A new month is here, and with it comes a fresh batch of movies on Paramount Plus to add to your watchlist. I’ve combed through everything new on Paramount Plus this May 2026 to highlight the best films of the bunch that you can start streaming right now.
As with most of the best streaming services, Paramount Plus adds plenty of new titles every month, which leaves viewers spoiled for choice when it comes to what to watch. Narrowing down which ones are worth your time is no easy feat, which is why, to make that decision easier, I’m rounding up only the movies with a 90% or higher rating on Rotten Tomatoes. While a high critic score doesn’t guarantee a movie is going to blow your mind, it’s usually a solid sign of quality.
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‘Searching’ (2018)
I know I’m in the minority here, but I’m a sucker for the whole-screen format. “Searching” is one of the best examples I’ve seen in years, turning its set-up of familiar screens into a tense race for survival and spiraling paranoia. It’s a cross between “Unfriended” and “Gone Girl” grounded by John Cho’s emotional performance as a panicked father desperate for answers.
He stars as David Kim, a widowed father trying to raise his 16-year-old daughter Margot (Michelle La). By all accounts, she seems to be a happy girl who has plenty of friends and does well in school, but this image of her is shattered when she disappears and David finds some concerning messages on her computer.
Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Rotten Tomatoes score: 92%
Watch “Searching” on Paramount+ now
‘School of Rock’ (2003)
Like a lot of ’90s kids, “School of Rock” was a staple in my household. But as much as my sisters and I watched it endlessly growing up, I didn’t realize critics shared that enthusiasm too. If this iconic Jack Black film somehow escaped your radar, it stars Black as a rock music-obsessed slacker who cons his way into a substitute teaching job at an uptight prep school by pretending to be his roommate.
With zero educational qualifications to his name, he ditches the curriculum in favor of turning his class into a full-fledged rock band to win a local battle of the bands. Black is in top form as Dewey Finn, a role tailor-made for him (“White Lotus” creator Mike White wrote the screenplay when he was Black’s neighbor), but the supporting cast is just as memorable with standout performances from Joan Cusack, Sarah Silverman, and a young Miranda Cosgrove.
Genre: Comedy/Drama/Musical
Rotten Tomatoes score: 92%
Watch “School of Rock” on Paramount+ now
‘Hamburger Hill’ (1987)
![Hamburger Hill (1987) ORIGINAL TRAILER [HD] - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/WMZfJk7LoK4/maxresdefault.jpg)
As many Vietnam movies as there are, it’s rare to see one achieve a perfect 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Granted, that score is based on just 12 reviews, but with outlets like Variety and the New York Times numbered among them, it’s a strong sign the film is well worth a watch. Set during the last stages of the Vietnam War, “Hamburger Hill” tells the story of a unit of the Army’s 101st Airborne Division led by Lt. Frantz (Dylan McDermott) that, in May 1969, spent 10 days in trying to take a hill held by North Vietnamese soldiers.
Five fresh-faced recruits, Beletsky (Tim Quill), Languilli (Anthony Barrile), Washburn (Don Cheadle), Bienstock (Tommy Swerdlow), and Galvan (M.A. Nickles), join war-weary soldiers in an uphill battle that epitomizes the visceral horrors of the Vietnam conflict. They ultimately managed to win the day, but in a pyrrhic victory that’s still considered to be a military disaster by most historians.
Genre: War drama
Rotten Tomatoes score: 100%
Watch “Hamburger Hill” on Paramount+ now
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