Hulu has grown its movie catalog in recent years to complement its TV series lineup. Many might think of Hulu as a place to watch TV shows mainly, but with options to stream from HBO, Cinemax, Starz, and Showtime (with subscriptions), many viewers can meet all of their content needs with the streaming service. But what if you a) don’t pay for the additional subscriptions and b) just want to watch a movie with your regular Hulu subscription? There are plenty of great choices in the expansive collection, and we’ve highlighted a bunch of them here. Take a look at our picks for the best movies available to stream on Hulu right now.
Prey
Year: 2022
Director: Dan Trachtenberg
Stars: Amber Midthunder, Dane DiLiegro, Harlan Blayne Kytwayhat
Genre: Thriller, Drama, Science Fiction, Horror
Rating: R
This fun and unique take on Predator is a prequel to the original (which you can watch with an HBO subscription on Hulu). This came on the streaming service in 2022 and it centers on a young Comanche warrior, Naru, in 1719. From Hulu:
An all-new entry in the Predator franchise, set 300 years ago, tells the story of a young Comanche woman, a fierce and highly skilled warrior, who stalks, and ultimately confronts, a highly evolved alien predator with a technically advanced arsenal.
Rosaline
Year: 2022
Director: Karen Maine
Stars: Kaitlin Dever, Bradley Whitford, Isabela Merced
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Rating: PG-13
Providing a comedic twist on Romeo and Juliet, Rosaline gives us a look at how the famous story unfolded through the eyes of Juliet’s cousin, Rosaline. Katilin Dever, who turned in a superb performance in Hulu’s Dopesick, stars as Rosaline. From Hulu:
Comedic twist on “Romeo & Juliet,” told from the perspective of Juliet’s cousin Rosaline, Romeo’s recent love interest. Heartbroken when Romeo meets Juliet and begins to pursue her, Rosaline schemes to foil the famous romance and win back her guy.
Palm Springs
Year: 2020
Director: Max Barbakow
Stars: Andy Samberg, Cristin Milioti, J.K. Simmons
Genre: Comedy
Rating: R
Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti star in this time-traveling adventure about two people who meet at a wedding in Palm Springs and the repercussions of their meet-up. It’s a fresh, unique tale that is one of the best Hulu Originals. From Hulu:
When carefree Nyles and reluctant maid of honor Sarah have a chance encounter at a Palm Springs wedding, things get complicated when they find themselves unable to escape the venue, themselves, or each other.
Fire Island
Year: 2022
Director: Andrew Ahn
Stars: Joel Kim Booster, Bowen Yang, James Scully, Conrad Ricamora, Margaret Cho
Genre: Romance, Comedy
Rating: R
A modern take on Pride and Prejudice, this movie from 2022 follows a group of friends visiting Fire Island, New York. The group is looking for love and celebrating the summer. The movie depicts Booster’s experiences and reality as a gay, Asian-American man. From Hulu:
A group of queer best friends gather in Fire Island Pines for their annual week of love and laughter, but a sudden change of events might make this their last summer in gay paradise.
Amour
Year: 2012
Director: Michael Haneke
Stars: Jean-Louis Trintignant, Emmanuelle Riva, Isabelle Huppert
Genre: International, Drama
Rating: PG-13
A beautiful film that won the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film, Amour comes from acclaimed director Michael Haneke. It follows an elderly couple as they deal with an illness diagnosis. Emmanuelle Riva’s Oscar-nominated performance is heartbreaking. From Hulu:
Elderly couple of musicians who live in a stately apartment in Paris city center. One day, wife becomes sick, and the couple’s happy life is suddenly darkened.
Parasite
Year: 2019
Director: Bong Joon-ho
Stars: Song Kang-Ho, Choi Woo-Shik, Lee Sun Kyun, Park So-Dam, Cho Yeo-Jeong, Jang Hye-Jin, Lee Jung-Eun, Yeo-Jeong Jo
Genre: Korean, Comedy, Drama, International, Thriller
Rating: R
The winner of four Academy Awards including Best Picture, Parasite is a stunning piece of film making and storytelling. Written and directed by Bong Joon-ho, one of South Korea’s most well-known directors, this masterpieces discusses societal and class norms in a unique and fascinating way. You won’t be sorry you watched this. From Hulu:
Greed, class discrimination, and a mysterious interloper threaten the newly formed symbiotic relationship between the wealthy Park family and the destitute Kim clan.
