The 15 best heist movies and TV shows on Netflix in Jan 2024

Baby Driver (2017)

Baby Driver takes a familiar trope — a bad boy tries to go straight for the good girl he’s crazy about — and gives it a stylish, propulsively fun spin. Ansel Elgort’s Baby works as a bank heist getaway driver to pay off his debt to a crime boss (Kevin Spacey, the only sour note in an otherwise stellar film).

His feats behind the wheel are meticulously choreographed to, and giddily elevated by, the music that Baby loves. EW’s critic raved that “your standard getaway driver story is transformed into a giddy, adrenaline-filled joyride that’ll leave you gripping the edge of your seat and tapping your feet.”

Where to watch the Baby Driver: Netflix

EW grade: A- (read the review)

Director: Edgar Wright

Cast: Ansel Elgort, Lily James, Jon Hamm, Jon Bernthal, Jamie Foxx, Eiza González

Related content: How director Edgar Wright steered Baby Driver to global success

Money Heist (2017–2021)

This “gripping, complex, and relentlessly entertaining thriller,” per EW, follows the Professor (Álvaro Morte) as he assembles a criminal gang to steal billions of Euros from the Royal Mint of Spain. If they succeed, it’ll go down as the biggest heist in history — a common theme in several entries on this list. 

Details about the Professor’s audacious plan are doled out in pieces, and each new reveal pulls audiences deeper into the con with its wildly entertaining cast. Money Heist became an international hit with rapid-fire plot twists for five seasons, which is practically geriatric in Netflix years.

Where to watch Money Heist: Netflix

Cast: Álvaro Morte, Úrsula Corberó, Itziar Ituño

Related content: How Netflix hit Money Heist raises the stakes with its second heist

Lupin (2021–2023)

The charm and charisma of Omar Sy elevate this already outstanding French heist series, which mixes capers with a long-simmering revenge plot. Sy was a revelation for many American viewers, who followed breathlessly as his titular gentleman burglar plotted to steal a necklace from the Louvre but slowly revealed motives that ran much, much deeper. Sticky fingers crossed for a fourth season…

Where to watch the Lupin: Netflix

Cast: Omar Sy, Ludivine Sagnier, Soufiane Guerrab, Shirine Boutella

Related content: 6 reasons you should stop everything and watch Lupin right now

Logan Lucky (2017)

If you want proof that Daniel Craig was doing wacky accents long before Knives Out, look no further than Steven Soderbergh’s flick about two brothers (Channing Tatum and Adam Driver) who plot to rob a North Carolina speedway using a NASCAR race as a cover. Their crew includes Craig’s demolitions expert who needs to be, er, liberated from prison so he can help the Logans pull off their heist. 

The setting is worlds away from the sleek elegance of Soderbergh’s Oceans films, with the director telling EW, “Nobody dresses nice. Nobody has nice stuff. They have no money. They have no technology. It’s all rubber band technology, and that’s what I thought was fun about it.”

EW’s critic wasn’t fully on board with all the molasses-thick Southern stereotypes, but he admitted that the director and screenwriter Rebecca Blunt are “so nimble at constructing their caper’s puzzle pieces and narrative switchbacks that you eventually just surrender and let the good times roll.”

Where to watch the Logan Lucky: Netflix

EW grade: B+ (read the review)

Director: Steven Soderbergh

Cast: Channing Tatum, Daniel Craig, Adam Driver, Riley Keough, Katie Holmes

Related content: Steven Soderbergh compares comeback film to Ocean’s movie ‘on cement blocks

Fast Five (2011)

It’s the one where Dom’s crew drags a bank vault through the streets of Rio.

What, you need more than that? Fine. EW ranked Fast Five as the best film of the franchise (more than once!), writing, “[The] opening scene promises a pure blast of entertainment, joyous and destructive in equal measure. The movie delivers and delivers” as Vin Diesel’s merry band of thieves are hired to break into a Brazilian police station to swipe a drug lord’s loot.

Where to watch Fast Five: Netflix

EW grade: B+ (read the review)

Director: Justin Lin

Cast:  Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster, Dwayne Johnson, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris, Gal Gadot

Related content: Jordana Brewster talks ‘special’ Fast Five, learning how to be a ‘badass’ from Mia

This Is a Robbery: The World’s Biggest Art Heist (2021)

This true-crime series unpacks the 1990 robbery of Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum by two men who posed as cops to con their way into stealing a fortune. In 81 minutes, the thieves made off with 13 pieces from artists including Rembrandt, Vermeer, and Degas, making it the most expensive art heist of all time. Director Colin Barnicle lavishes attention on every detail of the theft and the subsequent hunt for the perpetrators. Were the men caught? Was the art returned? Queue up this four-episode doc and find out for yourself. 

