Theaters may try and steal the shine from the best new movies to watch online this week — but you've got a fistful of options for keeping yourself entertained at home. We've got a big fantasy adventure, a Mark Wahlberg-led dramedy, a military action film, a lovely-looking YA musical film and even a documentary about the stock market's unlikeliest enemies.
The biggest name at the table, though, is the third chapter of the Fantastic Beasts series, The Secrets of Dumbledore. And while many have their strongly-held opinions about JK Rowling, the promise of Mads Mikkelsen as a big bad creepy wizard threatening the world? That's a tempting offer.
And for all the folks who just watched Top Gun, then saw Top Gun Maverick? Well, Interceptor looks like an enjoyable high-stakes story of betrayal inside the military.
What's less probable: Mark Whalberg as a priest or gamers taking over Wall Street? You don't need to pick just one of those stories, as Father Stu and GameStop: Rise of the Players arrive to push your suspension of disbelief.
Let's break down the seven movies you should watch this week. And also check out our guide to what to watch this weekend.
Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (HBO Max)
The world of Harry Potter movies and the spinoff Fantastic Beasts movies had seen better days — but, thankfully, The Secrets of Dumbledore is a two and a half hour course correction. Dropping on Memorial Day (May 30), the latest edition of the Wizarding World helps fix the issues that the previous edition's chaos.
The big improvement here is that Johnny Depp is out as the evil wizard Grindelwald, and the sublimely excellent Mads Mikkelsen is here to replace him. Mikkelsen and Jude Law (who plays Dumbledore) have excellent chemistry in the film, and create some of the best moments in this Fantastic Beasts trilogy.
Stream it on HBO Max
Father Stu
The incredulity of Stuart "Stu" Long's (Mark Wahlberg) character's mother in this trailer is very relatable — Mark Wahlberg? A priest? Well, that's one career option after you've failed at every other job option, including deli clerk, boxer and actor. Even working for his estranged dad (played by Mel Gibson) didn't work out either.
Of course, Stu only turns to the church once he meets Carmen, a woman he fancies who won't be with anyone who isn't baptized as a fellow Catholic. After a miraculous recovery in the family Stu eventually applies to join the seminary. He's soon struck with a tragic disease, though, that complicates everything.
Buy or rent on Amazon Prime Video
Interceptor (Netflix)
If Top Gun: Maverick isn't enough military drama for you right now, Netflix is here to offer Interceptor. Elsa Pataky stars as JJ Collins, a captain who's been through a whole lot that prepared her for a peculiar gig. In the middle of the Pacific Ocean, Collins is running a lone missile interceptor base that comes under attack from multiple angles.
Alexander Kessel (Luke Bracey), a former US military officer, has gone bad and decided to put her vessel in his targets. As Kessel gains control of nuclear weapons, Collins is seemingly the last hope for the world.
Stream it on Netflix
GameStop: Rise of the Players (Hulu)
GameStop, if you asked any video gamer, was a dying brand. But then some gamers showed up to break Wall Street's rules — and drive GameStop stock up the charts (much to the chagrin of the so-called adults in the room). While GameStop isn't the clear answer for the first ever "meme stock" (some say Tesla was the first), the story of gamers who brought GameStop stock back from the dead made "stonks" a word seen all around the internet.
And so Hulu is getting the documentary GameStop: Rise of the Players, following its theatrical run. The film definitely has that possibly-obnoxious gamer energy that pushed GameStop's stock to thrive, but you kinda need that point of view to explain this phenomenon.
Stream it now on Hulu
Hollywood Stargirl (Disney Plus)
Music stardom is a slowpath, and Stargirl Caraway (real-life singer/songwriter Grace VanderWaal) is on the path. After succeeding with her own sounds in the first chapter of this film series based on Jerry Spinelli's books of the same name, Disney's songbird has had her life uprooted again as she goes to Los Angeles to pursue her career.
Wholesome and uplifting, Hollywood Stargirl is also buoyed by a strong supporting cast. That includes Judy Greer (replacing Sara Arrington) as our protagonist's mother Ana, and Uma Thurman as one of Stargirl's favorite musicians. Even Judd Hirsch appears, as one of the new neighbors.
Stream it on Disney Plus on Friday (June 3)
Bonus movie: Ambulance (Peacock)
Michael Bay's latest film is out of theaters and on Peacock, so you can see a bank heist go very wrong from the comforts of your own sofa. Jake Gyllenhaal (Nightcrawler) and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (The Matrix Resurrections' new Morpheus) star as adoptive brothers who are on very different tracks. Will (Abdul-Mateen II) is a war veteran who needs hundreds of thousands of dollars for his wife's surgery. Danny (Gyllenhaal) is a criminal who talks Will into trying to steal $32 million from a bank. Everything goes chaotic, and Will's probably left wondering why they couldn't have picked a smaller bank.
Technically, Ambulance came out last week, but its release on Peacock was so quiet and unannounced that we didn't include it in the previous edition of this column. So, why not highlight it this week?
Stream it now on Peacock
Next: In TV news, we have to wait until July to watch the next Better Call Saul episode. We've also got a pick for the one show to binge-watch right now on Amazon Prime Video.
