3 Best Movies To Watch On Prime Video This Weekend (#1 Is Kurt Russell's Cult Classic Sci-Fi Thriller)

Prime Video subscribers can spend the weekend with one of the best actors in the world, as well as a few rising stars, in these varied selections. On last weekend's Prime Video movie recommendations, I explored why subscribers should check out films like the intense horror Primate, Zendaya's fan-favorite Challengers, and Christopher Nolan's masterpiece sci-fi epic Interstellar.

Despite how popular Challengers and Interstellar are, especially since the latter is a collaboration between The Odyssey stars Matt Damon and Anne Hathaway with Nolan, they are not currently trending on Prime Video. Instead, the only entry from last weekend's list to find its way to the streaming service's charts is Primate. The animal horror film is Prime Video's #10 in the United States.

As for this weekend's list, much like how there were completely different genres among the three options for Prime Video subscribers last weekend, we now have three films that are completely different from one another. If you are a fan of one of the best directors of all time, Paul Thomas Anderson, then you are in for quite the emotional movie on Prime Video.

There are no Prime Video original movies on this list. That said, all three licensed films promise to make viewers laugh, cry, tense up, and cheer over the weekend on the streaming service. PTA's dramedy is joined by Kurt Russell's sci-fi thriller and a recent horror release to make this a colorful weekend full of different experiences on Prime Video.

3 Licorice Pizza (2021)

With One Battle After Another, which starred Leonardo DiCaprio, Anderson finally won a Best Director Oscar. He also took home the statues for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay. As such, fans of the director might want to check out Licorice Pizza, a heartfelt coming-of-age tale that led to PTA being nominated in those very same categories at the Oscars, though with no wins.

Licorice Pizza is also a timely release for Marvel fans. While he was not ultimately picked to play Cyclops in the MCU X-Men movie, Cooper Hoffman was reportedly a top pick for the role. In Licorice Pizza, you can see why the actor made it that far, as he plays Gary Valentine, a teen actor who navigates many business ideas and a budding romance.

2 The Gates (2026)

The Gates is one of the final projects featuring Dawson's Creek star James Van Der Beek before his tragic passing. The horror thriller is currently trending on the streaming service, standing as the 6th most-watched film on Prime Video in the United States. Van Der Beek delivers a magnetic performance as Jacob, the pastor who murders someone exactly when three friends take a shortcut through his gated community, watching the crime unfold.

The Gates is also a timely watch due to how star Mason Gooding, known for the Scream franchise, who plays Derek in the film on Prime Video, is a core part of 72 Hours, the new Kevin Hart comedy that has been lighting up Netflix's global charts. The Gates mixes horror and thriller well, delivering an intense ride that will perfectly match with popcorn this weekend on Prime Video.

1 Escape from New York (1981)

The final movie on our Prime Video weekend recommendations is Escape from New York. While it was not a massive box office hit, the sci-fi thriller has since developed a cult following. Starring Kurt Russell, Escape from New York followed the actor as S.D. "Snake" Plissken, who was formerly in the US' special forces, but is now a prisoner, as he is given the nearly-impossible mission of rescuing the President of the United States in 24 hours, after his plane fell in a walled-off Manhattan.

Escape from New York is set in a dystopian version of the United States, where crime runs rampant. The R-rated sci-fi thriller features plenty of action sequences, as Russell's Snake has to fight off those who are against the government and want to kill the president. This genre classic will end the weekend on Prime Video in style.