There are some amazing new movies this week on Netflix, Hulu, Max and other major streaming services.
But let's be clear — this week is all about "Oppenheimer." The 2024 Oscars nominee is the frontrunner for multiple awards, including Best Picture, Best Directing and more than one acting category. It's been nominated for 13 awards in total. There's no doubt that this biopic is the top movie on streaming this week.
There are some others just as worthy of notice though. A24's tale about the tragedy of the Von Erich wrestling family arrives on paid video-on-demand this week and is definitely worth watching. As is the 2023 adaptation of "The Color Purple," which arrives on Max this Friday (Feb. 16).
Some of these titles are newly available via digital release, so you can purchase them for a premium price, but for others, all you need is the right streaming subscription. And while you're here, make sure to check out the new TV shows to watch from streamers this week and the best of what's new on Netflix.
Here are the top new movies streaming this week.
'The Iron Claw' (PVOD)
I just watched this movie starring Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White, Harris Dickinson and Stanley Simons as the Von Erich brothers of the Von Erich wrestling family and I have to say, I'm glad I did. It's not a perfect movie — the first half of the movie drags a bit and is a bit incohesive. But the wrestling scenes are incredibly well done from the tension they to the choreography. And once the movie hits its second half, the drama of this true story hits you in the gut over and over and over again. This movie isn't one to watch for a good time, but it is one to watch for a good movie.
Buy or rent on Amazon now
'Strange Way of Life' (PVOD)
It's not often a movie that clocks in at just 31 minutes and makes it onto the list of top new movies, but there was no way we could leave this short film by Pedro Almodóvar off the list this week. Starring Ethan Hawke as Sheriff Jake and Pedro Pascal, this Western drama about two lovers caught up in a murder investigation is a can't-miss. And at just 31 minutes, there's no reason you can't find the time to watch it.
Buy or rent on Amazon now
'Players' (Netflix)
New York City sports reporter Mack (Gina Rodriguez) typically goes out after work with her friends, running hook-up "plays" to varying degrees of success. But one day, Mack meets Nick (Tom Ellis), a correspondent, and decides she may not just want to hook up.
Also starring Damon Wayans Jr., Liza Koshy, Augustus Prew and Joel Courtney as Mack's friends, "Players" seems like pretty standard romantic comedy fare. It even seems like it does the trope where the main character realizes that maybe the attractive guy she fell for wasn't the right one all along. Still, if you need a date night movie, this might be the perfect play.
Stream on Netflix now.
'Next Goal Wins' (Hulu)
"Next Goal Wins" might be more fun than good, but based on Rotten Tomatoes audiences seem to like it even if critics didn't. The comedy stars Michael Fassbender as manager Thomas Rongen and tells the story of the American Samoan soccer team, the worst team in the world. At the time this movie takes place, American Samoa was a team most famous for its 31-0 loss to Australia — the worst in international football history.
Again, this movie isn't groundbreaking or an Oscar nominee. But this comedy about a band of misfits led by Fassbender is an enjoyable, heartwarming sports movie and sometimes that's all you need.
Stream on Hulu now
'The Kill Room' (Starz)
After watching the trailer for "The Kill Room," I can't decide if this movie is funny, absurdly funny or just absurd. Starring Uma Thurman as Patrice, an art dealer going through a rough patch, this dark comedy about a hitman turned art world sensation (Joe Manganiello) certainly seems to have an intriguing premise, though the trailer shows some overacting that hints at the story eventually going off the rails.
But with this cast, you might not care if it does go off the rails a bit. In addition to Thurman and Manganiello, this movie stars Maya Hawke, Debi Mazar, Larry Pine and Samuel L. Jackson. An impressive call sheet for a movie that didn't make even $1 million.
Stream on Starz now
'Oppenheimer' (Peacock)
"Oppenheimer" has dominated the industry and movie theater screens since it helped create the Barbenheimer phenomenon. This movie won five Golden Globes this year and now has been nominated for 13 Academy Awards. It was also commercially successful, nearly crossing the $1 billion mark at the box office.
