Hulu is having an unusual dry spell for new sci-fi movies. The only additions of note in July were Alita: Battle Angel, Aliens, and Predators. All three of those films belong to Disney’s 20th Century Studios and they’ve been on Hulu multiple times before. We’re not sure why Disney takes those films away for months at a time, but all three are now back on Hulu.
The bulk of Hulu’s sci-fi franchises come from the Alien, Predator, and Planet of the Apes movies that were made before Disney acquired 20th Century Fox in 2019. Without those films, Hulu’s sci-fi selection wouldn’t be very good. But as fans of the genre, we expect the best sci-fi movies on Hulu to offer us more than just the titles that should never have lent out in the first place.
If you’re looking for more films to watch, remember that Hulu is part of the Disney Bundle. That includes the basic Hulu subscription (with ads), Disney+, and ESPN+, all for just $14 a month. That’s a great deal, and you don’t even have to travel to the future for it.
If you’re curious about what’s available in science fiction on other streaming services, we also have guides for the best sci-fi movies on Netflix, as well as the best sci-fi movies on Amazon Prime Video.
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Alita: Battle Angel2019
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Aliens1986
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Predators2010
Alita: Battle Angel (2019)
53%
7.3/10Despite losing a lot of money at the box office, Alita: Battle Angel is one of the best American adaptations of a manga or anime story. Rosa Salazar stars as Alita, a female android with a human brain who has been dormant for a long time. Fallen scientist Dr. Dyson Ido (Christoph Waltz) finds and rebuilds Alita before essentially adopting her.
Since Alita has no memories of her old life, she embraces life in Iron City with Ido and develops feelings for a boy named Hugo (Keean Johnson). She also learns that the citizens of Iron City are being oppressed by the rich and powerful. The city needs a champion, and Alita is willing to step into the role even if it costs her everything.
Aliens (1986)
84%
8.4/10Citizens of Earth, the Weyland-Yutani Corporation invites you to take a trip to the tranquil exomoon LV-426. After a relaxing space voyage, you won’t see a single xenomorph… instead, you’ll see several.
Aliens was James Cameron’s follow-up to The Terminator, and it significantly increases the action from Ridley Scott’s Alien. Sigourney Weaver returns as Ellen Ripley, the only woman who lived through a xenomorph attack. But even with the Colonial Marines backing up Ripley, she’s severely outnumbered by the xenomorphs. But not for long.
Predators (2010)
51%
6.4/10For the first time in the history of the franchise, Predators takes place off-world. Royce (Adrien Brody), Stans (Walton Goggins), Isabelle (Alice Braga), and more find themselves on an unknown planet. Aside from a doctor, Edwin (Topher Grace), they are all trained killers or criminals.
The humans soon realize that they are in an alien game preserve, and they’re the prey for multiple Predators. And to make things even more dangerous, the humans discover that there are warring factions of Predators who are willing to fight each other.
Independence Day (1996)
59%
7.0/10It sure was nice of the aliens to invade on a long holiday weekend like the Fourth of July. But it wasn’t very neighborly of them to go around blowing up Earth’s major cities and turning the White House into a weenie roast. Regardless, Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin’s Independence Day was a big blockbuster that recaptured the spirit of the disaster films from the 1970s and led to a resurgence of sci-fi movies as well.
Ex-fighter pilot Thomas J. Whitmore (Bill Pullman) is the unlucky guy who gets to be president when the fate of the entire world is at stake. Thankfully, Whitmore rises to the occasion with one of the most rousing speeches put to film. Will Smith (Bad Boys: Ride or Die) and Jeff Goldblum (Wicked) also star as Captain Steven Hiller and David Levinson, respectively. President Whitmore may be the leader that humanity needs, but Steven and David have to take the fight to the aliens themselves.
Planet of the Apes (1968)
79%
8.0/10Tim Burton’s 2001 remake of Planet of the Apes may have better special effects than the 1968 original, but the original film has a much better story that was co-written by The Twilight Zone creator Rod Serling. This movie also gave Charlton Heston one of his most famous roles as George Taylor, an astronaut from Earth who crashes on an unknown world where apes are the dominant species.
Ape scientists Dr. Cornelius (Roddy McDowall) and Dr. Zira (Kim Hunter) are sympathetic to Taylor even before they discover he can speak. Regardless, another ape scientist, Dr. Zaius (Maurice Evans), will do almost anything to silence Taylor and prevent him from learning the secret of the Planet of the Apes.
Predator (1987)
47%
7.8/10Contemporary critics of Predator dismissed it in 1987, but it has since gone on to become recognized as one the all-time great sci-fi action movies. It’s also one of the few films to give Arnold Schwarzenegger an on-screen nemesis who is even more intimidating than he is. The Predator (Kevin Peter Hall) is given no name in the movie, and this alien hasn’t come to Earth to make friends. Instead, he’s hunting people.
Major Alan “Dutch” Schaefer (Arnold Schwarzenegger), his CIA contact Al Dillon (the late Carl Weathers), and the rest of Dutch’s mercenary team find out the hard way that they’ve become the prey to this killer from another world. They may be skilled soldiers by Earth’s standards, but the Predator is toying with them as he picks them off one-by-one.
War for the Planet of the Apes (2017)
82%
7.4/10The Planet of the Apes reboot trilogy comes to a strong conclusion in War for the Planet of the Apes. After years of conflict with humans, Caesar (Andy Serkis) has lost almost all compassion for his rival species, especially after humans killed his wife and child. That’s why Caesar is so slow to warm up to Nova (Amiah Miller), a mute human girl who is befriended by his right-hand orangutan, Maurice (Karin Konoval).
Before Caesar can lead the apes to sanctuary, he’ll have one last battle to fight against the Colonel (Woody Harrelson), a man whose brutal tactics may allow humanity to retain their hold on the Planet of the Apes.
The Creator (2023)
63%
6.8/10After an extended absence from theaters, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story director Gareth Edwards helmed and co-wrote The Creator. Tenet’s John David Washington stars as Sergeant Joshua Taylor, a soldier in humanity’s war against an overpowering AI force. Years after losing his wife, Maya Fey (Gemma Chan), to an AI attack, Taylor is given a new mission that may decide the outcome of the war.
Taylor’s goal is to find and destroy a new AI weapon, Alpha-O, which has the ability to control any technology remotely. But much to Taylor’s shock, the weapon is actually Alphie (Madeleine Yuna Voyles), a child-like AI he decides to take under his protection regardless of the consequences.
Alien (1979)
89%
8.5/102024 marks the 45th anniversary of Ridley Scott’s Alien, and it remains one of the best sci-fi/horror films of all-time. The story focuses on the ill-fated crew of the Nostromo, a spaceship that investigates a strange transmission during their interstellar journey. What they find is the body of a long-dead humanoid-like alien and a facehugger that leaves the ship’s executive officer, Kane (John Hurt), with an alien growing inside of his body.
No amount of Pepto-Bismol is going to save Kane when the xenomorph bursts from his body. Unfortunately for Captain Dallas (Tom Skerritt), Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), and the rest of the crew, the xenomorph is more than capable of hunting them down one by one.
Dual (2022)
62%
5.8/10Crimes of the Future (2022)
67%
5.9/10Boss Level (2021)
56%
6.8/10
