Want to know what’s coming soon to digital and what to watch right now on Vudu? Here is your weekly guide to the latest releases:
What are the latest new releases to watch right now?
Ghostbusters: Afterlife, the long-awaited second sequel to the 1984 classic Ghostbusters, is now available to purchase on Vudu. This thrilling, heartwarming and often hilarious new movie features a fresh cast of characters, including Carrie Coon (Gone Girl) as the daughter of one of the original team who now has kids of her own and Paul Rudd (Ant-Man) as a goofy high school teacher.
But the one to watch here is Mckenna Grace (Annabelle Comes Home) as the daughter of Coon’s character. She’s got a lot of spunk and a perfect blend of smarts and dry humor to carry the paranormal adventure story on her own. Of course, fans will still be happy to see some familiar faces in the mix, including original stars Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson and Annie Potts.
Fans of the TV series The Leftovers have another veteran of that cast to watch this week along with Carrie Coon in Ghostbusters: Afterlife. Ann Dowd is one of the stars of Mass, an essential film that arrived on Vudu over the holidays, and she’s been garnering a lot of awards attention for the role. She’s joined by the equally incredible Reed Birney, Jason Isaacs and Martha Plimpton.
Written and directed by actor Fran Kranz in his debut as a filmmaker, it’s a small, single-location, play-like drama, but it’s powerful enough to feel like a blockbuster in scope. It’s admittedly a tough watch as it concerns two sets of parents meeting to discuss a school shooting. One couple’s son was the perpetrator, the other couple’s son was one of the victims. Have tissues ready.
For something lighter and more inspiring, King Richard is also new to Vudu this week. The biographical drama depicts the early years of tennis champions Venus and Serena Williams while primarily focusing on their father (Will Smith) in his pursuit to make them star athletes. From their beginnings in Compton through their first tastes of fame, it’s the origin story of dual icons.
This is likely to be Will Smith’s year for the Oscar for Best Actor for his performance in the titular role of Richard Williams. Aunjanue Ellis does even more with less as the Williams sisters’ mother, Brandy. And as young Venus, Saniyya Sidney often steals the movie from both of them. I wouldn’t mind a sequel following the Williams family into the next phase of their biography.
What movies are great to pair with those new releases?
The easiest movies to pair with Ghostbusters: Afterlife are the previous installments. You’ve got the 1984 original and then Ghostbusters II, the lesser but decent sequel from 1989 (get the whole trilogy together discounted in a bundled collection). You could also throw the 2016 Ghostbusters into the mini-marathon. And if you want another late sequel featuring Mckenna Grace, Independence Day: Resurgence is plenty entertaining, actually.
As for Mass, more movies involving school shootings may be a bit much, but I’d still pair it with We Need to Talk About Kevin or Elephant (currently available for free) or go for a documentary with Newtown. If you’d rather something different but still dramatic and featuring a small cast in a limited setting, I recommend Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, The Breakfast Club and Hard Candy.
The best pairing for King Richard is the 2013 documentary Venus and Serena, which gives a longer and more focused look at the lives and tennis careers of the Williams sisters. Another great tennis doc is the new release Citizen Ashe, about Arthur Ashe. If you prefer more tennis biopics, there’s Borg vs. McEnroe and Battle of the Sexes. I also recommend Will Smith as another well-intentioned father with a dream in The Pursuit of Happyness.
What are some great action movies led by women to buy this week?
With The 355 opening this Friday (get your tickets from Fandango!), Vudu has a Female Action Heroes sale focused on women-led movies and TV shows. Among the picks, I have to first highlight the James Cameron-helmed sequels Aliens (also available as a Special Edition release) and Terminator 2: Judgment Day, plus the Cameron-produced Alita: Battle Angel.
I also recommend the Charlize Theron vehicle Atomic Blonde, the comedy Spy, the Marvel superhero blockbuster Captain Marvel, Luc Besson’s Nikita and Lucy and the Blaxploitation classics Foxy Brown and Coffee, both of which star Pam Grier. For the younger crowd, there’s a bunch of DC SuperHero Girls content, from full series of the cartoon to LEGO-based features and more.
Are we celebrating any big movie and TV anniversaries this week?
This week marks the 40th anniversary of the premieres of the DC comic book movie Swamp Thing and Amy Holden Jones’s cult classic slasher film The Slumber Party Massacre. Going back further, the horror movie The Sentinel turns 45 this week and the Buster Keaton action-comedy masterpiece The General turns 95.
More recent titles with anniversaries include the Philip K. Dick adaptation Impostor, which turns 20 this week. Also, the Hilary Swank drama Freedom Writers, the dance drama Stomp the Yard and the animated feature Happily N’Ever After all turn 15 while the horror movie The Devil Inside turns 10. Plus, the documentary Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds turns 5.
Can you recommend some more great movie deals on Vudu?
In addition to the Female Action Heroes deals, Vudu is also celebrating the release of The 355 with a sale on Spy and Assassin movies. In this batch you’ll find John Wick, the recent must-see The Protégé and the underrated Kristen Stewart film American Ultra. Meanwhile, with Cobra Kai back for a new season, Vudu has a sale on all the Karate Kid movies. You’ll need to see The Karate Kid Part III if you want to fully appreciate the latest episodes.
The latest Actor’s Spotlight features movies starring Oscar-winners Denzel Washington, Anne Hathaway and Lupita Nyong’o (who also co-stars in The 355) along with Adam Sandler. Here are some under-appreciated movies from each that I recommend: The Siege, for Washington; Rachel Getting Married, for Hathaway; Jordan Peele’s Us, for Nyong’o; and Paul Thomas Anderson’s Punch-Drunk Love, for Sandler.
What must-see movie is coming soon to Vudu?
One of the hottest movies on the big screen right now is American Underdog, the biopic about football player Kurt Warner. While the VOD release date is not yet known, Vudu is offering pre-sales for the digital option for whenever it becomes available. If you’re unsure, just go see it in theaters first (get your tickets from Fandango). You’ll likely want to reserve your copy afterward.
Another biographical movie available for pre-order right now is Ridley Scott’s House of Gucci, starring Lady Gaga. She plays Patrizia Reggiani, an ambitious woman who married into the famed Gucci family, of the fashion world. The cast also includes Adam Driver, Al Pacino, Salma Hayek, Jeremy Irons and an unrecognizable Jared Leto as Uncle Paolo Gucci.
What are the 10 most popular movies on Vudu?
With Spider-Man: No Way Home continuing to dominate at the box office, fans remain interested in all things Spidey, enough that one of the wall-crawler’s most iconic villains from the comics still has the top spot on the Vudu streaming chart, with the sequel Venom: Let There Be Carnage again ranking #1.
But the previous Spidey feature, Spider-Man: Far From Home, also landed in the top 10, at #9. And the inaugural entry in the previous incarnation, the Andrew Garfield-led The Amazing Spider-Man, fell just outside the top 10, at #14. Don’t forget, you can currently buy both of those along with the rest of the live-action Spidey movies, including No Way Home (when it’s available) by purchasing the Spider-Man 8-Movie Collection.
Other new releases in the top 10 include the video game movie reboot Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City, the sci-fi remake Dune and Disney’s latest animated feature, the incredibly catchy musical Encanto. Season 4 of Yellowstone has also re-joined the streaming chart while the new football drama National Champions made its debut just outside of the top 10, at #12.
See the full top 10 list below.
1. Venom: Let There Be Carnage
2. No Time to Die
3. Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City
4. Encanto
5. Dune
6. Free Guy
7. Clifford the Big Red Dog
8. The Last Duel
9. Spider-Man: Far From Home
10. Yellowstone: Season 4
