If you thought that Hulu was the streaming service only for watching FX TV shows the morning after they premiere, think again. From newer hits to must-see classics, Hulu has a solid list of movies waiting just a few clicks away. Here are the 25 best movies on Hulu right now.
Last updated on June 24, 2024.
TIE: 25. Deep Water
Year: 2022
Cast: Ana de Armas, Ben Affleck, Tracy Letts, and Lil Rey Howery
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Rating: R
Runtime: 115 minutes
Director: Adrian Lyne
Trailer: Watch here
Divisive? Yes. This thriller is dripping wet with divisiveness, but where else are you going to get your 1990s sleaze fix nowadays? To wit, this psychological marriage thriller brought Adrian “Fatal Attraction” Lyne out of a 20-year retirement, and while it’s not nearly as steamy as his previous work, it offers up a lot of the same bodily motions. Melinda and Vic have a unique matrimonial union: they stay together for the kids, and Melinda gets all the lovers she wants. Sadly (and predictably), Vic gets more than a little jealous, and one-night stands go a little missing. But is Vic really to blame? And if he is, and Melinda is into it, is that super duper weird? Affleck channels big Gone Girl energy, and his work alongside de Armas will challenge you not to yuck someone else’s yum.
TIE: 25. Flamin’ Hot
Year: 2023
Cast: Jesse Garcia, Annie Gonzalez, Emilio Rivera, Vanessa Martinez, Dennis Haysbert, and Tony Shalhoub
Genre:Comedy, Drama, Biography
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 99 minutes
Director: Eva Longoria
Trailer: Watch here
The historical accuracy is sanded down beyond recognition, but that doesn’t tone down the flavor of this story of a janitor at Frito-Lay rising in the ranks thanks to innovative thinking. Much like the spicy product at its heart, the film feels like it emerged from the 1990s — a PG-13 rarity that sails by, offering a vibrant story of perseverance and family bonds. It’s a rags to medium-riches made magical by the imminently watchable Jesse Garcia, who charms and delights as the real-life Richart Montañez. It’s also equal parts reality check about what it takes to survive and a hopeful, joyous reminder of how amazing popular innovations can be. Enjoyed best with a big glass of tamarindo.
24. Rye Lane
Year: 2023
Cast: David Jonsson, Vivian Oparah, Simon Manyonda, Malcolm Atobrah, and Karene Peter
Genre:Rom-Com
Rating: R
Runtime: 82 minutes
Director: Raine Allen-Miller
Trailer: Watch here
The quality of the rom-com genre ebbs and flows, but with Rye Lane, it’s at an all-time high. Yas and Dom have just been through nightmarish breakups, so they decide to spend the day getting to know each other. Smart move. Not only do they blaze with chemistry, they get to experience the rich flavor of South London and some truly outrageous art exhibitions about buttholes. Naturally, the ride gets bumpy, but Allen-Miller’s debut feature is both a stellar throwback to classics and a fresh look at modern dating life. An absolute winner.
23. Fire Island
Year: 2022
Cast: Joel Kim Booster, Bowen Yang, Conrad, Ricamora, James Scully, Margaret Cho, and Matt Rogers
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Rating: R
Runtime: 105 minutes
Director: Andrew Ahn
Trailer: Watch here
Speaking of classic rom-coms, this gem, forged in the heat of the most popular beach week in New York, is based on Pride and Prejudice. Thus, we get multiple romances for the price of one, stemming from some excellent misunderstandings and more than a few shots of glowing blue liquor. On what may be the last vacation for their friend group, Noah and Howie meet potential new loves Will and Charlie, but figuring out they want to give it a go will take navigating thirst trap Instagram feeds, dark rooms, and cynicism about love in the modern age. This sweet and hilarious romance is the result of a joy-loving script, strong direction, and a game cast of comedians who are all having a blast.
