32 Best Movies on Hulu Right Now (April 2026): ‘The Hunger Games’ and More

If you haven’t read the book that The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes is based upon, you may be surprised by how well the film uses the musical talent of Rachel Zegler in her performance as Lucy Gray Baird. Zegler is dynamic in the role of a young woman who is forced into the Hunger Games.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms‘ Dexter Sol Ansell has a brief appearance as young Coriolanus Snow before Tom Blyth takes over the part for most of the movie. Snow is the one who recognizes Lucy’s potential to win the games, as well as a chance to earn favor with the head gamemaker, Dr. Volumnia Gaul (Viola Davis).

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes will stream on Hulu on April 14.

Sirāt was one of 2025’s Oscar nominees for Best International Feature Film, and for good reason — it’s a hypnotic drama that will haunt you long after you’ve watched it. Sergi López leads the cast as Luis, a father who has taken his young son, Esteban (Bruno Núñez Arjona), to a rave in search of Esteban’s sister, Mar.

When a war seemingly breaks up the rave, Luis and Esteban are befriended by a band of strangers, including Stef (Stefania Gadda), Jade (Jade Oukid), Tonin (Tonin Janvier), Bigui (Richard Bellamy) and Josh (Joshua Liam Henderson). As much as the two groups get along, tragedy and danger are waiting for them as they attempt to make their way through the desert.

Sirāt is streaming on Hulu.

Nora (Renate Reinsve) has it pretty good in life. She just starred in a successful play, her younger sister, Agnes (Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas), still drops by to chat every week and she lives rent-free in her gorgeous family home. But when her estranged director father, Gustav (Stellan Skarsgård), arrives to attend her late mother’s funeral, Nora’s sweet life becomes slightly bitter. She still hasn’t forgiven him for leaving the family years ago and he needs her support to revive his dormant movie career.  

There’s a reason why Sentimental Value was nominated for nine Oscars and won Best International Feature — it’s a great drama that will make you laugh, cry and look up real estate prices in Norway. Its beautiful visuals mask some pretty hard dramatic truths, so if you have daddy issues, you might want to consult your shrink afterwards. Reinsve proves she’s one of film’s most promising actresses, while Skarsgård has his best role ever as a parent more interested in art than his children.

Sentimental Value is streaming on Hulu.

Most serial killers use knives or sharp objects to dispatch their victims, but Tucker (Jai Courtney) opts for something more brutal — flesh-hungry sharks. Posing as a sea captain, he lures his victims onto his boat in the middle of the ocean, where he tapes them as they are slowly lowered into a body of water filled with hungry would-be Jaws.

Scrappy American tourist Zephyr (Hassie Harrison) is his intended next victim, but she rages against the dying of her light by turning into a final girl with a lethal sucker punch. Tucker may have met his match with Zephyr, and now the hunter becomes the hunted in a dangerous game with no winners.

Dangerous Animals has a simple premise and executes it with no bells, whistles or any pesky dramatic subtext. No past emotional trauma is found here, only some pretty gnarly kills and some gorgeous shots of Australia’s Gold Coast. Courtney gives his villain a sadistic charisma that makes you want to watch him for a couple of hours — albeit from a safe distance and on dry land.

Dangerous Animals is streaming on Hulu.

Sebastian (Sebastian Maniscalco) is eager to tie the knot with his longtime girlfriend, Ellie (Leslie Bibb), but first, he has to let his father, Salvo (Robert De Niro), meet his future in-laws to secure the family wedding ring. But when the men travel to Virginia to meet Leslie’s extended family, they are shocked to learn they’re all rich — and not at all too happy she’s marrying the working-class Sebastian. Can both father and son learn to fit into a wealthy family that looks down on them?

About My Father is a broad comedy that tackles familiar themes of class conflict and older parents misbehaving. What sets About My Father apart is the two leads, Maniscalco and De Niro, who are convincing as a father and son who love each other and can’t stand one another. De Niro has his funniest role since Meet the Parents, while the supporting cast, which includes Kim Cattrall as an uppity senator, is amusing whenever they react to Salvo’s old-fashioned ways.

