What to Watch on HBO Max (October 2026)

The best of HBO Max right now, ranked by Kernel Score, with an honest verdict and a parents' guide on every title. US availability, updated 2026-10-12.

Best Movies on HBO Max Right Now

  1. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring 97% · 2001 · ages 11+
    The start of a three-film fantasy epic that is richly made and deeply felt. The world is real and lived-in, the cast are well chosen, and it makes a long quest feel like an adventure.
  2. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King 97% · 2003 · ages 10+
    The grand finale of the trilogy, with huge battles and an emotional farewell that has been earned over two earlier films. It's best seen as the end of the full story, not on its own.
  3. Sinners 97% · 2025 · ages 15+
    Ryan Coogler sends twin brothers home to start fresh, only to find something worse waiting. Michael B. Jordan plays both, and viewers and the Kernel score rank it among the best recent horror.
  4. The Dark Knight 96% · 2008 · ages 11+
    A crime thriller dressed as a superhero film. Heath Ledger's Joker gives it a menace few films in the genre match, and the story keeps raising the cost of doing the right thing.
  5. Spirited Away 96% · 2001 · ages 6+
    A ten-year-old girl is stranded in a spirit bathhouse and has to work to save her parents. Miyazaki's film is full of strange, beautiful creatures and feels like a dream, but it's grounded in a child's courage.
  6. The Departed 96% · 2006 · ages 15+
    A taut cat-and-mouse crime thriller about two moles on opposite sides, one in the police and one in the mob. It has sharp dialogue, a great cast and a nerve-racking pace.
  7. The Shining 95% · 1980 · ages 15+
    Kubrick's haunted-hotel film builds dread through cold, careful camerawork and a growing sense that something is wrong with the father. It's slow, ambiguous and unsettling, and the images stay with you.
  8. 2001: A Space Odyssey 94% · 1968 · ages 6+
    Kubrick's slow, silent, visually astonishing journey from the dawn of humanity to deep space, with HAL 9000 as one of cinema's great villains. It demands patience and explains little, which is its point.
  9. Dune: Part Two 94% · 2024 · ages 11+
    A huge, serious sci-fi epic with striking desert imagery, big battles and a dark turn for its hero. Villeneuve makes it feel enormous, and it pays off the first film.
  10. Castle in the Sky 93% · 1986 · ages 7+
    Miyazaki's rollicking sky-pirate adventure is full of invention, charm and heart. It's an easy place to start with Studio Ghibli, and the floating-castle finale is lovely.

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Best TV Shows on HBO Max Right Now

  1. The Sopranos 98% · 1999 · ages 16+
    A New Jersey mob boss goes to therapy in one of the great television dramas, mixing family comedy, crime and Tony Soprano's inner turmoil. It's long and sometimes slow, but few series are as rich, human and well-acted.
  2. The Pitt 98% · 2025 · ages 14+
  3. Chernobyl 96% · 2019 · ages 14+
    A tense, sombre and meticulous five-part account of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster and the cover-up around it. It's harrowing and superbly acted, and it's honest about the human cost.
  4. Rick and Morty 94% · 2013 · ages 12+
    A fast, crude, clever animated sci-fi comedy about a reckless scientist and his grandson. It is funny and inventive, but extremely cynical and often vulgar.
  5. Band of Brothers 94% · 2001 · ages 14+
    The story of one US Army company in World War II, from training to the end of the war. It's well researched, superbly acted and emotionally powerful, and it's still the benchmark for war television.
  6. Planet Earth II 94% · 2016 · all ages
  7. Blue Planet II 94% · 2017 · all ages
  8. True Detective 93% · 2014 · ages 15+
    An anthology of dark detective stories where each season has a new case and cast. The strongest seasons are brooding, atmospheric and well acted, but the quality varies, so go in knowing that.
  9. Veneno 93% · 2020 · Rated TV-MA
  10. Planet Earth 93% · 2006 · all ages

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Best Family Movies & Shows on HBO Max

  1. Spirited Away 96% · 2001 · ages 6+
    A ten-year-old girl is stranded in a spirit bathhouse and has to work to save her parents. Miyazaki's film is full of strange, beautiful creatures and feels like a dream, but it's grounded in a child's courage.
  2. 2001: A Space Odyssey 94% · 1968 · ages 6+
    Kubrick's slow, silent, visually astonishing journey from the dawn of humanity to deep space, with HAL 9000 as one of cinema's great villains. It demands patience and explains little, which is its point.
  3. Planet Earth II 94% · 2016 · all ages
  4. Blue Planet II 94% · 2017 · all ages
  5. Castle in the Sky 93% · 1986 · ages 7+
    Miyazaki's rollicking sky-pirate adventure is full of invention, charm and heart. It's an easy place to start with Studio Ghibli, and the floating-castle finale is lovely.
  6. Planet Earth 93% · 2006 · all ages
  7. Howl's Moving Castle 92% · 2004 · ages 8+
    Miyazaki's gentle, beautiful fantasy about a young woman cursed to look old who finds a home in a moving castle. It is charming, strange and moving, though the plot wanders near the end.
  8. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse 92% · 2023 · ages 7+
    A dazzling, ambitious sequel that pushes animation further than almost anything before it. The story is bigger and ends on a cliffhanger, so you need the first film and patience for the next.
  9. Life 92% · 2009 · all ages
  10. Frozen Planet 92% · 2011 · ages 5+

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