27 Best Movies on Prime Video Right Now (May 2026): ‘The Glass Castle’ and More

Leo Tolstoy once wrote that “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way,” and that’s certainly true for the Walls family. Led by patriarch Rex (Woody Harrelson), the family, which consists of mother Rose (Naomi Watts) and four children, including young Jeannette (played at various stages by Chandler Head, Ella Anderson and Brie Larson), moves from town to town, usually because of Rex’s excessive drinking and run-ins with the law. As they grow up, each child vows to escape, with Jeannette putting herself through college before becoming a journalist. But some family ties are hard to break, and even as an adult, Jeannette can’t escape her father’s shadow.

Based on the best-selling memoir by Jeannette Walls, The Glass Castle is a harrowing coming-of-age story about a family living on the margins of society. It’s less an insult and more of an accurate description to call the Walls family “poor white trash,” but the film doesn’t make them simplistic stereotypes, either. Harrellson is particularly fine as a dad whose love for his children can’t seem to overcome his addiction to alcohol — and his need to constantly move around to escape his problems. The Glass Castle isn’t a pleasant experience, but it is a memorable one that will make you want to read the book it’s based on. Do so — it’s one of the best memoirs I’ve ever read.

Oliver (Ewan McGregor) is a 38-year-old graphic designer who has a unique problem — his recently widowed father, Hal (Christopher Plummer), is dating again, and his current lover is decades younger than he is. Even more unusual is Hal’s recent coming out as a gay man, which causes Oliver to reassess his parents’ relationship. When he meets an attractive French actress named Anna (Mélanie Laurent), Oliver is instantly smitten, but he doesn’t want to mimic his father’s passionless marriage with his mother. How can Oliver be sure Anna is the real deal?

Beginners is a warm-hearted drama about second chances and being a beginner at all stages of life. Even though Hal is 82 years old and has terminal cancer, that doesn’t stop him from embracing who he really is — and pursuing a meaningful love that alluded him all his life. Plummer had been acting for over 50 years by the time Beginners was released in 2011, and he deservedly won an Oscar for his moving performance. 

Who killed Sir William McCordle (Harry Potter’s Michael Gambon)? That’s what everyone at Gosford Park wants to know. William and his wife, Lady Sylvia (Kristin Scott Thomas), had invited more than a dozen people for a weekend at their lavish country estate, and almost all of them had a motive for offing the not-so-nice patriarch. Was it Constance, the Dowager Countess of Trentham (Maggie Smith), whose fancy title hides a dwindling bank account? Or did Henry Denton (Ryan Phillippe), a valet whose Scottish accent comes and goes, strike the killing blow?

On the surface, Gosford Park is a thrilling mystery — once the crime is committed, all the suspects are presented with a reasonable motive for committing murder. But look closer, and the 2001 film is much more than a mystery — it’s a biting satire about the conflicts between the upper and lower classes as they existed in Great Britain in the 1930s. 

Director Robert Altman pokes fun at the rich for all their pointless rituals and material desires, as well as the poor servants for the same things. The ultimate joke of the film, and the key to solving the compelling mystery at its center, is that there’s not much that separates the two, and they have more in common than you think. The only downside to the film is that it ends — it’s so good, you want it to go on forever.

Master jewel thief Mike Davis (Chris Hemsworth) is a criminal with a conscience — he may break the law, but he won’t harm anyone if he doesn’t have to. When he calls off a planned robbery due to the harm it will surely inflict on innocent bystanders, his fence, Money (Nick Nolte), hires the psychopathic robber Ormon (Barry Keoghan) to execute it. That starts a chain of events that sees Mike recruit frustrated insurance agent Sharon (Halle Berry) to help him swindle one of her clients — with Ormon close behind. Can Mike avoid resorting to violence to get what he wants?

Crime 101 is an old-school crime flick like Heat or Miami Vice — in other words, it’s the best Michael Mann movie not directed by Michael Mann. Hemsworth is smooth as silk as the impossibly talented — and ridiculously handsome — Mike, who never saw a diamond he couldn’t swipe, while Berry, Keoghan, Nolte and Mark Ruffalo as a suspicious cop clearly relish playing parts in a dialogue-heavy, densely plotted crime saga. The movie is long at around 140 minutes, but it’s worth it.

It’s the end of the road for super spy Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise), who has survived runaway trains, scaling the world’s tallest building without any safety gear and swatting away dozens of symbolic doves while fighting on a beach. But in the supposedly last Mission: Impossible film, The Final Reckoning, he faces an enemy he might not vanquish — AI.

