Peacock is here, adding thousands of hours of content on top of the already endless list of things we have at our disposal to watch. The streaming service comes from NBCUniversal and features a ridiculous amount of TV shows and movies to consume. Where do you start, though?
First of all, take a look at everything already leaving Peacock. Many of the blockbuster films that might have drawn you to the service will be departing shortly, even though the service launched widely today. Combine that with our overall thoughts on Peacock and you might question whether it's worth trying out at all. If you're like us, though, and you need a complete set of streaming services to choose from, there are quite a few excellent moves for you to delve into on the service.
Below, we've come up with the 20 movies most worth watching right away. Some of these you've likely seen many times before but are always worth another viewing. Others, though, might be new discoveries for you to enjoy. Whatever the case, you'll have plenty to watch while you wait for The Office to finally be added in full.
1. All Things Must Pass: The Rise and Fall of Tower Records
If you were a child of the '80s or '90s, chances are you are at least somewhat familiar with Tower Records. The iconic chain music store had locations around the world before online music became a thing and it was eventually driven out of business. This documentary, directed by Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle star--and noted son of Tom Hanks--Colin Hanks, digs into the store's history, its expansion throughout the '90s, and its eventual bankruptcy. If you've never seen this documentary, it's more than worth your time and shows just how devoted people were to this chain, including some of the biggest stars in the music industry.
2. American Psycho
Before Christian Bale played Batman, he portrayed a fictional serial killer named Patrick Batemen in this very weird and entertaining 2000 adaptation of a Bret Easton Ellis novel. Bateman is an investment banker with a dark side who brutally murders people at random, usually while dancing to '80s pop music and spouting music trivia. The film is told from his point of view, as he searches for meaning.
3. Back in Time
What better series of movies to do a documentary on than Back to the Future? Back in time is loaded with new interviews, plenty of behind-the-scenes stories, and a deep dive into what made this franchise so special.
4. Fletch
Sure, these days Chevy Chase is best known for playing horrible human being Pierce Hawthorne on the TV show Community. In the '80s, though, Chase had quite the film career, including the National Lampoon's Vacation franchise. Fletch is some of his most entertaining work. It's a comedy in which he plays a news reporter and master of disguise (Not really, he just puts on costumes and pretends to be other people) trying to get to the bottom of a millionaire's plot to have him killed. It's absurd and very funny.
5. Universal monster movies
What would a streaming service from NBCUniversal be without the Universal monsters? Peacock is filled with classic Universal monster movies, from Dracula and Frankenstein to The Creature from the Black Lagoon and Abbot and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. There's even an entire section of the service dedicated solely to these classic films.
6. Highlander
There can only be one! The 1986 film about a sword-wielding immortal named Connor MacLeod (Christopher Lambert) launched a franchise that included multiple movie sequels and several TV shows. Only the first movie is available, but it's worth watching--especially if you love battles to the death.
7. Howard the Duck
This is obviously the most important Marvel movie of all time. Who needs the Avengers when you have Howard the Duck? Yes, long before he was an Easter egg in Guardians of the Galaxy, Howard the Duck had his own movie, and it's somehow wonderful and terrible all at once. The plot is utterly ridiculous: Howard is propelled from his duck-filled world to Earth, where he agrees to manage a rock band. Then he finds out why he's really there: to stop a laser from destroying his home planet. Watch this movie and marvel (get it?) at what comic book movies were back in 1986.
8. I Am Big Bird
Ever wonder what life was like living inside of a giant bird puppet? This documentary explores the life of Caroll Spinney, the man who portrayed Big Bird on Sesame Street from 1969 until 2019, performing both in-costume and the character's voice. It's a fascinating look at the person behind one of pop culture's most iconic figures.
9. King Ralph
While you may know him as the dad from Roseanne/The Conners, or the guy from 10 Cloverfield Lane, or even Walter from The Big Lebowski, John Goodman also starred in 1991's King Ralph. In the film, the entire British royal family dies in a freak electrocution accident, and American lounge singer Ralph Jones (Goodman) winds up becoming the King of England. Is it a ludicrous setup for a film? Absolutely. Is it a funny movie? Absolutely.
