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HBO was, for at least a couple of generations, the home of movies on cable—no one else could compete. For a while, it seemed like HBO Max could well be the ultimate streaming destination for movie lovers, but the jury is still out.
Even so, HBO Max maintains a collaboration with TCM, giving it a broad range of classic American and foreign films. It’s also the primary streaming home for Studio Ghibli and A24, so even though the streamer hasn’t been making as many original films as it did a few years ago, it still has a solid assortment of movies you won’t find anywhere else.
Here are 30 of the best of HBO Max’s recent and/or exclusive offerings.
The Conjuring: Last Rites (2025)
Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga are back as paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. In the 1980s, they’re investigating a cursed mirror that has ties to one of their first cases from 1964; that demon-possessed home furnishing threatens our heroes alongside their now-grown daughter. There aren’t a ton of surprises but still a bit of spooky fun in this, the “last” Conjuring film (until the already-announced next one). Bonus points for casting actual actors (Orion Smith and Madison Lawlor) as young Ed and Lorraine, rather than doing the creepy CGI de-aging that other franchises have toyed with. Stream Conjuring: Last Rites.
Sinners (2025)
Ryan Coogler’s dusty, sweaty supernatural horror movie became the year’s crossover hit, defying expectations for an R-rated horror movie—particularly when that movie is also a Depression-era period drama with an almost entirely Black cast. Michael B. Jordan plays a dual role as Smoke and Stack Moore, returning to rural Mississippi after having made names for themselves in Chicago. They intend to open a juke joint with some help from their cousin Sammie (Miles Caton), an up-and-coming blues singer whose music has the power to bust down barriers, between the local Black and immigrant communities, and between our world and a darker one. Beautifully unclassifiable, and an increasingly rare example of a major studio movie with an original concept—it’s already one of the year’s best. Stream Sinners.
Superman (2025)
David Corenswet dons the cape in this James Gunn-led reboot that brings a light touch back to the DC movie universe. While the plot turns on Superman’s dive into international power politics and unexpected betrayals, the pulpy also brings us old-school robots, flying cars, and a thoroughly ill-behaved superdog. Rachel Brosnahan’s Lois Lane is as tough as she is big-hearted, Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luthor is a perfectly punchable billionaire, and Edi Gathegi steals every scene as Mister Terrific. It’s a ton of fun, which is a nice change of pace after a decade of far more dour Superman flicks. Stream Superman.
Eddington (2025)
Ari Aster, who brought us such divisive “delights” as Hereditary, Midsommar, and Beau is Afraid, is back with a new film which has, surprise!, divided both audiences and critics. Aster takes us back to 2020, and to the New Mexico town of the title. Eddington mayor Ted Garcia (Pedro Pascal) institute a COVID-19-related mask mandate that divides the town and puts him at odds with the local sheriff, Joe Cross (Joaquin Phoenix). Also in the mix are the sheriff’s volatile wife (Emma Stone) and conspiracy-loving mother-in-law, as well a cult leader, various social-justice-warriors, and a couple of terrorists. The questions the film grapples with are less about who’s right and who’s wrong, and more about whether any of us can accomplish anything good given the chaos, confusion, and division that has become the normal way of doing things in modern America. Stream Eddington.
Materialists (2025)
Playwright and filmmaker Celine Song follows up the acclaimed Past Lives with this rom-com (-ish) love triangle involving matchmaker Lucy (Dakota Fanning), actor/cater-waiter John (Chris Evans), and millionaire Harry (Pedro Pascal). Like Past Lives, the deliberate pacing and subdued tone might put off viewers looking for something brighter and bubblier, but a bit of patience will be rewarded if you can settle in for a mature and thoughtful story of complicated lives and tentative relationships. Stream Materialists.
Mickey 17 (2025)
The latest from Bong Joon Ho (Parasite, Snowpiercer), Mickey 17 didn’t do terribly well at the box office, but that’s not entirely the movie’s fault. It’s a broad but clever and timely satire starring Robert Pattinson as Mickey Barnes, a well-meaning dimwit who signs on with a spaceship crew on its way to colonize the ice world Niflheim. Because of his general lack of skills, he’s deemed an Expendable—his memories and DNA are kept on file so that when he, inevitably, dies (often in horrific ways), he’ll be reprinted and restored to live and work and die again. Things get complicated when a new Mickey is accidentally printed before the old one has died—a huge taboo among religious types who can handle one body/one soul, but panic at the implications of two identical people walking around. It’s also confusing, and eventually intriguing, for Mickey’s girlfriend, Nasha (Naomi Ackie). Soon, both Mickey’s are on the run from pretty much everyone, including the new colony’s MAGA-esque leader (Mark Ruffalo). Stream Mickey 17.
