The 7 Best New Movies Streaming Free on Tubi in May 2026

“Casino Royale” (2006)

Martin Campbell’s “Casino Royale” introduced James Bond to a new era. The film, written by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and Paul Haggis, takes on a darker tone than some of the franchise’s previous entries, showing a James Bond (now played by Daniel Craig) who has yet to fully adopt the blasé facade seen in some of the character’s previous iterations.

“Casino Royale” gives this new franchise a thrilling start, navigating heavier material without crumbling under its own weight. By the time Craig pronounces, “The name’s Bond. James Bond,” at the film’s conclusion, his words feel more like a dark harbinger than an iconic catchphrase. This movie is a magic trick, one that stands shoulder-to-shoulder with “Skyfall” as some of the series’ best entries.

“Clue”

Jonathan Lynn’s “Clue” is hilarious. The movie uses the board game’s iconography to tell a zany, punny, high-energy story about a group of suspects trying to weed out a murderer. There are many great performances that anchor the film, chief among them Tim Curry as an unhinged, mystery-solving butler.

“Creed”

Legacy sequels don’t get better than “Creed.” In 2015, Ryan Coogler (alongside co-writer Aaron Covington) revived the “Rocky” franchise for a new generation, turning the camera to Michael B. Jordan as Adonis “Donnie” Johnson, Apollo Creed’s son born of an extramarital affair.

Adonis has the same drive to prove himself as Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky, who steps into the mentor role for the film. He wants to show people that he deserves to be in the ring — that he’s not a mistake, as he says in one particularly powerful scene. It’s a legacy sequel that grapples with the idea of legacy better than most (perhaps all) others, giving Donnie the space to breathe as his own protagonist outside of Rocky’s shadow while still allowing Stallone the chance to deliver one of his strongest performances. “Rocky” may have won Best Picture, but “Creed” is the high point of this decades-long franchise.

“Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”

“Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” is a thrilling martial arts film, one met with near universal acclaim from critics and the Academy, raking in more than $200 million at the global box office. The film, directed by Ang Lee and written by Wang Hui-ling, James Schamus and Tsai Kuo-jung, features exceptional action and a moving story. It’s exciting, at times jaw-dropping and generally fantastic.

“Face/Off”

John Woo’s “Face/Off,” written by Mike Werb and Michael Colleary, benefits first and foremost from a phenomenal premise: What if John Travolta pretended he was Nicolas Cage and Nicolas Cage pretended he was John Travolta?

The action flick takes a game of cat and mouse to absurd ends, with Travolta as FBI agent Sean Archer and Cage as criminal Castor Troy (who killed Archer’s son). The pair end up switching faces, taking their rivalry to a whole new level — and making the film an over-the-top riot in the process.

“First Cow”

Friday will see John Magaro star in “Omaha,” a quiet and devastating drama from Cole Webley and Robert Machoian that premiered at Sundance Film Festival 2025. Magaro has made a name for himself in this space, with a number of filmmakers deploying him in intimate indies.

Just look at Kelly Reichardt’s “First Cow.” The film, written by Reichardt and Jonathan Raymond (who wrote the novel on which the film is based, “The Half-Life”), follows a quiet cook and a Chinese immigrant in early-1800s America as they begin stealing milk from a wealthy man’s cow. It’s another stellar film from Reichardt, one that went too overlooked upon its release.

“Love & Basketball”

Gina Prince-Bythewood’s “Love & Basketball” is a lot of greats. It’s a great directorial debut, a great romance, a great sports movie — a great film all around. Sanaa Lathan and Omar Epps deliver fantastic central performances in this highlight of early-2000s cinema. It also announced the arrival of a defining voice in modern cinema.