A hilarious 1987 fantasy movie starring HBO’s Harry Potter star will not be a part of Netflix’s streaming library from next month. It follows a Seattle-based family as they adopt a Bigfoot, but struggle to keep it a secret.
Harry and the Hendersons departs from Netflix in May
Harry and the Hendersons will exit Netflix’s library on Friday, May 1, 2026 (via What’s on Netflix). The fantasy movie stars John Lithgow, the actor who will portray Albus Dumbledore in the upcoming HBO Harry Potter series.
The film centers on the Henderson family, who accidentally hit a creature with their car while driving home from a camping trip. Upon checking, they realize it was a Bigfoot, and assuming it was dead, they take the body home, hoping to make money. Later, they realize that Bigfoot is alive and eventually grow fond of it, naming it Harry. Meanwhile, Bigfoot hunter Jacques tracks down the family.
William Dear directed Harry and the Hendersons, which he co-wrote with William E. Martin and Ezra D. Rappaport. Furthermore, Dear also served as a co-producer, with Richard Vane being the other. Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment became one of the production studios for the movie.
The cast features Lithgow as George, Melinda Dillon as Nancy, Margaret Langrick as Sarah, and Joshua Rudoy as Ernie, while Fred Newman voiced Harry.
Universal Pictures distributed the movie and released it on June 5, 1987. Currently, the movie has a Tomatometer score of 48% and a Popcornmeter score of 54% on Rotten Tomatoes. Similarly, on Metacritic, it has a critic score of 42 and a user score of 6.7.
At the box office, Harry and the Hendersons fared well with the moviegoers, owing to its heartwarming, family-friendly comedy. Consequently, it grossed close to $50 million worldwide (via Box Office Mojo). Furthermore, it also won an Oscar award for Best Makeup.
Netflix subscribers have until the end of this month to stream the fantasy movie on the platform.
