So, what's everyone been watching this week? Well, popularity-wise, there's still a few Oscar-winning films in the mix, joined by some space rom-com energy and an awkward Agatha Christie adaptation.
Each week, the most popular streamed movies come down to a few things — sheer buzz, smart marketing and PR campaigns, star power, critical acclaim, or a slow burn, word-of-mouth phenomenon that leads uninterested people to finally watch it out of spite. Just to get a sense of what everyone's streaming, we've used data from streaming aggregator Reelgood, which gathers those coveted viewership numbers from hundreds of streaming services in the U.S. and UK.
But just because a lot of people are watching something doesn't make it...good. Here they are, the 10 most streamed films of the week, where to watch them, and what Mashable critics thought.
1. Death on the Nile
Kenneth Branagh has been busy hoovering up Belfast acclaim recently, but before that he both directed and starred in this adaptation of Agatha Christie's novel of the same name. The story is centred on – you guessed it! – a death on the Nile, with detective Hercule Poirot (Branagh) sent in to work out who exactly did what to who. This one comes with a big cast — Gal Gadot, Letitia Wright, and Rose Leslie are among them — and plenty of twists. — Sam Haysom, Deputy UK Editor
What we thought: When Death on the Nile is not making amusingly bad choices, it's swimming in bloated sequences or reiterating the same point enough to make you seasick. Consequently you may find, as I did, that this whodunnit isn't all that hard to figure out. Humblebrag, but: I had it solved before the end of act one — which left me regrettably little to do the rest of the movie. – Alison Foreman, Entertainment Reporter
How to watch: Death on the Nile is now streaming on HBO Max.
2. CODA
It's the film that both took home Best Picture at the 2022 Oscars, and took a significant step forward for deaf representation in Hollywood. Written and directed by Siân Heder, CODA stars Best Supporting Actor winner Troy Kotsur, Marlee Matlin, and Daniel Durant, who are themselves deaf — casting that doesn't always happen — alongside Emilia Jones.
Mashable's Belen Edwards describes the plot: "Adapted from the 2014 French film La Famille Bélier, CODA — which stands for "Child of Deaf Adults" — centers on Ruby Rossi (Jones), a high school senior who is the only hearing member of a Deaf family. CODA trades La Famille Bélier's setting of rural France for Gloucester, Massachusetts, where Ruby helps her father Frank (Kotsur) and brother Leo (Durant) on their fishing boat. She also acts as the family's interpreter — much of the film's dialogue is in American Sign Language." — Shannon Connellan, UK Editor
What we thought: Thanks to excellent performances and Heder's sharp writing and direction, CODA rises above any possibility of triteness to become a moving, heartwarming, and deeply satisfying film. — Belen Edwards, Entertainment Reporter
How to watch: CODA is now streaming on Apple TV+.
3. Moonshot
A rom-com set in space, starring Riverdale's Cole Sprouse and To All the Boys I've Loved Before's Lana Condor? And Zach Braff? It's not too hard to see why Christopher Winterbauer's Moonshot, which tells the futuristic tale of two students sneaking onto a Mars-bound spacecraft on a quest for love, has proven popular this week. Be warned, though, the reviews have only been mixed. — S.H.
What we thought: Honestly, the most futuristic thing about Moonshot is the inescapable feeling that it's a script algorithmically generated by an AI trained on romcoms. The script is fine, for a computer program: It checks almost every box on paper, all while missing that most vital human touch. – Jess Joho, Staff Writer
How to watch: Moonshot is currently streaming on HBO Max.
4. The Adam Project
Ryan Reynolds is on top deprecating form in Shawn Levy's The Adam Project, a time-travelling family adventure about a man who is forced to journey back in time, joining forces with his dad and his younger self in a chaotic attempt to avert future catastrophe. Zoe Saldana, Mark Ruffalo, and Jennifer Garner all put in strong supporting performances but the real star of the show is 12-year-old Walker Scobell, who plays young Adam with a perfectly dry sarcasm that makes him an easy sparring partner for his older self. — S.H.
What we thought: Plot holes and worldbuilding take a backseat to charming performances and entertaining visuals that make this neat 100-movie worth a watch. — Proma Khosla, Senior Entertainment Reporter
How to watch: The Adam Project is now streaming on Netflix.
5. King Richard
It's the film that landed Will Smith the Best Actor award at this year's Oscars. Smith took on the role of Richard Williams, coach and father of tennis legends Venus and Serena, played by Saniyya Sidney and Demi Singleton, and his role in paving their road to sporting history against significant odds — including America's rife anti-Black racism. — S.C.
