The Best Movies on Max to Stream Now

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HBO is best known for its prestigious television shows like Succession, The White Lotus and The Last of Us. But its streamer Max is also home to a massive library of movies, from colorful classics to modern box office hits.

With all of the options out there, it can be a little overwhelming to choose the perfect selection for your next movie night — so we’ve rounded up the best movies that Max has to offer.

Whether you’re looking for Oscar-winning movies like Everything Everywhere All at Once, The Zone of Interest and Barbie, rib-tickling comedies like Dicks: The Musical or iconic franchises like Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings, the streaming platform has something for every film lover.

Here are the best movies available to stream on Max.

Babygirl

Married with children, tech CEO Romy Mathis (Nicole Kidman) finds her world turned inside out when she meets Jacob (Harris Dickinson), a mysterious yet commanding intern nearly 30 years her junior. The two then dive headfirst into a steamy affair centered around a submission kink, with Jacob using it to leverage control over Romy’s career and personal life.

Watch Babygirl on Max on April 25

Sing Sing

Wrongfully imprisoned, John “Divine G” Whitfield (Colman Domingo) finds an unexpected sense of purpose in a small prison theater group. After recruiting a reluctant inmate (Clarence “Divine Eye” Maclin), Divine G stages a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and proves that art not only brings joy but holds a rehabilitative power.

Watch Sing Sing on Max

We Live in Time

In John Crowley’s drama, Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh portray a couple reflecting on their unorthodox love story. Brought together by a not-so-romantic encounter, they fall in love and build a happy dream life — until time plays its cruel trick, showing them a brutal truth that pushes them to hold tight to what they have.

Watch We Live in Time on Max

Queer

William Lee (Daniel Craig) — a middle-aged American expat in 1950s Mexico City — spends his days lost in a haze of parties and one-night-stands with younger men. That is, until he meets Eugene Allerton (Drew Starkey), an American soldier who sparks a new infatuation in William. As the chase turns into a meaningful relationship, William begins to believe that genuine intimacy might finally be within his reach.

Watch Queer on Max

Heretic

When two young Mormon missionaries, Sister Barnes (Sophie Thatcher) and Sister Paxton (Chloe East), visit the home of reclusive Mr. Reed (Hugh Grant), they believe his interest in the Church of Latter-Day Saints is sincere, and their time isn’t wasted. However, they soon discover they’ve fallen into his trap, as he subjects them to psychological torment meant to undermine their faith and belief systems.

Watch Heretic on Max

Aftersun

As a blissfully unaware 11-year-old, Sophie (Frankie Corio, with Celia Rowlson Hall playing the older version) makes core memories basking in the Turkish sun with her lively and kind father, Calum (Paul Mescal) — who hides his inner struggles from her. Two decades later, Sophie revisits their last holiday through her miniDV recordings and an adult perspective, finding the nuances she once overlooked in her youth.

Watch Aftersun on Max

Mamma Mia!

If you want to dance, jive and have the time of your life, take a chance on this 2008 jukebox musical based on the discography of Swedish group ABBA and Catherine Johnson’s stage musical. Soon-to-be-married Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) sneakily invites three of her mother’s (Meryl Streep) past lovers to her wedding to see if she can find out which one of them is her father. Set on the fictional Greek Island of Kalokairi, Mamma Mia! features a star-studded cast, including Christine Baranski, Julie Walters, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and Stellan Skarsgård.

Watch Mamma Mia! on Max

A Different Man

Sebastian Stan (in a Golden Globe-winning performance) is Edward, a struggling actor living with extreme facial disfigurement. After a groundbreaking medical procedure completely changes his features, Edward assumes the new identity of “Guy Moratz.” However, his well-constructed facade is tested when Oswald (Adam Pearson) — another actor with the same condition — arrives at the theater where “Guy” performs and secures the role Edward has spent his life already being.

