‘Challengers’ is dirt cheap, and 4 other Prime Day deals our film critic thinks you need to know about

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

• Best movie of 2024
• Best buy for animation fans
• Best binge-watch
• Best romance deal
• Best thrill-seeker cinema
• About The Author

In the age of streaming, it can feel like everything is at the tip of your fingertips. But in the words of beloved cinema brat Dakota Johnson, “That’s not the truth, Ellen.”

Let me warn you — as Mashable’s chief film critic and entertainment editor — at any moment your favorite show or movie can just be gone. Nowhere to be streamed! We can’t anticipate the whims of studios like Max and Disney seeking tax breaks by killing movies or pulling shows from their streaming services. So, when you see a deal on your faves, treat yourself (and save future you some infuriation). 

This very morning, I did exactly this to secure some of my personal favorites, either through digital purchases on Prime Video or old-school physical copies. So the streaming wars can literally pry these from my cold dead hands!

You can search Amazon for various movie/TV deals, exclusive to Prime Members. But here are my personal favorites: 

Best movie of 2024

One of the best — and most talked about — movies of the year comes from Luca Guadagnino, the master of steamy romance, whether it be the swoon-worthy food journey of I Am Love, the lusty summer love found in Call Me by Your Name, or the cannibalistic coming-of-age that was Bones and All. Yet the hottest of all, hands-down, is Challengers. 

Sure, on the surface, this movie is about tennis (much to the chagrin of pope of trash John Waters). But just beneath its very sweaty surface is a triangle of regret, jealousy, and desire that throws Zendaya, Mike Faist, and Josh O’Connor into intense scenes that are scintillating and sublime. 

Plus, on Prime Day, this digital purchase is less than the cost of a movie theater ticket, and way less when you consider its leading lady Zendaya insists this hot hit needs to be seen at least three times to be fully appreciated. So buy it and watch it once for every side of this intense love triangle. You’ll be a better person for it. 

Best buy for animation fans

This box set includes all three seasons of Nickelodeon’s Avatar: The Last Airbender, meaning books Water, Earth, and Fire, and all four seasons of Avatar: The Legend of Korra, meaning books Air, Spirits, Change, and Balance. 

Sure, with the Netflix live-action remake, you may have recently revisited this fan-adored franchise from Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. But with one buy, you’ll have these Blu-rays for anytime the urge hits to revisit this sensational series. Or, hey, introduce it to the next generation, who will revel over the antics and adventures of Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph, Zuko, Korra, Bolin, and many, many more. 

Plus, the special features include behind-the-scenes featurettes, animatics, shorts, commentaries from the cast and crew of Korra, and more. Get it for yourself, or get a jump on holiday shopping for the animation lover in your life. 

Best binge-watch

This madcap series from the sidesplitting comedy troupe that brought us Horrible Histories is basically a workplace sitcom about a bunch of unhinged ghosts bound across ages to the same English estate. So, when a living couple comes in looking to renovate the grand house on the edge of ruin into a bustling bed-and-breakfast, there’s a lot of paranormal activity, all of it absolutely hilarious. 

Forget the American version. The UK original is absolutely outstanding, featuring a superstitious cave man, a comically uptight World War II captain, a fussy Grey Lady from the Edwardian era, a bubbly Georgian noblewoman, a Stuart peasant who is still spooked from being burned as a witch, a pantless politician (who died in flagrante delicto), a hopelessly romantic poet/sex pest from the Regency age, and an indomitably chipper scout leader from the 1970s. Fish out of water in the modern age of their living roommates, they offer stories that are edged with dark humor, but radiant in physical comedy, gleeful absurdity, and keen observational humor. 

Over the years, Ghosts has become my go-to comfort watch, even as it bounced from Max to Paramount+ to nowhere. So, when I saw you can snag all five seasons at a discount (each is just $4.99 right now), you better believe I added them to my cart without a second thought.

Best romance deal

Before there was Bridgerton, there was Jane Austen’s most beloved enemies-to-lovers novel. And while there are some stellar adaptations out there (from the divine miniseries starring Colin Firth to Bridget Jones’s Diary starring Colin Firth), Joe Wright’s sweeping Regency-era epic is my personal favorite. 

Keira Knightley stars as the spirited and sometimes sarcastic Lizzie Bennett, who first loathes then comes to love the socially chilly yet warm-hearted Mr. Darcy (Matthew Macfadyen pre-Succession). Their chemistry alone is intoxicating (and that bit with his tensed hand — swoon!). But this flushed and flirty Pride & Prejudice also boasts splendid performances from Rosamund Pike, Carey Mulligan, Jena Malone, and Donald Sutherland — as well as deliciously repulsive turns from Tom Hollander as the creepy Mr. Collins and Dame Judi Dench as his ruthlessly snobby patron, Lady Catherine de Bourg. Simply put, this 2005 hit is utterly timeless in its pleasures. 

And while I’d recommend buying it, you could alternatively take advantage of the Prime Day subscription deals, getting your first two months of Starz for just $0.99. 

Best thrill-seeker cinema

If you love Fast & Furious, you’re family. So embrace the high-speed heists and absolutely outrageous rescue missions of Dominic Toretto and his crew by snagging all 10 of their movies: The Fast and the Furious, 2 Fast 2 Furious, The Fast & the Furious: Tokyo Drift, Fast & Furious, Fast Five, Fast & Furious 6, Furious 7, Fate of the Furious, F9: The Fast Saga, and Fast X. (Hobbes and Shaw not included.) 

With these absolutely epic action movies at your fingertips, you can come up with your own Fast & Furious ranking. You can marvel at the most ridiculous stunts, from Dom fighting helicopters from his car to Tej and Roman shooting into space. And — maybe best of all — you can expand the Fast family by introducing your loved ones to the pulse-pounding plot twists and bonkers family tree that’s kept this blockbuster franchise going strong.

If they need convincing, tell them Christopher Nolan loves these movies. Or mention how sublimely bonkers Jason Momoa is as the latest Fast villain. There’s still time to catch them up before Fast X Part 2 comes to blow our minds in 2026. And at this price, each movie comes in less than the cost of a medium popcorn.

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