With HBO Max rebranding to 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.
Instead, you should treat it as a jumping-off point of HBO Max movies, one that 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.
Barbarian (2022)
103m
Genre
Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Stars
Georgina Campbell, Bill Skarsgård, Justin Long
Directed by
Zach Cregger
A delightful horror movie that will keep you guessing from beginning to end, Barbarian tells the story of a girl who finds that the Airbnb she rented out has been double booked. After she decides to stay with a strange man over night, she begins to wonder whether he’s going to do something sinister. Where the movie goes from there is best experienced without any spoilers, but Barbarian is a deeply confident, often hilarious horror movie about how terrible men are and have always been. It’s depraved in ways even great horror movies rarely are, and worth your time even if you’ve already seen it six times.
Casablanca (1942)
102m
Genre
Drama, Romance
Stars
Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid
Directed by
Michael Curtiz
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.
The Dark Knight (2008)
152m
Genre
Drama, Action, Crime, Thriller
Stars
Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Michael Caine
Directed by
Christopher Nolan
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)
179m
Genre
Adventure, Fantasy, Action
Stars
Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen
Directed by
Peter Jackson
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.
Tokyo Story (1953)
137m
Genre
Drama
Stars
Chishū Ryū, Chieko Higashiyama, Setsuko Hara
Directed by
Yasujirō Ozu
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
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.
The Exorcist (1973)
122m
Genre
Horror
Stars
Ellen Burstyn, Linda Blair, Jason Miller
Directed by
William Friedkin
One of the great horror movies ever made, The Exorcist tells the story of an actress and her daughter as the daughter falls in and is possessed by a demon. Although there have been plenty of movies made about possession, The Exorcist was pioneering, and William Friedkin’s incredible direction ensured that the movie would be both terrifying and grounded in real, human stakes. The Exorcist is light on jump scares, but it’s heavy on dread, and thanks to carefully calibrated performances and a final sequence that is among the greatest in movie history, The Exorcist still holds up as a signature achievement in horror.
Predator (1987)
107m
Genre
Science Fiction, Action, Adventure, Thriller
Stars
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, Elpidia Carrillo
Directed by
John McTiernan
Arnold Schwarzenegger is more kick-ass here than in any other film playing a rescue soldier who spars with an otherworldly alien presence in the middle of the jungle. Predator is now one of the most iconic sci-fi franchises of all time, and this first film is the best in the series.
Edge of Tomorrow (2014)
114m
Genre
Action, Science Fiction
Stars
Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton
Directed by
Doug Liman
Tom Cruise is one of the great action stars of his or any generation, and Edge of Tomorrow may just be his crowning achievement. Co-starring Emily Blunt, the movie follows Cruise as he and the rest of humanity battle an alien invader, and is sent back in time over and over until he finally finds a way to defeat it. Cruise and Blunt have incredible chemistry in the movie, which also somehow manages to be one of the funniest performances Cruise has delivered in a long time. The whole thing is sharp, smart, and way better than it has any right being.
Spirited Away (2001)
125m
Genre
Animation, Family, Fantasy
Stars
Rumi Hiiragi, Miyu Irino, Mari Natsuki
Directed by
Hayao Miyazaki
Every Studio Ghibli is available on Max, but if you have to watch just one, Spirited Away is probably the one. The movie follows a young girl who finds herself transported into a mystical spirit world and has to work her way back to the real world. Spirited Away is not a linear movie, but it’s one that follows a pretty intuitive emotional logic. It’s also filled with beautiful animation, and the kind of vivid imagery that few movies, live-action or animated, possess.
What movies are leaving Max in November?
November 2
- 300: Rise of an Empire
November 6
- The Host
November 7
- Noblesse
November 12
- Banksy Does New York
November 14
- TSUKIMICHI – Moonlit Fantasy
November 30
- 10,000 B.C.
