.jpg "The 35 Greatest Films on HBO Max Proper Now (September 2025)")
Because the birthplace of status TV reveals like The Sopranos and The Wire, HBO—and, by extension, HBO Max—is finest identified for its spectacular lineup of unique sequence. The community has additionally been upping the ante with feature-length content material that’s the stuff of Oscar desires.
Under is a listing of a few of our favourite movies streaming on HBO Max—from Oscar-winning epics to dystopian sci-fi classics. For those who resolve you’re in additional of a TV temper, head over to our picks for the finest reveals on HBO Max. For those who’re searching for much more suggestions, take a look at our lists of the finest motion pictures on Netflix, the finest motion pictures on Amazon Prime, and the finest motion pictures on Disney+.
Friendship
Paul Rudd and Tim Robinson each do what they do finest—be impossibly likable and extremely unhinged, respectively—on this darkish comedy bromance. Craig Waterman (I Assume You Ought to Go away’s Robinson) is a clumsy advertising government who’s shocked when his new neighbor Austin Carmichael, a neighborhood TV meteorologist, invitations him over for a beer one evening. The 2 strike up an surprising friendship that has the usually homebound Craig seeing the world in an entire new means—one stuffed with guys’ nights and male bonding. However when Austin decides to name off their brewing brotherhood, Craig can not deal with the rejection. And can go to wild lengths to fix their relationship.
Goodfellas
“No finer movie has ever been made about organized crime, not even The Godfather.” That’s what Roger Ebert needed to say about Martin Scorsese’s mafia masterpiece in 1990. It was a daring assertion, however one which’s simple to get behind. Scorsese labored with novelist Nicholas Pileggi to adapt his 1985 e book, Wiseguy, into this Oscar-winning crime-drama that follows the lifetime of Henry Hill (Ray Liotta), a wannabe gangster turned real-life mafioso whose hubris (coupled with a drug downside) get the very best of him and switch his life right into a worst-case state of affairs. Even with a operating time of practically 2.5 hours, Goodfellas stays immensely watchable and rewatchable—to not point out quotable. For true movie nerds, the three-minute Copacabana monitoring shot stays one in every of cinema’s best achievements.
Se7en
What’s within the field? For those who don’t know, you’re about to search out out. For those who do know, it’s nonetheless value rewatching. Gwyneth Paltrow was merely referred to as Brad Pitt’s girlfriend when this intelligent thriller was launched in 1995, and Kevin Spacey was a scorching commodity recent off his Oscar win for The Common Suspects. How occasions have modified! However this David Fincher traditional, a couple of serial killer whose North Star is the seven lethal sins, stays a gritty masterpiece that has misplaced none of its efficiency within the 30 years since its launch.
The Cabin within the Woods
Drew Goddard takes a web page out of Wes Craven’s Scream e book with this completely executed—and unexpectedly humorous—meta horror flick. True to its title, The Cabin within the Woods takes that overused horror film trope through which a bunch of enticing younger folks head off to a cabin in the course of nowhere and discover themselves surrounded by some sort of evil, human or in any other case. That every piece of that subgenre’s puzzle is so completely executed, from the bizarre previous native who makes an attempt to warn the youngsters to show again to the basement stuffed with creepy previous relics, is all a part of the plan right here. The movie is a loving ode to the horror style, even when it does have surprisingly darkish penalties.
Last Vacation spot Bloodlines
Twenty-five years after Last Vacation spot arrived in theaters, and greater than a decade after the final installment, the most recent entry within the so-bad-it’s-good horror franchise simply delivered what’s undoubtedly its finest chapter. Whereas the story follows the identical plot that followers have come to know and love—a bunch of individuals handle to cheat dying, so Demise comes again to complete the job—this one offers some historical past to that acquainted rubric. Whereas that provides this entry a extra emotional degree, it’s additionally fairly intelligent within the new methods it chooses to off these whose destiny was predetermined. And whereas it’s gory as hell, there’s one thing subtly comedic about the entire affair.
