Poor Things leaves Netflix on Monday and turns up on HBO Max the same day
Poor Things is leaving Netflix, but don’t fret — Emma Stone and Mark Ruffalo’s Oscar-winner already has a new streaming home.
If you missed it in cinemas or the last time round on streaming, here’s another chance to catch Poor Things – and frankly, it’s not one you’ll want to let slide. The film that earned Emma Stone her second Oscar is about to hop platforms once again, this time headed straight for HBO Max after wrapping its run on Netflix.
Poor Things lands on HBO Max on 7 September 2026, the very same day it exits Netflix.
What’s Poor Things Actually About?
Set in a kind of off-kilter Victorian London (don't expect anything too straight-laced), the story centres on Bella Baxter, a young woman with a rather unconventional backstory: she’s been brought back to life by the eccentric Dr Godwin Baxter. Under his roof, Bella’s upbringing is anything but normal, overseen by both Baxter and his slightly overwhelmed student, Max McCandles.
Things get genuinely weird when Bella is whisked away by Duncan Wedderburn, a barrister who’s mostly trouble. Outside the mad professor’s home, Bella’s forced to navigate a world she barely understands. There’s plenty about sex, autonomy, and the general mess of being alive. It’s slightly bonkers in that Yorgos Lanthimos way – expect the unexpected and then some.
Cast and Reception
- Emma Stone as Bella Baxter and Victoria Blessington (yes, two characters, it’s that sort of film)
- Mark Ruffalo as Duncan Wedderburn
- Willem Dafoe as Dr Godwin Baxter
- Ramy Youssef as Max McCandles
- Christopher Abbott as Alfie Blessington
- Suzy Bemba as Toinette
If you care about scores, the critics were far keener than the audience: on Rotten Tomatoes it’s clocked up a rather neat 92 percent critics’ rating from 379 reviews, with the public coming in at around 80 percent. Quite frankly, it’s not a film that sits quietly on the shelf – it’s vivid, anarchic, and not shy about its big ideas. Like Discussing Film put it, 'Poor Things is a wildly entertaining quest for liberation and a true cinematic tour de force that wears its technicolor heart on its sleeve.'