Best New Movies to Stream This Weekend — October 19-25

Looking for something new to stream this week (Oct. 19–25)? It’s a strong week, with one of the year’s best-reviewed comedies landing on HBO Max, a critically acclaimed British rom-com arrives on Peacock and Disney’s live-action Moana finally hits Disney+.

We’ve also included four standout releases from recent weeks that may have slipped under your radar. Whether you’re in the mood for a laugh, a love story or something the whole family can watch, these are the movies worth streaming right now.

Stream new films and old favorites with DIRECTV – stream the On Demand library now. 

Top Movies to Stream Right Now at a Glance

Here’s a high-level view of the new movies streaming this week as well as our top picks from the prior month:

Keep reading for an overview of each movie, including plot details and why they’re worth watching.

Best New Movies to Stream This Weekend 

These are the new movies coming to streaming this week. All titles will be available to watch across streaming platforms by October 23.

‘The Invite’ – HBO Max

Platform: HBO Max | Added: October 23 | Rating: R | Runtime: 1h 47m | Genre: Dark Comedy | Director: Olivia Wilde | Cast: Seth Rogen, Olivia Wilde, Edward Norton, Penélope Cruz | Rotten Tomatoes: 96% critics / 89% audience

Joe and Angela’s marriage is quietly falling apart. When their enigmatic upstairs neighbors, the charming, unpredictable Hawk and Piña (Edward Norton and Penélope Cruz), accept their dinner party invitation, the evening spirals into territory nobody saw coming. An English-language remake of the 2020 Spanish film The People Upstairs by Cesc Gay, adapted by Will McCormack and Rashida Jones, and directed by Olivia Wilde in a return to form after Don’t Worry Darling. The film premiered at Sundance in January, sparked a bidding war and grossed $57 million worldwide against a $15 million budget.

Why watch it: One of the year’s best-reviewed comedies with a 96% on RT and 82 from Metacritic, and the rare adult comedy that earns its R rating through wit rather than shock. Norton and Cruz are the clear standouts, but all four leads are doing career-best work in the genre. The RT critics consensus calls it a sophisticated farce — and that’s exactly what it is. Clear your Friday night.

Stream The Invite on DIRECTV via HBO Max.

‘Finding Emily’ – Peacock

Platform: Peacock | Added: October 23 | Rating: PG-13 | Runtime: 1h 51m | Genre: Romantic Comedy | Director: Alicia MacDonald | Cast: Angourie Rice, Spike Fearn, Minnie Driver, Nadia Parkes, Yali Topol Margalith | Rotten Tomatoes: 90% critics / audience TBD

Owen (Spike Fearn) is a 23-year-old sound engineer at a Manchester university bar who gets the wrong number for the girl of his dreams — and rather than let it go, recruits driven psychology student Emily Raine (Angourie Rice) to help him track her down. What follows is a campus-wide frenzy involving podcasts, viral fame and an increasingly chaotic parade of women named Emily. Produced by Working Title Films, the studio behind Love Actually, Notting Hill and Four Weddings and a Funeral, and directed by Alicia MacDonald in her feature debut.

Why watch it: The RT consensus calls it a sparkling rom-com that makes a tried-and-true formula feel brand new, and the 90% critics score backs that up. Rice and Fearn have easy, natural chemistry, and MacDonald’s direction earns comparison to the classic British rom-coms Working Title built its name on. If About Time or Love Actually are in your comfort zone, this belongs in the same company.

You can rent Finding Emily through DIRECTV or stream on Peacock.

‘Moana’ – Disney+

Platform: Disney+ | Added: October 21 | Rating: PG | Runtime: 1h 55m | Genre: Musical / Adventure | Director: Thomas Kail | Cast: Catherine Laga’aia, Dwayne Johnson, John Tui, Frankie Adams, Rena Owen, Jemaine Clement | Rotten Tomatoes: 31% critics / 91% audience

In Disney’s live-action adaptation of the 2016 animated film, Moana (Catherine Laga’aia) answers the ocean’s call and sets sail beyond the reef of her island with the legendary demigod Maui (Dwayne Johnson) on a voyage to restore prosperity to her people. The story follows the animated original closely (some critics would say too closely) with new live-action performances, a new song by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Dwayne Johnson reprising his role

Why watch it: The 31% critics score and 91% audience score is one of the widest gaps of the year, and it tells the story clearly: critics found it redundant, audiences found it charming. Laga’aia brings real warmth to the role and Johnson is as comfortable as Maui as ever.

Previously Released Top Movies

Here are the top movies released in recent weeks that are worth checking out this weekend.

