Every HBO Max Movie Of 2021 Ranked Worst To Best

HBO Max grew exponentially in 2021, meaning the streaming platform has a plethora of exclusive movies to rank from worst to best for the year. HBO Max's rapid growth is owed in no small part to its deal with Warner Bros., which saw the platform host simultaneous releases across HBO Max and theatres for the production company. This dual release formula, initially implemented in response to the COVID-19 global pandemic, saw HBO Max's subscriber numbers top 70 million in 2021, owing in no small part to the number of big-name movies releasing exclusively on the platform.

Naturally, then, 2021 saw Warner Bros. release a wide array of films on HBO Max throughout the year, such as highly-anticipated franchise installments like The Matrix Resurrections and The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, as well as revamped, family-friendly offerings like Tom & Jerry and Space Jam: A New Legacy. These 2021 HBO Max movies varied wildly in commercial performance, with some films such as The Suicide Squad suffering from a lack of box office sales due to its at-home availability for audiences. Other movies, such as the monster blockbuster Godzilla vs. Kong, were largely unaffected by their dual release schedule, with Adam Wingard's creature feature racking up an impressive $467.9 million in global ticket sales.

While The Matrix Resurrections marked the end of Warner Bros. and HBO Max's simultaneous release slate, the success of many HBO Max exclusive movies in 2021 ensures the streaming platform is well set up for sustained success in the future. 2021 acted as a signpost for the continued quality of HBO Max exclusive movie releases, with several titles touted to take home prestigious end-of-year awards. Here's every HBO Max movie of 2021 ranked from worst to best.

24. Tom & Jerry

Another year, another classic IP massacred, with the ignominy of the worst HBO Max movie of 2021 landing squarely at the feet of Tom and Jerry. Quite what possessed Warner Bros., or indeed director Tim Story, to dust off a beloved cartoon and update it with garish, jarring animations that layer cartoons over live-action is anyone's guess here, but the result is a garbled mess of a film. Tom and Jerry, therefore, offers little by the way of redeeming qualities despite an admirable turn from Chloë Grace Moretz, whose presence is a ray of sunshine in an otherwise torrid affair. As with the many booby traps that the cat sets for the mouse, Tom and Jerry is best avoided by any audience not seeking to endure a painful cinematic experience.

23. Space Jam: A New Legacy

This standalone Space Jam sequel does indeed create a new legacy, but unfortunately, that legacy is one of shamelessly overt product placement, a lack of laughs, and a paper-thin narrative, with Space Jam: A New Legacy roundly panned by the majority of critics. It must be said that despite very little narrative weight to work with, LeBron James sparkles, with the NBA star seemingly reveling in taking over the reins from the legendary Michael Jordan. James' infectious glee aside, however, Space Jam: A New Legacy is a significant downgrade on its predecessor's zany, feel-good fun that captured the hearts of a generation of children.

22. A Cinderella Story: Starstruck

Fans of the Cinderella Story franchise may well find joy in this sickly-sweet fifth installment of the film series, but audiences going in cold will find little joy in A Cinderella Story: Starstruck's ploddingly familiar storyline. Starstruck follows small-town farmer Finley Tremaine (new Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin cast member Bailee Madison) as she aspires to become a budding artist by shamelessly attempting to attract the attention of a film crew visiting from the city. A Cinderella Story: Starstruck contains some catchy enough musical numbers that will appeal to younger viewers, but at its core, it remains a pale imitation of the cult-classic Hillary Duff original.

21. Those Who Wish Me Dead

Taylor Sheridan's Those Who Wish Me Dead is a purposeful if wholly unimaginative thriller in the mold of typical 90's action fare. While not up to the standard of Sheridan's Sicario, Angelina Jolie adds star power and raw emotion to the character of Hannah as she evades two brooding assassins. As a movie, Those Who Wish Me Dead does not tread any new ground for its genre, but it is still a serviceable 100 minutes of action that is worth viewing if only for Nicholas Hoult's terrifying turn as Patrick.

