21 Best Movies New to Streaming in June: ‘Avatar: The Way of Water,’ ‘Creed 3,’ ‘Extraction 2’ and More

The arrival of James Cameron’s “Avatar: The Way of Water” on Disney+ is by far and away the streaming event of June 2023. While Cameron’s long-delayed “Avatar” sequel had its skeptics, the film shattered all expectations with strong reviews and $2.3 billion at the worldwide box office to become the third-highest grossing title in history (unadjusted for inflation). Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana return via motion capture as Jake Sully and Neytiri, who are forced on the run with their family and must befriend Pandora’s water tribe if they are to survive the latest batch of evil human invaders. Variety film critic Owen Gleiberman called “Avatar: The Way of Water” even more eye-popping than the original “Avatar” and a “dizzyingly spectacular sequel.”

Chris Hemsworth returns to kick some ass in “Extraction 2,” the sequel to Netflix’s 2020 action movie that became the streamer’s most-watched original film with 99 million viwers in its first four weeks of release. Director Sam Hargrave is also back and attempting to craft even more insane action sequences, including a highly touted set piece that’s designed to look like a 21-minute one take. Given that Hemsworth’s Tyler Rake was last seen shot in the neck and falling into a river, Netflix is keeping the specifics of his return under wraps until the sequel debuts. Expect plenty of surprises.

Michael B. Jordan’s first two “Creed” movies returned to Amazon Prime Video in March, and now the well-reviewed third installment arrives on the streamer following a strong box office run that included $156 million domestic and $274 million worldwide. Those numbers make “Creed III” the top-grossing film of the franchise, a feat more special as the sequel marks Jordan’s feature directorial debut. Variety film critic Owen Gleiberman hailed “Creed III” as a “rock-solid sequel that’s closer to ‘Cape Fear’ than ‘Rocky.’” 

Andrea Riseborough became the talk of Oscar season this year after a controversial grassroots campaign resulted in her landing a best actress nomination for the little-seen indie drama “To Leslie.” The few who saw the film know that Riseborough astonishes in the role of a broken down, alcohol-addicted mother who gets a second shot at life after befriending a local motel owner (Marc Maron) in her hometown. From Variety’s review: “Riseborough’s performance is nothing short of spectacular. She doesn’t compromise, she doesn’t hold back, but she doesn’t endow the character with any sort of fake flamboyance.”

Nicolas Cage’s Dracula movie “Renfield” arrives on Peacock this month after disappointing at the box office with just $17 million domestically. It was a rare loss for Universal Pictures this year, as the studio has dominated with the likes of “M3gan,” “Cocaine Bear” and “The Super Mario Bros. Movie.” From Variety’s review: “It’s a scattershot lark jam-packed with ideas,’ none of which really take hold…The filmmakers know that an action film will be bigger at the box office than something that’s just an oddball Nick Cage vampire film. But the hypomanic violence of ‘Renfield,’ even as it will help sell the movie, detracts from what the movie is.”

After slaying the box office with $176 million worldwide and debuting both its theatrical cut and an unrated version on Peaock, the notorious M3GAN now comes to make a killing on Amazon Prime Video this month. The viral horror movie stars “Girls” and “Get Out” actor Allison Williams as a robotics wiz whose latest invention turns into a killing machine. A sequel is already on the way, of course. Variety called the film “a slyly preposterous and also somewhat clever satirical sci-fi horror movie” in its review.

Brandon Cronenberg crafts a deranged critique of Western decadence in “Infinity Pool,” in which a young couple on a wealthy vacation (Alexander Skarsgård and Cleopatra Coleman) befriend a loony vixen (Mia Goth) and gets trapped in her cycle of violence. The less you know about the plot, the better. From Variety’s review: “The kind of images Kid Cronenberg cooks up can wedge their way into your subconscious and fester there for years to come. In so many ways, ‘Infinity Pool’ is right on brand (transgressive shots of erections erupting out of vagina-like orifices, say, or someone breast-feeding Alexander Skarsgård). And yet, Dark Brandon seems to have gone off the deep end this time — which is precisely where a certain contingent of horror fans want him.”

