Best Movies to Stream this Weekend on HBO Max, Including ‘Prime Minister’

If your weekend plans involve the sofa and a solid queue, HBO Max has a timely mix of new debuts, festival favorites, buzzy indies, and studio crowd-pleasers. This week’s additions lean modern, with a couple of high-profile documentaries up top and a run of 2010s standouts that slot perfectly into a back-to-back movie night.

To make picking easy, these ten come straight from the latest arrivals. We’ve prioritized the most recent releases first, then rounded things out with notable originals and modern essentials before dipping into franchise highlights—so you can jump in wherever your mood takes you.

‘Prime Minister’ (2025)

This feature documentary chronicles Jacinda Ardern’s rise to become New Zealand’s 40th prime minister and follows her leadership through national and global crises. It blends interviews and access-driven verité with archival footage to trace policy choices, communication strategy, and the personal cost of public service across her tenure.

Directed by Lindsay Utz and Michelle Walshe, the film features contributions from Clarke Gayford and producers Cass Avery, Leon Kirkbeck, Gigi Pritzker, Rachel Shane, and Katie Peck. Backed by MWM and Dark Doris Entertainment, it assembles cabinet-room moments, press briefings, and travel logs to map out how a modern head of government navigates extraordinary events.

‘Paddy Chayefsky: Collector of Words’ (2025)

This documentary profiles the only screenwriter to win three solo Academy Awards, charting Paddy Chayefsky’s evolution from live television to stage and feature films. It surveys the development of works like ‘Marty’, ‘The Hospital’, and ‘Network’, unpacking drafts, revisions, and the creative fights that shaped his voice.

Directed by Matthew Miele, the film features interviews with Oliver Stone, Rob Lowe, Jeff Daniels, Aaron Sorkin, Mel Brooks, Judd Apatow, Bryan Cranston, and Larry David, among others. Archival materials and behind-the-scenes accounts place Chayefsky’s dialogue, structure, and satire in context, showing how his approach reshaped American screenwriting.

‘Marcel the Shell with Shoes On’ (2022)

This hybrid mockumentary follows one-inch-tall shell Marcel and his grandmother Nana Connie as a visiting documentarian begins filming their daily routines, inadvertently turning Marcel into a viral figure. The story folds internet fame into a gentle search for community, using stop-motion animation within live-action settings.

Directed by Dean Fleischer Camp, the film features Jenny Slate as the voice of Marcel and Isabella Rossellini as Nana Connie, with Thomas Mann appearing as the filmmaker’s ex. Produced by Cinereach and partners, it expands Slate and Camp’s original shorts with meticulous miniature sets and hand-animated performances.

‘X’ (2022)

Set on a rural Texas farm, this slasher follows a small film crew whose rental shoot collides with the unsettling behavior of their elderly hosts. What begins as a low-budget production turns into a night of escalating confrontations that tie youthful ambition to buried resentments.

Written and directed by Ti West, the film stars Mia Goth in dual roles alongside Jenna Ortega, Brittany Snow, Martin Henderson, Owen Campbell, and Scott Mescudi. Produced by A24 with Jacob Jaffke and Kevin Turen, it uses period lenses, practical effects, and textured production design to echo 1970s exploitation cinema.

‘Uncut Gems’ (2019)

A New York diamond-district dealer juggles a risky opal sale, mounting debts, and a cascade of sports bets, pushing every relationship—and every margin—past its breaking point. The plot tracks frantic hustles through showrooms, back rooms, and arenas, winding tighter with each deal and tipoff.

Directed by Josh and Benny Safdie and co-written with Ronald Bronstein, the film stars Adam Sandler with Lakeith Stanfield, Julia Fox, Idina Menzel, Eric Bogosian, and cameo appearances by Kevin Garnett and The Weeknd. Backed by A24 and produced with Martin Scorsese among others, it features Daniel Lopatin’s score and nervy, on-location camerawork.

‘War for the Planet of the Apes’ (2017)

This chapter finds Caesar leading his tribe after a devastating human strike, forced into a grueling journey that pits survival against retribution. The story threads prison-camp escapes, mountain treks, and uneasy alliances into the close of the reboot trilogy’s arc.

Directed by Matt Reeves and co-written with Mark Bomback, the film stars Andy Serkis via performance capture, with Woody Harrelson, Steve Zahn, and Amiah Miller in key roles. Produced by Chernin Entertainment and 20th Century Fox, it features Michael Giacchino’s score and Weta Digital’s large-scale effects work.

‘All Eyez on Me’ (2017)

This biographical drama traces Tupac Shakur’s path from poetry and performance training to chart success, activism, and industry conflict. It covers familial influences, artistic collaborations, and legal troubles, framing the music within the pressures of celebrity and rivalry.

Directed by Benny Boom and written by Jeremy Haft, Eddie Gonzalez, and Steven Bagatourian, the film stars Demetrius Shipp Jr. as Tupac, with Danai Gurira, Kat Graham, Jamal Woolard, and Dominic L. Santana. Produced by Morgan Creek and partners, it recreates recording sessions, stage shows, and label offices across multiple eras.

‘The Lobster’ (2015)

In a near-future society, single people are sent to a seaside hotel and given a fixed window to find a partner or be transformed into an animal. The narrative follows one man’s attempts to align with the rules, then the rebels, as coded rituals and punishments shape every choice.

Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos and co-written with Efthimis Filippou, the cast includes Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz, Léa Seydoux, John C. Reilly, Olivia Colman, Jessica Barden, and Ariane Labed. An international co-production led by Film4 and partners, it uses deadpan performances, precise framing, and location sound to build its off-kilter world.

‘Enemy’ (2013)

A university lecturer spots his exact double in a movie and sets out to find him, triggering a spiral of mirroring, secrecy, and fractured identity. Apartment blocks, freeways, and stage sets become repeating patterns as the two men’s lives twist together.

Directed by Denis Villeneuve from Javier Gullón’s adaptation of José Saramago’s ‘The Double’, the film stars Jake Gyllenhaal in dual roles with Sarah Gadon and Mélanie Laurent. Produced by Rhombus Media and partners, it emphasizes practical in-camera effects, restrained visual effects, and an atmospheric score to deepen the mystery.

‘Insidious: Chapter 2’ (2013)

Picking up after the Lamberts’ first brush with the spirit realm, this sequel connects past hauntings to a long-buried family secret. The investigation spans new houses, hospital records, and the astral plane known as the Further as the family races to sever a dangerous link.

Directed by James Wan and written by Leigh Whannell, the film stars Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Ty Simpkins, Barbara Hershey, and Lin Shaye, with Jocelin Donahue and Lindsay Seim portraying younger versions of key characters. Produced by Blumhouse, it leans on practical sound cues, analog lighting gags, and cross-cutting between timelines.

‘Friday the 13th’ (2009)

This reboot sends a group of friends to the woods around Crystal Lake, where a determined brother searches for his missing sibling amid signs of an old massacre. The plot threads booby-trapped terrain, lakefront hideouts, and wider campgrounds into a single night of pursuit.

Directed by Marcus Nispel and written by Damian Shannon and Mark Swift, the film stars Jared Padalecki, Danielle Panabaker, Amanda Righetti, and Derek Mears as Jason Voorhees. Produced by Platinum Dunes with New Line and Paramount, it combines practical makeup effects with modern action staging to reintroduce the franchise’s icon.

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