Watch A Different Man on Max

Juror #2

When family man and recovering alcoholic Justin Kemp (Nicholas Hoult) slips up one night and relapses at a bar, he drives home — convinced the thud against his car was just a deer. A year later, Justin serves on a jury for the high-profile murder trial of Kendall Carter (Francesca Eastwood), who fought with her boyfriend (Gabriel Basso) at that very same bar on that fateful night. Now faced with a harrowing choice, Justin has to either stay silent or risk everything to confess a truth that could absolve the accused.

Watch Juror #2 on Max

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

“The Juice is loose!” More than three decades since the 1988 classic, the highly-anticipated Beetlejuice sequel brings back some familiar faces such as Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder — while sprinkling plenty of nods to the original — and welcoming fresh flesh like Jenna Ortega and Justin Theroux. Step once more into Tim Burton’s macabre universe as a grown-up Lydia Deetz (Ryder) needs Beetlejuice’s help to keep her family intact.

Watch Beetlejuice Beetlejuice on Max

MaXXXine

Years after surviving the farmhouse massacre in Ti West’s X (2022), Maxine Minx (Mia Goth) is now an adult film star on the verge of breaking into ’80s Hollywood. But as her rise to fame nears, Maxine catches the eye of real-life serial killer Richard Ramirez — a.k.a. the “Night Stalker” — while young aspiring starlets in her circle are meeting their brutal deaths.

Watch MaXXXine on Max

‘Salem’s Lot

Based on Stephen King’s eponymous 1975 novel, this Max Original supernatural horror follows writer Ben Mears (Lewis Pullman) as he heads back to his roots in Jerusalem’s Lot, Maine, hoping to find inspiration for his next best-seller. What he finds instead is his hometown being tormented by a vicious vampire, forcing him to join forces with an unlikely crew to take on the ancient evil.

Watch ‘Salem’s Lot on Max

Civil War

Civil War presents a dystopian, alternate reality of the United States. Written and directed by Alex Garland (Ex Machina, Annihilation, Men), this A24 thriller follows a team of journalists making the perilous journey from N.Y.C. to Washington, D.C., as a fictional American civil war reaches its final, chaotic days. This film features an all-star ensemble, including Kirsten Dunst, Cailee Spaeny, Wagner Moura, Stephen McKinley Henderson and Nick Offerman (as well as Dunst’s real-life husband, Jesse Plemons, in a terrifying confrontation sequence).

Watch Civil War on Max

The Boy and the Heron

From the studio that brought you animated classics like Spirited Away (2001), Howl’s Moving Castle (2004) and Ponyo (2008) comes a tale about the companionship between 12-year-old Mahito and a talking bird. When Mahito struggles to adjust to life after his mother’s death, he meets a heron who reveals that his mother is still alive, leading him to an abandoned tower that opens the door to a fantastical world. The film is available in is both English and Japanese, with its English voice cast boasting Luca Padovan, Robert Pattinson, Gemma Chan, Christian Bale, Mark Hamill, Florence Pugh, Willem Dafoe, Dave Bautista and more.

Watch The Boy and the Heron on Max

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

Nearly a decade after 2015’s Mad Max: Fury Road, George Miller returns with Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, revealing the origins of Charlize Theron’s iconic apocalyptic warrior before she became the fierce Imperator we know now. This thrilling prequel stars Anya Taylor-Joy and Alyla Browne as Furiosa, who is abducted by the savage warlord Dementus (Chris Hemsworth) — leader of the Biker Horde — and spends the next decade in captivity plotting her revenge and escape.

Watch Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga on Max

Everything Everywhere All at Once

In 2022, this genre-bending marvel captured the bagel-sized hearts of many, taking home seven Oscars — including Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay — and becoming the first A24 film to earn more than $100 million at the box office. Here, Best Actress Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh steps into the shoes of Chinese American immigrant Evelyn Wong, a fretful laundromat owner who channels kickass powers from her other infinite lives in the multiverse to defeat an imminent threat and its army. An off-beat yet heartrending epic, Everything Everywhere All at Once also stars Ke Huy Quan, Stephanie Hsu, Jamie Lee Curtis and more.

