As another Sundance Film Festival comes to a close (be sure to check out our coverage here), it’s now time to assess which films will be seen and loved by the masses throughout the year. Though it is still intended as a showcase for independently made films, its position as a marketplace has become increasingly important as more boutique and indie studios shell out millions for these films. This year it became apparent that streaming services are major players, with million dollar VOD deals becoming just as noteworthy as theatrical acquisitions. Specifically, Netflix walked away with exclusive streaming and VOD rights for The Fundamentals of Caring, a comedy starring Paul Rudd and Craig Roberts, nanny drama Tallulah with Ellen Page, and Iranian horror film Under the Shadow. Amazon struck deals for Michael Shannon/Rachel Weisz thriller Complete Unknown, Whit Stillman’s Love and Friendship, and a $10 million deal for the highly praised Manchester by the Sea, the newest film from indie auteur Kenneth Lonergan. For more info on all the Sundance purchases, check out the full list at The Wrap.

If all of that isn’t proof enough that streaming is where it’s at, check out the best films and television to hit streaming this week:

Netflix

Frozen Planet (Series, 2011)

From the creator of the renowned Planet Earth series comes a nine-part documentary series focusing on the environment and life of the Arctic and Antarctic poles. If you are totally into penguins, polar bears or the albatross, Frozen Planet gives a well-researched and beautifully shot exploration—all with David Attenborough’s dulcet tones. And if you love the series, Netflix also has two special extra companion features, On Thin Ice and An Epic Journey, to stream, along with the six-part Making of Frozen Planet behind-the-scenes series.

Other titles new to Netflix this week:
From Dusk to Dawn (Series, Season 2)
Ripper Street (Series, Season 3)
Turbo Kid (François Simard, Anouk Whissell & Yoann-Karl Whissell, 2015)

Fandor

Red Desert (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1964)

In this week’s “Criterion Picks” Fandor takes a look at the color film debuts of some of the world’s great filmmakers. By 1964, Italian auteur Antonioni had built a career on stylized dramas in striking black-and-white cinematography—his first colorized film, Red Desert, is strangely set in an industrial wasteland but is no less beautiful. You can also check out color firsts from Kurosawa, Renoir, Ophuls, and more until February 7. Fandor is also in the Sundance spirit this week with their Spotlight on some of their favorite films that played Park City. Their far-ranging selections include Hoop Dreams, Slacker, The Forbidden Room, Meek’s Cutoff, and Computer Chess.

Other titles new to Fandor this week:
Archangel (Guy Maddin, 1990)
Equinox Flower (Yasujiro Ozu, 1958)
Mon oncle (Jacques Tati, 1958)
Our Nixon (Penny Lane, 2013)
What Remains (Steven Cantor, 2006)

MUBI

The Square (Jehane Noujaim, 2013)

MUBI is also into the Sundance Film Festival this week, as their curated selections all highlight films that debuted at the fest. Among them is the stunning look at the recent Egyptian revolution, The Square. The winner of the 2013 Sundance Audience Award for World Cinema in the documentary category and Oscar nominee, the film covers the protests against former president Mubarak through the eyes of the people in the title square. It is a beautiful example of the power of people and really puts the viewer into the experience, living through the political angst, terror, and ultimate victory. MUBI is offering the complete version of the film with an updated ending covering the events that followed the film’s release.

Other titles new to MUBI this week:
Detropia (Heidi Ewing & Rachel Grady, 2012)
Durakovo: Village of Fools (Nino Kirtadze, 2008)
The Unbelievable Truth (Hal Hartley, 1989)
Vulgar Fractions (Peter Bo Rappmund, 2011)
Wrong (Quentin Dupieux, 2012)

Video On-Demand

The Assassin (Hou Hsiao-Hsien, 2015)

Among the most beautifully shot films of 2015, Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s The Assassin was included by many as one of the best films of the year (including us). Though it has been marketed heavily as a martial arts action film, The Assassin is a more slowly-paced, contemplative film than that, much more concerned with character, tone, and style than narrative or action. This may turn off some viewers, but the lush visual pleasures of the film cannot be denied. Though seeing the film at home may not be in its best possible presentation, for those who missed it in its limited theatrical run, The Assassin can not be rented or purchased through iTunes and other VOD platforms.

