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Every month, HBO Max refreshes its already extensive selection of movies and TV shows, bringing in a crop of titles so that subscribers always have something new and entertaining to watch next. HBO Max’s June 2026 lineup is no exception, with plenty of proud Pride Month programming, the hotly anticipated return of “House of the Dragon” and tons of recently added film titles to peruse.
Speaking of which, the influx of so many new movies onto not only HBO’s platform but its fellow streaming services means that deciding what to watch can quickly become overwhelming. So we’ve done the dirty work and sorted through this month’s film additions to focus on five acclaimed flicks, all earning 90% and above on Rotten Tomatoes.
From sweet BDSM romances to a 1950s heist classic, here are five new to HBO Max movies that we think you should check out this month.
‘The Asphalt Jungle’
In case you haven’t heard, this month marks the 100th birthday of Hollywood icon and sex symbol for the ages, Marilyn Monroe, and what better way to celebrate the legendary actress than with a rewatch of one of her earliest roles? Luckily, HBO Max has added “The Asphalt Jungle,” the John Huston-directed 1950 crime noir that a then-23-year-old Monroe starred in alongside Sterling Hayden, Sam Jaffe, Louis Calhern, Jean Hagen, James Whitmore and John McIntire/
The Oscar-nominated flick centers on recently paroled criminal Erwin “Doc” Riedenschneider (Jaffe), who, along with his crew of specialized thieves, manages to pull off a million-dollar jewel heist in the Midwest — that is, until individual greed, shifting loyalties and sheer bad luck turn that monetary success into a major setback. Monroe makes quite an impression as the glamorous young mistress of corrupt lawyer Alonso Emmerich (Calhern).
Rotten Tomatoes score: 98%
Stream “The Asphalt Jungle” on HBO Max now
‘Hell or High Water’
Written by “Yellowstone” head honcho Taylor Sheridan, this 2016 neo-Western —which stars Chris Pine and Ben Foster as a pair of West Texas brothers who go on a robbery spree against the bank that’s about to foreclose their family ranch — is the second installment of Sheridan’s acclaimed “American Frontier Trilogy,” sandwiched between the equally great “Sicario” and “Wind River.” The Howard bros’ heists soon catch the attention of two Texas Rangers — played by Oscar-winning legend Jeff Bridges and Gil Birmingham — who are determined to catch the relentless criminals.
The crime drama received four Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and supporting actor for Bridges, with critics praising the film as “a solidly crafted, well-acted Western heist thriller that eschews mindless gunplay in favor of confident pacing and full-bodied characters,” per Rotten Tomatoes.
Rotten Tomatoes score: 97%
Stream “Hell or High Water” on HBO Max now
‘Isle of Dogs’
Written and directed by auteur Wes Anderson, “Isle of Dogs” is the filmmaker’s first foray into Japan. The 2018 stop-motion stunner is set in a dystopian, futuristic version of the country in the fictional Japanese city of Megasaki, where an outbreak of canine flu leads the city’s corrupt mayor (voiced by Kunichi Nomura) to banish all dogs to a garbage dump known as Trash Island.
We follow young Atari Kobayashi (Koyu Rankin), the mayor’s 12-year-old nephew and ward, as he sets off alone to this so-called “Isle of Dogs” in search of his beloved, banished canine bodyguard Spots (Liev Schreiber). There, he encounters a rascally dog pack that helps him embark on an epic journey that will decide the fate and future of the entire Prefecture.
No surprise when it comes to a Wes Anderson project, the visuals are stunning and the ensemble cast is staggering, with Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Scarlett Johansson, Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Ken Watanabe, Frances McDormand, Akira Takayama, Greta Gerwig, Yoko Ono, Harvey Keitel and many more among its voice actors.
Rotten Tomatoes score: 90%
Stream “Isle of Dogs” on HBO Max now
‘Pillion’
You’ll find a delicious mix of sweet, salty and sadomasochism in this biker-daddy romance, the directorial debut of Harry Lighton (who also penned the screenplay). Harry Melling plays Colin, a timid, gay Englishman living in London with his parents (Lesley Sharpe and Douglas Hodge) when his quaint existence gets a much-welcome rev-up with the arrival of Alexander Skarsgård’s Ray, a hunky and dominant biker with whom Colin begins a BDSM relationship.
For a while, Colin is quite happy to dutifully sleep on Ray’s floor, wear his dog collar and obey his every whim, but their kinky arrangement gets complicated when the former starts catching real feelings for his enigmatic man dom.
Rotten Tomatoes score: 99%
Stream “Pillion” on HBO Max now
‘Room’
Brie Larson won a much-deserved Best Actress Oscar for her haunting turn as Joy “Ma” Newsome, a young captive woman and single mother in “Room,” director Lenny Abrahamson’s 2015 adaptation of the best-selling novel by Emma Donoghue. In the harrowing psychological drama, Joy has been held prisoner for seven years by a kidnapper known only as “Old Nick” (Sean Bridgers), during which she is regularly sexually abused in a cramped space they call simply “Room.” Now with a 5-year-old son, Jack (an extraordinary turn by the young Jacob Tremblay), Joy is more desperate than ever to get her and her child out of their dangerous predicament.
It’s a deeply moving and memorable watch, with Eric Kohn of IndieWire praising: “Brie Larson and newcomer Jacob Tremblay[‘s]… textured performances turn outrageous circumstances into a tense and surprisingly credible survival tale.” Joan Allen, William H. Macy and Tom McCamus also star.
Rotten Tomatoes score: 93%
Stream “Room” on HBO Max now
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