The Top 21 New Movies Streaming Now

“Uncle Buck”

Netflix – Sept. 1

One of John Hughes’ funniest, most underrated movies (and, incredibly, his second-to-last directorial effort), “Uncle Buck” is built around the simple premise of John Candy as a slovenly bachelor who is put in charge of his brothers’ three children after a family emergency. It’s a classic Hughes set up that allows for plenty of noteworthy gags (a bowling ball falls on Buck’s head as he rushes to get his stuff together, Buck makes a giant pancake in the family’s posh suburban kitchen) but the story is also loose enough that there is real empathy and emotional complexity.

Maybe not as much as something like modern classics “The Breakfast Club” and “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” but there is still plenty going on. It’s also really fun to watch “Uncle Buck,” which was released the year before “Home Alone,” and see that Hughes was already thinking about how to give Macaulay Culkin, as the family’s precocious young son, his own movie. (An even-tinier Gaby Hoffmann is the family’s youngest daughter.) “Uncle Buck” is a silly joy from start to finish (it’s hard to hate a movie that lovingly incorporates Ton Loc’s “Wild Thing” into entire stretches of the score), tinged with the melancholy of missing Candy and Hughes, creative soulmates through and through, who were both gone way too soon.

“The End of Evangelion”

Criterion Channel – Sept. 1

The entire “Neon Genesis Evangelion” saga arrives on the Criterion Collection this month, complete with the original English dubs for the series and two movies – “The End of Evangelion” and “Evangelion Death (True)²” (one of a handful of feature-length recaps of the series that have select scenes reanimated or changed). What makes “The End of Evangelion” so fascinating is that it’s a theatrical redo of the finale of the animated series. Towards the end of “Neon Genesis Evangelion,” the schedule became incredibly compressed and creator Hideaki Anno had a full-on mental breakdown. This is why the final episodes, particularly the last, are so scattershot. They simply couldn’t finish the show.

“The End of Evangelion,” effectively filling in for the series finale (complete with title cards for episodes 25 and 26), is extremely dark (Shinji commits sexual assault) and also incredibly satisfying, wrapping up the saga in ways that are both satisfying and deeply puzzling. That is, of course, before Anno embarked on his ambitious “Rebuild of Evangelion” cycle, which featured similar scenarios but wholly new animation and scenes. Those are not on Criterion this month but are very much worth seeking out.

“The Addiction,” “Body Snatchers,” “King of New York”

The Criterion Channel – Sept. 1

The Criterion Channel celebrates the work of American filmmaker Abel Ferrara this month, with some hard-to-find gems like 1987’s “China Girl” (which has never gotten a decent home video release) and more recent, controversial work like 2019’s “Tommaso.” But we figured we’d highlight three of his very best movies that highlight different aspects of his truly astonishing filmography.  1990’s “King of New York” might be Ferrara’s very best movies, a ruthless crime thriller written by his frequent collaborator Nicholas St. John and made just a year after “Cat Chaser,” his Elmore Leonard adaptation, was relegated to a direct-to-video release and re-edited against his will. You can feel that righteous fury in “King of New York,” which features Christopher Walken as a gangster who gets out of prison and wreaks a considerable amount of havoc. Breathlessly paced and full of fine supporting performances from Laurence Fishburne, David Caruso and a young Wesley Snipes, and punctuated by bursts of shocking violence, “King of New York” is a true classic. It should have catapulted Ferrara to a bigger echelon. And it did, however briefly.

After 1992’s NC-17-rated “Bad Lieutenant,” Ferrara made a studio movie in “Body Snatchers,” the third adaptation of Jack Finney’s 1955 novel, following the 1956 and 1978 adaptations (both excellent). Working from a razor-sharp script by Stuart Gordon and Denis Paoli, with revisions by St. John, the new “Body Snatchers” is set on a military base and the unease about the conflict in the middle east can be felt in every frame. Meant for a wide release, it escaped in only a few dozen theaters and made less than a half-a-million dollars total.

Following “Body Snatchers” and the semi-improvised curio “Dangerous Game,” Ferrara made 1995’s “The Addiction,” a grungy, black-and-white vampire movie the leans on the metaphor of addiction (Ferrara himself has battled addiction) and a glittery satellite of fine performances led by a peerless Lili Taylor. The Abel Ferrara galaxy contains many different planets!

“The Mandalorian and Grogu”

Disney+ – Sept. 2

One of the big criticisms of “The Mandalorian and Grogu,” which Disney and Lucasfilm released theatrically earlier this summer, was that it just felt like a slightly bigger version of the hit Disney+ series. And, sure, you did occasionally get the sensation that you were watching a handful of episodes inelegantly stapled together. But it also, in expanding the story of the bounty hunter The Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) and his relationship with the young, Yoda-like Grogu, did offer up some thrills that were best experienced on the big screen. There’s a particular stretch of the movie when it turns over to Grogu where it becomes very special.

