Want a taste of Gen Z cinema? Check out the 12 best Gen Z movies, along with where to watch them.
The film industry goes through eras just like generations. You can see it in the way stories are told. Boomers had movies with Mid-Atlantic accents that ended with a “passionate” closed-mouth first kiss. Gen X had the quirky musicals filled with rollerskating or aliens from Transylvania or pinball wizards. Millennials were all about the classic teen rom com that almost always featured a makeover montage. So what’s going on with Gen Z movies? It turns out they have their own sometimes absurd, irreverent, dry humor–and we’re loving it.
Not every movie coming out right now is a “Gen Z” movie, though. In order to fit the bill, it has to demonstrate the experiences of the generation. It also has that certain something that Gen Z movies have. It’s one of those “You’ll know it when you see it,” things, but here’s the best way I can describe it: Gen Z movies are more open about taboo topics, more diverse than ever before, and have the dry irreverent humor that you get when a Gen Z barista waits on you at your favorite coffee shop. And I mean that in the best of ways. Here are some of the best Gen Z movies so far. They cooked, they ate, they left no crumbs.
One of the oldest movies on this list, Eighth Grade gets the Gen Z label because they were at just the right age for it. While the rest of us watched with nostalgia in our hearts, Gen Z was in middle school when this came out. All the dramatic and often too-real subject matter of Bo Burnham’s coming-of-age drama was all too real for this generation. Though honestly, it’s a good one for all ages. Watch Eighth Grade on Amazon Video.
One of those typical “we have to get laid at prom” movies that have been around for decades, Blockers not only follows a crew of Gen Z teens, but it also bridges the generational gap with Elder Millennial/Gen X parents. If you’re wanting to watch some Gen Z movies and don’t know where to start, this is a good entrance into the genre. Watch Blockers on Amazon Video.
Gen Z main characters are often flawed, skewed more to what people are like in real life than the shiny pop-factory actors of the past. Dinner in America is not only a gritty romance about a criminal punk singer and his biggest fan, but it’s also gotten a recent surge in popularity in a huge Gen Z way: Through TikTok. Watch Dinner in America on Hulu.
Based on a Young Adult novel by Jennifer Mathieu, Moxie follows a teen girl getting feminist inspiration from her Riot Grrrl mom. While feminist teen movies are nothing new, this Gen Z take offers a fresh perspective on intersectionality and male allies that the others don’t have. Watch Moxie on Netflix.
There’s no way around it: Our society is inundated and affected by influencer culture, especially for Gen Z. Bodies Bodies Bodies, a slasher horror comedy from A24, has all the colorful flash and mental health jargon you’d expect from a self-aware movie of young adults growing up in this generation. It’s funny, it’s fun, and it’s very Gen Z. Watch Bodies Bodies Bodies on Max and Paramount with Showtime.
The grammar of the title alone should clue you in to the Gen Z of it all. After a popular girl gets taken down a peg, she connects with a new student so they can “do revenge” on the people who have wronged them. If you want a look into the energy of a modern school (dialed up several notches), this is a fun way to do it. Watch Do Revenge on Netflix.
Don’t take anything that happens in Bottoms seriously. That’s kind of the point. It’s a look at a Gen Z high school at its most hilarious and absurd as two of the most unpopular girls in school start a fight club to hopefully start earning everyone’s respect. Go into this one expecting the absurd. Watch Bottoms on Prime Video and MGM+.
You’ve got Barry Keoghan and Jacob Elordi, two actors Gen Z loves, playing out the rich man, poor man fantasy right before your eyes. Things quickly turn dark when jealousy is involved–plus it has several viral moments that have left the generation gagged. It’s like they took the Millennial thriller The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) and gave it a Gen Z edge. Watch Saltburn on Prime Video.
When a bunch of Gen Z counselors of a theater camp band together to save the failing institution, they use their classic theater kid “too much” gene to make their Gen Alpha campers put on the best show of their little lives. This isn’t the first time there’s been a theater camp movie, but this is the first with the Gen Z edge. Watch Theater Camp on Prime Video.
It feels like it’s only Gen Z who could appreciate a wry, silly, and neon-filled romantic comedy take on the classic Frankenstein story. In this adaptation, Lisa is crushing hard on a long-dead soldier, spending time at his grave. When he becomes a certified member of the undead, she seduces him, of course. Mary Shelley would approve. Watch Lisa Frankenstein on Prime Video.
A wholly Gen Z attitude is the “let’s not freak out, everything will be fine, the world is crumbling anyway” energy, and you get that full force in this crime comedy. Where in the past, characters would have big reactions to accidentally renting a car with a big secret in the trunk, these two Gen Z girls figure it’ll all work out in the end. This is a hilarious movie you won’t want to miss. Watch Drive-Away Dolls on Prime Video.
