The 3 Best Movies to Watch on Paramount+ This Weekend
We’ve entered that strange period near the end of the year where Christmas has passed by New Year’s Eve is not yet upon us. This leaves plenty of time to sit back, relax and throw on a couple of movies. Paramount+ has a variety of options for that last front, including a surprisingly effective 2025 drama, one of the decade’s best blockbusters and a laugh-a-second comedy classic.
Here are the three best movies to watch on Paramount+ this weekend.
“The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!”
2025 saw the revival of the “Naked Gun” franchise in a new film directed by Akiva Schaffer and starring Liam Neeson. “The Naked Gun” (2025) felt like a throwback in all the best ways, eschewing the trappings of the modern studio comedy for a spoof focused on jokes and jokes alone. It was an admirable and successful effort, one that garnered some of the loudest theater reactions of the year.
But it’s no dig to say that “The Naked Gun” couldn’t fully measure up to the high heights of David Zucker’s original 1988 film. Few comedies can. In this film, Leslie Nielsen is a force of nature, tossing off iconic gags and killer lines like it’s the easiest thing in the world. The screenplay written by David Zucker, Jerry Zucker, Jim Abrahams and Pat Proft is incredibly dense, rarely letting seconds to go by without another side-busting bit. “The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!” is, minute-for-minute, one of the funniest comedies of all time — a perfect group or solo watch for whoever you happen to be spending the end of the year with.
“Roofman”
It’s unclear how exactly a movie gets the reputation for being “better than it needs to be,” but that’s the exact reception “Roofman” got immediately upon release. The modest, low-to-mid-budget dramedy is based on a crazy true story, following a man who robbed a series of McDonalds by repelling from the ceiling, broke out of prison via the wood shop and began living in the walls of a Toys “R” Us.
It’s a wild premise, one writer/director Derek Cianfrance, alongside co-writer Kirt Gunn and stars Channing Tatum and Kirsten Dunst, adds a good amount of pathos and complexity to. Tatum and Dunst both deliver strong central performances, building a relationship that quickly becomes more engaging and compelling than the goofy crime story the film is sold on. It’s not Cianfrance’s best film, but it’s a nice return for the director, and a solid option for a weekend watch.
“Top Gun: Maverick”
After a massive box office performance coming out of the pandemic, “Top Gun: Maverick” quickly became known as “the movie that saved movies” — or, at least, saved movie theaters. This seems like a high bar for any one film to live up to, but Joseph Kosinski’s decades-later sequel to Tony Scott’s Tom Cruise vehicle “Top Gun” deserves that reputation and more.
With a story by Peter Craig and Justin Marks, the screenplay by Ehren Kruger, Eric Warren Singer and Christopher McQuarrie is a thrilling example of blockbuster storytelling, one that manages to be endlessly exciting, engaging and satisfying while still hitting the traditional beats. Eddie Hamilton’s editing is calculated and finely tuned to the film’s high-octane rhythm, while Claudio Miranda’s cinematography is a thrilling treat for the eyes. Cruise, meanwhile, anchors the film with one of his best performances in decades. Films like “Maverick” are what movie theaters are made for — but this weekend, your TV will have to do.
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