Netflix Movie That Shot to No. 1 on Streamer Is Only Available on Hulu in the US

One of the most-watched Netflix movies in the world isn't available on the streamer in the U.S. Mother/Android, a new science fiction movie starring Chloe Grace Moretz, is only streaming on Hulu in the U.S. Even without the U.S. though, it is the second-most-watched movie on Netflix globally.

Mother/Android sits at number two on the global Top 10 movies chart for Jan. 3-9 when only including English-language movies, with 29.7 million hours watched, according to Netflix's statistics. The number one movie during the same period is Don't Look Up, Adam McKay's satirical awards contender. Don't Look Up is also number one in the U.S., just ahead of the 10-year-old Journey 2: The Mysterious Island.

Mother/Android was released on Hulu in the U.S. on Dec. 17 and on Netflix elsewhere on Jan. 7. The film was written and directed by Mattson Tomlin and counts Matt Reeves (The Batman, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes) as one of its producers. This is Tomlin's first film as director after he wrote the scripts for Little Fish (2021) and Netflix's Project Power (2020). Tomlin also worked on the script for Reeves' The Batman.

In the movie, Moretz stars as Georgia Olsen, who discovers she is pregnant, although she does not want to be a mother and she is unsure of her relationship with her boyfriend Sam Hoth (Algee Smith). The story takes a post-apocalyptic twist when smartphones begin exploding, killing their owners, and Georgia and Sam try to escape. Once they reach Boston, they have to survive a world taken over by androids. Raul Castillo also stars as Arthur.

Although Hulu and Netflix users rushed to see the movie, critics were less impressed. In his review for Variety, Dennis Harvey wrote that the film doesn't live up to the exciting first half. "Tomlin's screenplay deserves credit for mixing things up, introducing new characters and narrative turnabouts," Harvey wrote. "But nothing is again as bluntly compelling as the early going, and despite hardworking principal performances, these characters and their movie lack the emotional depth to pull off an earnestly teary, draggy finale." The movie has just a 30% fresh rating from critics and a 24% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. 

Moretz's fans can still find a few of her movies on Netflix. She stars in Let Me In (2010), Brain on Fire (2016), and Dark Shadows (2012), which are all available on the streaming platform.