July is a big month at the movies, and it can be a big month for streaming at home too. HBO Max has a few heavy hitters from this year streaming this month, including one of 2026’s best films. It also has a perfect movie for those still celebrating the year of Anne Hathaway as the days until “The Odyssey” tick down.
Here are the seven best new movies streaming on HBO Max in July.
“Army of Darkness”
All movie sequels should be as brave as Sam Raimi’s “Army of Darkness,” an “Evil Dead 2” follow-up that hurls Bruce Campbell’s Ash Williams through time to the Middle Ages. A franchise that started as a straight-up horror series turns into a medieval comedy, starring a modern warrior as he hacks and slashes through undead skeletal hordes. It’s a bold decision for the franchise, yet Raimi’s voice remains fully intact.
“The Drama”
“The Drama” is the kind of movie we don’t get often anymore — a dark comic drama made for adults that turns into a $130 million-grossing conversation piece. The film, led by two fantastic performances from Robert Pattinson and Zendaya, doesn’t shy away from tough conversations, placing its characters in a moral, romantic and psychological pressure cooker that builds to a wonderfully explosive third act. While it certainly has its fun with morbid humor, “The Drama” balances its comedy with genuine insight, making it still one of the year’s best films.
“Hereditary”
Ari Aster’s “Hereditary” is one of the most influential horror movies of the 2010s, with its fingerprints found on a number of films since (Curry Barker was notably inspired by “Hereditary” when making “Obsession,” saying “it really shocked my system”). It’s not hard to see how this movie came to be. Aster’s tense, dreary and sometimes funny movie is filled to the brim with strong performances and imagery that will make you afraid of your house’s dark corners. It’s memorable, impactful and terrifying — truly one of the great horror films of the century.
“Lee Cronin’s The Mummy”
We all, of course, know Lee Cronin, the man who brought the deadites to an apartment building in the twistedly fun “Evil Dead Rise.” But we have not all yet had the chance to meet Lee Cronin’s mummy in “Lee Cronin’s The Mummy.”
The film stars Jack Reynor and Laia Costa as two parents who are reunited with their young daughter years after her abduction, only to realize that a parent’s worst night has befallen her: She’s been turned into a mummy. That doesn’t stop them from taking her home, where the possessed and decaying child wreaks havoc on their family, including dear old grandma. Not everything in “Lee Cronin’s The Mummy” works, but the director somehow cranks up the mean-spiritedness he exhibited in “Evil Dead Rise” to make a delightfully unhinged horror flick that is well worth the watch. He’s a true student of Raimi.
“The Long Walk”
In “The Long Walk,” director Francis Lawrence and screenwriter JT Mollner adapt a Stephen King story with a simple premise: 50 teenage boys enter a contest to see who can walk across the country the longest without slowing down or stopping. The losers are executed, while the winner gets a single wish.
There are a lot of ways this film could become a slog, but Lawrence finds lightning in a bottle with “The Long Walk,” boosted by a slate of excellent performances — particularly from leading actors Cooper Hoffman and David Jonsson.
“Marc by Sofia”
Sofia Coppola is a generational filmmaker, a talent behind acclaimed films like “The Virgin Suicides,” “Lost in Translation” and “Marie Antoinette.” Yet “Marc by Sofia” saw her take on a documentary feature for the first time, peering into the life of iconic fashion designer Marc Jacobs. It’s a good pairing — a renowned designer captured by a filmmaker with a strong visual eye. It’s hard to imagine many other movies this year being quite so chic, non-fiction or not.
“Ocean’s 8”
Anne Hathaway has a big year between her already-released “Mother Mary” and “The Devil Wears Prada 2” and the soon-to-come “The Odyssey,” “The End of Oak Street” and “Verity.” While you’re waiting on some of those (and the star-studded “Ocean’s 11” prequel), you can check out Hathaway’s role in “Ocean’s 8,” a fun, female-led side film within the iconic heist franchise.