Set in 1977, The Secret Agent follows former technology professor Armando Solimões (Wagner Moura), who tries to flee persecution and resist the authoritarian regime during the Brazilian military dictatorship. He moves to Recife from São Paulo during the carnival holiday in an attempt to start over, but finds himself plagued by paranoia in his new, surveillance-heavy environment as he does his best to protect his young son (Enzo Nunes).

The Secret Agent currently has four Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Actor for Moura, Best International Feature Film and Best Casting. Indeed, the Portuguese-language film has more than earned its awards and praise. It’s got a fantastic style and visual sensibility to couch its sharp political commentary and dense thematic ambitions. Led by a commanding performance from Moura, The Secret Agent is a can’t-miss film that’s one of 2025’s best.

A depressed man (Edward Norton) who suffers from insomnia and works a dead-end corporate job finds his life taking a new direction when he meets an eccentric soap salesman named Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt). Tyler introduces the man to new ways of thinking about the world and his life, and after a freak explosion destroys the man’s apartment, he moves into Tyler’s squalid apartment. Together, the two men start an underground fight club, but then one thing leads to another, and the club has suddenly become an anarchist group intent on upending the foundations of society.

Fight Club might be the poster child of the “film bro movie,” but many likely forget that it’s actually a really great film. In addition to featuring career-best performances from Pitt, Norton and Helena Bonham Carter, the movie is an exhilarating and highly stylized pulp thriller from the pulp thriller king himself, David Fincher. The movie’s nihilistic, anti-consumerist message still resonates, as well as its critique of masculinity and exploration of the search for identity in the modern world. It’s also just a super fun movie with dark humor, energetic direction and a shocking twist.

Young Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi) wants to prove his worthiness to his father, Njohrr (Reuben de Jong), who thinks he doesn’t have what it takes to be an alpha predator. That’s why he travels to the “death planet” Genna to slay a supposedly unkillable beast, Kalisk. But he soon finds himself way over his head, and he’ll need the help of an unlikely ally, the damaged android Thia (Elle Fanning), to survive. With Thia by his side, can Dek kill Kalisk and win his father’s approval?

Directed by Dan Trachtenberg, the architect behind the rebooted Predator films Prey and Predator: Killer of Killers, Predator: Badlands is arguably the best movie in the long-running franchise. Instead of a muscle-bound human protagonist, the film commits to centering on the physically slight Dek, who shows emotions every human can relate to — frustration, fear, anger and, yes, even love.

The film’s not-so-secret ingredient is Fanning’s friendly, peppy android, who makes Dek a better predator by showing him his heart. (Not literally — I have to add that due to the nature of this movie.) Badlands is the rare franchise movie that improves on what came before it and makes you excited for what’s next. (Marvel, please take notes.)

Out-of-work actor Phillip Vanderploeg (Brendan Fraser) is looking for his next role, and he finds it through Rental Family, a service that employs actors to pose as family members in Tokyo. Phillip is good at his job, and he soon has a few regular gigs, like pretending to be a journalist who interviews an elderly actor, Kikuo (Akira Emoto), and playing daddy to a young half-Japanese girl, Mia (Shannon Mahina Gorman). Philip enjoys assuming different roles for a decent paycheck, but he finds himself caring too much for the people he’s supposed to be lying to.

Rental Family is a gentle comedy about how one lonely man finds meaning and purpose through his work. Because he’s an American in Japan, he’s already isolated from others, but by pretending to be a part of another person’s life, he finds an emotional attachment that’s missing from his personal life. Fraser won an Oscar for The Whale, but he’s even better here in a movie that’s touching without being too saccharine. The phrase “low-key charmer” gets used a lot in movie reviews, but it’s the best way to describe Rental Family.

Mike (Frank Dillane) is a young man who lives most of his life on the London streets. Broke and with no family, he tries to make a better life for himself by working at a new restaurant and staying clean and sober. But a mistake he made in the past continues to haunt him, and when an old friend, Simon (Harris Dickinson), appears one day, it threatens to undo all the progress Mike has made to make his life more meaningful. 

Urchin is an absorbing drama about one of the people you see on the street, whom you quickly look away from. Mike isn’t a bad soul, but he has no one else to rely on and a broken social system that continually lets him — and others like him — down. Sensitively directed by first-time helmer Dickinson, Urchin is sometimes tough to watch, but it’s always engrossing thanks to a magnetic lead performance by Dillane.

