If you're looking for the best movies on Hulu to watch right now, we have some recommendations for you. From recent Oscar winners like Poor Things to all-time sci-fi classics like Alien, this list includes movies of all genres, and for all tastes, so the tough task of choosing a movie to watch this December over your Christmas break is easier than ever.
Hulu has quietly become one of the best streaming services around, with a library packed with new and classic sci-fi, horror, and action movies, as well as dramas, romances, and family movies too. There is something for everyone in this service, which got its start as a streaming home for TV shows from different channels. Since it was launched, both through movies and the best Hulu shows (including acclaimed originals like Shōgun and The Bear), the platform has found its place among viewers.
We've curated a list of the best movies on Hulu that combines memorable classics, unmissable recent releases, and exceptional Hulu originals. This ranking is a great place to start exploring the streaming service's vast catalog.
There is plenty here to get you started, so here are 10 of the best Hulu movies you can watch in December.
10. Prey
Year: 2022
Director: Dan Trachtenberg
There's a diabolical simplicity to the pitch behind Prey, the latest entry in the Predator franchise: What if a Predator hunted in a different period in history? Instead of having a Predator go up against the deadliest, Schwarzenegger-esque modern warrior with all the guns and ammo that entails, Prey is set in the Great Plains in the early 1700s. Amber Midthunder plays Naru, a Comanche woman whose desire to be a warrior instead of a healer, as her tribe would have her be, is tested to the extreme when an alien hunter searches for its quarry where the buffalo roam.
Prey is a fun, refreshing change of pace for Predator, and it will have you wondering why there aren't more movies like this. Have a Predator fight samurai, or gladiators, or pirates, or have a Predator square off against a battalion of Allied forces in World War II. The possibilities that Prey unlocked should be endless.
Read our Prey review for more insights ahead of Prey 2.
9. BlackBerry
Year: 2023
Director: Matt Johnson
For whatever reason, there was a glut of movies in 2023 that dramatized how certain products — like Air Jordans, Tetris, and Flamin' Hot Cheetos — were created. But, by far the best movie to emerge from this trend focuses on the rise and fall of the once-ubiquitous BlackBerry mobile phone that dominated the '00s until the iPhone ate its lunch.
Starring Jay Baruchel and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia's Glenn Howerton as a geek and a ruthless businessman who forge a partnership as successful as it is tenuous, BlackBerry stands out from the crowd in its willingness to show the dark lows of capitalism in addition to its highs. It's a smart, insightful, and bleakly comedic look at tech and commerce.
Dive into one of the best drama movies around with our BlackBerry review.
8. Poor Things
Year: 2023
Directors: Yorgos Lanthimos
Emma Stone won her second Academy Award for her brilliantly unhinged performance in Poor Things, her second collaboration with The Favourite director Yorgos Lanthimos. Anything you can say about this movie would feel insufficient to describe it, from the bonkers Frankenstein-inspired story to the stunning set design.
Based on Alasdair Gray’s 1992 novel, the film follows Victorian doctor Godwin Baxter (played by Willem Dafoe) during his most risky experimentation to date — he reanimates the body of a pregnant woman who committed suicide by inserting her unborn fetus' brain into her own head. We are NOT joking here. The result of the experiment is Bella Baxter, who looks like a grown up but thinks like a small child who is discovering the world.
Poor Things is an unconventional tale of self-discovery with lots of sex, politics, and memorable performances.
If you want to know how much we loved it, read our 5-star review of Poor Things right now.
7. The Host
Year: 2006
Director: Bong Joon-Ho
Parasite director Bong Joon-Ho made a creature feature in his own distinct way with 2006's The Host, which follows a Seoul family as they try to rescue a young family member who has been taken by a grotesque monster that emerged from the river and started wreaking havoc.
As with almost all of Director Bong's films, The Host blends comedy with darkness, dealing with some heavy themes involving class, bureaucracy, environmentalism, and more. The monster, some sort of mutated tadpole-like creature, is like nothing else you'll see on the screen, as is the unforgettable scene where it first comes ashore in broad daylight — totally throwing away the typical Jaws-style playbook of keeping the monster hidden. This is one of the best monster movies released in the 2000s and is well worth your time.
For more insights read our The Host review to find out more on this gem.
6. Palm Springs
Year: 2020
Director: Max Barbakow
Cristin Milioti plays a woman whose sister is getting married in the California desert vacation town of Palm Springs. Something unusual happens, though, and she finds herself trapped in a Groundhog's Day-style time loop along with fellow wedding guest Andy Samberg — only he's been trapped in this loop for so long that he's given up on trying to escape.
