June 2022 is here, and with schools letting out for the summer nationwide, families are ready to kick back and enjoy some well-earned relaxation. Prime Video and Hulu are starting off the month with a whole line of new movies and television series added to their respective streaming libraries, perfect to binge while staying cool inside. And CBR is here to help provide the perfect suggestions on what to watch the first weekend of June.
Here are all the biggest and best shows and movies available to stream on Hulu and Prime Video, from dueling science fiction franchises to classic summertime blockbusters that revel in the possibilities of the season.
The Boys Makes Its Triumphant (and Bloody) Return
Prime Video’s biggest original series premiere of the entire month of June is the third season of The Boys. Adapting Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson’s popular comic book of the same name, The Boys follows a small group of misfits keeping an eye on superheroes that give in to the vices of celebrity and their own sociopathic tendencies. Under particular scrutiny is Homelander, the most powerful and celebrated superhero who is secretly a murderous villain backed by the insidious conglomerate Vought International.
The Boys Season 3 ups the ante as leader Billy Butcher and his team investigate Vought’s illicit history and past generations of superheroes while Homelander deals with the fallout of his superhero girlfriend Stormfront getting exposed as a villain. As deliriously gory as ever, and with its pitch-black sense of humor apparent right from the season’s opening scenes, The Boys remains one of the best superhero shows on television. Three seasons in, The Boys is still must-see television and one of the best original series on Prime Video.
Alien Provides the Sci-Fi Scares on Hulu
One of the most enduring, influential science fiction franchises of all time is Alien, which has been terrifying audiences since 1979. The first four movies in the series have all been added to Hulu’s streaming library this month, anchored by Sigourney Weaver in her iconic role as no-nonsense hero Ellen Ripley. And with a different director helming each of the initial four installments, a binge of the series shows just how unique each of the movies is from each other as Ripley takes on the ravenous xenomorphs.
The 1979 original movie has the crew of the Nostromo investigate a distress signal on a remote moon, only to find that they are under attack by an extraterrestrial monster known as a xenomorph. 1986’s Aliens has Ripley join a team of space marines to take on the xenomorphs after they swarm a human colony. 1993’s Alien 3 has Ripley and a xenomorph crash on a penal colony, while 1997’s Alien Resurrection has Ripley and the xenomorph cloned years later by unscrupulous scientists.
Predator Resumes the Hunt on Hulu
Not to be outdone by the xenomorphs, the Predator series has also arrived on Hulu as the extraterrestrial hunters stalk human prey in the fan-favorite movies. The 1987 original film, along with its 1990 sequel Predator II and 2010 revival film Predators, are all available to stream on the digital platform. Rounding out the Alien and Predator franchises’ arrival are 2003’s Alien vs. Predator and 2007’s Alien vs. Predator: Requiem, as the ultimate, otherworldly battle royale.
The original Predator has Arnold Schwarzenegger lead his elite squad on a top-secret mission in Latin America, only to discover that they are getting hunted by a cloaked warrior from another world for sport. Predator II then moves the action to the concrete jungle, with Danny Glover playing a Los Angeles police detective finding a gang war disrupted by another Predator. Rather than taking place on Earth, Predators goes to a hunting planet on the other side of the cosmos, with a group of trained killers whisked away and forced to fight for their lives.
Top Gun Brings the Danger Zone to Prime Video
One of the biggest movies of the year already is Top Gun: Maverick, with Tom Cruise reprising his star-making role as fighter pilot Pete “Maverick” Mitchell. While forging a new, action-packed story, Maverick features plenty of callbacks and nods to the 1986 original movie for longtime fans. And while the sequel thrills audiences and critics alike worldwide, its predecessor is now available to stream on Prime Video.
The 1986 film has Navy pilots Maverick and his best friend Goose join the Navy’s elite pilot program, dubbed Top Gun. The two pilots encounter plenty of rivals among their classmates while enduring romance and tragedy as they try to prove they are the best in the service. With its memorable soundtrack and stylized presentation, Top Gun continues to thrill while serving as the foundation for its well-received sequel.
The Sandlot Revels in the Joys of Young Summer
There’s just something about baseball that makes it align with summertime sensibilities and the vacation aesthetic, and no movie perhaps captures that better than 1993’s The Sandlot. Set during the summer of 1962, a socially introverted new kid moving into the Los Angeles suburbs is welcomed by local kids into their neighborhood baseball team. After the boys accidentally lose a baseball signed by Babe Ruth to a notorious junkyard dog, they scramble to recover the prized memorabilia at any cost.
Even with its period piece setting, The Sandlot evokes the feeling of being an adolescent playing baseball with their friends in those dog days of summer. Even beyond America’s pastime, the film shows lazy pool days and neighborhood barbecues with aplomb as baseball keeps the time. Rife with nostalgia and memorable moments, The Sandlot is the perfect movie to watch while staying cool for the summer, with the film now available on Prime Video.