25 best Oscar-winning movies on Netflix

With the Academy Awards coming this Sunday, now is a great time to check out all the best Oscar-winning movies on Netflix.

On Sunday, Feb. 24, the 91st Academy Awards will air live on ABC. Once it ends, a whole new crop of films will enjoy the benefits of being Oscar-winning movies.

That includes being receiving global recognition by virtue of being showcased on a television special that is watched by a few hundred million people. And as a result of the attendant increase in notoriety and prestige, Oscar-winning movies often experience a significant uptick in box office revenues. For good or ill, the films that take home some Academy gold this Sunday will remain part of the cultural conversation for years, possibly even decades, to come.

As an example, even though Netflix is directing most of its resources to produce original content, it still spends lots of money to host a number of Oscar-winning movies. And since Netflix is all about providing the greatest number of content options to the greatest number of people, not all of the Academy Award-winning featured currently available on the streaming site are all that great. However, there are at least 25 truly excellent Oscar-winning movies on Netflix right now and this list explains why each is worth checking out.

And for the sake of variety, this binge-watchable rundown of Oscar-winners contains historical epics, musicals, thrillers, comedies, documentaries, horror films and one superhero movie. As it turns out, while the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has a reputation for rewarding high-brow material, its members like giving Oscars to all kinds of different movies.

To begin, a legendary war film that is best enjoyed with a pause button, Doctor Zhivago.