22. White Men Can’t Jump
Year: 2023
Cast: Sinqua Walls, Jack Harlow, Lance Reddick, Teyana Taylor, and Laura Harrier
Genre: Sports Comedy
Rating: R
Runtime: 101 minutes
Director: Calmatic
Trailer: Watch here
Jeremy dresses like Richard Simmons bought stock in Gecko Hawaii, which makes him a hustling threat when he reveals his killer jump shot. Kamal never lived up to his full potential on the court, and he’d be one of the best if he found the right partner. Fortunately, Jeremy and Kamal are terrible for each other. Riffing on the original starring Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson, two oil-and-water street ballers have to team up in order to win a half-million in a tournament that could change their lives. Harlow and Walls find a sweet spot tossing out trash talking barbs and building a reluctant friendship on sarcasm and shared struggles, but the real standout is Calmatic’s flashy direction and the thrill of the games.
21. Boston Strangler
Year: 2023
Cast: Keira Knightley, Carrie Coon, Alessandro Nivola, and Chris Cooper
Genre:True Crime, Drama
Rating: R
Runtime: 112 minutes
Director: Matt Ruskin
Trailer: Watch here
We’ve entered an era where major news stories from a half-century ago can be given the glossy Spotlight treatment, using the past to illuminate how we feel about the present. In the case of this explosive film by writer/director Matt Ruskin, it’s the terror-filled reign of the Boston Strangler. Or, more specifically, reporters Loretta McLaughlin and Jean Cole connecting the dots and uncovering how badly the police department is handling the serial killer. Naturally, they’ve got to watch their backs with a guy out there killing women, but they’ve also got to navigate the patriarchal stubbornness of institutions protecting themselves instead of dealing with a genuine danger to the public. This is another incisive look at two fearless, competent journalists riding a chilling undercurrent of murder.
20. Portrait Of A Lady On Fire
Year: 2019
Cast: Noémie Merlant, Adèle Haenel, Luàna Bajrami, and Valeria Golino
Genre: Drama, Romance, Historical Drama
Rating: R
Runtime: 120 minutes
Director: Céline Sciamma
Trailer: Watch here
Marianne is a talented artist hired to paint a wedding portrait for Héloïse without Héloïse knowing she’s being painted. She’s not keen on being married off, and she’s still reeling from her older sister’s suicide, so Marianne pretends to be a hired companion to stay close with her. Then she gets way, way closer than Héloïse’s mother wanted. Considered comfortably as one of the best films of the 21st century, Sciamma’s film is a gorgeous and thrilling romance between two women looking for genuine connection. Bittersweet and lovely, it also features one of the most daring music choices in recent memory, blaring out an intense original piece after background silence in an unforgettable scene that’s almost physically overwhelming for some viewers. It’s a powerful, heart-twisting film.
19. Hell Or High Water
Year: 2016
Cast: Ben Foster, Chris Pine, Dale Dickey, Katy Mixon, Gil Birmingham, and Jeff Bridges
Genre: Neo-Western, Crime, Mystery
Rating: R
Runtime: 102 minutes
Director: David Mackenzie
Trailer: Watch here
In case you weren’t sure about it, robbing banks with a chaotic neutral partner is not a great idea. That’s what Toby has to put up with while stealing FDIC-insured money with his hyped-up brother Tanner. Their sibling dysfunction is the bad news. The badder news is that two Texas Rangers are on their trail, but Toby and Tanner are doing all the marauding for a good reason: to save the family farm from disclosure by using the bank’s money to pay what they owe. Mackenzie’s direction is confident and potent, but screenwriter Taylor Sheridan is the one who used the success of the film to launch an emergent career of crafting your dad’s favorite modern movies. It’s revitalized the genre enough that Yellowstone would not exist without it.