But for those who asked, “Why would I go see ‘The Mandalorian and Grogu’ in theaters when I could watch the show at home?” Well, now the movie is on Disney+. It involves the Mandalorian interfacing with Rotta the Hutt (Jeremy Allen White), the son of Jabba the Hutt, and the continued squabbling between the New Republic and the remnants of the Empire. It’s fun, fast and forgettable. What more do you want in a movie you’re probably going to watch while folding laundry?

“The Runner”

Prime Video – Sept. 2

Gal Gadot plays a lawyer in London with a small child who begins getting a threatening call on her morning jog. She’s already dropped off her son at school and is enjoying the beginning of her day when the caller tells her that he has her child and that she has to do something to get him back – murder a witness in the big trial that she is a part of. This set-up – an everyman (or woman) being put through the ringer by mysterious forces and coerced into doing something morally deplorable – is tried-and-true, employed in a number of genre settings and scenarios. (We immediately thought of the little-seen but nifty Johnny Depp movie “Nick of Time,” which played out almost in real time.)

But the idea that Gadot is literally on the run (there’s a great sequence where she has to race a train) sets it apart, as does the inventive direction by British filmmaker Kevin MacDonald and the energetic cinematography by Anthony Dod Mantle, a frequent collaborator of Danny Boyle. By the end of “The Runner” credibility has been stretched to the breaking point, but it never lessens the fun. Run, don’t walk, to watch “The Runner.”

“Scary Movie” (2026)

Paramount+ – Sept. 3

The “Scary Movie” franchise was reborn this summer as the Wayans Brothers, who helped launch the horror parody series in the first place, returned to spearhead a spoof of – well just about everything. And it was a hit. The new “Scary Movie” grossed over $230 million, making more money than any “Scary Movie” film since the original. And now is your chance to sit back and enjoy the goofball antics at home.

“Teenage Wasteland”

Netflix – Sept. 4

This new documentary feature, directed and written by Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine “centers on a group of teenage students in 1991 upstate New York who, guided by English teacher Fred Isseks, set out to make a student film and instead uncovered a pollution scandal threatening their town’s groundwater,” according to the official synopsis. The documentary drew on hundreds of hours of footage filmed by the students and “follows the students as they confront local officials and a criminal organization, and revisits the events three decades later with Isseks and his former students.” This sounds absolutely riveting, the kind of movie that will both entertain and outrage. But, you know, in a good way.

“Mayday”

Apple TV – Sept. 4

One of the smartest, funniest, most snappily buoyant movies of the year, “Mayday” is the kind of entertainment you thought that they didn’t make anymore. Thankfully, they do. Ryan Reynolds plays Troy “Assassin” Kelly, a hot shot pilot who is talked into flying a spy mission over Soviet Russia. (It’s 1987, a year after “Top Gun” is released, and it’s a good time to be a smooth-talking fighter pilot who looks like Ryan Reynolds.) His plane – a Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird (the plane that inspired the X-Men’s jet) – is destroyed and he is dropped into enemy territory. Thankfully, he is discovered by Nikolai Ustinov (Kenneth Branagh), a former KGB operative who now lives a solitary life in the woods and is very enamored with American pop culture.

Together, they go on a madcap mission to get out of Soviet Russia and get back to the land of McDonald’s, Bruce Springsteen and “Top Gun.” “Mayday” – named for the radio transmission signaling distress and the over-the-top Russian Victory Day parade held on May 9 – was written and directed by Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, the team behind certifiable modern classics “Game Night” and “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.”

It’s rare to see a modern comedy look and feel like this, full of visual texture and photographic intentionality. It’s obviously an homage to the mismatched buddy/road movies from the 1980’s but it would also be right at home on a double feature with “Midnight Run” or “48 Hrs.” Reynolds, with the shtick dialed way down, and Branagh, make for a great duo, finding heart and complexity in what could have been fairly two-dimensional roles. And Goldstein and Daley make sure that there’s enough subtle social and political shading to give the whole thing resonance and a timely charge. “Mayday” is a blast.

“Fuze”

HBO Max – Sept. 4

An unexploded bomb, left over from World War II, is discovered in the heart of bustling London. But the discovery is part of a larger plot that involves a group of bank robbers (led by Sam Worthington), an immigrant family fleeing the situation, a local constable monitoring the situation from afar (Gugu Mbatha-Raw)  and a tightly wound military man with experience in bomb defusing (Aaron Taylor-Johnson). “Fuze” made the festival rounds late last year and was quietly released theatrically earlier this year, but it really deserves a much larger, more passionate audience – this is a crackerjack thriller in the vein of “Speed,” the kind of thing that is rarely made anymore, especially with the caliber of both performers and filmmakers involved. David Mackenzie, who made “Hell or High Water,” directed “Fuze” and even when the twists start to pile up to a precarious degree, it’s never anything less than breathlessly entertaining. Spread the word. “Fuze” is here.