Where to watch This Is a Robbery: The World’s Biggest Art Heist: Netflix

Director: Colin Barnicle

Related content: The Jewel Heist That Wasn’t There — An EW true crime story

Focus (2015)

Name two actors with a more dynamic on-screen presence than Will Smith and Margot Robbie. (Go ahead; we’ll wait.) So it’s a crying shame that this flick, which EW’s critic called “a sexy, satisfying ride,” doesn’t get more love from heist fans. As Smith’s Nicky teaches Robbie’s Jess the art of the con, writer-directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa (Crazy, Stupid, Love) pen an elaborate con full of intricacies and facilitate fizzy chemistry between their two leads. What more do lovers of the genre — and these actors — require?

Where to watch Focus: Netflix

EW grade: B (read the review) 

Director: Glenn Ficarra, John Requa

Cast: Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Rodrigo Santoro, Adrian Martinez

Related content: How Focus star Margot Robbie told off Will Smith

Army of the Dead (2021)/Army of the Thieves (2021)

Planning a heist is complicated enough. Now imagine doing it while your team dodges flesh-starved zombies from start to finish. That’s the premise of Zack Snyder’s full-throttle, off-the-wall action film where no set piece is too big and no idea is too bonkers. 

Dave Bautista stars as a world-weary ex-military bruiser who’s recruited to loot a casino vault in an abandoned Las Vegas ravaged by zombies. Notable trivia: When cast member Chris D’Elia was accused of sexually harassing underaged girls in the run-up to the film’s release, the reliably unproblematic Tig Notaro was digitally inserted into finished footage to replace him. (Paging Edgar Wright! It’s never too late for a Spacey/Notaro swap.)

Army of the Dead was such a hit that Netflix followed it up later that year with Army of Thieves, a prequel focusing on Matthias Schweighöfer’s scene-stealing German safecracker. Schweighöfer pulled double duty as both star and director, which took him by surprise. “Zack and I had a coffee together, and he just offered me to be the director of the film,” he told EW. “I had a coffee and I spit all of my coffee out, and I said, ‘Yes, of course.’ So that’s that!”

Where to watch the Army of the Dead: Netflix

Director: Zack Snyder

Cast: Dave Bautista, Raúl Castillo, Omari Hardwick, Tig Notaro, Richard Cetrone, Athena Perample

Related content: Dave Bautista still hasn’t met his Army of the Dead costar Tig Notaro

Triple Frontier (2019)

On the strength of its cast alone, this Netflix original was destined to land a spot on this list, and the unique set-up seals the deal for this “star-studded new Three Kings-meets-Treasure of the Sierra Madre special-ops heist flick,” per EW’s critic.

Ben Affleck, Pedro Pascal, Charlie Hunnam, and Garrett Hedlund star as ex-military men recruited by their buddy Pope (Oscar Isaac) to steal $75 million in cash from a drug lord’s house in the South American jungle. In classic heist fashion, the plan gets knocked off course and the team has to scheme on the fly, leading to some morally muddy choices.

Where to watch Triple Frontier: Netflix

EW grade: B (read the review)

Director: J.C. Chandor

Cast: Ben Affleck, Pedro Pascal, Oscar Isaac, Charlie Hunnam, Garrett Hedlund

Related content: Ben Affleck, Oscar Isaac are cash-stealing comrades in Netflix’s Triple Frontier

Wheelman (2017)

A getaway driver forced to think on the fly when a bank heist goes bust? With a possible double-cross in play to boot? How novel!

Sure, Wheelman isn’t reinventing the, well, wheel when it comes to heist films. But with the reliably captivating Frank Grillo as the driver, you’re in for a reliably wild ride as his ex-con races to save his ex-wife and daughter from a robbery gone wrong. Bonus: The film clocks in at a lean, mean 88 minutes, which is shorter than a fair share of Netflix episodes. 

