HBO was, for at least a couple of generations, the home of movies on cable—no one else could compete. So the rise of HBO Max seemed like it could well have been the ultimate streaming destination for movie lovers, but the jury is still out on that designation, especially given the decision to drop the “HBO” portion of the name in favor of the simpler, but more generic, Max.
Still, Max maintains a collaboration with TCM, giving it a broad range of classic American and foreign films, as well as much of its catalog from HBO itself. It’s also the primary streaming home for Studio Ghibli and A24, so even though Max hasn’t been in the business of making as many originals as it used to, it still has a solid assortment of films that you won’t find anywhere else.
Here are 25 of the best of Max’s recent and/or exclusive offerings.
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024)
While Godzilla Minus One proved that Japanese filmmakers remain adept at wringing genuine drama out of tales of the city-destroying kaiju, the American branch of the franchise is offering up deft counter-programming. That is to say, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is every bit as ridiculous as its title suggests, with Godzilla and Kong teaming up to battle a tribe of Kong’s distant relatives—they live in the other dimensional Hollow Earth and have harnessed the power of an ice Titan, you see. It’s nothing more, nor less, than a good time with giant monsters.
Dune: Part Two (2024)
Denis Villeneuve stuck the landing on his adaptation of the latter part of Frank Herbert’s epic novel, so much so that Dune zealots are already looking ahead to a third film, adapting the second book in the series. The chilly (metaphorically) and cerebral sequel was a critical as well as a box office success—surprising on both counts, especially considering that the beloved book was once seen as more or less unadaptable (with the deeply weird David Lynch version serving as Exhibit A in support of that assertion). If you’re playing catch-up, Max also has the first Dune, with a spin-off series (Dune: Prophecy) coming in the fall.
Problemista (2024)
Julio Torres (creator of Los Espookys and Fantasmas, also available on Max) wrote, produced, directed, and stars in this surreal comedy about a toy designer from El Salvador working in the United States under a visa that’s about to expire. What to do but take a desperation job with quirky, volatile artist Elizabeth (Tilda Swinton)? The extremely offbeat and humane comedy has been earning raves since it debuted at South by Southwest last year. RZA, Greta Lee, and Isabella Rossellini also star.
The Color Purple (2023)
It was a tall order, following up the beloved 1985 version of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, but this adaptation of the subsequent Broadway musical clears those hurdles and then some. If it can’t quite replace previous iterations, it offers up a unique, lively, and colorful vision of the story of hard-working, hard-pressed Miss Celie (Fantasia Barrino) surviving and, ultimately, thriving despite being “poor… Black…and ugly” in the rural south of the early 20th century. Danielle Brooks, as Sofia, was nominated for an Academy Award.
Dicks: The Musical (2023)
You have no idea what you’re in store for if you haven’t seen this genuinely raucous musical about a couple of separated-at-birth twins (Josh Sharp and Aaron Jackson), both misogynistic jerks, who take to impersonating each other in order to reconcile their long-separated parents (Nathan Lane and Megan Mullally). It’s a simple, silly premise—but things quickly get more and more wild. Mom Evelyn’s vagina fell off years ago, newly out dad Harrison keeps a couple of mutant “sewer boys” in a giant birdcage in his apartment. It’s all wonderfully, jaw-droppingly weird.
Am I OK? (2024)
Real-life married couple Tig Notaro and Stephanie Allynne directed this comedy based, loosely, on Allyne’s own life. Dakota Johnson plays Lucy, a directionless 32-year-old woman in Los Angeles who finds that her unsatisfying romantic life might have something to do with her being other than straight. She navigates her journey of self-discovery and coming out with the help of her best friend Jane (House of the Dragon‘s Sonoya Mizuno).
Barbie (2023)
What’s left to say about the movie of 2023? Oppenheimer might have won the Oscars, but Barbie owned the discourse—and the box office, with the pink candy-colored pro-feminist raking in more money than any other movie. Margot Robbie is perfect as the fish-out-of-water doll stranded in the real world, Ryan Gosling is more than Kenough, and it’s the third triumph in a row from director Greta Gerwig.
The Iron Claw (2023)
Zac Efron and The Bear‘s Jeremy Allen White star in this sports drama about the real-life Von Erichs family of professional wrestlers, a clan often said to be cursed for the number of tragedies they’ve endured. The performances were almost universally lauded, as was the movie’s ability to blend rip-roaring wrestling action with compelling human drama. The National Board of Review named it one of their top films of the year. Stream it with a box of tissues handy.
Wonka (2023)
The horrifying Willy Wonka Chocolate Experience might have stolen the spotlight from Timothée Chalamet’s turn as our favorite vaguely threatening chocolatier, but that’s no reason to sleep on Wonka. An old-school musical with modern production values, Wonka feels like a thoroughly refreshing throwback to a less cynical time, with some memorable songs and emotional beats that really land.
Dream Scenario (2023)
One of the latest from A24 didn’t make quite the splash of some of the distributors other recent offerings, but it still pulled in very good reviews and a couple of awards and nominations for lead Nicholas Cage. Here he plays college professor Paul Matthews, who starts appearing in the dreams of dozens of unconnected people, but as a dull and passive observer. Until he isn’t, and the appearances start taking on a more menacing, nightmarish quality. The whole thing winds up being an impressively unhinged meditation on fame, A24-style.
Priscilla (2023)
The great Sofia Coppola wrote and directed this biopic based on Priscilla Presley’s own memoir about her young life and troubled, troubling romance with the older Elvis Presley. Cailee Spaeny and Jacob Elordi offer up great performances, and the result is the portrayal of a relationship that’s tender, in its way, but also complicated and deeply unbalanced.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023)
I’m not here to make the case that Aquaman 2 is high art, nor that it’s even entirely memorable—but it is a charmingly goofy bit of superhero fun, pairing Jason Momoa and Patrick Wilson as a pair of mismatched super siblings on a quest to save the planet from some greenhouse-gas spewing villains. The stakes are high enough to keep things interesting, but the movie lacks the self-seriousness that plagues so many other super-movies, particularly the DC-adjacent ones.
