A beloved movie featuring Robert Downey Jr. and Tobey Maguire will become available on a new streaming platform very soon. The film was a colossal hit and earned Downey Jr. an Oscar nomination.
Tropic Thunder to stream on Hulu next month
The 2008 satirical action comedy Tropic Thunder will start streaming on Hulu on August 1, 2026. Downey Jr. portrays Kirk Lazarus, a fictional five-time Oscar-winning Australian actor who undergoes pigmentation alteration surgery to play a Black character in a new film. Maguire plays a version of himself. He stars opposite Kirk in a faux trailer for the fictional movie Satan’s Alley. Before Tropic Thunder, Downey Jr. and Maguire worked together on the 2000 comedy drama Wonder Boys.
Ben Stiller directed the movie from a screenplay he wrote with Justin Theroux and Etan Cohen. Stiller also played Tugg Speedman, a formerly highest-paid movie star struggling in the industry after failing to shift his career toward a more artistic direction. The ensemble cast also includes Tom Cruise, Jack Black, Matthew McConaughey, and Danny McBride.
Since its debut in U.S. theaters on August 13, 2008, the movie has made $195.7 million at the global box office against a $92 million reported budget (via Box Office Mojo). On Rotten Tomatoes, it currently has an 82% approval rating. Brad Brevet of ComingSoon gave the movie a positive review, writing, “Tropic Thunder never takes itself too seriously and it walks the tight rope between serious and insanity very well, allowing its actors to expand and grow their characters while never taking them over the top, which could have easily happened.”
Downey Jr.’s Academy Award nomination for Tropic Thunder was in the Best Supporting Actor category. The Iron Man star ultimately lost to Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight). He eventually won in the same category for 2023’s Oppenheimer.
Notably, some of the other movies releasing on Hulu on August 1 are Martin Scorsese’s Casino, Despicable Me 2, Jurassic Park, the three Men in Black films, Seven Pounds, and Sonic the Hedgehog.