20. Boogie

Boogie follows Alfred “Boogie” Chin (Taylor Takahashi), a basketball phenom hailing from New York who struggles to balance the pressure from his traditional East Asian parents to earn a scholarship to an elite college with chasing his NBA dreams. Boogie's tone is at times mumbling, as its story of an Asian-American's struggle often gets lost amidst more traditional sports-drama-centric scenes. However, Eddie Huang's film does feature several commendable performances, with the late Pop Smoke's only credited film role a gem worthy to sit alongside his stellar discography.

19. Godzilla vs. Kong

Godzilla vs. Kong is undoubtedly the kind of big-budget, cacophonous flick HBO Max must have envisioned hosting on their burgeoning platform, with Wingard's fourth MonsterVerse Titan War installment bringing heapings of CG-driven action to the table. The movie undoubtedly has its moments, with Kong wielding his iconic bone mace a scene for franchise fans to savor, but too often, this clash of behemoths is marred by fight sequences that are hard to see as the camera cuts from one titan to the other and every civilian in-between. There is also more than a touch of the nonsensical about Godzilla vs. Kong even in Legendary's fictitious MonsterVerse setting, with inconsistencies such as Kong's weight being supported by an aircraft carrier before the titan ape subsequently crushes skyscrapers with the slightest touch particularly hard to look past.

18. The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It

Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson return as the spirit-hunting Warren family in this eighth Conjuring universe film, with the star duo giving Michael Chavez's chiller more than enough staying power within the supernatural horror genre. The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It only truly suffers when looked at through the prism of its opening scene, which is so terrifying that it makes the rest of the movie's devilish events pale in comparison to its first ten minutes. While not the best Conjuring installment by any means, fans of the franchise will still receive ample jump-scares and thrills from an increasingly lore-filled horror universe entry here.

17. Locked Down

As with The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It before it, Locked Down excels by virtue of its two main stars' talents. Anne Hathaway and Chiwetel Ejiofor are in rare form as a disgruntled couple forced into proximity by London's first lockdown to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The negatively reviewed Locked Down is undoubtedly a topical, timely piece of contemporary cinema, but it does at times feel too bleak to warrant viewing given the continued state of world affairs and often detracts from the escapism that its diamond heist-centric plot would suggest.

16. 8-Bit Christmas

The studio responsible for the Christmas classic Elf returns to deliver a festive romp centered around one boy's arduous quest to obtain a Nintendo Entertainment System during the winter of 1988. Neil Patrick Harris adds a smattering of stardust to proceedings here, but it is 8-Bit Christmas' joyous celebrations of classic gaming consoles and accessories that give the movie legs to sustain its simple plot. Nods to the commercially disgraced NES Power Glove, Donkey Kong, and even other (then) contemporary oddities such as Cabbage Patch Kids and Baseball Cards make the video game-inspired 8-Bit Christmas a slice of festive fun for the whole family - especially those who are invested in videogames themselves.

15. Land

Robin Wright's feature directorial debut is a gorgeous testament to her burgeoning skills as a promising filmmaker. Land's title essentially gives audiences everything they need to know about the film as Edee Holzer (also played by Wright) battles the elements, her own demons, and a ferocious black bear in her remote Wyoming cabin in a snowstorm. Land conjures stunning vistas, with Wright demonstrating a keen eye for sweeping visuals that far outstrip any of the narrative elements Land attempts to fall back on.

14. Women Is Losers

Women Is Losers dives straight into late 60's San Francisco, where Celina Guerrera attends a Catholic high school and deals with her struggles as part of a conservative immigrant family. When the course of her life is altered by an unplanned pregnancy, Celina (Knock Knock's Lorenza Izzo) sets out to rise above poverty and invest in a future for herself, a premise that translates into a wholly engrossing portrait of one Latina woman's struggles and triumphs in the face of social adversity. Women Is Losers could well have benefitted from a less on-the-nose title, but Lissette Feliciano's drama contains enough tongue-in-cheek humor to carry its less than appealing eyesore of a name.

