Every week on Polygon, we round up the hottest new releases on streaming and VOD, highlighting the biggest and best new movies for you to watch at home.
This week, Gladiator IIThe long-awaited sequel to Ridley Scott's Oscar-winning historical epic, enters the open waters of VOD. That's not all; the epic drama The return starring Ralph Fiennes, anime fantasy epic The Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrimdisaster comedy Y2K starring Jaeden Martell (2017) He) and Raquel Zegler (The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes), and more are competing for your purchase and attention this weekend.
Here's everything new that's available to check out this weekend!
Where to watch: Available to stream on Hulu
Gender: Historical thriller
Execution time: 1h 48m
Director: Henrik Martin Dahlsbakken
Cast: Tobias Santelmann, Anders Baasmo, Heidi Ruud Ellingsen
This war drama takes place in the middle of World War II, as a Norwegian cargo convoy carrying military supplies navigates the Arctic seas while dodging German naval and air attacks. The stakes are high, because this shipment of supplies could very well turn the tide of the war and help the Allied forces push back the Germans.
Where to watch: Available to stream on Hulu
Image: Searchlight Pictures/Everett Collection
Gender: body horror
Execution time: 1h 39m
Director: Marielle Heller
Cast: Amy Adams, Scoot McNairy, Arleigh Snowden
Amy Adams leads this surreal black comedy about a frustrated housewife who begins to exhibit increasingly doggy characteristics. Eventually, he transforms into a dog and finds joy in embracing his primal side. Based on the 2021 novel of the same name, night bitch It first premiered at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. Adams was nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance in this film.
Yeah, night bitch It's a werewolf story, more or less. Whether trying to keep the story tight or keep Mother's transformation ambiguous (does she literally shapeshift or simply tap into her primal impulses?), Heller treats the story's body horror elements with caution and caution. It also has the misfortune of doing so just a few months after moviegoers fell in love with the brazen abandon of The substance. That film similarly illustrates something many people already understood about the female experience: women are valued and commodified for their bodies, then mercilessly discarded when they show normal human signs of aging.
Where to watch: Available to stream on Starz
Image: Lionsgate Movies
Gender: science fiction comedy
Execution time: 1h 41m
Director: Eli Roth
Cast: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jack Black
excited about Borderlands 4? you should look borderlandsthe Eli Roth-directed adaptation based on the popular looter-shooter franchise. The plot follows Lilith (Cate Blanchett), a bounty hunter hired by one of the most powerful and richest men in the universe to rescue her daughter Tina (Ariana Greenblatt), who has been kidnapped. A lot of other things happen too, but whatever it is, let's be honest: you don't come to borderlands for history; You come for the action and bathroom humor. The question is: does Roth's film do either?
borderlands It's not a smart movie, but it's not meant to be. Roth and co-writer Joe Crombie are much more interested in moving quickly between necessary plot points and neat settings. The film never gets boring and the sets, although remarkably closed off for a wasteland world, create lively and engaging action. There's a palpable style to the film version of Pandora, which relies firmly on the immediately identifiable visuals of the Borderlands games.
Where to watch: Available to stream on Mubi US.
Image: Mubi
Gender: Drama
Execution time: 1h 59m
Director: andrea arnold
Cast: Nykiya Adams, Franz Rogowski, Barry Keoghan
American honey Director Andrea Arnold returns to feature-length fiction with this coming-of-age story about life on the fringes of society. Nykiya Adams plays Bailey, a 12-year-old girl who lives with her volatile single father Bug (Barry Keoghan) and his wayward brother (Jason Buda) in Gravesend, north Kent. Bailey's life is transformed after she crosses paths with Bird (Franz Rogowski), a mysterious stranger who inspires her to see the world differently. If that's not attractive enough, Bird It also features a soundtrack composed by reclusive EDM maestro Burial.