The Help
Year: 2011
Director: Tate Taylor
Stars: Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, Jessica Chastain, Bryce Dallas Howard
Genre: Drama
Rating: PG-13
This ever-timely tale is based on a best-selling novel and it follows an aspiring white writer wanting to detail African American maids’ points of view during the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s. Star turns from Viola Davis, Emma Stone, and an Oscar-winning role for Octavia Spencer lead this film. From Hulu:
At the dawn of the civil rights movement, three Mississippi women are about to take one extraordinary step.
Akira
Year: 1988
Director: Katsuhiro Ôtomo
Stars: Mitsuo Iwata, Nozomu Sasaki, Mami Koyama
Genre: Adult Animation, Action, Drama, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Thriller, International
Rating: R
Hulu has become a premiere place for anime lovers. Akira is one of the most well-known anime from the 1980s. There is so much to follow and the story is thrilling. From Hulu:
Clandestine army activities threaten the war torn city of Neo-Tokyo when a mysterious child with powerful psychic abilities escapes his prison and inadvertently draws a violent motorcycle gang into a heinous web of experimentation.
The 40-Year Old Virgin
Year: 2005
Director: Judd Apatow
Stars: Steve Carell, Catherine Keener, Paul Rudd
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Rating: R
One of the top comedies of the 2000s, The 40-Year Old Virgin is a hysterically raunchy comedy that was a critical and popular success. Steve Carell stars as the lovable Andy, a man who can’t seem to lose his virginity and his group of friends who are trying everything to help him out. You’ll never look at a trip to the salon the same way again. From Hulu:
Andy at the age of 40 still hasn’t “done the deed”.
The Mummy
Year: 1999
Director: Stephen Sommers
Stars: Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah
Genre: Fantasy, Action, Adventure
Rating: PG-13
Now that Brendan Fraser is having a renaissance in Hollywood, it’s time to revisit the movie that made him a star in the first place. The Mummy is the first of a franchise that starred Fraser as Rick O’Connell, a man in search of an Egyptian tomb and what happens when he finds it. It was a cultural phenomenon that made $416 million at the box office in 1999. From Hulu:
Adventurer Brendan Fraser and opposing teams of treasure hunters awaken an evil 3,000-year-old Egyptian mummy in this thriller.
Pig
Year: 2021
Director: Michael Sarnoski
Stars: Nicolas Cage, Alex Wolff, Adam Arkin
Genre: Thriller, Drama
Rating: R
Speaking of comebacks, Pig features a tour-de-force performance by Nicolas Cage in one of his best reviewed films in years. Cage plays a truffle hunter who lives alone in the woods and what he must do to get his kidnapped foraging pig back. It’s also a quick one, as it’s just over 90 minutes. From Hulu:
A truffle hunter who lives alone in the Oregonian wilderness must return to his past in Portland in search of his beloved foraging pig after she is kidnapped.
Blade Runner 2049
Year: 2017
Director: Denis Villeneuve
Stars: Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford, Ana de Armas
Genre: Thriller, Science Fiction, Action, Adventure
Rating: R
The sequel to one of the most famous sci-fi movies of all time, Blade Runner 2049 takes place in the same world as the original Blade Runner (also on Hulu). This one follows Ryan Gosling as he teams up with the original’s star, Harrison Ford. It would be smart to watch the original first, if you haven’t seen it. From Hulu:
Ryan Gosling teams up with original ‘Blade Runner’ Harrison Ford in this sequel to the sci-fi classic.
Vacation Friends
Year: 2021
Director: Clay Tarver
Stars: Yvonne Orji, Lil Rel Howery, John Cena, Meredith Hagner
Genre: Comedy
Rating: R
The term “vacation friends” means the people you meet randomly on a vacation that you maybe hang around with at the resort you’re at but then you head your separate ways after the vacation. But what if things don’t end on the trip? That’s the premise for this recent comedy starring John Cena and Lil Rel Howery. From Hulu:
A couple meets up with another couple while on vacation in Mexico, but their friendship takes an awkward turn when they get back home.
