It's the holiday season, which means Christmas movies. America's favorite Christmas movie is Elf, and Max is the only streaming service that has it, so that's the best use of your subscription right now. Max has a ton of great movies beyond Elf, of course, and many of them are on our list, such as M. Night Shyamalan's thriller Trap;standouts from indie film powerhouse A24,Love Lies BleedingandCivil War; and blockbusters Godzilla x Kong: The New EmpireandDune: Part Two. Max has something for every kind of movie lover.
A note about how this list was made: In the interest of keeping it relevant, we're emphasizing movies recently added to HBO/Max and new releases, but we've also made sure to add other movies we think you'll want to know about. We'll be updating it regularly.
Last updated Nov. 22; newer additions are at the top.
More on HBO and Max:
- The best TV shows on Max
- What's new on and coming to HBO and Max
Elf
In the past few years, Elf has overtaken all other holiday classics to become THE Christmas movie. It's bigger than A Christmas Story, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, or any other Christmas movie you can think of. And that's because it's hilarious. Will Ferrell is Buddy the Elf. Few actors have ever committed so hard to a role. He's like the Daniel Day-Lewis of being goofy. We also don't talk enough about how Jon Favreau is one of the most important blockbuster filmmakers of all time, either. He made the biggest Christmas movie of the 21st century and then invented the MCU, and that's not even half of it. Much respect. Anyway, Max is the streaming home of Elf this holiday season, so that's where you'll find it when you're ready to watch. -Liam Mathews [Trailer]
Trap
M. Night Shyamalan isn't Hollywood's most consistent filmmaker, but he's one of the most distinctive, and that's arguably more important. His latest stars Josh Hartnett as a dad who takes his daughter to a pop star's arena concert. He's also a serial killer, and he realizes the police know he's there but not what he looks like. So he has to try to evade capture without his daughter finding out his secret. And it's a Shyamalan movie, so you can be sure of two things: there will be twists, and it's set in Philadelphia. -Liam Mathews [Trailer]
Civil War
There's been tons of discourse about the meaning of Alex Garland's disturbing war movie about war photographers attempting to document the final days of a fictional modern American civil war — it was a pretty incendiary movie to drop during this particular election year, to be sure. But while we can debate the meaning and intent of this story all day long, one thing we can mostly agree on is that as an experience, Civil War is visceral, upsetting, and constantly thought-provoking. A film I'm still pondering months after I initially saw it. -Phil Owen [Trailer]
I Saw the TV Glow
A teenager's friend shows him a mysterious late-night TV show visible in static that shows a strange other world — and nothing about his life will ever be the same again. It's a slow burn, but I Saw the TV Glow is the sort of movie that worms your way into your brain and stays there once it's over. -Phil Owen [Trailer]
Love Lies Bleeding
Kristen Stewart in a romance-crime thriller about a lesbian bodybuilder? Say less. OK, fine, we can say a little more: Stewart stars as Lou, a depressed gym manager with a complicated family history who falls in love with Jackie, an ambitious bodybuilder (Katy O'Brian). When Jackie gets sucked into the criminal world, things get dark for them really fast. -Allison Picurro [Trailer]
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire
Hollywood keeps making these things, and I can't get enough. Writer/director Adam Wingard, who also handled 2021's Godzilla vs. Kong, has a great feel for this type of movie, injecting just enough plot to keep it coherent while still keeping the story from becoming overly complicated despite all the sci-fi elements (Marvel could use some filmmakers like that, to be honest). Thanks to Wingard's deft hand, GxK isn't the sort of movie where you have to slog through the talky bits to get to the spectacle — Godzilla x Kong is fun the whole way through, and that makes the out-of-control action sequences all the better. -Phil Owen [Trailer]
Problemista
Written by, directed by, and starring Julio Torres, Problemista is a whimsical and bittersweet comedy about an aspiring toy designer named Julio struggling to bring his unique ideas into the world. With his work visa about to expire, Julio finds a job assisting a lonely, eccentric art world outcast (played by Tilda Swinton) as she tries to honor the paintings of her artist husband. -Allison Picurro[Trailer]
Am I OK?