Final Destination Bloodlines (2025)
Are we a little exhausted with all the nostalgic legacy sequels? We are. Does that mean there aren’t some pretty damn good examples of the form floating around out there? It does not. Bloodlines picks up the franchise last seen in 2009 with an appropriately lean, mean, and bloody sequel that doesn’t reinvent the Final Destination wheel, but that does everything these movies are supposed to do, and better than most. The opening sequence alone, set in 1969 at a high-rise restaurant tower, is a series best, rivaling even the log truck of part two for white-knuckle ingenuity. The movie also bids a lovely, spooky farewell to William Bludworth, played for the last time by the late, great Tony Todd. Stream Final Destination Bloodlines.
Pee-Wee as Himself (2025)
Paul Reubens participated in dozens of hours worth of interviews for this two-part documentary, directed by filmmaker Matt Worth, but from the opening moments, the erstwhile Pee-Wee Herman makes clear that he is struggling with the notion of giving up control of his life story to someone else. That’s a through line in the film and, as we learn, in the performer’s life, as he spent decades struggling with his public profile while maintaining intense privacy in his personal life. Reubens’ posthumous coming out as gay is the headline story, but the whole thing provides a fascinating look at an artist who it seems we barely knew. You can stream Pee-Wee as Himself here.
The Legend of Ochi (2025)
In an age of encroaching AI, it’s always encouraging to find that there are filmmakers still doing things the old-fashioned way—even more so with Ochi, which mostly forgoes even CGI in favor of actual puppetry and animatronics for anything other than wide shots. There’s nothing inherently wrong with digital imagery, but our brains still kinda know when something has weight and presence in the real world, and the work that went into this fantasy pays off beautifully. Helena Zengel plays Yuri, a young girl growing up on the remote island of Carpathia. Her father, Maxim (Willem Dafoe) leads teams of (mostly) boy soldiers to hunt the island’s wild Ochi—vaguely simian creatures that they’ve been trained to fear. Yuri discovers an injured infant Ochi and, rather than kill or capture it, she sets out to return it to its family. A rare family film from A24. Stream The Legend of Ochi.
The Brutalist (2024)
Brady Corbet’s epic period drama, which earned 10 Oscar nominations and won Adrian Brody his second Academy Award for Best Actor, follows László Tóth (Adrien Brody), a Hungarian-born Holocaust survivor who emigrates to the United States following the war. His course as a refugee follows highs and devastating lows—he’s barely able to find work at first, despite his past as an accomplished Bauhaus-trained architect in Europe. A wealthy benefactor (Guy Pearce) seems like a godsend when he offers László a high-profile project, but discovers the limitations of his talent in the face of American-style antisemitism and boorishness. Stream The Brutalist.
Babygirl (2024)
Nicole Kidman stars in this modern erotic thriller as CEO Romy Mathis, who begins a dangerous (i.e. naughty) affair with her much younger intern (Harris Dickinson). After an opening scene involving some deeply unfulfilling lovemaking with her husband (we’ll have to suspend disbelief on the topic of Antonio Banderas as a schlubby, sexually disappointing husband), Romy runs into Samuel (Dickinson), who saves her from a runaway dog before taking her on as his mentor at work. She teaches him about process automation while he teaches her about BDSM, but his sexy, dorky charm soon gives way to something darker. For all the online chatter (Nicole Kidman on all fours lapping up milk!), the captivating performances, and the chilly direction from Halina Reijn, elevate it above more pruient erotic thrillers. Stream Babygirl.
Death of a Unicorn (2025)
Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega, playing father and daughter Elliot and Ridley, accidentally kill a unicorn whose parents go on a blood-soaked rampage by way of avenging their offspring. And if that isn’t the platonic ideal of a plot for an A24 horror movie, I don’t know what is. There are some themes here about class and the dangers of big pharma that don’t entirely work, but there’s still a well-acted family drama here with plenty of unicorn action—so it’s certainly unique. Stream Death of a Unicorn.
A Minecraft Movie (2025)
A fun, and wildly successful (third-highest grossing movie of the year, so far) live-action take on the very popular sandbox video game, Minecraft stars Jack Black as Steve, a doorknob salesman who first discovers the Overworld, a world of easy-to-manipulate cubes (a la the game), and then is kidnapped and taken to the hellish Nether. Following in his wake are four normal people: Garrett “The Garbage Man” (Jason Momoa), Henry (Sebastian Hansen), Natalie (Emma Myers), and Dawn (Danielle Brooks) who are pulled into the Overworld and have to learn to work together to master the rules of the game/world. The mythology is surprisingly complicated, but the leads have great chemistry, which is where the movie’s charm lies. Stream A Minecraft Movie.
