Looking for the best Paramount Plus movies? You’re in the right place. There’s an overwhelming amount of films on the streamer, which is why we’ve narrowed down the finest choices to just 22 of the best. Our selection spans multiple genres, too, from action to comedy, and sci-fi to fantasy, plus so much more, to watch wherever you are in the world.
Paramount Plus adds new titles to its catalog every month; for an idea of what's recently been added, check out everything new on Paramount Plus in September 2024 and these five new movies with over 90% on Rotten Tomatoes. Movies not your thing? Don't worry, we've got you covered with our best Paramount Plus shows picks.
So, if you’ve found yourself looking for something old or new, there’s sure to be a movie pick for everyone on our list. No wonder one of the best streaming services has coined itself as a 'Mountain of Entertainment'. We can’t deny that, and neither will you, when you peruse our selection of the best Paramount Plus movies.
Best animated movies on Paramount Plus
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
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Age rating: PG (US); PG (UK)
Main cast: Micah Abbey, Shamon Brown Jr., Nicolas Cantu, Brady Noon, Ayo Edebiri, Maya Rudolph, John Cena, and Seth Rogen
Directors: Jeff Rowe and Kyler Spears
RT (Rotten Tomatoes) score: 95%
Few iconic comic-book characters have survived as many reboots as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but this latest animated incarnation (produced by Preacher and Sausage Party overseers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldman) is up there with the heroes in a half-shell’s finest – as well as being one of the best Paramount Plus movies. Using an eye-catching, painterly visual style heavily inspired by Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, the latest take on Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo is a (pizza) feast for the eyes. It’s also action-packed and funny, while leaning much more into the adolescent part of the TMNT equation than many of its predecessors.
- Watch Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem on Paramount Plus now
- Watch the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem trailer on YouTube
Rango
Age rating: PG (US); PG (UK)
Main cast: Johnny Depp, Gore Verbinksi, Bill Nighy, and Abigail Breslin
Director: Gore Verbinski
RT score: 88%
Best known for directing the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, Gore Verbinksi recruits Johnny Depp once again in this Oscar-winning animated Western movie. Depp voices Rango, a pet chameleon who accidentally ends up in the drought-affected town of Dirt which has been taken over by bandits. Desperate to stand out rather than blend in, Rango roleplays as the new sheriff but he soon finds himself in a number of outrageous situations that force him to become a real hero. Rango is a stand-out movie that puts a quirky and unique twist on the Western genre with its stunning animation, witty humor, and memorable characters.
NB: UK audiences can only rent or buy it via Amazon, Apple TV, Sky Store, or another digital store. In Australia, you can watch it on Binge.
Best action movies on Paramount Plus
Top Gun: Maverick
Age rating: PG-13 (US); 12A (UK)
Main cast: Tom Cruise, Jennifer Connelly, Miles Teller, Val Kilmer, and Jon Hamm Director: Joseph Kosinski
RT score: 96%
Tom Cruise's 2022 box office smash, Top Gun: Maverick, is a must-watch, delivering all the fun and supersonic action of the original without simply going over old territory. Cruise reprises his role as Maverick, now a test pilot whose constant rule-breaking and boundary-pushing has kept his career firmly grounded. But when he's given the job of training a new group of Top Gun graduates for a crucial new mission, he has to face up to his past and some of his very worst fears. This is the best kind of blockbuster, an absolute treat from start to nail-biting finish.
NB: UK and Australian viewers will have to jet over to Netflix to watch it.
The Mission: Impossible movie collection
Age rating: PG-13 (US); 12 (UK)
Main cast: Tom Cruise, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, and Rebecca Ferguson
Director: Brad Bird (Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol), Christopher McQuarrie (Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation), (Mission: Impossible – Fallout), (Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, Part One)
RT score: 93% to 97%
Good evening, Mr Cruise. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to turn a ’60s TV show into a successful series capable of ranking among the best Paramount Plus movies. Okay, so we're cheating with this entry, but you can't deny that this film series is tons of fun (yep, even the less positively received ones), so we had to include them all in a single entry. As both producer and star (he's played super-spy Ethan Hunt since the first 1996 adventure), Tom Cruise has made Mission: Impossible a genuine rival to James Bond. Indeed, while most franchises have run out of steam long before they reach their seventh instalment, the quality of the M:I series has arguably improved, particularly since Cruise brought Christopher McQuarrie on board to write and direct the brilliantly inventive and exciting Rogue Nation, Fallout and Dead Reckoning. But the most memorable thing about Mission: Impossible is Cruise's headline-making, death-defying stunts – even in his 60s, this is one leading man who refuses to do anything by halves. For our ranking, we haven't included Mission: Impossible, Mission: Impossible II, and Mission: Impossible III as the critics RT scores fall below our 80% threshold.
