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<\/p>\nBest Movies Streaming in January 2026: ‘Smashing Machine’ and More<\/p>\n
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Best Movies Streaming in January 2026: ‘Smashing Machine’ and More<\/p>\n
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\n\tJanuary is often viewed as a notorious dumping ground for new theatrical releases outside of the one or two tentpoles going wide over the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday weekend (this year it\u2019s Sony\u2019s \u201c28 Years Later: The Bone Temple\u201d), so perhaps it\u2019s time to play catch-up on all the best and biggest movies you missed in 2025. Many cinematic highlights<\/a> from last year are now available to stream<\/a>, from \u201cOne Battle After Another,\u201d \u201cWeapons\u201d and \u201cSinners\u201d on HBO Max to \u201cFrankenstein\u201d and \u201cTrain Dreams\u201d on Netflix.<\/p>\n \n\tAs for new additions, the year in streaming kicks off with two A24 Oscar contenders making their HBO Max debuts: \u201cThe Smashing Machine,\u201d Dwayne Johnson\u2019s transformative UFC drama that won Benny Safdie best director honors at the Venice Film Festival, and \u201cIf I Had Legs I\u2019d Kick You,\u201d featuring a revelatory turn from Rose Byrne that has thrust her into the best actress race after taking home prizes at the New York Film Critics Circle and National Board of Review. And at least one big studio tentpole arrives on streaming this January in the form of \u201cTron: Ares.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tCheck out a full rundown below of the biggest new films to streaming platforms this January. <\/p>\n \tThe Smashing Machine (Jan. 23 on HBO Max)<\/p>\n \t\t\t \n\tDwayne Johnson earned career-best reviews for his dramatic transformation into UFC fighter Mark Kerr in Benny Safdie\u2019s \u201cThe Smashing Machine.\u201d The film was named a\u00a0Variety Critic\u2019s Pick<\/a>: \u201cJohnson, shifting his whole aspect (he seems like a new actor), invests that silent, moody, hidden side of Mark with a quality of mystery. He gives an extraordinary performance, playing Mark Kerr as a gentle giant with demons that will not speak their name, yet the audience can feel them there; we want to see those demons healed.\u201d<\/p>\n \tIf I Had Legs I\u2019d Kick You (Jan. 30 on HBO Max)<\/p>\n \t\t\t \n\tRose Byrne has emerged as a formidable Oscar contender for best actress after winning honors from the New York Film Critics Circle, the National Board of Review and more. She headlines \u201cIf I Had Legs I\u2019d Kick You\u201d as a spiraling mother struggling to support her sick child and her own sanity. From\u00a0Variety\u2019s review<\/a>: \u201cByrne is brilliantly unhinged in a chaotic maternal-meltdown drama. Writer-director Mary Bronstein sees something in Byrne the industry missed, casting the \u2018Damages\u2019 star as a woman overwhelmed by life in an alternately exhilarating and maddening Safdie-like indie\u2026 Delivering a feverish, raw-nerve performance sure to go down as one of the year\u2019s greats, Byrne has never had a role even remotely this intense to prepare us for the emotional acrobatics her writer-director has in store.\u201d<\/p>\n \tTron: Ares (Jan. 7 on Disney+)<\/p>\n \t\t\t \n\tJared Leto\u2019s \u201cTron: Ares\u201d struggled at the box office with $142 million worldwide, but more viewers are likely to discover its pulse-pounding thrills on Disney+ when it begins streaming. Directed by Joachim R\u00f8nning, \u201cAres\u201d centers on dueling corporations who are determined to bring digital creations into the real world. The supporting cast includes Greta Lee, Evan Peters, Jodie Turner-Smith, Hasan Minhaj, Arturo Castro, Gillian Anderson and returning \u201cTron\u201d star Jeff Bridges. From\u00a0Variety\u2019s review:<\/a>\u00a0\u201cThe latest installment\u2019s best ideas compete with director Joachim R\u00f8nning\u2019s fetishistic focus on classic Tron mythology, which looks and sounds great in Imax 3D.\u201d<\/p>\n \tBugonia (Peacock)<\/p>\n \t\t\t \n\tYorgos Lanthimos and Emma Stone\u2019s latest collaboration \u201cBugonia\u201d hit Peacock at the tail end of December, meaning January is the pitch-black comedy\u2019s first full month of availability on streaming. Jesse Plemons plays a conspiracy theorist who kidnaps Stone\u2019s CEO under the impression that she is an alien. The film earned nearly $40 million at the worldwide box office in the fall.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cBugonia\u201d was named\u00a0the fourth best movie of 2025<\/a>\u00a0by\u00a0Variety\u00a0film critic Owen Gleiberman: \u201cLanthimos\u2019s wild and woolly kidnap drama is a violent, hate-fueled, thrillingly warped act of cinematic screw-tightening. It\u2019s also rooted in a humanity that sneaks up on you\u2026 For a while, it\u2019s like watching \u2018Misery\u2019 restaged as a riveting culture-war two-hander. But Stone and, especially, Plemons keep deepening their characters. (He does a piece of acting that\u2019s like tragedy on the high wire.) And the trick ending has a blow-you-away power that\u2019s worth a dozen doomsday dystopias.