Bring Her Back (2025)
If you saw Danny and Michael Philippou’s previous feature, Talk to Me, then you have some idea what you’re in for here, though this one goes even deeper and darker. Siblings Andy (Billy Barratt) and Piper (Sora Wong) discover their father dead on the floor in the shower; Andy is almost 18, a difficult age for foster care, but he begs to stay with his sister until he can formally take custody. The two are placed with former social worker Laura (Sally Hawkins), who is herself recovering from the tragic death of her daughter, and whose son is clearly struggling. Things get strange (and terrifying) very quickly as one of these grieving souls attempts to, well, consider the title. This is a horror film that speaks to the shattering power of grief. Stream Bring Her Back.
2073 (2024)
Inspired by Chris Marker’s 1962 featurette La Jetée, which itself inspired the feature 12 Monkeys, docudrama 2073 considers the state of our world in the present through the framing device of a woman (Samantha Morton) gazing back from the titular year and meditating on the road that led to an apocalypse of sorts. Her reverie considers, via real-life, current news footage, the rise of modern popular authoritarianism in the modes of Orbán, Trump, Putin, Modi, and Xi, and their alignment with tech bros in such a way as to accelerate a coming climate catastrophe. It’s not terribly subtle, but neither is the daily news. Stream 2073.
Weapons (2025)
One night, 17 kids get out of their beds at exactly 2:17 a.m. and run off down the street with their arms held out in a bizarre manner, never to be seen again. That’s the unsettling start to writer/director Zach Cregger’s followup to the similarly batshit Barbarian. In school the next day, only one kid remains in the class of teacher Justine Gandy (Julia Garner), and the town soon comes to wonder what she could have had to do with the disappearances, and what’s different about the remaining child. Everyone, it seems, has a story and a secret to hide, and there are no easy answers to what happened. It’s a truly wild ride that introduces a new horror icon, Amy Madigan’s Aunt Gladys. Stream Weapons.
Flow (2024)
A gorgeous, wordless animated film that follows a cat through a post-apocalyptic world following a devastating flood. The Latvian import, about finding friends and searching for home in uncertain times, won a well-deserved Best Animated Picture Oscar. It’s also, allegedly, popular with pets—though my dog slept right through it. Stream Flow.
Opus (2025)
Mixed reviews for this thriller from debut director Mark Anthony Green, but a stellar cast (lead by Ayo Edebiri and John Malkovich) and plenty of outright weirdness lend the movie some spooky watchability. Edebiri plays rookie journalist Ariel Ecton, on assignment with her boss (Murray Bartlett) to cover the forthcoming return of a ’90s rock icon played by Malkovich. Ariel is meant to be, largely, a note-taker, but she’s the first one to see through the glitz and glamour of this king of rock and roll and understand that there’s more to the bizarre goings-on at his compound than mere eccentricity. Stream Opus.
Heretic (2024)
Two young Mormon missionaries (Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East) show up at the home of a charming, reclusive man (a deeply creepy Hugh Grant) who invites them in because, he says, he wants to explore different faiths. Which turns out to be true—except that he has ideas that go well beyond anything his two guests have in their pamphlets. It soon becomes clear that they’re not going to be able to leave without participating in Mr. Reed’s games, and this clever thriller doesn’t always go where you think it’s going. Stream Heretic.
Queer (2024)
Director Luca Guadagnino followed up his vaguely bisexual tennis movie Challengers with this less subtle (it’s in the title) William S. Burroughs adaptation. Daniel Craig plays William Lee (a fictionalized version of Burroughs himself), a drug-addicted American expat living in Mexico City during the 1950s. He soon becomes infatuated with Drew Starkey’s Eugene Allerton, and the two take a gorgeous journey through Mexico, through ayahuasca, and through their own sexualities. Stream Queer.
The Parenting (2025)
Rohan (Nik Dodani) and Josh (Brandon Flynn) invite both their sets of parents to a remote country rental so that everyone can meet, which sounds like plenty of horror for this horror-comedy. But wait! There’s more: A demon conjured from the wifi router enters the body of Rohan’s dad (Brian Cox), an event further complicated by the arrival of the house’s owner (Parker Posey). It’s wildly uneven, but there’s a lot of fun to be had. The supporting cast includes Edie Falco, Lisa Kudrow, and Dean Norris. Stream The Parenting.