The rogue computer program The Entity has become sentient and is threatening to unleash nuclear warfare on the world. Ethan can’t let that happen, so with the help of beautiful thief Grace (Hayley Atwell) and computer maestro Luther (Ving Rhames), he sets out to find a way to disable The Entity for good. But to do so, Ethan will have to leap one more tall skyscraper and climb aboard a military submarine to successfully save the world one last time

Craig Schwartz (John Cusack) is a down-on-his-luck file clerk who finds something strange at his temp job — a hidden floor with a very low ceiling that contains a portal into the mind of character actor John Malkovich. Alongside disinterested coworker Maxine Lund (Catherine Keener), Craig seizes the opportunity to take control of the actor to realize his dreams of becoming a world-famous puppeteer. But Craig’s ego grows so big that it blinds him to his failing marriage to Lotte (Cameron Diaz), who has eyes for Maxine.

The epitome of ‘90s surreal cinema, Being John Malkovich lives up to its reputation as a weird movie that’s constantly inventive. It’s also casually funny, with some sharp and subtle digs at celebrity culture. Malkovich was Oscar-nominated for playing an exaggerated version of himself, and it remains the actor’s greatest — and strangest — role.

Jeffrey Manchester (Channing Tatum) is a kind-hearted criminal who robs McDonald’s instead of banks. He’s eventually caught and sent to prison, but when he escapes, he decides to hide out at the one place the authorities would never look — the local Toys “R” Us store. Subsisting on a diet of candy and soda, Jeffrey managed to evade the cops for a while, but when he grows close to unsuspecting store employee Leigh (Kirsten Dunst), his fugitive lifestyle threatens to come to an end. How long can Jeffrey fool Leigh — and stay out of jail — before he’s found out?

The premise of Roofman sounds unbelievable, but it’s actually based on a true story — with some embellishments, of course. Even if it weren’t, the movie would still win you over with its engrossing story and pair of lead performances. As the thief who steals fast food restaurants and Leigh’s heart, Tatum is terrific — charming, sly and desperate to get back to his family. Dunst is also terrific as a single mother won over by Jeffrey, even though she knows little about him. One of 2025’s under-the-radar films, Roofman is ripe for discovery in 2026 by viewers who crave a crime movie with a surprisingly tender center.

In this amusing action-comedy, lead star Nicolas Cage tackles his toughest role yet — Nicolas Cage. The Longlegs actor stars as a slightly exaggerated version of himself, a Hollywood star whose career has hit the skids. That’s why he accepts an unlikely offer from billionaire super fan Javi (Pedro Pascal), who will pay him $1 million to hang out with him in his swanky Mallorca mansion. But is Javi who he says he is? And why does the FBI think Javi is a criminal?

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is for diehard Cage fans who enjoyed him in past hits like Con Air and National Treasure, but also anyone who enjoys a lighthearted romp filled with Hollywood Easter eggs and tongue-in-cheek jokes about Cage’s personal life. Pascal is also good as a devoted fan who will do just about anything to hang out with his idol. 

The beloved video game received the big screen treatment this year, and a sequel is already scheduled for release in 2027. The plot follows four misfits named Garrett (Jason Momoa), Natalie (Emma Myers), Henry (Sebastian Hansen) and Dawn (Danielle Brooks) who are sucked into a cubic land when a mysterious portal opens up on Earth. Trapped in a place known as the Overworld, the group will need to enlist the help of a man named Steve (Jack Black) if they want to find their way back home.

A Minecraft Movie broke multiple records at the box office despite iffy feedback from critics — but even some of them found they couldn’t help but be charmed by A Minecraft Movie’s strange delights. Fans of the popular game felt that the film did the franchise plenty of justice, featuring great humor, great performances and just the right amount of fan service.

After optometrist Anna (Zooey Deschanel) and teacher Russ (Charlie Cox) split up, they are forced to share weekly custody of their dog, Merv. However, when Merv is diagnosed with depression, it seems like the only thing that can cheer him up is seeing his parents back together. In the exes’ bid to make their dog happy again, they find that spending time together is reigniting some sparks of their own.

While it’s easy to see where the film is going as soon as it starts (such is the case with many holiday rom-coms), Merv is nevertheless a cute, softhearted film that will hit the Christmas-themed romantic comedy sweet spot for many people. Plus, the movie is carried in no small part by a lot of cute dog antics from rescue dog Gus, who plays the titular canine and is sure to win over animal lovers.