Starring Cillian Murphy as the father of the atomic bomb, J. Robert Oppenheimer, this Christopher Nolan biopic is more about the man behind the most terrible weapon ever created rather than the weapon itself. That doesn't mean it skimps on the Manhattan Project — the Trinity test scene is one of the greatest in cinema history at this point. But it goes beyond that into Oppenheimer's life. Aside from Murphy, Robert Downey Jr.'s performance as Lewis Strauss is also one of the best this year, so don't miss this movie before it's potentially immortalized at the Oscars.
Stream on Peacock starting Feb. 16.
'The Color Purple' (Max)
In 1982, Alice Walker's "The Color Purple" was released in bookstores. Since then, it's gone on to be one of the most influential American Fiction books of all time, including winning the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and spawning several adaptations, including a 1985 Steven Spielberg film and a 2005 musical.
This 2023 adaptation also follows in that proud lineage, even if only Danielle Brooks as Sofia was recognized with an Academy Award nomination. This Black coming-of-age musical about Celie Harris (Fantasia Barrino) and her family in early 1900s Georgia is still one of the best movies from 2023 despite this snub by the Academy and is definitely worth your time now that it's included in your Max subscription.
Stream on Max starting Feb. 16
'Miller's Girl' (PVOD)
"Miller's Girl" stars Jenna Ortega as Cairo Sweet, an 18-year-old girl living alone in her family's Tennessee mansion. To find a compelling college admission essay, she, at the suggestion of her best friend Winnie (Gideon Adlon), attempts to seduce her high school English teacher Jonathan Miller (Martin Freeman). Miller is a failed writer and Cairo plays on his ego to get closer to him.
With Ortega and Freeman starring, this is undoubtedly one of the biggest movies coming to streaming this week. Fair warning though, this is being billed as a dramatic comedy, but based on the trailer I see nothing funny about this movie that seems more like a psychological thriller than anything else.
Buy or rent on Amazon starting Feb. 16
'The Pod Generation' (Hulu)
Starring Emilia Clarke and Chiwetel Ejiofor, "The Pod Generation" screams dystopian nightmare, complete with walking treadmill desks and public, huffable oxygen tanks. Clarke and Ejiofor are a typical couple in this science fiction rom-com, set in near-future New York City. And that means that when they want to have a child, they go through the Womb Center, which uses an artificial womb shaped like a pod — or an egg, as Ejiofor puts it — to bring the pregnancy to term.
The problem? Ejiofor doesn't like this idea, preferring a natural childbirth and a child more connected with the real world around him than the artificial world they exist in. If you're looking for something both different than the typical rom-com and still very accessible, "The Pod Generation" could be worth a watch this week.
Stream on Hulu starting Feb. 16
'This is Me … Now: A Love Story' (Prime Video)
"This is Me ... Now: A Love Story" is landing on Prime Video to coincide with the release of "This is Me ... Now," Jennifer Lopez's first studio album in over a decade. And after watching the trailer, my first impressions are that it looks like part romance movie, part "Wonka" and part "Alice in Wonderland."
I'm not sure that this "narrative-driven cinematic original" will be for me, but if you're a fan of Lopez's music, you won't want to miss it. It's clearly one of the top new movies on Prime this month.
Stream on Prime Video starting Feb. 16
'Thanksgiving' (Netflix)
Thanksgiving is either long gone or very far in the future, depending on how you view things. But it's never too early (or too late?) to celebrate with this Eli Roth horror film.
This slasher flick could arguably be called "Black Friday" instead because a year after a Black Friday disaster strikes the quiet city of Plymouth, Massachusetts a man wearing a John Carver (Pilgrim) mask starts killing people connected to the tragedy. Will anyone survive? Will the Pilgrim get their retribution? You'll need to watch "Thanksgiving" on Netflix this week to find out.
Stream on Netflix starting Feb. 17
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