Gladiator
Age rating: R (US); 15 (UK)
Main cast: Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Oliver Reed, and Richard Harris
Director: Ridley Scott
RT score: 80%
Russell Crowe delivers a performance that echoes in eternity in Ridley Scott's brilliant Roman epic. Crowe plays Maximus Decimus Meridius, father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife, and he absolutely will have his vengeance on the corrupt emperor (Joaquin Phoenix) responsible for their deaths – whether it's in this life or the next. Along with The Martian, Gladiator is Scott's best movie of the 21st century, a propulsive blend of spectacular Colosseum action, shameless political scheming, and a powerful, revenge-focussed narrative. The veteran director was so enamored with the historical world he created that he's currently deep into post-production on Gladiator 2, which stars Normal People's Paul Mescal and due in theaters later this year. Want to see how Gladiator compares to Alien and Blade Runner? Check out our guide to Ridley Scott movies ranked.
NB: If you're in the UK, you'll have to head to Netflix to watch the film or Prime Video if you're in Australia.
Saving Private Ryan
Age rating: R (US); 15 (UK)
Main cast: Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Tom Sizemore, and Edward Burns
Director: Steven Spielberg
RT score: 94%
Captain John Miller (Tom Hanks) leads a band of American World War II soldiers behind enemy lines to find the titular missing private after Ryan's brothers are killed in action. Director Steven Spielberg ensures you stand to attention as soon as the action flashes back to D-Day, with a brutally visceral recreation of the Omaha beach landings. Then, as Miller's unit makes their way through Nazi-occupied France, each soldier embarks on their own personal journey of discovery – though not all of them will make it home alive. Saving Private Ryan is the first of many World War II collaborations between Hanks and Spielberg, who've gone on to executive produce Band of Brothers, The Pacific and Masters of the Air, one of the best Apple TV Plus shows. You can also see how it fits into the director's glittering filmography in our guide to Steven Spielberg movies ranked.
NB: Saving Private Ryan is available on Prime Video in the UK and Binge in Australia.
Best comedy movies on Paramount Plus
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Age rating: PG-13 (US); 15 (UK)
Main cast: Matthew Broderick, Alan Ruck, Mia Sara, Jeffrey Jones, and Jennifer Grey
Director: John Hughes
RT score: 83%
Writer/director John Hughes was the king of ’80s teen movies (see also The Breakfast Club and Sixteen Candles), but this feel-good classic might just be the best of the bunch. It's certainly the most fun, as high school student Ferris Bueller (Matthew Broderick) pulls a sickie, and drags girlfriend Sloane (Mia Sara) and best friend Cameron (Succession's Alan Ruck) along for a ride in Cameron's dad's vintage Ferrari. It's the ultimate story of teenage wish fulfillment, as the three kids live the high-life while staying one step ahead of suspicious school principal Ed Rooney (Jeffrey Jones). And while their day off loses its way slightly in the final act when Ferris's motives become uncharacteristically altruistic, it remains one of the greatest high school movies of all time.
NB: If you're in the UK and Australia, you need a Prime Video subscription to watch the movie on Paramount Plus. It's also available on Stan in Australia.
- Watch Ferris Bueller's Day Off on Paramount Plus now
- Watch the Ferris Bueller's Day Off trailer on YouTube
Mean Girls
Age rating: PG-13 (US); 12 (UK)
Main cast: Lindsay Lohan, Jonathan Bennett, Rachel McAdams, Tina Fey, and Amy Poehler
Director: Mark Waters
RT score: 84%
Before she became the writer and star of classic sitcom 30 Rock, Tina Fey scripted this totally fetch teen movie. It's the story of Cady Heron (a career-best Lindsay Lohan), a kid who's been homeschooled in Africa, who quickly realizes she has a lot to learn about high school. Adopted by a pair of outsiders, she's drafted to spy on the "Plastics" who rule the corridors of North Shore High, but soon finds herself seduced by Regina George (Rachel McAdams) and her gang. Smart, satirical and super funny, Mean Girls is a perfectly pitched journey into the dog-eat-dog politics of high school. And even 20 years after its original release, it's still popular enough to spawn a new movie musical based on the stage musical based on the movie, which is also available on Paramount Plus in the US.
NB: If you're in the UK, you need a Prime Video subscription to watch the movie on Paramount Plus. It's also available to watch on Sky.
