The Hulu streaming service is known largely for its wide selection of television programs, but it also boasts a healthy film library as well. The film selection is one of the best available on streaming, although Hulu only has about a third of the number of films that Netflix offers. What Hulu lacks in quantity, however, it makes up in quality. Hulu offers a strong selection of modern blockbusters and Oscar nominees, including a number of Best Picture winners.
Hulu is owned by Disney, so in addition to a wide selection of television programming from ABC and FX, they offer a number of film classics from the Fox library as well. Most of those films are hits from 1980 to the present and represent the best of the modern Fox era. Hulu has also scored streaming deals with both Warner Bros. and Universal, allowing some of their better films to stream on the service as well. We've collected a few of the best films that are currently available to stream on Hulu, ranked in no particular order.
15 Alien (1979)
Ridley Scott's Alien is a masterpiece of horror, combining a gothic tone with sci-fi visuals for a film experience that hasn't dulled in over 40 years. The film featured a fantastic performance by Sigourney Weaver in a breakthrough role, and Scott's near-perfect direction had moviegoers jumping at every shadow in the summer of 1979.
When a commercial towing spacecraft finds wreckage on a distant planet, they unknowingly take on a stowaway that begins killing off the crew, one by one. Using the "less is more" approach established by films like Jaws, the film's Xenomorph (designed by artist H.R. Giger) remains one of the great film creature villains of all time.
14 Aliens (1986)
James Cameron went in a very different direction when 20th Century Fox called on him to write and direct Aliens, the highly-anticipated sequel to Alien. The horror elements remained intact, and the Xenomorphs (now numbering in the hundreds, instead of one) were even more terrifying to fans.
Cameron also added a visceral action element with the inclusion of a squad of colonial marines (led by Michael Biehn) who set out to investigate a possible alien attack. Thankfully, they had Sigourney Weaver's Ripley in tow as an advisor. What the marines dismissed as a fruitless "bug hunt" devolved into a battle for survival against creatures far smarter than they appear. Weaver earned a well-deserved Oscar nomination for Best Actress.
13 Ford v Ferrari (2019)
Before he helmed Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, director James Mangold told the incredible true story of the 1966 Le Mans race in Ford v Ferrari. Matt Damon plays legendary car designer Carroll Shelby, who is tasked by Ford to build a car that can win the legendary 24-hour-long race.
Shelby brings in well-respected but volatile race car driver Ken Miles (Christian Bale) to partner with him, and their performances are bolstered by Mangold's energetic direction. The film was nominated for four Oscars, including Best Picture.
12 Die Hard (1988)
I'm old enough to remember actually seeing the trailer for Die Hard play in a theater. I distinctly remember the audience, who knew Willis best from Moonlighting, erupted in laughter. I thought the trailer looked great, but I wasn't sold on Willis. I humbly admit I had it all wrong: Die Hard was an action masterpiece that still stands atop the genre.
Willis changed the perception of the action hero, and director John McTiernan crafted a film that created its own subgenre, that exists to this day. It made Willis one of the biggest movie stars of the era, and Die Hard is - despite arguments to the contrary - a classic Christmas movie.
11 Dune (2021)
Director Denis Villeneuve's Dune managed to successfully adapt at least part of Frank Herbert's classic sci-fi novel to the big screen and have it make some sense. Villeneuve, who co-wrote the script with Jon Spaihts and Eric Roth, kept the focus on the political intrigue and the personal journey of Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet).
The film doesn't get mired in the book's deep mythology or philosophy, keeping it accessible to modern viewers. The supporting cast, including Oscar Isaac, Rebecca Ferguson, and Josh Brolin, are all outstanding, which only further hyped viewers up for the upcoming Dune: Part Two.
10 Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)
In Glengarry Glen Ross, David Mamet adapted his own play (based on his real-life experiences) providing a snapshot of the motivations and desperation among the salesmen in a high-stakes real estate office. Mamet is famous for his ability to write dialogue that is both true-to-life and deeply insightful, and James Foley (House of Cards) directs an iconic cast, including Al Pacino (who earned a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination), Alec Baldwin, Alan Arkin, Ed Harris, Kevin Spacey, and Jonathan Pryce.
The real star, however, is the legendary Jack Lemmon, who gives a heartbreaking performance in the twilight of his career. Playing a salesman on a cold streak and willing to do anything to get back on top, Lemmon gave a memorable performance just a few years before he passed away.
9 The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
Wes Anderson's 2015 Best Picture nominee The Grand Budapest Hotel may very well be his best film, but perhaps it's best not to worry about its place in his cinematic resume and just enjoy Ralph Fiennes and the absurdity of it all.
In a story told in flashback, Fiennes plays the concierge at a luxury hotel in Europe pulled into a scandal involving a mysterious death, a valuable painting, a jailbreak, and control of the hotel itself. The all-star cast is absolutely splendid, even if some of the roles are severely limited. Tilda Swinton's brief appearance is hilarious perfection. The film won four Academy Awards, including Best Original Score and Best Costume Design. Wes Anderson nabbed a Best Director nomination.