18. Good Luck To You, Leo Grande
Year: 2022
Cast: Emma Thompson, Daryl McCormack, and Isabella Laughland
Genre: Sex Comedy
Rating: R
Runtime: 97 minutes
Director: Sophie Hyde
Trailer: Watch here
What name immediately comes to mind when you hear the phrase “sex comedy”? That’s right: Nanny McPhee. Dame Emma Thompson lends her impeccable acting acumen to a sweet and raunchy tale of a retired religious educator who hires a male sex worker in an attempt to achieve her first orgasm. “Nancy” and “Leo” meet over several sessions in a hotel, revealing their familial dramas to one another while chasing the elusive Big O and testing out the sex acts on Nancy’s bucket list. McCormack (from Peaky Blinders) is a deft performer, keeping up the pace with Thompson and shining as her comic sparring partner. They cut an offbeat pair with an emerging intimacy built just as much from the personal details they let slip as from the body parts they also let slip.
17. Hellraiser
Year: 2022
Cast: Jamie Clayton, Odessa A’zion, Adam Faison, Drew Starkey, Brandon Flynn, Aoife Hinds, Jason Liles, Yinka Olorunnife, Selina Lo, and Zachary Hing
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Rating: R
Runtime: 121 minutes
Director: David Bruckner
Trailer: Watch here
It’s usually easy money to bet against a horror remake, especially one as revered as Clive Barker‘s 1987 gore masterwork. However, this is one time you’d lose your wager and at least a pound of flesh. Proving that his V/H/S and Southbound horror shorts were no fluke, Bruckner imbues this reimagining with profound reverence for the original while making the new breed its own thing. That largely means dropping the beloved video nasty saturation for the slick polish of high-tech filmmaking, giving the Hannibal treatment to scenes of exquisite torment. This time around, it’s a young woman trying to solve what happened to her brother after he gets nicked by the blade inside a hellish puzzle cube that summons otherworldly sadists. As a bonus, Jamie Clayton absolutely owns as Pinhead.
16. The Iceman
Year: 2012
Cast: Michael Shannon, Winona Ryder, Chris Evans, Ray Liotta, David Schwimmer, and Stephen Dorff
Genre:Crime, Biographical
Rating: R
Runtime: 106 minutes
Director: Ariel Vromen
Trailer: Watch here
Not to be confused with The Snowman — the largely incomprehensible detective thriller where a serial killer keeps leaving hilarious notes for “Mister Police” — this is a crime biopic worth it for the performances alone. Based (pretttty loosely) on the life of burglar, pornographer, and hitman Richard Kuklinski, Shannon absolutely owns the role as a sadistic asshole who increasingly struggles to keep his family life separate from his heinous career. It’s a cavalcade of monstrous behavior with the focus squarely on the harm Kuklinski does to his family by harming others (for profit and on whims), and the sheer amount of murders he confesses to is jaw-dropping. A despicable, fascinating character, he’s given the biopic treatment here with a cast of heavy-hitters and absolutely no glossy finish to cover for how truly terrible this guy was.
15. Infinity Pool
Year: 2023
Cast: Alexander Skarsgard, Mia Goth, and Cleopatra Coleman
Genre:Sci-Fi, Horror
Rating: R
Runtime: 118 minutes
Director: Brandon Cronenberg
Trailer: WWatch here
James (Skarsgard) and his wife Em (Coleman) are in the blissful tourism hub of Li Tolqa, but their marital problems are poisoning the well. Fortunately, that gets even worse when James accidentally kills a local and is faced with a choice between execution or paying a giant fee to be cloned so the clone can be killed instead. For a little bit more, you can watch. Cronenberg plays out this bizarre concept to a stunning and horrifying height, shoving James deeper and deeper into a moral abyss, and Mia Goth continues to prove her status as the most exciting horror star of the era as a profoundly twisted tour guide of existential dread. Far beyond jump scares, this science fiction offering is a vivisection of the human soul with the sour cherry on top reminding us that, if you have enough money, you can get away with anything.