Clueless
Age rating: PG-13 (US); 12 (UK)
Main cast: Alicia Silverstone, Stacey Dash, Brittany Murphy, Paul Rudd, and Donald Faison
Director: Amy Heckerling
RT score: 81%
Thought smart, female-led high school movies began with Mean Girls? As if! Amy Heckerling’s mid-90s classic relocates Jane Austen’s Emma from Georgian England to modern-day Beverly Hills, and the transition is seamless. Alicia Silverstone delivers a career-defining performance as Cher, the spoiled but kind teen who fixes everyone else’s love lives but forgets about her own. From the “complaint rock” soundtrack to some outdated sexual politics, it’s undeniably a film of its era. But it’s also funny, heart-warming and extremely quotable – as well as featuring an early performance from Paul Rudd.
NB: You can stream Clueless on Channel 4 in the UK and Netflix in Australia.
Best drama movies on Paramount Plus
The Godfather trilogy
Age rating: R (US); 18 (UK)
Main cast: Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Diane Keaton, Robert De Niro, Robert Duvall, Andy Garcia, and Talia Shire
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
RT score: 86% to 97%
In 1972, director Francis Ford Coppola turned Mario Puzo's mafia novel The Godfather into a critical and box office smash hit. The gripping story of a good man's descent into evil, it made a star of Al Pacino, and won itself an impressive haul of Academy Awards. Follow-up The Godfather: Part II is arguably even better, using two distinct timelines to show how mob boss Vito Corleone (Robert De Niro, in a role originated by Marlon Brando) came to power, and his equally ruthless son, Michael (Pacino), went on to become one of the most powerful men in America. Along with The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, it remains the only sequel to win an Oscar for Best Picture. The Godfather: Part III proved rather less popular when it was released in 1990. The original theatrical cut isn't available on Paramount Plus but you can watch The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone, Coppola's recut version of the movie. You can also check out The Offer, a TV drama about the making of the original film.
The Wolf of Wall Street
Age rating: R (US);18 (UK)
Main cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie, and Matthew McConaughey
Director: Martin Scorsese
RT score: 80%
Yes, it’s essentially the plot of GoodFellas and Casino relocated to the cutthroat world of high finance, but there’s no need to get hung up about that when you’re watching one of the very best Martin Scorsese movies. In arguably the greatest of the legendary director’s six feature collaborations with Leonardo DiCaprio – and definitely the most all-out entertaining – the star plays Jordan Belfort, a real-life Wall Street banker whose fast-and-loose attitude to the rules brought him major highs (both financial and chemical) and even bigger lows. Scorsese’s kinetic direction revels in the seedy glamor of its protagonist’s lavish lifestyle, as he tries to stay one step ahead of FBI agent, Patrick Denham (Kyle Chandler). Of course, Belfort’s mad world comes crashing down in the final act, but it’s a hell of a ride getting there.
NB: Australian audiences should head to Netflix to catch The Wolf of Wall Street and Prime Video for UK audiences.
Best fantasy movies on Paramount Plus
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
Age rating: PG-13 (US);12A (UK)
Main cast: Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Regé-Jean Page, Sophia Lillis, and Hugh Grant
Directors: John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein
RT score: 91%
It might not have looked that promising on paper – especially to anyone who endured the 2000 Dungeons & Dragons movie – but Hollywood’s latest take on the perennially popular role-playing board game is well worth a roll of the dice. The wonderfully self-aware Honor Among Thieves skilfully walks a fine line between comedy and spectacular epic fantasy, and delivers on both counts. As bard and nominal lead Edgin, Chris Pine revels in his most fun role since playing Captain Kirk in JJ Abrams’ first Star Trek. Meanwhile, other D&D character types are memorably represented by Fast & Furious regular Michelle Rodriguez (barbarian Holga Kilgore), IT’s Sophia Lillis (tiefling druid Doric) and Bridgerton’s Regé-Jean Page (paladin Xenk Yendar).
- Watch Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves on Paramount Plus now
- Watch the Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves trailer on YouTube
Big
Age rating: PG (US); 12 (UK)
Main cast: Tom Hanks, Elizabeth Perkins, Jared Rushton, and David Moscow
Director: Penny Marshall
RT score: 98%
No doubt one of the biggest movies of the 80s, Big stars Tom Hanks as Josh Baskin, a 13-year-old boy who makes a wish that he was bigger and magically wakes up in the body of an adult. Hanks received critical acclaim for the role (he was even nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor) and established him as a huge movie star favorite. You can't help but fall in love with Hanks' comedic performance in this ever-so charming fantasy that proves to be a trailblazer 20 years later.