Frank Costello (Robert De Niro) is fed up with his life of crime. As the head of the Luciano crime family, he’s experienced enough violence and longs for a life of peace. But when he informs his underboss, Vito Genovese (also De Niro), that he intends to retire, Vito doesn’t quite believe him. Vito suspects Frank is setting him up, so he launches a war of retaliation that pushes Frank to the brink. Will he get his happy ending, or will he sleep with the fishes like so many before him?

De Niro and mob movies go hand in hand, and while The Alto Knights isn’t nearly as good as Goodfellas, it’s still a lot better than Analyze That. De Niro is convincing in dual roles, and the movie’s story never fails to fascinate. While director Barry Levinson doesn’t reinvent the gangster movie, he tells a compelling real-life story that’s worth knowing.

Hedda is writer/director Nia DaCosta‘s inventive re-imagining of Henrik Ibsen‘s play, Hedda Gabler. In this version of the story, the title character is played by Tessa Thompson, the setting is moved to the 1950s and some traditionally male characters are now female.

At the beginning, Hedda (Thompson) is married, but not happily, to George Tesman (Tom Bateman). Hedda doesn’t have much time for George when her former lover, Eileen Lovborg (Nina Hoss), reenters her life alongside a new romantic partner, Thea (Imogen Poots). Hedda is a manipulator at heart, and she attempts to destroy Eileen’s new relationship while driving her back to her wild and drunken ways. It’s all fun and games to Hedda until someone turns the tables on her.

Hedda is streaming on Prime Video.

Richard Stark‘s Parker novels may no longer be as popular as they once were, but audiences love a good heist film, and Play Dirty had a big debut on Prime Video. Mark Wahlberg plays Parker, a cunning thief who has been stabbed in the back by one of his crew, Zoe (Rosa Salazar).

Normally, Parker would repay such a betrayal by killing anyone foolish enough to cross him. But Zoe has a line on such a good score that he and his friend, Grofield (LaKeith Stanfield), are cautiously on board. But the real question is simple: Who’s going to betray whom first?

Play Dirty is streaming on Prime Video.

If it seems like Iris (Sophie Thatcher) was made to love Josh (Jack Quaid), it’s because she was. Companion isn’t just the name of the movie — it’s also an accurate description of Iris’ true self. She’s a companion robot whose heartfelt emotions for Josh feel real to her. That’s why it hurts so much when Josh betrays her.

Iris may not have initially realized what she was, but she’s a quick learner. And if Josh isn’t the man she thought he was, then she’s going to take measures to protect herself. This is one lover’s quarrel that’s not going to end well, especially after Iris upgrades herself.

Nathan Caine (Jack Quaid) is just an unassuming bank employee in Novocaine, and the only thing special about him is that he can’t feel any physical pain. He can feel love, however, and he’s very taken with his coworker, Sherry Margrave (Amber Midthunder).

When bank robbers kidnap Sherry, Nathan takes it upon himself to rescue her. To do that, Nathan has to push his body’s immunity to pain to its limit. Nathan may not feel his injuries, but even his body has its limits.

Novocaine is streaming on Prime Video.

We all need to escape from reality, and movies are a great way to do that. A new one in the escapist movie canon is The Map That Leads to You, a Prime Video original that stars two impossibly gorgeous people in equally stunning locations. Outer Banks actress Madelyn Cline plays Heather, who meets Jack (KJ Apa) while on a European vacation with some friends. They instantly connect and start a love affair, but their different outlooks on life threaten to tear them apart. Will their brief encounter grow into an affair to remember? Or will their romance evaporate before sunrise?

The Map That Leads to You deals with some serious themes, but it isn’t that deep. It’s a frothy fantasy that pretends its two attractive leads have serious problems, but there’s no question love will win at the end. Is the movie sufficiently pretty to look at? Yes. Does it make you forget your problems for most of its 98-minute runtime? Also yes. That’s all one can hope and ask for with The Map That Leads to You, a low-key charmer of a movie that will make you swoon.

Julia Garner can currently be seen in the HBO Max hit Weapons, but that’s not her first horror movie of 2025. The Ozark actress starred in the recent remake of Wolf Man, which came out in January. When Blake (Christopher Abbott) takes his wife, Charlotte (Garner), and daughter Ginger (Matilda Firth) to his family cabin in Oregon, he expects to rest and bond with his family. Instead, he gets into an accident and is bitten by a wolf. Soon after, Blake’s body begins to change, and he realizes he’s turning into a werewolf. Nothing stops the transformation, and he has to get away quickly from Charlotte and Ginger before he harms them.

