10 must-see new movies to stream while stuck at home for the holidays, from 'Mank' to 'Soul'

Surges in COVID-19 cases are making people rethink their family get-togethers and cancel long-standing plans for Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas and more, and that includes the usual holiday trips to movie theaters, which are struggling if they're open at all.

All is not lost, however, because Santa's bringing a bunch of good stuff to streaming services and video on demand for those needing entertainment at home in November and December. Netflix is unleashing a host of awards-ready fare; Amazon Prime has not one but five big movies arriving as part of Steve McQueen's "Small Axe" anthology; and even Disney+ is feeling the yuletide cheer by releasing a new Pixar animated movie on Christmas Day.

Some films haven't given up their theatrical dates – including Oscar bait like "Ammonite" (Nov. 13) and "Nomadland" (Dec. 4), plus the Tom Hanks Western "News of the World" and superhero sequel "Wonder Woman 1984" (both out Dec. 25) – though in pandemic times, streaming and on-demand titles are as safe a bet to get the job done as Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

Glenn Close (left) stars as the matriarch trying to keep her family, including her daughter (Amy Adams) and grandson (Owen Asztalos), out of trouble in Ron Howard's "Hillbilly Elegy."
Here are 10 coming movies to definitely put on your holiday quarantine calendar:

'Hillbilly Elegy' (Nov. 24)
Stars: Amy Adams, Glenn Close, Gabriel Basso

Director: Ron Howard

The skinny: The adaptation of J.D. Vance's 2016 memoir, about three generations of an Appalachian family, focuses on a Yale law student (Basso) weighing his past vs. his future, having to go back to his Ohio hometown to deal with his abusive, drug-addicted mother (Adams) while also revisiting his childhood and the influence of his tough-love grandmother (Close).

Where to watch: Netflix