The 8 Best New Movies and Shows to Stream This Weekend on Netflix, Max and More

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This week’s streaming premieres are a wide, diverse mix of new movies and TV shows, both big and small. Max boasts the long-awaited streaming service debut of one of the year’s biggest and most acclaimed films, while Netflix has both the second season of a major TV show and the sequel to one of its past film originals coming this week.

Elsewhere, Marvel’s best film effort in years has finally become available on demand, and the same happens to be true of one of 2025’s most underrated independent movies. Here are the eight best new movies and shows that you can stream this weekend.

“Sinners” (Max)

The biggest original movie of 2025 is finally making its way to streaming this week. Writer-director Ryan Coogler’s acclaimed vampire thriller “Sinners” makes its long-awaited premiere on Max on Friday. Coogler’s first non-franchise effort since 2013’s “Fruitvale Station,” “Sinners” stars Michael B. Jordan as a pair of gun and booze-running twin brothers in the early 1930s whose effort to launch a nightclub in their Mississippi hometown goes awry when their opening night is crashed by a bloodthirsty Irish vampire (Jack O’Connell).

Aesthetically and sonically thrilling, “Sinners” is packed to the brim with memorable performances and astonishing moments of visual and narrative invention. As is usually the case with Coogler’s work, it is also thematically compelling and dense, and the result in a cinematic experience that is as superficially entertaining as it is thought-provoking. Put that another way: “Sinners” is an absolute riot from beginning to end.

“Thunderbolts*” (Marvel Studios)

“Thunderbolts*” (2025)

Marvel’s first truly memorable, emotionally involving film in years, “Thunderbolts*,” is now available to rent and buy on demand. Directed by “Beef” filmmaker and veteran music video director Jake Schreier, the blockbuster follows its titular superhero misfits — led by Florence Pugh’s charming, disillusioned Yelena Belova — as they find themselves forced to come together to save the world from an unlikely, existentially terrifying foe.

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Elevated by Schreier’s slick, unobtrusive style and commitment to practical action filmmaking, “Thunderbolts*” starts out as a flashy, quirky comedy and quickly evolves into a surprisingly tender, thoughtful exploration of guilt, self-hatred and found family. Not without its flaws, “Thunderbolts*” has the heart and style that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been missing in recent years. It is a film that, for the most part, firmly sticks its superhero landing.

Sally Hawkins in ‘Bring Her Back’ (A24)

“Bring Her Back” (2025)

“Bring Her Back,” directing duo Michael and Danny Philippou’s follow-up to their 2022 breakout horror hit “Talk to Me,” is a deranged nightmare. It follows a pair of traumatized siblings (Billy Barratt and Sora Wong) who are placed in the care of a former counselor (Sally Hawkins) following their father’s death. The more time they spend with Hawkins’ Laura, though, the more that the two siblings, particularly Barratt’s Andy, begin to suspect that her intentions are more malevolent than they appear.

To say much more about the plot of “Bring Her Back” would be to dull the film’s cutting, brutal edge. It is a twisted, unapologetic horror film, one populated by characters who have been ravaged by guilt, fear, regret and grief. “Bring Her Back” is nastier and meaner than most, trauma-obsessed modern horror films, though. It constantly finds new ways to surprise you and gross you out, and it is propelled forward at all times by its directors’ admirable creative audacity and Hawkins’ fierce, terrifying lead performance.

“Sister Midnight” (Magnet Releasing)

“Sister Midnight” (2025)

A seemingly straightforward domestic comedy with a surprising genre bent, “Sister Midnight” is the directorial debut of writer-director Karan Kandhari. It follows a young woman (Radhika Apte) who is forced into an arranged marriage and ends up trapped with her assigned husband in a small Mumbai shack with thin walls and nosy neighbors. As she struggles to adapt to her new life and even more so to the domestic responsibilities that have been foisted upon her, Apte’s Uma begins to rebel in unexpected ways.

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It may not have received much mainstream attention yet, but “Sister Midnight” garnered almost unanimously positive reviews following its initial festival screenings and theatrical release. That only makes the black comedy that much more of a must-see addition to viewers’ watchlists this weekend, especially for anyone who happens to be in the mood for a film that is a bit more offbeat than most theatrical and streaming releases that come along these days.

“Heads of State” (Amazon MGM Studios)

“Heads of State” (Prime Video)

A high-concept riff on a traditional odd-couple comedy, “Heads of State” follows the U.S. President (John Cena) and the U.K. Prime Minister (Idris Elba) as they are forced to put their personal differences aside and rely on each other after they are attacked and sent on the run by political enemies who want them both dead.

Featuring supporting turns from actors like Priyanka Chopra, Jack Quaid, Paddy Considine and Carla Gugino, “Heads of State” is a star-studded, lighthearted action comedy. It arrived Wednesday on Amazon’s Prime Video, which means that anyone who is interested in spending a few hours watching an action-packed blockbuster that does not take itself too seriously can do just that with “Heads of State” this weekend.

“The Old Guard 2” (Netflix)

One of Netflix’s biggest sequels of the year, “The Old Guard 2” officially premiered on the streaming platform on Wednesday. Coming five years after the first “Old Guard,” the new film picks back up with Andy (Charlize Theron) and her band of immortal warriors as she is still grappling to come to terms with her life after losing her immortality. She and her allies are forced to pick up their weapons again when the world’s first immortal (Uma Thurman) emerges from the shadows intent on erasing all of their good work.

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Directed by Victoria Mahoney and featuring even more action-movie star wattage, thanks to new additions Uma Thurman and Henry Golding, “The Old Guard 2” looks like it will scratch all of the same itches as its popular predecessor. It is, in other words, the rare sequel that feels refreshingly well-primed to replicate the magic of its parent film.

“The Sandman” Season 2 (Netflix)

“The Sandman” Season 2 Volume 1 (Netflix)

Three years after it premiered on Netflix, “The Sandman” is finally back. The high-concept fantasy series, which is based on the 1980s and ’90s comic book of the same name by Neil Gaiman, will not be around for long, though. The first six episodes of the show’s second and final season premiered Thursday on Netflix. They will be followed by another five installments released on July 24 and then one final, special episode of “The Sandman” on July 31.

Fortunately, as disappointing as the series’ abrupt end may be for fans, Season 2 of “The Sandman” looks just as dreamy, confident and ambitious — both visually and narratively — as its first. If you loved the drama’s first season, then Volume 1 of “The Sandman” Season 2 should be on your watchlist this weekend.

“Tornado” (IFC Films)

“Tornado” (2025)

Writer-director John Maclean’s follow-up to 2015’s “Slow West,” “Tornado” is an offbeat, unlikely cross between a Western and a samurai thriller. Set in Scotland in the 1790s, it follows the daughter (Kōki) of a Japanese puppetmaster (Takehiro Hira) who swears revenge after her father and her are ambushed by a notorious gang. Driven by her own desire for payback, Kōki’s Tornado sets out to forge her own destiny by stealing the gold coveted by her father’s attackers.

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Featuring visually stunning cinematography from frequent Yorgos Lanthimos collaborator Robbie Ryan, “Tornado” is a low-key genre thriller that plays entirely by its own rules and sticks closely to Maclean’s distinct artistic sensibilities. A perfect companion to “Slow West,” “Tornado” is, consequently, unlike any other Western or samurai film that you have likely seen before. If you have 91 minutes to spare this weekend, “Tornado” is well worth your time. It is now available to rent and buy on demand.

The post The 8 Best New Movies and Shows to Stream This Weekend on Netflix, Max and More appeared first on TheWrap.

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