Last updated: September 25, 2026. This guide covers movies currently streaming on HBO Max in the United States. Availability may vary by region.
HBO Max has quietly become one of the strongest streaming services for movie lovers. Between Warner Bros. blockbusters, DC movies, A24 releases, Studio Ghibli favorites, modern award winners and decades of Hollywood classics, there is usually something worth watching buried somewhere in the library.
The problem is finding it.
Instead of simply copying whatever happens to be sitting in the HBO Max Top 10 this week, we have pulled together 20 of the best movies on HBO Max right now. New releases are represented, but they are competing with genuinely great movies already available on the service.
This month’s refresh brings several newer movies into the mix, including Backrooms, Mortal Kombat II, Mother Mary, Mickey 17 and The Bride!, while removing movies that have either left the service or are about to rotate out.
Whether you want horror, action, animation, science fiction, superhero movies, prestige drama or something completely different, there should be something here for your next movie night.
This page will be updated regularly as movies arrive and leave HBO Max, so bookmark it whenever you find yourself scrolling through the app wondering what to watch.
TL;DR: The Best Movies On HBO Max Right Now
- Best new movie: Backrooms
- Best overall movie: One Battle After Another
- Best action movie: Mortal Kombat II
- Best horror movie: Weapons
- Best superhero movie: Superman
- Best science-fiction movie: Dune: Part Two
- Best animated movie: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
- Best crime thriller: Juror #2
- Best romance: Wuthering Heights
- Best prestige drama: The Brutalist
- Best classic animation: Spirited Away
The 20 Best Movies On HBO Max Right Now
The movies below are presented in no particular order. Every title was available through HBO Max in the United States when this guide was last updated.
1. Backrooms (2026)
Genre: Horror, Science Fiction, Mystery
Director: Kane Parsons
Best for: Viewers who want something creepy and genuinely strange
One of HBO Max’s newest movie additions is also a perfect fit for the beginning of Halloween season.
Backrooms brings Kane Parsons’ internet-born horror phenomenon to feature length, expanding the unsettling concept of seemingly endless yellow rooms, fluorescent lights and spaces that feel simultaneously familiar and completely wrong.
Parsons became known for his Backrooms YouTube videos before A24 handed the young filmmaker the opportunity to expand his world into a feature.
The central idea remains incredibly effective. Ordinary architecture becomes threatening simply because something about the environment does not feel right.
Rooms connect to rooms. Hallways seem to lead nowhere. The further characters move into the space, the less certain reality becomes.
GVN praised the movie as a claustrophobic and mind-bending nightmare that lingers after the credits.
For horror fans looking for something new on HBO Max, this is the obvious September addition.
2. The Drama (2026)
Genre: Drama, Dark Comedy, Romance
Starring: Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Alana Haim, Mamoudou Athie
Best for: Viewers who enjoy uncomfortable relationship dramas
Anyone expecting a conventional romantic drama from Zendaya and Robert Pattinson should probably prepare for something considerably messier.
The Drama centers on an engaged couple heading toward what should be one of the happiest weeks of their lives.
Then a revelation from the past changes everything.
Writer-director Kristoffer Borgli is much more interested in discomfort, accountability and hypocrisy than easy romance. What initially looks like a familiar relationship movie gradually transforms into something darker and considerably more unpredictable.
Zendaya and Pattinson are the main attraction, with both performers navigating characters who become increasingly difficult to judge as the story develops.
GVN praised the movie’s willingness to take its relationship dynamics into uncomfortable territory without providing easy answers.
For anyone looking for one of HBO Max’s stronger newer dramas, this remains a good place to start.
3. One Battle After Another (2025)
Genre: Action, Comedy, Drama
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Benicio del Toro, Teyana Taylor, Chase Infiniti
Best for: Viewers wanting something ambitious and unpredictable
Paul Thomas Anderson taking on a sprawling action comedy already makes One Battle After Another unusual before Leonardo DiCaprio even enters the picture.
DiCaprio plays Bob Ferguson, a former revolutionary whose past comes rushing back when he is forced into action to protect his daughter.
Waiting on the other side is an old enemy played by Sean Penn.