14. I, Tonya
Year: 2017
Cast: Margot Robbie, Sebastian Stan, Allison Janney, Caitlin Carver, McKenna Grace, Julianne Nicholson, and Paul Walter Hauser
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Biopic
Rating: R
Runtime: 119 minutes
Director: Craig Gillespie
Trailer: Watch here
In 1994, professional figure skater Nancy Kerrigan was attacked after practice, presumably with the intent to make her physically incapable of competing in the U.S. Championships. Screenwriter Steven Rogers was inspired to write I, Tonya after interviewing beset figure skater Tonya Harding and her attach-plotting ex-husband Jeff Gillooly to discover that both had very, very different views on how the infamous scandal all went down. The result is a gonzo ride through identity, the lengths the ego will go to defend itself, and the ultimate question of how the public chooses to believe or not believe rumors about celebrities. Margot Robbie is dynamite (as is the rest of the cast including Sebastian Stan and Allison Janney). She was also four when the scandal broke and grew up in Australia, so she had no idea that it was based on real events until after reading the script.
13. The Town
Year: 2010
Cast: Ben Affleck, Rebecca Hall, Jon Hamm, Jeremy Renner, Chris Cooper, Blake Lively, Titus Welliver, and Pete Postlethwaite
Genre: Crime, Thriller, Drama
Rating: R
Runtime: 125 minutes
Director: Ben Affleck
Trailer: Watch here
Four Charlestown-bred BFFs plan one last heist at Fenway Park, while one of their number starts to have a conscience and a budding romance with a bank teller who they took hostage during a clunky robbery attempt. Ben Affleck’s second outing as a director is a muscular, mature crime drama that showed a clear path forward from the excellent Gone Baby Gone to the Oscar-worthy Argo. It was proof of his staying power as a director, as well as a leap forward for almost all the other actors involved, minting stars and statue-holders from up-and-comers. It also had the distinctive honor of premiering at the very baseball field that the crew planned to rob in the movie.
12. Fresh
Year: 2022
Cast: Daisy Edgar-Jones, Sebastian Stan, Jojo T. Gibbs, Charlotte Le Bon, Andrea Bang, Dayo Okeniyi, and Brett Dier
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Rating: R
Runtime: 114 minutes
Director: Mimi Cave
Trailer: Watch here
This delightful terror from Mimi Cave has a lot of the markings of a rom-com: the struggling single 20-something fed up with dating apps, the loving best pal with harsh truths, and the meet cute with the handsome guy who’s a little rough around the edges. When lovelorn Noa hits it off with the dashing Steve (can a “Steve” be “dashing”?), it should be a matter of time before they’re in rom-com heaven, except for the hard left turn into horror town. If you think you know what happens, you’re probably only about 34% correct as this terrific film twists and turns down a dark rabbit hole filled with excellent surprises.
11. Spencer
Year: 2021
Cast: Kristen Stewart, Sally Hawkins, Timothy Spall, Jack Nielen, Freddie Spry, Jack Farthing, and Stella Gonet
Genre: Drama, Biopic
Rating: R
Runtime: 117 minutes
Director: Pablo Larrain
Trailer: Watch here
From The Crown to a handful of documentaries, there’s been a burst of renewed interest in Princess Diana. With all that competition, it’s difficult to say who’s crafted the definitive performance, but in Spencer, which stars Kristen Stewart, she certainly gave it her all in this laser focused drama. Unlike other projects that want to tell the full story or capture Princess Diana as a symbol for something larger, Spencer homes in on one Christmas in 1991 when she contemplates seriously divorcing Prince Charles and leaving the royal family. How do you weight a choice like that? It’s a stirring film, made outstanding by Stewart’s humane take on the real-life role.
10. Black Swan
Year: 2010
Cast: Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel, Winona Ryder, and Barbara Hershey
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Rating: R
Runtime: 108 minutes
Director: Darren Aronofsky
Trailer: Watch here
In 2008, Aronofsky released The Wrestler, a drama about a has-been looking for one last taste of pure perfection in the ring. He followed it up with a companion story about a ballerina seeking the same. Nina Sayers is a young dancer in the world-renowned New York City Ballet, striving to score the lead role in a performance of Swan Lake while managing an infantilizing, over-protective mother and a frenemy who may or may not want to take Nina’s place. It’s a phantasmagoria of obsession and the violent lengths some might go to in order to reach an artistic pinnacle.