13. Hotel Coppelia

Hotel Coppelia sees the lives of several prostitutes at a brothel in the Dominican Republic turned upside down when the U.S troops invade during the 1965 war. As touching as it is engrossing, Hotel Coppelia excellently engenders each of its core cast to audiences before embroiling them in a life-or-death scenario in which each woman must make an impossible choice. José María Cabral's film, therefore, hits all the right notes as a portrait of the woes that befell The Dominican Republic in the late '60s during a period of great global uncertainty.

12. Zack Snyder's Justice League

The Justice League's Snyder Cut was designed to right many of the wrongs the much-vaunted director stepped away from during the 2017 Justice League's post-production nightmare, with Joss Whedon's first edit lambasted by critics who cited the film's rushed pacing and underdeveloped villain as key issues with the story. Zack Snyder's Justice League, therefore, contrasts these critical opinions in its entirety, running for over four hours to deliver scene after scene of exposition and dazzling, slow-motion CG work. Snyder undoubtedly betters the hurried feel of the 2017 original, but Justice League's runtime feels like an overcorrection more than a concrete fix to its predecessor's issues. This being said, Zack Snyder's Justice League is a gorgeous, epic spectacle and a piece of cinema that rightly builds excitement for the next Justice League installment.

11. The Eyes Of Tammy Faye

The rise, fall, and redemption of larger-than-life televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker is an undeniable biographical drama at its finest from HBO. Director Michael Showalter smartly brings the seminal performance from Jessica Chastain as Tammy to the fore of his narrative, forgoing some at times necessary background information to better sculpt the world of the 1970s and '80s that Tammy exists in. This being said, Showalter's decision is the right one, with Chastain's portrait of Tammy Faye so compelling it reduces all other facets of The Eyes of Tammy Faye to essentially background noise - which is no mean feat considering the towering Vincent D'Onofrio and Andrew Garfield are supporting cast members here.

10. The Suicide Squad

Following the utter flop that the 2016 Suicide Squad became, James Gunn's 2021 sequel serves as a towering retcon to the first film's intrinsic flaws. At the core of The Suicide Squad's recent success is its casting, which pairs the iconic Margot Robbie and Idris Elba with surprisingly astute performances from John Cena as Peacemaker and David Dastmalchian as Polka Dot Man, respectively. Gunn's The Suicide Squad takes the best elements of the 2016 original (Robbie included) and repurposes them into the kind of big-budget, ultra-violent fare guaranteed to make a splash in contemporary culture.

9. The Little Things

The Little Things is a gorgeous piece of cinema that, upon the first watch, feels as evocative, engrossing, and chilling as David Fincher's Se7en did in 1995. Set in early 1990s Los Angeles, the film follows detectives Joe Deacon (Denzel Washington) and Jim Baxter (Twilight's Rami Malek) who investigate a string of murders which lead them to a lonely Albert Sparma (Jared Leto), who may be the culprit of the heinous crimes depicted throughout the film. The Little Things, funnily enough, does the little things well in its production, creating a bleak, moody canvas for its taut detective drama to unfold that cements John Lee Hancock's movie as part of a new crop of quality thriller offerings in 2021.

8. The Many Saints Of Newark

The Many Saints of Newark is a wildly entertaining late 1960s period piece that poignantly evokes the social issues plaguing a war-torn New Jersey at the time. Moreover, The Many Saints of Newark and its characters prove that the allure of The Sopranos universe is still a compelling one, with Many Saints pulling impressive viewing numbers on HBO Max some 23 years after its forebears initial release. Many Saints is littered with references to the classic HBO series that made it and translates as a powerful origin story whose success may convince creator David Chase to take a third bite of the Sopranos apple in the future.

7. No Sudden Move

2021 was a quality year for detective-led thrillers, with No Sudden Move entering at a cut above the already sublime The Little Things. No Sudden Move transports audiences to the bleak streets of 1954 Detroit, with Steven Soderbergh's all-star cast setting out their stalls with heartfelt conviction from the first minute to last. No Sudden Move's story is also a richly layered and beautifully shot period piece that firmly cements Soderbergh as a seminal director equipped to eke the most from Hollywood stalwarts Don Cheadle, Benicio Del Toro, David Harbour, Jon Hamm, and the returned-to-form Brendan Fraser.

