6 Unmissable New Movies and Shows to Stream This Weekend on Netflix, Prime, Disney Plus and More (Dec 26–28)
Stranger Things returns with new episodes as the all-time animation box office champ lands on streaming—this week’s must-watch lineup is stacked.
If the post-Christmas haze has you staring at the wall, I’ve got six fresh things to watch that will snap you out of it. New movies and shows just landed across Netflix, Prime Video, Disney Plus, HBO Max, Apple TV Plus, and Hulu. It’s a weirdly perfect mix: a blood-soaked period vampire flick, a colossal animated hit that quietly took over the world, a Stephen King tearjerker, the penultimate chunk of Stranger Things, Vince Gilligan’s brainy sci‑fi mystery wrapping its first season, and Taylor Swift closing out her docuseries with a bow. Grab the leftovers, hit play.
New movies
Sinners (Prime Video)
Ryan Coogler (yes, the Black Panther filmmaker) switches gears into period horror with a vampire story that’s already one of 2025’s buzziest genre releases. Michael B. Jordan, Hailee Steinfeld, Miles Caton, and Jack O’Connell headline.
Set in the 1930s Deep South during the Jim Crow era, twin brothers Smoke and Stack head back to their hometown to launch a new business and maybe a new life. Instead, they bump into something far uglier than the past they were trying to outrun. It’s moody, bloody, and packed with a few of the year’s big gasp moments.
Available: Worldwide on Prime Video, December 25.
Ne Zha II (HBO Max)
If the title rings no bells, here’s the stat that will: it’s the fifth highest-grossing movie of all time and the top-grossing animated film ever, after leapfrogging Inside Out 2 earlier this year. Critics are in lockstep too, with a 92% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
A sequel to 2019’s Ne Zha, this one reimagines Chinese mythology for modern audiences. Ne Zha is a rebellious kid born to mortal parents with raw, barely controlled power, feared by the gods and suddenly staring down an ancient threat gunning for humanity. Time to grow up and be the hero, whether he’s ready or not.
Available: US on HBO Max, December 24.
The Life of Chuck (Hulu)
Stephen King isn’t just killer clowns and haunted hotels. Mike Flanagan’s adaptation of King’s 2020 novella is a gentle, life-affirming drama that’s built to quietly wreck you.
Tom Hiddleston plays Chuck Krantz, and the film traces his whole life — childhood to adulthood — as the world itself starts to fray around him. The cast is stacked with character moments: Chiwetel Ejiofor is a school teacher trying to reason his way through the planet’s unraveling; Matthew Lillard plays a construction worker neighbor who somehow finds calm in the chaos; Karen Gillan is Chuck’s ex, a hospital worker determined to help everyone she can; and Mark Hamill and Mia Sara appear as the grandparents who raised Chuck.
Available: US on Hulu, December 26.
New TV shows
Stranger Things season 5, part 2 (Netflix)
We’re in the home stretch. Three new episodes just dropped, and only one final episode remains — that last chapter lands on New Year’s Eve. Part 2 is loaded with big reveals, sharp turns, and the kind of set pieces the show saves for the endgame.
The short version: Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) is still tightening his grip on Hawkins — and beyond — while Will Byers (Noah Schnapp), Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), and the rest of the crew rally to stop whatever master plan he’s hiding. If you need a refresher, it’s worth revisiting the first four episodes before diving in.
Available: Worldwide on Netflix, December 25.
Pluribus finale episode (Apple TV Plus)
Vince Gilligan’s new mystery sci‑fi series sticks the landing with its season finale, which means you can finally binge the whole thing over the break if you’ve been saving it. Critics have been raving, and the show has been compared to classic, twisty anthology storytelling for a reason.
Set in New Mexico, Pluribus follows romance author Carol Sturka (Rhea Seehorn), one of the rare people immune to a virus that has turned most of humanity into an obedient hive mind called the Others. Smart, eerie, and surprisingly emotional — it’s one of the year’s standouts.
Available: Worldwide on Apple TV Plus, December 24.
Taylor Swift: The End of an Era finale (Disney Plus)
The docuseries tracking the build and impact of Taylor Swift’s record-smashing global tour has its finale up now, which also means the entire run is ready to binge. If you want the concert itself, Disney Plus also has the box-office event film Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour.
The End of an Era pulls together performers, family, and friends — including Sabrina Carpenter, Ed Sheeran, and Florence Welch — for an intimate, behind-the-scenes look at how the tour was engineered and what it demanded from everyone involved.
Available: Worldwide on Disney Plus, December 24.
That’s your weekend sorted. Six new drops, zero small talk. Enjoy.