It’s 1981, and rising rock star Bruce Springsteen (Jeremy Allen White) is at a crossroads in his young career. Seeking refuge from his growing fame, he hunkers down at his New Jersey home and begins to write and record songs that are darker and more personal than he’s written before. But this new music is such a break from the songs that made him a star to begin with that he risks derailing his career if he releases it. 

Deliver Me From Nowhere isn’t a standard rise-and-fall rock star biopic — instead, it’s an origin story of how one of the singer’s best albums, Nebraska, was made. While that may limit the appeal of the movie, it’s catnip for fans of the rock legend. Even if you’re not a Bruce diehard, the film has enough compelling elements and good performances from White and Jeremy Strong as Springsteen’s manager to watch it.

Deliver Me From Nowhere will stream on January 23.

Astronaut Riya (Eiza González) is lost in space — and doesn’t know how or why she got that way in the first place. All her crewmates are dead, and her oxygen is quickly running out. That’s why she’s initially relieved when Brion (Aaron Paul) shows up to help her. But can she trust this stranger? More importantly, when she experiences several quick flashbacks that show how some of her crew got murdered, can she trust herself?

Ash is one of those low-budget sci-fi films that uses a great concept as its chief selling point. It’s genuinely intriguing to find out what happened on Riya’s spaceship and what Brion really wants from her. Even after you find out, there’s another mystery for Riya to solve — just how the hell is she supposed to survive by herself in deep space? You’ll have to watch Ash to find out.

In the wonderful animated film The Illusionist, the titular character is an old Parisian magician who is alone and out of work. He moves to London, where he finds menial jobs performing tricks at noisy pubs and crowded cafes. But when he meets young Alice (Eilidh Rankin), he finds himself inspired by her own unwavering belief in him. 

Directed by The Triplets of Belleville maestro Sylvain Chomet, The Illusionist is a beautiful film to look at and soak in. Largely free of dialogue, the movie tells its story through its stunning depictions of working-class life in 1950s England. While the ending is sad and inevitable, you leave The Illusionist feeling upbeat and hopeful. That’s what great movies do to you, and The Illusionist is one of them.

Millie (Alison Brie) and Tim (Dave Franco) are a long-time couple navigating a rough patch in their relationship. After they get stuck in a cave during a rainstorm, they discover their bodies are slowly being drawn together. Is this desire — or something more sinister? It’s definitely the latter as Millie and Tim discover their bodies are fusing together after they have sex and their genitals refuse to unattach from each other. Can they stop a painful process that will result in either their deaths or potentially something worse?

If you enjoyed The Substance’s gross-out comedy, you’ll like Together. Its simple concept is exploited for maximum horror and macabre laughs, with impressive practical effects that graphically show how Millie and Tim are slowly becoming one person. Knowing that Brie and Franco are a real-life couple adds to the perverse pleasure of watching the movie, which cleverly exploits the fears some couples have of losing their individual identities in a relationship. After watching Together, maybe being single isn’t so bad, after all?   

Maya (Phoebe Dynevor) is in mourning. Her mother just died, and there’s no one around who understands her pain. At her mom’s funeral, however, someone appears from her past who she wishes had stayed there — her long-absent father, Sam (Rhys Ifans). When he offers her a well-paying job, Maya can’t resist, but she’s soon thrust into an impossible situation after he’s kidnapped and held for ransom. Should she risk her life for a man she barely knows?

Inheritance is an unusual thriller that takes a normally outlandish spy subplot and grounds it in reality by concentrating on just two characters — father and daughter. Less Mission: Impossible and more of a family drama with a dash of espionage, the movie is constantly surprising you with one revelation after another about Sam’s shady past. Inheritance never fails to thrill, even if most of the suspense comes from a daughter reconciling with all the sins her father has committed in the past.

The Unknown Country does something rarely seen in non-documentary films — it allows non-professional actors to break out of the film’s narrative and share the true stories that shaped their lives. The movie isn’t really about them, but their experiences add depth to Tana’s (Lily Gladstone) journey as she mourns the death of her grandmother.