Released to Hulu during the height of the pandemic when it felt like everybody was stuck in the same routine, Palm Springs was a timely bit of sci-fi comedy that put a fresh spin on the tried and true time loop concept. Any fans of The Penguin (aka one of the best shows on Max right now), which has propelled Milioti to a new level of popularity, would do well to check her out in Palm Springs.
5. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Year: 2019
Director: Quentin Tarantino
All of Quentin Tarantino's movies are, on some level, an ode to Hollywood and cinema history, but his final film (for now, at least) is more explicit than most. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood… stars Leonardo DiCaprio as an actor whose best days might be behind him, and together with his buddy and longtime stuntman (Brad Pitt, who won an Oscar for the role), he'll try to make one last shot at staying relevant.
But, Hollywood is changing as the '60s give way to the '70s, and one of the new developments just so happens to be the Manson Family, who will go on to commit some infamous murders in the summer of '69. This is alternate history, and although its writing isn't as strong as Tarantino's other works, it's still a great pick for sun-soaked Hollywood fans.
Read our Once Upon a Time in Hollywood review for more details!
4. Die Hard
Year: 1988
Director: John McTiernan
The holiday season is coming up, and that's what we call a good bit of timing because Die Hard does indeed qualify as a Christmas movie. However, you can (and should) watch it at any time of year, regardless of your calendar, because it's an action masterpiece.
Bruce Willis stars as John McClane, a tired New York City cop who goes to LA to visit his estranged wife. Unfortunately, a group of robbers masquerading as terrorists led by Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) have taken everybody hostage, and only John McClane stands a chance at saving the day. Die Hard is a perfectly executed romp, and Willis makes for an all time action hero, in large part because he isn't like The Rock. He's just a regular guy — a very competent guy, granted, but an exasperated one.
Get your blood pumping with our list of the best action movies on Netflix next.
3. The Sixth Sense
Year: 1999
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Bruce Willis makes back-to-back appearances on this list for his turn in M. Night Shyamalan's best movie. Odds are good that you’ve heard what the twist is in The Sixth Sense (in the unlikely event you haven't, we won’t spoil it here), but rest assured: the movie works incredibly well, even if you do know what's coming.
Haley Joel Osment stars as a troubled nine-year-old boy who is having problems at school and at home with his mother (Toni Collette). Child psychologist Malcolm Crowe (Willis) takes it upon himself to help the poor kid and to attempt to make sense of his claims that he "sees dead people." Primarily a psychological thriller with some horror aspects, The Sixth Sense probably deserved to win at least one of the six Oscars it was nominated for.
Want an in-depth look at this flick? Read our The Sixth Sense review.
2. Independence Day
Year: 1996
Director: Roland Emmerich
Independence Day isn't just the best "blockbuster alien invasion" movie; it’s also the most "blockbuster alien invasion." Boasting an all-star cast whose likes included Will Smith, Bill Pullman, Jeff Goldblum, Mary McDonnell, Judd Hirsch, Vivica A. Fox, Randy Quaid, and more, Independence Day is a special-effects extravaganza that begins two days before the titular American holiday as massive, city-covering spacecraft appear all over the world. It's up to our heroes, including a fighter pilot, nerdy computer scientists, and the President of the United States, to rally mankind against this menace.
Independence Day is a fist-pumping hoot and a holler, and it also represents a high watermark for one type of special effects in particular. The movie, released in '96, came out right before CGI became omnipresent. There's plenty of CGI in Independence Day, and it holds up despite being nearly three decades old. Still, many of the most astounding scenes of destruction — like the obliteration of the White House and Empire State Building — are good old-fashioned model-making.
1. Alien
Year: 1979
Director: Ridley Scott
A chest buster exploding out of Kane is one of the best and most gory scenes in film history, so it's only fitting that it's attached to one of the best horror movies ever made. When the seven-member crew of a commercial spaceship encounters a strange, parasitic alien killer, they're picked off one by one until only one of the great cinema heroines, Sigourney Weaver's Ellen Ripley, remains.
Ridley Scott's sci-fi horror masterpiece has spawned an entire franchise (the second installment, James Cameron's action flick Aliens, is also streaming on Hulu, and it’s also a must-watch). Because of how successful Alien has become, it can be a bit easy to take the Xenomorph for granted. Try to forget everything you know about Alien before seeing the movie. It's best to try and be like the audiences in 1979 who had never seen, let alone imagined, a creature like the one H. R. Giger designed.
If you want more Xenomorphs in your life, you can read our guide on how to watch all the Alien movies in order.
For more streaming picks head over to your lists of the best movies on Disney Plus, the best movies on Amazon Prime and the best movies on Netflix. We also have a handy guide breaking down all the new movies on the horizon if you want fresh releases.