From there, Anderson combines family drama, dark comedy, action and social satire without allowing the movie to settle comfortably into one category.
Benicio del Toro, Teyana Taylor and Chase Infiniti help round out an enormous ensemble.
GVN called the movie a timeless story that maintains its impact, meaning and authenticity, with particular praise for the performances, filmmaking and constantly mounting tension.
For viewers who want something more ambitious than an ordinary action movie, it is one of the strongest options currently on HBO Max.
4. Mortal Kombat II (2026)
Genre: Action, Fantasy, Martial Arts
Starring: Karl Urban, Adeline Rudolph, Jessica McNamee, Josh Lawson, Hiroyuki Sanada
Best for: Video game fans and viewers who want violent action
The first modern Mortal Kombat movie spent a lot of time preparing for a tournament that never actually happened.
Mortal Kombat II fixes that.
The sequel throws Earthrealm’s warriors directly into the competition while introducing Karl Urban as Johnny Cage and expanding the roster of familiar characters from the games.
The fights are bigger, the fatalities are nastier and the sequel feels much more comfortable embracing just how ridiculous the Mortal Kombat universe can be.
That confidence makes a difference.
GVN found the sequel more successful than its predecessor, praising its improved action, stronger use of the video game mythology and willingness to give nearly every character an opportunity to make an impression.
If your idea of movie night involves martial arts, monsters, supernatural abilities and extremely questionable methods of removing someone’s internal organs, HBO Max has you covered.
5. Normal (2026)
Genre: Action, Crime, Comedy
Starring: Bob Odenkirk, Lena Headey, Henry Winkler
Best for: Fans of Nobody and offbeat action movies
Bob Odenkirk’s transformation into an unlikely action star continues with Normal.
Odenkirk plays Ulysses, an interim sheriff working in the seemingly quiet town of Normal, Minnesota.
A bank robbery quickly reveals that the town is considerably less normal than advertised.
Guns, money and organized crime begin surfacing, and Ulysses suddenly finds himself surrounded by people who know considerably more about what is happening than he does.
Director Ben Wheatley combines crime, dark comedy and exaggerated violence while giving Odenkirk another opportunity to prove that his late-career move into action movies was not a fluke.
GVN found the movie a little rough around the edges but praised Odenkirk, the bloody action and its willingness to become increasingly ridiculous.
Sometimes 90 minutes of Bob Odenkirk fighting his way through a town full of criminals is exactly what streaming is for.
6. Wuthering Heights (2026)
Genre: Romance, Drama
Starring: Margot Robbie, Jacob Elordi, Hong Chau
Best for: Gothic romance and literary adaptation fans
Emerald Fennell was never going to deliver a quiet, restrained version of Emily Brontë’s famous novel.
Wuthering Heights stars Margot Robbie as Cathy opposite Jacob Elordi’s Heathcliff in a heightened adaptation built around obsession, desire and emotional destruction.
That approach was always going to divide viewers familiar with the source material.
Fennell appears perfectly comfortable with that.
The director behind Promising Young Woman and Saltburn emphasizes the physicality and volatility of the central relationship rather than treating the material like a museum piece.
GVN found the movie deliberately provocative, uncomfortable and occasionally ridiculous, but also unmistakably committed to Fennell’s interpretation.
It may not be the version of Wuthering Heights everyone imagined.
It certainly is not forgettable.
7. Mother Mary (2026)
Genre: Drama, Psychological Horror, Music
Starring: Anne Hathaway, Michaela Coel, Hunter Schafer
Best for: Viewers looking for something stylish and strange
David Lowery brings pop stardom, fractured friendship and supernatural unease together in Mother Mary.
Anne Hathaway plays the titular pop superstar, who is preparing for a major comeback following a public collapse.
Before returning to the stage, she reconnects with former friend and costume designer Sam Anselm, played by Michaela Coel.
Their reunion is anything but comfortable.
Old wounds surface while increasingly strange events begin blurring the line between psychological tension and something more supernatural.
GVN found the movie visually impressive and atmospherically effective even when its larger ideas about celebrity and creative expression did not always come together.
Still, Hathaway and Coel make the uneasy relationship worth watching.