Because Tana has been so disconnected from her Oglala Lakota family, she undertakes an extended road trip to go to her cousin’s wedding and to learn more about her grandmother, whom she adored. There aren’t any easy answers awaiting Tana, and she’s trying to reconcile her identity with her need to find some deeper connection to the people she calls family.

Have you ever heard of the sovereign citizen movement? Sovereign introduces viewers to Jerry Kane (Nick Offerman), a true believer in that conspiracy theory, even as his life is crumbling down around him. Jerry is also taking his son, Joe (Jacob Tremblay), down with him as the consequences of his choices catch up with them. 

Things take a turn for the worse when a routine traffic stop escalates into violence. Suddenly, Chief John Bouchart (Dennis Quaid) and his men are out to find the Kanes at all costs, and there may not be a way out for the father and son.

In the near future, the world has gone to hell. Almost all animals are extinct, and groups of ravenous cannibals roam around looking for their next victims to kill — and consume. Hailey Freeman (Danielle Deadwyler) doesn’t intend her or her family to be their next meal, which is why she runs her farm like a drill sergeant. But Hailey can’t prevent the outside world from invading her 40 acres of land, and she’ll have to draw on her military training to protect her nearest and dearest.

40 Acres is a survival thriller that has as much character development as it does action. Hailey and her fam kick all sorts of ass, but they aren’t just stock action stereotypes. The movie explores themes of institutional racism and generational trauma with subtlety and care, which makes the violence you see onscreen all the more effective.

In the entertaining action-comedy Thelma, June Squibb stars as a tough 93-year-old grandmother who is scammed out of $10,000 by a con artist — but goes on a mission to get it back.  

This lowkey charmer is an incredible showcase for Squibb, who has been making quite a comeback in her golden years. As Thelma zooms off on a motorized scooter with the help of her friend Ben (Richard Roundtree in one of his final roles), the audience gets to know her many flaws as well as the things that make her so lovable. It’s a movie that examines the way the elderly are often infantilized and taken advantage of, but it manages to do so without seeming maudlin or depressing. 

Twin brothers Bill and Hal (both played by Theo James) share a traumatic past that involves an absentee father, a complicated upbringing and a lethal toy monkey that brings about people’s untimely deaths. The brothers buried the toy and seemingly put that ordeal behind them, but after 25 years the monkey is back and deadlier than ever. Bill and Hal must reunite and work together to overcome the monkey’s curse — or it will soon be lights out for them, too.

The Monkey is the rare horror movie that also works as pure comedy. Each death is more intentionally outlandish than the next. Director Osgood “Oz” Perkins (Longlegs) sought to make a film that showed the randomness and absurdity of death. He succeeded, resulting in a movie that will make you laugh while simultaneously covering your eyes.

Owning your home is the American dream, so when the McCall family — dad Josh (Ben Foster), mom Rachel (Cobie Smulders) and son Max (William Kosovic) — move into their new suburban home, what was once a fantasy becomes a wonderful, welcomed reality. But things start to deteriorate when a sharp corner in front of the home causes multiple accidents to occur that disturb Rachel — and excite Josh. Soon, Josh obsesses over when the next accident might occur, which causes him to neglect his family. Can Josh maintain what little sanity he has left?

Sharp Corner is an unconventional thriller in that the protagonist and the villain are the same person. Josh starts out as a well-meaning husband and father, who gradually transforms into someone who is willing to harm others to feel like he’s needed. The movie’s incredibly suspenseful, but it’s also a thoughtful examination of Josh’s wounded masculinity. The ending is a downer, but one you arguably won’t forget.

July 2020 seems like a lifetime ago, but for Keith Gill (Paul Dano), that was the exact moment when his life changed forever. Noticing that video game store GameStop’s stock is at an all-time low, he decides to use his life savings and buy the stock for cheap. His actions start a chain of events that affect not only Keith, but his friends, family, a few millionaire stock investors and Wall Street.

Dumb Money dramatizes the very real account of how Gill brought financial power back into the hands of ordinary Joes like him, and how he beat Wall Street at their own financial game. Even if you don’t know what “short-selling stock” means, Dumb Money is accessible to everyone and enjoyable to all. That’s due in large part to the great ensemble cast, which includes Seth Rogen, Pete Davidson, Nick Offerman, Sebastian Stan and America Ferrera. 

