Some of 2024’s biggest blockbusters are now available to rent or buy from the comfort of your own home. Even better, a few other must-watch movies are coming this weekend to a streaming service you’re likely already paying for as of this weekend.
The Wild Robot and Sonic the Hedgehog 3 may be kid-centric, but there’s plenty to appeal to adults in both movies.
One half of the ‘Glicked’ phenomenon — Gladiator II — lands on streaming to entertain you (and in case you missed the first half, Wicked is also now available on video on demand). Robert Eggers’s take on Nosferatu resonated in theaters and is sure to continue freaking out audiences at home, and Jason Reitman’s Saturday Night gleefully depicts the history of a comedy institution we all know and love.
Here’s what to know about the theatrical movies newly available to stream as of this week, and where you can find them.
Gladiator II
Ridley Scott’s very fun Gladiator II makes the case that every prestige blockbuster deserves a many-years-later sequel that doesn’t take itself as seriously as its Oscar-winning predecessor.
Less a play for awards season hardware than it is a megabudget crowd-pleaser, the tone of the movie shifts from austere to silly, in a good way. At one point, an arena is suddenly filled with water and sharks for the gladiators, and it’s arguably not the goofiest set piece in the film.
The story itself is so tied up in recreating arcs fans know from the original Gladiator that it doesn’t make much of an impression, but it’s hard to care much when Denzel Washington is having an absolute blast in a villain role, and audiences get a pair of additional baddies in twin emperors played by Joseph Quinn and Fred Hechinger. It may tick every box of what we’ve come to know as the “legacy sequel,” but it has a good time doing it.
How to watch: Gladiator II is now streaming on Paramount+.
Nosferatu
Robert Eggers’s longtime passion project was an unexpected box office hit, and it’s easy to see why. The sheer attention to detail of the period production design is enough to make your jaw drop, the sound design is truly skin-crawling and the performances are memorable.
The director’s take on F.W. Murnau’s classic silent film (which itself was remade in 1979 by legendary filmmaker Werner Herzog) is as sexy as it is scary; the jarring nature in which the movie jumps from one register to the other is transfixing and hallucinatory. It focuses more on the backstory of the relationship between Lily Rose-Depp’s Ellen Hutter and Bill Skarsgard’s Count Orlok, which winds up being a clever way to update and modernize material that many in the audience are already familiar with.
How to watch: Nosferatu is now available to rent or purchase on Prime Video and other video on demand platforms.
Sonic the Hedgehog 3
If you happened to miss Sonic the Hedgehog 3 when it hit theaters, the box-office smash hit threequel is now available without speeding to the local cineplex.
Even if you’re not the movie’s target demographic, just know that Jim Carrey is back, this time pulling double duty in dual roles. He gets to have a lot of fun playing off himself, so much so that even adults watching might end up having a good time.
The voice cast for Sonic and his pals is star-studded as well: Keanu Reeves joins the pack as Shadow this go-round, joining Idris Elda’s Knuckles and Ben Schwartz as the titular hedgehog.
How to watch: Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is now available to rent or purchase on Prime Video and other video on demand platforms.
The Wild Robot
At first glance, The Wild Robot may seem like it’s treading familiar ground (comparions to Wall-E and The Iron Giant come to mind) but it’s not long before the movie upends those expectations and becomes it’s own sweet and satisfying journey.
It’s a movie that parents will enjoy just as much as the kids because, well, it’s about parenting! After a shipwreck, an intelligent robot called Roz is stranded on an uninhabited island. To survive the harsh environment, Roz bonds with the island’s animals and cares for an orphaned baby goose. It’s every bit as endearing as it sounds.
How to watch: The Wild Robot is now streaming on Peacock.
Saturday Night
Saturday Night Live is celebrating its 50th year with not only a docuseries but also a feature-film comedy-drama depicting the chaotic hours before the first episode premiered on NBC in 1975.
The movie is full of great performances that are mostly well-done impressions of figures you know from the series; Cory Michael Smith stands out as Chevy Chase, matching his energy, and Dylan O’Brien’s take on Dan Aykroyd is probably the most spot-on.
Cooper Hoffman, son of the late Phillip Seymour Hoffman, plays TV executive Dick Ebersol, and there’s a moment in the film where he channels his father with a simple gesture. The movie may be a bit hagiographic towards Lorne and plays a little too much into the ticking clock element, but it’s worth watching, especially if you’re a fan of the series or the history of comedy.
How to watch: Saturday Night is streaming January 25 on Netflix.