Other titles new to VOD this week:
Burnt (John Wells, 2015)
Crimson Peak (Guillermo del Toro, 2015)
Truth (James Vanderbilt, 2015)

You could probably make this case every week anymore, but this might be the most important week in the history of online streaming. Not only did we see Paul Thomas Anderson‘s newest film Junun released on its exclusive home MUBI, but Netflix’s first original feature film hits the streaming service today. Though the critical overjoy that Beasts of No Nation first received on the festival circuit has substantially cooled, the film is still Netflix’s first big awards contender. We’ve seen the company receive massive critical and awards success on the television side of things with multiple Emmy and Golden Globe nominations and wins for Orange Is the New Black and House of Cards and even two Oscar nominations for documentaries, but an original film with the profile and star cred (Idris Elba and director Cary Joji Fukunaga) has been a bit of a white whale. Even if Beasts of No Nation isn’t represented at the next Academy Awards, there are major stakes in the success of its release—simultaneously in theaters and on the streaming platform. If it can be a profitable model for Netflix, we could easily see their presence increase. And as it did in the world of television, this could happen quickly.

Netflix

Beasts of No Nation (Cary Joji Fukunaga, 2015)

As mentioned above, Beasts of No Nation is a landmark release for Netflix. The film stars Abraham Attah as a child from a small village in Africa who is forced to become a child soldier commanded by a terrifying leader (Idris Elba). Writer-director Fukunaga garnered incredible acclaim for his latest work, the first season of HBO’s True Detective, but has shown the ability to tell harrowing stories from the perspective of a young person with his previous films Jane Eyre and Sin Nombre. Beasts of No Nation is “surreal, powerful, and visually breathtaking and “showcases [Fukunaga]’s skills as both a writer and visual storyteller.” For more coverage of the film, check out our interview with Fukunaga, coming later today.

Other titles new to Netflix this week:
Anthony Jeselnik: Thoughts and Prayers (Stand-Up Special, 2015)
Isabella Rossellini’s Green Porno Live! (Jody Shapiro, 2015)
Jane the Virgin (Season 1)
Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me (James Keach, 2014)
The Lazarus Effect (David Gelb, 2015)

Fandor

The Phantom of the Opera (Rupert Julian, 1925)

Halloween is only two weeks away and Fandor is in the spirit with this classic silent horror masterpiece. Though it is taken from a popular French novel, it is safe to say that the dozens of adaptations we’ve seen since have a great deal to owe to Lon Chaney’s (The Man of a Thousand Faces) beautiful performance as the title villain. The final reveal of the Phantom’s ghoulish face is one of the landmark moments horror cinema history, but it is otherwise a quite touching tale of love and terror. Also available on Fandor this week is a series of the best from Russia, including films from Tarkovsky, Eisenstein and Shepitko. As with many of Fandor’s Criterion Picks, they are only available for a short time. If you are interested in any of the films listed below, you have to catch them before October 25.

Other titles new to Fandor this week:
The Cranes Are Flying (Mikhail Kalatozov, 1957)
Ivan the Terrible: Part I & II (Sergei Eisenstein, 1945 & 1958)
Solaris (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1972)
The Unbelievable Truth (Hal Hartley, 1989)
Wings (Larisa Shepitko, 1966)

MUBI

Oldboy (Park Chan-wook, 2003)

One of the new South Korean cinema’s most popular and crazy entries, Oldboy is a twisty tale of revenge. For those who haven’t seen it (or the Spike Lee remake, for that matter), Oldboy unfolds over the five days that Oh Dae-su has to figure out who imprisoned him for 15 years—and, perhaps more disturbingly, why they did it. It may be known as having one of the craziest twists in modern cinema, but Oldboy is so much more, with incredible action beats and a strange melancholy tone that pierces deeply into the psyche of its characters. You can check out Oldboy and the other new films listed below for a short time on MUBI.

Other titles new to MUBI this week:
Almayer’s Folly (Chantal Akerman, 2011)
Black Sabbath (Mario Bava, 1963)
Blank City (Celine Danhier, 2010)

Video On-Demand

Tales of Halloween (Various, 2015)

Featuring ten spooky shorts over 90-minutes, Tales of Halloween is the latest of the newly popular but traditional horror anthology film. The film includes segments directed by Darren Lynn Bousman (Saw II, Repo! The Genetic Opera), Neil Marshall (The Descent), Lucky McKee (May, The Woman), and Andrew Kasch (Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy). An interesting twist to the anthology film is that all ten stories take place in the same suburban town, giving a real connection to each of the films that is sometimes lost in the genre. Tales of Halloween has been playing to rave reviews during its limited theatrical release and is now available to rent or own on VOD.

Other titles new to VOD this week:
Dope (Rick Famuyiwa, 2015)
Experimenter (Michael Almereyda, 2015)
Mississippi Grind (Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck, 2015)
Tomorrowland (Brad Bird, 2015)