Dakota Johnsonstars in this dramedy film co-directed by real life married coupleTig NotaroandStephanie Allynne, loosely inspired by Allynne's life. Johnson plays Lucy, a woman navigating coming out in her 30s with the help of her best friend, Jane (Sonoya Mizuno). -Allison Picurro[Trailer]
Priscilla
Priscilla is sort of like the "Taylor's Version" of movies. Directed by Sofia Coppola and adapted from Priscilla Presley's memoir Elvis and Me, the film is a direct contrast to Baz Luhrmann's bombastic Austin Butler-starring biopic of The King. Coppola's film examines how a teenage Priscilla Beaulieu (played by Cailee Spaeny) fell into a complicated marriage with Elvis Presley (Jacob Elordi). -Allison Picurro[Trailer]
The Iron Claw
The uniquely tragic true story of the Von Erich family comes to life in this film directed bySean Durkin, chronicling their efforts to make it in the cutthroat world of professional wrestling in the 1980s. The three brothers are played by a trio of It boys —Zac Efron,Jeremy Allen White, andHarris Dickinson— withHolt McCallanyandMaura Tierneyas their parents. -Allison Picurro[Trailer]
Dune: Part Two
Respectfully,Dune: Part Onewas basically a really long, really beautiful trailer forDune: Part Two, which makesPart Twoall the more thrilling. TheDenis Villeneuve-directed film finds Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) joining forces with the Fremen people (which includes his love interest,Zendaya's Chani, and his hype man,Javier Bardem's Stilgar), who live on the desert planet Arrakis, to wage war against the ruthless House Harkonnen (which includesStellan Skarsgård's Baron andAustin Butler's Feyd-Rautha). -Allison Picurro[Trailer]
Men
Before he gave us his vision of a new American civil war in, uh, Civil War, writer/director Alex Garland's weirdest and most divisive movie was 2022's Men. This surrealist film focuses on a traumatized woman, played by Jessie Buckley, who watches her estranged husband kill himself, and then later visits a small English village where every man she meets is played by Rory Kinnear — pretty disturbing. And the final moments of the movie offer some of the wildest visuals we've ever seen. Some might say that Garland bit off more than he can chew with this one, but, honestly, that's what makes it interesting. -Tim Surette[Trailer]
The Zone of Interest
The winner for Best International Feature and nominee for Best Picture at the 2024 Oscars was noticeably absent from streaming before the ceremony in early March, but now it's here for everyone to enjoy at home. OK, maybe "enjoy" is not the right word here. The film takes an interesting approach to one of humankind's worst atrocities — the Holocaust — and looks at it from the viewpoint of Rudolf Höss, the commandant of Auschwitz, and his family as they live next door to the death they order but go about their lives with striking mundanity. DirectorJonathan Glazer's film highlights the way we turn a blind eye to tragedy, and is stunningly effective at doing so. -Tim Surette[Trailer]
Dream Scenario
Ever dream ofNicolas Cage? Everyone in the A24 filmDream Scenariohas. Cage stars as a professor who somehow becomes the star of everyone's nighttime subconscious mental parties, turning him into an overnight pop culture sensation. But when the dreams become nightmares, the attitude toward him changes. Sound weird? Good, because it is. -Tim Surette[Trailer]
Wonka
Wonka, which is set during the very beginning of the chocolatier's career, has a very different vibe from the fairly cynical original movie, adopting the more whimsical feel of director Paul King's Paddington movies. That makes a lot of sense from a human nature standpoint — young folks tend to be more idealistic, and then they gradually gain cynicism as they get older and gain a greater appreciation for how terrible the world is. Seeing this more innocent version of Wonka is nice. -Phil Owen [Trailer]
The Color Purple
Blitz Bazawuledirects this adaptation of the stage musical of the same name (which is itself an adaptation of Alice Walker's novel, which was previously adapted by Steven Spielberg), following a woman's journey to reunite with her sister and her children after being forcibly separated from them years earlier. A trio of powerhouse performances fromFantasia Barrino,Danielle Brooks, andTaraji P. Hensonbring the film to vivid life. -Allison Picurro[Trailer]
