Your first destination in 2026 isn’t a place, but a platform — Hulu.
Why Hulu? It has some of the best movies in its library, with an entertaining array of dramas, comedies, thrillers and more.
This’s especially true this January, with the streamer adding new films each week,
Watch With Us recommends streaming these three best new-to-Hulu movies for the weekend: the dark comedy Irrational Man starring Emma Stone, the ’90s teen comedy Empire Records and the real-life drama The Luckiest Man in America.
‘Irrational Man’ (2015)
Professor Abe Lucas (Joaquin Phoenix) is depressed, and he doesn’t know how to fix it. One day, he overhears a distraught woman complain about a crooked judge involved in her losing custody battle. On a whim, Abe decides to kill the judge, believing that since he has no connection to the woman, he won’t get caught. His instincts are right — after the judge dies, no one suspects him. But has Abe’s newfound calling awakened something dangerous inside him that can’t be repressed?
6 Best New Movies to Watch This Weekend on Netflix, Hulu and More (January 2-4)
Irrational Man has the bones of a thriller, but it’s really a complex study about the sometimes shaky moral codes some people live by — and break. Phoenix is terrific as an intellectual who finds happiness through murder, while Emma Stone is reliably terrific as Abe’s student and eventual mistress. She’s the only one to suspect Abe’s done something bad, but he’s her ticket out of a bad relationship. Can she look the other way to get what she wants? And if she does, is he just as bad as Abe? Irrational Man raises difficult questions, and some of its answers aren’t as predictable as you’d think.
Irrational Man is streaming on Hulu.
‘Empire Records’ (1995)
Some movies are worth watching not because they’re actually good, but because they depict such an accurate snapshot of a specific time and place. Empire Records is one of those movies.
Set during the height of the grunge movement, it chronicles a day in the life of the titular independent music store, which is managed by an increasingly fed-up Joe (Anthony LaPaglia). He’s the only adult on staff, and he somehow has to deal with a multitude of crises at once, including assistant manager Lucas (Rory Cochrane) stealing money, cashier Corey’s (Liv Tyler) hidden drug problem and stocker Debra’s (Robin Tunney) suicidal tendencies.
Empire Records sounds serious, but it is most assuredly not. It barely has a plot or any skin-deep characterization; instead, it exists on vibes alone. That’s enough to make it a fun watch, even if you want to strangle some of the characters. Among the cast, Renée Zellweger stands out as the perky Gina, who never met a man she didn’t want to sleep with.
Empire Records is streaming on Hulu.
‘The Luckiest Man in America’ (2024)
When truck driver Michael Larson (Paul Walter Hauser) appears on the popular game show Press Your Luck, he defies everyone’s expectations and beats the reigning champion. As the days progress, Michael keeps winning, which raises the suspicion of one of the show’s producers, Bill Carruthers (David Straithairn). Is Michael truly lucky and just a good player? Or has he somehow gamed the system to keep winning?
New on Hulu in January 2026 — The Complete List of Movies and TV Shows
Based on an amazing true story, The Luckiest Man in America is one of those small movies about everyday people who find themselves as footnotes in pop-culture history. There really was a Michael Larson, and his story is part-inspirational and part-cautionary. If you don’t know what happens, the climax is surprisingly suspenseful. Who would have thought landing on a Whammy would be so thrilling?
The Luckiest Man in America is streaming on Hulu.
