The Coen Brothers’ Western Masterpiece That Resurrected the Genre Is Losing Its Streaming Home

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The Coen brothers‘ remake of the classic John Wayne film, True Grit, will be removed from Netflix at the beginning of the new year.

Starting January 1, 2026, the movie True Grit will no longer be available on Netflix. Currently, you can watch it on both Netflix and Paramount+, but it will likely move exclusively to Paramount+ after that date. Released in 2010, the film stars Jeff Bridges and Hailee Steinfeld, with supporting roles played by Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, and Barry Pepper. The story centers around a young girl who enlists a tough, hard-drinking U.S. Marshal (Bridges) to track down the man who murdered her father (Brolin).

The Coen Brothers aimed to create a more accurate film adaptation of Charles Portis’s 1968 novel, True Grit. Their choices, particularly focusing the story through the eyes of Hailee Steinfeld’s character, proved successful. The film was quickly praised as a modern Western classic, with some critics believing it was even better than the first movie version.

Critics overwhelmingly praised True Grit, giving it a 95% ‘Certified Fresh’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on over 275 reviews. According to the site, the film—featuring strong performances from Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, and newcomer Hailee Steinfeld—is a faithful and well-crafted adaptation of the Charles Portis novel, showcasing some of the Coen brothers’ best work.

Look, the audience reaction has been overwhelmingly positive, and I can see why. We’re talking about an 85% approval rating from over 100,000 people on Rotten Tomatoes – that’s huge! A lot of viewers are even saying this film surpasses the original, and I’ve seen the term ‘Coen Brothers masterpiece’ thrown around a lot. The performances, especially from Jeff Bridges and Hailee Steinfeld, are consistently getting rave reviews – and deservedly so, in my opinion.

The 2010 film True Grit was a hit with audiences, earning $252 million worldwide despite a budget of over $35 million. Critics in Hollywood generally praised it, and it received ten Academy Award nominations, including a nomination for Best Picture. However, it didn’t win any awards that year.

True Grit Helped Revitalize Westerns for Modern Audiences

As a huge cinema fan, I’ve been thinking about True Grit lately, and it strikes me how much of an impact it’s had on Westerns. We’ve seen a real resurgence of the genre this century, with lots of new movies and shows tackling life on the American frontier. Films like Killers of the Flower Moon and The Revenant have come out recently, and they’re all doing interesting things – either playing with familiar Western themes or finding fresh ground that really resonates with today’s audiences.

The Coen Brothers have explored Western themes throughout their careers, most notably with their 2018 Netflix film, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, which is a collection of six short stories set in the Old West. But the influence of Westerns extends beyond that single film; you can see elements of the genre – like solitary characters and unclear right-and-wrong – in other Coen Brothers classics such as Raising Arizona and The Big Lebowski.

True Grit leaves Netflix on Jan. 1, 2026.

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2025-12-31 22:38