A curated selection of the best new movies streaming in August, including an extended version of The Fall Guy and Zack Snyder’s Rebel Moon director’s cut.
Summer is winding down but it’s still hot hot hot out there, which means it’s the perfect time to kick back with a good movie. August has a bevy of noteworthy new movies streaming on various services, and we’ve put together a curated list of the best ones to watch this month. From Netflix to Prime Video to Hulu we’ve got a selection that offers something for everyone. And we’ve picked a handful of new movies streaming on Peacock so you can put that free trial to good use after the Olympics are over.
Check out our list of the best new movies streaming in August 2024 below.
Netflix – Aug. 1
First, let’s get this out of the way: this movie was once called “Horrorscope.” “Horrorscope” is a much better name than “Tarot.” In fact, one could argue, it’s one of the best titles in recent horror movie memory. It’s hard to watch “Tarot” and not think, Man, this could have been called “Horrorscope.” All that said, “Tarot” is a fun little horror movie. It follows a group of kids who connect with some very dark forces while doing their tarot. The movie then follows a fun formula that is partially “Final Destination” (with characters being offed in increasingly creative ways that could be mistaken for elaborate accidents) and partially “Nightmare on Elm Street” (as they are stalked by a dark figure known as The Astrologist). It also features a perfectly-placed Howard Jones needle drop (“Things Can Only Get Better”). Recommended. – Drew Taylor
Netflix – Aug. 1
A few weeks into the unprecedented theatrical run of “Godzilla Minus One,” which would culminate in giant box office and the first Oscar win in the franchise’s 70-year history, an alternate version of the movie was released. This edition, dubbed “Godzilla Minus Color,” was a black-and-white presentation of Takashi Yamazaki’s masterpiece, that even more firmly aligned it to the initial 1954 “Godzilla” movie. “Simply removing the color alone wouldn’t evoke the same type of emotion we were trying to instill in audiences, which is why we went back to the colorist and we actually mask[ed] different portions of each shot and adjust the contrast by hand, as opposed to simply hitting the remove color button,” Yamazaki told TheWrap earlier this year. If you’ve already seen “Godzilla Minus One,” this new version is a real thrill. And if you haven’t seen it at all, this might be a fun way to start. Long live the King of the Monsters. – Drew Taylor
Netflix – Aug. 2
Netflix is making a series of spin-off films based on classic characters from “SpongeBob SquarePants,” the long-running animated series that just celebrated its 25th anniversary. Next year will see the release of “The Plankton Movie” on Netflix. This year? Sandy Cheeks, SpongeBob’s squirrel bestie, gets the spotlight. In “Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie,” she teams up with SpongeBob (Tom Kenny) to stop an evil CEO from exploiting their idyllic undersea community. Carolyn Lawrence returns as Sandy, alongside new characters voiced by Johnny Knoxville and Craig Robinson. Once again the characters are rendered via 3D computer animation and they will interact with human characters and live-action environments. We’re sure it’ll be a hoot. How could it not be? – Drew Taylor
Netflix – Aug. 2
That’s right, baby. “Rebel Moon” is back. And this time it’s extremely adult. Netflix released Zack Snyder’s two-part space opera back in the winter of last year and spring of this year. And they were relatively straightforward, streamlined affairs, a kind of “Seven Samurai” meets “Star Wars” yarn about a young woman (Sofia Boutella) who recruits warriors from across the cosmos to save her peaceful planet against an evil governmental entity. But they definitely felt restrained, especially by Snyder standards, which is why it’s nice that we’re now getting the off-the-leash director’s cuts of both films. (They even have new titles!) And honestly, they are a total blast. The first film clocks in at almost three-and-a-half hours; the second one almost three. But there’s a real expansion of scope, and the more extreme flourishes (including a pair of fairly graphic sex scenes and more exploding heads than you can properly count) contribute a sense of verisimilitude while also distancing itself from more known, family friendly properties. It’s cooler, weirder, sexier and more fun. Set some time aside and go on a journey to a galaxy full of exploding gremlins, sentient engines, sex-bots and more. This is the Snyder-verse we desperately need to continue. – Drew Taylor
Hulu – Aug. 2
“Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” takes place roughly 300 years after “War for the Planet of the Apes,” with apes the dominant species on earth. (They still aren’t wearing sweaters yet.) We follow a young ape named Noa (Owen Teague), whose clan is devastated by outsiders. He teams up with a “smart human” named Mae (Freya Allen) to track down his missing clan and discovers an ape warlord Proximus Caesar (Kevin Durand), who is trying to break into a military stronghold. (Apes with nukes – what could go wrong?) Director Wes Ball has the unenviable task of taking over the franchise from Matt Reeves, who made the last two “Apes” movies, but makes the movie his own – it’s got a great vibe, with sterling visual effects and some really great, emotional moments. And more than that, it points to the future of the “Planet of the Apes” franchise which, honestly, has never been brighter. – Drew Taylor
Peacock – Aug. 9
One of last year’s very best movies is now one of this year’s very best movies. After playing the fall festivals and getting a primo, made-for-awards-season slot at the end of the year, New Regency and Disney decided to table the movie, with Focus Features agreeing to distribute, with a juicier summer date. It wound up a sleeper hit. “The Bikeriders,” written and directed by Jeff Nichols and based on the photography book of the same name by Danny Lyon, follows the Vandals Motorcycle Club, a fictitious biker gang in the 1960s. The movie glides along, as we watch a young member (Austin Butler), deal with the interpersonal dynamics of the group (led by Tom Hardy) and his affection for a young hothead (Jodie Comer).
