The Aug. 21 slate rounds out a busy month for subscribers, who now have a starry indie drama, a haunted-van horror entry, and a basketball dynasty documentary to choose from across platforms.
Rosebush Pruning Lands on MUBI
MUBI’s marquee pickup this week is Rosebush Pruning, which arrives on the platform August 21 with a cast that reads like an indie-all-star roster. Callum Turner leads alongside Riley Keough, Elle Fanning, Jamie Bell, Tracy Letts, and Pamela Anderson.
The film gives Anderson another high-profile acting vehicle following her recent career renaissance, while Turner continues a busy stretch that has pushed him toward leading-man status. Pairing him with Keough — fresh off her own string of acclaimed performances — gives the project a clear awards-season feel, even on a streamer known for curating rather than chasing Oscar campaigns.
For MUBI, the acquisition fits a familiar pattern: a single headline title anchoring a weekly drop, supported by the platform’s curated back catalog. Rosebush Pruning gives subscribers a name-driven entry point they can sample without a theater visit.
Passenger Brings Van-Life Horror to Paramount+
Paramount+’s contribution to the week is Passenger, a horror film from André Øvredal, the director behind The Last Voyage of the Demeter. The film is now streaming.
The setup pairs engaged couple Tyler (Jacob Scipio) and Maddie (Lou Llobell) on a van-life road trip that goes sideways after they witness an accident. From there, the pair find themselves haunted by something that leaves claw marks on their van — a detail that promises the kind of confined-space dread Øvredal has made a specialty of. Melissa Leo rounds out the principal cast.
Øvredal’s track record gives the project an immediate credibility floor for genre fans. The Last Voyage of the Demeter proved he can wring tension out of a single vessel, and Passenger applies the same logic to a moving van rather than a sailing ship. For Paramount+, the film adds another original horror title to a genre shelf the platform has leaned into heavily.
The Dynasty: UConn Huskies Tracks a Basketball Powerhouse
Rounding out the week’s notable arrivals is The Dynasty: UConn Huskies, a documentary series examining the basketball program that has become synonymous with dominance on the court. The series arrives as streaming platforms continue to lean into sports docuseries as reliable subscriber draws.
UConn’s reputation — built across multiple championship runs — gives the series a built-in audience that extends well beyond hardcore basketball fans. For viewers who skipped the live games, the docuseries offers a condensed entry point into how the program sustained its winning culture.
What Happens Next
Streaming new releases in the back half of August typically set the table for the fall prestige push, and this week’s mix hints at the shape of things to come. Expect MUBI to keep stacking ensemble-driven acquisitions like Rosebush Pruning as it competes for subscribers who want curated prestige without the studio-streamer price tag. Paramount+ will likely continue leaning into horror originals alongside Passenger, given the genre’s reliable performance on the platform. And sports docuseries like The Dynasty: UConn Huskies should keep multiplying as streamers chase the crossover audience that turned similar projects into cultural events. Watch next week’s slate for any festival acquisitions that could shift the fall lineup.
— Lucas Berg, entertainment desk, AXO News