The 30 Best New Movies Available on HBO Max
For at least a couple of generations, HBO has been the home of cable movies—no one else could compete. For a while, it seemed like HBO Max could very well become the premier streaming service for moviegoers, but the jury’s still out on that.
Nevertheless, HBO Max continues its partnership with TCM, offering a wide selection of classic American and international films. HBO Max is also the primary streaming service for Studio Ghibli and A24, so while the streamer doesn’t release as many original films as it did a few years ago, it still has a solid selection of titles you won’t find anywhere else.
Here are the 30 best recent and/or exclusive HBO Max deals.
The Conjuring: Last Rites (2025)
Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga return as paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. Set in the 1980s, they investigate a cursed mirror connected to one of their first cases from 1964; this demonically haunted home threatens our heroes and their now-adult daughter. This “final” Conjuring film (before the already announced next one) doesn’t have many surprises, but it does offer some creepy fun. Bonus points for casting real actors (Orion Smith and Madison Lawlor) as young Ed and Lorraine, rather than the creepy CGI used in other franchises. Watch The Conjuring: Last Rites .
Sinners (2025)
Ryan Coogler’s dusty, sweaty supernatural horror film became the year’s crossover hit, defying expectations of an R-rated horror film—especially when that film is also a Depression-era historical drama with a nearly all-Black cast. Michael B. Jordan plays dual roles as Smoke and Stack Moore, who return to rural Mississippi after making a name for themselves in Chicago. They intend to open a juke joint with some help from their cousin Sammy (Miles Caton), an aspiring blues singer whose music has the power to break down barriers between local Black and immigrant communities, as well as between our world and a darker one. Beautifully unclassifiable and an increasingly rare example of a major studio film with an original concept, it’s already one of the year’s best. Watch Sinners .
Superman (2025)
David Corenswet dons the cape in this James Gunn reboot that brings back the DCEU. The plot revolves around Superman’s immersion in international politics and unexpected betrayals, but the film also features old-school robots, flying cars, and a thoroughly ill-mannered superdog. Rachel Brosnahan’s Lois Lane is as cool as she is magnanimous, Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luthor is a billionaire you can punch, and Edi Gathegi steals the show as Mr. Terrific. The film is incredibly fun and a welcome change after a decade of far duller Superman films. Watch Superman .
Eddington (2025)
Ari Aster, the director of such polarizing delights as Hereditary , Midsommar, and Bo Afraid , returns with a new film that, surprisingly, has divided both audiences and critics. Aster takes us to 2020, to the New Mexico town of the title. Mayor Ted Garcia (Pedro Pascal) imposes a mandatory mask mandate due to COVID-19, dividing the town and putting him at odds with local Sheriff Joe Cross (Joaquin Phoenix). Also involved are the sheriff’s fiery wife (Emma Stone) and conspiracy-theorist mother-in-law, a cult leader, various social justice activists, and a pair of terrorists. The questions the film explores aren’t so much about who’s right and who’s wrong, but rather whether we can achieve anything good given the chaos, confusion, and discord that have become the norm in modern America. Stream Eddington .
The Materialists (2025)
Playwright and director Celine Song continues her acclaimed “Past Lives” series with this romantic (sort of) love triangle involving matchmaker Lucy (Dakota Fanning), actor and waiter John (Chris Evans), and millionaire Harry (Pedro Pascal). As with “Past Lives,” the measured pace and subdued tone may put off viewers expecting something more vibrant and lively, but a little patience will be rewarded with a mature and thoughtful story about complex lives and difficult relationships. Watch “The Materialists . “
Mickey Mouse 17 (2025)
Bong Joon-ho’s ( Parasite , Snowpiercer ) latest film, Mickey 17 , didn’t do particularly well at the box office, but that’s not entirely the film’s fault. It’s a broad but clever and timely satire starring Robert Pattinson as Mickey Barnes, a well-meaning oaf who signs on to crew a spaceship bound to colonize the icy world of Niflheim. Due to his general lack of skill, he’s deemed expendable—his memories and DNA are kept on file so that when he inevitably dies (often horribly), he’ll be reprinted and restored to live, work, and die again. Things get complicated when a new Mickey is accidentally printed before the old one dies—a huge taboo among religious types who can handle one body/one soul but panic at the implications of having two identical people walking around. This also confuses, and ultimately intrigues, Mickey’s girlfriend, Nasha (Naomi Ackie). Soon, both Mickeys find themselves on the run from virtually everyone, including the new colony’s MAGA-like leader (Mark Ruffalo). Watch “Mickey 17. “
Final Destination: Bloodlines (2025)
Are we a little tired of all these nostalgic legacy sequels? Yes. Does that mean there aren’t some damn good examples of the format floating around out there somewhere? Not at all. Bloodlines continues a franchise last seen in 2009 with an appropriately lean, mean, and bloody sequel that doesn’t reinvent the Final Destination wheel, but does everything these films are supposed to do, and better than most. The opening scene alone, set in 1969 in a high-rise restaurant tower, is the best in the series, rivaling even the logging truck from Part II in its inventive, all-out effort. The film also offers a sweet, creepy farewell to William Bludworth, played for the final time by the late, great Tony Todd. Stream Final Destination Bloodlines .