If you like A24 movies that refuse to tell you exactly what kind of story you are watching, Mother Mary fits nicely into that category.
8. Weapons (2025)
Genre: Horror, Mystery
Starring: Julia Garner, Josh Brolin, Alden Ehrenreich, Benedict Wong, Amy Madigan
Best for: Horror fans who like mysteries
A classroom full of children gets out of bed in the middle of the night and disappears.
Almost all of them.
That wonderfully disturbing premise drives Weapons.
Rather than immediately explaining what happened, director Zach Cregger approaches the disappearance from several different perspectives.
Every new chapter provides another piece of the puzzle while simultaneously changing how earlier events are understood.
GVN praised the movie’s ability to balance genuine scares with dark comedy, calling it an unpredictable neighborhood nightmare.
Cregger’s earlier Barbarian proved that he enjoys pulling the floor out from underneath audiences.
Weapons gives him a larger ensemble and a more complicated mystery without losing that unpredictability.
It remains one of the strongest horror movies currently on HBO Max.
9. Superman (2025)
Genre: Superhero, Action, Science Fiction
Starring: David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult
Best for: DC fans and superhero movie viewers
James Gunn had a difficult assignment with Superman.
The movie needed to introduce a new Man of Steel while simultaneously establishing the tone of an entirely new DC cinematic universe.
David Corenswet handles the responsibility remarkably well.
His Superman is immensely powerful without becoming emotionally distant. Rachel Brosnahan brings confidence and intelligence to Lois Lane, while Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luthor brings the obsessive hostility necessary to make him a legitimate threat.
The movie also embraces the stranger side of comic books rather than spending half its runtime explaining or apologizing for it.
Superheroes, monsters and impossible technology simply exist.
GVN praised Gunn for understanding that Superman’s compassion is not an outdated weakness.
It is the reason the character has endured.
10. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023)
Genre: Animation, Superhero, Action
Voices: Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Oscar Isaac
Best for: Superhero and animation fans
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse already looked unlike almost any mainstream animated movie.
Its sequel somehow pushed the visual ambition even further.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse sends Miles Morales deeper into the multiverse after reconnecting with Gwen Stacy.
Waiting for him is the Spider Society, an enormous organization of Spider-People led by Miguel O’Hara.
The conflict eventually becomes far more personal than another multiverse disaster.
Different universes use radically different animation techniques, colors and visual languages, yet none of that experimentation overwhelms Miles and Gwen’s emotional journeys.
GVN called the movie spectacular, sensational and ultimately amazing, praising it as one of the best Spider-Man movies ever made.
That assessment still holds up.
11. Mickey 17 (2025)
Genre: Science Fiction, Dark Comedy, Satire
Starring: Robert Pattinson, Naomi Ackie, Steven Yeun, Toni Collette, Mark Ruffalo
Best for: Viewers who like their science fiction weird
Robert Pattinson’s career has become considerably more interesting since he stopped appearing concerned about whether audiences think his characters are normal.
Mickey 17 may be one of the clearest examples.
Bong Joon-ho’s science-fiction satire stars Pattinson as Mickey Barnes, an expendable worker participating in a space colonization mission.
When Mickey dies, his body is simply printed again and his memories are restored.
That system becomes considerably more complicated when one version unexpectedly survives and discovers that his replacement has already been created.
Two Mickeys are now alive.
Only one is supposed to be.
GVN praised Pattinson’s performance and Bong’s aggressively strange mixture of science fiction, political satire, dark comedy and criticism of corporate exploitation.
If you enjoyed the social commentary of Parasite but wondered what it might look like with cloning and an increasingly bizarre space colony, start here.
12. The Bride! (2026)
Genre: Horror, Romance, Drama
Starring: Jessie Buckley, Christian Bale
Best for: Gothic horror fans looking for something different
Frankenstein’s monster has spent more than two centuries dominating popular culture.
The Bride! asks what happens when his companion is allowed to become the center of the story instead.
Maggie Gyllenhaal takes the familiar Bride of Frankenstein iconography and turns it into something much more anarchic.