Where to watch: Available to rent on Amazon, Apple and Vudu
Image: Paramount Pictures
Gender: epic period
Execution time: 2h 28m
Director: RidleyScott
Cast: Paul Mescal, Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal
Ridley Scott finally returns with a sequel to his Oscar-winning historical epic Gladiator. Pablo Mescal (Aftersun) stars in Gladiator II like Hanno, a Numidian warrior who is enslaved and taken to Rome after his home is sacked and conquered. After being discovered by Macrinus (Denzel Washington), a former gladiator turned mentor, Hanno is promised that he will be granted revenge against General Acacius (Pedro Pascal) in exchange for his victories in the arena.
Where to watch: Available to rent on Amazon, Apple and Vudu
Image: Blecker Street
Gender: Drama
Execution time: 1h 56m
Director: Uberto Pasolini
Cast: Ralph Fiennes, Juliette Binoche, Charlie Plummer
Uberto Pasolini's dramatization of Homer's work Odyssey It stars Ralph Fiennes as Odysseus, the king of Ithaca who arrives on the shores of his homeland 20 years after leaving for the Trojan War. Mentally and physically scarred by his decades-long ordeal to return home, Odysseus must summon all his cunning and strength to reclaim his home from a band of squatting suitors vying to marry his wife, Penelope (Juliette Binoche).
The Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim
Where to watch: Available to rent on Amazon, Apple and Vudu
Image: Warner Bros. Animation.
Gender: epic fantasy
Execution time: 2h 14m
Director: Kenji Kamiyama
Cast: Brian Cox, Gaia Wise, Miranda Otto
Set hundreds of years before the War of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim focuses on the story of Héra (Gaia Wise), the daughter of King Helm Hammerhand (Brian Cox). When Wulf (Luke Pasqualino), a ruthless Dunlending lord, embarks on a campaign of revenge against his father, Héra and her family must take on one last stand to protect their kingdom.
Director Kenji Kamiyama (Blade Runner: Black Lotus) takes on the task of making an animated Middle-earth that feels like part of the same tapestry as Jackson's Lord of the Rings films. This attention to detail and reproduction is the film's greatest strength. The Rohirrim War It looks and feels like Jackson's LotR in the best way. It's packed with sword adventures, royal drama, and fascinating monster mayhem. Unfortunately, it also reproduces the look of Jackson's films that have aged the worst.
Where to watch: Available to rent on Amazon, Apple and Vudu
Image: Vertical Entertainment
Gender: crime drama
Execution time: 1h 56m
Director: Justin Kurzel
Cast: Jude Law, Nicholas Hoult, Tye Sheridan
An action thriller based on a true story, the order It follows an FBI agent who realizes that a pattern in recent crimes points to the white supremacist group Silent Brotherhood, also known as the Order. Led by cult leader Bob Mathews (played here by Nicholas Hoult), the Silent Brotherhood was active in the United States in the 1980s. the order competed for the Golden Lion at the 2024 Venice International Film Festival.
Where to watch: Available to rent on Amazon, Apple and Vudu
Gender: Horror
Execution time: 1h 33m
Director: Steven C. Miller
Cast: Frank Grillo, Katrina Law, Ilfenesh Hadera
Is it lycanthrope season? This supernatural horror thriller stars Frank Grillo as a man trying to protect his family from a horde of werewolves summoned by a supermoon that has awakened a dormant gene in a subset of the human population. Does that make much sense? No, but does Sounds like a damn good time.
Where to watch: Available to rent on Amazon, Apple and Vudu
Gender: horror comedy
Execution time: 1h 31m
Director: Kyle Mooney
Cast: Jaeden Martell, Rachel Zegler, Julian Dennison
Remember when everyone thought the year 2000 would cause a lot of electronic errors? Well, at Kyle Mooney's house Y2Kthe bug is not so much a bug but rather electronic devices that come to life and try to enslave humanity. Aren't we glad that that Didn't it happen in real life? There are some brutal and fun kills, including a Tamagotchi kill, and a very 2000s soundtrack.