Welcome to When To Stream’s Weekly Preview! Every week, we take a closer look at the major film streaming releases scheduled to launch in the next 7 days. As always, release dates are subject to change.

One note: We provide links to Amazon pre-orders (when available) and do receive a very small commission for any purchases made from this website. If you’d like to support our work, and you’re looking to buy through Amazon, we’d appreciate it if you’d click through.

Here are next week’s highlights:

Tuesday, January 28th, 2025

BABYGIRL - $24.99 Sale / $19.99 Rental

Synopsis: A high-powered CEO puts her career and family on the line when she begins a torrid affair with her much younger intern.

What we like:

• Halina Reijn’s erotic thriller made a big splash when it world premiered at last year’s Venice Film Festival, winning Nicole Kidman the Volpi Cup for Best Actress.

• Kidman went on to win Best Actress from the National Board of Review, who also named the film one of the top 10 of 2024.

• After starting slow at the Christmas box-office (probably not the first choice for many families), the film has quietly chugged along and grossed over $26M in the US so far. Not a blockbuster, but certainly respectable.

What we don’t like:

• The film’s awards prospects petered out pretty quickly. Kidman snagged a Golden Globe nomination, but missed out on SAG and Oscar nods. Not her year.

• Kidman's beloved AMC promo, a mainstay in theaters since its debut in 2021, was reportedly removed from the reel played before screenings of the film, possibly to avoid brand association with the film's graphic opening scene. Lame. AMC should be ashamed.

DEN OF THIEVES 2: PANTERA - $24.99 Sale / $19.99 Rental

Synopsis: Big Nick is back on the hunt in Europe and closing in on Donnie, who is embroiled in the treacherous and unpredictable world of diamond thieves and the infamous Panther mafia, as they plot a massive heist of the world's largest diamond exchange.

What we like:

• For moviegoers who relish the arrival of ‘Dump-uary’ (the affectionate name for genre titles studios dump in January without much expectation), this sequel is music to our ears. We start to feel overwhelmed by all the Oscar catch-up, which often involves heavy themes and serious subject matter. Sometimes you just need Big Nick.

• A sequel to the 2018 original, which took place in Los Angeles but was filmed in Atlanta, this one takes our thieves overseas. Pantera was shot in the UK and the Canary Islands.

What we don’t like:

• The film has a running time of 144 minutes! These thieves are robbing us of our time. We’re looking forward to catching up with this one in the comfort of our home. And while two hours and twenty-four minutes is rough, it’s still not The Brutalist (yes, don’t worry, we hate ourselves for making that joke).

THE FIRE INSIDE - $19.99 Sale / TBD Rental

Synopsis: Claressa Shields, a high school junior from Flint, Michigan, aided by her tough-love coach, Jason Crutchfield, pushes past all limitations to become the first American woman to win an Olympic gold medal in boxing. But even at the pinnacle of success, Claressa has to reckon with the fact that not all dreams are created equal, and the real fight has only just begun.

What we like:

• The feature directorial debut of Rachel Morrison, who became the first woman to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Cinematography for her work on Dee Rees’s Mudbound.

• The film’s screenplay is by Oscar-winner Barry Jenkins.

• If we’re being honest, we don’t love boxing movies as a genre. There are plenty of great ones, but they just don’t get us excited. But we LOVED this one. The performances from Ryan Destiny and Brian Tyree Henry (both Spirit Award nominated) are fantastic. It’s stylish, and avoids the usual sports movie cliches. Give it a shot.

What we don’t like:

• Amazon MGM had two sports movies on their end-of-year schedule, but quickly announced the Jennifer Lopez wrestling film Unstoppable would go to Prime Video in January. They gave The Fire Inside a full theatrical release…and nobody came. It grossed only $8M.

GHOST CAT ANZU - $14.99 Sale / TBD Rental

Synopsis: A headstrong girl moves to rural Japan to live with her grandfather. She soon forms an unlikely friendship with a phantom feline that becomes her guardian.

What we like:

• Co-directed by Yōko Kuno and Nobuhiro Yamashita, this animated film world premiered in the Director’s Fortnight section of the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.

• The film won the Audience Award for Best Animated Feature at the 2024 Fantasia Film Festival.

What we don’t like:

• After shepherding the 2023 Miyazaki film The Boy and the Heron to both box-office and Oscar glory, distributor GKIDS couldn’t drum up much business for this one. It grossed less than $250K domestically.

Thursday, January 30th, 2025

HERE - Netflix

Synopsis: An odyssey through time and memory, centered around a place in New England where—from wilderness, and then, later, from a home—love, loss, struggle, hope and legacy play out between couples and families over generations.