‘Tenzing’

Platform: Apple TV+ | Added: October 16 | Rating: PG | Runtime: 2h 5m | Genre: Drama / Adventure | Director: Jennifer Peedom | Cast: Genden Phuntsok, Tom Hiddleston, Willem Dafoe, Caitríona Balfe, Thinley Lhamo, Tenzin Dalha | Rotten Tomatoes: 97% critics / audience TBD

Tenzing brings to life the true story that, until now, has typically been told from the wrong perspective. The story follows Tenzing Norgay (Genden Phuntsok), the gifted Himalayan climber who became one of the first two people to summit Mount Everest in 1953 alongside New Zealand mountaineer Edmund Hillary (Tom Hiddleston). What the film makes clear is just how much Tenzing had to fight simply to be included on the British expedition at all, despite his vast experience and qualifications.

Why watch it: One of the year’s best-reviewed films, currently sitting at 97% on RT, and one of the most overdue stories in mountaineering history. Where Western accounts of the Everest summit centered on Hillary, Tenzing restores the man who revered the mountain as sacred to the heart of the story.

‘Love of Your Life’

Platform: Prime Video | Added: October 14 | Rating: R | Runtime: 1h 46m | Genre: Romance / Drama | Director: Rachel Morrison | Cast: Margaret Qualley, Gabriel Basso, Aaron Pierre, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Catherine Keener, Tamara Lawrance | Rotten Tomatoes: 76% critics / audience TBD

Boston ER nurse Maya (Margaret Qualley) meets Charlie (Gabriel Basso) by chance and falls headlong into the kind of love that reshapes her life in a way she never anticipated. Then the future is taken from her. What follows is the harder story: Maya adrift across Lisbon and beyond, drinking and grieving and stumbling toward a new life while reckoning with who she is without the person who completed her. Directed by Rachel Morrison (The Fire Inside) and produced by Ryan Gosling and Jessie Henderson, the film premiered at TIFF in September.

Why watch it: Critics are reasonably warm at 76%, though some found the second half too unfocused to fully earn its emotional payoff. Qualley carries the film with a raw, physically committed performance that makes even the weaker scenes worth watching. If The Light We Carry or A Single Man are in your orbit, this lands in similar emotional territory.

‘Hokum’ – Hulu

Platform: Hulu | Added: October 10 | Rating: R | Runtime: 1h 47m | Genre: Horror / Supernatural Thriller | Director: Damian McCarthy | Cast: Adam Scott, Peter Coonan, David Wilmot, Florence Ordesh, Austin Amelio, Brendan Conroy | Rotten Tomatoes: 90% critics / 82% audience

Horror novelist Ohm Bauman (Adam Scott) travels to a remote Irish inn to scatter his parents’ ashes. He’s heard the stories of the place – that the honeymoon suite is haunted by a witch and that the hotel has a history no one talks about openly. He doesn’t believe any of it, but then the visions start, and someone disappears. Written and directed by Damian McCarthy (Caveat, Oddity), the film grossed $25 million on a $5 million budget and premiered at SXSW in March.

Why watch it: One of the best-reviewed horror films of the year and a perfect Halloween season pickup for streamers who missed it in theaters. McCarthy delivers a haunted-house story that’s terrifying, funny and unexpectedly moving. It may lean on classic horror tropes, but its atmospheric setting and carefully timed scares make it stand out. Clear your Saturday night.

Get access to Hulu via DIRECTV with MyEntertainment, or rent Hokum On Demand!

‘Disclosure Day’ – Peacock

Platform: Peacock | Added: October 9 | Rating: PG-13 | Runtime: 2h 25m | Genre: Sci-Fi / Thriller | Director: Steven Spielberg | Cast: Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor, Colin Firth, Colman Domingo, Wyatt Russell, Eve Hewson | Rotten Tomatoes: 79% critics / 69% audience

During a live weather broadcast, meteorologist Margaret Fairchild (Emily Blunt) experiences something she can’t explain, or un-see. When she teams up with government cybersecurity expert Dr. Daniel Kellner (Josh O’Connor), the two uncover a decades-long conspiracy about extraterrestrial life that the U.S. government has spent generations suppressing. Spielberg’s first alien film since War of the Worlds in 2005.

Why watch it: Spielberg still knows how to construct a thriller, and the Blunt–O’Connor pairing is just as strong. Critics landed at a Certified Fresh 79%, though audiences were somewhat more divided at 69%. If Close Encounters and E.T. shaped your taste in sci-fi, this is a worthy addition to the list.

You can connect your Peacock account to DIRECTV, or rent/purchase Disclosure Day on DIRECTV On Demand!

This list of new movies to stream this week was last updated on October 22, 2026

And there you have it: the top movies streaming this weekend. Each week, this page will be updated to reflect the top movies across platforms, so make sure to check back here to keep up with what’s hot in entertainment.

All of these films can be watched on DIRECTV or through other streaming platforms, many of which you can connect to your DIRECTV interface. Learn how to add your favorite streaming apps to DIRECTV Gemini or Gemini Air. It’s easy to find the best new movies to stream now on PVOD, the top movies on Netflix or the latest hits across services. If you aren’t a DIRECTV customer yet, now’s the time to make the switch!

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