NB: UK and Australian audiences can watch it on Disney Plus.
Best horror movies on Paramount Plus
Smile
Age rating: R (US); 18 (UK)
Main cast: Sosie Bacon, Jessie T. Usher, Kyle Gallner, Robin Weigert, and Kal Penn
Director: Parker Finn
RT score: 80%
Despite the title, this is not a film designed to make you happy. Instead, it’s a disturbing horror movie in which a therapist (Sosie Bacon) investigates a series of apparent suicides, linked by the unsettling smiles on the victims’ faces before they died – and subsequently finds herself targeted by a malevolent evil spirit. Smile was originally planned as a direct-to-Paramount Plus release, but successful test screenings prompted the studio to give it a theatrical release – an extremely sensible move, seeing as it became the biggest horror movie at the box office in 2022 and is now one of the best horror movies. Expect scares and plenty of psychological terror as writer/director Parker Finn (who based the movie on his own short, “Laura Hasn’t Slept”) marks himself out as one to watch.
NB: To watch Smile in the UK and Australia, you'll need to head over to Netflix.
A Quiet Place
Age rating: PG-13 (US); 15 (UK)
Main cast: Emily Blunt, John Krasinski, Millicent Simmonds, and Noah Jupe
Director: John Krasinski
RT score: 96%
A Quiet Place sees The Office veteran John Krasinksi trading his desk at Dunder Mifflin for high-concept sci-fi horror. Hunting by sound, alien invaders have decimated the population of a small town in upstate New York, where staying alive depends on staying as quiet as possible. As director, Jack Ryan star Krasinksi gives you an extremely tense 90 minutes, turning every noise into a clear and present danger. This is one movie where you might want to forego the crunchy snacks. But the film's real triumph is making you care about the family at the story's heart (brilliantly played by Krasinski, real-life wife Emily Blunt, Millicent Simmonds and Noah Jupe), as their survival depends on both their ingenuity and their fluency in American Sign Language. (NB: A Quiet Place Part II and A Quiet Place: Day One are also available on Paramount Plus in the US.)
Rosemary's Baby
Age rating: R(US); 18 (UK)
Main cast: Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes, and Ruth Gordon
Director: Roman Polanski
RT score: 96%
It's another horror story among the best Paramount Plus movies, but unlike Scream, Rosemary's Baby's scares are all in your head. Adapted from Ira Levin's novel of the same name, this psychological thriller sees the devil take Manhattan, as Mia Farrow's Rosemary Woodhouse is unwittingly chosen to bear the child of Satan. It's a masterclass in slow-building tension, as Rosemary gradually realizes that her elderly neighbors' interest in her pregnancy isn't entirely altruistic. It's also one of the most iconic and stylish movies of the late-1960s, helping pave the way for one of the most creatively fertile eras in Hollywood history. Paramount Plus has also released the Apartment 7A trailer, which reveals the prequel story to this 1960s horror hit.
NB: UK audiences can stream it on Sky.
Best romance movies on Paramount Plus
Past Lives
Age rating: PG-13 (US); 12 (UK)
Main cast: Greta Lee, Teo Yoo, John Magaro, and Moon Seung-ah
Director: Celine Song
RT score: 95%
Writer/director Celine Song’s brilliant, Oscar-nominated debut is based around a question many people will have asked themselves: what if you reconnected with your first childhood sweetheart as a grown-up? In Past Lives, Nora (The Morning Show’s Greta Lee) makes contact with Hae Sung (Teo Yoo) more than a decade after her family emigrated from South Korea to Canada. The result is a subtle, perfectly pitched exploration of roads that could have been – but weren’t – traveled in another life. It’s something of a slow burn, carried by the performances of two leads who share undeniable screen chemistry. Special credit should also go to John Magaro, who ensures that Nora’s husband Arthur never feels like a third wheel.
NB: Past Lives is available on Netflix in the UK and Prime Video in Australia.
Notting Hill
Age rating: PG-13 (US); 15 (UK)
Main cast: Hugh Grant, Julia Roberts, Rhys Ifans, and Hugh Bonneville
Director: Roger Michell
RT score: 84%
They just don't make romcoms like Notting Hill anymore. Although it would be a hefty feat to contend with one of the most iconic films of all time. It's the classic boy meets girl scenario that everyone loves as London bookshop owner William Thacker (Hugh Grant) has an unexpected meeting with Hollywood star Anna Scott (Julia Roberts). As the average guy starts a secret romance with the glamorous actress, the paparazzi's disruption in their lives complicates their relationship and they struggle to reconcile their polar opposite lifestyles. Grant and Roberts' scene-stealing performances propel this stereotypical romance into one of the best films in cinematic history. Notting Hill also cements Grant and Roberts as the irresistibly charming romantic leads we've all grown to love over the years.