Empire Records
Year: 1995
Director: Allan Moyle
Stars: Anthony LaPaglia, Rory Cochrane, Liv Tyler
Genre: Drama
Rating: PG-13
Kids these days may not even know what a record store is, but it used to be a place where people would congregate and share their music interests. This popular indie from the ’90s is about employees of a record store trying to earn enough money to buy the store to keep it from going out of business. From Hulu:
Employees of an independent record store stage a fund-raiser to buy the business.
Nightmare Alley
Year: 2021
Director: Guillermo del Toro
Stars: Bradley Cooper, Kate Blanchett, Rooney Mara, Toni Collette, Paul Anderson
Genre: Thriller, Drama
Rating: R
Nightmare Alley is a thriller film based on the 1946 novel of the same name by William Lindsay Gresham. This movie stars Bradley Cooper as an ambitious carnival worker, willing to risk it all to boost his career as he teams up with Rooney Mara to make it big. Cate Blanchett makes a great turn as a femme fatale in this. The ensemble cast helped lead the film to four Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture. From Hulu:
In Guillermo del Toro’s film noir, an ambitious carny (Bradley Cooper) crafts a ticket to success grifting the elite of 1940s society. With Molly (Rooney Mara) by his side, he plots to con a tycoon (Richard Jenkins) with the aid of a mysterious psychiatrist (Cate Blanchett), his most formidable opponent yet.
A League of Their Own
Year: 1992
Director: Penny Marshall
Stars: Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, Madonna
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Family, Sports
Rating: PG
You probably have heard the iconic line, “There’s no crying in baseball!” It hails from the terrific A League of Their Own, which tells the story of the women’s baseball league that played ball across the United States in the 1940s. Starring Tom Hanks as the cranky manager and Geena Davis as the star catcher, it follows the Rockford Peaches during their first season. It’s a great sports film and it’s a great family film. From Hulu:
Tom Hanks and Geena Davis star in this big-league comedy based on the real-life exploits of the All-American Girls Baseball League.
The Triplets of Belleville
Year: 2003
Director: Sylvain Chomet
Stars: Jean-Claude Donda, Michel Robin, Monica Viegas, Michèle Caucheteux, Mari-Lou Gauthier
Genre: Comedy, Animation
Rating: PG-13
Nominated for two Academy Awards, including Best Animated Feature, this wildly entertaining animated feature film comes from an international co-production across France, Belgium, the United Kingdom, and Canada. It follows a woman trying to find her kidnapped grandson and the three triplets she meets along the way. From Hulu:
This animated film follows elderly Frenchwoman Madame Souza as she becomes involved in international intrigue when her grandson, Champion, a professional cyclist, is kidnapped and taken abroad. Joined by her faithful dog, Bruno, Souza embarks on a journey to find Champion, and stumbles across unlikely allies in the form of three sisters who are veterans of the vaudeville stage. Tracking down Champion’s criminal captors, the quartet of old women use their wits to try and win the day.
Heat
Year: 1995
Director: Michael Mann
Stars: Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Val Kilmer
Genre: Drama, Crime, Legal
Rating: R
One of the most rewatchable movies of the past 30 years, Heat comes from Michael Mann and stars Al Pacino as a cop trying to capture a career criminal, played by Robert De Niro. Set in Los Angeles, it follows just how far one detective will go to catch a thief. It pits Pacino and De Niro against each other for the first time on screen. From Hulu:
It’s a thin line between good and bad – a career criminal may be at the end of his days if an equally obsessive cop can catch him.
Dead Asleep
Year: 2021
Director: Skye Borgman
Genre: Documentary
Rating: TV-MA
A fascinating story that profiles a murder trial where the accused claims to have been sleepwalking when the crime was committed. From the acclaimed director of Abducted in Plain Sight, this is a Hulu Original documentary that is sure to keep you enthralled. From Hulu:
Dead Asleep follows the complex and layered case of a young man who claims to have murdered his best friend whilst sleepwalking.
Death on the Nile
Year: 2022
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Stars: Kenneth Branagh, Gal Gadot, Armie Hammer, Letitia Wright
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
Rating: PG-13
Based on the 1937 novel of the same name by Agatha Christie, this is the second film where Kenneth Branagh portrays famous Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. He joins a newlywed couple on their honeymoon cruise and death strikes upon the cruise and it is up to Poirot to put the pieces together to find out who is the culprit. A fun whodunit with plenty of suspects, this will keep you guessing. From Hulu:
Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot’s Egyptian vacation aboard a glamorous river steamer turns into a terrifying search for a murderer.
