The 8 Best New Movies and Shows to Stream This Weekend on Netflix, Hulu and More

“The Toxic Avenger” (2025)

One of the most distinct, striking superhero films of the past few years, writer-director Macon Blair’s “The Toxic Avenger,” has finally arrived on digital this week. A reboot of the “Toxic Avenger” franchise, the film follows an outcast janitor (Peter Dinklage) who is transformed into a super-powered mutant and chooses to take on the crime-fighting mantle of the Toxic Avenger.

Featuring a star-studded ensemble cast headlined by Dinklage, Taylour Paige, Elijah Wood and Kevin Bacon, Blair’s “The Toxic Avenger” is a tongue-in-cheek, blackly comic riff on the superhero genre that is practically overflowing with gratuitous, over-the-top violence. It is, in other words, an acquired taste. But those who are interested in seeing a wild new spin on a traditional superhero film should consider buying or renting it this weekend.

“Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale” (2025)

“Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale,” the third and final film in its franchise’s movie trilogy, hit theaters in the U.S. in mid-September. Less than a month later, it is available to buy and stream on demand now. If you are a fan of the “Downton Abbey” films and original show and you have not had a chance to check out “The Grand Finale” yet, then you might want to do so this weekend. Set pointedly in 1930, the film follows the Crawleys as they find themselves facing the threats of not only social decline but also an uncertain, new future. 

All of the old, familiar faces are back, including Hugh Bonneville, Jim Carter and Michelle Dockery, as are recent “Downton Abbey” franchise additions like Dominic West and Paul Giamatti. Directed by Simon Curtis and written, as always, by Julian Fellowes, “The Grand Finale” has all the charming, comedic and comforting pleasures that “Downton Abbey” fans have come to expect from the franchise and its characters.

“Chad Powers” Season 1 (Hulu)

It’s been a long time coming, but “Chad Powers” is finally here. The first two episodes of the new series premiered Tuesday on Hulu. Its remaining installments are set to follow suit one at a time every week through Tuesday, Oct. 28. Created by Glen Powell and “Loki” Season 1 head writer Michael Waldron, “Chad Powers” follows a disgraced, former star quarterback who seizes upon an opportunity to restore his reputation and his once-promising football career by putting on prosthetics and a wig and auditioning to join the roster of a floundering college team.

Pulling equal inspiration from comedies like “Mrs. Doubtfire” and sports movie classics like “Cinderella Man,” “Chad Powers” may be too ridiculous for some. But those who can get on the same absurd wavelength as it have a delightful treat in store for them. Like all of Powell’s projects, it has an infectiously, almost blindingly charismatic lead performance at the center it of it as well.

“Play Dirty” (Prime Video)

Shane Black is uniquely adept at making movies that feel like hard-boiled, paperback crime novels come to life onscreen. That is what makes “Play Dirty,” and his return to the crime genre nine years after 2016’s “The Nice Guys,” so exciting. Based on the “Parker” book series by Donald E. Westlake, the film follows a ruthless thief (Mark Wahlberg) who happens upon, with the help of his crew of fellow thieves and criminals, the heist of a lifetime. 

Black has spent his entire career pulling off crime movies like “Play Dirty” with more style and wit than most of his contemporaries. His new film is, thankfully, more of the same. In some cases, that would be a bad thing to say about a filmmaker’s latest work, but that is not so here, especially given how many years viewers have been repeatedly forced to wait between Black’s projects. “Play Dirty” is streaming now on Prime Video.

“The Lost Bus” (Apple TV+)

A few weeks after it received a limited theatrical release, “The Lost Bus” is set to arrive on Apple TV+ on Friday. Directed by “The Bourne Supremacy” filmmaker Paul Greengrass, the film follows a bus driver (Matthew McConaughey) who is forced to drive his bus, the schoolchildren onboard and their teacher to safety in the middle of the infamous 2018 California Camp Fire. Greengrass wrote the film’s script with “Task” and “Mare of Easttown” creator Brad Ingelsby, and you can tell.

The film is a white-knuckled thriller that never loses touch of the deeply human story at the center of it. Time and time again, Greengrass has proven himself to be a master of turning real-life nightmares into riveting and rousing cinematic stories (see: “Captain Phillips,” “United 93”), and he appears to have done so once again with “The Lost Bus.” In case that was not reason enough to check it out, the thriller also features McConaughey’s first onscreen film performance in six years.

“Monster: The Ed Gein Story” (Netflix)

“Monster: The Ed Gein Story,” which has the potential to be one of this fall’s biggest shows, premieres this Friday on Netflix. The third installment in Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan’s “Monster” anthology series explores the life and many horrifying crimes of real-life serial killer Ed Gein (“Sons of Anarchy” star Charlie Hunnam). As the season’s trailer notes, Gein and his crimes inspired a number of iconic horror movies, most notably “Psycho,” “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” and “The Silence of the Lambs.”

“Monster” promises to pay homage to that fact by featuring actor Tom Hollander as “Psycho” filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock, as well as actress Olivia Williams as Hitchcock’s wife, screenwriter and editor Alma Reville. The extreme nature of Gein’s crimes, which “Monster” does not seem interested in shying away from, may make its new season too gruesome for some viewers. For others, it is certainly positioned to be, at the very least, this year’s most startling true-crime drama.

All of its episodes are slated to premiere on Friday.

“Steve” (Netflix)

“Steve,” the second film collaboration between director Tim Mielants and star Cillian Murphy, is a grounded drama that is flying a bit under the radar this week. Based on Max Porter’s “Shy,” the film is set in the mid-’90s. It follows a pivotal day in the life of a headteacher (Murphy) at a last-chance reform school. Over the course of the film, Murphy’s Steve tries to fight for his school in the face of its impending closure, all while dealing with his own struggles and witnessing first-hand the plights of the students he is assigned to oversee. 

Narratively understated and yet rippling with visual invention, “Steve” is a stirring film about the importance of connection, sanctuary and understanding in a world that offers people very little room to make mistakes, let alone receive forgiveness for them. If you want something a little more lowkey than “The Lost Bus” and some of this week’s other streaming premieres, then “Steve” may be where you want to look.

“V/H/S/HALLOWEEN” (Shudder)

October is finally here, which means Spooky Movie Season has arrived. There is practically no better way to kick off one’s October horror watchlist, either, than by checking out Shudder’s annual addition to its “V/H/S” anthology franchise. This year’s entry is “V/H/S/Halloween.”

A five-part horror anthology film, “V/H/S/Halloween” features short movies directed by Bryan Ferguson, Anna Zlokovic, Casper Kelly and Alex Ross Perry. Maintaining the franchise’s VHS-inspired found footage format, the new film’s stories revolve around everything from a corporate taste trial gone terribly wrong to a video store containing tape recordings intended to help law enforcement identify missing children. It all sounds very weird and very “V/H/S.” It premieres Friday on Shudder.