As awards season accelerates toward its climax, studios and streaming services continue to expand their catalogs with a legion of fiction and non-fiction releases, delivering welcome doses of drama, terror, excitement, and humor. Many films slated for the big screen ended up making their way to streaming services, turning release schedules into an endless game of musical chairs.

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A lack of blockbusters allowed room for films that would have otherwise flown under the radar – one movie in particular with a budget below $25 million even dethroned Spider-Man: No Way Home at the box office. In the end, January proved to be a solid month for movies.

6 The King's Daughter – 5.1/10

The king's daughter

Obsessed with mortality, King Louis XIV (Pierce Brosnan) turns to his spiritual advisor, Père La Chaise (William Hurt), to help him obtain the key to immortality. Narrated by Julie Andrews' dulcet tones and starring Kaya Scodelario in the titular role, The King's Daughter serves as a femme-centric fairy tale fantasy.

Originally shot in 2014 for an intended release in 2015, the film sat in limbo for over five years until Gravitas Ventures acquired the distribution rights, releasing the film on January 21, 2022. The King's Daughter currently sits at a weighted average vote of 5.1/10 on IMDb with 2.2K user ratings. [Available on VOD].

5 The 355 – 5.1/10

Mason Brown (Jessica Chastain) embarks on a mission to save the world after a top-secret weapon falls into the hands of a mercenary. Joining forces with Marie Schmidt (Diane Kruger), Khadijah Adiyeme (Lupita Nyong'o), and Graciela Rivera (Penélope Cruz), The 355 delivers a high-kicking, sharp-shooting, jet-setting espionage thriller amidst the globe trottings of its capable, captivating female protagonists.

Released on January 7, 2022, The 355 currently sits at a weighted average vote of 5.1/10 on IMDb with 14K user ratings. [Available on VOD].

4 Hotel Transylvania 4: Transformania – 6.1/10

Hotel Transylvania 4: Transformania characters

The hotel celebrates its 125th anniversary as Dracula (Brian Hull) prepares to hand the keys over to his daughter, Mavis (Selena Gomez), and husband, Jonathan (Andy Samberg). Acting as a fun, funny, moving farewell to the franchise, Hotel Transylvania 4 couples 90 minutes of chucklesome comedy with creative animation that will reward a second viewing. With genuinely touching moments and endearing performances, it's impossible not to be charmed by the cast of characters and their comradery.

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Originally scheduled to release on December 22, 2021, Sony Pictures sold the distribution rights of Hotel Transylvania 4: Transformania to Amazon Studios, which moved the release date three weeks to January 12, 2022. The film currently sits at a weighted average vote of 6.1/10 on IMDb with 21K user ratings. [Available on Amazon Prime Video].

3 Borrego – 6.8/10

Borrego image with Elly

Borrego follows Elly (Lucy Hale) as a young botanist completing a plant survey in the middle of the Anza-Borrego Desert. She searches for flowers which, as she later finds out, "aren't supposed to be there" – an apt metaphor for Elly's eventual experience: she's not supposed to be there either. After witnessing a drug mule's plane crash, Elly is kidnapped and coerced into a dangerous journey across the Borrego desert to a remote drop-off location. Methodical in its pacing and grounded in realism, Borrego explores the ease of addiction while examining drug culture along the Mexican border.

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Released on January 14, 2022, Borrego currently sits at a weighted average vote of 6.8/10 on IMDb with 1.9K user ratings. [Available on VOD].

2 Scream – 6.8/10

Scream image with Ghostface

The spirit of Wes Craven’s smart slasher franchise lives on with Scream [5]. Twenty-five years after the Woodsboro murders, a new serial killer dons the Ghostface mask. Combining the violence of slasher movies with the meta-commentary of black comedies, Scream satirizes the trend of ‘legacy sequels,’ acting as a wildly entertaining thriller that indulges moments of levity, spontaneity, and humor – sharpening its narrative and capturing the tone of the franchise which was blunted by previous installments.

Released on January 21, 2022, Scream currently sits at a weighted average vote of 6.8/10 on IMDb with 50K user ratings. [Available on VOD].

1 The Fallout – 7.1/10

The Fallout image with Vada and Mia

Megan Park's stellar feature film debut, The Fallout, follows Vada (Jenna Ortega) and Mia (Maddie Ziegler) as they forge a new friendship in the aftermath of a school shooting. Featuring a fantastic score composed by Finneas O'Connell, the film unearths something powerful in its piercing portrayal of grief and loss under the gloss of social media. A coming-of-age film with real emotional stakes, The Fallout explores the human conditional-response amidst the complexities of tragedy – and how it's never a standardized experience.

The Fallout first premiered at South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival back in March 2021, later releasing on HBO Max on January 27, 2022 after Warner Bros. acquired the distribution rights. With 8.6K user ratings, the film currently sits at a weighted average vote of 7.1/10 on IMDb. [Available on HBO Max].

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