12 Best Kevin Hart Movies to Watch, From Jumanji to Lift

The best Kevin Hart movies to watch are The Upside, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Central Intelligence, This Is the End, The Secret Life of Pets, Top Five and Get Hard. For newer picks, try Fatherhood (2021) and Lift (2024), both Netflix films. His comedy works best opposite a straight-faced partner like Dwayne Johnson.

Kevin Hart, born on 6 July 1979 in Philadelphia, is one of Hollywood’s busiest comic stars. He won the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2024. We have refreshed this list for 2026 with corrected release years and his recent films.

Quick facts: Kevin Hart movies

12 best Kevin Hart movies to watch

1. The Upside (2019)

The Upside is Hart’s most serious role and still his best performance. He plays Dell, a man on parole who becomes a carer for a rich quadriplegic writer, played by Bryan Cranston. It is a remake of the French film The Intouchables, based on a true story.

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The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2017 but reached theatres in January 2019. Hart keeps the jokes but also shows real warmth.

2. Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017)

Four teenagers get sucked into a video game and turn into avatars played by Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Karen Gillan and Hart. Hart plays the smaller, weaker sidekick to a jock trapped in Johnson’s body, which is the joke that drives the film.

It was a worldwide hit and led to Jumanji: The Next Level (2019). A third film, Jumanji: Open World, is in the works with Hart returning as Mouse.

3. Central Intelligence (2016)

This was Hart’s first film with Dwayne Johnson. Hart plays Calvin, a former school star turned bored accountant, who gets dragged into a spy mission by a classmate he barely remembers.

The pair’s size difference and timing made them one of Hollywood’s most bankable comedy teams.

4. This Is the End (2013)

Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s apocalypse comedy has a cast of stars playing exaggerated versions of themselves. Hart appears as himself at James Franco’s house party when the world starts ending.

His screen time is short, but the film is one of the funniest of its decade.

5. The Secret Life of Pets (2016)

Hart voices Snowball, a cute white bunny who leads a gang of abandoned pets with very loud anger issues. His high-energy voice work steals the film.

He returned as Snowball in The Secret Life of Pets 2 (2019), which gives the bunny a superhero fantasy. Both films are safe picks for family viewing.

6. Top Five (2014)

Chris Rock wrote, directed and starred in this smart comedy about a comic who wants to be taken seriously. Hart plays his loud, pushy agent, a small but memorable role.

7. The Five-Year Engagement (2012)

This romantic comedy stars Jason Segel and Emily Blunt as a couple who keep pushing back their wedding. Hart has a small supporting role, and his scenes give the film some of its biggest laughs.

8. About Last Night (2014)

A remake of the 1986 film, this one gives Hart and Regina Hall the best scenes as a loud, on-and-off couple. Their fights are funnier than the main romance.

9. Get Hard (2015)

Will Ferrell plays a rich banker headed to prison who hires Hart’s character, a car-wash owner, to toughen him up. Hart’s character has never been to jail, which is the core joke.

10. Night School (2018)

Hart plays a high school dropout who must pass his GED to keep his job, with Tiffany Haddish as his strict night-school teacher. Haddish and Hart’s back-and-forth carries the film.

11. Fatherhood (2021)

A newer pick for this list. Hart plays Matthew Logelin, a real-life widower raising his daughter alone after his wife dies soon after childbirth. It is a gentle drama with light comedy, and it streams on Netflix.

12. Lift (2024)

Another new addition. In this Netflix heist film, Hart plays Cyrus Whittaker, a thief who leads his crew in a plan to rob a plane in mid-air. It is light, glossy entertainment for a weekend night.

Other recent Kevin Hart films and specials

Hart also starred in The Man from Toronto (2022) and Me Time (2022) for Netflix, voiced Ace the Bat-Hound in DC League of Super-Pets (2022) and played Roland in Borderlands (2024). His recent stand-up specials include Reality Check (2023) and Acting My Age (2025), and he hosted The Roast of Tom Brady on Netflix in 2024.

His next projects include 72 Hours and Jumanji: Open World, with Ride Along 3 in early development. For more on Hollywood stars, see our Hollywood section, browse movie lists or read our latest reviews.

Frequently asked questions

Sources: Wikipedia: Kevin Hart, Wikipedia: Fatherhood, Wikipedia: The Upside.