YouTube is primarily used for short video content, but it also offers an extensive library of movies, many of which are available to stream for free. Unlike the old days of YouTube where users would pirate and upload films, these movies come straight from YouTube’s own Movies & TV tab. In contrast with other streaming options, viewers can access many films on YouTube for free. This makes YouTube an ideal option for those looking to supplement or replace their paid subscriptions.
A viewer must only sit through a couple of advertisements per film to access any of the more than 1,500 movies. The number of options alone is overwhelming, but the films also originate from the early 1900s to the 2020s. Within each of those periods, everything from sci-fi to drama exists. Given all the options, viewers may need to sift through films to find the diamonds. Luckily, these free YouTube movies rise above the rest.
15 School Of Rock (2003)
Cast:
Jack Black, Joan Cusack, Mike White, Miranda CosgroveRuntime:
1 hour, 49 minutesDirector:
Richard Linklater
School of Rock might just be responsible for getting an entire generation of kids into the arts thanks to Jack Black’s infectious enthusiasm for performing rock songs, and now, it’s free for YouTube browsers. The movie follows Black as he assumes the identity of his roommate to become a substitute teacher, thinking it will provide him with a quick and easy paycheck. Instead, he finds that he genuinely loves sharing his love for music with a whole new generation, creating a band out of his class and competing against the same band that booted him. It’s heartwarming and funny and a modern classic that show’s off how charming Black can be.
14 The Hunger Games (2012)
Cast:
Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth BanksRuntime:
2 hours, 22 minutesDirector:
Gary Ross
The Hunger Games has a track record for bouncing around to different streaming subscription services, so it being available for free on YouTube is actually a big get for the platform. The movie kicks off The Hunger Games franchise with the first story of Katniss (Lawrence) and Peeta (Hutcherson) as they have to compete against other teens and children to survive in a televised arena battle of a post-apocalyptic future, creating Hunger Games winners who become tools of the government. Based on the book by Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games jump started an interest in young adult literature projects being adapted for the screen. Years after its debut, interest is still strong enough for prequel stories and movies as well.
13 Drunken Master (1978)
Cast:
Jackie Chan, Siu Tin-Yuen, Jeong-lee Hwang, Dean ShekRuntime:
1 hour, 51 minutesDirector:
Woo-Ping Yuen
Though Korean dramas have become hugely popular in the modern day thanks to streaming platforms like Netflix, some classic Chinese martial arts movies can be difficult to find online, so YouTube offering Drunken Master for free is a great find for fans of martial arts movies – particularly action-comedies. This is one of the early movies in Jackie Chan’s career that helped to catapult him into stardom, and the “drunken” style of martial arts used in the movie has become a cultural phenomenon in movies, TV, and manga. Even Naruto’s Rock Lee has a drunken fist-fighting style that he pulls out against enemies every once in a while.
12 Killer Clowns From Outer Space (1988)
Cast:
Grant Cramer, Suzanne Snyder, John Allen Nelson, John VernonRuntime:
1 hour, 26 minutesDirector:
Stephen Chiodo
When originally released, Killer Clowns From Outer Space wasn’t breaking any records and received largely mixed reviews, but it’s become a cult classic worthy of a watch, which can be done for free thanks to YouTube. The movie sees alien beings that resemble circus clowns attempting to invade Earth. It has an absurd quality to it as it hits all the circus tropes it can, but it’s a genuinely creative story with fantastic practical effects. Since it hit theaters in 1988, there have been numerous plans for a sequel or TV series to follow the movie, but they’ve been stuck in development ever since.
11 All Dogs Go To Heaven (1989)
Cast:
Dom DeLuise, Burt Reynolds, Loni Anderson, Judith BarsiRuntime:
1 hour, 24 minutesDirector:
Don Bluth, Gary Goldman, Dan Kuenster
Pixar isn’t the only animator to make tear-jerkers aimed at children. The films released by Don Bluth in the 1980s are known for taking on sad subjects and making them easily digestible for children, and All Dogs Go To Heaven is no different. The movie focuses on Charlie (voiced by Reynolds), a dog who dies and gets a second chance at life as long as a magical pocket watch keeps ticking. The movie had the misfortune of opening against Disney’s animated The Little Mermaid when it debuted in theaters. All Dogs Go To Heaven and its sequel are both on YouTube to watch for free.
