Lunar New Yr—or Chinese language New Yr—falls on Tuesday, February 17, 2026. As you prep for the festivities by cleansing your own home and slicing your hair, why not get into the temper by watching some nice Asian movies and reveals?
KPop Demon Hunters is now Netflix’s most-watched film of all-time and the movie’s tune “Golden” simply received a Grammy! From Okay-Dramas to KPop music, try this curated listing—one for every of the 12 animals of the Chinese language Zodiac—of Asian-themed content material you will certainly get pleasure from in celebration of the lunar new yr! Gong Hei Fats Choy! Shing Nyan Kwai Lo! Listed below are my Lunar Yr film picks.
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12 Greatest Lunar New Yr Motion pictures
1. ‘Pushing Arms’
Stars: Sihung Lung, BoZhao Wang, Deb Snyder, Wang Lai
Obtainable to stream at no cost on Tubi, PLEX, and The Roku Channel. Obtainable to lease or buy on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Google Play, and YouTube TV.
This was Ang Lee‘s function movie directorial debut and one in all my private favorites. This and his subsequent two movies—The Wedding ceremony Banquet and Eat Drink Man Girl—can be informally often known as the “Father Is aware of Greatest” trilogy with all three starring Sihung Lung within the patriarchal position.
In Pushing Arms, Lung performs Chu, a tai chi grasp who now lives in New York along with his son and his household and should alter to a brand new life. His daughter-in-law (Snyder) is white and does not perceive his japanese methods nor does he perceive her western methods. On prime of that, there’s a language barrier as neither speaks the opposite’s native tongue. Chu’s son, Alex (Wang) is caught within the center between his filial obligation and the duties of a husband and father within the Western world.
2. ‘Lifetime of Pi’
Stars: Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan, Gautum Belur, Tabu, Gerard Depardieu
Obtainable to stream on HBO Max
Lifetime of Pi relies on the bestselling novel of the identical identify by Yann Martel. This movie was additionally directed by Ang Lee. The story tells the story of Pi Patel, a 16-year outdated Indian boy and a Bengal tiger who’re stranded on a lifeboat for 227 days after a shipwreck.
3. ‘My Web page within the 90s’
Stars: Uvin Wang, Xingxu Chen
Obtainable to stream on Viki
Lin Huan Er (Wang) is a modern-day love-advice streamer who’s transported right into a 1999 romance novel. To return to the actual world, she should navigate the guide’s plot and achieve making the principle character—a chilly, calculating, and distant CEO named Gao Haiming (Chen)—fall in love together with her. Nevertheless, when she begins genuinely falling for Hai Ming, Huan Er is pressured to rethink the sort of pleased ending she really desires for herself.
4. ‘Left-Handed Woman’
Stars: Janel Tsai, Shih-Yuan, Nina Ye, Brando Huang, Akio Chen, Xin-Yan Chao
Obtainable to stream on Netflix
Left-handed Woman was Taiwan’s official choice for Greatest Worldwide Characteristic Movie for the 2026 Academy Awards. It made the December shortlist, however sadly did not make the ultimate reduce for the awards. The movie follows Shu-Fen, a single mother of two daughters—harmless 5-year-old I-Jing and surly, college-aged I-Ann—as they relocate to Taipei so Shu-Fen can open up a noodle stand.
After studying her estranged husband who deserted them a decade earlier is terminally in poor health, Shu-Fen goes into additional debt to pay for his medical payments and later his funeral. This places a pressure on I-Ann’s relationship together with her mom. I-Jing is oblivious to all that is happening round her, besides that she’s left-handed and that her grandfather has advised her that the left hand is the “satan’s hand” and he or she is to not use it in his house. I-Jing sees that as giving her free rein to do no matter she desires together with her left hand as she is just not liable for what it does so she begins to shoplift. The movie reveals the household’s struggles and was truly filmed in Taiwan, on open streets whereas the stalls had been open. They did not shut off any sections or streets to movie this film!
5. ‘Ip Man’
Stars: Donnie Yen
Obtainable on Netflix (Movies 1-4), Tubi (Ip Man #1)
On this 2008 martial arts masterpiece, a extremely expert fighter often known as Ip Man (Yen) units out to defend his folks amid the brutal circumstances of the Sino-Japanese Warfare in China. Motion hero Donnie Yen takes the lead on this gripping biopic—loosely primarily based on the lifetime of the grandmaster of Wing Chun—who additionally educated martial arts legend Bruce Lee.
