This list of the best movies on HBO Max is packed with classics both old and new. The streamer has really been going from strength to strength over the last few months, so we've expanded our list from 15 to 20 entries. Now easily one of the best streaming services, HBO Max has a deep catalog that's just waiting to be explored.
You can go on a Middle-earth marathon by watching all of The Lord of the Rings films – including the recent The War of the Rohirrim. Or you could watch all of the DC movies in order before browsing the legendary filmography of Studio Ghibli. There's also a wealth of standalone releases, including huge recent movies like Sinners, One Battle After Another, Warfare, and so many more.
So if you're in the mood for a great movie night, this is the list for you. When you've finished reading here, make sure to check out our growing list of the best HBO Max shows for some incredible small screen classics as well.
20. Friendship
Year: 2024
Director(s): Andrew DeYoung
Fans of Netflix's great I Think You Should Leave would do well to check out this terrific dark comedy. Director Andrew DeYoung's feature debut stars a magnificently twitchy Tim Robinson as Craig, a lonely middle-aged family man whose clumsy attempts to make friends with his new neighbor, charismatic weather man Austin (Paul Rudd), go very, very wrong...
Like much of Robinson's work, Friendship oscillates between scenes of laugh-out-loud hilarity and moments of hide-your-face awkwardness. The darkness at the heart of much of his work (see his incredible HBO Max show, The Chair Company) is leavened somewhat by the addition of Rudd's easy charisma, not to mention a strong supporting role from Kate Mara as Craig's increasingly disinterested wife Tami.
19. Bring Her Back
Year: 2025
Director: Danny and Michael Philippou
This harrowing horror flick has lived in our nightmares ever since we saw it earlier this year. Andy (Billy Barratt) and his younger step-sister Piper (Sora Wong) are sent to live with Laura (Sally Hawkins), a grieving mother who is still grappling with the death of her own daughter, Cathy. Andy intends to eventually become Piper's legal guardian, which does not set well with Laura, who has some... unusual ideas about how to deal with her grief.
This is Danny and Michael Philippou's second horror film, following 2022's hit Talk to Me. That was an effectively creepy shocker, but Bring Her Back feels like a big step up in terms of its maturity, and its command of a genuinely unsettling atmosphere. It's highly recommended, but with the warning that this one will stay with you...
Check out our guide to the best Netflix horror movies.
18. Civil War
Year: 2024
Director: Alex Garland
Director Alex Garland made a serious return to form with this blisteringly bleak and unnerving portrait of the United States falling into collapse. Kirsten Dunst plays war photographer Lee Smith who is intent on documenting the conflict. Tagging along is Cailee Spaeny as Jessie Collin, a young wannabe who is about to get a first hand look at just how terrifying combat really is.
Shot in an un-showy, matter-of-fact style that only highlights the horror of war, Garland follows these photographers as they wander from location to location. A nerve-shredding encounter with an uncredited Jesse Plemons is the film's most disturbing moment, but another sequence where two opposing sides take pot shots at each other without ever really knowing if they're even enemies is almost as bleakly memorable.
For more recommendations, read our list of the best shows on HBO Max to watch right now.
17. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Year: 2024
Director: Tim Burton
It only took 36 years (!) but the sequel to Tim Burton's 1988 gothic comedy arrived last year and was – almost a bit surprisingly – really good! Michael Keaton returns as "bio-exorcist" Betelgeuse, still obsessed with marrying Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder). Now grown up and estranged from her daughter Astrid (Wednesday star Jenna Ortega), Lydia has tried to put her past behind her, but it's not long before Betelgeuse returns and throws everything into chaos once more.
This is, in many ways, virtually the same film as the original. That's no bad thing, though. The jokes come thick and fast, while some of the aspects of the first film that haven't aged well (such as Betelgeuse's letchery) have been toned down a little. A subplot about Astrid's too-good-to-be-true new boyfriend adds a touch of mystery to what is Tim Burton's best film in years.
Our Beetlejuice Beetlejuice review called the film "inventive fun".
16. The Host
Year: 2006
Director: Bong Joon Ho
13 years before 2019's Parasite won him the Academy Award for Best Picture, Bong Joon Ho made this gooey monster movie about a grotesque mutation which emerges from the Han River in South Korea. As the creature runs rampant, extreme measures are taken to contain the casualties.
