4 captivating Paramount+ movies to watch this week (October 26-November 1)

Published Oct 26, 2026, 4:16 PM EDT Tyler is an journalist and content contributor at How-To Geek with over three years of experience covering the automotive and tech industries. His work focuses on delivering clear, well-researched, and engaging content that helps readers better understand the vehicles they drive and the technology that they use everyday. Before entering automotive media, he spent five years as an academic editor, developing a strong foundation in research methodology, factual accuracy, and structured analysis. This background informs his journalistic approach today, ensuring that every article balances technical insight with accessibility for a broad audience. Paramount has been one of the biggest names in the movie industry for a long time, and they have utilized that legacy to give us a strong streaming service with a pretty vast library. What I find so appealing about their platform is their catalog of movies, with hits from just about every era and genre ready to satisfy whatever craving I happen to have each week. I have a soft spot for movies from the late 1990s and early 2000s. A few of these modern classics established my love of cinema. I'm definitely not averse to big modern blockbusters, though, and our top pick this week is a grand slam, literally and metaphorically. 4 Catch Me If You Can Based on a true story (but not really) We start off with an absolute classic. Catch Me If You Can is one of my comfort movies, and I've watched it more times than I care to admit. The movie showcases Leonardo DiCaprio at his best, playing a 17-year-old Frank Abagnale Jr., a young con man pursued by FBI agent Carl Hanratty (Tom Hanks). Abagnale Jr. travels the world, fabricating checks and identities to fund a lavish lifestyle, all while ducking and diving away from law enforcement, who are always a step behind. The incredible cast and Steven Spielberg's brilliant direction are two of the reasons why Catch Me If You Can became such a big hit. One reason was that it also claimed to be based on a true story, with it pulling inspiration from the 1980 autobiography of the real Frank Abagnale Jr. While the real Frank was a con man and did get nicked for check fraud, a lot of the events described in the autobiography, as well as the movie, have been proven to be false. I think the fact that a lot of the story is fabricated adds to the film's appeal rather than detracts from it, though. It turns Frank into an unreliable narrator, and him convincing everyone that he did so many outlandish things during his time on the run turns out to be the real con.​​​​​​​ 3 Doctor Sleep We have to include something hair-raising Halloween is on the horizon, so it wouldn't feel right to not have at least one spooky movie in here. Doctor Sleep is a direct sequel to Stanley Kubrick's The Shining. It is a little more of a psychological thriller than it is a horror movie, but it will still send shivers down your spine. Fans of The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor will also be able to pretty instantly recognize Mike Flanagan's signature style, bringing to life the emotional, redemptive aspects of the novel on which the movie is based in such an impactful way. The movie follows adult Danny Torance (Ewan McGregor), traumatized by the events that occurred at the Overlook Hotel when he was a child. While struggling with his own recovery, he is dragged back into the fray after meeting a powerful young teen, Abra (Kyliegh Curran), who is strong with the "shine." Following in the footsteps of The Shining was not an easy task, especially because Kubrick took many liberties when adapting Stephen King's novel. Flanagan had the monumental task of respecting the source material while also making a satisfying sequel, but he somehow achieves both of those goals. Doctor Sleep is incredibly underrated. 2 The Truman Show A prophetic warning from the past Back when it first released in 1998, The Truman Show sat pretty firmly in the science fiction genre. As time goes on, it feels like it gets closer and closer to reality, though. Truman Burbank (Jim Carrey) is the star of a 24/7 global reality show, with the twist being that he has no idea his reality is false. He was adopted as an infant by a television studio and placed in the idyllic town of Seahaven, which is actually a 5,000-camera soundstage enclosed in a dome. The story follows Truman slowly discovering the truth and searching for a way out of his fabricated reality. In my eyes, this movie is a masterpiece that only gets more and more relevant as time marches on. It anticipated the rise of reality television and influencer culture, as well as the constant digital surveillance in the modern world. It asks us how much of our life is real and how much is put on for an audience. Just as impactful as the plot and message is the performance of Jim Carrey. At the time, he was only really known for his slapstick roles, like Ace Ventura and The Mask, but the sincerity and vulnerability that he brings to the role of Truman Burbank is absolutely legendary. 1 Challengers Keep your eye on the ball Our top pick this week is a fairly new addition to Paramount+, hitting the platform earlier this month. It explores the tense yet sexy world of tennis through the lens of a trio of deeply flawed characters. Director Luca Guadagnino takes a pretty standard rivalry on the court and transforms it into a web of tension, passion, and betrayal that spans 13 years. Rather than giving us heroes and villains, we follow three messy individuals that put their love of the game above everything else. Challengers depicts a love triangle between Tashi (Zendaya), a tennis star turned coach; Art Donaldson (Mike Faist), her husband and dominant Grand Slam champion; and Patrick Zweig (Josh O'Connor), Tashi's ex-lover and Art's former best friend. After a critical injury, Art finds himself playing in a fairly low-level ATP Challenger Tour event where he inevitably ends up having to play against Patrick. This clash on the court brings to the fore a complicated history marred with just about every emotion on the spectrum. Tennis acts as the perfect metaphor for flirtation, control, and emotional survival. The new, the old, and everything in between on Paramount+ If you're looking for something new to watch, there are few better places to look than Paramount+. The service has a myriad of different movies, from classics like The Truman Show to new triple-A flicks like Challengers. If you're looking for something a little darker to help you celebrate spooky month, the platform also has some hardcore thrillers, like Seven and Primal Fear. Subscription with ads Yes, $8/month Simultaneous streams 3