Spring is nearly here, and the major streaming services seem to realize it. This April, the steady stream of new releases slows down and streaming libraries get a little less fuel than they were getting throughout the winter months. But that’s not to say there aren’t plenty of interesting new offerings arriving this month. We’re keeping tabs on the ones worth your attention.
Read on for the best new movies to stream on Netflix, Hulu, Prime, HBO, and other streaming services.
We also have guides to the best movies on Netflix, the best movies on Hulu, the best movies on Amazon Prime Video, and the best movies on HBO.
Hulu
In Phyllis Nagy’s drama Call Jane, it’s 1968 in Chicago, the epicenter of the nation’s crossroads between a conservative past and a more progressive future. Removed from it all, suburban housewife Joy (Elizabeth Banks) leads an ordinary life.
But when her pregnancy leads to a life-threatening heart condition, she faces a sexist, entirely male medical establishment unwilling to terminate her pregnancy to save her life. In her literal fight for her life, she joins forces with women’s health visionary Virginia (Sigourney Weaver) and abortion activist Gwen (Wunmi Mosaku).
Set in 1960s Boston, the true crime thriller Boston Strangler sees reporter Loretta McLaughlin (Keira Knightley) face rampant sexism from her employer, the Record-American newspaper, as she attempts to connect the dots and unravel the mystery of a serial killer on the loose.
As the so-called Boston Strangler continues his rampage, McLaughlin confides in colleague Jean Cole (Carrie Coon), and the duo go beyond the pale to investigate the murders. Putting themselves at grave risk, McLaughlin and Cole set out on a dogged mission to capture the killer.
Amazon Prime Video
One of 2022’s best movies, Top Gun: Maverick was nominated for six Oscars, including Best Picture. It only won for Best Sound — but holy moly, that sound.
Set decades after the original, we find that Pete “Maverick” Mitchell (Tom Cruise) has spent more than 30 years as one of the Navy’s top pilots, intentionally dodging promotions that would ground him. Still seen as an annoyance within the Navy, his superiors bristle when an old friend, Adm. Tom “Iceman” Kazinsky (Val Kilmer). taps Maverick to train a special detachment of elite Top Gun graduates for a mission no living pilot has ever seen, let alone accomplished.
Between Get Out and Us, Jordan Peele built a strong reputation as a master of suspense as social commentary. His third film Nope doesn’t disappoint; in fact, it was one of 2022’s best movies.
Set in a lonely gulch in California’s Inland Empire, OJ Haywood (Daniel Kaluuya) runs a ranch renting out horses for Hollywood movies. But after a series of strange happenings leads him to recognize a strange presence in the sky by the ranch, OJ enlists the help of his sister Emerald (Keke Palmer) and AV expert Angel (Brandon Perea) to figure out what’s behind all the weirdness.
Netflix
Alfred Hitchcock’s classic thriller stars Vera Miles as Phoenix secretary Marion Crane, on the run after embezzling $40,000 from her employer’s client.
Hoping to start a new life, she checks into the remote Bates Motel, despite being vaguely aware of some alleged notoriety surrounding the place. The owner, Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins), however, seems nice enough, if a little browbeaten by his domineering mother. But all is not as it seems.
Luther gained popularity in the U.K. as a BBC series before Netflix brought it to the U.S., rebranding as a Netflix Original. Now, Netflix is taking the story further in this original feature film continuation of the acclaimed series.
Disgraced and behind bars, brilliant detective John Luther (Idris Elba) is haunted by his failure to capture the cyber psychopath who continues to taunt him. But when a gruesome serial killer (Andy Serkis) begins to terrorize London, Luther sees a chance at redemption, resolving to break out of prison by any means necessary.
A comedy hit that became big enough to spawn two sequels, The Hangover is a raunchy odyssey to figure out what the heck happened last night. Two days before his wedding, Doug (Justin Bartha) and his buddies Phil (Bradley Cooper) and Stu (Ed Helms) head to Vegas for one blowout evening. But Doug also has to bring along his oddball future brother-in-law, Alan (Zach Galifianakis).
When the three groomsmen wake up the next morning with zero memory of what happened the night before and are unable to find Doug, they discover Alan spiked their drinks in a misguided attempt to add to the fun. Now, the trio must race against time to retrace their steps and find Doug before the wedding.
HBO and HBO Max
The classic video game series (and film franchise) gets a modern update in this original film. Unsuccessful MMA fighter Cole Young (Lewis Tan) is used to taking a beating for money, but when Outworld Emperor Shang Tsung (Chin Han) sends Cryomancer Sub-Zero (Joe Taslim) to hunt Cole down, Cole is barely able to escape.
Soon, Cole is led to the temple of Lord Raiden (Tadanobu Asano), an Elder God and the protector of Earthrealm, where he learns that Mortal Kombat, the great tournament of champions to determine dominance over Earthrealm is nigh. Marked to compete, Cole has no choice but to train with Earthrealm’s other warriors as the last defense against an Outworld invasion.
Alfonso Cuarón’s mind-blowing space thriller won seven Oscars, mostly in technical categories, including Best Director, for its horrifying rendition of space’s emptiness. Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) is on her first space shuttle mission. Veteran astronaut Matt Kowalsky (George Clooney) is commanding his last mission before retirement.
It’s supposed to be routine, but when disaster strikes, the shuttle is destroyed, leaving Stone and Kowalsky untethered to anything but one another as they careen into the blackness of space. Losing their communication with Earth and facing a dwindling oxygen supply, the astronauts come to the terrifying conclusion that their only chance of making it back to Earth might be by going even deeper into the expanse.
Apple TV+
Disney+
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