Pee-wee as himself (2025)
Paul Reubens participated in dozens of hours of interviews for this two-part documentary directed by Matt Worth. From the very first scenes, the former Pee-wee Herman makes it clear he struggles with the idea of handing over control of his life to someone else. This is the thread that runs through the film and, as we learn, throughout the artist’s life, who has spent decades struggling with his public status while maintaining the strictest privacy in his personal life. Reubens’ posthumous coming out as gay is the big news, but the whole story offers a fascinating glimpse into an artist we feel we barely knew. You can watch “Pee-wee as Himself” here .
Legend of Ochi (2025)
In the age of advancing artificial intelligence, it’s always refreshing to see filmmakers still working the old-fashioned way—especially in “Ochi,” which eschews virtually any CGI in favor of genuine stop-motion animation and animatronics, save for wide shots. There’s nothing wrong with digital imagery, but our brains still sense when something has weight and presence in the real world, and the work put into this fantasy pays off handsomely. Helena Zengel plays Yuri, a young girl raised on the remote island of Carpathia. Her father, Maxim (Willem Dafoe), leads squads of (mostly) boy soldiers to hunt wild Ochi—ape-like creatures they’ve been trained to fear. Yuri discovers a wounded Ochi infant and, rather than kill or capture it, sets out to return it to its family. A rare family film from A24. Watch “The Legend of Ochi.”
Brutalist (2024)
Brady Corbet’s epic historical drama, which received 10 Oscar nominations and earned Adrien Brody his second Academy Award for Best Actor, tells the story of Laszlo Toth (Adrien Brody), a Hungarian Holocaust survivor who emigrated to the United States after the war. His journey as a refugee is marked by ups and downs—at first, he struggles to find work despite his background as a talented architect who graduated from the Bauhaus in Europe. A wealthy benefactor (Guy Pearce) seems like a godsend when he offers Laszlo a big-budget project, but discovers the limitations of his talent in the face of American anti-Semitism and brutality. Watch “The Brutalist . “
Baby (2024)
Nicole Kidman stars in this contemporary erotic thriller as CEO Romy Mathis, who begins a dangerous (that is, racy) affair with her much younger intern (Harris Dickinson). After an opening scene featuring deeply unsatisfying lovemaking with her husband (you’ll have to suspend disbelief about Antonio Banderas as a sleazy, sexually frustrating husband), Romy encounters Samuel (Dickinson), who rescues her from a runaway dog and then takes her on as his mentor at work. She trains him in automation while he teaches her BDSM, but his sexy, kinky charm soon gives way to something darker. Despite all the online chatter (Nicole Kidman on all fours lapping up milk!), the captivating performances and Halina Raine’s chilly direction elevate this film above more sensible erotic thrillers. Watch Babygirl .
Death of the Unicorn (2025)
Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega, playing father and daughter Elliot and Ridley, accidentally kill a unicorn, whose parents go on a bloody rampage in vengeance for their offspring. If that’s not the platonic ideal of an A24 horror film plot, I don’t know what is. There are some themes of class and the dangers of the pharmaceutical industry that don’t quite work, but there’s still a well-executed family drama with plenty of unicorn action—it’s certainly unique. Watch “Death of the Unicorn . “
Minecraft (2025)
A hilarious and wildly successful (the third-highest-grossing film of the year so far) adaptation of the wildly popular sandbox video game, it stars Jack Black as Steve, a doorknob salesman who first discovers the Overworld, a world of easy-to-control cubes (a la the game), before being kidnapped and taken to the hellish Nether. Following him are four ordinary people: Garrett “Scavenger” (Jason Momoa), Henry (Sebastian Hansen), Natalie (Emma Myers), and Don (Daniel Brooks), who are transported to the Overworld and must learn to work together to master the rules of the game/world. The mythology is surprisingly complex, but the main characters have great chemistry, which is part of the film’s charm. Watch Minecraft .