Sometime in the near future, population control is enforced through a procedure known as “The Assessment.” If any couple wants a child, they have to endure a rigorous series of tests to determine whether they are fit to be parents.

Mia (Elizabeth Olsen) and Aaryan (Himesh Patel) desperately want a child, so they agree to be inspected by Virginia (Alicia Vikander), a government employee charged with determining if they are mentally and physically able to raise a healthy child. But soon, Virginia’s methods become less professional and more harmful as she tests Mia and Aaryan’s love for one another. Mia doesn’t think Virginia has their best interests at heart and wants to find out what the inspector is up to. Virginia has a secret she’s desperate to hide, and it could cost Mia more than a child.

The Assessment is a somber movie that works as both a sci-fi flick and a thriller. It will keep you guessing as to what Virginia is up to, or why Mia is so intent on having a baby. The film’s portrait of a dystopian future is strikingly original, and the ending is one you won’t forget soon.

With the streaming success of 2022’s Prey, the dormant Predator franchise came roaring back to life. This year will see not one but two new Predator movies, with the first being Predator: Killer of Killers, an animated anthology from Prey director Dan Trachtenberg. 

The film takes place in three different eras — 800s Scandinavia, 1600s Japan and 1940s America — as different warriors take on various Predators. The film gives you what you want: to see Vikings and samurai battle aliens in a winner-takes-all deathmatch. Killer of Killers is appropriately violent, and the animation is surprisingly beautiful for such a visceral and blood-soaked, Gladiator-esque tale.

Mady (Jonathan Feltre) just can’t catch a break. A graduate student who moonlights as a locksmith in Brussels, he’s tricked by a beautiful stranger named Claire (Natacha Krief) to unlock an empty apartment so she can grab a bag. She disappears, leaving Mady to answer to mobster Yannick (Romain Duris), whose bag Claire took. Did we mention that it’s full of cash and Yannick thinks Mady is in cahoots with Claire to rip him off?

Mady buys enough time to find Claire and get the cash back to Yannick, but Brussels is locked down due to a rowdy Black Lives Matter protest and one of Yannick’s henchmen, Theo (Jonas Bloquet), is secretly involved with Claire. It’s not Mady’s night, and if things don’t go his way, it could be his last.

Night Call is a terrific action-thriller that uses a topical event — the Black Lives Matter movement — to enrich its already superb narrative. It matters that Mady is Black, so he can’t quite move around in the city during that night like others can. The movie unveils one surprise after another, but it never feels cheap or superficial. Night Call is one of 2025’s best movies that most people don’t know about, so check it out now that it’s on Hulu.

Shelly Gardner (Pamela Anderson) is a veteran Las Vegas showgirl facing a midlife crisis. The revue she stars in is closing, and she’s too old and proud to audition for other Vegas shows that require more nudity and less dignity from their dancers. Shaken, she reaches out to her estranged older daughter to mend their strained relationship, but is it too late for mother and daughter to bond after all these years?

The Last Showgirl is a melancholy film about a woman who chose her career over her family and the price she pays for investing in a profession that throws away its female talent as they grow older. Still best known for her work on Baywatch, Anderson is simply stunning in a complex role she’s never played before. The actress received Oscar buzz for her performance, and she should’ve been nominated by the Academy.

Jang Hae-jun (Park Hae-il) can’t sleep, and that’s an asset when you’re a detective with a lot of cases to solve. His latest one is a doozy — an old man is found dead near a mountain, and his much younger wife, Song Seo-rae (Tang Wei), is the prime suspect. The case seems pretty simple, but Jang soon finds himself disturbed by his growing feelings for Song. Soon, his empathy for her turns into an obsession that might get them both killed.

Shortlisted for Best International Feature at the Oscars in 2023, South Korea’s Decision to Leave is one of the best movies released in the last five years, period. It’s effective as a police procedural thriller, but it’s also a haunting ode to how love saves and destroys one man. Decision to Leave’s plot is surprisingly twisty, and the film’s stunning cinematography will linger in your memory long after you’ve finished the movie. It’s that good.

