7 films and series to watch this weekend, from Spider-Noir to Beasts of No Nation

The weekend is here, and whether you are in the mood for a superhero mystery, a campus romance, or a film that will leave you staring at the ceiling, this list has something for every kind of viewer.

Here are seven picks worth your time:

The newest addition to the Spider-Verse universe arrives not as an animated film but as a live-action series, and it is unlike anything Marvel has put out in a while. Set in 1930s New York, Spider-Noir follows Ben Reilly, an ageing private detective who once hung up his mask after failing to save the woman he loved. 

Pulled back into action by a dark supernatural mystery, the series leans hard into classic noir territory, rain-slicked streets, shadowy dealings, and moral ambiguity, while carrying the psychological weight of a man wrestling with what his abilities are even worth anymore. It dropped globally on Prime Video on May 27, and all episodes are available now. A strong start to the weekend.

If you are in the mood for something lighter but with genuine emotional depth, Off-Campus delivers. Adapted from Elle Kennedy's beloved novel series, this college romance follows Hannah, a music student, and Garrett, a hockey star, who strike a deal. 

She tutors him to protect his grades, and he pretends to date her to make her crush jealous. What starts as a convenient arrangement gradually becomes something neither of them planned for. 

Beneath the enemies-to-lovers setup, the show handles heavier themes, including an abusive upbringing and the aftermath of sexual trauma, with more care than the genre usually manages. Good for a Friday night in.

This one is for anyone who appreciates African storytelling done with creativity and heart. Directed by Zoey Martinson, The Fisherman is a magical-realist comedy about Atta Oko, a Ghanaian fisherman forced into retirement and accompanied by a sarcastic talking fish on a journey to Accra to secure a loan for his own boat. 

It sounds whimsical, and it is, but underneath the humour is a sincere exploration of generational knowledge, coastal communities under pressure from urbanisation, and what it means when the world moves faster than the people who built it.

A young wife uncovers a shocking truth about her marriage and finds herself forced to question the generational wisdom about wifehood that shaped everything she believed. Tell It No More is a brilliant short film that's quiet in its approach but hits where it counts. 

For anyone who has ever sat with advice passed down through generations and wondered whether it was wisdom or a trap, this one will feel uncomfortably familiar.

Nigerian cinema continues to produce films that deserve far more attention than they receive. Written, directed by, and starring Allison Precious Emmanuel, The Boy Who Gave follows Idah, a teenager on Bonny Island in the Niger Delta who takes on the responsibility of caring for his younger siblings after losing both parents. 

It is a film about sacrifice, love, and the weight that falls on young shoulders too soon. It earned recognition at AFRIFF 2025 and is well worth your Saturday afternoon.

For the action crowd, War Machine delivers exactly what the title promises. An elite squad of Army Ranger candidates finds their final training exercise turning into a fight for survival against a massive, otherworldly threat. 

Alan Ritchson leads as "81," a soldier carrying the grief of a fallen brother. It is loud, tense, and moves fast, exactly what you need when you want your brain switched off.

End the weekend with this one, but prepare yourself. Released in 2015 and still one of the most powerful films available on Netflix, Beasts of No Nation follows Agu, a young boy in a West African country consumed by civil war, whose childhood is destroyed when a rebel militia takes him in and turns him into a soldier. 

Idris Elba's portrayal of the Commandant remains one of the most chilling performances in recent cinema history. It is not easy viewing, but it is essential.

Seven options, multiple platforms, enjoy your weekend.

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