Bring Her Back (2025)
If you’ve seen Danny and Michael Philippou’s previous film, Talk to Me , then you have some idea of what’s in store, though this one is even deeper and darker. Siblings Andy (Billy Barratt) and Piper (Sora Wong) discover their father dead on the shower floor; Andy is almost 18, a tough age for foster care, but he begs to stay with his sister until he officially takes 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 weird (and terrifying) very quickly when one of these grieving souls tries to, well, think about the title. This is a horror film that speaks to the crushing power of grief. Watch Bring Her Back .
2073 (2024)
Inspired by Chris Marker’s 1962 short film “Take Off,” which in turn inspired the film 12 Monkeys , the docudrama “2073” examines the state of our world today through the lens of a single frame, in which a woman (Samantha Morton) looks back year after year, marked by the film’s title, and reflects on the road that led to a kind of apocalypse. Her reflections, based on real-life news reports and current events, reflect on the rise of modern authoritarianism in the regimes of Orbán, Trump, Putin, Modi, and Xi Jinping, and their alliance with technologists, which could accelerate the looming climate catastrophe. The film isn’t subtle, but neither is the daily news. Stream 2073 .
Weapons (2025)
One night, 17 children rise from their beds at precisely 2:17 a.m. and run down the street, arms strangely outstretched, never to be seen again. So begins writer-director Zach Cregger’s unsettling follow-up to the equally bonkers “Barbarian.” The next day at school, only one child remains in teacher Justine Gandhi’s (Julia Garner) class, and the town soon begins to wonder what connection she might have had to the disappearances and what’s wrong with the remaining child. Everyone seems to have a story and a secret, and there are no easy answers to what happened. It’s a truly wild ride, introducing us to a new horror icon: Aunt Gladys, played by Amy Madigan. Stream “Gun.”
Stream (2024)
A magnificent wordless animated film about a cat’s life in a post-apocalyptic world after a devastating flood. This Latvian film about finding friends and home in turbulent times deservedly won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature. It’s also said to be popular with pets , although my dog slept through the entire film. Stream Flow .
Opus (2025)
This thriller from debut director Mark Anthony Green received mixed reviews, but a stellar cast (starring Ayo Edebiri and John Malkovich) and plenty of downright bizarre moments give the film a chilling edge. Edebiri plays rookie journalist Ariel Acton, who, along with her boss (Murray Bartlett), is assigned to cover the upcoming comeback of a ’90s rock icon, played by Malkovich. Ariel is essentially a notetaker, but she’s the first to see past the glitz and glamour of this king of rock ‘n’ roll, realizing that there’s more to the strange goings-on at his estate than just eccentricity. Watch Opus .
Heretic (2024)
Two young Mormon missionaries (Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East) show up at the home of a charming, reserved man (a thoroughly creepy Hugh Grant), who invites them because he claims to want to explore other religions. Which turns out to be true, except his ideas go far beyond anything his guests have outlined in their brochures. It soon becomes clear they won’t be able to leave without playing Mr. Reed’s games, and this witty thriller doesn’t always go as expected. Watch Heretic .
Queer (2024)
Director Luca Guadagnino follows up his tennis film The Challengers , which features seemingly bisexual characters, with this less subtle (as reflected in the title) adaptation of William S. Burroughs’ novel. Daniel Craig plays William Lee (a fictionalized version of Burroughs himself), an American immigrant addict living in Mexico City in the 1950s. He soon falls in love with Eugene Allerton (Drew Starkey), and together they embark on a captivating journey through Mexico, experimenting with ayahuasca and exploring their own sexuality. Watch Queer .
Education (2025)
Rohan (Nik Dodani) and Josh (Brandon Flynn) invite the parents of both couples to their country house so everyone can get acquainted. It sounds pretty creepy for a comedy-horror film. But wait! There’s more: a demon summoned from a Wi-Fi router takes over the body of Rohan’s father (Brian Cox), and the situation is complicated by the arrival of the house’s owner (Parker Posey). The plot is a bit uneven, but there’s plenty of fun in it. Starring Edie Falco, Lisa Kudrow, and Dean Norris. Watch “Bringing Up Children . “
Juror No. 2 (2024)
Clint Eastwood’s latest (or last?) film is a high-concept legal drama boasting several impressive performances, highlighted by his straightforward directorial style. Nicholas Hoult plays Justin Kemp, a journalist and recovering alcoholic assigned to a jury in Savannah, Georgia. The case concerns the death of a woman a year earlier, presumably murdered by the defendant, her then-boyfriend. But as the case unfolds, Kemp gradually realizes he knows more about the death than anyone else in the courtroom and must find a way to exonerate the defendant without interfering with his actions. Watch “Juror #2 . “
We Live in Time (2024)
John Crowley’s 2015 film Brooklyn was a critical success, but 2019’s The Goldfinch was a disappointment on virtually every level. Thus, the nonlinear romantic drama We Live in Time feels like a return to basics of sorts: Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield demonstrate impressive chemistry as the couple at the film’s center. They meet when she hits him with her car on the night he finalizes his divorce, and the film jumps around their relationship from its early days to a difficult pregnancy and cancer diagnosis without becoming overly intrusive. Watch We Live in Time .
