Here Are the Best Movies to Stream this Weekend on HBO Max, Including ‘Your Name.’

If your watchlist needs a quick refresh, this week’s HBO Max arrivals mix brand-new premieres with animated standouts and a few crowd-pleasing favorites. From a modern combat drama to franchise horror, a sharp crime saga, and acclaimed Japanese animation, there’s an easy pick here whether you want intensity, laughs, or big-ideas sci-fi.

Below, you’ll find ten films pulled from this week’s drops and most-watched lists. Each entry sticks to the essentials—what it’s about and who made it—so you can jump straight to what fits your mood without getting lost in endless scrolling.

‘Warfare’ (2025)

‘Warfare’ embeds viewers with a special-operations unit during brutal urban fighting in Ramadi, tracking overlapping missions that collide during a high-risk extraction window. The story unfolds largely in real time and folds in debrief segments and helmet-cam perspectives as fractured intel and shifting loyalties raise the stakes.

Directed by Ray Mendoza and co-written with Alex Garland, the film is produced by DNA Films in association with A24. The ensemble includes D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Will Poulter, Cosmo Jarvis, Kit Connor, Joseph Quinn, and Charles Melton, with production design and sound emphasizing tactics, comms, and close-quarters cinematography.

‘Final Destination Bloodlines’ (2025)

The sixth entry in the series follows college student Stefani Reyes, whose recurring nightmare and a long-buried family curse point to a fresh chain of “design” accidents closing in on her circle. As survivors test the rules to buy time, the plot connects this story back to the franchise’s earliest premonitions.

Zach Lipovsky and Adam B. Stein direct, with Kaitlyn Santa Juana starring alongside Teo Briones, Richard Harmon, Owen Patrick Joyner, Anna Lore, and Tony Todd returning as William Bludworth. The release rolled onto Max on August 1, expanding the mythology while keeping the elaborate set-piece suspense the series is known for.

‘Friendship’ (2024)

‘Friendship’ centers on two long-time friends whose bond frays after a life-altering incident, then snaps back into focus when a chaotic reunion forces them to confront secrets and pride. The narrative alternates between past and present as one disastrous day exposes why the relationship matters and what it costs to protect.

Written and directed by Andrew DeYoung, the film stars Tim Robinson and Paul Rudd, with Kate Mara and Jack Dylan Grazer in key supporting roles. Produced by BoulderLight Pictures, the production leans on dialogue-driven set-pieces and intimate locations to explore loyalty, resentment, and second chances.

‘Ghost Cat Anzu’ (2024)

Left in rural Japan with her monk grandfather, a girl named Karin is watched over by Anzu, a shambling, talking spirit cat whose odd jobs invite yokai-tinged trouble. Everyday misadventures blend with gentle supernatural beats as Karin adapts to new routines and responsibilities.

Co-directed by Yōko Kuno and Nobuhiro Yamashita, the French–Japanese co-production adapts Takashi Imashiro’s manga. Voice leads include Mirai Moriyama and Noa Gotō, with animation work from Shin-Ei Animation and Miyu Productions and music by Keiichi Suzuki.

‘Lonely Castle in the Mirror’ (2022)

Seven students escaping troubles at school find a portal to a fairytale castle ruled by a masked girl, where a wish-granting mystery forces them to face what they’re hiding. Their overlapping stories gradually reveal the rules of the castle and the real-world struggles that brought them there.

Directed by Keiichi Hara and based on Mizuki Tsujimura’s bestselling novel, the feature was produced with A-1 Pictures. The Japanese voice cast features a young ensemble, with the adaptation threading character drama through a puzzle-box fantasy premise.

‘Fireworks’ (2017)

Set over a seaside school day, ‘Fireworks’ follows classmates whose question—are fireworks round or flat from the side?—turns into a time-bending experiment to redo a pivotal goodbye. Each “reset” tweaks cause and effect, pushing the friends toward a bittersweet decision.

The film is directed by Akiyuki Shinbo with Nobuyuki Takeuchi, adapting Shunji Iwai’s 1993 TV drama from a screenplay by Hitoshi Ōne. Produced by studio Shaft, the feature pairs stylized visuals with a coming-of-age romance built around shifting timelines.

‘Your Name.’ (2016)

Two teenagers inexplicably swap bodies across distances and days, piecing together clues that link them to a looming disaster and to each other. As they race to bridge time and memory, the plot weaves small-town life, city routines, and a celestial event into a single thread.

Written and directed by Makoto Shinkai and produced by CoMix Wave Films, the movie stars Ryunosuke Kamiki and Mone Kamishiraishi in the original Japanese track. The feature became one of Japan’s highest-grossing animated films and played widely in international release.

‘Almost Christmas’ (2016)

A widower invites his sprawling family home for the holidays, where old grudges and new romances collide over a long weekend of meals, mistakes, and attempts at reconciliation. Sibling dynamics and second chances drive the comedy as the house fills up with competing plans.

Written and directed by David E. Talbert, the ensemble includes Danny Glover, Kimberly Elise, Mo’Nique, Gabrielle Union, Romany Malco, and J.B. Smoove. Produced by Will Packer for Universal Pictures, the film blends family melodrama with broad laughs and seasonal set-pieces.

‘Veronica Mars’ (2014)

Years after leaving Neptune, Veronica returns to help ex-boyfriend Logan when a scandal turns deadly, pulling her back into the town’s old rivalries and class divides. The mystery threads alumni reunions with a new case that tests her legal ambitions and old habits.

Rob Thomas directs and co-writes with Diane Ruggiero-Wright, bringing back Kristen Bell, Jason Dohring, and Enrico Colantoni alongside series regulars. A Warner Bros. Digital release, the feature was financed via a record-setting crowdfunding campaign and shot with much of the original creative team.

‘Prometheus’ (2012)

An expedition funded by the Weyland Corporation follows ancient star maps to a distant moon in search of humanity’s makers, uncovering bio-engineering secrets that threaten the crew. Inside a mysterious structure, discoveries raise existential questions about origin, purpose, and the cost of discovery.

Directed by Ridley Scott from a screenplay by Jon Spaihts and Damon Lindelof, the film stars Noomi Rapace and Michael Fassbender, with Charlize Theron, Idris Elba, Guy Pearce, and Logan Marshall-Green. Produced by Scott Free and Brandywine, it links to the wider ‘Alien’ universe while standing on its own as philosophical sci-fi.

Share your weekend picks from this list in the comments and tell everyone what you’re pressing play on first!