10 A Walk To Remember (2002)
Cast:
Mandy Moore, Shane West, Peter Coyote, Daryl HannahRuntime:
1 hour, 42 minutesDirector:
Adam Shankman
When Mandy Moore first started acting professionally, she was cast in mean girl roles like that of Lana in The Princess Diaries, but A Walk To Remember was the first movie that showed she had the dramatic depth that she would hone for her excellent performance in This Is Us. She plays a young woman with a fatal secret in A Walk To Remember, which is based on the Nicholas Sparks novel of the same name. Opposite her good-girl character is Shane West as the bad boy who reforms after she begins tutoring him. It’s got a lot of teen romance tropes, but some great performances from the cast, and an ending that doesn’t take away from the journey of the characters. It’s one of several Nicholas Sparks movies available to stream free on YouTube.
9 Girl In Progress (2012)
Cast:
Cierra Ramirez, Eva Mendes, Patricia Arquette, Raini RodriguezRuntime:
1 hour, 33 minutesDirector:
Patricia Riggin
A coming-of-age story with a predominantly Latin cast is rare in Hollywood, but Girl In Progress helps to bring some much-needed representation to this particular sub-genre of dramas. This movie is actually responsible for turning Cierra Ramirez into a bona fide star. She started acting on The Fosters not long after. Ramirez plays a teenager whose mother works long hours and doesn’t notice what she’s up to, so she decides to completely change her life, forcing herself into her own coming-of-age story (something she’s learning about in class) to help herself grow up faster and get the courage to run away from home. Ramirez earned an Imagen Foundation Award for Best Supporting Actress and an ALMA Award for Supporting Actress as well, and now, fans can see why free on YouTube.
8 Ghost In The Shell (1995)
Cast:
Atsuko Tanaka, Akio Ôtsuka, Kôichi Yamadera, Iemasa KayumiRuntime:
1 hour, 22 minutesDirector:
Mamoru Oshii
This anime has become a cult classic that is now free to watch on YouTube. The animated movie imagines a future in which cybernetics are so advanced that technological cases can be placed around a human’s brain to allow them to access things like the internet. The story follows a law enforcement cyborg who is tracking someone able to hack into the minds of others as a result of these technological advancements. The lasting legacy of the movie has produced a sequel and a live-action remake, but the original is often pointed to as the fan favorite.
7 The Last Five Years (2014)
Cast:
Anna Kendrick, Jeremy Jordan, Bettina Bresnan, Charly BivonaRuntime:
1 hour, 34 minutesDirector:
Richard LaGravenese
Adapted from the Broadway show of the same name, The Last Five Years is a free movie musical available on YouTube that follows the failing relationship of Jamie Wellerstein (Jeremy Jordan) and Cathy Hiatt (Anna Kendrick). The movie flips back and forth between their perspectives, telling their side of the story through song. Unlike other sad films, The Last Five Years never attempts to trick the audience or give them hope. The adaptation also utilizes one of the best elements from the stage version: Jamie tells the story from start to finish; Cathy tells it from end to beginning. Most notably, Kendrick and Jordan also both deliver wonderful performances.
6 Godzilla (1954)
Cast:
Takashi Shimura, Akihiko Hirata, Akira Takarada, Momoko KôchiRuntime:
1 hour, 36 minutesDirector:
Ishirô Honda
The original Godzilla, which is available for free on YouTube, follows the titular monster as it wreaks havoc on Tokyo Bay. Initially, people believe the monster is a sea creature, but they discover it has mutated to survive on land, too. The Japanese Self-Defense Forces must find a way to take down the seemingly indestructible monster before it does more damage. Godzilla has been praised for its anti-war and anti-nuclear weapon message, as it’s established that the creature has appeared because of hydrogen bomb testing in the Pacific. This first movie spawned numerous sequels, spinoffs, and crossovers, which combined hold the Guinness World Record for the longest-continuously-running movie franchise.