Watch Everything Everywhere All at Once on Max

Beetlejuice

It’s showtime! In this 1988 fantasy horror comedy, a recently deceased couple — Adam (Alec Baldwin) and Barbara Maitland (Geena Davis) — finds the afterlife more than a little haunting, especially when their home gets snagged by the Deetzes (Catherine O’Hara, Jeffrey Jones) and their “strange and unusual” daughter, Lydia (Winona Ryder). Determined to spook the new tenants away, the Maitlands pull out all the ghostly stops, but when things get tricky, they’re forced to summon eccentric bio-exorcist Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton), hoping he’ll “turn on the juice and see what shakes loose.”

Watch Beetlejuice on Max

Lady Bird

A five-time Oscar nominee and two-time Golden Globe winner, Greta Gerwig’s 2017 coming-of-age dramedy stars Saoirse Ronan as a creative and rebellious teenager in the early 2000s, navigating a complicated relationship with her mother (Laurie Metcalf), the social caste system of high school and her academic future.

Watch Lady Bird on Max

Love Lies Bleeding

Set in 1989 New Mexico, Rose Glass’ 2024 neo-noir romantic thriller stars Kristen Stewart as Lou, a withdrawn gym manager raised by a local crime lord and gunrunner. However, when Lou develops a hefty infatuation with Jackie (Katy O’Brian) — a go-getting bodybuilder making a pitstop before competing in Las Vegas — she must shield her from her father’s grid of corruption and violence.

Watch Love Lies Bleeding on Max

Problemista

Known for his Saturday Night Live sketches and HBO’s Los Espookys, writer, actor and debut director Julio Torres presents a semi-autobiographical tale that encapsulates the absurdities and nuances of the U.S. immigrant experience. Here, Alejandro (Torres) struggles to make it in the Big Apple as a toy maker with a limited visa. His fortunes take a turn when he lands a job assisting an eccentric art critic (Tilda Swinton), who becomes his sole lifeline to staying in the Land of Opportunity.

Watch Problemista on Max

Dune: Part Two

Adapting the second half of Frank Herbert’s 1965 sci-fi tome, Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two resumes on planet Arrakis as Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) rallies Chani (Zendaya), Stilgar (Javier Bardem) and the Fremen against the Harkonnens, the household who wrecked Paul’s family and murdered his father in the first film. With the fate of the known universe at stake, Paul has to choose between love and the prevention of a dire future. The film also features a star-studded ensemble, including Josh Brolin, Austin Butler, Christopher Walken and Florence Pugh.

Watch Dune: Part Two on Max

The Great Lillian Hall

Academy Award, Tony and Emmy winner Jessica Lange steps into the shoes of fictional iconic Broadway star Lillian Hall, who wrestles with her passion for the stage amid a dementia diagnosis. Directed by Michael Cristofer, this HBO Original film boasts a stellar cast including Kathy Bates, Lily Rabe, Jesse Williams and Pierce Brosnan.

Watch The Great Lillian Hall on Max

Am I OK?

At 32, anxious and awkward Lucy (Dakota Johnson) knows little about dating or what truly brings her joy. But when she begins to explore her attraction to women — with the support of her lifelong best friend, Jane (Sonoya Mizuno) — Lucy discovers more about herself in ways she never imagined.

Watch Am I OK? on Max

The Iron Claw

A24’s 2023 sports drama chronicles the real-life saga of the Von Erich brothers, who body-slammed their way into professional wrestling esteem in the 1980s while shouldering multiple family tragedies and the burden of their father’s (Holt McCallany) towering legacy in the ring. Helmed by Sean Durkin, The Iron Claw features a star-studded ensemble, including Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White, Harris Dickinson, Stanley Simons, Lily James and more.

Watch The Iron Claw on Max

Turtles All the Way Down

Based on John Green’s eponymous 2017 novel, Turtles All the Way Down finds its story in Aza Holmes (Isabela Merced), a 16-year-old girl living with obsessive-compulsive disorder. When she reconnects with her childhood crush, Davis (Felix Mallard), Aza begins to ponder her capacity for love, friendship and various other aspects of life.

