When you hear about a Mike Flanagan and Stephen King collab, you automatically assume it's a horror flick. But The Life of Chuck is far from it.
Part post-apocalyptic thriller, part feel-good coming-of-age drama, and part ghost story, The Life of Chuck is based off a short story of King's and it's quickly become one of our favorite films of the year. Starring Tom Hiddleston as Chuck Krantz and a wonderful ensemble cast including Chiwetel Ejiofor, Annalise Basso, Benjamin Pajak, Karen Gillan, Mia Sara, Matthew Lillard, Carl Lumbly, Samantha Sloyan, Harvey Guillén, Jacob Tremblay, Kate Siegel, and Mark Hamill, it weaves a tale of love, loss, and joys in living. It's a real crowd pleaser.
If you didn't catch it in theaters, now's your chance to stream it at home. Here's everything you need to know about how to watch The Life of Chuck.
What is The Life of Chuck about?
Written and directed by Mike Flanagan, The Life of Chuck marks his third Stephen King adaptation following 2017’s Gerald’s Game and 2019’s Doctor Sleep. Based on the King novella of the same name, it begins in a world plagued by catastrophe. School teacher Marty Anderson (Ejiofor) is dealing with an onslaught of bad news, from natural disasters to the internet going down for good. As he's trying to make sense of things, he's distracted by a billboard honoring Charles "Chuck" Krantz (Hiddleston) for "39 great years." Who is this mystery man, and why are these billboards appearing in what seems to be the end of the world as we know it?
The Life of Chuck blends genres in three chapters to explore the life of an average guy, Chuck, and his profound impact on the world.
Check out the full trailer:
Is The Life of Chuck worth watching?
While it didn't get the biggest crowd at the box office, those who did show up for The Life of Chuck loved it. It holds an 81 percent critic rating and 88 percent audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and earned the coveted People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2024, beating out Oscar winner Anora and nominee Emilia Pérez.
"The Life of Chuck is masterfully told. Like King's most moving adaptations, it doesn't play by standard rules of structure or audience expectations. It demands we follow the winding road through playful dialogue, painful lows, and rollicking highs, to an unknown beyond," Mashable's Kristy Puchko writes. "It's surprising and upsetting, funny and profound. I laughed hard, cried 'til my eyes ached, and once gasped so loud that I heard it echo across a theater struck silent by a moment both shocking and tender."
Simply put, it's one of our favorite movies of 2025 so far. Even King himself praised the adaptation, calling it "one of the good ones."
Read our full review of The Life of Chuck.
How to watch The Life of Chuck at home
The Life of Chuck opened in theaters nationwide on June 13, 2025, after premiering at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. If you missed out, no biggie; it's now officially available to watch at home. You'll have two different ways to watch as of July 29: buy it on digital video-on-demand retailers or rent it from digital video-on-demand retailers. It will also be available to stream at an unknown later date. See the details below.
Buy or rent on digital
The Neon film officially made its at-home debut via video-on-demand retailers like Prime Video and Apple TV on July 29. You can purchase The Life of Chuck for your own digital library or rent it for 30 days. Just keep in mind that with rentals, you'll only have 48 hours to finish watching once you start.
Here are some quick links to buy or rent the film on digital:
Prime Video — $9.99 to rent, $19.99 to buy
Fandango at Home — $9.99 to rent, $19.99 to buy
Apple TV — $9.99 to rent, $19.99 to buy
Stream it on Hulu
As a Neon film, we expect The Life of Chuck to make its streaming debut on Hulu at a later date. While there's no official word on when that will be, we expect a late fall release in November 2025.
Hulu subscriptions start at $9.99 per month, but there are a few different ways you can save. We've rounded up the best ongoing Hulu streaming deals below.
The best Hulu streaming deals
Best Hulu deal for most people: Hulu annual subscription
The best way to cut the price of a Hulu subscription is to opt for an annual plan instead of a monthly plan. By paying for a year upfront for $99.99 (which breaks down to $8.33 per month), you'll save about 16% or just shy of $20. Sure, it's not a ton of money, but every dollar counts.
Best bundle deal: Get Hulu and Disney+ for 45% off
One of the best deals in the streaming world is Disney's bundle plan. You can get both Disney+ and Hulu with ads in the Duo Basic bundle for just $10.99 per month. That's only a dollar more than paying for one streamer on its own, saving you about 45% total. You could also throw HBO Max into the mix for an extra $6 per month. That's $16.99 per month for three different services, which saves you about 44%.
Best for students: Hulu Student
College students can save 80% or $8 per month on a Hulu with ads subscription. Sign up through the Hulu Student promotional page and verify your college email address via SheerID, and the price will drop from $9.99 to just $1.99 per month.
Best for T-Mobile users: Hulu (with ads) free for select customers
Aside from the free trial, the only way you can get Hulu for free in 2025 is through T-Mobile's Go5G Next and Experience Beyond plans. Better yet, you'll also get Netflix and Apple TV+ for free. If you're already on one of these plans, head over to the T-Mobile promo page and choose "redeem now" to claim the offer. You'll just have to enter your T-Mobile number and account details to sign up for Hulu. If you're not on the Go5G Next plan or Experience Beyond plan, make the switch to start taking advantage of the best free streaming lineup around.
