Another month, another streaming library scramble. Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max, and Amazon Prime continue to swap their titles around like hot potatoes as streaming agreements end and platforms (especially newer platforms like HBO Max) try to beef up their offerings.
Starting Nov. 1, that means losing The Silence of the Lambs on Netflix after just a month on the service. (The psychological horror was previously streaming on HBO Max.) For its part, HBO Max is losing Home Alone ahead of the Christmas season (but if you ask me it’s never too early to watch Home Alone.) We also wrote last month that Kenneth Branagh’s excellent Much Ado About Nothing adaptation would be leaving Amazon Prime at the end of September, but it ended up sticking around for another month.
The titles leaving Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max, and Amazon Prime this month will probably pop up on another service in a month or two, but for now this is your last chance to catch these 10 films at their current streaming home.
Burlesque
Photo: Sony Pictures
Sure, the plot is cliché and the acting leaves a little to be desired, but with two pop divas like Christina Aguilera and Cher at the helm, it’s all easily overlooked. Burlesque is pure campy fun. Aguilera plays a small town singer named Ali who moves to L.A. to follow her dreams of performing, and ends up working as a cocktail waitress and then a backup dancer at a burlesque club owned by Cher (I mean, her character’s name is Tess, but she’s always Cher.) The musical numbers are, of course, incredible, especially as Ali tries to convince Tess to let her sing live instead of lip syncing. Plus, the supporting cast includes Stanley Tucci, Alan Cumming, and a wonderfully catty Kristen Bell.
Burlesque leaves Netflix on Oct. 31.
Crazy Stupid Love
Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures
Crazy Stupid Love sees a post-The Office Steve Carell as Cal, a recently divorced dad navigating the dating scene after his wife (Julianne Moore) cheats on him with her coworker (Kevin Bacon). With the help of his smooth-talking new friend Jacob (Ryan Gosling), Cal learns how to pick up women, but when Jacob falls for a quirky law student (Emma Stone) — who also happens to be Cal’s daughter — Cal loses his wingman and realizes that he really just wants his wife back.
Crazy Stupid Love leaves HBO Max on Oct. 31.
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Photo: Universal Pictures
Forgetting Sarah Marshall is perhaps the sweetest of the Judd Apatow-produced comedies, thanks in large part to the sensibilities of writer and star Jason Segel. He plays a TV composer, Peter, whose girlfriend, the titular Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell) and the star of the show he works on, abruptly dumps him. When he heads to a Hawaiian resort to try and forget her, Sarah shows up with her new boyfriend, rock star Aldous Snow (Russell Brand). With the help of a cute receptionist (Mila Kunis) Peter eventually gets over Sarah and writes his Dracula puppet musical, and Segel would go on to write and star in The Muppets (2011.)
Forgetting Sarah Marshall leaves Hulu on Oct. 31.
Home Alone
Photo: 20th Century Fox
Sure, it’s a Christmas movie, but there is no bad time to watch Home Alone. It’s just a classic! Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern are the perfect blend of creepy and goofy, Catherine O’Hara is always brilliant, and who can forget that iconic Macaulay Culkin scream? In fact, why are you reading this article when you could be watching Home Alone???
Home Alone leaves HBO Max on Oct. 31.
Much Ado About Nothing
Photo: The Samuel Goldwyn Company
Adapted and directed by known Shakespeare master Kenneth Branagh, Much Ado About Nothing is simple fun in the sun. The film stars Branagh and Emma Thompson as the argumentative and electric Benedick and Beatrice, who must work together in order to clear Hero’s (Kate Beckinsale) name so she may marry Count Claudio (Robert Sean Leonard). Keanu Reeves stars as Don John, who aims to keep Hero and Claudio apart, with Denzel Washington as Don Pedro, the requisite straight man, and none other than Michael Keaton as Dogberry, the local constable and comic relief. —Karen Han
Much Ado About Nothing was set to leave Amazon Prime Video on Sept. 30, but is sticking around until Oct. 31.
Ocean’s Eleven
Steven Soderbergh’s remake of the 1960 film replaces one iconic cast (Frank Sinatra! Dean Martin! Sammy Davis Jr.!) with another (George Clooney! Brad Pitt! Matt Damon! Don Cheadle!). It’s a delightful heist movie, an excuse for a bunch of famous friends to make a movie together, and kicked off a cinematic universe that includes Julia Roberts’ character Tess Ocean pretending to be…the actress Julia Roberts.
Oceans Eleven leaves HBO Max on Oct. 31.
Raising Arizona
Photo: 20th Century Fox
The Coen Brothers + Nicolas Cage and Holly Hunter + a cute baby. What more could you possibly want?
Raising Arizona leaves HBO Max on Oct. 31.
The Silence of the Lambs
Photo: Orion Pictures
Anthony Hopkins won the Oscar for Best Actor with only 16 minutes of screen time. His performance as Hannibal Lecter remains one of the greatest ever committed to film, and is matched beat for beat by Jodie Foster’s turn as Clarice Starling, the FBI trainee who comes into his orbit as she pursues the serial killer known as “Buffalo Bill.” The Silence of the Lambs is also one of the late director Jonathan Demme’s best (and most well-known) films, and rightfully so, as he balances the incomprehensibly horrific with startlingly tangible, human emotions. —Karen Han
The Silence of the Lambs leaves Netflix on Oct. 31.
Sleepless in Seattle
Photo: TriStar Pictures
Nora Ephron’s 1993 romantic comedy stars Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan as Sam, a recently widowed architect, and Annie, the reporter who falls in love with him after hearing him on a radio show, speaking about how much he misses his wife. Thousands of women write letters to Sam in response, but Annie’s stands out to Sam’s son Jonah. Fate — and Jonah — bring Sam and Annie into each other’s lives, with love persevering through misunderstandings and missed encounters. —KH
Sleepless in Seattle leaves Netflix on Oct. 31.
Sleepy Hollow
Photo: Paramount Pictures
Tim Burton’s adaptation of the Washington Irving short story is a cult classic thanks to Burton’s signature aesthetic and some wonderfully hammy performances, especially from Christopher Walken who plays the infamous headless horseman. Unlike some of Burton’s more family friendly fare (see: The Nightmare Before Christmas above) Sleepy Hollow fully leans into the macabre, with spooky and gory visual effects that evoke a creepy atmosphere from start to finish.
Sleepy Hollow leaves Netflix on Oct. 31.
Disney Plus bundle
Prices taken at time of publishing.
Disney is offering a bundle combining its three streaming services — Disney Plus, Hulu, and ESPN Plus — for $12.99/month.
