Top 10 Films of the Year According to Streaming Services.
We’re officially halfway through 2026, and people have spent the past six months binge-watching some incredible movies. The ten films below—the most popular of the first half of the year, according to JustWatch —represent a treasure trove of cinematic variety, from the epic sci-fi adventure The Ave Maria Project to Sam Raimi’s frenetic thriller The Help and the action-packed political thriller One Fight at a Time . If you’re looking for a guaranteed hit for your next movie night, you can’t go wrong with any of the films below.
Project “Ave Maria” (2026)
In this gripping sci-fi film, Ryan Gosling plays Ryland Grace, a high school science teacher who finds himself catapulted into the sky in a desperate attempt to save the world. Grace is the only person on Earth who might know how to protect the sun from a life-threatening cosmic contagion (just take that for granted), but he’s definitely no astronaut and doesn’t consider himself a hero. Will he prove himself and learn something about his inner strength and resilience while saving us all from death? My guess is yes, probably. The Hail Mary Project is available to stream on Prime Video , MGM+ , Fubo , and Roku .
The Maid (2025)
Paul Feig’s The Maid is a psychological thriller inspired equally by action films like Gone Girl and suspense classics like Vertigo . Based on the 2022 novel by Frieda McFadden, The Maid has a classic premise: Millie (Sydney Sweeney), a young woman with a secret past, takes a job as a maid for wealthy couple Nina (Amanda Seyfried) and Andrew Winchester (Brandon Sklenar). Millie soon discovers that the sweet couple who hired her are hiding some very dangerous secrets. Perfect for fans of escalating tension and gripping plot twists, The Maid is available to stream on Starz and Fubo .
Send Help (2026)
Horror master Sam Raimi is the perfect director for this brutal, deranged, and darkly humorous thriller. In The Help, Rachel McAdams plays Linda, a clumsy office worker in an office full of well-dressed sharks. Her boss is Bradley (Dylan O’Brien), a powerful executive with unlimited funds and a complete lack of compassion. After a plane crash, they find themselves stranded on a desert island. It turns out Bradley’s ability to humiliate people doesn’t help in the jungle, but Linda is something of a survivalist. She might also be crazy. It’s the perfect premise for a twisted plot that culminates in a bloody conclusion. All good! The Help is available to watch on Hulu and Disney+ .
Marty Supreme (2025)
Based on the true story of table tennis player Marty Reisman, Marty Supreme is a fast-paced sports drama set in the world of professional table tennis in the 1950s. Academy Award nominee Timothée Chalamet stars as Marty Mauser, a brash table tennis prodigy who can’t resist his own challenges. Gwyneth Paltrow plays Kay Stone, a wealthy woman who becomes embroiled in Marty’s world. Marty Supreme is arguably the most successful table tennis film ever made (with the possible exception of Forrest Gump ), receiving nine Academy Award nominations and a 94% rating on Rotten Tomatoes . Watch Marty Supreme on HBO Max .
One Battle After Another (2025)
Paul Thomas Anderson’s subtle, intelligent thriller about resistance and racial tensions in a fascist, anti-immigration vision of the United States feels straight out of the news, but it’s no documentary. Featuring superb performances from Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro, and Regina Hall, One Battle at a Time is a rare film that’s both thoughtful and gripping. It was nominated for 13 Academy Awards and won six, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Supporting Actor for Sean Penn. Watch One Battle at a Time on HBO Max .
Bugonia (2025)
I love it when a weird film finds a wide audience, and Bugonia is one of those films. Jesse Plemons and Aidan Delbis play a pair of misfits who kidnap a powerful pharmaceutical executive (Emma Stone) because they think she’s an alien. Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, who made the excellent 2023 film Poor Things , nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture, it’s a must-see, even if you’re a little weird. (And if you’re looking for even more weirdness, the film is based on an even weirder South Korean film called Save the Green Planet .) Watch Bugonia on Netflix .
Hamnet (2025)
Well done, America, with your exquisite taste: “Hamnet” is a lyrical, sublime historical drama that reimagines the family life of William Shakespeare and his wife, Agnes Hathaway. Set in 16th-century Stratford-upon-Avon , the film explores the couple’s grief after the death of their 11-year-old son, Hamnet, and its influence on Shakespeare’s Hamlet . The film was nominated for eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, but won only one: Jessie Buckley won for Best Actress. Watch “Hamnet” on Netflix .
Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die (2026)
Legendary director Gore Verbinski ( The Ring, the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy) returns with a satirical, joyfully maximalist sci-fi comedy that tackles artificial intelligence, social media addiction, virtual reality, and the modern world itself. Sam Rockwell plays a man from the future who shows up at a Los Angeles diner, demanding patrons help him save the future from an artificial intelligence about to be born. As a time traveler, Rockwell has tried and failed numerous times, but this time things will be different — or everyone will die again. Part Terminator , part Black Mirror , Not Die is a film that throws everything at the wall, going so far over the top that you’ll be forced to come to terms with its bizarre logic and style out of sheer exhaustion. Watch Good Luck, Have Fun, Not Die on Hulu .
Avatar: Fire and Ash (2025)
James Cameron’s third film set in the world of Pandora proves that you can never neglect an epic spectacle. Avatar: Fire and Ash continues the saga of Jake Sully and Neytiri as they battle both the hostile Ash People and the even more hostile Earth colonists. Filled with stunning visuals that won an Academy Award in 2026, this sci-fi film grossed nearly $1.5 billion worldwide, becoming one of the biggest hits of the year. If you missed this visual spectacle on the big screen or just want to relive the journey to Pandora, you can now watch it from the comfort of your home. (If you need a refresher on all things Avatar , check out our in-depth review of the franchise .) Watch Avatar: Fire and Ash on Disney+ .
Secret Agent (2025)
This Brazilian neo-noir political thriller is set in the late 1970s, at the end of Brazil’s military dictatorship. Wagner Moura plays Armando Solimões, a former professor declared an enemy of the state and forced into hiding. Although the film failed to win any Oscars, it was nominated for four, including Best Picture, Best Actor (Moura), Best Foreign Language Film, and Best Casting. It holds a near-perfect 98% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Watch Secret Agent on Hulu.