Ani (Mikey Madison) is a Brighton Beach stripper who speaks some Russian and is very good at her job. That helps her meet Vanya (Mark Eydelshteyn), a 21-year-old son of a wealthy Russian oligarch who wants some companionship along with a lap dance. They fall in lust, then love and soon marry, but Vanya’s disapproving parents send three men to force them to annul their marriage. When Vanya flees, Ani, along with hired hand Igor (Yura Borisov), Vanya’s godfather Telos (Karren Karagulian) and henchman Garnik (Vache Tovmasyan) have to find him before the boy’s parents arrive in the United States.

Anora is a stripper Cinderella fable that effortlessly blends comedy, drama and action (there’s an extended fight sequence that will make you laugh and wince) into one entertaining package. The film won multiple Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actress, and it’s easy to see why — it’s legitimately great and fun to watch. As Ani, Madison is terrific, creating a character who is tough but still wants to believe in a happily-ever-after ending. 

Sandra Voyter’s (Sandra Hüller) husband is dead, and everyone suspects she did it. His gruesome fall from their two-story French chalet can’t easily be explained as an accident, and their past relationship was rocky. They fought bitterly, and even their visually impaired son, Daniel (Milo Machado-Graner), isn’t so sure his mother is innocent. As Sandra stands trial for murder, can she convince a judge —  and the audience —  that she didn’t push her husband and let him fall to his death?

Anatomy of a Fall isn’t your traditional thriller since there are really no other suspects, and no one else is in harm’s way. But the director, Justine Triet, isn’t concerned with just generating suspense; she also wants to examine how Sandra’s once-solid marriage gradually disintegrated and why it’s not completely ridiculous to think Sandra would off her husband in such a manner. The film features superb acting from Huller and Machado-Graner, and one of the best canine performances (by Messi, who became a social media star in late 2023) in film history.

In Oregon, a string of gruesome murder-suicides has left local investigations stumped. FBI agent Lee Harker (Maika Monroe) is called in to investigate and figure out why these crimes were committed. Her path eventually leads to a strange, pasty-faced serial killer named Longlegs (Nicolas Cage), who claims to work for “the man downstairs.” But what led to Longlegs’ involvement with all of the murders? And why does Lee feel personally connected to the case?

A surprise summer hit in 2024, Longlegs is a riff on The Silence of the Lambs with just a touch of deeply unsettling weirdness. Director Oz Perkins opts for atmosphere over jump scares, resulting in a movie that is filled with ominous foreboding and dread. As Longlegs, Cage is appropriately freaky and creepy, and Monroe makes for a great heroine burdened by childhood trauma who would make Jodie Foster’s Clarice Starling proud.

Eileen Dunlop’s (Thomasin McKenzie) life is pretty drab. She lives in Massachusetts, where the winters are long and bleak, and she works at a juvenile detention facility for teenage boys, which is about as exciting as it sounds. But one day, in walks the platinum blonde Rebecca Saint John (Anne Hathaway), and Eileen’s life is forever changed — at first for the better, and then for the worse.

Eileen is an excellent thriller that’s also a compelling character study as it follows both women’s interest in a young inmate, Lee Polk (The White Lotus season 3 star Sam Nivola), who Rebecca suspects is hiding a dark family secret. Hathaway is in full movie-star mode as the glamorous Rebecca, and McKenzie is convincing as the sexually repressed Eileen. The movie paints a vivid picture of New England life in the early 1960s, and its abrupt ending is both frustrating and appropriate.

Hannah (Julia Garner) and Liv (Jessica Henwick) are American backpackers traveling across the Australian Outback. When they run out of money, they take temporary jobs as bartenders at the Royal Hotel, a rundown pub that houses many of the local misfits.

As the two women try to save enough money to leave, they find out very quickly that their new workplace isn’t as hospitable as they would like it to be. Violence inevitably erupts, and Hannah and Liv will have to fight for their lives to check out of the Royal Hotel.

Inspired by the 2006 documentary Hotel Coolgardie, The Royal Hotel is a thriller grounded in reality. Nothing the two women experience, from casual sexism to blatant harassment, feels all that outlandish, and the feeling that this could happen to anyone makes the movie more unsettling. Both Garner and Henwick are outstanding as the Americans who witness the ugly side of Australia, and the direction by Kitty Green is taut without overdoing it.