9. Triangle Of Sadness
Year: 2022
Cast: Harris Dickinson, Charlbi Dean, Woody Harrelson, Dolly de Leon, Zlatko Buric, Iris Berben, Vicki Berlin, Henrik Dorsin, Jean-Christophe Folly, Amanda Walker, Oliver Ford Davies, and Sunnyi Melles
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Rating: R
Runtime: 147 minutes
Director: Ruben Ostlund
Trailer: Watch here
The less said about the plot of this wealthy-skewering black comedy the better, because it’s jaw-dropping surprises are worth staying in the dark. Suffice it to say that a famous couple and a bunch of richie rich types are on a private luxury cruise where things do not go according to plan. In addition to a Best Picture nomination, Triangle of Sadness has earned a slew of Oscar nominations and awards, primarily for its performances and its deft satire of people who should be taxed into oblivion. Funny and shocking, it makes a wonderful companion to The White Lotus.
8. The Shape Of Water
Year: 2017
Cast: Sally Hawkins, Doug Jones, Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins, Octavia Spencer, and Michael Stuhlbarg
Genre: Fantasy, Drama, Fish-Based Romance
Rating: R
Runtime: 123 minutes
Director: Guillermo del Toro
Trailer: Watch here
Another beautifully weird del Toro flick, The Shape of Water forced the Academy Awards to reckon with the forbidden love between a woman and some kind of fish monster. There’s just no way that del Toro wasn’t inspired to make this film by his time working on Abe Sapien in the Hellboy movies, but instead of diving headlong into superhero action, he chose romance. Sally Hawkins plays a mute custodian working at a secret government lab where the humanoid amphibian thing (Doug Jones, naturally) swims around and, ultimately, learns to fall in love. Sadly, the government isn’t super into these two being together, so they have to race against the powers that be in order to secure their fishy future.
7. Nomadland
Year: 2020
Cast: Frances McDormand, David Strathairn, Bob Wells, Peter Spears, and a cast of dozens
Genre: Drama
Rating: R
Runtime: 107 minutes
Director: Chloe Zhao
Trailer: Watch here
Shortly after her husband dies, Fern loses her job at a gypsum plant and dumps all of her savings into a van so she can finally see the country. Boy does she see it. This award-winning film is largely a showcase of Frances McDormand‘s peerless acting talents, as well as a series of interwoven vignettes about the weird Americans you meet on the road. All of it is wrapped inside a drama about how hard it is to be poor in the United States, viewing through Fern the limited choices people get to make when they have to navigate without a safety net. It’s easy to see why it won Best Picture at the Oscars, the Golden Globes, the BAFTAs, and the Indie Spirit Awards.
6. Bridesmaids
Year: 2011
Cast: Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Melissa McCarthy, Rose Byrne
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Rating: R
Runtime: 125 minutes
Director: Paul Feig
Trailer: Watch here
It’s hard to believe now, but back in the mid-aughts, there were questions as to whether women could pull off raunchy comedy. This film, written by Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo, set those doubts to rest. Wiig plays the messy, flawed heroine Annie, a down-on-her-luck baker trying to support her best friend Lillian (Maya Rudolph) who’s about to get married. The build-up to the wedding is complicated by Lillian’s new friendship with the wealthy Helen (a terrific Rose Byrne), a couple of wild bridesmaids (Melissa McCarthy is the stand-out), and Annie’s own financial/relationship troubles. Come for the cringy Jon Hamm sex scenes and quotable one-liners, stay for a bit of bathroom humor so funny, so gross, once you see it you’ll be referencing it for years to come.