Jessie Buckley stars opposite Christian Bale in a movie interested in creation, desire, control and what happens when a woman brought into existence for someone else’s benefit decides she wants a life of her own.
GVN praised the film most when it embraces the absurd and macabre elements of the Frankenstein mythology while exploring the Bride’s fight for agency.
With Halloween approaching, this is an especially fitting HBO Max recommendation.
13. The Brutalist (2024)
Genre: Drama
Starring: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce
Best for: Viewers ready for a large-scale prestige drama
The Brutalist demands a significant investment of time.
Brady Corbet uses practically every minute of it.
Adrien Brody plays László Tóth, a Hungarian Jewish architect who comes to the United States following World War II hoping to rebuild his life.
His talent eventually attracts a wealthy patron, opening doors that come with complicated expectations and power dynamics.
The movie examines ambition, immigration, architecture, artistic ownership and the American Dream across a huge canvas.
GVN gave the film exceptionally high praise following its TIFF premiere, describing it as a titanic work of cinematic mastery.
This is not something to throw on while scrolling through your phone.
Give it your attention and the scale of Corbet’s ambition becomes difficult to ignore.
14. Juror #2 (2024)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Starring: Nicholas Hoult, Toni Collette, Chris Messina, Zoey Deutch
Best for: Courtroom thriller fans
The central hook of Juror #2 is wonderfully simple.
What happens when a man serving on a murder jury begins to suspect that he may know what actually happened?
Nicholas Hoult plays Justin Kemp, whose involvement in the trial creates an increasingly impossible moral dilemma.
Helping convict the accused may protect Justin’s own life and family.
Doing the right thing could destroy everything he has.
Clint Eastwood approaches the story less like an explosive courtroom drama and more like a steadily tightening moral trap.
GVN praised Hoult’s performance and the movie’s willingness to force viewers into Justin’s position rather than providing comfortable answers.
For viewers who enjoy legal thrillers built around ethical questions rather than dramatic courtroom shouting, it is one of HBO Max’s better hidden gems.
15. Sing Sing (2023)
Genre: Drama
Starring: Colman Domingo, Clarence Maclin
Best for: Character-driven emotional dramas
Movies about incarceration frequently center violence, crime or escape.
Sing Sing takes a very different approach.
Colman Domingo stars as an incarcerated man participating in the Rehabilitation Through the Arts program at Sing Sing Correctional Facility.
Several performers in the movie have genuine connections to the program, giving the story an unusual sense of authenticity.
Theater becomes much more than recreation.
It provides a space where men living within an environment built around punishment can become vulnerable, creative and expressive.
GVN praised the movie’s humanity and its exploration of art as something capable of providing hope even under bleak circumstances.
Domingo is excellent, but the ensemble surrounding him gives the movie its greatest strength.
16. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024)
Genre: Action, Science Fiction
Starring: Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Hemsworth, Alyla Browne
Best for: Action movie fans
Following Mad Max: Fury Road sounds like an impossible assignment.
George Miller wisely avoids simply trying to make the same movie again.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga moves backward through time to show how Furiosa became the warrior audiences eventually met in Fury Road.
Anya Taylor-Joy takes over the role as adult Furiosa, while Chris Hemsworth delivers one of his strangest and most entertaining performances as warlord Dementus.
The action remains spectacular, but the longer timeline gives Miller more room to examine the various societies attempting to survive in the wasteland.
GVN praised the movie as a brutal and thoughtful companion piece to Fury Road.
Few filmmakers make large-scale action feel as physical, dirty and genuinely dangerous as George Miller.
17. Dune: Part Two (2024)
Genre: Science Fiction, Adventure
Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Javier Bardem, Austin Butler
Best for: Epic science-fiction fans
Dune: Part Two is where Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation truly opens up.
Paul Atreides is living among the Fremen following the destruction of his family.
As his relationship with Chani develops, Paul becomes increasingly entangled with the prophecy surrounding him and the war against House Harkonnen.
Timothée Chalamet’s performance grows darker as Paul begins understanding how power can be obtained — and what using it might unleash.
Meanwhile, Austin Butler’s Feyd-Rautha gives the Harkonnens a terrifying new weapon.
