The 5 best new movies to stream this weekend on Netflix, Max, Prime Video and more
Another week behind us means we have another weekend to look forward to. Now that you have time to work through your list of movies you still want to see, narrowing down the films that are worth your time is no easy task considering how much comes and goes each week on the best streaming services.
That’s why we’re bringing you the best new movies to watch this weekend. Leading the pack is Hulu’s lurid action comedy Boy Kills World, in which Bill Skarsgard beats up the rich idiots who killed his family like John Wick. Netflix also has a new dystopian teen drama, Uglies, that’s reminiscent of The Hunger Games and Divergent. On Prime Video, you can watch Colette, a raunchy literary biopic starring Keira Knightley, as well as the surprisingly great Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. Meanwhile, one of the 2024 Oscar nominees for Best Animated Feature, Robot Dreams, is finally making its debut on video-on-demand platforms.
If you’re looking for new movies to watch this weekend, you’ve come to the right place. And for even more streaming recommendations, be sure to check out our guide to the best new shows to stream this week.
“Robot Dreams” (PVOD)
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Robot Dreams is based on Sara Varon’s comic book of the same name and is one of last year’s Oscar nominees. I was really keen to see it as I missed it in the cinema. I’m a fan of realistic, quietly moving animated films and everything I’ve heard so far about Robot Dreams has convinced me to sit down, grab some tissues and prepare to become an emotional wreck over some cartoon characters.
Set in 1980s Manhattan, Robot Dreams tells the story of the heartwarming friendship between an anthropomorphic dog and his mail-order robot friend. Over the course of the summer, the two become inseparable, but tragedy strikes when Robot is left rusted and immobilized after a day at the beach. Dog is forced to leave his best friend there for the night, but when he returns the next day with tools to repair Robot, he finds that the beach is closed until next summer. What follows is a heartfelt exploration of friendship in all its many forms in life.
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“Boy Kills World” (Hulu)
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Action movie fans, buckle up. Boy Kills World is a bloody, fast-paced adventure that blends John Wick and A Clockwork Orange into a delightfully twisted revenge tale. Set in a future dystopia filled with wacky characters and extreme violence, this directorial debut from Moritz Mohr stars Bill Skarsgård (Hemlock Grove, It) as the titular boy, a young man left deaf and mute by an attack that killed the rest of his family.
His inner thoughts are voiced by H. Jon Benjamin, aka Bob in Bob’s Burgers, which fits perfectly with the absurd comedy of the film. He seeks revenge on the ruthless Van Der Koys family, who executed his family during an annual televised event called “The Culling.” Trained in martial arts by a mysterious shaman (Yayan Ruhian), Boy will stop at nothing to bring down those responsible, leaving a trail of destruction in his wake.
Watch now on Hulu
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (Prime Video)
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I was a huge Shrek fan as a kid, but by the time the first Puss in Boots movie came out, I was too far out of the target demographic, and the incessant commercials for that movie didn’t make it seem like I had missed much. So imagine my surprise when all my animation nerd friends started singing Puss in Boots: The Last Wish’s praises last year.
More than a little skeptical, I finally sat down and watched the film. And I agree with my colleague Rory Mellon: Puss in Boots: The Last Wish has no right to be so fantastic. Rather than a cliched spin-off, it’s a sharp reimagining of the character with some of the best animation since Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, mixing 3D and 2D animation to evoke the feel of a storybook illustration with lushly painted backgrounds, stylized imagery and bright colors. Antonio Banderas returns as the famous cat, along with Salma Hayek’s Kitty and a new cast of fairytale colleagues, including the deliciously evil Jack Horner (John Mulaney) and a cockney Goldilocks (Florence Pugh) along with her Three Bears Crime Family (Olivia Colman, Ray Winstone and Samson Kayo).
Watch now on Prime Video
“Ugly” (Netflix)
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We couldn’t wait to see a new young adult sci-fi drama like the ones that flooded the 2010s with The Hunger Games and Divergents. While the new Netflix film Uglies, based on the novel of the same name by Scott Westerfeld, probably won’t match the success of its predecessors, it could still be a hit with all the tweens and teens in your life.
Set hundreds of years in the future, “Uglies” imagines a dystopian society straight out of “The Twilight Zone” where every 16-year-old has to get plastic surgery to become “pretty.” Then you can live your perfect Instagram life, with the caveat that you’re just as “beautiful” as everyone else. Plus, it’s somehow the solution to class inequality and climate change — yeah, maybe you shouldn’t think about that too long. Joey King plays Tally Youngblood, a teenager eagerly awaiting her transformation until she loses her best friend to the “Pretties,” at which point she sets out with some unexpected allies (Brianne Tju and Laverne Cox) to overthrow the entire system.
Watch now on Netflix
“Colette” (Prime Video)
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Keira Knightley brings the 20th-century writer to life in the title role of Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette in this exciting, sharp and inspiring literary biopic. Colette, a young woman from provincial France, is kidnapped into marriage by the sophisticated, self-styled “literary entrepreneur” known only as Willy (Dominic West), who makes his living by hiring ghostwriters to publish works under his name.
She begins writing semi-autobiographical novels under his name, and as they become successful (and her husband’s wandering eye is a constant thorn in their relationship), she struggles to get her talent known and recognized as an author in her own right. Meanwhile, there’s no shortage of domestic drama, as both Colette and Willy cheat on each other with the same woman at one point.
Watch now on Prime Video
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