December is here, which means a whole host of new movies are now streaming on Amazon Prime Video. Below, we’ve picked out some of the best ones newly available, ranging from bona fide new releases – like a Christmas-set rom-com and a chilling horror film – to must-watch library titles. Thrillers, musicals, comedies and even a Muppet movie, we’ve got a little something for everyone in our list of the best new movies on Amazon Prime Video in December 2022.
Something From Tiffany’s
If you’re looking to watch something brand new and you like rom-coms, “Something From Tiffany’s” may be right up your alley. Based on the book of the same name by Melissa Hill and produced by Reese Witherspoon, the New York City holidays-set film stars Zoey Deutch as a woman who’s in a committed relationship that can best be described as “happy enough” and Kendrick Sampson as a man in the picture perfection relationship with his soon-to-be fiancé. But when his engagement ring somehow ends up in the hands of Deutch’s character instead, a series of twists and turns (of fate, no less) abound that put them on a path towards one another.
Paper Moon
If you’re in the mood for a classic, 1973’s road trip comedy “Paper Moon” holds up tremendously well. Directed by Peter Bogdanovich, the film takes place during the Great Depression and stars real-life father and daughter Ryan and Tatum O’Neal as a con man and orphan who team up when the con man agrees to take the young girl from Gotham, Kansas to St. Joseph, Missouri. Heartwarming, hilarious and rich in character, this is a must-see.
Superbad
“Superbad” was pivotal to the comedy boom of the 2000s, and still largely holds up thanks to a terrific pair of performances from Jonah Hill and Michael Cera and an emotional undercurrent that grounds this raunchy coming-of-age tale. Hill and Cera play high school seniors looking to score some booze for a cool kids party, all the while struggling through the tension that Cera’s character is planning to go to a different (and more prestigious) college than Hill’s, threatening their lifelong bond. Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg wrote the screenplay based on their own friendship, and Emma Stone co-stars alongside Bill Hader, Christopher Mintz-Plasse and Rogen himself.
The Muppets Take Manhattan
How about something for the kids? The third installment in the “Muppets” franchise finds the loveable puppets taking on New York City as they attempt to mount a Broadway show. Cameos abound, as is standard for the Muppets films, but it’s the Muppets themselves who steal the show here. Frank Oz co-wrote and directed the film, which first opened in 1984.
La La Land
Just in time for the release of his new film “Babylon,” revisit Damien Chazelle’s Oscar-winning “La La Land” – at once a joyful Hollywood musical and a somber story of what we sacrifice to make our dreams come true. Ryan Gosling is an aspiring jazz musician and Emma Stone is an aspiring actress, both just trying to make it big in Los Angeles. Their paths cross, stars align, and a head-over-heels romance ensues. But Chazelle manages to combine the fantastical with the grounded, allowing us to feel deeply for what these individuals are going through (and root for them hard). And the songs are fantastic to boot.
Nanny
Here’s another brand new release, and a spooky one at that. “Nanny” follows an undocumented Senegalese immigrant working as a nanny in New York City who hopes to one day bring the child she left behind to America. But when a truth from her past comes to the surface, her life is in danger of being shattered. Anna Diop leads a cast that includes Michelle Monaghan, Morgan Spector and Leslie Uggams, while Nikyatu Jusu writes and directs.
The Black Phone
Another new release horror film, “The Black Phone” first hit theaters earlier this summer and makes its Prime Video streaming debut on Dec. 13 (although it was first streaming on Peacock earlier this year). Based on a short story by Joe Hill, the film stars Ethan Hawke as a masked kidnapper and serial killer who abducts his latest victim in 1978. The boy, locked in a basement, begins to communicate with other victims over a mysterious phone all while trying to find a way out. “Sinister” and “Doctor Strange” filmmaker Scott Derrickson co-writes and directs.
