We hope you’re enjoying the holiday season because as far as Hulu is concerned, the Huludays are over as of December 31. And this month, subscribers aren’t just losing Christmas classics like Elf and National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. The first three Matrix films, the Men in Black trilogy, the Blade trilogy, and three of the Jason Bourne movies are all leaving Hulu at the end of 2023. That’s a lot of coal in our collective post-Christmas stockings!
But since those are all films that we’ve written extensively about in the past, our picks for the five movies leaving Hulu in December that you have to watch include choices that range from two dramatic biopics to some of the best action and sci-fi stories that modern cinema has to offer. And our fifth pick is one of the most inspiring sports underdog stories of all time.
Alita: Battle Angel (2019)
James Cameron was so passionate about Yukito Kishiro’s manga Battle Angel Alita that he held on to the development rights for the better part of two decades before handing off the directorial duties to Robert Rodriguez. The renamed Alita: Battle Angel film didn’t set the box office on fire like Cameron’s Avatar movies, but it has earned a cult following that is still clamoring for a sequel.
Rosa Salazar headlines the film as Alita, a cyborg whose broken body is found by Dr. Dyson Ido (Christoph Waltz). Although Alita can’t remember her life before Ido, she quickly takes to Iron City and befriends a boy named Hugo (Keean Johnson). Alita also makes enemies out of Iron City’s elite, including Vector (Leave the World Behind‘s Mahershala Ali) and Ido’s ex-wife, Dr. Chiren (Jennifer Connelly). And even Alita’s lethal weapons may fall short when compared to the cybernetic assassins led by Zapan (Ed Skrein).
Watch Alita: Battle Angel on Hulu.
Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)
Oppenheimer‘s Rami Malek won an Oscar for Best Actor for his performance as Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody. This film is definitely the Cliff Notes version of Mercury’s life and the rise of his iconic rock group, Queen. The film begins when Mercury was still going by his real name, Farrokh Bulsara, before he joined forces with Brian May (Gwilym Lee), Roger Taylor (Ben Hardy), and John Deacon (Joe Mazzello) to create one of the greatest bands in rock history.
But as Queen rockets the quartet to stardom, Mercury turns away from his fiancée, Mary Austin (Lucy Boynton), and begins a destructive affair with his manager, Paul Prenter (Allen Leech). Mercury’s out-of-control ego also threatens to irreparably break up Queen and imperil his own legacy in the process.
Watch Bohemian Rhapsody on Hulu.
Ford v Ferrari (2019)
Considering that the name of this movie is Ford v Ferrari, it may be surprising to hear that neither Henry Ford II (Tracy Letts), nor Enzo Ferrari (Remo Girone) are primary characters in the film that shares their names. But the movie definitely makes viewers understand why Ford came to hate Ferrari after the latter used him to get a better ownership deal and then insulted Ford in the press.
That’s why ex-racer Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon) and an outspoken current racer, Ken Miles (The Dark Knight‘s Christian Bale), are recruited to create a Ford racing car that can leave Ferrari’s high-performance vehicles in the dust. That’s much easier said than done, as the process takes years. Miles’ prickly personality also makes enemies within Ford’s company. But when the race of a lifetime is on the line, Miles and Shelby have plans that could potentially usher in a new era for the Ford Motor Company.
Watch Ford v Ferrari on Hulu.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)
After Tim Burton’s lifeless remake of Planet of the Apes in 2001, the franchise seemed to be stuck at a dead end. Ten years later, Rise of the Planet of the Apes gave the film series a much needed spark by setting the story in the near-present, long before humans became subservient to the apes.
In this new continuity, the legendary chimpanzee Caesar (Andy Serkis) was raised by Dr. Will Rodman (James Franco) after the death of his mother. Because Caesar was exposed to an experimental drug called ALZ-112, his intelligence is much higher than a normal primate’s intellect. Will’s ultimate goal was to use ALZ-112 treat his father, Charles Rodman (John Lithgow), for his Alzheimer’s disease. But when Will is forced to give up custody of Caesar, it leads to an eventual rebellion by the apes that will reshape the world.
Watch Rise of the Planet of the Apes on Hulu.
Rudy (1993)
For a great football drama, Rudy spends a lot of time off the field with Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger (Sean Astin), a guy who’s not even officially on the team. And yet you would be hard-pressed to find a more inspiring sports movie than this magnificently crafted film.
In the late 1960s, Rudy has the impossible dream of suiting up for Notre Dame as a member of its legendary football team. Before he can even get close to that, Rudy has to prove himself academically at Holy Cross College and then pray for a chance to transfer to the larger school. No miracles happen without some help from unexpected sources, including Rudy’s new friend, Dennis “D-Bob” McGowan (Jon Favreau), and Rudy’s mentors, Fortune (Charles S. Dutton) and Father John Cavanaugh (Robert Prosky). But once Rudy gets going, nothing is going to stand between him and his dream.
Watch Rudy on Hulu.
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