3 Best New to HBO Max Movies to Watch This Weekend (December 12-14): ‘The Goonies’ and More

There are so many possible movies to watch this weekend, it can be hard to pin something down.

Thankfully, the team at Watch With Us is here to help you out, and today we’re highlighting HBO Max and some of the best movies that were just added to the platform at the beginning of the month.

During the second weekend in December, be sure to check out The Family McMullen, a sequel to the indie movie hit, The Brothers McMullen, from 1995.

We’ve also got the black-and-white holiday classic, The Shop Around the Corner, starring Hollywood legend Jimmy Stewart.

‘The Goonies’ (1985)

In Astoria, Oregon, a ragtag group of kids is facing the foreclosure of their homes when a property development company comes in to make way for a fancy new country club. While spending their last weekend together, they discover a pirate’s map in the attic of Mikey Walsh’s (Sean Astin) home that appears to show them the path to finding lost treasure. The intrepid band of young explorers embarks on a journey through an underground cavern in search of the treasure while being pursued by a criminal family who wants the loot too.

Related: 3 Popular Hulu Movies and TV Shows to Binge-Watch (November 29-30)

In the Disney empire, it’s usually Disney + that gets all of the big movies straight from theaters. But this month, Hulu has Freakier Friday as an early Christmas present to subscribers. Hulu didn’t wait until after Thanksgiving to unleash its Christmas movies this year, one of which is an all-time classic. The Christmas film […]

The Goonies is a splendid showcase of Spielbergian sentimentality, fun-house adventure and warm nostalgia that coalesces into a crowd-pleasing comedy that’s been beloved by kids and adults for years. The central cast of kids was praised in particular for their performances, including Ke Huy Quan, Josh Brolin, Jeff Cohen and Corey Feldman, in addition to Astin.

‘The Family McMullen’ (2025)

30 years ago, at the hide of the indie film craze, Edward Burns broke through at the Sundance Film Festival with The Brothers McMullen, which launched his career. In 2025, Burns returns to the film that made him with a sequel titled The Family McMullen. In this warm-hearted follow-up, Burns mises old characters with new ones, as younger actors play the grown children of the original film’s core siblings Barry (Burns) and Pat (Michael McGlone), with their third brother, Jack, deceased and his wife (Connie Britton) left to pick up the pieces.

While you first might want to check out The Brothers McMullen (which is conveniently also streaming on HBO Max), The Family McMullen is undoubtedly a warm, funny and heartfelt slice of low-key indie film magic, with warm performances and an engaging story set during Thanksgiving about navigating love, loss and family life in Brooklyn.

Thank You!

You have successfully subscribed.

‘The Shop Around the Corner’ (1940)

At a Budapest gift shop, clerks Alfred Kralik (Stewart) and Klara Novak (Margaret Sullavan) are constantly butting heads, and the two of them seem like they will never get along. However, in their free time, they both engage in correspondence with a pen pal — little do they know, they’re corresponding with each other. And what’s more, they’ve managed to fall in love. But when Kralik discovers this before Novak does, he’s reluctant to accept it. Will the two unlikely lovebirds accept their affections before Christmas?

The Shop Around the Corner is unquestionably timeless. This good-natured holiday rom-com features exceptional chemistry between Sullavan and Stewart; whether they’re bantering, fighting or both, their dynamic performances are coupled with sharp dialogue, shepherded by Ernst Lubitsch’s smart direction. Despite this film being more than 80 years old, it feels modern and even more alive than many recent rom-coms.