HBO Max has so many options for its subscribers to choose from that it can be difficult to decide what movie to watch on the service each week. Fortunately, that is why we have put together this list. The streamer’s best offerings right now include an early 2010s comedy that remains one of the most beloved rom-coms of the 21st century so far, as well as a mid-2000s crime thriller that packs a devastating punch. Rounding out this week’s picks, meanwhile, is an American epic released last year that feels built to stand the test of time.
Here are the three best movies on HBO Max you can watch this weekend.
“A History of Violence” (2005)
Directed by David Cronenberg and based on the graphic novel of the same name, “A History of Violence” is one of the best films about the irreversible nature of violence ever made. Set in middle America, the film follows a diner owner (Viggo Mortensen) whose heroic prevention of an attempted robbery make him enough of a local hero to catch the attention of ghosts from his past.
Both a slow-burn crime thriller and a deeply considered, moving exploration of family, “A History of Violence” grows in its intensity and depth before reaching an emotional and dramatic fever pitch in its astonishing, wordless closing minutes.
“Crazy, Stupid, Love” (2011)
If you want something a bit lighter to watch this weekend than “A History of Violence,” look no further than “Crazy, Stupid, Love.” Directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa’s star-studded 2011 romantic comedy is one of the most quotable and memorable additions to the genre that has come along in the last 20 years.
An interconnected ensemble piece that tells multiple, intersecting love stories, the film is elevated greatly by Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone’s scene-stealing, instantly iconic supporting performances and by a script from “This Is Us” and “Paradise” creator Dan Fogelman that is, thankfully, as absurd as it is clever, wry as it is sincere.
“Marty Supreme” (2025)
“Marty Supreme” is the most audacious and moving film that director Josh Safdie has yet made. Based on a screenplay Safdie co-wrote with Ronald Bronstein and loosely inspired by a real-life athlete, the film stars Timothée Chalamet as an ambitious table tennis player who puts himself and others at increasing risk in his heedless pursuit of becoming a world champion.
An epic overflowing with manic energy and striking imagery, “Marty Supreme” emerges over the course of its 150 minutes as a devastating, often darkly funny portrait of growing up. It subverts with unexpected force the standard, follow-your-dream narrative at the heart of most sports dramas and, in doing so, lays bare the cost of only being able to imagine yourself and your life one way.