What we thought: King Richard is driving hard to be a feel-good movie that celebrates a Black father who overcame the odds to lift his family out of poverty and guided his daughters’ to their full potential. It succeeds there, proving a crowdpleaser that has a robust sense of warmth, humor, and heart. With Will Smith in the lead, it’s exactly the kind of movie that’d do well on family movie night, where a focus on togetherness and platitudes plays better than controversy or complications. Yet because it’s papering over the more complicated parts of its real-life inspiration, this glossy coating chafes at points. — Kristy Puchko, Deputy Entertainment Editor
How to watch: King Richard is now streaming on HBO Max.
6. Deep Water
There's plenty to tempt you into Deep Water: Ben Affleck teaming up with now-ex Ana De Armas, with Fatal Attraction director Adrian Lyne at the helm, and Euphoria creator Sam Levinson and Stranger Than Fiction's Zach Helm on the script. Based on a novel by Patricia Highsmith, the film follows Vic Allen (Affleck), who'd rather let his wife Melinda (De Armas) have affairs than go through divorce. But then her lovers start disappearing...— S.C.
What we thought: With all this incredible talent for brewing desire and deception, Deep Water should be a nerve-shredding, pulse-racing jolt to the system that rattles you, head to toes. Sadly, it cannot pay off the promise of its people. — K.P.
How to watch: Deep Water is now streaming on Hulu.
7. Drive My Car
Was Drive My Car three hours? You could have fooled me, as every minute of Ryusuke Hamaguchi's spectacularly understated film had me absolutely hooked. Winner of Best International Feature at this year's Oscars, the film is adapted from Haruki Murakami's short story. It centres around theatre director Yûsuke Kafuku (Hidetoshi Nishijima), whose intense creative relationship with his wife, Oto (Reika Kirishima) suddenly comes to an end. Heading out of town to work on a production of Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya, Yûsuke finds a bond with his new chauffeur, Misaki Watari (Tôko Miura). As he unpacks the themes of the play and his own relationship, the comfort of his red Saab becomes a wagon of truth. — S.C.
How to watch: Drive My Car is now streaming on HBO Max.
8. Windfall
Feeling almost more like a play than a movie, Charlie McDowell's lowkey crime thriller Windfall follows a burglar who breaks into the remote house of a tech billionaire, only to get caught red-handed when the man shows up with his wife. Jason Segel, Jesse Plemons and Lily Collins star in this offbeat story which is less about high-octane tension and more about the slow-burn dialogue. — S.H.
What we thought: Windfall's unhurried pacing and the couple's laidback lack of escape attempts might not keep everyone's attention. But if you manage to stick around as long as that burglar, you'll be rewarded with a satisfyingly surprising ending. — Nicole Gallucci, Senior Editor
How to watch: Windfall is streaming now on Netflix.
9. Dune
It's Denis Villeneuve's critically acclaimed big blockbuster adaptation of Frank Herbert's classic 1965 sci-fi novel, back in the most popular streamed movies of the week, perhaps after it cleaned up at the 2022 Oscars, winning in six categories including cinematography and production design — the most of any film on the night. Dune follows the perils and triumphs of Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) on the spice-fuelled planet Arrakis, and the widespread political upheaval afoot. Plus worms. — S.C.
What we thought: Denis Villeneuve has made a big, rich, moody sci-fi tone poem in the style of his previous outing, Blade Runner 2049. If you liked that – and we did – you'll love this, and its 150 minutes will fly by in a kind of pleasant hypnotic trance, with a few flashes of humor to relieve the ever-present tension. — Chris Taylor, Senior Editor
How to watch: Dune is now streaming on HBO Max.
10. Turning Red
One of the best animated movies of the year so far, Turning Red channels some real PEN15 coming-of-age energy to ring uncomfortably true for anyone who had a hard time through puberty — so, everyone? Chinese-Canadian teen Mei (Rosalie Chiang) had enough on her plate trying to get through early adolescence, but now a family curse that causes her to turn into a red panda at the sign of strong emotion might cause her to miss her beloved boy band 4*Town's show. It's at once a tale of teenage angst and an ode to the mums, aunties, and family members we'd be lost in our own fur without. — S.C
What we thought: Full of fun, humor, and heart, Turning Red is a coming-of-age comedy that's as exhilarating as it is groundbreaking family entertainment. — K.P.
How to watch: Turning Red is now streaming on Disney+.