Sinners
Sizzling on the heels of a few of the finest, and most profitable Marvel motion pictures ever (that will be the Black Panther movies), writer-director Ryan Coogler discovered an entire new method to blow cinephiles’ minds with this attractive vampire story. Set in Nineteen Thirties Mississippi, the movie stars Michael B. Jordan in a twin function as twin brothers Smoke and Stack, two World Struggle I veterans who return residence from Chicago with mob cash with a plan to run a juke joint. Opening evening of their new institution, nonetheless, goes terribly incorrect when a bunch of blood-sucking white musicians reveals up at their door. Lush and stuffed with fantastically shot motion scenes, Sinners is already headed to the highest of most Better of 2025 lists. Along with the unique theatrical launch, HBO Max is streaming the movie in Black American Signal Language (BASL).
Get Out
In 2017, Jordan Peele went from one half of Key & Peele to an Oscar-winning screenwriter (to not point out the primary Black author to win the Academy Award for Greatest Unique Screenplay and the primary Black filmmaker to be nominated as a producer, author, and director in a single yr). Eight years later, the impression of Peele’s Get Out continues to be simply as spectacular. Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) has been invited by his girlfriend, Rose (Allison Williams), to spend the weekend at her mother and father’ residence in upstate New York. Whereas Chris worries that her seemingly upper-class mother and father received’t be accepting of an interracial relationship, Rose assures him it received’t be an issue—and she or he’s proper, however for all of the incorrect causes. With Get Out, Peele cracked the code on making a movie that was a horror film, psychological drama, and telling commentary on race suddenly.
Parasite
Even should you don’t care about awards, the truth that Parasite is the primary—and nonetheless solely—non-English-language film to win a Greatest Image Oscar ought to inform you one thing concerning the universality of its themes. The Kims, a household struggling to make ends meet, set their scheming sights on the Parks, a well-to-do household with loads of issues of their very own, but in addition loads of cash to muffle their dysfunction. A minimum of for a time. Simply whenever you suppose you know the way class warfare is taking part in out on this black comedy, it adjustments course to succeed in an surprising conclusion. As at all times, director Bong Joon-ho is aware of simply the way to lead his viewers down one path, solely to open a trapdoor into one other.
Battle Membership
An workplace drone (Edward Norton) with a love of catalog procuring and self-help teams meets a rebellious cleaning soap maker (Brad Pitt) on a flight—then doesn’t appear in a position to shake him. However doesn’t actually appear to need to, particularly once they notice that beating the shit out of one another is an effective way to alleviate the stress of on a regular basis life. Quickly, they’ve assembled a military of Battle Membership members who’re able to tackle the world. It’s been greater than 25 years since David Fincher’s adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk’s best-selling novel turned a technology of moviegoers on their heads, and though the movie was a little bit of a bomb when it was launched in theaters, it has since gained a large cult following—and even spawned some very actual battle golf equipment.
Mountainhead
Succession creator Jesse Armstrong simply could be immediately’s foremost chronicler of the world’s 1 %. He stays in that lane with Mountainhead, his characteristic directorial debut, which follows an unexpectedly eventful weekend gathering of 4 of the tech world’s strongest males on the new mountain retreat of Hugo “Souper” Van Yalk (Jason Schwartzman), the one non-billionaire of the bunch. Whereas it’s meant to be a pleasant get-together between previous friends, everybody has an ulterior motive for blocking the weekend on their calendar. However all plans exit the window when the social media platform owned by Ven Parish (Cory Michael Smith), the world’s richest man, sends the world into upheaval as the results of a fast-tracked AI characteristic that’s spreading disinformation at an alarming price. Which everybody however Ven sees as a possibility to extend each their energy and web value.