The Trap (2024)
Cooper (Josh Hartnett) is a pretty cool dad in M. Night Shyamalan’s latest film. He takes his daughter, Riley (Ariel Donoghue), to a concert by a Billie Eilish-looking pop star. But we soon learn that Cooper is also a notorious serial killer (not a signature Shyamalan twist, in case you were worried about spoilers). The FBI knows “The Butcher” will be at the concert, even if they don’t know who it is, and the whole thing is, yes, a trap Cooper must escape. These are the kinds of premises that make for fun thrillers, and Hartnett delivers a fine performance as the lead, his performance becoming increasingly edgy and unhinged even as Cooper tries to make sure his daughter enjoys the show. Streamer Trap .
Caddo Lake (2024)
Speaking of M. Night Shyamalan, it’s worth mentioning that he produced this psychedelic thriller, which plays like a working-class drama for much of its runtime before descending into a chaos best left undisclosed. Eliza Scanlen plays Ellie, who lives with her family near the titular lake, where it turns out her eight-year-old half-sister has disappeared. Dylan O’Brien plays Paris, who works at the lake while coping with survivor’s guilt and the trauma of his mother’s mysterious death. Their stories (and backstories) intertwine as they discover that the lake isn’t always the same as it was when it was left. Caddo River Lake .
The Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim (2024)
“War of the Rohirrim,” an anime adaptation of Tolkien’s world, welcomes the return of Philippa Boyens, co-writer of all six previous “Lord of the Rings” films. This animated installment takes us 200 years before Peter Jackson’s films, when the King of Rohan (Brian Cox) accidentally kills the chieftain of the neighboring Dunlendings during marriage negotiations, sparking a full-scale war. Miranda Otto reprises her role as Éowyn, who serves as narrator. Watch “War of the Rohirrim . “
Superman: The Christopher Reeve Story (2024)
This touching and heartbreaking documentary, chronicling the life of Christopher Reeve before and after the horseback riding accident that left him paralyzed, tells the story of the actor who played Superman as he becomes an activist for the rights of people with disabilities. Archival footage of Christopher and his wife, Dana, is interspersed with new interviews with their children, as well as actors and politicians who knew and worked with them both. Watch “Super/Human . “
Front Room (2024)
Adapted from a short story by Susan Hill ( The Woman in Black ), The Front Room puts a twist on the mother-in-law-gone-to-hell plot. Brandy plays Belinda, a pregnant anthropology professor forced to quit her job due to harsh working conditions. Her extremely odd mother-in-law, Solange (Kathryn Hunter, who steals the show), makes Brandy and her husband, Norman, an offer that could solve their financial problems: if they take care of her in her final days, she’ll leave them everything. Of course, this mentally ill religious fanatic isn’t interested in keeping things simple. The film is more silly than scary, but it’s thoroughly entertaining if you’re in that mood. Watch The Front Room .
Four Gods (2024)
We often fear new technologies, and often with good reason, but “Quad Gods” offers a more optimistic view: for people with quadriplegia, for whom sports like football are unthinkable, esports offers the opportunity to compete and connect not only with others with physical disabilities but also within the broader world of what has become a major industry. Exploring the contrast between the daily lives of the “Quad Gods” team and their talents in online gaming, the documentary presents a strikingly optimistic look at how technology can put us all on a level playing field. Watch “Quad Gods . “
Rise (2024)
There’s not much new to this post-apocalyptic thriller starring Anthony Mackie, but “Rise” is nonetheless a well-made action film that doesn’t feel silly at all. Just a few years before the film’s events, the ravenous Reapers rose from the depths of the dungeons and wiped out 95% of humanity. Now, single father Will (Mackie) is forced to abandon his shelter and travel to Boulder, Colorado, the nearest place he can find air filters to help his son with his lung condition. Along the way, he’s reluctantly joined by scientist Nina (Morena Baccarin), whose lab may hold the key to destroying the Reapers. Watch “Rise . “