- Absolute Power
- Angels in the Outfield
- The Apparition
- The Asphalt Jungle
- Badlands
- Black Sheep
- Blade
- Blade II
- Blade: Trinity
- Breach
- Burn After Reading
- Cats
- Cleopatra
- Critters
- Critters 3
- The Curse of Frankenstein
- Dark Shadows
- De Blanco La Patuda (aka White is for Virgins)
- The Descent
- The Descent: Part 2
- Diggers
- Disclosure
- Doc Hollywood
- Doctor Sleep
- Dracula A.D. 1972
- Dracula Has Risen from the Grave
- Draft Day
- The Drop
- First Reformed
- The Fly
- The Forbidden Kingdom
- Freddy vs. Jason
- Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare
- Friday the 13th
- Gemini
- Gone Girl
- Green Room
- The Haunting
- Horror of Dracula
- The Hurt Locker
- I Origins
- If Beale Street Could Talk
- Insidious
- Into the Forest
- Journey 2: The Mysterious Island
- Krisha
- Lakeview Terrace
- Limitless
- Los Dias De La Ballena (aka The Days of the Whale)
- Lucas
- Lucky You
- Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa
- The Mask
- The Maze Runner
- Moonfall
- The Mummy
- Narc
- The Neverending Story II: The Next Chapter
- A Nightmare on Elm Street
- A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge
- A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
- A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master
- A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child
- The Outsiders
- Poltergeist
- Pretty in Pink
- Private Benjamin
- The Purge: Anarchy
- Reindeer Games
- The Rookie
- Safe Haven
- The Sea of Trees
- See No Evil, Hear No Evil
- The Show
- Signs
- Some Kind of Wonderful
- Soylent Green
- Stephen King’s Cat’s Eye
- Team America: World Police
- Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor
- Urban Cowboy
- V for Vendetta
- Wild Rose
- Young Frankenstein
What movies are coming to Max in November?
November 1
- Act of Valor
- After the Thin Man
- Aliens
- The Ant Bully
- Arthur Christmas
- The Avengers
- The Bachelor
- The Bad and the Beautiful
- Bells Are Ringing
- Black Beauty
- Boys’ Night Out
- Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo
- Brigadoon
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
- A Christmas Carol
- Christmas in Connecticut
- A Christmas Story
- A Christmas Story 2
- A Cinderella Story
- Definitely, Maybe
- Dennis the Menace
- A Dennis the Menace Christmas
- The Devil Wears Prada
- Diner
- Down to Earth
- Dune
- Elf
- The Fantastic Four
- Fever Pitch
- The Foot Fist Way
- Four Christmases
- Fred Claus
- Free Fire
- Funny Farm
- Get Carter
- Get Smart
- The Golden Compass
- Gran Torino
- Great Expectations
- Hannah and Her Sisters
- Happy Feet
- Happy Feet Two
- Head of State
- Hearts in Atlantis
- High Life
- Holiday Affair
- Inkheart
- Insidious: Chapter 3
- Jack Frost
- John Dies at the End
- Kart Racer
- Killing Me Softly
- Kin
- The King’s Speech
- Legally Blonde
- Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde
- Legally Blondes
- The Lovely Bones
- Major League
- The Man Who Came to Dinner
- The Manchurian Candidate
- Mean Girls 2
- Misery
- Mistress America
- Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase
- National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation
- New Year’s Eve
- Now You See Me
- Now You See Me 2
- Ordinary People
- Paddington 2
- Paycheck
- The Pirate
- Pitch Perfect 2
- The Polar Express
- Predators
- The Prince and the Pauper
- Road House
- Rocky
- Rocky Balboa
- Rocky II
- Rocky III
- Rocky IV
- Rocky V
- Room for One More
- Running on Empty
- The Shop Around the Corner
- Song of the Thin Man
- Traffik
- The Two Mrs. Carrolls
- Unfinished Business
- Uptown Girls
- Walking Tall
- Wargames
- Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins
- Welcome To Marwen
- Where the Boys Are
- Winter’s Bone
- Winter’s Tale
November 3
- Scent of Time
November 6
- Gumbo Coalition
November 7
- Stand Up & Shout: Songs from a Philly High School
November 8
- A Chestnut Family Christmas
- A Christmas For Mary
- A Christmas Fumble
- A Christmas Stray
- A Gingerbread Christmas
- The Great Holiday Bake War
- A Sisterly Christmas
- Baking Christmas
- Candy Coated Christmas
- Carole’s Christmas
- Cooking Up Christmas
- Designing Christmas
- First Christmas
- Fixer Upper: The Hotel
- Food Network: White House Thanksgiving
- House Hunters: Ho Ho Home
- One Fine Christmas
- Our OWN Christmas
- Surprising Santa Claus
- You Were My First Boyfriend
November 11
- Albert Brooks: Defending My Life
- The Craftsman: Preserving the Last Higgins Boat
November 13
- Love Has Won
November 14
- How We Get Free
November 17
- Tom & Jerry Snowman’s Land
November 19
- Teen Titans Go!: Wishbone
November 21
- The Conjuring 2 (2016)
November 22
- The Intern (2015)
November 23
- Little Richard: I Am Everything
- Once Upon a Sesame Street Christmas
- A Sesame Street Christmas Carol
November 24
- The Lives of Felix (Las vidas de Fèlix)
November 28
- South to Black Power
November 29
- Her
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