There’s a fair few movies leaving Max during the holiday season, and with the countdown on, it’s important to know which ones to prioritize. In our guide below, we’ve picked out the biggest titles with over 90% Rotten Tomatoes ratings that are leaving in December. What better time than during the holiday season to slot in some time with the streamer, whether it’s cozied up on your couch or on those journeys to see family and friends.
From the whimsy of Paddington 2 to Stephen King’s edge-of-your-seat thriller Misery, there’s still a chance to watch these titles before it’s too late. We voted Max our Streaming Service of the Year for its vast array of genre-spanning titles and there’s still plenty the streamer has to offer, so be sure to check out the best movies on Max as well as the best Max shows once the options on our list are out to pasture.
Spotlight (2015)
Max leaving date: December 15, 2023
Rotten Tomatoes score: 97%
Runtime: 129 mins
Director: Tom McCarthy
Age rating: R
Spotlight tells the true story of a team of investigative journalists at the Boston Globe hellbent on exposing the priests of a local Roman Catholic church for child molestation charges. This gripping drama is fronted by a star-studded cast; Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber, to name a few, and shows the real impact and change that journalism can have by bringing the scandal and its cover-up to light.
The acting is phenomenal given the harrowing subject matter and Spotlight took home the Academy Award for Best Picture in 2016 for its ability to tackle the real-life events with necessary delicacy.
Paddington 2 (2017)
Max leaving date: December 31, 2023
Rotten Tomatoes score: 99%
Runtime: 103 mins
Director: Paul King
Age rating: PG
A change of pace for our next entry as Paddington, the friendly bear with the blue coat, red hat, marmalade sandwiches, and a very big heart embarks on a mission to find his aunt the perfect 100th birthday present. Voiced by Ben Whishaw, Paddington spreads joy wherever he goes and the big screen is no exception.
Paul King, director of 2023’s Wonka, crafted two heart-warming movies to tell Paddington’s stories and while he hands the director’s hat over to Dougal Wilson for Paddington in Peru in 2024, it’s still a good a time as any to watch Paddington 2.
It’s leaving Max, but you’ll still find it on Netflix, and we love it so much we even placed it in our best Netflix movies list. A pretty impressive status for a little bear from the 1950s.
Before Midnight (2013)
Max leaving date: December 31, 2023
Rotten Tomatoes score: 98%
Runtime: 109 mins
Director: Richard Linklater
Age rating: R
From director Richard Linklater, famed for Dazed and Confused and Boyhood (and whose highly anticipated new movie, Hit Man, is coming to Netflix) comes the third in the Before franchise, with Before Sunrise and Before Sunset releasing prior. Each film follows Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Céline (Julie Delpy) from the very beginnings of their relationship – meeting by chance, to trusting fate to now, in Before Midnight, nine years on and firmly a couple now raising twin girls.
During a visit to Greece for a wedding, Before Midnight focuses on the complicated web of intimate relationships and how emotions can change over time. The pair find themselves at a crossroads, questioning their relationship and contemplating the future. With nearly 20 years between the first film and the last, it’s in true Linklater fashion that he shows dedication to a timeline and the actors within it, crafting excellent cinema.
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)
Max leaving date: December 31, 2023
Rotten Tomatoes score: 98%
Runtime: 104 mins
Director: Joseph Sargent
Age rating: R
Not to be confused with 2009’s adaptation, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three is the original 1974 movie with a phenomenal 98% Rotten Tomatoes rating. Four disguised gunmen take control of a New York subway car, holding its passengers for ransom, threatening to kill passengers until they’re paid a million dollars by the city.
The conundrum throughout being, with such a hostage situation based under the city’s streets, how would the hijackers escape? Quentin Tarantino paid homage to this movie through Reservoir Dogs and the codenames of the criminals, but to watch The Taking of Pelham One Two Three is to enjoy its twisty, unpredictable heist for everything that it offers in its own right.
The Lego Movie (2014)
Max leaving date: December 31, 2023
Rotten Tomatoes score: 96%
Runtime: 100 mins
Director: Phil Lord and Christopher Miller
Age rating: PG
Our list weaves between the weighty and the whimsical, and for our next entry, we’re standing firmly in the latter. 2014’s The Lego Movie brings the Lego minifigures to life through adventure, excellent voice-acting, and the story of Emmet Brickowski (Chris Pratt), an ordinary construction worker thrown into a quest to stop an evil supervillain.
If we listed all the excellent cast for this movie, we’d run out of breath. We’re talking Morgan Freeman, Will Ferrell, Elizabeth Banks, Alison Brie, Will Arnett, Morgan Freeman, Charlie Day, Jonah Hill, Jake Johnson… okay, we ran out. Fun for all ages with nostalgia and comedy for older generations and bright, vibrant, fun and adventure for the younger ones.
The Lego Movie became the launchpad for three subsequent films, a TV series, a theme park ride, and two video games. So, when we speak about how you should watch it before it leaves Max, there's a few good reasons for you right there.
Misery (1990)
Max leaving date: December 31, 2023
Rotten Tomatoes score: 91%
Runtime: 107 mins
Director: Rob Reiner
Age rating: R
Based on the novel by Stephen King, famed novelist Paul Sheldon (James Caan) finds himself rescued from a car crash and taken care of by his biggest fan, Annie (Kathy Bates). The film is entitled Misery for a reason, though, and it’s not just for Paul’s unfinished novel character’s name. As Paul recuperates in Annie’s house, he soon realizes that he’s living in a nightmare as his fan-turned-nurse switches between a sweet and loving carer to a terrifying rage-filled tormentor.
Misery is not for the faint-hearted, with the intensity and suspense running high throughout the entire 107 minutes. A 91% Rotten Tomatoes rating has been earned for the exceptional acting, true-to-novel script, and incredible balance between the tender and the truly terrible.
Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid (1969)
Max leaving date: December 31, 2023
Rotten Tomatoes score: 90%
Runtime: 110 mins
Director: George Roy Hill
Age rating: PG
Last but by no means least, Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid is a truly iconic Western. Not only did it cement the careers of its leads, Paul Newman and Robert Redford, but it catapulted them to an extra esteemed status for their monumental on-screen buddy pairing. Portraying real-life outlaws, Robert LeRoy Parker aka Butch Cassidy and Harry Longabaugh aka the Sundance Kid, the duo head on the run from the law after a string of train robberies and flee to Bolivia. With all the tropes of the Western genre, what ensues in this classic is bounty hunting, gripping shootouts, lengthy chases, daring escapes, and a truly thematic ending.