Wolf Man doesn’t stray too much from the formula, but what it lacks in originality it more than makes up for in atmosphere. This is a moody movie that’s heavy on conjuring up all sorts of shivers with several well-placed shots of dark woods obscured by shadow and fog. It’s an old-school horror flick that’s pleasantly retro and scary at the same time.

You might have heard of Robbie Williams if you’re a major fan of the mid-’90s to early 2000s Britpop or simply live in the United Kingdom. He’s a star there and in other parts of the world, but he never quite broke through in America. So why stream a biopic of the British singer if you don’t even know him? Because Better Man, the movie that’s based on Williams’ life, is a blast to watch and features a singing, dancing and drug-taking CGI monkey as Robbie. 

The film chronicles Robbie’s life as a teen pop idol in the boy band Take That in the ‘90s to his success as a solo artist, belting out hits like “Angels,” “Rock DJ” and “Let Me Entertain You.” As is typical with these tales of fame and fortune, there are lots of drugs, some sex and one or two near-death experiences. Better Man doesn’t deviate too much from the standard musical bio script, but it’s in the execution of its well-choreographed musical sequences where it truly shines. You may not be a fan of Robbie Williams when you start this movie, but you will be when you finish it.

The Sonic movies are better than they have any right to be, and the winning streak continues with Sonic the Hedgehog 3, the latest entry in the video-game-turned-movie series. This time around, Team Sonic — Sonic (voiced by Ben Schwartz), Tails (Colleen O’Shaughnessey) and Knuckles (Idris Elba) — encounter a new foe: Shadow (Keanu Reeves), who’s been imprisoned by the U.S. military for 50 years and is kinda upset about it. He’s not the only new threat they’ll have to face as Gerald Robotnik (Jim Carrey), granddad to Ivo (also Carrey), wants to take over the universe. 

It’s all very silly, but it works, and that’s due to the cast having fun with the thin material. Reeves is perfectly cast as a vengeful hedgehog who isn’t as bad as he looks, while Carrey chews even more scenery in a dual role as two mad scientists with father/son issues. The movie is funnier than you’d think, and the special effects accurately convey the madcap glory of the ‘90s Sega games it’s based on.

Who would’ve thought that Ben Affleck’s most enduring action role is as assassin/accountant Christian Wolff rather than the DCEU’s Batman? Christian is back in this follow-up to the 2016 sleeper hit, and he’s ready to file some tax returns — and kick some ass. This time, Wolff teams up with his estranged brother Braxton (Jon Bernthal) to find a missing Salvadoran family. 

Like the original, The Accountant 2 works as a mid-budget action movie that has a healthy dose of self-deprecating humor. Affleck and Bernthal have great chemistry as bickering brothers who can take down a room full of bad guys and can still make some time for a line dance. The Accountant 2 is a goofy action movie, but it’s also an entertaining one that’s ideal for home viewing.

Alex Claremont-Diaz (Taylor Zakhar Perez) hates Henry (Nicholas Galitzine). That’s a big problem, since Alex is the son of the U.S. president (Uma Thurman) and Henry is heir to the British throne. They need to get along so Alex’s mom can finish a trade deal with Britain that’s key to her re-election campaign, but what no one expected was for them to fall in love with each other. Now they have an even bigger problem to solve, and it’s not clear there’s any solution.

Based on a popular YA novel by Casey McQuiston, Red, White & Royal Blue is better than you might think. While it never strays too far from its opposites-attract rom-com formula, it executes it just about perfectly. Perez and Galitzine have genuine chemistry with one another, which helps sell the dramatic stakes toward the end. You actually want their ridiculously gorgeous and obscenely wealthy characters to get everything they want, and you can’t help but smile when they do.

It’s been five years since Stephanie (Anna Kendrick) last saw her former BFF Emily (Blake Lively), who went to prison for her crimes. So it’s a bit of a shock for her to see Emily waltz into her book reading and ask her to be her maid of honor at her upcoming wedding in Capri. How can Stephanie resist a free vacation and more material for a future bestseller?  But is Emily truly reformed, or is she just plotting revenge on the woman who took everything away from her?

Another Simple Favor has just enough of the same off-kilter humor that made the original such a treat back in 2018. Lively and Kendrick are a good comedic duo, and the movie’s twisty story is entertaining enough to keep you glued to the screen. 

