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13 must-see movies on HBO Max in the UK including the "greatest movie ever made"
The streaming service has finally arrived.
As if it wasn't hard enough to choose something to watch, HBO Max has now launched in the UK to give us even more choice to procrastinate over before deciding to watch something we've seen 100 times already.
You might already know that HBO Max has classic TV shows on offer like Friends, ER, One Tree Hill and Supernatural, alongside new favourites like The Pitt, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms and The Comeback. But what you might not be aware of is that because it's the streaming service of Warner Bros, there's a treasure trove of movies on offer that are now available to watch.
The big new movie launch for HBO Max is this year's Best Picture winner One Battle After Another, and we can expect the likes of Wuthering Heights, Weapons and The Bride! to arrive on the streaming service in the coming months. But to celebrate the UK launch, we've delved into the movie catalogue to pick out 13 must-see movies to get you started, including what some have called the "greatest movie ever made".
If you're not a subscriber, you can get access to HBO Max if you sign up to Sky's Ultimate TV package, which also gives you access to Disney+ and Netflix too, from £22 per month. If you just want to sign up to HBO Max on its own, prices start from £5.99 for its ad-supported plan.
The Batman (2022)
As we wait for Robert Pattinson to return as Bruce Wayne in The Batman: Part II, you can refresh your memory of The Batman right now. It's a true epic, clocking in at nearly three hours long, and goes darker than even Christopher Nolan's celebrated trilogy.
If you weren't keen on RBattz though, then you can also watch Tim Burton's Batman on HBO Max, Nolan's Batman Begins or, no judgment here, Zack Snyder's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice among other Batman offerings.
Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
Mad Max: Fury Road still boasts a near-perfect 97% Rotten Tomatoes rating more than a decade after its release. It's fully deserved though as it's an action masterpiece like no other.
Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron might have had their issues during filming, but they combined with the genius of George Miller to stunning effect.
Casablanca (1942)
HBO Max has plenty of classic Hollywood offerings, including Gone with the Wind and An American in Paris, but we've decided on Casablanca as one of our all-time classics picks.
Time previously called it the "single greatest movie ever made", but we feel the icon that is Roger Ebert said it best: "Seeing the film over and over again, year after year, I find it never grows over-familiar. It plays like a favourite musical album; the more I know it, the more I like it."
North by Northwest (1959)
Talking of all-time classics leads us nicely into North by Northwest, Alfred Hitchcock's brilliant spy thriller that is also rightly considered one of the best movies ever made.
Whether you've seen it or not, you've absolutely seen something that was influenced by it, so if you love spy thrillers, you owe it to yourself to watch this tonight.
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Talking of influential movies brings us to 2001: A Space Odyssey which, among other movies and TV shows, was most notably homaged in 2023 hit Barbie.
Stanley Kubrick's sci-fi masterpiece might be nearly 60 years old, but it's truly timeless. If you're a movie lover, it's something that simply must be seen, whether you like sci-fi or not.
Superman: The Movie (1978)
Alongside One Battle After Another, James Gunn's 2025 reboot of Superman was the other major movie debut for HBO Max's UK launch, so there's no better time to revisit the original in a double-bill.
We really liked the new Superman, but there's just beating 1978's excellent Superman: The Movie which, of course, starred Christopher Reeve in the main role. The three sequels are also on HBO Max if you want a Superman marathon.
The Conjuring (2013)
The Conjuring: Last Rites is landing on HBO Max in April, but while you wait for the 'final' movie (which isn't the final movie anymore), you can rewatch the original trilogy right now.
Our pick remains The Conjuring which revitalised the haunted house genre and made it terrifying again. But you can't really go wrong with the two sequels, which offer plenty of scares alongside Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga being wonderful.
John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017)
You could choose to watch John Wick on HBO Max instead if you prefer the more stripped-back first movie, but we've gone for John Wick: Chapter 2 as it took everything we loved about the first movie and expanded it.
There's also the added bonus of the fact that we don't have to see John's puppy killed in the sequel. Doesn't mean he's any less annoyed though.
Crazy Rich Asians (2018)
We might never get the sequel or even the TV series adaptation, but luckily for us, we can always rewatch Crazy Rich Asians instead and never get bored of it.
The 2018 rom-com wasn't just a step forward for on-screen representation, it was also just a winning rom-com in its own right that remains one of the best this century has had to offer so far.
Gremlins (1984)
OK, so it might not be Christmas, but that shouldn't rule out a rewatch of Gremlins. You might not get the festive feels, yet you'll still fall in love with Gizmo all over again and its flawless horror-comedy blend works all year round.
For something different, you can even now check out the animated prequel Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai with both seasons available to watch on HBO Max.
Final Destination (2000)
Last year's superb Final Destination: Bloodlines is coming to HBO Max in April, so you can prepare for that by rewatching the first five movies on the streaming service now.
Every one of them has their moments, even the weakest outing The Final Destination, but Final Destination is still rightly considered the best. Just maybe don't watch it before you're about to head on a plane...
The Goonies (1985)
"Goonies never say die," and last year it was finally confirmed that The Goonies 2 was officially in the works. While we wait for that to arrive at some point in the future, The Goonies is available to watch now on HBO Max.
The likes of Sean Astin, Josh Brolin and Ke Huy Quan might have gone on to star in bigger movies and franchises, but in our hearts, they'll always be the Goonies.
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)
Robert Downey Jr is back in the MCU this December in Avengers: Doomsday, and before then you owe it to yourself to catch up on his terrific 2005 crime caper Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, in which he starred alongside the late, great Val Kilmer.
The movie marked the directorial debut of Shane Black, who also wrote this irresistible tale of a crook who pretends to be an actor to avoid the police, only to find himself in a deadly conspiracy.
Movies Editor, Digital Spy Ian has more than 10 years of movies journalism experience as a writer and editor. Starting out as an intern at trade bible Screen International, he was promoted to report and analyse UK box-office results, as well as carving his own niche with horror movies, attending genre festivals around the world. After moving to Digital Spy, initially as a TV writer, he was nominated for New Digital Talent of the Year at the PPA Digital Awards. He became Movies Editor in 2019, in which role he has interviewed 100s of stars, including Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba and Olivia Colman, become a human encyclopedia for Marvel and appeared as an expert guest on BBC News and on-stage at MCM Comic-Con. Where he can, he continues to push his horror agenda – whether his editor likes it or not.
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