Barbie
Greta Gerwig's satirical comedy about gender roles and plastic dolls accumulated $1.44 billion from the worldwide box office, but now you can watch it at home. By now, you know what it's about and you know who's in it, and if you somehow still haven't watched it, let me be the latest person to convince you to join the rest of us. It's outstanding. -Tim Surette[Trailer]
aka Mr. Chow
Michael Chow is a restaurateur, an artist, an actor. The documentary aka Mr. Chow explores all these sides of the British Chinese entrepreneur, as well as the personal tragedies and historical events that shaped him. While most know Chow by the restaurant chain he launched across the U.S. and in London, few may be familiar with his relationship with his father, Zhou Xinfang — a trailblazing Beijing Opera grand master — and his lonely but colorful past before opening the first Mr. Chow. The film, which includes interviews from Chow's family and friends, paints a searing portrait of a man determined to build a unique legacy marked by imagination and freedom. -Kat Moon[Trailer]
Reality
Sydney Sweeney plays former NSA translator and whistleblower Reality Winner, who leaked an intelligence report about Russian interference in the 2016 election. The film is an adaptation of Tina Satter's acclaimed play, which takes place on the day of Winner's arrest and pulls all of its dialogue from a transcript of her FBI interrogation. -Allison Picurro[Trailer]
Moonage Daydream
This documentary film from Brett Morgen (The Kid Stays in the Picture) is described as a "cinematic odyssey" that looks at the life of glam rock icon David Bowie, which, given the subject, is a perfect fit. A flurry of images, animations, and impressionism, Moonage Daydrem rises to the top of films about Bowie. -Tim Surette[Trailer]
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed
A nominee for Best Documentary at the 2023 Oscars, this affecting film allows the legendary artist and activist Nan Goldin to tell her story. Through a series of intimate interviews and carefully constructed slideshows, she revisits the death of her sister, the years she spent in New York City LGBTQ subcultures, and explains how she eventually made it her mission to hold the Sackler family accountable for the opioid crisis. It's not just one of the best documentaries of 2022; it's one of the best films of 2022, period. —Allison Picurro[Trailer]
Navalny
Alexei Navalny was one of the few politicians and activists in Russia to publicly oppose the Russian government. As a man rallying others against Putin's totalitarian regime, he was blacklisted by the state-controlled media and arrested by sham courts, but that's the easy part of what is considered the most dangerous job in the world. In 2020, Navalny was poisoned by a lab-created nerve agent and nearly died. He and his supporters pointed fingers at the Kremlin, who denied any participation. This award-winning documentary (including Best Documentary at the 2023 Academy Awards), which was released before Putin's invasion of Ukraine, looks at Navalny and the poisoning, and the challenges of fighting Putin. -Tim Surette[Trailer]
The Batman
There seem to be two general reactions to The Batman: Either you think it's the greatest Batman movie of all time, or you're totally ambivalent about it. But you'll never know until you watch it! Here, Robert Pattinson dons the big black cape and a whole Hot Topic's worth of black eye makeup to play Bruce Wayne's alter ego. The film follows Batman's hunt for a killer with the peculiar quirk of leaving a trail of cryptic riddles in his wake, uncovering dark secrets about Gotham's history of corruption along the way. -Allison Picurro[Trailer]
Dune
Denis Villenueve's take on Frank Herbert's science-fiction novel (and David Lynch's "classic" 1984 version) is a stunning film, despite all the browns. The hard sci-fi story follows Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet), a young royal, as his family is thrust into battle for a planet that is the only source for the most valuable substance in the universe, spice. But you're just watching for the giants worms, right? -Tim Surette[Trailer]
Kimi
