Now that HBO Max has rebranded as Max, it’s the right time to get acquainted with all of the great movies to watch on the streaming service. In addition to large portions of the Warner Bros. catalog, it also has tons of seminal, classic films, as well as plenty of foreign releases. Because the catalog is so big and rich, there are about 250 titles that could go on this list. There’s a wealth of options to choose from whether you’re into action movies or comedies, and you shouldn’t feel limited by the selection below.
Max is, in my estimation, the best service to turn to for a complete history of cinema. The streamer doesn’t have every great movie, but it has more than any other streaming service, and it’s been crucial in filling in some blindspots for me.
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Instead, you should treat it as a jumping-off point of HBO Max movies, which will hopefully allow you to explore many of the titles that didn’t quite make the cut. Max has great movies in every genre and from every period of film history. This is just a sampling of the best movies on Max. And if you’re looking for more Max content, we’ve rounded up the best shows on Max to watch right now.
The Dark Knight (2008)
84%
9/10
152m
Genre
Drama, Action, Crime, Thriller
Stars
Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Michael Caine
Directed by
Christopher Nolan
Watch on max
Even after more than a decade of superhero dominance, The Dark Knight still feels like the single best piece of comic book entertainment available. The movie was an enormous phenomenon when it premiered in 2008, thanks in no small part to Heath Ledger’s Oscar-winning performance as the Joker. The Dark Knight is a crime thriller, but it also has some of the most electrifying set pieces in any superhero film. Christopher Nolan has made plenty of great films in and out of the superhero genre, but The Dark Knight is still one of his crowning achievements.
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
92%
8.8/10
179m
Genre
Adventure, Fantasy, Action
Stars
Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen
Directed by
Peter Jackson
Watch on max
The entire Lord of the Rings trilogy is available on Max, and it’s worth taking a day to watch all three films. They’re three of the best movies on Max. With every passing day, the trilogy feels more and more like a miracle. Adapted from J.R. Tolkien’s work of the same name, the trilogy tells the story of a band of warriors from a variety of fantastical races who come together to defeat a great evil. It’s a work of high fantasy that is both dorky and incredibly cool. There is no one too smart or sophisticated for Lord of the Rings, even if it’s one of the nerdiest things in the world. A great movie can make even niche material hugely popular, and that’s exactly what these films did.
Casablanca (1942)
100%
8.5/10
102m
Genre
Drama, Romance
Stars
Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid
Directed by
Michael Curtiz
Watch on max
What really needs to be said about Casablanca? It’s widely regarded as one of the best films of all time, and it lives up to that billing. The movie follows Rick (Humphrey Bogart) and Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman), former lovers who run into each other after Ilsa has become linked to a hero of the French resistance during World War II. Casablanca is a tragic love story, but it’s also a story about hope set during a time when there wasn’t much reason for it. Rick does the right thing for the world, and it comes at great personal cost to him, and it’s his sacrifice that makes the movie transcendent.
Tokyo Story (1953)
8.2/10
137m
Genre
Drama
Stars
Chishū Ryū, Chieko Higashiyama, Setsuko Hara
Directed by
Yasujirō Ozu
Watch on max
Tokyo Story is as quiet and reflective as movies get, but it’s also one of the most beautiful films ever made. The film is one of the defining works of Japanese director Yasujirō Ozu, and tells the story of a mother and father who come to visit their children in Tokyo but find that their children no longer have time for them. It’s a still movie, but one that ultimately depicts the tragedy of a generation of children who don’t feel that they owe their parents anything. Tokyo Story is a movie about the profound loneliness of growing old and watching the world leave you behind. The movie is widely regarded as one of the best ever made, and with good reason. It’s basically perfect.
Deadwood: The Movie (2019)
110m
Genre
TV Movie, Western
Stars
Timothy Olyphant, Ian McShane, Molly Parker
Directed by
Daniel Minahan
Watch on max
Deadwood remains on the Mount Rushmore of many HBO show rankings, and for good reason. The Western series was a dense and well-acted saga of a small town and the sacrifices it took to create respect in the 1800s in the U.S. The series was canceled after only three seasons, so this movie is a must-watch apology to the diehards of the series who never got to see where the characters ended up. All of the main ones are back, such as Al Swearengen and Seth Bullock.
