With the streaming wars hotter than ever, it’s hard to decide which to subscribe for. Maybe you’ve got a movie in mind, look it up, and find out it’s on Max. But you’ve only got Netflix and Amazon Prime and Disney+ and Hulu and Starz and Showtime and Paramount+! What’ll you do?! These are hard days we’re living in. Most of us are bored with our DVD/Blu-ray collections, and when what we want to watch is only streaming somewhere else, and forking over the four dollars to view it is simply out of the question because subscribing to all the streamers has rendered you broke. But, there is still a refuge.
YouTube is that place. The online platform has a surprisingly robust library of ad-supported free movies. Here are the very best movies you can stream for free on the site at the moment.
For more recommendations, check out our list of the best movies on Netflix, Hulu, and Prime Video.
Editor's note: This article was updated September 2023 to include The Hunger Games, Cast Away, and In Her Shoes.
The Hunger Games (2012)
Runtime: 2 hrs 22 min | Genre: Action Sci-Fi | Director: Gary Ross
Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Stanley Tucci
Based on the first book of a series that became a global phenomenon, The Hunger Games introduces audiences to the horrific dystopian world where teens are drafted into a vicious, televised fighting competition. The Hunger Games stars Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence as heroine Katniss Everdeen, a teenager who selflessly volunteers for battle in her younger sister’s place, ultimately inspiring a nation to question their oppressors and sparking a revolution. Although The Hunger Games trilogy does also spend a considerable amount of time focusing on flashy costumes, as well as a love triangle between Katniss, Peeta, and Gale (Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth), the central themes are unforgettable, as are the captivating characters. – Yael Tygiel
Cast Away (2000)
Runtime: 2 hr 23 min | Genre: Adventure, Drama | Director: Robert Zemeckis
Cast: Tom Hanks, Helen Hunt, Paul Sanchez
Director Robert Zemeckis (Forrest Gump) presents a survival drama about hope and resilience. Cast Away stars Tom Hanks (Saving Private Ryan) as a man stranded on a deserted island and allows the viewer to live side-by-side as he struggles to stay alive and escape while trying to keep his sanity. The film is a masterwork of one-man scene acting from Hanks as he carries the narrative through his isolated journey of slow deterioration that teeters between hopeful and dejected resignation — a performance that earns the Oscar nomination and would have won any other year. In addition to the outstanding acting, Zemeckis’s direction is top-tier, contributing just as much visual storytelling as the actual script.
In Her Shoes (2005)
Runtime: 2 hr 10 min | Genre: Comedy, Romance | Director: Curtis Hanson
Cast: Toni Collette, Cameron Diaz, Shirley MacLaine
Based on the Jennifer Weiner novel of the same name, In Her Shoes is a romantic comedy starring Toni Collette (About a Boy) and Cameron Diaz (My Best Friend's Wedding) about two sisters reconnecting with their estranged grandmother (Shirley MacLaine). Colette is the straight-laced, serious sister, while Diaz plays a rowdy party girl who can’t get her life together. But despite their completely opposite personalities, they care for each other and find themselves getting closer when they meet their quirky grandmother, who shares family secrets that change their whole perspective on their upbringing and the trauma that formed who they grew up to be.
