We’re in the middle of summer, and the weather outside is certainly good enough that sitting at home watching movies might not be your top priority. However, the best streaming services are hoping to tempt you to stay indoors with a host of new flicks to watch this week.
The biggest arrival is the debut of the long-awaited sports sequel “Happy Gilmore 2” on Netflix. Adam Sandler is once again donning the hockey jersey of one of his most beloved comedy characters and stepping back onto the green for another round of anger-fueled golf.
Plus, in the premium video-on-demand streaming world, “Dangerous Animals” and “Materialists” are hoping to convince you they’re worth the rental fee, and they both make a good case for themselves.
Below are my picks for the top new movies you can stream this week across all the biggest streaming services around. And don’t forget to check out our companion guide to the best new TV shows you’ll want to binge-watch over the next seven days.
‘Dangerous Animals’ (PVOD)
“Jaws” is celebrating its 50th anniversary this summer, but if revisiting the Steve Speilberg classic isn’t enough shark action for you, you might want to consider “Dangerous Animals,” which frankly makes “Jaws” look like a pleasant day at the beach.
While the flimsy narrative has more holes in it than a surfboard chewed by a great white, Jai Courtney’s deliciously unhinged performance is reason enough to give this intense thriller a watch.
Zephyr (Hassie Harrison) is a drifter traveling around Australia’s sunny Gold Coast who is abducted by a deranged serial killer called Tucker (Courtney) while going for a spot of surfing late at night.
Awaking chained to a bed in the hull of a rusty boat, Zephyr learns that Tucker has an obsession with sharks and feeds his various victims to these sharp-toothed sea creatures while filming the whole thing on a battered old camcorder.
With time running out, Zephyr must find a way to escape and stop Tucker’s reign of terror before she can become shark chum.
Buy or rent on Amazon from July 21
‘Materialists’ (PVOD)
In 2023, writer/director Celine Song blew me away with “Past Lives.” It was among my favorite films of the year, and to this day ranks as perhaps the most heartachingly romantic movie I’ve ever watched.
Her follow-up is “Materialists,” and while the reception hasn’t been quite as universally positive as it was for her debut, I’m still very eager to check this out.
More of a romantic comedy than a romantic drama, and mining the well-worn genre trope of trying to find love in the increasingly tumultuous modern dating world, “Materialists” stars Dakota Johnson as a New York City matchmaker who finds himself stuck in a thorny love triangle.
On one side is the seemingly perfect guy (Pedro Pascal), and on the other is her imperfect ex-boyfriend (Chris Evans). Good luck choosing between them.
Buy or rent on Amazon from July 21
‘Until Dawn’ (Netflix)
I previously named "Until Dawn" as one of the top five worst movies I’ve seen in theatres in 2025 so far (and I’ve seen nearly 50 of them), so I can’t exactly give this slasher horror a ringing endorsement. But, if you’re a huge fan of the 2014 video game which inspired it, or just want a trashy horror that you can watch while also mocking alongside friends or a loved one, then “Until Dawn” might fit the bill. At least now it’s on Netflix, you don’t have to pay a rental fee.
This is a video game adaptation that is very loosely inspired by the PlayStation title from which it takes its name, as the characters, setting and location have all been changed. Instead of taking place in a snowy mountaintop cabin like the game, this version of “Until Dawn” sees a group of friends trapped in a secluded house, and also stuck in a time loop. Each new loop brings a new terror, and it’s their mission to survive the night and break free.
Watch on Netflix from July 24
‘Death of a Unicorn’ (HBO Max)
“Death of a Unicorn” is a horror-comedy with moments of fun, but it never quite manages to blend the two genres successfully enough to take full advantage of its admittedly novel premise.
It falls into a less-exciting middle ground, and the subpar effects on the titular mythical creatures don’t help much either. At least, a solid cast adds some star power with Paul Rudd, Jenna Ortega and Richard E. Grant all involved and giving it their all throughout.
The movie opens with a father (Rudd) and his spiky teenage daughter (Ortega) heading to an important business weekend where the former hopes to complete a lucrative business deal. On the way, they accidentally hit and kill a unicorn. Bringing the creature's corpse to the home of the father’s billionaire boss kickstarts a chain of increasingly chaotic events.
As the wealthy Leopold family, headed up by the smarmy Odell (Grant), looks to exploit the unicorn’s healing properties for personal financial gain, nature fights back as a pack of vicious horned creatures arrive on the scene and cause complete chaos.
Watch on HBO Max from July 25
‘Happy Gilmore 2’ (Netflix)
Andy Sandler is stepping back onto the green as the long-awaited sequel to “Happy Gilmore” arrives on Netflix this week. It’s been almost 30 years since we last saw Gilmore, but it doesn’t appear he’s done all that much maturing in those decades. Based on the trailers, this comedy looks just as rage-fueled and loud-mouthed as its predecessor.
Curiously, the plot of “Happy Gilmore 2” is being kept under wraps, with Netflix itself not even offering an official logline, but based on the trailer, we can surmise that the sequel sees Gilmore come out of retirement and return to the professional golf scene to pay for his daughter’s ballet school. It seems a standard setup for a sequel, but maybe there’s a hidden twist?
Questions can be asked about whether we need a “Happy Gilmore” sequel after all this time, but I’m confident this original movie will be a Netflix hit and go straight to No. 1 in the streaming service’s top 10 most-watched list.
Watch on Netflix from July 25
More from Tom's Guide
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