Babygirl
Romy Mathis (Nicole Kidman) is a high-powered CEO with a husband (Antonio Banderas) who doesn’t excite her and two teenage daughters she adores. However her life is turned the other way up when one morning, whereas strolling to her workplace, she is almost attacked by a canine. A good-looking younger stranger (Harris Dickinson) steps in and manages to avert the assault, which leaves Romy shaken—and curious. Later, that very same younger man is launched to her as Samuel, one in every of her latest interns, who appears to maintain discovering methods to push the boundaries of acceptable office habits. Ultimately, Romy offers in to Samuel’s advances, and his style for BDSM-ish kink. Regardless of Romy’s issues concerning the unfair energy dynamic, Samuel insists that he’s the one who holds the facility of their relationship, as she is the one with every little thing to lose. He could be proper about that.
The Brutalist
Adrien Brody earned his second Greatest Actor Oscar for this historic epic from director Brady Corbet about László Tóth (Brody), a Bauhaus-trained architect who emigrates to America after surviving the Buchenwald focus camp. Tóth settles within the Philadelphia space and should rebuild his life by working menial jobs for little pay. However Tóth’s abilities don’t go hidden for lengthy. A rich industrialist, Harrison Lee Van Buren (Man Pearce), learns about Tóth’s previous and commissions him to design an enormous mission. He additionally helps to hurry up the immigration of Tóth’s spouse, Erzsébet (Felicity Jones), whom he has not seen since his incarceration. However Tóth quickly learns that the American Dream comes at a value. Whereas, at its coronary heart, The Brutalist is a frank depiction of the immigrant expertise, it’s additionally a heartbreaking assertion on the ache that comes with processing trauma. The movie received three of its 10 Oscar nominations, and is totally deserving of every.
Aftersun
Although Paul Mescal scored a Greatest Actor Oscar nomination for his function in Aftersun, the movie—Scottish filmmaker Charlotte Wells’ directorial debut—stays grossly underseen. Calum (Mescal) is a father battling psychological anguish, and doing his finest to cover it, whereas vacationing together with his precocious 11-year-old daughter Sophie (Frankie Corio) in Turkey. However she sees by way of the facade, even when she doesn’t perceive what’s occurring. Whereas their leisurely seaside days occupy a lot of the movie’s operating time, it’s Sophie’s recollection of the holiday and the paradox of its ending—to not point out the amazingly genuine chemistry between Mescal and Corio—that make the film each a strong meditation on psychological sickness and its impact on these round us, in addition to a placing coming-of-age story.
Home
Put together to have your thoughts blown by this trippy 1977 horror-comedy from Japan. Attractive (Kimiko Ikegami) is the daughter of a famed movie composer who returns from a visit to Italy with a shock: a brand new spouse. In an effort to keep away from the awkwardness of the scenario, she asks her aunt if she will be able to keep at her creepy previous mansion for the summer season, then brings alongside six of her closest buddies. It doesn’t take lengthy for bizarre issues to start out occurring. Disembodied head assaults, homicidal pianos, and possessed cat portraits? This thrillingly bonkers cult traditional has all of it!
Gimme Shelter
Legendary documentarians Albert and David Maysles reinvented the rockumentary with this riveting first-hand recounting of the ultimate days of the Rolling Stones’ 1969 US tour, which led to their notorious Altamont Free Live performance. The live performance, which attracted an estimated 300,000 folks to California’s Altamont Speedway on December 6, 1969, was a catastrophe from the get-go—particularly given the band’s resolution to usher in the Hells Angels because the present’s safety (one member famously mentioned they have been reportedly paid in beer). The Stones weren’t the one artists, however by the point they took the stage the gang was uncontrolled. At one level, one of many Angels stabbed a person, Meredith Hunter, proper in entrance of the stage—a second that the filmmakers later realized that they had captured on movie. Seeing the band’s response to watching the footage themselves makes for a very compelling perspective on rock stardom.
