Top 10 Movies To Watch This Week on HBO Max | August 10-16, 2025

Death never forgets a debt.

In the newest Final Destination, college student Stefani (Kaitlyn Santa Juana) heads home to face a decades-old curse that’s been gunning for her family since the ’60s. Directors Zach Lipovsky and Adam B. Stein up the ante with gnarlier set-pieces, deeper mythology, and—yes—Tony Todd’s return as the ominous William Bludworth. It’s the slickest, sharpest entry in years, and fans are calling it the franchise’s best since the original.

2. Final Destination (2000)

The one that started it all.

A plane crash averted. A group of survivors who suddenly find themselves on Death’s to-do list. Devon Sawa, Ali Larter, and Seann William Scott headline this genre classic that gave us “Rube Goldberg horror” and a generation’s worth of travel anxiety. Still tense. Still twisted. Still worth the rewatch.

3. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024)

A new king rises—and not everyone’s happy about it.

Generations after Caesar, a young chimp named Noa (Owen Teague) faces off against Proximus Caesar (Kevin Durand), a warlord determined to rewrite ape history. With Maze Runner’s Wes Ball in the director’s chair, expect sweeping landscapes, massive action, and some of the most expressive mo-cap performances since War for the Planet of the Apes.

4. Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)

Every revolution has a beginning.

James Franco’s well-meaning scientist inadvertently kickstarts the fall of mankind when an experimental drug transforms Caesar (Andy Serkis) into the smartest chimp alive. It’s the perfect prequel—grounded, emotional, and capped with a breakout VFX performance that changed the industry.

5. The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare (2024)

War isn’t always fought by the book.

Guy Ritchie tells the true story of Winston Churchill’s covert ops unit—the one that invented modern black-ops warfare. Henry Cavill, Alan Ritchson, Eiza González, and Henry Golding play a ragtag team of saboteurs blowing things up behind enemy lines. Think Inglourious Basterds meets a heist film, with plenty of Ritchie’s signature swagger.

6. Babygirl (2024)

Desire doesn’t care about your LinkedIn.

Nicole Kidman is electric as a powerful CEO who torches her career, marriage, and reputation for a passionate fling with her much younger intern (Harris Dickinson). Halina Reijn (Bodies Bodies Bodies) directs this stylish, slow-burn erotic thriller that nabbed Kidman the Best Actress prize at Venice.

7. Jurassic Park (1993)

Welcome… to chaos.

Steven Spielberg’s blockbuster about cloned dinosaurs and hubris still roars more than 30 years later. Sam Neill, Laura Dern, and Jeff Goldblum lead the ill-fated tour through a theme park gone wrong. The effects? Still jaw-dropping. The T-rex scene? Still perfect.

8. Until Dawn (2025)

Die. Repeat. Die again.

Based on the hit video game, Until Dawn traps a group of friends in a mountain valley where a masked killer picks them off—over and over—in a deadly time loop. Director David F. Sandberg (Lights Out) blends slasher thrills with puzzle-box plotting, and yes, Peter Stormare’s delightfully unsettling therapist is back.

9. Bed Rest (2022)

Confined to bed. Haunted by more than thoughts.

Melissa Barrera (Scream) plays a pregnant woman ordered to stay in bed, only to suspect her home is haunted—or she’s losing her mind. Lori Evans Taylor’s supernatural drama is part ghost story, part psychological descent, with a final act that goes full goosebumps.

10. Kandahar (2023)

Get out or get buried.

Gerard Butler is a CIA operative trapped deep in hostile territory with his Afghan translator (Navid Negahban), racing against enemy forces to reach an extraction point. Ric Roman Waugh (Angel Has Fallen) keeps the tension high, the gunfights gritty, and the scenery stunning.

And That’s a Wrap

From Death’s intricate schemes in Final Destination: Bloodlines to the emotional depth of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, HBO Max is swinging for the fences this week. Need action? Kandahar and The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare deliver the adrenaline. Want chills? Until Dawn and Bed Rest bring the nightmares. Craving a classic? Jurassic Park and the original Final Destination are evergreen. Whatever mood you’re in, Max has something ready to pull you in—and maybe keep you up at night. Pop some corn. Dim the lights. And press play.