The award-winning sci-fi comedy Poor Things, starring Emma Stone and Mark Ruffalo, arrives on Hulu this Saturday, September 7. Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, the film follows the surreal awakening of Bella Baxton in an alternate version of the 19th century.
Poor Things joins Babylon and Wicked on Hulu's September slate
The arrival of Poor Things on Hulu on September 7 marks the latest move in a rotating door of streaming homes for the film. According to the report, the movie has previously been accessible to viewers on both Netflix and Peacock. This shift suggests a volatile licensing strategy for the Yorgos Lanthimos-directed feature as it continues to seek new audiences after its initial theatrical run.
Hulu is positioning Poor Things as part of a larger September push of high-profile cinema. The streaming platform is also adding titles such as Babylon, Wicked, A Complete Unknown, and Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw to its library this month, signaling a strategy to aggregate critically acclaimed and commercial blockbusters simultaneously.
The Mickey 17 blueprint for Ruffalo's streaming success
Mark Ruffalo's recent career trajectory highlights a growing divide between theatrical performance and streaming popularity . As reported, Ruffalo's other sci-fi project, Mickey 17 (directed by Bong Joon-ho), struggled to recoup its budget at the box office but subsequently became the eighth most-watched movie on Netflix worldwide. This pattern suggests that the "weird" or avant-garde sci-fi elements Ruffalo often embraces may be more palatable to home viewers than to traditional cinema-goers.
Ruffalo continues to diversify his portfolio across multiple platforms. Beyond Poor Things, the actor is appearing in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, where he reprises the Savage Hulk persona, and has upcoming projects including Being Heumann for Apple Studios and Good Sex for Netflix. He is also slated to return for the second season of Task on HBO.
Four Academy Awards and a 92% Rotten Tomatoes score
The critical reception of Poor Things provides a strong foundation for its return to streaming. The film currently holds a 92% score on the Rotten Tomatoes critic-driven Tomatometer and an 80% user-driven Popcornmeter. ScreenRant further praised the film as a "horny, hedonistic, and hysterical gem," specifically highlighting Emma Stone's performance as a career-best.
This critical acclaim translated into significant industry recognition. The production secured four Academy Award wins and seven nominations, alongside two Golden Globe wins. Such a high pedigree often ensures that a film remains a valuable asset for streaming services, regardless of which platform currently holds the rights.
From Alasdair Gray's novel to Bella Baxton's awakening
The narrative of Poor Things is rooted in a complex literary lineage. the film is based on the 1992 novel by Alasdair Gray,which itself served as a modern reimagining of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Set primarily in an alternate late 19th-century London, the story tracks Bella Baxton—originally a woman named Victoria Blessington—who is brought back to life with an infantile mind and proceeds to explore human sexuality and social autonomy.
Despite the detailed plot summary, several points remain unclear.. The source does not specify the exact terms of the licensing agreement that caused the film to exit Netflix and Peacock so rapidly in favor of Hulu. Additionally, while the film is noted as a "twist" on the Alasdair Gray novel, the specific narrative departures from the 1992 text are not detailed, leaving the extent of the film's adaptation fidelity an open question.
Comments 0