The Best New Movies to Stream This Week

Looking to settle in with a good movie? Me too. That’s why I’ve pored over release schedules to bring you the best original and new-to-streaming movies you can watch on Netflix, Prime, Max, Hulu, and other streaming platforms this week.

As you’d expect, Thanksgiving week streaming releases are heavy on holiday movies. I need some seasonal cheer in my life, so I’m going to curl up on the couch and check out Lindsay Lohan in Netflix’s Xmas flick Our Little Secret and Max’s Thanksgiving-themed Sweethearts. Then I’m gonna chase it with the weirdest holiday flick of all, The Polar Express, on Hulu. I’m also gonna drink a ton of egg nog.

Our Little Secret

Our Little Secret is a holiday-scented romantic comedy that stars Lindsay Lohan, the queen of Christmas, along with Kristin Chenoweth, Ian Harding, and Tim Meadows. Lohan plays Avery, whose holiday visit with her boyfriend’s family gets really weird. See, she used to date his brother, so, to keep the peace and survive the holiday, the pair agree to keep their past a secret. Hilarity and romance ensue.

Where to stream: Netflix

Sweethearts

In romantic comedy Sweethearts, Kiernan Shipka and Nico Hiraga play best friends who return to their hometown from college for Thanksgiving break. (Hey! It’s premiering on that weekend in real life!) They’re both still tied to their respective high school sweethearts and make a pact to end the relationships. Will love blossom between these just-friends before the weekend is over? I would bet on “yes” but no one will take my action.

Where to stream: Max

Top-tier holiday movie pack

On November 27, just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday, Hulu is offering a collection of beloved holiday classics for your viewing pleasure, including Elf, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, and The Polar Express. Below is the full list of S-tier (OK, there’s some A- and B-tier in there too) holiday flicks.

Where to stream: Hulu

Second-tier holiday movie pack

They can’t all be timeless holiday classics. Throughout the month of November, Hulu is streaming a grip of “pretty good, I guess” Christmas-themed movies to go along with the bangers above, including curiosities like Holiday in Handcuffs, Rotten Tomatoes-approved winners like Christmas at the Ranch, and A Royal Corgi Christmas, because dogs should have holidays too—especially dogs with monarchal power.

• Christmas on the Ranch (2021)

• Holiday in Handcuffs (2007)

• The Mistle-Tones (2012)

• Same Time, Next Christmas (2019)

• Santa’s Little Helper (2015)

• Santa Baby 2: Christmas Maybe (2009)

• A Cowboy Christmas Romance (2023)

• Christmas at the Golden Dragon (2022)

• Christmas in Evergreen: Bells Are Ringing (2020)

• Christmas at the Chalet (2023)

• A Royal Corgi Christmas (2022)

Where to stream: Hulu

Beatles ’64

A lot of people seem to really like this band, The Beatles. If you’re one of them, check out Beatles ’64. It was produced by Martin Scorsese, and it’s a little tighter than Peter Jackson’s 2021 documentary mini-series Get Back. Instead of vérité footage of over-it-all musicians sniping at each other over breakfast for eight hours, you get 1 hour and 46 minutes of archival interviews from when The Beatles were fun, concert footage, and interviews detailing the cultural and artistic impact of the band’s first visit to America and the Beatlemania that followed.

Where to stream: Disney+

Last week’s picks

The Merry Gentlemen

With The Merry Gentlemen, Netflix is leaning into the combination of hunky guys and Christmas. The titular gentlemen are strippers, employed by Ashley (Britt Robertson) in an effort to save her parents’ small-town performing arts venue. Expect a lot of abs, a lot of laughs, and lot of old fashioned Christmas romance in this mildly horny holiday flick.

Where to stream: Netflix

Spellbound

Netflix is gunning for animation superiority: The streaming service has employed heavy hitters like director Vicky Jenson (Shrek), songwriter Alan Menken (Beauty and the Beast) and voice actors including Rachel Zegler, Nicole Kidman, and Javier Bardem to bring Spellbound to life. This family-friendly fantasy tells the tale of Ellian (Zegler), the princess of Lumbria, who embarks on daring quest to save her family and kingdom after a spell transforms her parents into monsters. 

Where to stream: Netflix

The Piano Lesson 

Adapted from the stage play by August Wilson and starring Samuel L. Jackson, John David Washington, and Danielle Deadwyler, The Piano Lesson follows the lives of the Charles family, whose family legacy is expressed on a piano decorated with carvings by their enslaved ancestors. One brother (John David Washington) hopes to sell it, while his sister (Danielle Deadwyler), refuses to give it up.

Where to stream: Netflix

The Honorable Shyne

Moses Michael Levi Barrow, aka Shyne, is best known for a 1999 nightclub shooting connected Sean Combs. Allegedly, the aspiring rapper took the fall for Puffy and served a 10-year bid in the pen for his trouble. Once freed, he was deported to Belize, but that isn’t the end of Shyne’s story. The Honorable Shyne looks at the shooting, the sentence, and Shyne’s post-prison life in Belizean politics. It’s an amazing story, and if you’re looking for a true tale of redemption, you’ll love this movie.

Where to stream: Hulu

I don’t want to alarm you, but according to Netflix documentary Buy Now: The Shopping Conspiracy, retailers often use questionable tactics to get people to buy things—often things they don’t even need! Through interviews with whistleblowers and industry insiders, this documentary shines a light on the covert psychological manipulation that capitalists use to make you spend money, with an eye on the true price of out-of-control consumption.

Where to stream: Netflix

Adam Ray Presents: Dr. Phil UNLEASHED

Comedian Adam Ray does a lot of impressions, but his portrayal of blowhard TV doctor Dr. Phil as a foul-mouthed, oversexed reprobate is the standout by a mile. It’s not just that he looks and sounds like Dr. Phil, Ray is so in touch with Dr. Phil’s Dr. Phil-ness, it’s like he’s channeling the man’s id, saying everything you know Dr. Phil would say if he could. That impression takes center stage in Adam Ray Presents: Dr. Phil UNLEASHED.

Where to stream: Netflix

Jeff Dunham’s Scrooged-Up Holiday Special

Jeff Dunham and his collection of wooden pals take on the holidays in this new stand-up special. Specifically, this is a take on Dickens’ A Christmas Carol in which Walter plays Scrooge and argues with with Bubba J, Peanut, Little Jeff and Achmed over their assigned parts in the story. My life’s mission is to watch every version of A Christmas Carol, so this one is high on my personal gotta watch list.

Where to stream: Prime