Hi, Barbie! (And just Ken.) The year’s biggest blockbuster is one of the top new movies on streaming this week.
With Barbie’s digital release, you can see what all the fuss is about for the first time or rewatch Greta Gerwig’s clever take on the toy. Other theatrical hits are among the best new movies streaming this week, including Fast X and John Wick: Chapter 4.
Several films are premiering on streamers, like the rom-com Love at First Sight and the feel-good space saga A Million Miles Away. Here are the top picks in new streaming movie releases this week.Barbie (digital)
Come on, Barbie, let’s go party … at home. Greta Gerwig’s fever dream of a film turned an iconic doll into an iconic movie character, spawned a million memes and made over a billion dollars worldwide. Theatrical screenings turned into communal experiences, and now you can enjoy the adventure from the comfort of your couch.
A Barbie-themed movie could’ve gone in any number of directions, but Gerwig decided for surreal, cheeky and giddy-yet-slightly-menacing. Barbie (Margot Robbie) has the perfect life, with her dream house and dream boyfriend Ken (Ryan Gosling). Then, an existential crisis sends Barbie to the outside world, which she discovers is very different from her own.
Buy and watch on Amazon or Apple starting Sept. 12
Talk to Me (digital)
A “devil may care” attitude can come back to bite you, as the young adults in this Australian supernatural horror flick unfortunately learn. Mia (Sophia Wilde) and her friends become hooked on using a severed, embalmed hand to commune with spirits. For 90 seconds, a spirit can inhabit one of their bodies and speak. But when one of them disregards the time limit, the spirit takes over and Mia and friends must face the terrifying consequences of their actions.
Buy and watch on Amazon or Apple starting Sept. 12
Shortcomings (digital)
Randall Park is an actor best known for his well-regarded comedic performances in Fresh Off the Boat, Always Be My Maybe and the MCU. He turns his hand to directing with this dramedy starring Justin H. Min and Sherryl Cola. Ben is a struggling filmmaker in Berkeley who manages an arthouse movie theater by day and binges Criterion Collection DVDs by night. He can also be found pontificating in diners with his best friend Alice. When a change in his life sets Ben adrift, he must figure out what he really wants.
Buy and watch on Amazon or Apple starting Sept. 12
Elemental (Disney Plus)
Pixar does a take on the classic tale of Romeo and Juliet. In a world inhabited by anthropomorphic elements of nature lies Element City, where fire-, water-, land- and air residents live together. Fire element Ember Lumen (Leah Lewis) is the hot-tempered daughter of immigrants who have faced xenophobia. When a plumbing accident occurs at Ember’s father’s store, she meets water element Wade Ripple (Mamoudou Athie). They fall in love, but their romance seems doomed by the prejudices held by the elements against the others.
Watch on Disney Plus starting Sept. 13
Theater Camp (Hulu)
The first rule of theater camp is that you always talk about theater camp. So it’s actually a wonder that it took this long for a movie about the experience to get made. Every summer, kids gather at AdirondACTS, a rundown theater camp in upstate New York. Amos (Ben Platt) and Rebecca-Diane (Molly Gordon) are lifelong best friends who are drama instructors there. When the founder falls ill, her clueless tech bro son Troy (Jimmy Tatro) takes over to run things. With financial ruin looming, everyone must band together to prevent the camp’s curtain from going down for good.
Watch on Hulu starting Sept. 14
El Conde (Netflix)
This horror comedy from director Pablo Larrain (Jackie, Spencer) reimagines Chilean history, turning dictator Augusto Pinochet into a vampire who has gone into seclusion in a ruined mansion in the cold southern tip of the continent. For 250 years, Pinochet has fed his appetite for evil to sustain himself. But now, haunted by the riches he’s stolen and disillusioned with his family, he decides to give up drinking blood so that he can die. But an unexpected relationship could be the path to redemption.
Watch on Netflix starting Sept. 15
Fast X (Peacock)
The Fast and Furious family saga is showing its age in its 10th (and not final) outing as it didn’t rev up the box office as expected. Still, the franchise has many fans who can’t get enough of the high-octane adventures of Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) and crew. This time, a new foe might pose the biggest threat yet. Dante Reyes (Jason Momoa) is seeking revenge for the death of his father in Fast Five. He’s determined to shatter Dom’s family and destroy everything they hold dear. Dom will need help from allies like Cipher (Charlize Theron) and Tess (Brie Larson) to stop Dante.
Watch on Peacock starting Sept. 15
John Wick: Chapter 4 (Starz)
John Wick may still be on the run from the powerful crime overlords the High Table, but they’re the ones afraid for their futures. They send the Marquis de Gramont (Bill Skarsgård) to take care of the Wick problem; he starts by destroying the Continental hotel and excommunicating manager Winston (Ian McShane). The Marquis also forces Wick’s old pal Caine (Donnie Yen) to help hunt him down. But John Wick turns the tables around on the High Table, acting as predator rather than prey.
Watch on Starz starting Sept. 15
Love at First Sight (Netflix)
Strangers who meet cute on a plane is such a romantic comedy trope, yet we fall for it every single time. This time, it helps that the couple in question is played by the effervescent Haley Lu Richardson (White Lotus) and endearing Ben Hardy (Bohemian Rhapsody). Hadley is a literature-loving American headed to her father’s wedding in London … until she misses her flight. After getting rebooked, she encounters British statistics student Oliver. Sparks fly on what ends up becoming one long, up-in-the-clouds date. But then they lose track of each other in customs — without exchanging numbers.
Watch on Netflix starting Sept. 15
A Million Miles Away (Prime Video)
The real-life story of NASA flight engineer José Hernández serves as the inspiration for this rousing drama starring Michael Peña. The Mexican-American farmworker’s journey to becoming an astronaut begins in a rural village in Michoacán, Mexico and moves to the fields of the San Joaquin Valley before finally heading 200 miles above the Earth in the International Space Station. With the support of his parents, relatives and teachers, José uses his unrelenting drive and determination to achieve his seemingly impossible goal of seeing the stars.
Watch on Prime Video starting Sept. 15
Retribution (digital)
The latest in the “Liam Neeson as an unlikely badass” oeuvre, Retribution sees the actor in yet another pulse-pounding tale of revenge and justice. Matt Turner is a Berlin financier who is told by a mysterious caller that a bomb has been planted underneath his car seat. His son and daughter are in the back of the car, which will explode if any of them get out. What begins as a normal weekday commute becomes a twisted game of life or death as Matt tries to follow the caller’s increasingly dangerous instructions.
Buy and watch on Amazon or Apple starting Sept. 15
