The August release calendar for movies is rather light this year. Summer movie season should last for four months (first weekend in May to Labor Day), but most studios punt on the final weeks of August.
However, The Naked Gun, The Bad Guys 2, Weapons, and Freakier Friday have proven audiences still crave big projects in August. Because real cinephiles want even more selection, you’ll find three underrated movies this month. Two Oscar-winning filmmakers — Spike Lee and Ron Howard — have new movies, while a sensational documentarian covers a tragic musician.
We also have guides to the best new movies to stream, the best movies on Netflix, the best movies on Hulu, and the best movies on Amazon Prime Video.
It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley (2025)
In 1994, a 27-year-old Jeff Buckley released his first studio album, Grace. The album received universal acclaim, and his haunting cover of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah is considered one of the greatest albums of all time. That would be the only album Buckley ever released, as his life came to a tragic ending in 1997. Amy Berg’s It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley explores the life of Cohen, from his complicated upbringing to his emergence as one of music’s finest artists.
The documentary features never-before-seen footage of Buckley and interviews with those who knew Buckley best, including his mother and girlfriends. It’s a touching tribute to an artist taken from the world entirely too soon.
It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley opens in theaters on August 8.
Highest 2 Lowest (2025)
The collaboration between Spike Lee and Denzel Washington on their fifth movie, Highest 2 Lowest, should be one of the biggest stories in Hollywood. However, there has been little mainstream promotion in the weeks leading up to the theatrical release. Speaking of theaters, Highest 2 Lowest will only be in theaters for three weeks before it heads to its streaming home at Apple TV+, so don’t expect high box office returns.
Washington plays David King, a music mogul who faces a grave dilemma involving a ransom. Ilfenesh Hadera, Jeffrey Wright, ASAP Rocky, and Ice Spice also star. Complaints aside, cherish the fact that Lee and Washington are working together on a reinterpretation of Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 Japanese film, High and Low. Having an undermarketed Lee movie in our lives is better than having no film at all from the Oscar-winning filmmaker.
Highest 2 Lowest opens in theaters on August 15. It will be available to stream on Apple TV+ starting September 5.
Eden (2025)
For the better part of a year, the biggest story surrounding Eden was its lack of domestic distribution. After premiering at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival, Eden went months without a U.S. distributor, which pushed back its impending release. Finally, Vertical acquired the U.S. rights and will put the movie into theaters later this month.
You would think a Ron Howard movie starring Jude Law, Ana de Armas, Vanessa Kirby, and Sydney Sweeney would be an enticing proposition for a studio. The movie follows a husband and wife duo (Law and Kirby) who move to the Galápagos Islands to live a life of solitude. The peace is soon interrupted by another couple (Sweeney and Daniel Brühl) and a baroness (de Armas). It’s a classic thriller trope where you’d think the dangers of the island would threaten them, but it turns out that people are their own worst enemies.
Eden opens in theaters on August 22.