Sing Sing
Colman Domingo proves but once more why he’s one in every of immediately’s most acclaimed actors with this Oscar-nominated efficiency. Divine G (Domingo) is an inmate at New York’s notorious Sing Sing jail, serving time for against the law he didn’t commit. Throughout his imprisonment, he finds goal and pleasure within the jail’s theater group, a part of its (very actual) Rehabilitation By means of the Arts program. By tapping into his internal thespian, Divine G is ready to join together with his feelings, and he turns into decided to show his innocence. However his simple appearing expertise, which conjures up a few of his fellow inmates, finally ends up posing an issue when it comes time for a parole listening to. Finally, Divine involves respect the transformative energy of the humanities in serving to him and a few of his fellow inmates to beat their previous traumas. Making the movie much more highly effective is the truth that lots of the actors are previously incarcerated males who took half in this system.
Heretic
Hugh Grant earned some much-deserved awards consideration for taking part in to this point towards sort on this religion-themed psychological thriller. Sister Barnes (Sophie Thatcher) and Sister Paxton (Chloe East) are two younger Mormon missionaries who’re determined to search out somebody—anybody—who will allow them to discuss their faith in an try to convert new members to the church. When Mr. Reed (Grant), a seemingly type older man, invitations them into his residence in an effort to ship their spiel to him and his spouse, it shortly turns into obvious, at the least to Sister Barnes, that one thing is amiss. And that Reed doesn’t a lot need to hear about faith as he does speak about it—and power his personal beliefs on the younger girls in more and more weird, and lethal, methods.
We Reside in Time
Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh ignite the display screen with their chemistry on this romantic tearjerker that follows the couple over the course of a decade, from their meet-not-so-cute (she hits him together with her automotive) to their journey into parenthood and, ultimately, going through the final word curveball that threatens their happily-ever-after. Garfield and Pugh are two of essentially the most acclaimed actors of their technology, and We Reside in Time proves why.
Juror #2
Up till now, most of what you’ve heard about Juror #2 is the way it’s one in every of Clint Eastwood’s most achieved directorial efforts—and but by some means it received shafted when it got here to its theatrical launch. Now’s your probability to see what all of the fuss is about. Justin Kemp (Nicholas Hoult) is a journalist and recovering alcoholic who’s making each effort to take care of his sobriety. That turns into a little bit of a problem when he’s placed on the jury of a high-profile homicide trial … solely to appreciate that he could have inadvertently performed an element in what occurred. Hoult is incredible on this edge-of-your-seat authorized (and moral) drama.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
It has been practically 40 years since Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice stormed the late ’80s field workplace. Within the many years since, we’ve typically heard rumblings {that a} sequel was within the works. Or could be within the works. Or most undoubtedly was within the works. Or may not be within the playing cards in any respect. Properly, in 2024 it lastly occurred, and it was as if Michael Keaton had by no means stepped away from the function in any respect (everlasting life has a means of doing that to you). This time, nonetheless, Lydia (Winona Ryder) continues to be doing her finest to neglect her rendezvous with the bio-exorcism professional. However when she returns to her childhood residence, it’s her personal badass daughter (Jenna Ortega) who finds a method to deliver him again into all their lives.
Tremendous/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story
Along with the all-new Superman film, audiences have James Gunn and his DC Studios co-CEO Peter Safran (partly) to thank for bringing this long-overdue documentary concerning the final superhero actor to worldwide audiences. Administrators Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui ship a heartfelt, shifting tribute to Reeve—as an actor, sure, however much more in order an individual who by no means gave up. Alexandra Reeve Givens, Matthew Reeve, and Will Reeve—Reeve’s kids—share their very own tales about their dad, giving the mission one more layer of intimacy. No, you’re crying.
Watchmen: Chapter I
Brandon Vietti (Batman: Beneath the Purple Hood) directs this progressive animated adaption of Alan Moore’s Hugo Award-winning graphic novel about an investigation into the homicide of Edward Blake—higher referred to as a superhero named the Comic. When the police come up empty when it comes to suspects, the costumed vigilante Rorschach (Titus Welliver) decides to take the case into his personal arms, and ultimately involves consider that somebody is making an attempt to knock off superheroes. So he enlists the assistance of a bunch of them in an effort to put a cease to the killing spree.
