February is here, and there are plenty of new critically acclaimed movies to love across the best streaming services. To help take the guesswork out of what to watch, we've scoured through the list of everything new on Max in February 2025 to highlight all of the hits and none of the duds to make your next movie night one to remember.
Whether you're in the mood for a tense thriller, a poignant animated movie, or a musical to sing along to, these movies are all worth adding to your watchlist. And while sure, critics' scores aren't always a guarantee of quality, each of the movies on this list has earned the rare distinction of a 90% or higher rating on Rotten Tomatoes, establishing them as both audience favorites and critical successes.
So without further ado, here's everything you need to know about five of the best new movies on Max with 90% or higher on Rotten Tomatoes that you should add to this month's watchlist.
'The Guilty' (2018)
If you enjoyed Antoine Fuqua’s twisty crime thriller of the same name starring Jake Gyllenhaal, you'll be pleased to know that "The Guilty" is actually a remake of this 2018 Danish film. Fans of other tense, single-room thrillers like "Buried" will also want to check this one out, as the drama unfolds over the span of a single night within one location: an emergency services call center.
What begins as yet another night of fielding routine calls from the red-light district for beleaguered Copenhagen dispatcher Asger Holm (Jakob Cedergren) takes a turn when a woman caught in an active kidnapping situation phones in. Throughout the night, Asger doggedly pursues this case, uncovering a trail that leads to a bigger picture of horrifying domestic unrest. But as more details come to light, so too do some disturbing incidents in his past that reveal why he isn't exactly the sympathetic ear you'd expect to find on the other end of a 911 call.
Rotten Tomatoes score: 98%
Watch it now on Max
'Flow' (2024)
“Flow” has been on my radar since it snagged a Best Animated Film win at the 82nd Golden Globe Awards, and now it's finally landing on streaming. Word is it has a solid chance of challenging Dreamworks' "The Wild Robot" and Disney's "Inside Out 2" for Best Animated Feature at the Oscars, a rare feat for an indie animation studio.
Directed by Latvian filmmaker Gints Zilbalodis, the mostly dialogue-free "Flow" follows a cat's fight for survival after a massive flood destroys its forest home. The cat, along with a dog, capybara, bird, and lemur, finds refuge on a makeshift boat and the critters set sail, but they soon learn that even more challenging than navigating their new overflowing world is figuring out how to coexist peacefully.
Rotten Tomatoes score: 97%
Watch it on Max starting February 14
'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' (2000)
Whether you've seen "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" or not, odds are you've probably watched at least one movie influenced by it. It also helped launch Michelle Yeoh's career, so now with "Wicked" up for Best Picture at this year's Academy Awards, it feels like the perfect time to revisit this classic.
In 19th-century Qing dynasty China, Yu Shu Lien (Yeoh) and swordsman Li Mu Bai (Chow Yun-fat) have kept their feelings for each other secret, with good reason. She was engaged to his now-deceased best friend, leaving both unable to confess their love. But when Mu Bai decides to retire, he asks Shu Lien to deliver his iconic sword to their benefactor, kicking off a chain of events that changes everything.
Rotten Tomatoes score: 98%
Watch it now on Max
'Waitress: The Musical' (2023)
If all this Oscar talk about "Wicked" has you itching to sing along to a musical at home, "Waitress: The Musical" is a recording of the Broadway hit that debuted in 2016 and earned four Tony nominations, including Best Musical.
"Waitress" stars Sara Bareilles—who also wrote the music and lyrics—as Jenna, a small-town waitress and pie-baking pro yearning to break free from her loveless marriage and rediscover the joy in her increasingly stale life. The key to her escape might lie in a baking contest in a nearby county, but first, she'll have to summon the courage to chase those pie-in-the-sky dreams she's let cool for far too long.
Rotten Tomatoes score: 100%
Watch it on Max starting February 14
'Kusama: Infinity' (2018)
Director Heather Lenz spent 17 years translating the journey of Japan’s biggest-selling living artist, then-89-year-old Yayoi Kusama into this documentary. Internationally acclaimed and, in some circles, widely reviled for her controversial artworks, the Japanese artist's mirrored rooms, polka-dotted patterns, and unusual installations have cultivated a massive following, fueled in large part by young people hungering for good Instagram backgrounds.
In many ways, "Kusama: Infinity" is an inspiring underdog tale, the story of a woman who had to fight her way to the top several times over, first against the sexism and bigotry of the New York scene and then, after returning to her home country in her 40s, the entrenched conservatism of Japan. But above all, it's a moving tribute to an artist who's consistently been ahead of the curve, packed with lingering shots of Kusama's work that'll take your breath away.
Rotten Tomatoes score: 93%
Watch it now on Max
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