Netflix's US streaming catalog has shrunk by over 50% since 2012, but Netflix's argument is that it's filled with more TV shows and movies that you'd actually want to watch - as opposed to filler.
But still, some movie fans have grumbled that Netflix doesn't feel like it's built for them anymore.
Netflix's selection of the best 200 movies ever made, at least by IMDB ratings, has gone down in the last two years by a substantial amount. And Netflix is simply not producing original films at the same rate it is TV shows (though it is reportedly dropping $90 million for a new Will Smith movie).
Research by Barclays earlier this year even showed that, at that time, Netflix had four times fewer movie titles than Amazon Prime Video, one of its major competitors.
There's a narrative floating around that as Netflix pivots toward original content, its selection of good movies is suffering.
But new research from Streaming Observer puts that into a bit of perspective, and shows that Netflix is still beating Amazon and HBO when it comes to good movies - at least judged by Rotten Tomatoes scores.
Reviews aggregator Rotten Tomatoes has a section of movies designated "Certified Fresh," which means they have a steady rating of 75% or higher, after a certain review threshold. Streaming Observer looked at these "Certified Fresh" movies and compared their availability on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and HBO, to see which service had the best movie selection.
Netflix came in with a commanding lead at 357 titles, whereas Amazon Prime had 236, and HBO had 52.
Here's the chart:
Streaming Observer
So Netflix, while its stable of films may be declining, still has a few hundred movies that are probably worth your time. However, as an absolute number, Netflix had only 15% of the movies on Rotten Tomatoes' list.
Other options
If you are a diehard movie fan and willing to pay a few dollars a month, it might be worth it to look elsewhere. There are a host of new streaming services that have cropped up built just for you. A recent service that looks promising is FilmStruck, Turner's standalone streaming service targeted at "film aficionados."
It certainly has some impressive titles, like "Seven Samurai," "A Room With A View," "Blood Simple," and "Breathless."
The catalog features "an eclectic mix of contemporary and classic art house, indie, foreign, and cult films," and was built by the teams behind Turner Classic Movies (TCM) and the Criterion Collection. The focus is on critically acclaimed and "hard to find" films, according to the company, so you won't find any TV shows. A standard FilmStruck subscription will cost $6.99 per month, while getting access to 1,200 movies from the iconic Criterion Collection will make it $10.99.
"It's tailor-made for the diehard movie enthusiast who craves a deep, intimate experience with independent, foreign, and art house films," John Martin, chairman and CEO of Turner, said in a statement earlier this year.
If you're curious, you can try FilmStruck out free for 14 days.