Watch Turtles All the Way Down on Max

The Zone of Interest

Jonathan Glazer’s unsettling historical drama masterfully employs sound — which earned it an Oscar in 2024 — and what remains unseen to depict the horrors of the Holocaust. The Zone of Interest delves into the lives of Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Höss (Christian Friedel), his wife Hedwig (Sandra Hüller) and their children as they enjoy domestic paradise directly next to the concentration camp.

Watch The Zone of Interest on Max

Dream Scenario

Have you ever found yourself meeting Nicolas Cage in your dreams? Well, in this 2023 fantasy comedy, he’s popping up in everyone’s. Dream Scenario features Cage as biology professor Paul Matthews, who unexpectedly becomes a viral sensation when his likeness starts showing up in people’s subconscious.

Watch Dream Scenario on Max

The Harry Potter franchise

Raise your wands, everyone, because it’s time to tap those bricks outside of the Leaky Cauldron and head back to the magical world. In this iconic series, you’ll follow the journey of Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) through adolescence as he discovers he’s a wizard, makes friends with Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) and works to defeat the evil Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes). And, once you’re done, you can even stream the Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts reunion special and catch up with your favorite witches and wizards.

Watch the Harry Potter franchise on Max

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

Based on the Scott Pilgrim graphic novels, this 2010 action comedy knows how to pack a punch. After falling for Manic Pixie Dream Girl Ramona (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), musician Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) has to defeat all her seven evil exes through arcade-style fight sequences. The critically acclaimed film also features an ensemble cast including Kieran Culkin, Chris Evans, Brie Larson, Anna Kendrick, Aubrey Plaza and more.

Watch Scott Pilgrim vs. the World on Max

Wonka

Craving a sweet escape? In his first-ever musical role — though we already knew he had some moves — Timothée Chalamet slips into the comically large top hat of the titular chocolatier first introduced in Roald Dahl’s 1964 novel, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. With the help of unexpected allies, a mix of ambition and a sprinkle of genius (and giraffe milk?), the young Wonka wields his “pure imagination” to carve his place in the confectionary world.

Watch Wonka on Max

The Color Purple

Almost two decades after her stint on American Idol — and reprising a role she played on Broadway — Fantasia Barrino makes her feature film debut as Celie Harris: a compassionate Black woman navigating through a lifetime of harrowing challenges in the early-1900s U.S. South. Based on the stage musical (itself inspired by Alice Walker’s seminal 1982 novel), The Color Purple boasts stellar performances from an ensemble cast including Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks, Colman Domingo, Corey Hawkins, H.E.R., Halle Bailey and Phylicia Pearl Mpasi, among others.

Watch The Color Purple on Max

Priscilla

In contrast to Baz Luhrmann’s acclaimed 2022 Elvis biopic — which focused on the rise and fall of the legend’s career — the following year offered another side of his story through a different perspective. Drawing from Priscilla Presley’s 1985 memoir Elvis and Me, Sofia Coppola delves into the lesser-known, more uncomfortable facets of Priscilla’s (Cailee Spaney) sensationalized relationship with the King of Rock and Roll (Jacob Elordi). Despite its lack of recognition at the Oscars, the film dazzles with its evocative cinematography, detailed costumes and a soundtrack devoid of Presley’s hits.

Watch Priscilla on Max

The Bling Ring

DJ, cue up “212” by Azealia Banks. Inspired by the notorious Bling Ring — featured in Nancy Jo Sales’s sensational 2010 Vanity Fair article — Sofia Coppola’s 2013 heist drama peers into the misdeeds of gaudy, fame-obsessed privileged teens who used the internet to stalk celebrities and rob their homes. With cameos from Paris Hilton (a real-life Bling Ring victim) and Kirsten Dunst, The Bling Ring stars Emma Watson, Israel Broussard, Katie Chang, Taissa Farmiga, Claire Julien, Georgia Rock and Leslie Mann.