GVN called the movie remarkably epic in every way possible, praising its filmmaking, spectacle, performances and storytelling.
Watch the first Dune beforehand.
Together, Villeneuve’s two films form one of modern science fiction’s most impressive achievements.
18. Barbarian (2022)
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Starring: Georgina Campbell, Bill Skarsgård, Justin Long
Best for: Horror fans who know as little as possible going in
The best advice for someone who has never watched Barbarian is simple.
Stop reading about it.
The opening setup finds a woman arriving at a Detroit rental property only to discover that another guest is already staying there because of an apparent booking mistake.
That is enough information.
Zach Cregger spends the remainder of the movie repeatedly changing what audiences think they are watching.
Characters appear unexpectedly. Assumptions collapse. The story heads in increasingly strange directions.
GVN praised the movie as tense, scary and capable of keeping viewers unsure of what was coming next.
Anyone who discovered Cregger through Weapons now has the perfect opportunity to see the movie that established him as one of modern horror’s most interesting filmmakers.
19. The Batman (2022)
Genre: Superhero, Crime, Mystery
Starring: Robert Pattinson, Zoë Kravitz, Paul Dano, Colin Farrell
Best for: Batman and crime-thriller fans
Matt Reeves approaches Batman less like the hero of a traditional superhero blockbuster and more like the detective at the center of a grim serial-killer thriller.
The Batman follows Bruce Wayne relatively early in his career when a murderer calling himself the Riddler begins targeting powerful figures across Gotham.
The investigation forces Batman to confront corruption embedded far deeper in the city than he expected.
Robert Pattinson brings a different energy to Bruce Wayne, while Zoë Kravitz, Jeffrey Wright, Paul Dano and an almost unrecognizable Colin Farrell surround him with one of the stronger ensembles assembled for a Batman movie.
GVN called Pattinson the Batman we had been waiting for and praised the movie’s return to the character’s detective roots.
At nearly three hours, it takes its time.
The atmosphere makes that time worthwhile.
20. Spirited Away (2001)
Genre: Animation, Fantasy, Adventure
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Best for: Anyone wanting an introduction to Studio Ghibli
Choosing the best Studio Ghibli movie can start an argument that lasts considerably longer than most movies.
Spirited Away is nevertheless an ideal entry point.
Young Chihiro enters a mysterious spirit world after her parents undergo a bizarre transformation.
Finding a way home requires navigating a bathhouse populated by spirits, witches and creatures whose motivations are rarely as simple as good or evil.
The imagination on display is extraordinary, but the movie lasts because of Chihiro.
She does not suddenly transform into an unstoppable hero.
She gradually becomes more capable through empathy, persistence and the realization that she can handle more than she believed.
HBO Max’s Studio Ghibli collection remains one of the service’s biggest advantages for animation fans.
If you have never explored Hayao Miyazaki’s work, start here.
Which HBO Max Movie Should You Watch Tonight?
If 20 choices still leave you scrolling, start with whatever mood you are in.
- Want something brand new? Watch Backrooms.
- Want horror? Choose Weapons, Backrooms or Barbarian.
- Want action? Go with Mortal Kombat II or Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.
- Want superheroes? Try Superman, The Batman or Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.
- Want science fiction? Watch Dune: Part Two or Mickey 17.
- Want animation? Pick Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse or Spirited Away.
- Want a crime thriller? Watch Juror #2.
- Want something strange? Try Mother Mary or The Bride!.
- Want a serious drama? Choose The Brutalist or Sing Sing.
- Want romance with complications? Try Wuthering Heights or The Drama.
- Want something ambitious? Watch One Battle After Another.
Why HBO Max Has One Of The Best Movie Libraries In Streaming
HBO Max has an advantage many streaming competitors cannot easily replicate: Warner Bros. has been making movies for more than a century.
That gives the platform access to a deep studio catalog alongside newer Warner Bros. theatrical releases.
HBO Max also carries movies from DC, Turner Classic Movies, Studio Ghibli and a rotating selection from outside studios.
Its relationship with A24 has become particularly valuable.
Movies including The Drama, Mother Mary, The Brutalist and other A24 releases regularly give the service a selection that feels noticeably different from platforms built primarily around in-house streaming originals.