Zoë Kravitz plays an agoraphobe who works for a tech company with its own digital personal assistant. Her job is to listen to users' failed requests and improve the gadget's artificial intelligence, but when she thinks she hears a murder in one of the recordings, she inadvertently gets involved in the crime. It's a thriller in the vein of Rear Window, but better than it should be thanks to Kravitz and the eye of director Steven Soderbergh. -Tim Surette [Trailer]
The Fallout
This indie follows two high school girls — played by Jenna Ortega and Maddie Ziegler — who strike up a bond after surviving a school shooting. The movie is more of an empathetic look at their responses to it than it is about the actual tragedy, which is a refreshing change of pace from movies like this, which typically try to turn their characters into inspiring symbols of resilience. The Fallout is more interested in exploring how these kids get through the day after witnessing something unthinkable. Shailene Woodley and Julie Bowen co-star. -Allison Picurro[Trailer]
The Suicide Squad
Not to be confused with 2016's Suicide Squad (there's no "the" in that one, get it?),James Gunndirects this irreverent superhero movie about a team of villains who are recruited by the government to go to a remote island and destroy an evil starfish. With a cast that includesMargot Robbie,Idris Elba,John Cena,Joel Kinnaman, andViola Davisand over-the-top violence that fits the franchise, it's a big improvement from the first Suicide Squad movie. Once you're done watching it, you can check out Max's spin-off seriesPeacemaker, which centers on Cena's character. -Tim Surette[Trailer]
Spirited Away
One of the coolest things about Max is that it's home to the Studio Ghibli collection, putting Hayao Miyazaki's greatest films in one place. Spirited Away is probably his most famous one, having won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature. It came out in 2001, and all these years later, it remains a stunningly animated, wholly moving film, following a little girl named Chihiro whose parents are turned into pigs by a witch, forcing her to enter the witch's treacherous, mysterious world as she tries to find a way to free her parents. It's an absolutely magical experience, and the perfect gateway to Miyazaki's work. -Allison Picurro[Trailer]
Zack Snyder's Justice League
What else is there to say aboutZack Snyder's Justice League? Much like the original 2017 non-Snyder cut, thisJustice Leaguefollows a team of superheroes, comprised of Batman (Ben Affleck), Superman (Henry Cavill), Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), Aquaman (Jason Momoa), The Flash (Ezra Miller), and Cyborg (Ray Fisher), as they attempt to save the world from a powerful supervillain, but this version has new scenes and world-building elements that Joss Whedon's version did not. It's also much longer, clocking in at just over four hours. -Allison Picurro[Trailer]
The Lord of the Ringstrilogy
If HBO Max only had the extended editions of theLord of the Rings trilogy I would still confidently call it the best streaming service out there. Luckily, it has a lot more stuff than that (clearly), but that doesn't make it any less exciting thatLOTR fans can watch the full versions of Peter Jackson's sprawling, visually stunning adventure series whenever we want. Even if you haven't seen them, you're probably familiar with the general plot: Frodo (Elijah Wood), a hobbit, goes on a quest to destroy the extraordinarily powerful One Ring and the dark lord who made it. Each extended installment clocks in at well over three hours, but HBO Max also has the regular theatrical cuts (which, admittedly, are all about three hours) if you're more of a casual fan. There's no wrong way to watch LOTR. -Allison Picurro[Trailer]
Malignant
Max has a big selection of horror movies, but I'm choosing to highlight James Wan's battyMalignant to represent them all. It's an audacious, wholly original thrill ride about a woman (Annabelle Wallis) who keeps having visions of people being killed, only to realize the murders are actually happening in real life. I won't spoil anything, but when she eventually learns who the murderer is, it results in one of the wildest horror-action showcases you'll likely ever see. Malignant is a cult classic in the making, and it deserves our respect. -Allison Picurro[Trailer]