“Are you not entertained?” Russell Crowe memorably asked in the first Gladiator all those years ago. That question pops up again in the sequel, and the answer is a muted “kinda.” Gladiator II isn’t perfect, and it fails to match the raw muscular power of its predecessor, but it’s still mostly entertaining and has one of Denzel Washington’s most enjoyable performances ever.

Decades after Maximus Meridius’ death, his exiled son Lucius (Paul Mescal) follows in his father’s footsteps and seeks revenge on the powerful people who killed his wife. But his need for vengeance will bring him back to a home he has never known and a mother (Connie Nielsen) who abandoned him to protect him. Can Lucius fulfil his destiny while also satisfying his need to honor the family he lost?

In this superb prequel to the first two A Quiet Place movies, we finally find out how the initial invasion of Earth by those noise-sensitive aliens began. Lupita Nyong’o is Sam, a cynical woman with terminal cancer who travels to New York City with her pet cat, Frodo. Once there, aliens begin to destroy downtown Manhattan, forcing Sam to team up with others, including Joseph Quinn’s law student Eric, to survive the onslaught. Can they leave the island and seek sanctuary from their otherworldly invaders before it’s too late?

A Quiet Place: Day One is the rare prequel that’s actually better than its sister movies. There’s plenty of action, with a sequence set in the subway that ranks as an all-timer, but it’s the quieter moments that make the movie truly special. Director Michael Sarnoski previously helmed the character study Pig with Nicolas Cage, and his sensitive touch is evident even when his characters are fleeing from slimy CGI creatures.

Elliott (Maisy Stella) is at a crossroads. She’s about to leave for college and is in a casual relationship with another girl, Chelsea (Alexandria Rivera). One night, she takes some psychedelic mushrooms with her friends and hallucinates a future version of herself, Older Elliott (Aubrey Plaza). Proving she’s the real thing, Older Elliott cryptically tells her younger self three things: spend more time with your family, appreciate the farm that you grew up in and avoid a boy named Chad. She disappears, but leaves her number in younger Elliott’s phone.

That’s the far-out premise of My Old Ass, a comedy that isn’t ashamed to be sentimental. Elliott doesn’t exactly believe anything her future self says at first, but gradually, she finds herself growing closer to her family. Chad eventually appears, and it’s in this development that My Old Ass reveals itself as an effective tearjerker in disguise. Plaza is great as always; if everyone grew up to be like Older Elliott, we’d all be OK.

Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) is a world-famous detective, but he may have found the one case that’s stumped even him. Famous mystery author Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) is found dead one morning with his throat cleanly slit but no other signs of foul play. Ruled a suicide by the police, Harlan’s death is suspicious enough for Blanc to investigate.

As he interviews members of the Thrombey household, which includes ne’er-do-well grandson Hugh (Chris Evans), sleazy son-in-law Richard (Don Johnson), dotty daughter-in-law Joni (Toni Collette) and kind-hearted nurse Marta (Ana de Armas), Blanc soon realizes this mystery runs deeper than he thought. Can he catch Harlan’s killer in time to prevent another murder?

A big hit when it was released in 2019, Knives Out has already spawned a sequel, Glass Onion, in 2022, and a third one, Wake Up Dead Man, in late 2025. Nothing can touch the original, though, with writer/director Rian Johnson clearly having a ball weaving a mystery yarn worthy of Agatha Christie. Everyone in the cast has their moment to shine, and the ending is just about perfect.

Bridget Gregory (Linda Fiorentino) is a New Yorker you don’t want to cross. A con woman who makes her living selling fake coins to unsuspecting people over the phone, Bridget steals her crooked dentist husband’s drug money and hides away in a small town upstate. Bridget’s not one to rest on her laurels, and soon, she seduces local dumb hunk Mike (Peter Berg) in an elaborate insurance scam that will pad her pockets and allow Mike to leave his hometown forever. But Bridget’s past catches up with her fast, and Mike soon finds himself in over his head in a way he never imagined.

One of the greatest neo-noirs ever made, The Last Seduction hasn’t aged a bit, even though it’s three decades old and was initially released as a cable movie on HBO. The movie is tough and unsentimental, and it features one of the best female performances ever from Fiorentino. As the calculating Bridget, she’s always one step ahead of everyone, and that includes the audience. You keep expecting her to let up, to show some kind of humanity, and she never does. Bridget’s rotten to the core, and it’s fun watching her be so very bad.