As Grasp Ip, Yen dazzles in bare-knuckled duels. He turns into an emblem of braveness and resilience among the many males in Foshan who’re pressured into bloody fight for a bag of rice beneath Japanese occupation. This Golden Horse Award winner for Greatest Motion Choreography additionally kicked off a collection excellent for followers of kung fu flicks. All 4 movies can be found to stream on Netflix.
6. ‘The Brothers Solar’
Michael Desmond/Netflix © 2023
Stars: Justin Chien, Sam Tune Li, and Michelle Yeoh
Obtainable on Netflix
When the pinnacle of a strong Taiwanese triad is shot by a mysterious murderer, his eldest son—legendary killer Charles “Chairleg” Solar (Justin Chien)—heads to Los Angeles to guard his mom, Eileen (Michelle Yeoh) and his naive youthful brother, Bruce (Sam Tune Li)—who’s been utterly sheltered from the reality of his household till now.
However as Taipei’s deadliest societies and a brand new rising faction go head-to-head for dominance, Charles, Bruce and their mom should heal the injuries brought on by their separation and determine what brotherhood and household really imply—earlier than one in all their numerous enemies kills all of them.
Associated: Every little thing You Have to Know About The Brothers Solar
7. ‘American Born Chinese language’
Disney/Carlos Lopez-Calleja
Stars: Ben Wang, Daniel Wu, Ke Huy Quan, and Michelle Yeoh
Obtainable on Disney+
Based mostly on the graphic novel by Gene Luen Yang, American Born Chinese language is a genre-hopping motion comedy that tells the story of Jin Wang (Ben Wang), a median teenager juggling his progressive American highschool social life along with his conventional Chinese language house life. When he meets a brand new international change scholar on the primary day of the varsity yr, worlds collide as Jin is unwittingly entangled in a battle between Chinese language mythological gods. Oscar winners Michelle Yeoh and Ke HuyQuan additionally star.
Associated: See Two First-Time Oscar Winners in New Disney+ Collection ‘American Born Chinese language’!
8. ‘Like to Hate You’
Stars: Teo Yoo, Kim Okay-vin, Kim Ji-hoon, Go Received Hee
Obtainable to stream on Netflix
She’s a street-fighting legal professional who hates dropping to males. He is an A-list actor who distrusts girls. The 2 hate one another on first website, however then are pressured to fake to be a pair to maintain up appearances. The extra they spend time collectively, the extra the uncover the actual particular person behind the partitions they’ve constructed up round themselves. There’s additionally a enjoyable B-storyline with the legal professional’s finest good friend and the actor’s equally beautiful supervisor and his lucious locks ebony locks.
9. ‘Gimbap and Onigiri’
Stars Kang Kye-won, Eiji Akaso
Obtainable to stream on Netflix
Gimbap and Onigiri is a brand new Japanese drama collection on Netflix. The ten-episode collection follows the evolution of the connection between Park Rin (Kang), a Korean animation scholar searching for housing in Japan and Hase Taiga (Eiji), a chef at an area diner.
10. ‘Can This Love Be Translated?’
Stars: Kim Seon-ho, Go Youn-jung
Obtainable to stream on Netflix
This 12-episode restricted collection follows a feminine film star and her multi-lingual interpreter as they journey the globe and go from one movie set to a different. He appears to have the ability to converse each language—besides the language of affection. I get shades of Notting Hill with this one.
11. ‘Love’s Ambition’
Stars: Zhao Lu Si, William Chan
Obtainable to stream on Viki
Xu Yan (Zhao) has constructed a profession as a celebrated tv host, reworking herself by means of a carefully-crafted public persona. To finish her “excellent” life, she marries rich businessman Shen Hao Ming (Chan). Whereas the 2 are admired as a well-matched couple, they wrestle behind closed doorways as a result of their totally different backgrounds and beliefs. After a struggle, Xu Yan decides she’s had sufficient of Hao Ming’s controlling nature and divorces him. Shocked, Hao Ming realizes how a lot Xu Yan really meant to him, and decides to win her again.
12. ‘Okay-Pop Demon Hunters’
Stars the voice abilities of Arden Cho, Ken Jeong, Daniel Dae Kim, Yunjin Kim and the singing abilities of EJae, Rei Ami, Audrey Nuna, Andrew Choi, Kevin Woo, and Lea Salonga
Obtainable on Netflix
I might be remiss if I did not embody KPop Demon Hunters. My brother truly turned me onto this film when it first got here out as a result of he and my niece are into manga and Japanese anime. On a lonely Saturday evening with nothing higher to do, I turned it on and was pleasantly shocked. I used to be singing “Golden,” and “Soda Pop” lengthy earlier than they had been standard.
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