Love Lies Bleeding (2024)
In a world of movies that are very carefully calibrated to be as inoffensive as possible, it’s nice to see something as muscular, frenetic, and uncompromising as Love Lies Bleeding. Kristen Stewart plays small-town gym manager Lou; she’s the daughter of the local crime boss (Ed Harris), with a sister (Jena Malone) suffering from the abuse of her no-good husband (Dave Franco). It’s all quietly tolerated until bodybuilder Jackie (Katy O’Brian) stops off in town. She’s ‘roided up and ready for action, falling hard for Lou before the two of them get caught up in an act of violence that sends everything spiraling toward a truly wild final act. (Coming July 19)
Slave Play. Not a Movie. A Play. (2024)
A provocative title for a provocative documentary film, Slave Play. Not a Movie. A Play. sees playwright Jeremy O. Harris exploring the creative process behind the title work, a play that earned a record number of Tony nominations, won none, and that is equally loved and hated (it’s about interracial couples having sex therapy at an antebellum-era plantation house). The narrative here is entirely non-linear, and the rules of a traditional making-of are out the window, with Harris instead taking a nearly train-of-thought approach to examining the process of creating the play, and in understanding reactions to it.
Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part One (2024)
While the live-action DC slate went out with a whimper (at least until next year’s Superman reboot), the animated series of films has been chugging along more quietly, but also with more success. This installment marks part one of an adaptation of the altogether biggest story in DC history, as heroes from across the multiverse are brought together to prevent an antimatter wave that’s wiping out entire universes. Darren Criss, Stana Katic, Jensen Ackles, and Matt Bomer are among the voice cast, and Part Two is coming to Max in the near future.
All That Breathes (2022)
For some Muslims in New Delhi, it’s long been traditional to feed the black kites (a type of raptor), with the belief that such a good deed will help to ward off trouble. Except that it’s become increasingly hard for the birds to survive in the modern city, with the birds falling victim to all manner of dangers—pollution and overpopulation being the prime culprits. The documentary All That Breathes follows brothers Saud and Nadeem, who run a bird sanctuary that’s saved tens of thousands of raptors over the past two decades in a story about the interconnectedness of our ecosystems, and also about the virtue of staving off what feels like inevitable decline.
The Zone of Interest (2023)
Jonathan Glazer’s Oscar winner examines the banality of evil in the story of Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Höss (Christian Friedel) and his wife Hedwig (the always brilliant Sandra Hüller), living ostensibly ordinary lives while being complicit in the extraordinary evil happening just outside of the frame. It’s very specific in its treatment of the Holocaust and the real-life figures portrayed, but also suggests, more universally, that we all are capable of becoming blind to the horrors we have a hand in.
Judas and the Black Messiah (2021)
Daniel Kaluuya won an Academy Award as Fred Hampton in this searing biographical drama about the FBI infiltration of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party in the late-1960s Chicago. LaKeith Stanfield plays FBI informant William O’Neal in the movie that was also nominated for Best Picture.
In the Heights (2021)
Before Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote the book, music, and lyrics for this musical set over three days in a largely Dominican American neighborhood in Upper Manhattan. The film version captures all the joyousness of the stage version, while adding location shooting that grounds all of the singing and dancing. It’s a gorgeous, moving celebration of life, change, and community.
Little Richard: I Am Everything (2023)
For too long remembered as an energetic weirdo, this new documentary establishes Little Richard’s place as one of the architects of rock and roll, if not the cornerstone on which the entire genre is built. This film explores not only his life and artistry, but considers Richard’s sometimes outspoken (and equally fraught) queerness as an essential part of rock’s early days.
Love to Love You, Donna Summer (2023)
Oscar and Emmy-winning filmmaker Roger Ross Williams collaborated with Brooklyn Sudano, Donna Summer’s daughter, on this in-depth exploration of her life and career, from disco queen, to songwriter, to painter. The documentary makes use of photos and home videos, often record by Donna herself, to take an intimate look at the real woman behind the iconography.
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 spots 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.
Green Knight (2021)
David Lowery’s Medieval pastiche, based roughly (but authentically) on the 14th-century chivalric romance Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, is a visual feast as well as a dark, sensuous journey into an imagined past. Dev Patel stars as the title’s knight in a movie that adheres more closely to the conventions of middle age storytelling than pretty much any movie I’ve ever seen. The result is something that feels a bit like a fever dream, but an experience for anyone willing to sink into it.
Albert Brooks: Defending My Life (2023)
Rob Reiner directs this delightful documentary about the actor, comedian, director, and screenwriter Albert Brooks, covering his early life as well as a decades-long career that includes SNL, Scorsese movies, Simpsons voices, and an Academy Award nomination. It’s mostly just a conversation between Brooks and Reiner, but it’s all pretty fascinating, whether or not you’re a long-time fan.
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (2022)
A fascinating portrait of photographer, artist, and activist Nan Goldin, whose work documenting the HIV/AIDS crisis and the more recent opioid epidemic after her own near-death from a fentanyl overdose. At the movie’s center is a moral conflict: Goldin’s tireless work against the Sackler family’s companies, for their roles in relentlessly marketing OxyContin, puts her in a tricky spot when it comes to displaying her work. Having encouraged the arts community to divest from these pharmaceutical giants, she also comes to question the value of displaying her work at museums, many of which are heavily funded by the Sacklers. How much must an uncompromising artist compromise for the greater good?
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