10. Man on the Moon
Jim Carrey's performance as Andy Kaufman is spellbinding to watch in this biopic that studies the comedian's career. Whether he's wrestling Jerry "The King" Lawler or assuming the alter ego of lounge singer Tony Clifton, it's hard to look away from Carrey as Kaufman in this movie.
11. Matinee
Peacock really does love John Goodman. In Matinee, King Ralph himself stars as a movie producer trying to mount a preview of his B horror movie in Florida during the Cuban missile crisis. While set during a very serious and troubling period, this comedy is ultimately very funny--and at points truly bizarre thanks to director Joe Dante (Gremlins, Small Soldiers). If ever you've wanted to see Goodman get punched out by someone in a mutant ant costume, this is the film for you. And if you haven't wanted to see that, it should probably be on your list now.
12. Psycho
The horror classic is one of many Alfred Hitchcock films available on Peacock. You can also watch The Birds, Rear Window, Vertigo, and Rope, among many others.
13. Reservoir Dogs
Before Pulp Fiction, this was the movie that put Quentin Tarantino on the map. Shot on a small budget with an A-list cast, Reservoir Dogs is one of the most interesting heist movies you'll ever see. What makes it so interesting--and cheap to make--is that you don't actually see the heist. Instead, you see the planning and then the aftermath when it all goes horribly wrong. Rather than focusing on the actual heist, Reservoir Dogs is a character study as you watch these relative strangers fall apart when their seemingly perfect plan doesn't work out.
14. Silent Running
Silent Running, which was released in 1972, is never included in discussions about the best sci-fi movies and that's a serious mistake. It's set in a future where all plant life on Earth is dead and a botanist (Bruce Dern) tends to some of the last existing vegetation on what is essentially a space station connected to a commercial freight ship. Things take a drastic turn when he learns the plant life is to be destroyed and sets out to protect it at all costs.
15. Sleepaway Camp
You won't find much on Peacock from the slasher subgenre of horror films. However, the first Sleepaway Camp movie is there and if you've somehow never seen it before, get ready for a wild ride. It's a familiar story of teenagers at a summer camp where bodies start piling up, but the journey is a fun one and it led to sequels. While you won't find those on Peacock, they are on Shudder.
16. The Blair Witch Project
The Blair Witch Project is the found footage movie that all other found footage movies aspire to be. From the moment the first trailer for this film premiered before screenings of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, audiences were terrified of whatever was going to happen on-screen. The end result is a low budget horror movie that remains absolutely terrifying to this day. Peacock also has the non-found footage sequel, Blair Witch 2: Book of Shadows. You can skip that one, though.
17. The Bourne Identity
The first Jason Bourne movie remains the best Jason Bourne movie. The Bourne Identity introduced Matt Damon as the action star nobody knew he could be. Playing Jason Bourne, a man with amnesia and incredible fighting skills that many people seem to want dead, Damon and director Doug Liman created a gritty and violent action film that launched a franchise--and a theme park stunt show.
18. The Matrix
Of course, you've seen The Matrix. Everybody has seen The Matrix. You're probably one of the unfortunate souls that sat through sequels to The Matrix too. And when The Matrix 4 hits theaters, you'll line up to see that too. That doesn't mean you should stop rewatching the original, though, and Peacock has it ready and waiting for you. The sequels are also there but don't do that to yourself.
19. The Mummy
Sure, you could watch the old Mummy movies where he's one of the Universal monsters. Instead of that, though, you should watch Brendan Frasier fight the Mummy. What movie hasn't been improved by having Brendan Frasier in it? This take on the Mummy, which is more action than horror, is fun and is ready to stream on Peacock--along with 2001's The Mummy Returns.
20. You're Next
2013's You're Next is a thrilling and inventive horror movie in which a house full of people is being taunted by home invaders as they are picked off one-by-one. Produced on a tiny budget and released just a couple of months after The Purge, You're Next wasn't the box office smash it deserved to be. Thankfully, though, it can find a new audience on Peacock.
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