MaXXXine
MaXXXine is the third movie in writer-director Ti West’s X trilogy, which started with X and Pearl. It’s set instantly after the occasions of Pearl: Mia Goth’s Maxine Minx is determined to flee her upbringing as a preacher’s daughter and make the transfer from porn to extra mainstream motion pictures. She will get her probability when she lands the lead in a horror film, The Puritan II. Then her buddies begin getting murdered. Finally, Maxine is pressured to confront the sins of her previous and discover a method to obtain the celebrity she so desperately desires of.
Civil Struggle
Within the not-too-distant future, the USA has reworked into an all-out battlefield between an authoritarian authorities, headed by a third-term president (Nick Offerman), and a stream of secessionist actions that threaten to destroy the nation as we all know it. However a bunch of journalists (led by Kirsten Dunst) is set to doc the downfall of America at any price, so that they set about heading to the White Home in an effort to interview the embattled president. Which is way simpler mentioned than executed. Oscar nominee Alex Garland (Ex-Machina) writes and directs this dystopian drama that always hits uncomfortably near residence.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Furiosa could have been dubbed final summer season’s first field workplace “bomb,” however don’t let these dollar-focused headlines deter you from this one. Anya Taylor-Pleasure, who’s undoubtedly probably the most versatile actors working immediately, shines within the function of Imperator Furiosa, a badass emancipator who dares to problem gender conventions in a harmful, postapocalyptic world the place (no shock in any respect) males make the principles. Taylor-Pleasure does an admirable job embracing the function that Charlize Theron memorably originated in Mad Max: Fury Street.
Love Lies Bleeding
English writer-director Rose Glass follows up her BAFTA-nominated Saint Maud with this twisty, hyper-violent love story. It’s 1989 in a rural New Mexico city the place health club supervisor Lou (Kristen Stewart) is doing her finest to remain beneath the radar and control her sister Beth (Jena Malone), who’s in an abusive relationship together with her husband JJ (Dave Franco). However Lou’s life is turned the other way up when Jackie (Katy O’Brian), a beautiful younger bodybuilder, begins coming to Lou’s health club to coach for an upcoming competitors in Las Vegas. The 2 fall in love—after which Lou’s hidden household secrets and techniques come tumbling out of the closet and threaten her life, and the lives of these she cares about.
Faye
“I’m Faye Dunaway. That’s who I’m.” That’s the way in which the Oscar winner introduces herself within the trailer for Laurent Bouzereau’s feature-length documentary. However what the movie reveals is that there’s much more to Faye Dunaway than the glamorous picture related to the legendary star of Community. Dunaway opens up in a means that has hardly ever been seen earlier than, discussing her childhood and household, her struggles with bipolar dysfunction, and the way the characters she has performed proceed to impression her. It’s an enchanting portrait of a real Hollywood icon.
Quad Gods
Jess Jacklin’s characteristic documentary follows the fascinating journey of Blake, Prentice, and Richard—three people with quadriplegia who meet in a neuro-rehabilitation lab at Mount Sinai Hospital and launch a plan to create the world’s first all-quadriplegic esports staff. It’s a noble pursuit, however one fraught with challenges as they break down the doorways of ableism. At its coronary heart, Quad Gods is a narrative of friendship, perseverance, and survival.
Am I OK?
Lucy (Dakota Johnson) is a thirtysomething dwelling in Los Angeles, consistently failing at relationships and questioning why she doesn’t have every little thing found out but. After drunkenly sharing the story of the time she kissed a feminine good friend as a teen, she begins to appreciate that the issue in her love life may not be the lads she’s selecting, however that she’s selecting males in any respect. Former Saturday Night time Reside author Lauren Pomerantz penned the script for the movie based mostly on her personal expertise of popping out in her thirties. Tig Notaro and her spouse Stephanie Allynne do an admirable job as codirectors, treating Lucy’s journey of self-discovery with the respect it deserves—and loads of humor.
