The holidays are almost here, and with families everywhere gathering over the next few days, the best streaming services are giving households plenty of options with a slew of top new movies landing across platforms, including Netflix, Hulu, Peacock and more.
This week sees several new arrivals in the premium streaming world. While horror sequel “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2” is perhaps the most high-profile pick, my personal favorite is definitely “Eternity.” This charming rom-com is one of my favorite movies of 2025, and includes a cast of very likable characters. Meanwhile, Netflix offers up family drama “Goodbye June,” and the much-talked-about “Bugonia” debuts over on Peacock.
‘Eternity’ (PVOD)
Watch On
It’s not easy to feel fresh in the oversaturated romantic comedy genre, but “Eternity” is a rare crowd-pleaser that makes old tropes feel new again. It might take a few elements from TV’s “The Good Place,” but it still carves out an identity that’s all its own. “Eternity’s” strongest element is its charming trio of leads, Elizabeth Olsen, Miles Teller and Callum Turner, and I’d be remiss not to commend the enjoyable spin on the afterlife that’s central to its narrative.
After dying peacefully surrounded by her loved ones, Joan (Olsen) awakes in a place known as the “Junction.” Here she has just seven days to decide where she wants to spend eternity. However, the bigger question is who to spend it with. She’s stuck in a love triangle between Larry (Teller), the man she was married to for decades, and Luke (Turner), a lost love, who has waited almost 70 years to be reunited with Joan.
Watch on Amazon (buy/rent) from December 23
‘Five Nights at Freddy’s 2’ (PVOD)
Watch On
“Five Nights at Freddy’s 2” might be one of 2025’s worst-reviewed movies (it’s rated 16% on Rotten Tomatoes), but it’s clearly a crowd-favorite. Incorporating several nods towards its video game source material, fans of the FNAF franchise enjoyed this horror sequel a lot more than critics. If you’re deep in the game’s lore, you’ll likely get a kick out of this big-screen adaptation, but if the original didn’t appeal, then you can skip.
Set one year after the first “Five Nights at Freddy’s” movie, former security guard Mike (Josh Hutcherson) is attempting to move on from the horrors experienced 12 months prior. However, his 11-year-old sister, Abby (Piper Rubio), continues to be drawn into a sinister world of murderous animatronics, and soon enough the terror starts anew. The jump scares are cheap, and the big third-act twist is groanworthy, but “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2” knows its target audience and plays to them.
Watch on Amazon (buy/rent) from December 23
‘Sentimental Value’ (PVOD)
Watch On
One of the big players of the upcoming awards season makes its streaming debut this week. “Sentimental Value” has been showered with praise since its debut at the Cannes Film Festival, and looks set for several Oscar nominations in 2026. Rated 96% by critics and an impressive 94% by viewers on Rotten Tomatoes, it’s a powerful drama that has won many fans on both sides of the aisle. If you’re looking for a quality movie this week, it’s definitely one to consider streaming.
Directed by Joachim Trier, the film explores the relationship between two sisters, Nora (Renate Reinsve) and Agnes (Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas), and their estranged father, a film director named Gustav (Stellan Skarsgård). However, when Nora turns down a role in Gustav’s comeback movie, the role is instead given to an American actress, Rachel (Elle Fanning), adding a new dynamic to their already thorny relationship.
Watch on Amazon (buy/rent) from December 23
‘Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere’ (PVOD)
Watch On
Hollywood continues to churn out musical biopics at a steady pace. After the success of the Bob Dylan-centered “A Complete Unknown,” it’s not surprising to see the life and iconic work of the Boss given the cinematic treatment next. Jeremy Allen White plays Bruce Springsteen, and rather than focus on his entire career, “Deliver Me From Nowhere” chronicles the musician’s personal struggles during the recording of the “Nebraska” album in the early 1980s.
Sure to delight Springsteen fans of any age, Allen White gives an excellent performance as the musical titan, with Jeremy Strong providing strong support as manager Jon Landau. Focusing on the recording of a legendary album is an interesting cinematic choice, but it does leave “Deliver Me From Nowhere” feeling less like a celebration of an extraordinary career and more like a slice-of-life picture with a restrictive scope. How well this approach will resonate is a matter of personal taste. For me, I’d have preferred a more complete take.
Watch on Amazon (buy/rent) from December 23
‘Goodbye June’ (Netflix)
Watch On
Netflix is offering families everywhere a tear-jerking festive watch that is sure to be popular this holiday season. Debuting on Christmas Eve, “Goodbye June” looks set to be the No. 1 streaming pick for many households as the clock ticks towards the big day. And while the reviews for this Kate Winslet-directed family drama aren’t stellar, they’re certainly stronger than Netflix’s underwhelming crop of snowy-set romantic comedies for 2025. Granted, that’s not an especially high bar to clear.
Set during the holiday season, “Goodbye June” sees four siblings thrown into turmoil when their beloved mother, June (Helen Mirren), becomes ill over the festive period. Also starring Toni Collette, Johnny Flynn, Andrea Riseborough, Timothy Spall and Winslet herself, “Goodbye June” looks sure to get the waterworks flowing, and its core message of the importance of family feels particularly vital at this time of year. Hopefully, my own family can stop squabbling long enough for us to sit down and stream this Netflix film together.
Watch on Netflix from December 24
‘Bugonia’ (Peacock)
![BUGONIA - Official Trailer [HD] - Only in Theaters October 24 - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/bd_5HcTujfc/maxresdefault.jpg)
Watch On
Director Yorgos Lanthimos’ latest movie is another warped comedy that explores the world around us in interesting and unique ways. Once again collaborating with Emma Stone, for a role which saw her famously shave her head, “Bugonia” is supremely intense, occasionally uncomfortable, darkly funny, and it builds to a high-concept finale that offers much to consider. While Stone is reliably excellent, Jesse Plemons and Aidan Delbis aren’t to be overlooked, playing a pair of conspiracy theory-obsessed brothers.
In “Bugonia,” two brothers (Plemons and Delbis) kidnap a powerful CEO (Stone). However, they haven’t taken her hostage and locked her in their basement in the hopes of extorting her for money. Instead, they are convinced that she’s an undercover alien who has come to Earth on a destructive mission. The CEO swears they are mistaken, but what follows is an increasingly tense standoff as the brothers attempt to prove their theory correct.
Watch on Peacock from December 26
‘The Life of Chuck’ (Hulu)
Watch On
When it comes to “The Life of Chuck,” I need to put my personal opinion aside. For the record, this fantasy drama did not work for me. I found it far too sappy for its own good, and also very front-loaded with its most interesting narrative elements found in the first act. However, I can acknowledge when I’m the odd one out, because for the most part, “The Life of Chuck” has been warmly embraced, so clearly I’m just a Grinch!
Directed by horror master Mike Flanagan and based on a novel by Stephen King, you might expect “The Life of Chuck” to be a dark fable, but it’s certainly not. Instead, it’s a heartwarming drama about an extraordinarily ordinary life. Told in reverse chronological order, it charts the formative moments in the life of Charles “Chuck” Krantz (Tom Hiddleston), as he experiences the highs and lows of human existence, including love, loss and more.
Watch on Hulu from December 26
Follow Tom’s Guide on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds.