Bill Nighy was Oscar-nominated for best actor this year thanks to his performance in “Living,” an adaptation of Akira Kurosawa’s beloved 1952 drama “Ikiru.” This version of the story is set in 1953 London and centers on a bureaucrat in the county Public Works department who must confront his past and future after being diagnosed with a fatal illness. Variety film critic Peter Debruge named the film a critic’s pick, calling it “undeniably moving” and praising Nighy for an “unusually understated performance that is all the more striking given what a firecracker the actor remains well into his 70s.”

Christopher Nolan’s “Dunkirk” returns to Netflix just over a month before his latest directorial effort, “Oppenheimer,” opens in theaters. Nolan earned his first Oscar nomination for directing with “Dunkirk,” a survival thriller in which three different narratives set around the Dunkirk evacuation of World War II converge at different points in time. From Variety’s review: “Nolan recreates the World War II evacuation from land, sea and air, interweaving events in a bravura virtual-eyewitness account. Though the subject matter is leagues (and decades) removed from the likes of ‘Inception’ and ‘The Dark Knight,’ the result is so clearly ‘a Christopher Nolan film’ — from its immersive, full-body suspense to the sophisticated way he manipulates time and space — that his fans will eagerly follow en masse to witness the achievement. And what an achievement it is!”

Netflix’s original romantic-comedy offering of the month is “The Perfect Find,” based on the book by Tia Williams. Gabrielle Union plays a recently fired fashion executive whose second chance at a career is turned upside down when she falls for a much younger co-worker (Keith Powers). “The Perfect Find” is directed by Numa Perrier and also stars Aisha Hinds, D.B. Woodside, Gina Torres and La La Anthony.

Fresh off the series finale of “Succession,” Emmy contender Sarah Snook headlines Netflix’s latest horror movie “Run Rabbit Run.” The film, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, stars Snook as a fertility doctor who begins to notice her own child displaying strange and unsettling behavior. From Variety’s review: “Debut feature director Daina Reid throws a rusting shed-full of horror tropes at the wall. A surprising number of them stick…. what it lacks in thematic newness, ‘Run Rabbit Run’ makes up for in the sophistication of its moment-to-moment scarifying and its performances from Snook and outstanding newcomer Lily LaTorre.”

Fans of the Tumblr comic series “Nimona” are finally getting the long-in-the-works film adaptation thanks to Netflix. “Nimona,” set in a techno-medieval landscape where magic and technology combine, follows a shape-shifting teenager (Chloë Grace Moretz) as she tries to prove the innocence of a wrongly-convicted knight (Riz Ahmed). Joining Moretz and Ahmed in the film are Frances Conroy, Lorraine Toussaint, Beck Bennett, RuPaul Charles, Indya Moore, Julio Torres, Sarah Sherman and Eugene Lee Yang. Nick Bruno and Troy Quane (“Spies in Disguise”) serve as co-directors.

After picking up an audience award at the SXSW Film Festival, Eva Longoria’s feature directorial debut “Flamin’ Hot” becomes the first Searchlight original to make its streaming debut on both Disney+ and Hulu at the same time. The film tells the somewhat true inspirational story about a Frito-Lay janitor who invented Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, while also exploring how corporate America often underestimates the Hispanic community. Variety film critic Peter Debruge named “Flamin’ Hot” a critic’s pick out of SXSW, writing, “Longoria serves it up rich and tasty in her feature debut. She’s been directing shorts and episodic TV for more than a dozen years, bringing all that experience (and just the right amount of sizzle) to a stirring motivational exercise.”

As the architect of dozens of Marvel superheroes, Stan Lee is largely responsible for Disney’s multi-billion-dollar-grossing Marvel Cinematic Universe. Now the studio is honoring the late comic book icon with a new Disney+ documentary on his life and legacy, which will hit streaming after premiering at the Tribeca Festival. From the film’s official synopsis: “Director David Gelb weaves footage together to tell the story of Lee’s life, both successes and pitfalls alike. Voice recordings are accompanied by archived interview clips, newsreels, and even clay models that immerse fans in his incredible yet complicated mind.”

Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune” has been a staple of HBO Max for well over a year (ever since it controversially debuted in theaters and on streaming at the same time in 2021), but now it arrives on Hulu just a few months before Villeneuve’s “Part 2” arrives in theaters. From Variety’s review: “‘Dune,’ a majestically somber and grand-scale sci-fi trance-out, is full of lavish hugger-mugger — clan wars, brute armies, a grotesque autocrat villain, a hero who may be the Messiah — that links it, in spirit and design, to the ‘Star Wars’ and ‘Lord of the Rings’ films, though with a predatory ominousness all its own.”

Kelvin Harrison Jr. earned acclaim for his performance as French-Caribbean musician Joseph Bologne in “Chevalier.” Born on the Caribbean Island of Guadeloupe and the son of a white plantation owner and his Black slave, Bologne went on to excel in spheres rarely accessible to people of color in 18th-century French society. From Variety’s review: “‘Chevalier’ is less a definitive portrait than a fascinating departure point for further reading and research…the film becomes at once a critique of insincere allyship and a reminder for ambitious outsiders not to abandon their culture en route to the success they seek.”

“Barbarian,” one of the most exciting horror movies of 2022, arrives on Hulu this month after making its streaming debut on HBO Max last year. Boasting a twist-filled script and a killer supporting performance from Justin Long, the movie follows a young woman who discovers she’s not the only person staying at her rental in Detroit. Variety film critic Peter Debruge hailed “Barbarian” as a “ratched new horror classic” in his review, adding, “A deliciously twisted sense of humor runs beneath the surface. In fact, the image of someone (or something) running beneath the surface is one of the film’s most outrageous thrills. Audiences may be expecting something supernatural, but here too, ‘Psycho’ seems to be the reference point, as ‘Barbarian’ builds shock upon shock, giving viewers a movie they won’t soon forget.”

Comedian Jim Gaffigan earned praised for his performance in the sci-fi indie “Linoleum,” in which he plays an aimless husband whose childhood dream of becoming an astronaut gets a strange second chance when a rocket crash lands in his backyard. “Jim Gaffigan’s compelling lead performance anchors Colin West’s free-wheeling indie without impeding its flights of fantasy,” reads Variety’s review. “‘Linoleum’ starts out as one kind of movie, drops teasing hints that it might be another type of film and ultimately plot-twists into, well, something else. All of which makes it difficult to review, much less describe in detail.”

Todd Field’s psychodrama “Tár” stars Cate Blanchett as an esteemed composer come undone by abuse allegations and toxic workplace behavior. The film earned six Oscar nominations earlier this year, including best picture and actress. After making its streaming debut on Peacock, “Tár” now becomes available at no extra cost for Prime Video subscribers. Variety film critic Owen Gleiberman named “Tár” the best movie of 2022.

Based on the memoir by TV Line editor-in-chief Michael Ausiello, “Spoiler Alert” explores the romance between TV fanatic Michael (Jim Parsons) and his cancer-stricken partner Kit (Aldridge). Sally Field also stars in the drama, which boasts “The Big Sick” helmer Michael Showalter as its director. The film aims to hit the emotional jugular à la tearjerker classics like “Terms of Endearment.” “Spoiler Alert” made its streaming debut on Peacock back in February, but it now becomes available at no extra cost to Prime Video subscribers this month.

James Gray’s autobiographical family drama “Armageddon Time” debuts on Prime Video at no extra cost to subscribers this month after originally making its streaming debut on Peacock. The film earned favorable reviews out of the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, but acclaimed performances from Jeremy Strong and Anne Hathaway weren’t enough to bring in big box office dollars (the film flopped with just $1.8 million domestic). Gray tells the story of his own upbringing as a young Jewish-American boy coming of age in 1980s Queens. Variety film critic Owen Gleiberman praised Gray’s “boisterous skill,” adding, “It’s a skillful, exacting, beguiling movie.”