Inspired by the real life dumping of toxic chemicals in the Seoul waterway, director Bong's film keeps the human cost of such environmental flippancy at the forefront. A young woman, Park Hyun-seo (Go Ah-sung), is held captive by the monster, prompting rescue efforts by her family, who get caught in the crossfire of a misguided attempt at killing the beast. Themes of systemic oppression and societal issues radiate through the storytelling, making this a must-watch if you've seen Parasite and want to understand director Bong's creative journey.
15. Warfare
Year: 2025
Director: Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza
Alex Garland's latest feels like a natural companion piece to last year's Civil War, despite being unrelated in terms of plot and character. Co-directed with former US Navy SEAL Ray Mendoza, and based on his own experiences in the Iraq War, it places the viewer on the ground amid a squad of SEALs (including a who's who of so-hot-right-now acting talent, such as Cosmo Jarvis, Joseph Quinn, D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, and Will Poulter) just as a situation goes very wrong indeed.
Told in near real time, with little in the way of explanations of the wider political context, this is a clear-eyed depiction of the terrible reality of war, with all its confusion and desperate on-the-spot decisions. It's a gripping movie that also manages to be the antithesis of every film that ever made combat look exciting.
14. The Substance
Year: 2024
Director: Coralie Fargeat
This gruesome, hilarious body horror was a word-of-mouth hit in 2024. Demi Moore plays Elisabeth Sparkle, a former movie star fired from her long-running aerobics TV show because of Hollywood ageism. Spiraling, Elisabeth turns to "the substance" – a mysterious drug that promises to create a "younger, more beautiful, more perfect" version of its taker. Well, it does – in a very literal sense. Soon there are two Elisabeth Sparkles sharing the world: the original and a younger version played by Margaret Qualley. What could possibly go wrong? (Everything, obviously.)
The Substance is impressively outrageous, but its the film's pointed satire that lingers the longest in the memory. Moore and Qualley are both fantastic in a film that builds to a divisive – but certainly unforgettable – ending.
13. Uncut Gems
Year: 2019
Director(s): Josh and Benny Safdie
Adam Sandler plays seriously against type in this superb – and nail-biting – thriller from Josh and Benny Safdie. Sandler stars as jeweler and gambling addict Howard Ratner, who has bought a 600-carat black opal using money borrowed from his sketchy brother-in-law. When Ratner doesn't pay up, the brother-in-law sends some goons after him, setting in motion a string of disasters that could make or break Howard.
Uncut Gems is a long, and frequently stressful watch as Sandler's character – kind of a dirtbag, but broadly a charming one – digs himself ever deeper into trouble. It's never less than compelling, though, with career best performances from Sandler and a winning turn from Julia Fox as Howard's sweet-natured mistress. An eerie electronic score from Daniel Lopatin only adds to the atmosphere of deep unease.
12. Superman
Year: 2025
Director: James Gunn
One of the year's biggest movies is already streaming on HBO Max! Superman finds director James Gunn in fine form, relaunching the Man of Steel with a sunny, optimistic antidote to the gloom that characterized the early DC movies. We meet the new Supes – charmingly played by David Corenswet – early into his hero career, though his actual origin story is thankfully avoided. (As with Batman and Spider-Man that tale has been told countless times at this point.) Villainous Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) has a plan to take his arch-enemy down once and for all and it threatens the entire world.
Gunn's Superman is stuffed full of enough action, jokes, and loveable characters that its flaws – such as a slightly too-busy plot – are easy to ignore. This is a great start to the new and rebooted DCU.
Find out about every DCU movie and show with our handy guide.
11. Weapons
Year: 2025
Director: Zach Cregger
Last year's best horror movie was also one of 2025's most surprising films. As with Zach Cregger's feature debut, Barbarian, much of the pleasure of Weapons came from its ever-shifting plot: it opens with the mystery of a classroom full of kids vanishing overnight before taking in a web of subplots about a disgraced teacher, an adulterous cop, and a mysterious older woman. Understanding how these people all connect is the key to a deliciously sinister supernatural mystery.
Weapons is funny and scary, its image of kids running at night, arms outstretched like aeroplanes unforgettably eerie. Amy Madigan's Aunt Gladys became an instant horror icon, while the thematically-rich film's refusal to neatly wrap everything up led to a myriad of fan theories. A terrific film that you'll want to revisit again and again.
