A ton of movies are new to Paramount Plus in July 2023. One of the streaming service's main draws is its huge film section, which can pull from the catalog of the second-oldest American movie studio.
Every month brings dozens of new titles, many of which are worthy to be added to our list of the best Paramount Plus movies. But scrolling through them all can take eons — a bit wearisome when you’re trying to find something to watch on movie night.
We’re here to help by narrowing down the options to the movies with scores of 90% or higher on Rotten Tomatoes, the review-aggregating site. That’s essentially an A-grade, so you can feel confident these new to Paramount Plus movies are excellent.
Aftersun
Paul Mescal went from playing an early 20s dreamboat in Normal People to a dad in this coming-of-age tale, getting an Oscar nomination as a result. That may feel like whiplash, but he’s a very young father at the ripe age of 30. He welcomed daughter Sophie (Frankie Corio) into his life when he was barely out of adolescence himself.
Now, he and the precocious 11-year-old head off on holiday to a Turkish resort to celebrate his birthday. While her attention is caught by a group of older teens and their sexual antics, Sophie can’t help but notice Calum’s anxiety and general glumness. Two decades later, adult Sophie (Celia Rowlson-Hall) reflects on that vacation as she grapples with the father she knew and the man she didn’t.
Genre: Drama
Rotten Tomatoes score: 96%
Stream on Paramount Plus
Chinatown
The neo-noir mystery classic is as hard-boiled and cynical as the era that produced it: the ‘70s. It paired two massive stars, Jack Nicholason and Faye Dunaway, and ended up getting 11 Oscar nominations.
Inspired by the southern California water wars of the turn of the 20th century, the story begins when private investigator Jake Gittes (Nicholson) is hired by Evelyn Mulwray to look into her husband’s activities. When he meets the real Evelyn (Dunaway), Jack realizes the case goes beyond simple infidelity and involves conspiracy, corruption and dark family secrets.
Genre: Crime drama
Rotten Tomatoes score: 99%
Stream on Paramount Plus
A Fish Called Wanda
A banging ensemble cast, including the likes of John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis and Kevin Kline, makes this heist comedy tick. It’s rare that comedies earn Oscar nominations, but A Fish Called Wanda nabbed four and even won one for Kline.
The plot involves stolen diamonds and double-crossing. British gangster George Thomason (Tom Georgeson) plans a jewel heist with his hapless assistant Ken Pile (Michael Palin). They recruit American grifter Wanda Gerschwitz (Curtis) and weapons expert Otto West (Kevin Kline). But when the job goes awry, George hides the diamonds and Wanda attempts to seduce his lawyer Archie Leach (Cleese) to find them.
Genre: Comedy
Rotten Tomatoes score: 96%
Stream on Paramount Plus
It Follows
One of the best horror movies in recent years, It Follows mixes thrills, chills and sex. After college student Jay (Maika Monroe) sleeps with her new boyfriend Hugh (Jake Weary) for the first time, she is dismayed to learn he has passed on a fatal curse — like a supernatural STD.
If the mysterious entity catches and kills her, it’ll move on to Hugh, then to his previous sexual partner, then to theirs and so on. Jay begins seeing the entity in various forms tracking her, but none of her friends believe her until they see it for themselves. They band together to save Jay and get rid of the curse for good.
Genre: Horror
Rotten Tomatoes score: 95%
Stream on Paramount Plus
No Country for Old Men
The Coen brothers have made a lot of outstanding movies, but this neo-Western thriller might be their masterpiece. A drug deal gone bad ignites the plot. While out hunting, Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) stumbles on a bloody scene and can’t resist taking the $2 million in cash left behind. He flees to Mexico, attempting to hide the treasure.
Brutal, merciless hitman Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem) is hired to recover the money and tracks Moss to his motel. Meanwhile, bounty hunter Carson Wells (Woody Harrelson) and aging Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) also get in on the chase with agendas of their own. A violent showdown is all but inevitable; the only question is if anybody will survive.
Genre: Crime drama
Rotten Tomatoes score: 93%
Stream on Paramount Plus
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Milos Forman’s psychological thriller is one of just three films to win the “big five” Oscars (Picture, Director, Actor, Actress and Screenplay), so it’s a classic worth watching. It deftly deploys black humor to create an electrifying examination of not just mental health institutions but all tyrannical systems.
Randle Patrick McMurphy (Jack Nicholson) pretends to be insane to transfer from a prison farm to an asylum, which he believes will be an easier environment. But then he meets the cold, exacting Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher), who runs the wards with an iron fist using medication, abuse and electroconvulsive therapy. McMurphy rebels, leading to a battle of wills against Ratched that only one can win.
Genre: Drama
Rotten Tomatoes score: 93%
Stream on Paramount Plus
Risky Business
Tom Cruise has been a megawatt star since the earliest days of his career, which is on full display in this teen sex romp. When his parents leave for a vacation, overachieving high school senior Joel Goodsen (Cruise) decides to cut loose and have fun with his friend Miles (Curtis Armstrong).
After an initial attempt to hire a prostitute fails, Joel lands the services of the beautiful blonde Lana (Rebecca De Mornay). But he isn’t prepared to pay her steep bill the next morning and sets off on a dubious scheme to raise money: turning his house into a brothel.
Genre: Comedy
Rotten Tomatoes score: 92%
Stream on Paramount Plus