\u201d<\/p>\n \tPeople We Meet on Vacation (Jan. 9 on Netflix)<\/p>\n \t\t\t \n\tNetflix kicks off its original 2026 film slate with what is sure to be a streaming hit with \u201cPeople We Meet on Vacation,\u201d based on the hugely popular Emily Henry book that has sold more than 2 million copies and spent 69 weeks on the New York Times Best Sellers list. Per the film\u2019s synopsis: Poppy (Emily Bader) and Alex (Tom Blyth) \u201chave been unlikely best friends for a decade, living in different cities but spending every summer vacation together. The careful balance of their friendship is put to the test when they begin to question what has been obvious to everyone else \u2014 could they actually be the perfect romantic match?\u201d<\/p>\n \tThe Rip (Jan. 16 on Netflix)<\/p>\n \t\t\t \n\tMatt Damon and Ben Affleck reunite once again for the Netflix original action thriller \u201cThe Rip,\u201d directed by Joe Carnahan. The supporting cast features Steven Yeun, Teyana Taylor, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Sasha Calle, N\u00e9stor Carbonell, Lina Esco, Scott Adkins and Kyle Chandler. The film\u2019s official logline reads: \u201cUpon discovering millions in cash in a derelict stash house, trust among a team of Miami cops begins to fray. As outside forces learn about the size of the seizure, everything is called into question \u2014 including who they can rely on.\u201d<\/p>\n \tLa Grazia (Jan. 23 on Mubi)<\/p>\n \t\t\t \n\tToni Servillo was awarded the Volpi Cup for best actor at the Venice Film Festival this year for his performance as fictional Italian president Mariano De Santis in \u201cLa Grazia,\u201d the latest from \u201cThe Great Beauty\u201d Oscar winner Paolo Sorrentino. Per the official synopsis: \u201cAs his term draws to a close, amid uneventful days, two final duties arise: deciding on two delicate petitions for a presidential pardon. True moral dilemmas, which become tangled, in ways that seem impossible to unravel, with his private life. Driven by doubt, he will have to decide. And, with a deep sense of responsibility, that is exactly what this remarkable Italian President will do.\u201d<\/p>\n \tTwinless (Jan. 16 on Hulu)<\/p>\n \t\t\t \n\tOne year after breaking out at the Sundance Film Festival, James Sweeney\u2019s twisty comedy \u201cTwinless\u201d arrives on streaming via Hulu. Sweeney stars alongside Dylan O\u2019Brien as two young men who meet at a twin bereavement support group and forge an unlikely friendship. Each finds the other fills their missing half, and they become inseparable. But as the friendship expands, it becomes evident that both are holding secrets, some of them dark and dangerous.<\/p>\n \tThe Wrecking Crew (Jan. 28 on Prime Video)<\/p>\n \t\t\t \n\tDave Bautista and Jason Momoa headline Prime Video\u2019s action \u201cThe Wrecking Crew,\u201d in which they star as two estranged half-brothers who are forced to reunite after their father\u2019s mysterious death. As they set out to uncover the truth, buried secrets resurface and loyalties are tested, unveiling a conspiracy that can tear their family apart. The film is directed by \u201cBlue Beetle\u201d helmer Angel Manuel Soto and also stars Claes Bang, Jacob Batalon, Stephen Root and Morena Baccarin.<\/p>\n \tJames Bond Movie Collection (Jan. 15 on Netflix)<\/p>\n \t\t\t \n\tJames Bond is now owned by Amazon, but that\u2019s not stopping the 007 collection from hitting Netflix. Starting Jan. 15, Netflix subscribers in the U.S., German-speaking countries, France, Latin America and several other territories can watch the most recent Bond movie \u201cNo Time to Die\u201d as well as \u201cDie Another Day,\u201d \u201cQuantum of Solace\u201d and \u201cSkyfall\u201d and more for a three-month period.\u00a0<\/p>\n \tPreparation for the Next Life (Jan. 30 on Prime Video)<\/p>\n \t\t\t \n\t\u201cMinding the Gap\u201d Oscar nominee Bing Liu directs Prime Video\u2019s soulful adaptation of Atticus Lish\u2019s 2014 novel. Starring Sebiye Behtiyar and Fred Hechinger, \u201cPreparation for the Next Life\u201d is set in New York City and centers on the blossoming romantic relationship between a Uyghur migrant and an American soldier. From\u00a0Variety\u2019s review<\/a>: \u201cBing Liu makes his fiction debut with a superbly acted drama chronicling the unstable relationship between an undocumented woman and a U.S. Army vet with mental health issues.\u201d<\/p>\n \tMel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man! (Jan. 22 on HBO Max)<\/p>\n \t\t\t \n\tJudd Apatow\u2019s two-part Mel Brooks documentary \u201cThe 99 Year Old Man!\u201d explores \u201cthe life, career, friendships and loves of legendary writer, director, producer and performer Mel Brooks. One of Hollywood\u2019s most daring satirists from the early years of television sketch comedy through his film and stage hits, Brooks has held a funhouse mirror up to the human condition and used laughter as a path to resilience, connection and joy for nearly a century.\u201d<\/p>\n \tI\u2019m Chevy Chase and You\u2019re Not (Jan. 31 on HBO Max)<\/p>\n \t\t\t \n\t\u201cI\u2019m Chevy Chase and You\u2019re Not\u201d is an authorized but unfiltered documentary on comedy legend Chevy Chase. Directed by two-time Emmy Award winner Marina Zenovich, whose work includes \u201cRichard Pryor: Omit the Logic\u201d and \u201cRobin Williams: Come Inside My Mind,\u201d the film \u201cbrings viewers into Chase\u2019s inner world through interviews with his family, friends and co-stars, revealing what is beneath the surface of his bravado.\u201d<\/p>\n \tThe Threesome (Netflix)<\/p>\n \t\t\t![\"THE](\"https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-content\/themes\/pmc-variety-2020\/assets\/public\/lazyload-fallback.gif\")
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