What we like:

• A Forrest Gump reunion! Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Robert Zemeckis, and even screenwriter Eric Roth (who co-wrote with Zemeckis) all come together again for this audacious single location drama.

• The film is based on the 2014 graphic novel of the same name by Richard McGuire, and it’s a non-linear narrative that covers both dinosaurs and COVID. It’s Contagion meets Jurassic Park (it’s not)!

What we don’t like:

• This was a big swing that whiffed, which is a shame. We love all the talent involved.

• Can we retire the de-aging special effects? Seeing actors of a certain age with voices and body language that belies their digitized youth is distracting. Not a fan.

YOU’RE CORDIALLY INVITED - Prime Video

Synopsis: When two weddings are accidentally booked on the same day at the same venue, each bridal party is challenged with preserving their family's special moment.

What we like:

• Will Ferrell and Reese Witherspoon team up with writer-director Nicholas Stoller, whose track record with comedy has more hits (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Neighbors, Bros) than misses (Get Him to the Greek). The trailer looks decent, so we choose optimism.

• Witherspoon has been busy producing and starring in television projects, so it’s nice to see her back in a feature film.

• We’ve always enjoyed Will Ferrell, but we’re feeling extra love for him after last year’s fantastic doc Will & Harper.

What we don’t like:

• Why is Amazon MGM not putting this in theaters? Valentine’s Day is coming up, there’s absolutely no romantic comedies on the schedule for the next few weeks, give this a theatrical push! It just doesn’t make sense to us.

Friday, January 31st, 2025

THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO - $19.99 Sale / TBD Rental

Synopsis: Edmond Dantes becomes the target of a sinister plot and is arrested on his wedding day for a crime he did not commit. After 14 years in the island prison of Château d’If, he manages a daring escape. Now rich beyond his dreams, he assumes the identity of the Count of Monte-Cristo and exacts his revenge on the three men who betrayed him.

What we like:

• This big-budget French epic world premiered at last year’s Cannes Film Festival and has been a big hit around the world.

• The film was adapted from the Alexandre Dumas novel and co-directed by Matthieu Delaporte and Alexandre de La Patellière. Seems appropriate, as those two names sound like they could be characters in The Count of Monte Cristo.

• Pierre Niney stars as Edmond Dantès, and he won a César Award for Best Actor in 2014 for playing the titular role in the biopic Yves Saint Laurent.

What we don’t like:

• The film runs 178 minutes, which is a sit. Still, we’re grateful they didn’t split it in to two parts like they did for The Three Musketeers (D’Artagnan and Milady). And while a two hours and fifty-eight minute running time is rough, it’s still not The Brutalist (gah….we did it again!).

GOODRICH - Max

Synopsis: Andy Goodrich's life is upended when his wife enters a rehab program, leaving him on his own with their young kids. Goodrich leans on his daughter from his first marriage, Grace, as he ultimately evolves into the father Grace never had.

What we like:

• Michael Keaton is such an appealing actor, and he gets a juicy lead role here.

• This is director Hallie Meyers-Shyer’s second film, following up her 2017 romantic comedy Home Again. It sounds like Goodrich is a step up from that truly baffling (though not unwatchable) film. We’d love for Meyers-Shyer to deliver the sort of comfort food films her parents use to make. Her mother, Nancy Meyers, made some endurable classics, including Something’s Gotta Give, It’s Complicated, and The Parent Trap. And yes, we think they’re classics!

What we don’t like:

• Again, we really root for Michael Keaton, but it seems like it’s one step forward, two steps back for him. After the smashing success of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Goodrich failed to make any money at the US box-office, grossing a meager $1.4M.

SING SING - $24.99 Sale / $19.99 Rental

Synopsis: Divine G, imprisoned at Sing Sing for a crime he didn't commit, finds purpose by acting in a theatre group alongside other incarcerated men in this story of resilience, humanity, and the transformative power of art.

What we like:

• Greg Kwedar’s prison drama finally comes to digital after a July theatrical release and January re-release.

• The film was nominated for three Oscars: Best Actor (Colman Domingo), Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Original Song.

• Professional actors Domingo and Paul Raci co-star alongside many real-life formerly incarcerated men who were themselves alumni of the Rehabilitation Through the Arts program, including Clarence "Divine Eye" Maclin and Jon-Adrian "JJ" Velazquez.

What we don’t like:

• Maclin was in the running for a Supporting Actor nomination, but didn’t make the cut. It’s too bad, as he goes toe-to-toe with Domingo and nearly steals the film. One consolation: He’s nominated in the Screenplay category with Kwedar, Clint Bentley, and John "Divine G" Whitfield, who Colman portrays in the film.

Happy Streaming Everyone!

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