5 Train To Busan (2016)
Cast:
Gong Yoo, Su-an Kim, Jung Yu-mi, Ma Dong-seokRuntime:
1 hour, 58 minutesDirector:
Sang-ho Yeon
Train to Busan is a Korean horror movie available for free on YouTube that follows a man and his daughter (Gong Yoo and Su-an Kim) during a zombie outbreak. Ultimately, they must survive on the titular train until they reach Busan, where the military has set up a quarantine zone. With its fast pace and gory visual effects, the highly entertaining Train to Busan quickly became a cultural cornerstone. The film emphasizes kindness and the need for others, which is in direct contrast to many zombie movies that focus on fear. This difference may come from the collectivist culture found in South Korea versus the individualistic culture in the U.S. The movie is so popular it’s getting a remake set in New York.
4 The Miseducation Of Cameron Post (2018)
Cast
: Chloe Grace Moretz, Sasha Lane, Forrest Goodluck, Steven HauckRuntime:
1 hour, 31 minutesDirector:
Desiree Akhavan
The Miseducation of Cameron Post, which is available as a free movie on YouTube, tells the story of a teenage girl (Chloë Grace Moretz) sent to a conversion camp for having a same-sex relationship. The Sundance-winning movie predominantly displays the quieter horrors of conversion camps, though it includes one major incident of self-mutilation. It was used to push for legislative reform to outlaw such practices, and in 2019, the American Medical Association voted to support efforts to ban conversion therapy on a federal and state level (via NBC News). While this decision was based largely on scientific evidence, the cultural conversation helped pave the way for the change.
3 The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
Cast:
Myrna Loy, Dana Andrews, Fredric March, Teresa WrightRuntime:
2 hours, 50 minutesDirector:
William Wyler
In The Best Years of Our Lives, three disabled veterans of World War II struggle to reacclimate to the civilian world. This free movie available on YouTube provides a glimpse into the mental and physical effects of war on veterans. At the 1947 Academy Awards, The Best Years of Our Lives won seven Oscars, including Best Picture. Another one of those went to Harold Russell, who also received an additional special honorary Academy Award the same year. He earned such high praise because he really was a U.S. veteran with two amputated hands. This added a level of authenticity to the film that still resonates to this day.
2 Searching For Bobby Fischer (1993)
Cast:
Max Pomeranc, Joe Mantegna, Ben Kingsley, Joan AllenRuntime:
1 hour, 49 minutesDirector:
Steven Zaillian
In the moving drama Searching for Bobby Fischer, real-life prodigy Josh Waitzkin (Max Pomeranc) teaches himself chess with the help of a man in the park. His father (Joe Mantegna) then enlists the help of the master player Bruce Pandolfini (Ben Kingsley) when the boy begins his journey into the world of competitive chess. Available to watch for free on YouTube, Searching for Bobby Fischer is a feel-good movie suitable for families and holds a rare 100% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes. At the 66th Academy Awards, the film was nominated for Best Cinematography for the work of Conrad Hall.
1 Night Of The Living Dead (1968)
Cast:
Duane Jones, Judith O’Dea, Karl Hardman, Marilyn EastmanRuntime:
1 hour, 36 minutesDirector:
George A. Romero
Night of the Living Dead, another free horror movie streaming on YouTube, follows the story of seven people who all take shelter in the same farmhouse as reanimated corpses attack. These monsters move slowly and possess an insatiable appetite for human flesh. Though Night of the Living Dead never uses the term zombies, it set the standard characteristics of their horror subgenre. Additionally, the movie uses horror to make social commentary. Though unintended by director George Romero, the plot and especially the ending of Night of the Living Dead tie into the conversation of racism at the time.
