Welcome to the final weekend of 2024. This is the home stretch, and the hiatus between holidays as we countdown to New Year’s Day. Chances are, you’ve probably seen Nosferatu, Wicked, or A Complete Unknown by now. If that’s true, and you need something else to watch, don’t fret. Luckily, Hulu has a newly arrived drama to help you pass the time, as well as two other films that are exiting soon.
Our picks for the three great Hulu movies that you need to stream this weekend include a heartwarming animal film, a gut-punch of a drama based on a true story, and an underrated sci-fi action flick.
Need more recommendations? We also have guides to the best movies on Netflix, the best movies on Hulu, the best movies on Amazon Prime Video, the best movies on Max, and the best movies on Disney+.
A Dog’s Way Home (2019)
Since this is the holiday season, it’s only fitting to start this week’s list with a family-friendly flick. A Dog’s Way Home follows the story of a pit bull named Bella (whose inner voice is provided by Bryce Dallas Howard). Bella doesn’t look like a typical pooch of her breed, and she was lovingly raised by a cat before she was adopted by Lucas Ray (Jonah Hauer-King) and his mother, Terri (Ashley Judd).
When an overzealous animal control officer, Chuck Millits (John Cassini), threatens to impound Bella and have her put down, Lucas sends her to live with his relatives 400 miles away. But since Bella is unwilling to be parted from her owner, she embarks on a long and dangerous journey home that will take her years to complete. This film is leaving Hulu on December 31, so catch it while you can.
Watch A Dog’s Way Home on Hulu.
Breaking (2022)
Breaking is a new arrival on Hulu that flew under the radar when it was released in 2022. This film is based on a true story about Brian Brown-Easley (John Boyega), a Marine who took a bank hostage in 2017 by claiming that he had a bomb in his backpack. Brown-Easley isn’t a typical robber, because he’s not out to steal from the bank. He wants what he’s owed from his VA check and he feels the need to share his story with the world.
Brown-Easley suffers from PTSD, which played a role in setting up this desperate situation. While holding bank tellers Estel (Nicole Beharie) and Rosa (Selena Leyva) hostage, Brown-Easley is contacted by police negotiator Eli Bernard (Michael K. Williams), a man who shares his military background. But even with a sympathetic ear on the other line, Brown-Easley’s story seems destined to end badly for him.
Watch Breaking on Hulu.
Alien 3 (1992)
Looks like the xenomorph caught Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) under the mistletoe again. There are no holiday references in Alien 3, but since this film is also leaving Hulu at the end of the month, it’s worth revisiting David Fincher‘s feature film debut. In the aftermath of Aliens, Ripley is despondent to learn that she is once again the only survivor after her ship crashes on a remote prison outpost.
Game of Thrones‘ Charles Dance co-stars as the prison doctor, Jonathan Clemens, while Charles S. Dutton’s Leonard Dillon acts as a spiritual guide for the all-male prison. Ripley’s presence is disruptive to the men, but not as much as the lingering Facehugger alien that survived the same crash that brought her to the outpost. Once the Facehugger implants an egg in a dog, Ripley and the prisoners are trapped with the creature. And they don’t have any weapons they can use against it.
Watch Alien 3 on Hulu.