8 Best Movies of 2015

By Vlad Zakh · July 1, 2026

2015 had action, animation and rousing drama. Mad Max: Fury Road has a drifter and a rig driver escaping a warlord, The Martian has an astronaut surviving on Mars, and Straight Outta Compton follows rappers redefining popular music. The Boy and the Beast, The Hateful Eight, Spotlight, Inside Out and Room round out the eight.

The Boy and the Beast (2015)

TMDB ★ 7.9

An orphaned boy is taken in and trained by a gruff beast warrior in a hidden parallel world.

Directed by Mamoru Hosoda · 1h 59m · Rated PG-13

Where to watch

Stream: HBO Max Amazon Channel, Crunchyroll Amazon Channel, HBO Max · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Straight Outta Compton (2015)

IMDb ★ 7.8 RT 89% Metacritic 72

N.W.A's rise from Compton to hip-hop's biggest controversy and its most influential group.

Directed by F. Gary Gray · 2h 27m · Rated R

Nominated for 1 Oscar28 wins & 40 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads, Starz Apple TV channel · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

IMDb ★ 8.1 RT 97% Metacritic 90

A near-wordless desert chase and a franchise reboot that somehow tops the originals.

Directed by George Miller · 2h 01m · Rated R

Won 6 Oscars246 wins & 240 nominations

Where to watch

Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The Martian (2015)

IMDb ★ 8.0 RT 91% Metacritic 80

An astronaut stranded on Mars has to engineer his own survival with almost nothing.

Directed by Ridley Scott · 2h 21m · Rated PG-13

Nominated for 7 Oscars40 wins & 199 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: YouTube TV · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The Hateful Eight (2015)

TMDB ★ 7.8

Eight strangers trapped together during a blizzard grow more suspicious of each other's hidden motives.

Directed by Quentin Tarantino · 3h 08m · Rated R

Where to watch

Stream: MovieSphere+ Amazon Channel · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Spotlight (2015)

IMDb ★ 8.1 RT 97% Metacritic 93

A team of investigative journalists exposes decades of institutional cover-up within the Catholic Church.

Directed by Tom McCarthy · 2h 09m · Rated R

Won 2 Oscars124 wins & 146 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: fuboTV · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, FlixFling · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Inside Out (2015)

IMDb ★ 8.1 RT 98% Metacritic 94

Personified emotions inside a young girl's mind struggle to help her adjust to a difficult move.

Directed by Pete Docter · 1h 35m · Rated PG

Won 1 Oscar99 wins & 118 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: Disney Plus · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Room (2015)

IMDb ★ 8.1 RT 93% Metacritic 86

A young mother and her son, raised in captivity, must adjust to life after their escape.

Directed by Lenny Abrahamson · 1h 58m · Rated R

Won 1 Oscar108 wins & 143 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: HBO Max Amazon Channel, Cinemax Amazon Channel, HBO Max, Cinemax Apple TV channel · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Streaming availability data from JustWatch, via TMDB. Availability changes often, so check the service before you plan a movie night.

Vlad Zakh

Founder, Movieix

Founder of Movieix. He started the site because most recommendation pages felt like noise. Here, lists are sorted by who's in the film, where it's from and what mood you're in tonight.

8 Best Movies of 2015

The Boy and the Beast (2015)

Straight Outta Compton (2015)

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

The Martian (2015)

The Hateful Eight (2015)

Spotlight (2015)

Inside Out (2015)

Room (2015)

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