OTT releases this week: 'Carrie', 'Animals', 'Below', 'Matchbox' and more

Highlights

• Thrills and scares dominate the week, with plenty of horror, supernatural mysteries, crime thrillers and suspense-driven stories.
• Action and comedy offer a lighter balance, bringing adventure, humor, animation and stand-up to the lineup.
• Big-name stars headline the new releases, with familiar faces appearing across movies, series, documentaries and comedy specials.
• Emotional and thought-provoking stories take center stage, exploring family, ambition, loss, relationships, survival and second chances.
• The lineup offers something for everyone, spanning English and Hindi content across movies, series, documentaries and specials.

October's streaming lineup is getting darker, bigger and more star-studded, with Stephen King horror, high-stakes thrillers, action comedy and new documentaries arriving across major platforms.

This week brings everything from the latest reimagining of Carrie and Ben Affleck's kidnapping thriller Animals to John Cena's Matchbox: The Movie and Josh Hartnett's creature thriller Below. Comedy fans also have new releases from Jamie Foxx and Haunted Hotel, while Hindi viewers can catch Parineeti Chopra in Reporting Live.

Whether you're looking for a tense thriller, a supernatural mystery, an action-packed adventure or something lighter for the weekend, there is plenty to add to your watchlist. Here's a look at the notable movies and shows arriving across streaming platforms this week.

1. Carrie

CarrieX/@HollywoodXTamil

Release date: October 7, 2026
Platform: Prime Video
Available regions: United States and other Prime Video markets
Language: English
Genre: Horror, psychological thriller, drama
Episodes: 8

Stephen King’s Carrie gets a new television adaptation in Mike Flanagan’s contemporary reimagining. Summer H. Howell plays Carrie White, an isolated teenager whose already difficult life becomes increasingly unstable following the death of her father, a move into public high school and a vicious bullying scandal.

The series updates the original story for the social media era. Carrie’s humiliation is no longer confined to school corridors, as technology allows cruelty to spread rapidly and makes her increasingly vulnerable to public scrutiny and online harassment. At the same time, her telekinetic abilities begin to emerge.

Her relationship with her controlling mother, Margaret, remains central to the story. Rather than simply building toward the familiar horror climax, the series has room to explore Carrie’s emotional isolation, her complicated relationships with classmates and the psychological pressures surrounding her adolescence.

For fans of Stephen King adaptations, the biggest attraction is Flanagan’s opportunity to expand the characters and story over eight episodes instead of compressing the narrative into a feature-length film.

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Cast and characters

2. Who Is Martin Mull?

Release date: October 7, 2026
Platform: Netflix
Available regions: United States and Netflix international markets
Language: English
Genre: Documentary, biography
Runtime: 1 hour 34 minutes

Martin Mull was known as a comedian and actor, but his career extended well beyond television. Who Is Martin Mull? looks at the different creative identities he adopted throughout his life, from music and comedy to acting and visual art.

The documentary uses Mull’s own perspective alongside interviews with people who knew and worked with him. Steve Martin, Tom Waits and David Alan Grier are among the voices featured in the film.

Rather than presenting Mull simply as a nostalgic television figure, the documentary examines his constant reinvention and his interest in multiple artistic disciplines. That makes it particularly appealing for viewers who know him from sitcoms but may be less familiar with his work as a musician and painter.

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Cast and featured personalities

3. Jamie Foxx: Take Care of Yourself

Release date: October 7, 2026
Platform: Hulu
Available regions: United States
Language: English
Genre: Stand-up comedy

Jamie Foxx returns with a new comedy special that Hulu presents as a personal and evolved chapter in his career.

The special combines Foxx’s trademark storytelling, observational comedy and performance energy, with the title pointing toward themes of self-care and personal growth.

For viewers looking for something lighter after the week’s darker thrillers, this is one of the most straightforward comedy picks. Foxx turns personal experiences into material while bringing the energy and spontaneity that have become part of his stand-up style.

