This weekend’s HBO Max movie picks are a diverse bunch, and these three films offer a little something for everyone. After only Netflix and Prime Video, HBO Max is the third most successful streamer on the market today. With the power of the premium cable network backing the service, Max is able to offer both great TV shows and excellent movies.
The month of June is especially strong for the streamer, with House of the Dragon returning for its titanic third season on the 21st. While TV seems to be the biggest draw for HBO Max, that’s not to say that the platform is lacking in the movie department. With an ever-changing catalog of new and classic flicks, Max is actually one of the best places to go to find films to watch.
A ton of new films landed on the platform at the beginning of the month, adding to an already brimming collection. Additionally, new releases drop on Max mere weeks after they leave theaters, so there’s always something to look forward to. This deluge of content can be overwhelming, especially when settling in to spend a nice weekend binge-watching movies.
To solve that problem, this list of three excellent HBO Max movie picks has been assembled. It has been specifically curated to reach as broad an audience as possible, so it touches multiple genres. There’s a bombastic musical, an understated animated Oscar winner, and even a gripping thriller from the 2000s. Get the most out of an HBO Max subscription with these movies.
3
The Greatest Showman (2017)
A true anomaly of modern moviemaking, The Greatest Showman is a rare original big screen musical. Hugh Jackman stars as P.T. Barnum in the highly fictionalized story of his rise to become the name most synonymous with the Big Top. Jackman is joined by Rebecca Ferguson, Zendaya, and Zac Efron, among many others.
Nearly 10 years after its debut, the blockbuster smash still holds up. The tunes are catchy, and the heightened sense of unreality hearkens back to the golden age of movie musicals. Even on the small screen, The Greatest Showman packs a powerful punch. HBO Max subscribers will have a hard time getting some of the songs out of their heads for weeks to come.
2
Flow (2024)
Taking on powerhouses like Disney and beating them, Flow snagged the Best Animated Feature Oscar in 2024. The film is set in a mysterious world without humans, and follows a black cat as it tries to escape rising floodwaters. The movie uses absolutely no dialogue, but tells a rich story involving animals with a lot of personality.
The simplistic animation style is refreshing and novel, and Flow absolutely nails its pacing. Though it isn’t ideal for the youngest viewers, it’s a rare animated flick with appeal to viewers of almost any age. It’s the first Latvian film to hit it big on the world stage, and is indicative of the exciting new direction that animation has taken in recent years. There are a lot of great animated films on HBO Max, but Flow is certainly one of the best.
1
A History Of Violence (2005)
A History of Violence is one of the best thrillers of the 2000s and one of the most underrated comic book adaptations ever made. It concerns an unassuming diner owner who saves his business from robbers. His heroic act resurrects his dark past. David Cronenberg leaves the world of body horror behind to deliver a truly gripping crime story with sudden splashes of horrific violence.
Though the movie is slow-paced, it has an exhilarating payoff that makes it all worth it. It takes time to dig deep into its rich themes, and is a thinking person’s thriller. Two decades after the fact, A History of Violence is becoming a celebrated classic of Aughts cinema. Of all the movies that landed on HBO Max at the beginning of this month, the 2005 Oscar nominee is a must-watch.