“Untold: Mr. T – I Pity the Fool”

Netflix – Sept. 8

Mr. T is a true legend. Born Laurence Tureaud, Mr. T became one of the true pop culture superstars of the 1980’s, appearing in “Rocky III” and “The A-Team,” inspiring his own Saturday morning cartoon and lucrative line of tie-in merchandise. When Pee-wee Herman ate cereal in “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure,” he hate Mr. T cereal and even did a little impression of the man. And just as Herman got a recent, wonderful documentary, so too does Mr. T. Featuring talking head interviews, including with Mr. T himself, archival footage and narration from Terry Crews, “Untold: Mr. T – I Pity the Fool,” from director Scott Weintrob, looks to separate (and celebrate) the man and the persona. Gold chains and mohawk optional but very much encouraged.

“Babylon”

Hulu – Sept. 8

It’s interesting to see what filmmakers do when they win big at the Oscars. For Damien Chazelle, who took home the Best Director trophy for “La La Land,” he cashed in his chips on an old Hollywood epic with manic energy to spare. The result, “Babylon,” was wildly divisive as it charts the tales of three individuals during Hollywood’s transition from silent films to talkies: Margot Robbie is a new ingenue who gets her big break; Brad Pitt is an aging silent film star and Diego Calva is a Mexican immigrant worker who finds himself sucked into the glitz and glam of the 1920s. Excess is the name of the game in “Babylon,” both in the story and in Chazelle’s filmmaking. It’s not for everyone, but it’s certainly a big swing.

“Why Did I Get Married Again?”

Netflix – Sept. 9

The “Why Did I Get Married?” universe continues to expand. Back in 2003 Tyler Perry wrote a play called “Why Did I Get Married? (He Proposed to Me),” which premiered in Atlanta, George. In 2005 it was recorded live at the Georgia Institute of Technology and later released on DVD. (This was the heyday of DVD, you have to remember.) In 2007, nearly 20 years ago, he adapted it into a feature that he wrote, directed and co-starred in, alongside Janet Jackson, Jill Scott, Michael Jai White and Richard T. Jones (among others). A sequel – “Why Did I Get Married Too?” – followed in 2010 and saw nearly everyone return from the first film, including Jackson.

A year later, “For Better or Worse,” a spinoff of “Why Did I Get Married?” featuring White and Tasha Smith, airing on TBS for two seasons and on OWN for an additional four seasons. It ended in 2017 after 162 episodes, which is certainly a shock for those of us who had no idea it existed at all. Anyway, “Why Did I Get Married Again?” is now here. Perry returns to write, direct and co-star, despite troubling sexual assault allegations, with the setting now moved to Italy and White and Smith celebrating the marriage of their daughter (Armani Greer). Scott and Jones also return, this time joined by Taraji P. Henson, which should be fun. See – “Why Did I Get Married?” is a bigger and grander franchise than you could have possibly imagined. The more you know!

“Supergirl”

HBO Max – Sept. 10

“Supergirl” was meant to carry the momentum of last year’s “Superman,” both in terms of forwarding the narrative of the last survivors of Krypton and establishing James Gunn and Peter Safran’s new DC Films as a legitimate competitor to Kevin Feige’s Marvel Studios. It didn’t exactly work that way. In adaptation Tom King and Bilquis Evely’s comic book “Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow,” something was lost in translation. Milly Alcock is a terrific Supergirl and pairing her with a young orphan seeking revenge for the murder of her family is a nifty conceit and there are certainly bright spots – notably the production design and the cinematography by Rob Hardy, which gives intergalactic vessels and rustic watering holes a grit and texture largely missing from superhero movies. (He was tapped to shoot “Black Widow” but didn’t end up working on the final project.)

“Supergirl,” directed by the talented Craig Gillespie, seemed to be second-guessed to death – it cycled through two composers before finally landing on Claudia Sarne, went through endless test screenings and suffered from reported executive meddling. The fact that it’s watchable at all is probably a minor miracle. The fact that it’s as entertaining as it is seems unfathomable. You should ignore all of the press, watch the movie for yourself and make up your own mind. One thing we all can agree on, though, is that super-dog Krypto is the best.