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Cast

4. Below

BelowX/@DiscussingFilm

Release date: October 8, 2026
Platform: Netflix
Available regions: United States and Netflix international markets
Language: English
Genre: Horror, mystery, thriller, drama
Episodes: 6

If atmospheric creature horror is your thing, Below is one of the week’s biggest releases.

Set in Newfoundland, the six-episode limited series follows Calvin Penney, a fisherman played by Josh Hartnett, whose small coastal community comes under attack from a mysterious creature emerging from the ocean.

Calvin is already dealing with a fractured family life and a sense that his community has little future. The arrival of the creature turns those personal problems into a much bigger fight for survival.

His son Wade, played by Charlie Heaton, begins experiencing disturbing symptoms, while marine biologist Fonda Howander, played by Mackenzie Davis, becomes involved in trying to understand what is happening beneath the water.

The series combines creature horror with family drama and the decline of a traditional fishing community. Its isolated Newfoundland setting is expected to play a major role in the atmosphere, making the show more of a slow-building mystery than a conventional monster story.

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Cast and characters

5. Animals

AnimalsX/@AllCinemaVerse

Release date: October 9, 2026
Platform: Netflix
Available regions: United States and Netflix international markets
Language: English
Genre: Crime, drama, thriller

Ben Affleck directs and stars alongside Kerry Washington in this tense political kidnapping thriller.

Affleck plays Mark Kimball, a Los Angeles mayoral candidate whose carefully constructed public image is shattered when his son, Denny, is kidnapped. His wife Abigail, played by Washington, is forced into the crisis with him as the couple races to raise the ransom.

The problem is that their money has largely been tied up in Mark’s political campaign. As the pressure increases, the couple is pushed into decisions that could expose secrets they have worked hard to keep hidden.

The central appeal of Animals is the collision between public image and private desperation. Mark is a politician accustomed to controlling a narrative, but a kidnapping leaves him with very little control. The story therefore works both as a thriller and as a character study about how far people will go when their family is threatened.

The movie is also receiving a select theatrical release alongside its Netflix debut, so there is no meaningful theatrical performance to report ahead of its streaming release.

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Cast and characters

6. Matchbox: The Movie

Matchbox: The MovieX/@JohnCena

Release date: October 9, 2026
Platform: Apple TV
Available regions: United States and global Apple TV markets
Language: English
Genre: Action, comedy, adventure

John Cena leads this globe-trotting action comedy inspired by the iconic Matchbox toy brand.

Cena plays Sean, a former childhood leader of a group of friends who has gone on to become an undercover CIA agent. When Sean returns to his hometown, a reunion with his old friends quickly turns into something much more dangerous.

The group becomes caught up in an international plot and must work together to prevent a potentially catastrophic threat. The film mixes spy-movie action with comedy and the nostalgia of childhood friendships.

The ensemble includes Jessica Biel, Sam Richardson, Teyonah Parris and Arturo Castro, while the supporting cast includes Danai Gurira, Corey Stoll, Bill Camp, Golshifteh Farahani and Randeep Hooda.

As a streaming premiere, Matchbox: The Movie does not have a theatrical box-office performance to report.

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7. Haunted Hotel Season 2

Release date: October 9, 2026
Platform: Netflix
Available regions: United States and Netflix international markets
Language: English
Genre: Adult animation, comedy, horror
Episodes: 8

The Undervale Hotel opens its doors again for another season of supernatural chaos.

Haunted Hotel follows Katherine, a single mother who inherits a hotel from her late brother. The catch is that her brother is now a ghost, and the building is filled with an unpredictable collection of supernatural residents and guests.

Season 2 continues the mix of family comedy, workplace chaos and supernatural absurdity that defined the first season. Katherine still has to keep the hotel operating while dealing with ghosts, monsters, demons and increasingly bizarre problems.

The returning voice cast includes Will Forte, Eliza Coupe, Skyler Gisondo, Natalie Palamides and Jimmi Simpson.

