Memorial Day weekend movie guide: What to watch, from 'Top Gun: Maverick' to 'Bob's Burgers'

Brian Truitt, USA TODAY

May 26, 2022 at 9:00 a.m.·5 min read

If you're feeling a little more patriotic this weekend, there's definitely a reason: Tom Cruise is back in the cockpit of a fighter jet. (Also, it's Memorial Day, and that might have something to do with your red, white and blue mood.)

"Top Gun: Maverick," the long-awaited sequel to the 1986 flyboy blockbuster, arrives in theaters to grab eyeballs alongside a bunch of other new and recent films, whether you're a Marvel Cinematic Universe fan or just like watching movies about English aristocrats in the 1920s. But if you're feeling like binging some films at home, there are plenty of options there, too, including a Sundance Film Festival favorite on Amazon Prime and a chipmunk adventure on Disney+.

So if you need a film this long weekend? We got you, fam. Here's a guide to satisfying every cinematic taste:

Who are 'Top Gun: Maverick's new pilots'? Meet Rooster, Hangman and the rest of the elite crew

Capt. Pete "Maverick" Mitchell (Tom Cruise) trains a squad of young fighter pilots for a dangerous mission in the sequel "Top Gun: Maverick."

If you live life in the Danger Zone: 'Top Gun: Maverick'

The follow-up to the original film somehow lives up to – and in some ways. surpasses – 36 years of expectation. The rousing adventure finds Cruise's roguish Maverick back in an airplane finding the best of the best for a deadly mission, and discovers a movie-star supernova in Glen Powell (as icy ace Hangman).

Where to watch: In theaters Friday 05/27

Review: Tom Cruise's excellent 'Top Gun: Maverick' takes to the skies, sticks to the formula

The Belcher family – Bob (left, voiced by H. Jon Benjamin), Linda (John Roberts), Louise (Kristen Schaal), Gene (Eugene Mirman) and Tina Belcher (Dan Mintz) – try to keep their restaurant afloat after an enormous sinkhole blocks the entrance in "The Bob's Burgers Movie."

If you enjoy quirky families and murder-mystery musicals: 'The Bob's Burgers Movie'

After airing for 12 seasons, the animated sitcom about the oddball Belcher clan comes to the big screen for a wacky genre mashup that grows on you. Bob and Linda fret about their seaside burger joint when a sinkhole opens in front of it before the summer, and kids Tina, Louise and Gene start an investigation after finding a dead body.

Where to watch: In theaters Friday

Donald Elise Watkins (left) and RJ Cyler play college best friends who find a strange white girl unconscious in their house in the comedy "Emergency."

If you dig college comedies with something to say: 'Emergency'

A standout at this year's Sundance Film Festival, the well-crafted twist on a beloved trope stars Donald Elise Watkins and RJ Cyler as Black best friends whose epic night of college partying goes awry when they find a young white girl unconscious in their house and – worried about the optics of the situation – try to help her without getting the cops involved.

Where to watch: Amazon Prime on Friday

Ranked: All the best movies we saw at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival

The thriller "Zero Contact" follows five characters forced to work together to reactivate the secret initiative of a late tech titan (Anthony Hopkins).

If you heart Anthony Hopkins (and Zoom calls): 'Zero Contact'

The sci-fi thriller – told over many screens and made entirely remotely during the pandemic – stars Hopkins as a late tech magnate who funneled money into a secretive project. Five people connected to him are brought together online to reactivate the initiative, though weirdness around their homes hints at a deadly third party.

Where to watch: In theaters and on Apple TV, Vudu, Google Play Friday

Swamy Rotolo stars as a teenage girl investigating her family's connection to drug trafficking and the underworld in the Italian coming-of-age crime drama "A Chiara."

If you're not afraid of subtitles: 'A Chiara'

The Italian coming-of-age crime drama stars Swamy Rotolo as a 15-year-old Calabrian girl who has her world rocked when the family car is bombed, her father disappears mysteriously, and a secret bunker in their house leads the teen to investigate her clan's ties to drug trafficking and the Mafia.

Where to watch: In theaters Friday

Isobel Merton (Penelope Wilton, left) and Violet Grantham (Maggie Smith), the Dowager Countess, return for more big-screen period drama in "Downton Abbey: A New Era."