Juror #2 (2024)
Clint Eastwood’s latest (last?) is a high-concept legal drama that boasts a few impressive performances highlighted by his straightforward directorial style. Nicholas Hoult stars as Justin Kemp, a journalist and recovering alcoholic assigned to jury duty in Savannah, Georgia. The case involves the death of a woman a year earlier, presumably killed by the defendant, her boyfriend at the time. But as the case progresses,Kemp slowly comes to realize that he knows more about the death than anyone else in the courtroom, and has to find a way to work to acquit the defendant without implicating himself. Stream Juror #2.
We Live in Time (2024)
Director John Crowley had a massive critical success with 2015’s Brooklyn, but 2019’s The Goldfinch was a disappointment in almost every regard. Nonlinear romantic drama We Live in Time, then, feels like a bit of a return to form, with Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield displaying impressive chemistry as the couple at the film’s center. The two meet when she hits him with her car on the night he’s finalizing his divorce, and the movie jumps about in their relationship from the early days, to a difficult pregnancy, to a cancer diagnosis, without ever feeling excessively gimmicky. Stream We Live in Time.
Trap (2024)
Cooper (Josh Hartnett) is a pretty cool dad in M. Night Shyamalan’s latest, taking his daughter Riley (Ariel Donoghue) to see a Billie Eilish-ish pop star in concert. But we soon learn that Cooper is also a notorious serial killer (this is not the patented Shyamalan twist, in case you were worried about spoilers). The FBI knows that “The Butcher” will be at the concert, even if they don’t know exactly who it is, and the whole thing is a, yes, trap that Cooper must escape. Of such premises are fun thrillers made, and Hartnett has fun with the central role, his performance growing increasingly tic-y and unhinged even as Cooper tries to make sure his daughter gets to enjoy the show. Stream Trap.
Caddo Lake (2024)
While we’re on the subject of M. Night Shyamalan, he produced this trippy thriller that spends a big chunk of its runtime looking like a working-class drama before going full whackadoo in ways best not spoiled. Eliza Scanlen stars as Ellie, who lives near the title lake with her family, and where it appears that her eight-year-old stepsister has vanished. Dylan O’Brien plays Paris, who works dredging the lake while dealing with survivor’s guilt and the trauma of his mother’s slightly mysterious death. Their stories (and backstories) merge when they discover that one doesn’t always leave the lake the same as they went in. Stream Caddo Lake.
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim (2024)
An anime-infused take on Tolkien’s world, The War of the Rohirrim boats the return of co-writer Philippa Boyens, who helped to write each of the six previous LOTR movies. In this animated installment, we’re taken back 200 years before Peter Jackson’s films, to when the king of Rohan (Brian Cox) accidentally kills the leader of the neighboring Dunlendings during marriage negotiations, kicking off a full-scale war. Miranda Otto reprises her role of Éowyn, who narrates. Stream War of the Rohirrim.
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story (2024)
Alternating between Christopher Reeve’s life before and after the horse riding accident that paralyzed him, this heartfelt and heart wrenching documentary follows the Superman actor as he becomes an activist for disability rights. Archival footage of Christopher and wife Dana blends with new interviews with their children, as well as with actors and politicians who knew and worked with them both. Stream Super/Man.
The Front Room (2024)
Adapted from a short story by Susan Hill (The Woman in Black), The Front Room gets a fair bit of mileage out of its in-law-from-hell premise. Brandy plays Belinda, a pregnant anthropology professor forced to quit her job by hostile working conditions. Her deeply weird mother-in-law Solange (a scene-stealing Kathryn Hunter) makes Brandy and husband Norman an offer that could solve the resulting financial problems: if they’ll take care of her in her dying days, she’ll leave them everything. Of course, the psychic religious fanatic has no interest in making any of that easy. It’s more silly than scary, but perfectly entertaining if that’s the kind of mood you’re in. Stream The Front Room.
Quad Gods (2024)
We spend a lot of time fearing new technology, often with good reason, but Quad Gods offers a brighter view: for people with quadriplegia, for whom sports like football are out of the question, esports offer a means of competing and socializing among not only other people with physical restrictions, but in the broader world of what’s become a major industry. While exploring the contrast between day-to-day life for the Quad Gods team and their online gaming talents, the documentary is an impressively upbeat look at the ways in which technology can put us all on a similar playing field. Stream Quad Gods.
Elevation (2024)
There’s not much new in this Anthony Mackie-lad post-apocalyptic thriller, but Elevation is nonetheless a well-executed action movie that never feels dumb. Just a few years before the film opens, predatory Reapers rose from deep underground and wiped out 95% of humanity. Now, single dad Will (Mackie) is forced to leave his sanctuary to travel to Boulder, Colorado, the closest place he can get air filters to help with his son’s lung disease. On the way, he’s joined, reluctantly, by scientist Nina (Morena Baccarin), whose lab may contain a way to kill the Reapers. Stream Elevation.