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Voice cast and characters

8. Lorne

Release date: October 6, 2026
Platform: Netflix
Available regions: United States
Language: English
Genre: Documentary, biography

For fans of American television and comedy history, Lorne offers a behind-the-scenes look at Lorne Michaels and the creation of Saturday Night Live.

The documentary explores how Michaels built the long-running comedy institution and the creative culture that developed around it. It features interviews and archival material involving many of the comedians and performers associated with the show’s history.

The film originally had a theatrical run before moving through streaming platforms and now arriving on Netflix in the US. As a result, its Netflix debut is a streaming-window release rather than a new theatrical premiere.

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Featured personalities

9.Take Charge of My Heart

Take Charge of My HeartX/@HollywoodXTamil

Release date: October 9, 2026
Platform: Netflix
Available regions: United States and other Netflix markets
Language: Korean
Genre: Romantic comedy, fantasy

Kim Young-kwang and Chae Soo-bin lead this quirky Korean romantic comedy about an unlikely connection between a man with an artificial heart and a woman who can generate electricity. The series follows Baek Ho-rang, a corporate heir whose artificial heart is running out of power, and Na Bo-bae, a screenwriter who developed electrical powers after being struck by lightning as a child. When they discover that Bo-bae's touch can recharge Ho-rang's heart, the two make an unusual deal that could change both their lives.

As Ho-rang needs Bo-bae's help to keep his heart functioning, she sees an opportunity to finally experience romance and draw inspiration for her writing. Their practical arrangement gradually develops into something more complicated, bringing romance, comedy and plenty of unexpected situations along the way.

Trailer: Watch the official trailer on Netflix

Cast and characters

10. The Boogeyman

Release date: October 6, 2026 on Netflix
Platform: Netflix
Available regions: United States and selected Netflix markets
Language: English
Genre: Horror, supernatural thriller
Original theatrical release: 2023

Based on Stephen King’s short story, The Boogeyman follows a family struggling with grief after a devastating loss.

The arrival of a disturbed patient at their home introduces something far more sinister: a creature that feeds on trauma and grief and thrives in darkness.

Sophie Thatcher leads the film as Sadie Harper, with Chris Messina and Vivien Lyra Blair also starring. The movie originally received a theatrical release in 2023, making its Netflix arrival a library addition rather than a new theatrical premiere.

For viewers building a Halloween watchlist, it is an easy addition, particularly for those who prefer supernatural horror over straight psychological thrillers.

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11. Reporting Live

Reporting LiveX/@Chrissuccess

Release date: October 9, 2026
Platform: Netflix
Available regions: India; US availability is not currently confirmed
Language: Hindi
Genre: Crime thriller

For Hindi-language viewers, Parineeti Chopra’s Reporting Live is one of the week’s notable releases. However, it should not currently be presented as a confirmed US streaming title.

The film follows a young reporter and her cameraman as they pursue a story that leads them into an illegal sand-mining operation controlled by a ruthless syndicate.

Parineeti Chopra plays the determined journalist at the center of the investigation, while Deven Bhojani, Amol Palekar, Adil Hussain and Shekhar Suman are among the supporting cast.

The story is built around investigative journalism, criminal networks and the danger of exposing a powerful operation. As the reporter gets closer to the truth, the professional investigation turns into a personal fight for survival.

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Cast and characters

From supernatural scares and tense family thrillers to action-packed adventures and comedy specials, this week’s streaming lineup has plenty to suit different moods. Whether you’re looking for a new series to binge, a movie for the weekend or something lighter between darker releases, titles such as Carrie, Animals, Below and Matchbox: The Movie offer plenty of options.

With Halloween season beginning to shape the streaming calendar, horror and suspense are particularly prominent this week. At the same time, documentaries, comedy and Hindi-language content give viewers plenty of alternatives. Check the availability details before watching, as streaming rights can vary by region.