Our Weapons review called the film a "twisted fairytale."
10. Barbie
Year: 2023
Director: Greta Gerwig
Despite being massively popular across generations, Barbie dolls don't exactly have an inherent narrative that you'd think would make for a good film. And yet, Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie (who produced Barbie in addition to playing the title character) pulled off something of a miracle, as Barbie is whip-smart, funny, and tremendously relevant, exploring heavy issues with earnest deftness.
When Barbie starts having thoughts about death and other things that do not belong in the pink paradise of Barbieland, she ventures into the real world (joined by a scene-stealing Ryan Reynolds as Ken). Once there, she discovers the true complexities of being a woman, just as Ken learns about the highs and ultimate lows of the patriarchy. Barbie will make you laugh and weep in ways you might not have expected.
If you want a tour of this Dream House of a film, check out our Barbie review.
9. I Saw the TV Glow
Year: 2024
Director: Jane Schoenbrun
One of last year's most critically acclaimed films was this eerie sort-of-horror from director Jane Schoenbrun. I Saw The TV Glow is both a loving homage to the golden age of '90s/early '00s teen shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and a powerful exploration of identity. It centers on Owen (Ian Foreman), a lonely teenager who bonds with the older, if similarly outcast, Maddy (Jack Haven) over The Pink Opaque – a Buffy-like series that seems more real that real life to the two. Cut to a few years later and Owen, now played by Justice Smith, is reunited with Maddy who comes with a life-changing message.
I Saw The TV Glow is a tricky film to describe without getting into spoilers, but if you like films and shows that blur the boundaries between fantasy and reality, or metaphysical mysteries like Donnie Darko and Twin Peaks, then this one is very much for you.
8. Dune: Part One and Part Two
Year: 2023
Director(s): Denis Villeneuve
Long considered unfilmmable, Denis Villeneuve's two-part adaptation of Frank Herbert's landmark novel proved that there is still an appetite for widescreen, ambitious science fiction blockbusters outside of Star Wars. Villeneuve takes his time with Part One, resulting in a film that's huge in scale but grounded in character. Timothée Chalamet stars as Paul, heir to House Atreides and – just perhaps – a long prophesied messiah who will liberate the native Fremen people from the cruel House Harkonnen. But at what cost?
Part 2 dials up the weirdness and the action as all out war breaks out between Paul's forces and the Harkonnen troops, leading to a smart and subversive ending that also gives Chani (Zendaya) a more significant role than the novel. A third film, titled Dune: Part 3, is on the way and will adapt Herbert's sequel, Dune Messiah.
7. Sinners
Year: 2025
Director: Ryan Coogler
Black Panther director Ryan Coogler is behind this terrific horror movie. Set in 1932, Sinners follows twin brothers Smoke and Stack Moore (played by Michael B. Jordan) as they establish a juke joint in Clarksdale, Mississippi. Both men are veterans of World War 1 and have spent the last few years working for the mob. Now they have a shot at building something for themselves – especially when they join forces with their young cousin Sammie (Miles Caton), a gifted blues singer. It's not long, however, before evil comes calling...
Most people probably know by now the horror sub-genre that Sinners is playing in, but we won't spoil it here. Just know that this is a gorgeously-shot movie with a killer soundtrack and great characters that easily stands as one of the year's best films.
6. One Battle After Another
Year: 2025
Director(s): Paul Thomas Anderson
Without doubt one of last year's finest films, One Battle After Another finds Paul Thomas Anderson on furious form. Loosely adapted from Thomas Pynchon's 1990 novel Vineland, One Battle After Another follows Bob (Leonardo DiCaprio), a paranoid former-revolutionary who is pulled back into the fight when the murderous Col. Steven J. Lockjaw (a deliriously unhinged performance from Sean Penn) comes hurtling back into his life, looking for Bob's daughter Willa (Chase Infiniti).
One Battle's vision of a politically turbulent America feels painfully relevant to our times, but it's also a very funny, subtly weird film full of odd tangents – Lockjaw trying to join a secret society called the Christmas Adventurers Club, for one – and unforgettable characters, like Benicio del Toro's laconic sensei Sergio. A nail-biting car chase in the final act ends the movie on a stomach-churning high.
Our One Battle After Another review called the film an "instant classic."