NB: In the UK, you can find Notting Hill on Netflix and Channel 4.
Best sci-fi movies on Paramount Plus
Star Trek
Age rating: PG-13 (US); 12 (UK)
Main cast: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Simon Pegg, and Eric Bana
Director: J. J. Abrams
RT score: 94%
Paramount Plus isn't currently home to all the Star Trek movies in the US (the films featuring the Original Series and Next Generation casts are, instead, berthed on Max) but you can enjoy most of the Trek TV shows, as well as the three (existing) movies of J.J. Abrams' successful 21st century reboot. Before he traveled to a galaxy far, far away for The Force Awakens, Abrams – then best known for Lost, Alias and Mission: Impossible III – injected Trek with a Star Wars-like spirit of adventure, as Kirk, Spock and the rest of the crew took on a vengeful Romulan from the future. The casting (particularly Chris Pine as Kirk) is inspired, and – by setting the story in a parallel timeline – the film functions as both an Enterprise origin story, and an opportunity to go where the franchise had never gone before. Sadly, follow-ups Into Darkness and Beyond couldn't live up to this movie's early promise, but this first adventure is one of the long-running saga's best.
Arrival
Age rating: PG-13 (US); 12 (UK)
Main cast: Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, and Forest Whitaker
Director: Denis Villeneuve
RT score: 94%
Before he became Hollywood’s premier purveyor of big-budget sci-fi spectacle with Blade Runner: 2049 and two Dune adaptations, Denis Villeneuve announced his, well, arrival in the genre with this lower key tale of extra-terrestrial visitation. Adapted from Ted Chiang’s short story “The Story of Your Life”, it tells the tale of a bereaved mother and linguist (Amy Adams) assigned to make first contact with the bizarre seven-legged aliens who’ve come to Earth to say hello. It's the very definition of smart science fiction, as a twisty timeline and the protagonist’s grief coalesce to create a surprising and emotionally satisfying finale.
NB: UK viewers can stream it on Netflix and Australian viewers can find it on Stan.
Best thriller movies on Paramount Plus
To Catch a Thief
Age rating: PG (US); PG (UK)
Main cast: Cary Grant, Grace Kelly, Jessie Royce Landis, and John Williams
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
RT score: 92%
A dream team of Alfred Hitchcock, Cary Grant and Grace Kelly charm their way into our list of the best Paramount Plus movies with this classy 1955 mystery romance. Grant plays John Robie, a retired cat burglar trying to live a quiet life on the French Riviera. When another thief copies his signature style, however, he has to prove his innocence. Kelly plays a wealthy tourist targeted by the copycat in this twisty and entertaining whodunnit.
NB: UK audiences can only rent or buy it via Amazon, Apple TV, Google Play, or another digital store. In Australia, you can watch it on SBS On Demand.
The Lincoln Lawyer
Age rating: R (US); 15 (UK)
Main cast: Matthew McConaughey, Ryan Phillippe, Marisa Tomei, and Katherine Moennig
Director: Brad Furman
RT score: 84%
Adapted from the 2005 novel of the same name by Michael Connelly, The Lincoln Lawyer follows Mickey Haller (Matthew McConaughey), a lawyer who works in a chauffeur-driven Lincoln Continental. When he lands a high-profile case defending a playboy charged with attempted murder, he thinks it's a simple open-and-shut case. However, it soon turns into something more sinister. McConaughey is perfect as the smooth-talking and cocky defence lawyer and like every perfect thriller, it's full of twists and turns that will keep you guessing until the very end. Netflix also has The Lincoln Lawyer series, which has been a big hit for the streamer.
NB: UK audiences can only rent or buy it via Amazon or Apple TV. In Australia, you can watch it on Stan.
How we choose the best Paramount Plus movies
Paramount Plus has thousands of movies and classic films, but not all are the best. To be considered the best and earn a place on this list, the movie must have a Rotten Tomatoes score from the critics of at least 80% and be recommended by one of the members of the TechRadar streaming team. Armed with this information, you'll know that only the best Paramount Plus films have been included in this guide.
With an abundance of new movies being added every month, our entertainment experts are on-hand to keep you up to date with the very best titles that are worth your time so check this list every month to see which new additions have been added or removed if they don't fit the criteria.
If you're interested in subscribing to Paramount Plus, you can find out how much Paramount Plus costs and check out our latest Paramount Plus coverage to get up to speed on everything happening on the platform.