5. Prey
Year: 2022
Cast: Amber Midthunder, Dakota Beavers, Dane DiLiegro, Stormee Kipp, Michelle Thrush, Julian Black Antelope, Stefany Mathias, and Bennett Taylor
Genre: Action, Adventure, Horror, Drama
Rating: R
Runtime: 100 minutes
Director: Dan Trachtenberg
Trailer: Watch here
Just as he took Cloverfield in an intimate, powerful new direction, Dan Trachtenberg has reimagined the slumping Predator franchise into something fresh, ground-level, and fun as hell. Leaping hundreds of years back from our first Schwarzenegger-soaked encounter, Prey focuses on young Comanche healer Naru (Amber Midthunder) who wants to be a warrior. She gets her chance when the iconic alien hunter tries to take out her tribe. Filled with fantastic performances, great special effects, and more depth than a Predator film maybe deserves, it’s the truly refreshing late-franchise film that wins by being serious about being different than what came before.
4. Pig
Year: 2021
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Alex Wolff, Brandy the Pig, Adam Arkin, Nina Belforte, Gretchen Corbett, and David Knell
Genre: Drama, Mystery
Rating: R
Runtime: 92 minutes
Director: Michael Sarnoski
Trailer: Watch here
Rob Feld is a truffle hunter living in an isolate cabin in Oregon. He’s attacked, and his prized truffle pig is stolen, launching him on a challenging quest to get it back. While everyone was making gags about Cage being an unhinged actor, he made this raw, quietly profound story (in between performances that are, let’s not joke, truly unhinged). The point is that Cage has absolutely phenomenal range that has only broadened and deepened with age. Think of this as Okja meets John Wick without all the gunplay.
3. Poor Things
Year: 2024
Cast: Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe, Mark Ruffalo
Genre: Comedy, Sci-Fi, Steampunk, Everything
Rating: R
Runtime: 141 minutes
Director: Yorgo Lanthimos
Trailer: Watch here
This film dominated a hefty chunk of Oscars gold, including Emma Stone’s Best Actress win, and finally, it’s available to steam ahead as part of Hulu’s streaming package. Stone portrays the young woman, Bella Baxter, who is resurrected in a Frankenstein way in the victorian era. The film is a little saucier than initially portrayed to be (surprise!), but audiences have gotten lost within Bella’s whirlwind ride around the globe, in which she achieves true liberation.
2. Palm Springs
Year: 2020
Cast: Andy Samberg, Cristin Milioti, J.K. Simmons, Peter Gallagher, Camila Mendes, June Squibb, Meredith Hagner, and Tyler Hoechlin
Genre: Comedy, Sci-Fi, Rom-Com, Mystery
Rating: R
Runtime: 90 minutes
Director: Max Barbakow
Trailer: Watch here
Groundhog Day was so good at what it did that the idea of a repeated-day plot seemed impossible for years. That’s changed recently, with a handful of inventive, successful movies (like Happy Death Day) which spun the concept into new territory. Palm Springs hits that sweet spot beautifully, dumping two wedding guests into an endless time loop that challenges them to break loose, live honestly, and solve the mystery of why they’re perpetually at an annoying reception 90 minutes from Los Angeles. Samberg and Milioti are a killer pair here, ignoring Bogey and Bacall-style chemistry for more sardonic flair that nonetheless makes you want to root for them as individuals and as a romantic team. It’s also funny, strange, and very sweet.
1. Dunkirk
Year: 2017
Cast: Fionn Whitehead, Barry Keoghan, Mark Rylance, Cillian Murphy, Tom Hardy
Genre: Drama, History
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 106 minutes
Director: Christopher Nolan
Trailer: Watch here
Christopher Nolan delivers yet another action epic with this World War II retelling of the Battle of Dunkirk. The film is split into multiple timelines — a narrative device that doesn’t always work — to tell the story of a legion of Allied soldiers under siege by the German military near the end of the war. Most of the drama comes in trying to evacuate the masses of young men before they can be picked off by the enemy’s fighter planes but Nolan also gives us a glimpse of the psychological devastation war can wreak on those who survive it.