6. Ron's Gone Wrong

While on the surface a zany animated flick aimed at pleasing the whole family, Ron's Gone Wrong's premise belies a deeper message that elevates the film to one of the best of the year. Ron's Gone Wrong is as much a scathing indictment of modern capitalist ideals as it is a buddy adventure caper, with Locksmith Animation's debut feature also delving into the hold that technology currently has over much of Western society. Ultimately, Ron's Gone Wrong, also released on Disney+, holds itself back from transitioning into a George Orwell-style warning against scientific advances, but it does provide several thought-provoking moments for even its younger viewers regarding their smart devices amidst the humor and heart expected of a festive animated flick.

5. The Matrix Resurrections

Although failing to capture the sheer verve and originality of the first Matrix movie, The Matrix Resurrections still marks a triumphant return to the Wachowski's dystopian future. The Matrix Resurrections is a film steeped in nostalgia, treating audiences to flashbacks and re-runs of classic Matrix moments while still attempting to move forward with its use of updated technologies such as Swarm Bots and Portals. Lambert Wilson's cameo as the exiled Merovingian is the pinnacle of Revolutions' new cutting-edge satire, with the now devolved character ranting about the ills of social media plaguing the Matrix's inhabitants. Despite its box office failures, The Matrix Resurrections ends with calls to empowerment, self-belief, and freedom that the first Matrix evoked in 1999, making it an unmissable festive cinematic event that seemingly closes the book on Neo (Keanu Reeves) and Trinity's (Carrie-Ann Moss) sweeping narrative.

4. Mortal Kombat

While bigger-name franchise films have undoubtedly streamed on HBO Max across 2021, Mortal Kombat stands as the most-watched movie on the platform - and not without good reason. While it is true that Mortal Kombat is essentially an amalgamation of videogame Easter eggs, the original movie references, and martial arts mayhem, these facts do not detract from the fact that Mortal Kombat 2021 is a thoroughly enjoyable and worthy return to Outworld's tournament of champions. Prior knowledge of the franchise is undoubtedly required to elicit the most out of Mortal Kombat from audiences, yet even watching Simon McQuoid's bloodfest cold will produce ample thrills for any action movie aficionado. Put simply, Mortal Kombat does not pretend to be high-brow or even cohesive viewing, but it still delivers a flawless victory for fans who have waited 24 years to see their favorite Kombat characters on-screen once again.

3. King Richard

There was a time when Will Smith was fast becoming Hollywood's undisputed action king, with turns in dystopian worlds such as I, Robot, and I Am Legend cementing his status as pure box office. While these days have perhaps since passed, Smith's enduring, endearing talents live on, as emphasized by his turn as Richard Williams, the father and coach of famed tennis players Venus and Serena Williams in this touching biopic. While there are other notable performances in this sporting drama, King Richard's compelling core is made up by a towering turn from Will Smith in one of the year’s great performances - and makes King Richard a must-see film.

2. In The Heights

Based on the stage musical of the same name by Quiara Alegría Hudes and Lin Manuel Miranda, In The Heights is an irrepressible celebration of culture, community, and love in the largely Dominican suburb of Washington Heights New York. In The Heights' movie adaptation is a feast of color, energy, and sound backed by Miranda's considerable talents at creating hit after hit of musical numbers. While not quite as groundbreaking as his work on Hamilton, In The Heights still boldly tells an expansive story that takes audiences on a vivid journey that is not even slightly diminished when extracted from its stage musical roots.

1. Dune

Denis Villeneuve's latest sprawling sci-fi epic is a stunning cinematic achievement, particularly when viewed alongside the widespread disappointment that accompanied David Lynch's previous attempt at translating Frank Herbert's novel to the big screen. Whereas Lynch's Dune felt rushed, Villeneuve's version is a love letter to its source material, deliberately painting Herbert's vast cosmic world while ingratiating a new generation of fans to its gorgeous narrative. Dune's events essentially boil down to little more than a prologue in the context of the overarching storyline, yet Villeneuve's first offering of Dune's planet Arrakis is so enticing and extravagant it simply demands attention, making it the best HBO Max movie of 2021.

Next: Every MCU Actor In Dune 2021