon after they move to their new San Diego home. Though Micah sets up cameras around the house and tries to deal with this supernatural threat himself, he only makes things worse for the two of them, especially as Katie starts to succumb to the demon’s evil influence.

Achieving incredible scares and nail-biting tension on such a shoestring budget, Paranormal Activity remains a benchmark part of the horror genre, achieving unprecedented success and reinvigorating found-footage storytelling in the late 2000s. Despite the excessive amount of handheld horror movies made over the past two decades, this particular film has not lost its ability to build incalculable terror and suspense in its audience.

Rise of the Guardians (2012)

Jack Frost in "Rise of the Guardians."
DreamWorks / DreamWorks

This film has gone on to be one of DreamWorks’ more underrated animated adventures. Based on The Guardians of Childhood book series, Rise of the Guardians follows the rebellious spirit Jack Frost (Dungeons and Dragons‘ Chris Pine) as he teams up with Santa Claus (Alec Baldwin), the Easter Bunny (Hugh Jackman), the Tooth Fairy (Isla Fisher), and the Sandman to protect the world from the evil boogeyman, Pitch Black (Jude Law), and his army of living nightmares.

Pretty much a fairy tale version of The Avengers, this unusual, family-friendly superhero film soars thanks to its terrific ensemble cast and fun, thrilling adventure that invokes the childlike power of faith and imagination. While that may sound cliché, this animated epic is still a wonderful and entertaining romp that should get audiences stoked for the next holiday season. It should also help alleviate the nasty superhero fatigue that set in with audiences this past year.

Anthony Orlando
Anthony Orlando is a writer/director from Oradell, NJ. He spent four years at Lafayette College, graduating CUM LAUDE with a…
Everything leaving Netflix in May 2025
Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum in The Lost City.

Unfortunately, Netflix tends to wait until the middle of the month to announce what's leaving on the 1st of the following month. Many of the titles departing Netflix on May 1 are great films, including Blade Runner: The Final Cut, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Friday, Queen & Slim, and more. There isn't much time to catch those movies, but there's still a whole month to make sure you can watch any of your favorite shows or films before they head out the door.
The Lost City, The Peanut Butter Falcon, A Simple Favor, and The Sum of All Fears are all leaving Netflix this month. But if you love superheroes, catch the animated Justice League and Justice League Unlimited series. Both of those shows have some incredible superhero stories with great writing and voice acting. The live-action films have yet to be able to recapture the spirit of the comic books that these shows pulled off over two decades ago.
Our roundup of everything leaving Netflix in May 2025 is below. Our picks for the month are in bold.

Trying to fit in some great movies or shows before they're gone from other streaming services at the end of the month? Check our monthly roundup of everything leaving Hulu. You can find even more recommendations in our lists of the best new shows to stream, the best movies on Netflix, and the best shows on Netflix.
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The cast of Dept. Q.

Crime and true crime are carrying Netflix through its last weekend of May and into June. And perhaps we should be too surprised that the true crime documentary, Cold Case: The Tylenol Murders, is placing even higher on the list of the most popular shows on Netflix than this week's other high-profile series, Dept. Q.
Downton Abby fans may remember Matthew Goode from that series, but he's even better in Dept. Q as a broken-down police detective tasked with solving the impossible cases no one else can. Unsurprisingly, it's also in the top 10 shows on Netflix just days after its premiere.
You can find these series and more among the best shows on Netflix. We update this list every Friday to give you the best streaming options for your weekend viewing.
We’ve also rounded up all the best new shows to stream this week, the best movies on Netflix, the best shows on Hulu, the best shows on Amazon Prime, and the best shows on Disney+ because we take our streaming seriously. Watching while traveling abroad? Use a Netflix VPN to access your country's catalog from anywhere in the world.
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Scott Frank, the writer and director behind The Queen's Gambit, has a fresh series on Netflix called Dept. Q, which is based upon the novels by Danish author Jussi Adler-Olsen. It doesn't take long to establish why Detective Carl Morck (Matthew Goode) is so emotionally fraught and traumatized, and he's not particularly well-liked by his fellow cops. Carl's career is essentially over when he's assigned to head up Department Q, Edinburg's cold case unit.

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Nicolas Cage standing in a beard in Pig.

Sometimes, the very best time to be a Netflix subscriber is during a weekend that bridges the end of one month and the start of another. That way, a buzzy hit like Barbarian can hit on Sunday, June 1 and scare up a lot of views for this wild 2022 horror flick.
But for the final two days of May, the most enticing film is Pig, a 2021 thriller that put Nicolas Cage back in the spotlight after a decade of more of questionable movie choices. It's already among the most popular movies on Netflix, which means that its appeal hasn't diminished since its release.
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Looking for something else? We've also rounded up the best movies to stream this week, the best shows on Netflix, the best movies on Hulu, the best movies on Amazon Prime, and the best movies on Disney+. 

Watching from abroad? Use a Netflix VPN to access your country's catalog from anywhere in the world. Want to watch on the go? We can show you how to download movies on Netflix.
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