MoviePass, MovieCrash
For higher or worse, thousands and thousands of movie followers will keep in mind 2012 because the yr of MoviePass. For $25 per thirty days, you could possibly mainly reside in a movie show—which was nice for audiences, not so nice for film theaters (which have been already struggling), and ultimately disastrous for the corporate itself. For anybody who nonetheless has their MoviePass, this revealing documentary tells the true story of all that went incorrect behind the scenes, and shares the story of the unsung heroes who actually did simply need to create a product that film lovers may embrace. By the way in which: For those who do certainly nonetheless have your unique MoviePass, this doc has made it a worthwhile piece of memorabilia—with some promoting for north of $1,000.
Dune and Dune: Half Two
Since breaking by way of with the Oscar-nominated Incendies (2010), Denis Villeneuve has continued to show that he’s probably the most proficient filmmakers working immediately. As if making a Blade Runner sequel that didn’t suck wasn’t sufficient, Villeneuve then went on to crack the cinematic code on Frank Herbert’s Dune sequence—one thing that true visionaries like David Lynch and Alejandro Jodorowsky had tried earlier than him, albeit largely unsuccessfully. Each the 2021 unique movie and its sequel are streaming on HBO Max—as is Lynch’s 1984 adaptation (which has grow to be a little bit of a cult traditional through the years). The movie follows the destiny of the planet Arrakis—and its provide of melange, a singular spice and essentially the most beneficial substance within the universe—which rests within the arms of Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet), the untested son of a strong duke. On the lookout for extra Dune motion? The prequel sequence Dune: Prophecy, starring Emily Watson, Olivia Williams, and Mark Robust is streaming in full.
The Zone of Curiosity
In 1943, Rudolf Höss (Christian Friedel) was the commandant of Auschwitz who spent his days taking part in god with the lives of the focus camp’s harmless prisoners. However what occurred when Höss went residence? That’s the truth Jonathan Glazer’s Oscar-winning movie examines, and the reply is: Not a lot. Höss lives proper subsequent door to the camp, within the so-called Zone of Curiosity, together with his spouse Hedwig (Sandra Hüller) and their 5 kids. Inside these 4 partitions, they attempt to construct a dream life for his or her household—whereas the sound of gunshots, incoming trains, and furnaces being lit are simply part of every day life. Sure, it’s each bit as brutal—and needed—because it sounds.
Barbie
Greta Gerwig is a grasp of respiratory new life into previous properties (see: Little Ladies). With Barbie, she has ignited a revolution. Barbie (Margot Robbie) resides her finest life in Barbieland—till in the future, when her completely plastic world, and heels, all of the sudden start to break down. To get her fabulous life again, Barbie should journey to the true world—properly, Los Angeles—to find out who or what’s inflicting her existential disaster. The movie grossed practically $1.5 billion worldwide, that means you’ve got already seen it. However even should you did, it’s completely value a second watch—if solely to lament its many Oscar snubs.
Actuality
In 2017, an intelligence report about Russian interference within the 2016 US presidential election was leaked anonymously. One yr later, former NSA translator Actuality Winner (sure, that’s her actual identify) was sentenced to greater than 5 years in jail for the crime—the longest sentence ever obtained by a authorities whistleblower. HBO’s reigning muse, Sydney Sweeney (Euphoria, The White Lotus), shines on this gripping true story, which performs out principally in actual time because the FBI knocks on the 25-year-old’s door and spends greater than an hour questioning her.
All of the Magnificence and the Bloodshed
Discovering success in a single’s lifetime may appear to be the dream of each artist, however Nan Goldin has greater ambitions. Although she’s a photographer by commerce, she’s an activist by calling and has lengthy used her digital camera to seize painfully intimate moments of America in disaster, together with intensive work centered on the HIV/AIDS and opioid epidemics. However All of the Magnificence and the Bloodshed reveals the artist in battle: Ought to she permit her work to be showcased in one of many distinguished museums or galleries which have obtained endowments from the Sackler household—the Huge Pharma household that many blame for America’s opioid disaster? It’s a shifting portrait of an artist keen to threat all of it for her beliefs.
