As the birthplace of prestige TV shows like The Sopranos and The Wire, HBO—and, by extension, HBO Max—is best known for its impressive lineup of original series. The network has also been upping the ante with feature-length content that is the stuff of Oscar dreams.
Below is a list of some of our favorite films streaming on HBO Max—from Oscar-winning epics to dystopian sci-fi classics. If you decide you’re in more of a TV mood, head over to our picks for the best shows on HBO Max. If you’re looking for even more recommendations, check out our lists of the best movies on Netflix, the best movies on Amazon Prime, and the best movies on Disney+.
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Sinners
Hot on the heels of some of the best, and most successful Marvel movies ever (that would be the Black Panther films), writer-director Ryan Coogler found a whole new way to blow cinephiles' minds with this gorgeous vampire tale. Set in 1930s Mississippi, the film stars Michael B. Jordan in a dual role as twin brothers Smoke and Stack, two World War I veterans who return home from Chicago with mob money with a plan to run a juke joint. Opening night of their new establishment, however, goes terribly wrong when a group of blood-sucking white musicians shows up at their door. Lush and full of beautifully shot action scenes, Sinners is already headed to the top of most Best of 2025 lists. In addition to the original theatrical release, HBO Max is streaming the film in Black American Sign Language (BASL).
Get Out
In 2017, Jordan Peele went from one half of Key & Peele to an Oscar-winning screenwriter (not to mention the first Black writer to win the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and the first Black filmmaker to be nominated as a producer, writer, and director in one year). Eight years later, the impact of Peele’s Get Out is still just as impressive. Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) has been invited by his girlfriend, Rose (Allison Williams), to spend the weekend at her parents’ home in upstate New York. While Chris worries that her seemingly upper-class parents won’t be accepting of an interracial relationship, Rose assures him it won’t be a problem—and she’s right, but for all the wrong reasons. With Get Out, Peele cracked the code on making a film that was a horror movie, psychological drama, and telling commentary on race all at once.
Parasite
Even if you don’t care about awards, the fact that Parasite is the first—and still only—non-English-language movie to win a Best Picture Oscar should tell you something about the universality of its themes. The Kims, a family struggling to make ends meet, set their scheming sights on the Parks, a well-to-do family with plenty of problems of their own, but also plenty of money to muffle their dysfunction. At least for a time. Just when you think you know how class warfare is playing out in this black comedy, it changes course to reach an unexpected conclusion. As always, director Bong Joon-ho knows just how to lead his audience down one path, only to open a trapdoor into another.
Fight Club
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