From 'Barbie' to 'Rebel Moon,' here are 15 movies you need to stream right now
It's cool and all that Santa Claus is coming to town, but fingers crossed Rudolph, Dasher and Co. don't screw up the Wi-Fi. Because this holiday season, new movies on your favorite streaming services are the gifts that keep on giving.
Just in time for Christmas, New Year's and some needed days off in between, Netflix, Disney+, Max, Prime Video, Hulu, Apple TV+ and Peacock are rolling out the hits that viewers have been waiting for ("Barbie" fans, get psyched!), plus original films with A-listers like Bradley Cooper.
Here are 15 movies that you can stream right now and during your winter break:
'American Symphony'
Oscar glory might be inbound – and there will definitely be tears – for this insightful and emotionally stirring portrait of late-night bandleader/composer Jon Batiste. The documentary chronicles a night of Grammy wins, his work on a classical music composition to redefine the symphony, but also the return of his wife's dormant cancer.
Where to watch: Netflix
'Barbie'
Come on, Barbie, let's go to the Oscar party. There's plenty of sass and sensibility in this acclaimed adventure with Margot Robbie, which leads the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards in nominations. It's a film as enjoyably self-aware as "The Lego Movie," but also takes the time to tackle big issues like identity and the meaning of life.
Where to watch: Max
'Candy Cane Lane'
In the chaotic holiday comedy, a down-on-his-luck dad (Eddie Murphy) is determined to win his neighborhood's decorating contest. He strikes a deal with a mischievous elf (Jillian Bell) to help his chances, winds up facing the 12 days of Christmas come to sinister life, yet also needs to avoid being turned into a Christmas ornament.
Where to watch: Prime Video
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'The Creator'
Writer/director Gareth Edwards' visually stunning sci-fi thriller stars John David Washington as a futuristic soldier tasked with eliminating a rogue artificial intelligence, and his target turns out to be a little android girl. The film dives into the hot-button topic of AI as well as mankind's tendency toward war and how we treat those different than us.
Where to watch:Hulu
'Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget'
The feathered folks of the original animated 2000 "Chicken Run" have returned. And while they had to escape a dangerous farm situation back then, the amusing sequel finds Ginger (Thandiwe Newton) and Rocky (Zachary Levi) breaking into a factory to save their daughter and other chickens from becoming tasty nuggets.
Where to watch: Netflix
'The Exorcist: Believer'
Dec. 26 marks the 50th anniversary of the original "Exorcist," so the holidays are a fine time to stream the sequel. Two girls go missing in a forest for three days and return with something seriously demonic in them, which leads to a bunch of worried parents and the return of Ellen Burstyn's original character Chris MacNeil in the theological fright fest.
Where to watch:Peacock
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'The Family Plan'
Dan Morgan (Mark Wahlberg) is a diaper-changing, car-selling super-dad – and also a retired covert assassin. When enemies from his old secret-agent life track the dude down and threaten his beloved family, Dan rounds up the wife (Michelle Monaghan) and kids for an impromptu road trip to Vegas in the violently goofy action comedy.
Where to watch:Apple TV+
'Finestkind'
Directed by Oscar-winning writer Brian Helgeland, the Boston crime drama centers on half-brothers (Ben Foster and Toby Wallace) who reconnect working on a fishing boat but run afoul of the law and a drug-smuggling gang. The supporting cast is noteworthy, with Jenna Ortega as a street-smart love interest and Tommy Lee Jones as one brother's ailing dad.
Where to watch: Paramount+
'Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny'
Indiana Jones' swan song isn't one of his greatest adventures, but James Mangold's action-packed franchise installment does enough right to satisfy longtime fans. Set in 1969, Harrison Ford's whip-cracking hero is pulled into another globe-trotting quest with his goddaughter (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) to keep an ancient artifact out of Nazi hands.
Where to watch: Disney+
'Leave the World Behind'
Julia Roberts and Ethan Hawke are married New Yorkers who rent a swanky house on Long Island for a needed family getaway. The enigmatic owner (Mahershala Ali) shows up as an apocalyptic scenario begins to play out, with internet outages and auto-driving killer Teslas, in the effective thriller.
Where to watch: Netflix
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'Maestro'
Bradley Cooper co-writes and directs but also does a phenomenal job of transforming into Leonard Bernstein for this classical music romance. The biopic views the life and work of the iconic composer/conductor, from professional successes to personal strife, through the lens of his long relationship with his wife Felecia Montealegre (Carey Mulligan).
Where to watch: Netflix
'May December'
Intriguing human drama or super-campy satire? Why not both? Todd Haynes' soapy flick is an acting masterclass with Julianne Moore as the scandalous pet-store employee who went to jail for having sex with a minor (and later married him), Natalie Portman as the actress playing her in a movie, and standout Charles Melton as the husband with arrested development.
Where to watch: Netflix
'Merry Little Batman'
Sporting a fun "Home Alone" vibe, this kid-friendly animated DC holiday tale centers on 8-year-old superhero wannabe Damian Wayne (voiced by Yonas Kibreab), who has to deal with the return of old villains like Joker and the Penguin when his overprotective Dark Knight dad (Luke Wilson) is called out of town on Justice League business on Christmas Eve.
Where to watch: Prime Video
'Rebel Moon'
if you're a Zack Snyder superfan or dig a mix of much better sci-fi movies (like "Star Wars," "Dune" and "Flash Gordon"), this is for you. The first of two "Rebel Moon" flicks stars Sofia Boutella as Kora, a former soldier who gathers a crew of like-minded rebels to save her farming colony and take on the villainous Motherworld's military force, the Imperium.
Where to watch:Netflix
'Saltburn'
"Promising Young Woman" director Emerald Fennell returns with this twisty, blistering class satire, starring Barry Keoghan as a scholarship student at Oxford University who befriends a wealthy classmate (Jacob Elordi) and is invited to his crush's estate. Come for the murder and verbal barbs, stay for the weird sex stuff and naked dancing.
Where to watch: Prime Video
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