8 Hell or High Water (2016)
Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan wrote Hell or High Water, a modern spin on the West about two brothers (Chris Pine and Ben Foster) who commit a string of bank robberies across west Texas. Jeff Bridges and Gil Birmingham play the Texas Rangers hunting them down.
While Hell or High Water seems like a run-of-the-mill crime film, it is actually an examination of the relationship between brothers and the generational curse of poverty and imprisonment. By the film's end, you'll feel the full emotional weight of the story. Sheridan earned an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay, Bridges earned a nomination for Best Supporting Actor, and the film was nominated for Best Picture.
7 Jurassic Park (1993)
Steven Spielberg's dinosaur adventure Jurassic Park still holds up, 30 years after its release. Based on the Michael Crichton novel, Jurassic Park is a cautionary tale about playing God with dinosaur DNA which launched a billion-dollar franchise. However, none of those sequels came close to the magic of the original's thrilling adventure.
The film marked the end of an era for Spielberg himself; following Jurassic Park, he made Schindler's List, embarking on an era that saw more sophisticated, adult-oriented storytelling. Though he would return to direct a summer blockbuster several times in the years since (including a Jurassic sequel and a fourth Indiana Jones film), Spielberg never equaled the crowd-pleasing films that he made early in his career, an unprecedented string of movies that culminated with Jurassic Park.
6 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
Some argue that the 2003 Best Picture nominee The Two Towers is the best film in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. There's certainly a case to be made there: it's an emotional epic that balances multiple storylines perfectly, even if none of them are resolved by the film's end.
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers follows the rise of Sauron's forces in Isengard, even as hobbits Frodo and Sam enter Mordor on a quest to destroy the One Ring alongside new ally (or foe) Gollum. The film, however, belongs to Viggo Mortensen's Aragorn, who leads the forces of men in the defense of Helm's Deep from an army of orcs, in his first steps to claim his destiny as the King of Gondor.
5 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
The third time was the charm for Peter Jackson's fantasy trilogy. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King won all 11 Oscars it was nominated for, including Best Picture and Best Director for Jackson, after the first two films managed no major Oscar wins, despite multiple nominations.
It's a satisfying finale for Frodo and the surviving members of the Fellowship, and even though it seems to end at least half a dozen times only to keep going, It still left fans smiling and likely shedding a few tears when the credits finally rolled on one of the finest movie trilogies of all time.
4 Nomadland (2020)
2021 Best Picture winner Nomadland is director Chloé Zhao's beautiful but somber look at the culture of "vanlife" nomads who travel America's roads in cars and RVs. They take odd jobs as they migrate back and forth across the country, with no true home roots.
Frances McDormand won an Oscar for Best Actress playing Fern, a woman who took to the road after losing everything when the recession hit her small industrial town. Zhao became the first Asian woman to be nominated for Best Director, winning on her first try. She would go on to direct Marvel's Eternals.
3 Prey (2022)
This Hulu original film Prey shocked everyone when it turned out to be a surprisingly entertaining Predator prequel and a worthy companion to the Schwarzenegger classic, after a number of disappointing sequels and crossovers. Set in America's Great Plains in the early 1700s, the film follows a young Comanche warrior (Amber Midthunder) as she encounters a Predator who is taking out the members of her hunting party.
Director Dan Trachtenberg (10 Cloverfield Lane) crafts an effective survival thriller with an undercurrent of horror and a solid performance by Midthunder. Hulu offers the film in both English and the Comanche language; we highly recommend watching it in Comanche, as hearing the actors speak in modern-style English (and even using modern slang at points) is a true distraction.
2 The Shape of Water (2017)
Guillermo del Toro's The Shape of Water is the strangest film to ever win the Oscar for Best Picture. A fantasy tale with a romantic twist, it certainly deserved the accolade, and is the rare moment where the Academy Awards stepped out of its comfort zone in picking winners.
Sally Hawkins plays Elisa, a mute janitor at a secret government facility in the 1960s, where a humanlike amphibious creature (Doug Jones, in a fantastic physical performance) from the Amazon is being held and tortured. Elisa bonds with the creature and then hatches a plan to free him. Beautifully told and exquisitely filmed, The Shape of Water earned 13 Oscar nominations in all, winning four, with del Toro taking home Best Director and Alexandre Desplat winning Best Original Score.
1 Whiplash (2014)
Director Damien Chazelle's career has seen a meteoric rise in Hollywood, thanks to his breakthrough film Whiplash, 2015's Best Picture nominee. Miles Teller (Top Gun: Maverick) plays Andrew, a gifted young jazz drummer attending a prestigious music conservatory.
He becomes a student of a respected yet brutal teacher (J.K. Simmons), who puts him through hell to bring out his natural gift. After enduring months of intimidation and emotional abuse, Andrew begins to realize his potential, at a great personal cost. Simmons won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, and although Chazelle lost in the Best Adapted Screenplay category, he would find Oscar glory in 2017, winning Best Director for La La Land.