Barbie (2023)
114m
Genre
Comedy, Adventure, Fantasy
Stars
Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, America Ferrera
Directed by
Greta Gerwig
Watch on max
A genuine phenomenon upon its release in the summer of 2023, Barbie more than earned all the love it got then. The movie, which could have been an empty corporate exercise in brand extension, is instead a thoughtful meditation on the role these dolls have played in American womanhood, and on what it means to be a woman more generally. Featuring stunning production design, a brilliant supporting performance from Ryan Gosling, and a sharp script from Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach, Barbie is probably four times better than it has any right to be.
Parasite (2019)
133m
Genre
Comedy, Thriller, Drama
Stars
Song Kang-ho, Lee Sun-kyun, Cho Yeo-jeong
Directed by
Bong Joon-ho
Watch on max
The first foreign language movie to win the Oscar for Best Picture, Parasite richly deserved its victory. Telling the story of a lower-class family in South Korea who slowly ingratiates themselves into the lives of a wealthy family living nearby, the movie is ultimately a class fable about the ways that capitalism is the rot at the center of everything. Filled with memorable, captivating, and frequently hilarious performances, also with the kinds of twists and turns that most movies would never even attempt, Parasite is a masterpiece of the highest order and a great way to dip your toed into the world of foreign language cinema.
Priscilla (2023)
110m
Genre
Drama, Romance
Stars
Cailee Spaeny, Jacob Elordi, Ari Cohen
Directed by
Sofia Coppola
Watch on max
One of the most underrated movies of 2023, Priscilla focuses in on Elvis Presley’s wife, telling a compelling and horrifying tale about the way she was robbed of any agency in their marriage. Directed by Sofia Coppola, who has made a career out of telling these kinds of stories, Priscilla centers on the ways in which Priscilla Presley found herself, at a very young age, totally imprisoned by her husband and his incredible fame. It’s a dark, fascinating portrait of the woman behind the man everyone knows and one that gives leads Cailee Spaney and Jacob Elordi ample opportunity to show what they’re capable of.
The Zone of Interest (2023)
105m
Genre
History, Drama, War
Stars
Christian Friedel, Sandra Hüller, Johann Karthaus
Directed by
Jonathan Glazer
Watch on max
One of the more disturbing movies to hit American theaters in recent years, The Zone of Interest is set just outside the Auschwitz concentration camp, and is a stark reminder that the man who ran that camp had a family and a loving wife. The movie never shows us the brutality of what goes on inside the camp, but its sound design ensures that that horror is ever-present, even as this Nazi family argues about mundane things like whether they should move for a promotion. It may not be easy to watch, but The Zone of Interest is a reminder of evil’s human face, one we so often want to ignore.
Dune: Part Two (2024)
167m
Genre
Science Fiction, Adventure
Stars
Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson
Directed by
Denis Villeneuve
Watch on max
Just a few months after it proved the staying power of the Dune franchise in theaters, Dune: Part Two is now available to stream on Max. This is really the second half of Dune, and as such, it’s a little more action packed than the first installment. Paul Atreides is now embedded among the Fremen, many of whom see him as their messiah. As Paul wrestles with whether to embrace this prophetic belief or reject it, he’s also planning his revenge on the Harkonnens, who killed his family and tried to kill him as well. This cast is excellent from top to bottom, but Timothee Chalamet is almost shockingly great in the central role, and he gets much more to do in this second installment.
Beetlejuice (1988)
92m
Genre
Fantasy, Comedy
Stars
Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Winona Ryder
Directed by
Tim Burton
Watch on max
One of the great gonzo comedies of the 1980s, Beetlejuice tells the story of two ghosts who realize that they have died, and inadvertently haunt the new owners of their home. As they attempt to reconcile their fate, they come across Beetlejuice, a malevolent force who wants nothing more than to ruin the lives of everyone he meets. Thanks to some incredible effects and an amazing performance from Michael Keaton, Tim Burton’s film holds up brilliantly. Not every joke is still funny today, but almost everything in the movie still feels fresh and vibrant, which is why the movie is now considered a classic.
A Hard Day's Night (1964)
88m
Genre
Comedy, Music
Stars
John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison
Directed by
Richard Lester
Watch on max
Everyone knows that The Beatles made plenty of great music during their relatively short life as a band, but A Hard Day’s Night is a reminder that the lads from Liverpool also made for decent movie stars. Playing versions of themselves, A Hard Day’s Night follows the group as they get into a series of shenanigans and are chased from place to place by their legions of fans. The movie leans into what made the band such a phenomenon, reminding us how witty each one of them was, even as we also get a sense of how their personas differ from one another.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024)
149m
Genre
Action, Science Fiction, Adventure
Stars
Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Hemsworth, Tom Burke
Directed by
George Miller
Watch on max
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga was not the same kind of phenomenon that Fury Road was when that movie hit theaters in 2015. Even so, Furiosa is every bit as good as its predecessor and tells a much more sprawling story. A prequel to Fury Road, the film focuses on Imperator Furiosa and how she came to be one of Immortan Joe’s drivers. Starring Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth in two career-best performances, Furiosa is an epic story of loss and revenge and one that has all the ambition that defined its predecessor.
