10 Popular Movies That Aren’t Available to Stream Anywhere

People tend to believe that any movie they want to watch is just a few clicks away on a streaming service such as Netflix, Max, Prime Video, Paramount+, Disney+, or Peacock. Wrong!

All of the streaming services cycle titles in and out of their libraries every month, usually on the down-low so as to not alarm their monthly subscribers. Some popular movies and cult favorites such as Rebecca, Wild at Heart, and Dawn of the Dead are not available on any streaming service, according to JustWatch.

Instead of tossing out your reliable Blu-ray player, you may want to dust it off if you’re a fan of any of the following movies that aren’t available to stream. Discs may be dying or becoming a niche market, but they are the only (legal) method to watch any of the following movies at home.

Dawn of the Dead (1978)

George A. Romero’s Dawn of the Dead — the sequel to his landmark zombie film Night of the Living Dead — follows a group of survivors who take a helicopter and hunker down in a shopping mall outside Pittsburgh.

Dawn of the Dead features memorable makeup effects by Tom Savini, a haunting progressive rock score by Goblin, and Romero’s scathing commentary on consumerism. The cult favorite spawned several sequels and a 2004 remake by Zack Snyder, but we still prefer our rotting zombies to not move like marathon sprinters, thank you very much.

Although not on any streaming service, you can check out Dawn of the Dead on Blu-ray.

Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999)

 

The scathing black comedy Drop Dead Gorgeous uses a mockumentary filming technique to document the ruthless competitors of a small-town beauty pageant. Kirsten Dunst and Denise Richards are a scream as the two top contenders, while supporting players Ellen Barkin, Allison Janney, Amy Adams, and Kirstie Alley dial up the laughs to 11.

With so many big-name actors — including Oscar winner Janney, Oscar nominee Adams, and the late Alley, Adam West, and Brittany Murphy — you’d think the New Line Cinema cult film would be available somewhere on streaming. You’ll have to watch the Blu-ray to see who wins the title of Miss Mount Rose Minnesota.

Cocoon (1985)

Ron Howard’s sci-fi comedy-drama Cocoon follows a group of senior citizens who use the life force generated by ancient alien cocoons to rejuvenate themselves better than any spa treatment ever could.

It’s fun to watch veteran actors such as Don Ameche, Wilford Brimley, Hume Cronyn, Brian Dennehy, Jack Gilford, and Jessica Tandy recapture their youth on-screen for 117 minutes, but don’t try to find the Oscar-winning film on any streaming platform. Instead, seek out the Blu-ray to watch these Hollywood legends discover their own Fountain of Youth.

Crash (1996)

David Cronenberg’s Crash — not to be confused with the controversial 2004 film of the same name that won the Best Picture Oscar — is based on J.G. Ballard’s 1973 novel about a group of people who are turned on by car crashes and the “reshaping of the human body by modern technology.”

Crash initially crashed and burned with critics, but the movie starring James Spader, Holly Hunter, and Rosanna Arquette has since developed a cult following and is considered one of Cronenberg’s finest movies. Perhaps too controversial and taboo for streaming services to take for a spin, at least the Criterion Collection drove it home on Blu-ray.

28 Days Later (2002)

Oscar winner Cillian Murphy made his breakout performance in Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later as a survivor of a bloodborne plague that transforms humans into raging, homicidal maniacs.

Boyle’s highly effective postapocalyptic horror film about societal breakdown spawned the 2007 sequel 28 Weeks Later and the upcoming 2025 film 28 Years Later, in which Murphy will reportedly reprise his role from the original.

Although fans can stream 28 Weeks Later on Hulu, 28 Days Later remains unavailable on streaming 22 years after its theatrical release. You’ll have to fire up your Blu-ray player to see how the world-ruining pandemic began.

Wild at Heart (1990)

David Lynch’s wildly romantic crime drama Wild at Heart stars Nicolas Cage and Laura Dern as two young lovers on the run. The movie won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival and has become a cult favorite.

Lynch shoehorns references to The Wizard of Oz and Elvis Presley in the dreamlike movie punctuated by extreme acts of violence that turned off some critics. Still, Wild at Heart contains some iconic performances, especially by Diane Ladd as a mother overcome by guilt for ordering a hit on her daughter’s boyfriend.

Wild at Heart is probably still too wild for most mainstream streaming services, but at least Shout Factory preserved this Lynch gem on a Collector’s Edition Blu-ray.

Dogma (1999)

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon play two fallen angels in Kevin Smith’s cult fantasy-comedy Dogma starring singer Alanis Morissette in her film debut as God.

Dogma angered religious types even before its release, with the Catholic League denouncing it as “blasphemy.” Whether they were offended by the plot or just really hate Morissette songs such as “Hand in Pocket” and “Ironic,” the backlash is at least partly responsible for Dogma not gracing any streaming service today. Sony answered the prayers of Smith fans by releasing the controversial comedy on Blu-ray.

Pink Flamingos (1972)

Cult film director John Waters, aka the Pope of Trash, is the man behind the black comedy Pink Flamingos. The movie stars drag queen Divine as Babs Johnson — a criminal obsessed with becoming “the filthiest person alive.”

Pink Flamingos contains a lot of shocking content, including the final shot of Babs picking up and eating real dog feces to prove her commitment to filth. That scene and several others surely deterred every streaming service from adding Pink Flamingos and several other early Waters films to their libraries.

One streaming service’s trash is another company’s treasure, however. The estimable Criterion Collection released Pink Flamingos on Blu-ray for those with a taste for the extreme.

Pink Floyd: The Wall (1982)

Alan Parker’s Pink Floyd: The Wall is a live-action/animated musical drama based on Pink Floyd’s 1979 rock opera The Wall. The surreal movie stars Bob Geldof as Pink — a rock star in the middle of a mental breakdown who builds a psychological and emotional wall to protect himself.

Pink Floyd: The Wall features iconic songs such as “Another Brick in the Wall” and “Comfortably Numb” that heavily influenced pop culture in the early 1980s. The VHS era ended years ago, however, and Pink Floyd: The Wall hasn’t made the transition to streaming. In fact, unless you have an all-region Blu-ray player to play imported movies, the only way to watch Pink Floyd: The Wall at home in the United States is on DVD.

Rebecca (1940)

Alfred Hitchcock’s romantic thriller Rebecca stars Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine, and Judith Anderson. The gothic tale based on the 1938 novel by Daphne du Maurier is about the long shadow cast by a brooding widower’s deceased wife.

Rebecca won two Oscars, including Best Picture. Despite its significance as the only Hitchcock movie to win the Best Picture Oscar, the haunting black-and-white movie remains unavailable on all major streaming services. Luckily, fans can watch Rebecca as part of several Hitchcock Blu-ray collections as well as a stand-alone Criterion Collection Blu-ray. If you’re lucky, you can also stream it on Roku.