Watch The Bling Ring on Max

Dicks: The Musical

Based on their off-Broadway musical, Josh Sharp and Aaron Jackson star in this oddball musical comedy as two “identical” twins separated at birth who work up a Parent Trap-style plan to reunite their estranged parents (Megan Mullally, Nathan Lane), with a few cheeky musical numbers along the way. From sewer boy mutants to Megan Thee Stallion’s girl-boss anthem and Bowen Yang’s Gay God, there’s no denying that Dicks: The Musical — whether adored or loathed — struts proudly in its own one-of-a-kind lane.

Watch Dicks: The Musical on Max

Barbie

Hi Barbie! In this $1.4 billion-earning fantasy adventure from Greta Gerwig, Margot Robbie steps into the high heels of Stereotypical Barbie, who travels to the Real World to find her owner and prevent their existential musings from rubbing off on her. Oh, and Ken (Ryan Gosling) is there, too — getting a crash course on the patriarchy. Join the fun in Barbie Land, where Barbies and Kens (and Michael Cera’s Allan) are played by stars like Issa Rae, Kate McKinnon, Simu Liu, Ncuti Gatwa, Dua Lipa and more.

Watch Barbie on Max

Reality

Based on a true story, HBO’s 2023 indie drama sees Euphoria star Sydney Sweeney enter an unexpected role as former United States Air Force member and NSA translator Reality Winner, who is notoriously known for leaking top-secret government documents to the public. Adapted from the real transcripts of the whistleblower’s FBI interrogation, Tina Satter’s directorial debut not only features gripping performances from Sweeney, but also from Marchánt Davis and Josh Hamilton as detectives.

Watch Reality on Max

Dune

Based on Frank Herbert’s 1965 epic science fiction novel, Denis Villeneuve’s 2021 adaptation is sprawling. With a star-studded cast that includes Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Oscar Isaac, Jason Momoa and more, Dune follows Paul (Chalamet), the heir of House Atreides, as he’s thrust into a war over a life-extending drug, “the spice.” But Paul has trouble focusing on politics when he begins to have powerful visions of his own.

Watch Dune on Max

The Lord of the Rings trilogy

Settle in for a movie marathon with The Lord of the Rings trilogy (and it will be a marathon — in total, the three films span over 11 hours). J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic tales of Middle-earth follow hobbit Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood) and the Fellowship of the Ring as they embark on a quest to destroy the One Ring. Featuring performances from Orlando Bloom, Sir Ian McKellen and Cate Blanchett, the Lord of the Rings trilogy is a necessary binge for any fantasy lover.

Watch The Lord of the Rings trilogy on Max

Joker

Joaquin Phoenix’s harrowing take on the classic DC villain not only nabbed him an Academy Award for Best Actor, but also began a franchise that’ll include Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn in the 2024 musical sequel. Joker tracks Arthur Fleck, a feeble clown and struggling stand-up comedian, as he descends into madness and slowly becomes the famed criminal mastermind.

Watch Joker on Max

King Richard

This 2021 biographical sports drama examines the man behind two tennis legends. Will Smith plays Richard Williams, father and coach of Serena and Venus Williams, as he turns his daughters into professional tennis players. The role won Smith an Academy Award for Best Actor.

Watch King Richard on Max

2001: A Space Odyssey

Stanley Kubrick’s trippy 2001: A Space Odyssey explores the meaning of humanity itself. Known for its pioneering special effects and scientifically accurate depictions of space flight, the 1968 epic science fiction film zeroes in on a group of astronauts (Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood and William Sylvester) and the sentient supercomputer named HAL (voiced by Douglas Rain) as they investigate an alien monolith on Jupiter.

Watch 2001: A Space Odyssey on Max

Singin’ in the Rain

In one of the greatest musical films of all time, Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds and Donald O’Connor star as three silent film stars working on their first “talkie” to keep up with the industry’s transition to sound. With iconic numbers like “Make ‘Em Laugh,” “Broadway Melody” and, of course, “Singin’ in the Rain,” the film is sure to put a smile on your face.

Watch Singin’ in the Rain on Max

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