There are so many new movies and shows coming to Paramount Plus in March 2025 to be excited about that it was tricky to narrow it down to a digestible list of recommendations this month, but still I bring you five movies with over 90% on Rotten Tomatoes I think you should stream first on Paramount Plus this month.
Amidst the wave of new movies are ones made by some of the most iconic filmmakers ever, each of which is cemented as an essential watch in its respective genre, whether that’s a Clint Eastwood sports drama, or a Paul Thomas Anderson period piece. And of course, I had to include a Tarantino masterpiece.
Each of my suggestions is perfect for relaxing into when you need to recover on a weekend. Whether you’ve seen them many times before or you’re a first-time watcher, you’re in for a treat with one of the best streaming services this month.
Ex Machina (2014)
RT score: 92%
Runtime: 108 minutes
Age rating: R
Director: Alex Garland
Arriving on: March 1
Ex Machina is like watching a sci-fi episode of Black Mirror, but with a lot more intricacy and a longer time run. Following the success of his directorial debut which earned him an Academy Award nomination, Garland went on to create some of the best sci-fi movies of the past decade, including Annihilation (2018) and Civil War (2024).
Caleb Smith (Domhnall Gleeson), a programmer at a giant tech firm, is invited to spend a week at the private home of his CEO Nathan Bateman (Oscar Isaac). When he arrives, Nathan reveals that he’s been developing an AI robot named Ava (Alicia Vikander) and has chosen Caleb to be a component in a Turing test to determine the intellectual capacity of Ava. When the test commences, Caleb realizes that Ava’s self-awareness is far more advanced than Nathan had anticipated.
Million Dollar Baby
RT score: 90%
Runtime: 132 minutes
Age rating: R
Director: Clint Eastwood
Arriving on: March 1
Clint Eastwood brings a powerful and inspiring sports drama with Million Dollar Baby, which is credited to not only his directorial mind, but to the acting performances of Hilary Swank and Morgan Freeman, who both win Oscars in 2005.
Putting an aspiring female athlete in the movie’s central role, Maggie Fitzgerald (Swank) arrives in Los Angeles from the mid-west, arriving at the gym of renowned boxing coach Frankie Dunn (Eastwood himself). When she asks him to be her mentor and trainer, he’s unwilling to pay the young working-class any mind. Through her immense drive and determination, he sees potential stardom in her, and after agreeing to be her mentor, the two develop a bond that defies their coach-student dynamic.
Room (2015)
RT score: 93%
Runtime: 118 minutes
Age rating: R
Director: Lenny Abrahamson
Arriving on: March 1
Another Oscar-winning performance sees Brie Larson step into an incredibly vulnerable role, yet her character is filled with great persistence and strength. Room is one of those movies you need to go into knowing that it could reduce you to a puddle of tears. I wish I had someone tell me this beforehand, so I’m passing it on.
Based on Emma Donoghue’s novel of the same name, this psychological drama follows a five year-old boy Jack (Jacob Tremblay) who has remained captive in a small room since his birth with his Ma (Larson). After some spin-chilling trial and error, the two of them escape their perpetrator, and Jack can finally experience the outside world for the first time in his life, while his mother is reunited with her family who thought they lost her years prior.
There Will Be Blood (2007)
RT score: 91%
Runtime: 158 minutes
Age rating: R
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Arriving on: March 1
Coming out on top in many critics’ lists of the best movies of 2007, with Rolling Stone naming it the best movie of the decade, There Will Be Blood is one of those most-talked-about movies that a lot of people actually haven’t yet watched. Thankfully, that’s something you won’t have to worry about now that it’s coming to Paramount Plus this month.
Set during the late days of the 19th century and the turn of the 20th century, There Will Be Blood is an epic story of family tension. Silver miner Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis) embarks on a journey with his son H.W. (Dillon Freasier) to find their way in the oil business. As Daniel comes into a great fortune and becomes a self-made prospector, it has stark repercussions for his relationship with his son as he becomes obsessed with his new-found wealth and status.
Pulp Fiction (1994)
RT score: 92%
Runtime: 154 minutes
Age rating: R
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Arriving on: March 1
Crime meets pop culture in Pulp Fiction, a movie that shot Tarantino into superstardom. Rich in both substance and cast, Pulp Fiction makes for a great weekend watch for when you have a good few hours to spare.
Adopting a more complex approach to the non-linear narrative, Tarantino’s crime epic follows the lives of characters living in a fictionalized version of 1950s Los Angeles, whose lives intertwine with each other in some way, shape, or form. Four stories combine to create one big tableau, following hitmen Vincent Vega (John Travolta) and Jules Winnfield (Samuel L. Jackson), their boss Marsellus Wallace (Ving Rhames), former boxer Butch Coolidge (Bruce Willis), and bandit robbers Pumpkin (Tim Roth) and Honey Bunny (Amanda Plummer).
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