The best new movies to watch with the family this Thanksgiving weekend

Families can gather for holiday celebrations to celebrate or bicker.

There’s great food and great company (hopefully), so why not great movies as well? With many families around the country gathering this weekend, the team at Polygon figured we’d pick out some fun new movies that everyone in the family can enjoy.

From kids’ movies even parents can enjoy to dad movies even kids can enjoy (and a little something in between), here are some stellar new movies that you can safely put on for the whole crew this weekend. And if you’re looking for some more new options, we’ve got them: We have a longer list of the best movies of 2022, or a selection of five movies on Netflix perfect for a chilly November night.

Enjoy!

Catherine Called Birdy

Image by Alex Bailey/Prime video

Genre: Comedic Comedy
Run time: 1h 48m
Director: Lena Dunham
Cast: Bella Ramsey, Andrew Scott, Billie Piper

Lena Dunham’s adaptation of the middle-grade medieval diary manages to capture the main heroine’s distinct, spunky voice, while translating the story appropriately for screen. Teenage Catherine (Bella Ramsey) just wants to run around with the goat boys and play in the mud, but as the daughter of the village’s lord, she’s expected to marry into a wealthy family. She’s rebellious, but not in a grating, too-modern way, and Ramsey’s performance is delightful. The movie does a stellar job of fleshing out Catherine’s parents, particularly her father, Lord Rollo (Andrew Scott), turning him from a one-note obstacle into a character with depth. —Petrana Radulovic

Catherine Called Birdy You can stream it on Prime Video.

Fletch, Confess

Robert Clark/Miramax

Genre: Mysterious comedy
Run time: 1h 39m
Director: Greg Mottola
Cast: Jon Hamm, Lorenza Izzo, Marcia Gay Harden

In the 1980s, Universal Pictures produced two movies based on Gregory Mcdonald’s mystery comedy novels about journalist I.M. Fletcher. The movies starred Chevy Chase and were a bit of a cult hit — there’s a decent chance someone at your gathering will remember them fondly.

Jon Hamm is suddenly the reboot of the show, many decades after it was originally broadcast. And guess what: It’s really funny! Hamm, who is known for his comedic talents as Fletch and often underutilized comedy chops, makes a great choice to play the part. Fletch, Confess The comedy is light and airy, with mysteries that play off nostalgia but not too much. There are plenty of laughs for all ages. And when you’re done, you can have even more fun by repeating how Marcia Gay Harden pronounces “Fletch” in this movie to each other for the rest of this weekend. —Pete Volk

Fletch, Confess It is also available for purchase or rental via digital media. AmazonGoogle Play and Apple.

Morbius

Image: Sony Pictures

Genre: Superhero/meme
Run time: 1h 44m
Director: Daniel Espinosa
Cast: Jared Leto, Matt Smith, Adria Arjona

Holiday traditions are better than sharing a good laugh with family and friends. It doesn’t matter much whether the thing you’re laughing at was intended for that purpose; what matters is that you’re enjoying the experience together.

Can I please interest you with this information? Morbius?

MorbiusThe sordid story of Dr. Michael Morbius (a doctor who also happens to be a vampire) is not fun or good. It is funny. canYou can make it more fun and good-looking if you do so together. Treasure Matt Smith’s dancing! Recoil at Jared Leto’s vampiric facial hair! Go “Hey, it’s that girl from Andor” when you see Adria Arjona! It’s fun* for the whole family. —PV

*results may vary

Morbius It is now available for purchase or rental via Netflix. AmazonGoogle Play and Apple.

Slumberland

Image courtesy of Netflix

Genre: Fantasy
Run time: 1h 57m
Director: Francis Lawrence
Cast: Marlow Barkley, Jason Momoa and Kyle Chandler

Slumberland is one of this year’s under-the-radar gems — an adaptation of the hugely inspiring, often jerkily adapted 1905 newspaper strip Little Nemo in Slumberland. Francis Lawrence of Hunger Games creates the Netflix original featuring joyful performances by Marlow barkley, a child actress ().For single parents), Chris O’Dowd (Bridesmaids), and Jason Momoa, who all but steals scenes as Flip, a hedonistic outlaw who adventures through humanity’s dreams. Movies like Family Blockbusters are filled with stunt voices, slapstick, and other pop culture references. This film is more traditional and appeals to all ages, from children as young as 1 up to the elderly. —Susana Polo

Slumberland You can watch it on Netflix.

The Adam Project

Foto by Doane Gregory/Netflix

Genre: Action comedy/Sci-fi
Run time: 1h 46m
Director: Shawn Levy
Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Walker Scobell, Mark Ruffalo

Ryan Reynolds is a certified studmuffin. Ryan Gosling is not to be confused. Certain don’t do all the time) and No cost to the Guy director Shawn Levy team up once again, this time for a Spielbergian sci-fi action comedy about a bad boy fighter pilot from the dystopian year 2050 who steals a time jet to jump back to 2018 to save his wife (Zoe Saldaña). He accidentally crashes-landing 2022 and meets Scobell, his younger self. Together, they embark on an adventure of time-hopping to save the future and reconcile the past. While it may not be the most innovative of concepts, The Adam Project is a crowd-pleasing family film that has everything one could ask for — action, comedy, suspense, and some genuinely charismatic lead performances. —Toussaint Egan

The Adam Project You can watch it on Netflix.

Maverick is the Top Gun

Image: Paramount Pictures

Genre: Take Action
Run time: 2h 11m
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Cast: Tom Cruise, Miles Teller, Glen Powell

Just based on sheer numbers, there’s a really good chance that everyone in your family, in your friend group, and you’ve ever met within the bounds of the continental United States has already seen Maverick is the Top GunMinimum of twice. But that’s not enough yet! It’s likely that at your Thanksgiving dinner, it will be at least five years since someone has last seen you at the table. Maverick is the Top Gun, which means it’s high time for everyone to watch it again.

If you’re not sure, Maverick is the Top Gun, it returns to the story of ace pilot and general smartass/hotshot Pete “Maverick” Mitchell as he returns to fighter jet school to train the best and brightest of the U.S. Navy’s next generation. It’s at once an excellent and exciting action movie, a great passing-of-the-torch story, and just tremendously entertaining in the way all great blockbuster movies should be. And if someone hasn’t seen the original, this one will catch you up enough that you don’t have to, or you can have grandma do a dramatic reading of the 1986 movie’s Wikipedia page.

Tom Cruise saved the movie theatres. The least we can do is to watch Tom Cruise’s movie on an airplane a third times at home to remember how wonderful those theaters were. —Austen Goslin

Maverick is the Top Gun Digital rental and purchase are possible via AmazonGoogle Play and Apple.

It’s time to turn red

Image: Pixar

Genre: Comedic Comedy
Run time: 1h 40m
Director: Domee Shi
Cast: Rosalie Chiang, Sandra Oh, Jordan Fisher

It’s time to turn red This marks the beginning of a new Pixar era. It elevates diverse voices within the existing Pixar roster. Domee Shi, her feature film debut director transforms a story that was centered on a young girl in Toronto in the 2000’s and her relationships with her mother into something more universal. The film’s central theme is the red panda-like fluffy metaphor. It’s time to turn red is an evocative coming-of-age story about mothers and daughters and finding one’s self in an ever-changing world. It’s bold and vibrant, with stylized animations and pastel backgrounds that are more realistic than Pixar’s usual photorealism. It’s the latest installment in this exciting new era, and definitely one worth catching up with. —PR

It’s time to turn red You can stream the video on Disney PlusOr for purchase or rental via digital media Amazon.