Spinning Man (2018)
Runtime: 1 hr 40 min | Genre: Mystery, Thriller | Director: Simon Kaijser
Cast: Guy Pearce, Pierce Brosnan, Minnie Driver
When esteemed professor Evan Birch (Guy Pearce) is implicated in the disappearance of a high school student, his life gets flipped upside down by the tenacious Detective Robert Malloy (Pierce Brosnan), who won’t stop until he gets his man. Spinning Man is a film based on the George Harrar novel of the same name that carefully unspools the web of lies the main character has built around himself in a mystery that keeps audiences guessing. Pearce and Brosnan are excellent as they circle around one another in a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse, constantly moving the plot along using their wits and feats of deception. – Tauri Miller
My Friend Dahmer (2017)
Runtime: 1 hr 47 min | Genre: Biographical, Horror | Director: Marc Meyers
Cast: Ross Lynch, Alex Wolff, Anne Heche
My Friend Dahmer is an adaptation of the John "Derf" Backderf graphic novel brought to you by writer and director Marc Meyers (All My Life) about the serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. Alex Wolff (Hereditary) plays Backderf, who was a friend of Dahmer’s growing up, and the film chronicles that time of his life before Dahmer began killing. Unlike most Dahmer stories that simply paint him as a monster, this one portrays him as an oft-bullied kid struggling with his own mind who wasn’t able to get the help he needed. Ross Lynch (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina) as Dahmer is reserved and vulnerable, which adds a new layer to the child who eventually becomes an infamous murderer. – Tauri Miller
Girl in Progress (2012)
Runtime: 1 hr 33 min | Genre: Comedy Drama | Director: Patricia Riggen
Cast: Eva Mendes, Cierra Ramirez, Patricia Arquette
Exploring intricate themes of womanhood, adulting, and maturity, Girl in Progress is a beautifully complex film directed delicately by Patricia Riggen (Dopesick) from a screenplay by Hiram Martinez (Snowpiercer). Eva Mendes (Hitch) stars in the touching coming-of-age dramedy as a single mother struggling to be a role model for her teenage daughter (Cierra Ramirez), who is blossoming into a young woman. In her debut role, Ramirez stands sturdy in scenes facing veterans like Patricia Arquette, who plays her teacher, and Matthew Modine (Stranger Things), a married doctor who is also her mother’s lover. Girl in Progress is an authentic look at growing up and finding your way, be it alone or with the support of loved ones. – Yael Tygiel
Freaks (2018)
Runtime: 1 hr 45 min | Genre: Sci-Fi Thriller | Director: Zach Lipovsky, Adam B. Stein
Cast: Emile Hirsch, Bruce Dern, Grace Park, Amanda Crew
I’m going to save one of the major things that wows me about Zach Lipovsky and Adam B. Stein’s Freaks for the very end of this blurb because I would suggest jumping into this story knowing as little as possible. But, do know that this is one of the best character-driven sci-fi thrillers of 2019. The movie features a show-stopping performance from Lexy Kolker as seven-year-old Chloe. She’s spent her entire life completely isolated from the world inside her home with her father, Henry (Emile Hirsch). He’s always told her that the outside world is a dangerous place, but the older Chloe gets, the more tempted she becomes to venture out - and then she finally does. Okay, are you ready for that semi-spoilery detail to further emphasize how wildly impressive this film is? Here it goes; I love a good big-budget superhero film as much as anyone, but if you’re looking to see what can be accomplished with a limited budget in the genre, Freaks is an absolute must-see. It’s one of those movies that’ll have you leaning in more and more with its early curiosities before absolutely exploding with creativity as Chloe discovers more and more about her reality. — Perri Nemiroff
The Illusionist (2006)
Runtime: 1 hr 48 min | Genre: Drama Mystery | Director: Neil Burger
Cast: Edward Norton, Paul Giamatti, Jessica Biel, Eddie Marden
Released only a few months after The Prestige, another period mystery centering on the life of a famous stage magician, The Illusionist is much less focused on crazy plot twists. The Prestige may be the flashier of the two, but The Illusionist is a stirring romantic epic featuring one of Edward Norton’s best performances. Norton stars as Eduard Abramovich, a poor man who rises in prominence thanks to his engaging magic show. Eduard yearns for the love of his childhood flame (Jessica Biel), but the two are separated by class. Dick Pope’s beautiful visuals earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Cinematography. — Liam Gaughan
The Road Within (2014)
Runtime: 1 hr 41 min | Genre: Drama Comedy | Director: Gren Wells
Cast: Zoë Kravitz, Robert Sheehan, Dev Patel
The difference between a good familiar story and a bad familiar story is often the characters. Gren Wells’ The Road Within, a remake of a German film, takes a standard road movie and delivers something fresh thanks to the trio of oddballs making the trek. Vincent (Robert Sheehan) is a young man with Tourette’s Syndrome who hopes to scatter his recently deceased mother’s ashes in the Pacific. The problem is, he’s been placed in a special clinic in order to get the treatment he needs by his father (Robert Patrick). But Vincent escapes, taking his roommate Alex (Dev Patel), who suffers from extreme OCD, and the anorexic Marie (Zoë Kravitz). The journey becomes one of self-discovery for all three, even sparking a romance between Vincent and Marie. But the big laughs are what make this charming indie a treat. You don’t want to find humor in the conditions of Vincent and Alex, but it’s played so earnestly, you can’t help but crack up at their outbursts and idiosyncrasies, which are frequent, and consistently funny. — Brendan Michael