5 Best Movies to Watch on Streaming This Weekend (July 4-5)

This Fourth of July is a holiday weekend that gives you one extra day off, and if you play your cards right, no need at all to get out of bed with streaming services such as Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, or HBO Max queued up. There is a lot of variety on offer here. There are, for instance, a couple of genuine holiday classics (including one that’s perfectly suited for the Fourth of July) that have been streaming staples for years. There is also a new sci-fi blockbuster. Oh, and there is a hugely anticipated mystery sequel, too, to burn through if you would rather watch something cozy. 

Without further ado, here are the five best movies to stream this Fourth of July weekend.

1. Independence Day (1996)

There’s no more on-the-nose pick for this particular weekend than Independence Day, and the timing works out twice over: the film was recently certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes (77% on Tomatometer, as of July 4, 2026), three decades after its original release. Roland Emmerich’s alien-invasion blockbuster follows a band of survivors — led by Will Smith‘s fighter pilot and Jeff Goldblum‘s satellite technician — as they mount a last-ditch counterattack against an extraterrestrial force bent on wiping out humanity. 

Where to watch (USA): Hulu, Prime Video (rent)

2 Project Hail Mary (2026)

Ryan Gosling’s sci-fi blockbuster Project Hail Mary has recently made its way to streaming, following its theatrical run. Directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, the Andy Weir adaptation follows a science teacher who wakes up alone on a spacecraft with no memory of his mission, only for it to fall on him to save Earth from a sun-killing anomaly. The film pulled in $683.5 million worldwide (via Box Office Mojo), and is one of 2026’s highest-grossing movies. It holds a 94% critics’ score and 95% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes (as of July 4, 2026), and now that it’s finally available to be watched at home, this is the weekend to catch up with it. 

Where to watch (USA): Prime Video

3 Enola Holmes 3 (2026)

A still from Enola Holmes 3 | Credits: Netflix

Millie Bobby Brown is back as Sherlock’s scrappier (and perhaps sharper?) younger sister in the third installment of Netflix’s detective franchise, Enola Holmes 3. This film sends Enola to Malta to rescue her kidnapped brother in the middle of her own wedding preparations. Critics have called it the weakest entry in the trilogy so far (72% on the Tomatometer, as of July 4, 2026). But it’s still a breezy, twisty mystery. The returning cast includes Henry Cavill as Sherlock and Helena Bonham Carter as the family’s chaotic matriarch, Eudoria.

Where to watch (USA): Netflix

4 Apollo 13 (1995)

The astronauts aboard Apollo 13 | Credits: Universal Pictures

Ron Howard‘s taut, based-on-a-true-story account of NASA’s near-catastrophic 1970 moon mission is exactly the kind of white-knuckle, patriotic-without-being-corny drama that suits a Fourth of July weekend. In Apollo 13, Tom Hanks stars as real-life astronaut Jim Lovell.

He is supported by the likes of Kevin Bacon, Bill Paxton, and Gary Sinise, playing fellow astronauts involved in the struggle to get the crew back to Earth alive following an explosion in their oxygen tanks. It’s tense, it’s moving, and it’s a reminder of a very different kind of American ambition. 

Where to watch (USA): Netflix, AMC+, Prime Video (rent)

5 The Choral (2025)

Ralph Fiennes in a scene from The Choral | Credits: Sony Pictures Classics

If you are looking for something quieter, Ralph Fiennes leads understated wartime drama The Choral as an uncompromising choirmaster. He steps in to rebuild a Yorkshire choral society after most of its male members are shipped off to fight in World War I. It is one of those films that requires some patience but is worth watching for sharp dialogue and a storming Fiennes performance. 

Where to watch (USA): Netflix, Prime Video (rent)

Which movie is topping your watchlist this Fourth of July weekend? Did we miss one of your streaming favourites? Let us know in the comments below.