The result is a library where a brand-new horror release can sit alongside an Oscar contender, a superhero blockbuster, a Studio Ghibli classic and a decades-spanning catalog of Hollywood history.
How We Choose The Best Movies On HBO Max
This list is not simply a ranking of the most-watched movies on HBO Max.
Popularity matters, particularly when major new movies arrive, but recommendations are also based on overall quality, performances, direction, originality, audience appeal, critical reception and the strength of each movie within its genre.
We also try to maintain variety.
A useful streaming guide should not consist of 20 prestige dramas simply because critics liked them.
Most importantly, titles are checked for current HBO Max availability before they are added.
That part matters.
Licensed movies can disappear when streaming agreements expire, and even major Warner Bros. releases do not necessarily remain on the service permanently.
That is why this page will continue changing.
Frequently Asked Questions About Movies On HBO Max
What are the best movies on HBO Max right now?
Some of the best movies currently available on HBO Max include Backrooms, One Battle After Another, Weapons, Superman, Mortal Kombat II, The Drama, Dune: Part Two, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, The Brutalist and Spirited Away.
What are the best new movies on HBO Max?
Backrooms is one of the newest major additions to HBO Max, arriving September 25.
Other relatively recent streaming additions include Mortal Kombat II, Normal, Mother Mary and The Drama.
What is the best horror movie on HBO Max?
Weapons remains one of the strongest horror movies currently available.
Viewers looking for something newer can try Backrooms, while Barbarian is an excellent choice for anyone who wants to see Zach Cregger’s previous horror movie.
Is Mortal Kombat II on HBO Max?
Yes. Mortal Kombat II is currently streaming on HBO Max in the United States.
The sequel brings the actual Mortal Kombat tournament into the story and introduces Karl Urban as Johnny Cage.
Is Superman on HBO Max?
Yes. James Gunn’s Superman, starring David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan and Nicholas Hoult, is currently streaming on HBO Max.
What is the best action movie on HBO Max?
Mortal Kombat II is a strong option if you want straightforward martial-arts action and fantasy.
For something more elaborate, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga remains one of the best pure action movies on the service.
What are the best science-fiction movies on HBO Max?
Dune: Part Two remains the biggest recommendation for epic science fiction, while Mickey 17 offers a stranger and more satirical alternative.
Does HBO Max have Studio Ghibli movies?
Yes. HBO Max remains a major U.S. streaming home for Studio Ghibli movies.
Spirited Away is one of the easiest recommendations for viewers unfamiliar with Hayao Miyazaki and the studio’s catalog.
Does HBO Max have DC movies?
Yes. HBO Max carries a substantial selection of DC movies alongside DC television programming.
Current highlights include Superman and The Batman, although availability across the broader DC catalog changes over time.
Does HBO Max have A24 movies?
Yes. HBO Max carries a rotating selection of A24 films.
Current options include movies such as The Drama, Mother Mary and The Brutalist.
Do movies leave HBO Max?
Yes.
Even though Warner Bros. Discovery owns HBO Max, not every movie remains available permanently.
Licensing arrangements can cause titles to leave and later return, while movies from outside studios are especially likely to rotate between services.
How often is this list updated?
This guide is updated regularly as new movies arrive on HBO Max and older titles leave.
Major theatrical streaming debuts are also considered whenever they become available.
More Great Movies Are Always Coming To HBO Max
One of HBO Max’s biggest strengths is that its movie library constantly moves between new and old.
A major Warner Bros. theatrical release may arrive one month, an acclaimed A24 movie the next, while films from decades of studio history can suddenly return to the catalog at any time.
That makes HBO Max one of the better streaming services for viewers who actually want to browse movies instead of spending their entire night sorting through original television series.
Whether you are looking for horror, action, animation, superheroes, science fiction, classics or award-winning drama, these are some of the best movies on HBO Max right now.
Check back regularly as we update the list with new recommendations and remove movies that are no longer available.
DC Fanboy! Superman is the greatest comic book character of all time. Favorite movies are Man of Steel, Goonies, Back To the Future