If you adore the Dowager Countess: 'Downton Abbey: A New Era'

The continuation of the popular British drama is as consistently spot-on as tea time, and Maggie Smith is still the highly watchable queen of the franchise. Set in the late 1920s, the new soapy chapter for the aristocratic Crawley family involves an inherited villa in the South of France and a film crew wanting to make a movie in their countryside manor.

Where to watch: In theaters now

Review: 'Downton Abbey: A New Era' continues British family saga in solid, soapy fashion

Dale (left, voiced by Andy Samberg) and Chip (John Mulaney) are on the case when a friend goes missing in "Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers."

If you're down for a cartoon nostalgia trip: 'Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers'

"Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" has a spiritual successor in this clever live-action/animated hybrid comedy. Estranged chipmunk besties Chip (voiced by John Mulaney) and Dale (Andy Samberg) put differences aside to find a missing friend in a case filled with classic Disney characters, hilarious cameos and pop-culture references.

Where to watch: Disney+

Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch, left, with Benedict Wong) rallies the magical troops against a formidable enemy in "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness."

If you're all about the multiverse: 'Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness'

Hallelujah, Marvel let Sam Raimi make an actual weird and gory horror film out of its "Strange" sequel. To save a teenager (Xochitl Gomez) who can traverse parallel worlds, Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) faces the fearsome Scarlet Witch (a great Elizabeth Olsen) and even meets some new A-list superhero surprises.

Where to watch: In theaters now

Review: Benedict Cumberbatch's freaky 'Doctor Strange 2' loses its way in Marvel multiverse

Evelyn (Michelle Yeoh, left), her daughter Joy (Stephanie Hsu) and husband Waymond (Ke Huy Quan) get embroiled in a multiverse-spanning adventure in "Everything Everywhere All at Once."

If you're REALLY all about the multiverse: 'Everything Everywhere All at Once'

The word-of-mouth indie success stars a spectacular Michelle Yeoh as an ordinary laundromat owner with tax troubles. Those get put on hold, though, when she learns about the existence of alternate realities (one where she has hot dog fingers, another where she's a movie star) and has to use them to stop an evil villainess.

Where to watch: In theaters now

Review: Michelle Yeoh's reluctant heroine powers dazzling, dizzying 'Everything Everywhere'

Knuckles (left, voiced by Idris Elba) and Sonic (Ben Schwartz) throw down in "Sonic the Hedgehog 2."

If you feel the need for speedy animals: 'Sonic the Hedgehog 2'

Idris Elba voices a grumpy warrior echidna named Knuckles who entirely steals this animated/live-action combo adventure. He also proves a formidable foil for our video-game hedgehog hero (Ben Schwartz), who is forced to again deal with the megalomaniacal pursuits of returning mad scientist Dr. Robotnik (a particularly hammy Jim Carrey).

Where to watch: Paramount+

Knuckles up: Why Idris Elba's furious critter is the very best thing about 'Sonic the Hedgehog 2'

Will Sharp (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, left) and Danny Sharp (Jake Gyllenhaal) try to survive a hellacious day in Michael Bay's "Ambulance."

If you can't wait for July 4 to watch things blow up: 'Ambulance'

Leave it to Michael Bay: After finally putting aside those bad "Transformers" movies, he makes the Most Michael Bay Movie Ever. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Jake Gyllenhaal play adopted brothers who attempt an LA bank heist, wind up hijacking an emergency vehicle and race through the City of Angels, causing wanton destruction and traffic jams.

Where to watch: Peacock

Total Bayhem! Every Michael Bay action movie, definitively ranked (including 'Ambulance')

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Memorial Day movies: What to see, from 'Top Gun' to 'Bob's Burgers'

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If you live life in the Danger Zone: 'Top Gun: Maverick'

If you enjoy quirky families and murder-mystery musicals: 'The Bob's Burgers Movie'

If you dig college comedies with something to say: 'Emergency'

If you heart Anthony Hopkins (and Zoom calls): 'Zero Contact'

If you're not afraid of subtitles: 'A Chiara'

If you adore the Dowager Countess: 'Downton Abbey: A New Era'

If you're down for a cartoon nostalgia trip: 'Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers'

If you're all about the multiverse: 'Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness'

If you're REALLY all about the multiverse: 'Everything Everywhere All at Once'

If you feel the need for speedy animals: 'Sonic the Hedgehog 2'

If you can't wait for July 4 to watch things blow up: 'Ambulance'

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