What movies are coming to Max in January?
January 1
- A Star is Born (1937)
- Act of Valor (2012)
- Annabelle Comes Home (2019)
- Annabelle: Creation (2017)
- Balls Out (2015)
- Batkid Begins: The Wish Heard Around the World (2015)
- Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993)
- Batman: The Killing Joke (2016)
- Best Of Enemies (2015)
- Bitter Creek (1954)
- Black Gold (1947)
- Blue Velvet (1986)
- Buffaloed (2020)
- Calamity Jane (1953)
- Call Me by Your Name (2017)
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)
- Cow Country (1953)
- Crazy Rich Asians (2018)
- Desperately Seeking Susan (1985)
- Destination Tokyo (1943)
- Diggers (2007)
- Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988)
- Each Dawn I Die (1939)
- Eat Pray Love (2010)
- Fast & Furious (2009)
- Floyd Norman: An Animated Life (2016)
- Free Birds (2013)
- Green Lantern (2011)
- Heaven Help Us (1985)
- Home Again (2017)
- Hot Tub Time Machine (2010)
- Hot Tub Time Machine 2 (2015)
- House at the End of the Street (2012)
- I Am Love (2009)
- Injustice (2021)
- Iris (2015)
- It Follows (2015)
- It: Chapter Two (2019)
- Jason Bourne (2016)
- Johnny Angel (1946)
- Justice League vs. Teen Titans (2016)
- Justice League: Doom (2012)
- Justice League: Throne of Atlantis (2015)
- Justice League: War (2014)
- Keeping Up with the Joneses (2016)
- Kept Husbands (1931)
- Kicks (2016)
- Lemon (2017)
- Mad Max (1980)
- Matilda (1986)
- Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (2016)
- Morgan (2016)
- Mortdecai (2015)
- Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)
- My Favorite Wife (1940)
- Mystic Pizza (1988)
- Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising (2016)
- Night and Day (1946)
- Nocturne (1946)
- Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and the Band (2020)
- Paddington (2014)
- Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
- Red Light (1949)
- Room for One More (1952)
- School Life (2017)
- Sex and the City 2 (2010)
- Shining Vale, Season 1
- Shining Vale, Season 2
- Showing Up (2023)
- Silver Linings Playbook (2012)
- St. Vincent (2014)
- Steel Magnolias (1989)
- Stephen King’s It (1990)
- Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine (2015)
- Sully (2016)
- Supergirl (1984)
- Tangerine (2015)
- Task Force (1949)
- Teen Wolf (1985)
- Tennessee Johnson (1942)
- The Accountant (2016)
- The Addams Family 2 (2016)
- The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
- The Big Year (2011)
- The Birth of a Nation (2016)
- The Boondock Saints (1999)
- The Cable Guy (1996)
- The Conjuring 2 (2016)
- The Craft (1996)
- The Curse of La Llorona (2019)
- The Imitation Game (2014)
- The Leopard Man (1943)
- The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima (1952)
- The Mouthpiece (1932)
- The Narrow Margin (1952)
- The Prince and the Pauper (1937)
- The Prisoner of Zenda (1952)
- The Purge: Election Year (2016)
- The Red Badge of Courage (1951)
- The Student Prince (1954)
- The Usual Suspects (1995)
- The Whistlers (2020)
- The Wrong Man (1957)
- Volunteers (1985)
- Warcraft (2016)
- Watchmen: The Complete Motion Comic (2008)
- Whitey: United States of America V. James J. Bulger (2014)
- Wild Boys of the Road (1993)
- Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)
- Woman in Gold (2015)
- World Without End (1956)
January 3
- The Front Room (A24)
January 9
- Sons of Ecstasy (Max Original)
January 10
- Black Butterfly (2017)
- Holla (2006)
- Look Into My Eyes (A24)
January 15
- Marshall (2017)
- Uncharted (2022)
January 16
- Becoming Hitchcock: The Legacy of Blackmail (2024)
January 17
- A Different Man (A24)
- Better Off Dead (1985)
- Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017)
January 23
- C.B. Strike: The Ink Black Heart (HBO Original)