Where to watch Wheelman: Netflix

Director: Jeremy Rush

Cast: Frank Grillo, Caitlin Carmichael, Garret Dillahunt, Shea Whigham, Wendy Moniz

Related content: James Gunn teases Frank Grillo’s role across Peacemaker and Superman: ‘He is morally a complex human being’

Lift (2024)

Plenty of the best capers feature betrayals, setbacks, and murders — but they don’t all have Kevin Hart. Lift is a lighter entry in the “get in, loser, we’re going heisting!” genre. Hart stars as master thief Cyrus, who along with his Interpol agent ex-girlfriend (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), recruits a crew to steal $500 million in gold from a passenger mid-flight. Yep, it’s thieves on a plane! And with a crew featuring Vincent D’Onofrio, Billy Magnussen, and Úrsula Corberó, it’s a flight worth taking.

Where to watch Lift: Netflix

Director: F. Gary Gray

Cast: Kevin Hart, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Vincent D’Onofrio, Úrsula Corberó, Billy Magnussen, Sam Worthington

Related content: Kevin Hart says he’s in a secret group chat with Dwayne Johnson, Tom Cruise, and more action stars

Kaleidoscope (2023)

The eight-episode limited series Kaleidoscope represents one of Netflix’s experimental approaches to storytelling. In the spirit of the Black Mirror episode “Bandersnatch,” which lets viewers interact with the action in a “choose your own adventure” style, you can watch this Giancarlo Esposito-fronted heist show in any order, allowing viewers to experience the event (and the many, many twists) in a variety of ways. 

Depending on which colorfully named episode you start with, you might see the aftermath of the gang’s attempt to steal $7 billion in bonds from a bank vault, or you might jump a quarter of a century earlier to explore the history between Esposito’s lifelong criminal and Rufus Sewell’s security firm CEO. Hit play and let Netflix randomly decide the order, or look for one of the curated lists to suit your viewing preferences.

Where to watch Kaleidoscope: Netflix

Cast: Giancarlo Esposito, Rufus Sewell, Paz Vega, Tati Gabrielle

Biggest Heist Ever (2024)

“Bitcoin Bonnie and Clyde.” That’s probably all it takes to determine if you’re in or you’re out on this documentary about the couple who stole $72 million worth of online cryptocurrency from a virtual exchange in 2016. (By 2024, that amount had ballooned to $10.8 billion.)

If the sheer amount alone wasn’t enough to pique your interest, consider the eccentric personalities who committed the crime: Heather “Razzlekhan” Morgan, a hipster rapper who wrote for Forbes magazine, and her husband, Ilya “Dutch” Lichtenstein. Morgan’s rap persona Razzlekhan, “like Genghis Khan, but with more pizzazz,” is one of the many oddball facts you’ll pick up in this fast-paced 87-minute doc.

Where to watch the Biggest Heist Ever: Netflix

Director: Chris Smith

Related content: The 30 best documentaries on Netflix

Big Nunu’s Little Heist (2023)

This South African heist movie follows a delivery man with a military background (Jefferson Tshabalala) who gets mixed up in an operation planned by a local kingpin and his bumbling gang. Writer/director Andy ‘Admiral’ Kasrils’ offbeat film is at-times both silly and suspenseful, and it’s steeped in South African culture as it touches on relationships, economics, and social structures. 

Where to watch Big Nunu’s Little Heist: Netflix

Director: Andy ‘Admiral’ Kasrils

Cast: Kagiso Lediga, Celeste Ntuli, Tony Miyambo, Amahle Khumalo, Khanyisa Bunu

Related content: Why you should watch Queen Sono, Netflix’s first African original series

Coin Heist (2017)

Because teenagers can pull off heists, too. This family-friendly film follows Pretty Little Liars’ Sasha Pieterse as she and her classmates plot to steal $10 million from the U.S. Mint to bail out their struggling school after the headmaster embezzles the budget.

Coin Heist, adapted from Elisa Ludwig’s YA novel, follows in the footsteps of The Breakfast Club by uniting high schoolers who otherwise wouldn’t give each other the time of day: a hacker, the headmaster’s slacker son, a football phenom on a scholarship, and an uptight brainiac. Come for the elaborate planning, stay for the mid-heist conversations about who’s crushing on whom.

Where to watch Coin Heist: Netflix

Director: Emily Hagins

Cast: Sasha Pieterse, Alexis G. Zall, Alex Saxon

Related content: Pretty Little Liars cast: Here’s where Shay Mitchell, Lucy Hale, and the other liars are now