September saw a flood of critically acclaimed new movies arrive on Max, which means trying to figure out what to watch is even more challenging than before. That's why you'll find me frequently perusing Max's top 10 list of the most-watched movies. Sure, not everything there is a guaranteed hit, but it's a useful tool for cutting through the noise with so much on offer across the best streaming services.
If you're similarly at a loss for what to watch next, we've carefully evaluated what's trending and narrowed down the three best movies to watch in Max's top 10 list. This includes an Oscar-winning fantasy movie, a classic ghoulish comedy from Tim Burton, and one of the best sci-fi movies of the best decade. For even more streaming recommendations, be sure to check out our round-up of everything new on HBO and Max this month.
This article is based on the Max top 10 movies in the U.S. as of 1 p.m. ET on September 10.
Best movies in Max's top 10
'The Boy and the Heron' (2023)
"The Boy and the Heron" is what earned legendary director Hayao Miyazaki his second Oscar for Best Animated Feature. Inspired in part by Miyazaki's own life, it follows 11-year-old Mahito Maki (Luca Padovan), a young boy living in wartime Japan in the early 1940s. After his mother dies in a hospital bombing, Mahito moves to the countryside with his father and his late mother's sister now turned stepmother (Gemma Chan).
While grieving and struggling to adapt to his new life, he encounters a peculiar gray heron that leads him to a hidden corner of the property where a mysterious watchtower is sealed off. When his stepmother mysteriously vanishes, Mahito, along with the family's maid, Kiriko (Florence Pugh), searches for her in the watchtower. They get more than they bargained for though, and instead begin an epic journey through a dreamlike realm beyond space and time — with the now-speaking heron (Robert Pattinson) begrudgingly along for the ride.
Watch it now on Max
'Beetlejuice' (1988)
Michael Keaton's ghost with the most may be back in a critically acclaimed new sequel, but there's still no word on when "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" will come to streaming. While you wait, why not revisit the original cult classic that made everyone's favorite bio-exorcist the cultural sensation he is today?
Tim Burton's ghoulish comedy stars Michael Keaton as the titular Betelgeuse (pronounced Beetlejuice), a wild and irreverent self-proclaimed demon from hell in the business of scaring mortals out of their homes on behalf of the ghosts that haunt them. The recently deceased couple Adam and Barbara Maitland, played by a young Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis respectively, reluctantly hire him after a new family — Charles Deetz (Jeffrey Jones), Delia Deetz (Catherine O’Hara), and their goth daughter Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder) — moves in and begins making drastic changes. But when Lydia, who can see ghosts, gets roped into the deal, Betelgeuse sees an opportunity to wreak havoc on both the mortal and supernatural worlds.
Watch it now on Max
'The Martian' (2015)
My colleague Martin Shore called director Ridley Scott's "The Martian" one of the best sci-fi movies of the past decade, and I'm inclined to agree. Based on the equally brilliant 2014 novel of the same name by Andy Weir, this gripping and deeply entertaining sci-fi survival story stars Matt Damon as Mark Watney, a botanist in the not-so-distant future who becomes stranded on Mars.
Left for dead by his crew and with help over a million miles away, he must rely on his ingenuity to find a way to communicate with NASA back on Earth and survive on his limited resources in the meantime. Against all odds, he figures out how to grow his own food, produce water, and generate power in the hostile alien environment while NASA races against time to hatch a rescue mission. Like all great survival stories, "The Martian" serves as a powerful testament to the human spirit's resilience, and it boasts one of Damon's finest performances to boot.
Watch it now on Max
Max top 10 movies right now
- 'Beetlejuice' (1988)
- 'The Martian' (2015)
- 'Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1' (2024)
- 'The Boy and the Heron' (2023)
- 'The Watchers' (2024)
- 'Independence Day Resurgence' (2016)
- 'Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga' (2024)
- 'X-Men Apocalypse' (2016)
- 'Shrek Forever After: The Final Chapter' (2010)
- 'Need for Speed' (2014)