5. 2001: A Space Odyssey
Year: 1968
Director: Stanley Kubrick
When it comes to filmmaking, few hold a candle to Stanley Kubrick, and few movies have ever managed to achieve both the level of design and scope that the director's '60s sci-fi, 2001: A Space Odyssey, did. Not only does the story manage to cover the history of humankind but it shows us the birth of a new species through a mesmerizing plot that reminds you what an outer space epic truly entails – big concepts explored through a big universe.
It's inspired by Arthur C. Clarke's 1951 short story 'The Sentinel' and other works and follows a voyage by astronauts and their sentient supercomputer HAL as they set out to investigate an alien monolith. Throughout its two-and-a-half-hour runtime, we see one of the first films to explore themes of human evolution, technology, and the dangers of AI. 2001: A Space Odyssey helped pioneer special effects in sci-fi and is truly one of the most influential movies ever made.
Read our five-star 2001: A Space Odyssey review for more information on this timeless piece of art.
4. The Dark Knight
Year: 2008
Director: Christopher Nolan
The best Batman movie ever made? The best superhero movie of all time? One of the best action films released this century? The Dark Knight is all of the above if you ask us. Christopher Nolan's follow-up to Batman Begins is nothing short of iconic, from the outstanding performances to the breathtaking action. Nolan delivered a dark, bold, and mature take on the superhero movie, creating a crime thriller with complex themes and compelling characters.
Everything works to perfection, but the highest praise has to go to Heath Ledger's memorable performance as Joker. Add in Christian Bale's serious Batman, Gary Oldman's cunning Jim Gordon, Morgan Freeman's charismatic Lucius Fox, and Maggie Gyllenhaal's fierce Rachel Dawes, and you have a dreamy ensemble for a groundbreaking, history-making superhero movie.
For more details, read our review of The Dark Knight.
3. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
Years: 2001-2003
Director: Peter Jackson
Yes, including the whole trilogy technically brings this list of 10 movies up to a dozen, but how can you pick just one movie when The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King collectively make up some of the greatest epic filmmaking of all time? I mean, are you actually watching Tolkien if you don't watch all the Lord of the Rings movies in order during a single sitting?
A true adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s beloved fantasy saga was once thought unfilmable, but Peter Jackson somehow pulled it off. He did this by using cutting-edge special effects, thoughtful adapting of Tolkien's books, an incredible score from Howard Shore, and a fantastic cast whose likes included Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Cate Blanchett, and many more. Depicting the Fellowship’s quest to defeat the ultimate evil of Sauron by trekking across Middle-earth is an astounding and moving cinematic achievement.
2. Phantom Thread
Year: 2017
Director(s): Paul Thomas Anderson
Ranking PTA's movies is an impossible task: the man has simply made too many five-star classics at this point! For our money, though, this elegant, twisted, subtly comic romance is his finest achievement. Daniel Day-Lewis stars as Reynolds Woodcock, a handsome and charismatic fashion designer catering to London's high society in the early 1950s. A man of precise ritual in his work and life, he's also haunted by memories of his mother. A chance meeting with a young waitress named Alma (Vicky Krieps), however, changes everything...
It takes quite the actor to upstage Daniel Day-Lewis, but Krieps is the unforgettable heart of Phantom Thread, bringing warm humanity and steel to Alma. What seems at first like a troubled relationship takes on an entirely different light by the film's surprising, quietly hopeful final act. A terrific film and one that repays multiple viewings.
1. Spirited Away
Year: 2001
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
In all honesty, this list could probably just be 10 of Miyazaki's movies, and it would still work as a list of the 10 best movies on Max. But as much as Porco Rosso is slept on and worth watching, we'd be kidding ourselves if we put anything but Spirited Away, the greatest of his many great works.
The film follows a young girl named Chihiro who gets trapped in a fantastical world of spirits. Forced to work at an ornate bathhouse run by the witch Yubaba, Chihiro must learn how to find strength within herself if she ever hopes to escape (and to rescue her parents, who have been transformed into pigs). Magical, moving, and absolutely gorgeous, Spirited Away regularly gets named as one of the greatest best anime movies of all time, and for good reason.
For more details on the best HBO Max movie that you can watch right now, read our Spirited Away review.
For more on HBO Max, check out our handy guides on all the deals and prices available on the streamer right now and how you can watch HBO Max in the UK. Or, if you are after more releases, we also have a list of all the upcoming movies heading our way this year.