“The Love Hypothesis”

Prime Video – Sept. 23

One of the most anticipated love stories of the year, “The Love Hypothesis” is based on the BookTok-famous book of the same name by Ali Hazelwood. Initially inspired by Reylo fanfiction that pit Kylo Ren and Rey as star-crossed lovers, the finished story is quite different. Lili Reinhart plays a graduate student who pretends to date a biology professor (Tom Bateman) in order to convince her friends that her dating life is fine. But you know what they say about pretending to be in love…

“Toy Story 5”

Disney+ – Sept. 23

The latest installment in Pixar’s evergreen “Toy Story” franchise was the first to be directed by longtime franchise stalwart Andrew Stanton, who also made “Finding Nemo” and “WALL•E” for Pixar and has contributed to every other installment in one form or another. This time around, Bonnie (Scarlett Spears) is under the thrall of a smart tablet called Lilypad (Greta Lee). This leaves her other toys, led by Jessie (Joan Cusack) to freak out, even bringing Woody (Tom Hanks) back after he left the gang to help rescue lost toys.

What ensues is an emotionally nuanced and very exciting adventure, largely centered around Jessie and her traumatic history, but also carving out some fun new space for further entries in the franchise (“Toy Story 5” became the highest grossing installment, there will be more). With a handful of new characters, led by Conan O’Brien’s Smarty Pants who is, yes, a toilet-training device shaped like a roll of toilet paper, and all your returning favorites, along with an army of 50 malfunctioning Buzz Lightyears, “Toy Story 5” is an utter delight and proof that Pixar’s longest-lasting franchise is also one of its best.

“A Magnificent Life”

Netflix – Sept. 24

Sylvain Chomet, the incredible, award-winning French animation director behind “The Triplets of Belleville” and “The Illusionist,” is back with a new film. “A Magnificent Life,” which was briefly released last year for awards consideration before a larger release earlier this year, follows the life of Marcel Pagnol, a playwright, novelist and filmmaker, as he’s visited by a version of his younger self. It’s a neat device that works really well, even if you have no idea who Pagnol was (Criterion put out a beautiful box set of his Marseille trilogy), buoyed largely by the playfulness of the central conceit and just how beautifully understated all of the animation in “A Magnificent Life” really is.

More low-key and less whimsical than Chomet’s earlier work, it’s still great to have a new feature by one of the masters of modern animation. Also, if you’re really curious, check out Chomet’s animated prologue to “Joker: Folie à Deux” – the best, and perhaps only, reason to watch that movie.

“Unabomber”

Netflix – Sept. 25

Ready to visit the origins of one of America’s most famous killers? In “Unabomber,” directed by Janus Metz (who has helmed episodes of “True Detective” and “Andor”), we flash back in time to 1958, where Ted Kacyznski (played by Jacob Tremblay) is a fresh-faced whiz kid attending Harvard University. That’s where Kaczynski, later known as the Unabomber, took part in what have been described as unethical psychological experiments, led by psychologist Henry Murray (played in the film by Russell Crowe).

The film cuts back and forth between dewy Ted taking part in the hugely detrimental experiments and the manhunt, decades later, for the man known as the Unabomber, who terrorized unsuspecting victims for more than 20 years. (Shailene Woodley plays a dogged FBI agent who is intent on identifying the man behind the deadly bombs and bringing him to justice.) Annabelle Wallis and Alexander Ludwig also star in the based-on-a-true-story thriller.

“Backrooms”

HBO Max – Sept. 25

Kane Parsons’ “Backrooms” is one of the breakout hits of 2026, a horror movie steeped in online lore and made for less than $10 million by a first-time filmmaker who was 19 when he was hired by A24. (By comparison, earlier-this-year’s “Scream 7” carried a production budget of $45 million.) In 1990 suburbia the owner of a discount furniture store (played by Chiwetel Ejiofor) discovers a secret passageway to an alternate dimension full of endless hallways, disturbing architecture and, of course, some unseen monster. Soon enough his therapist (recent Oscar nominee Renate Reinsve), who has been through her own trauma, travels into the world to find him and uncover its secrets.

Part of what makes “Backrooms” not just one of the best movies of the year (and one of the best horror movies of 2026) is the fact that Parsons is filtering videogames and YouTube videos into his vision of a diseased, corporatized netherworld. The backrooms and the company investigating it (the mysterious Async Research Institute) can be a stand-in for many things causing us existential dread. But like the backrooms themselves, the movie is about what you take into it as much as what comes out. If you didn’t see it in theaters or are just wondering what all the fuss is about, make it a point to watch “Backrooms.” It’s a spooky season must-watch.

“The Widower: Til Death Do Us Part”

Netflix – Sept. 30

Exceptionally little is know about “The Widower: Til Death Do Us Part,” beyond an intriguing log line (“A journalist and a detective uncover the truth about a killer whose charm masked a trail of failed marriages and suspicious deaths”) and the fact that it was made by Chris Smith, one of the most entertaining and prolific documentarians working today. He made 1999’s genuinely incredible “American Movie,” and in recent years has produced “Tiger King,” directed limited series “Bad Vegan” and the wonderful “Wham!” and “DEVO” features and worked for Netflix, Apple TV and HBO on various projects. Whatever “The Widower” ends up being, in Smith’s capable hands, you at least know it will be whip smart and incredibly compelling.