Streaming services provide thousands of movies for consumers to watch every month. Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, and Max are some of the top streaming services on the market. However, these services have monthly fees. If you subscribe to all four services, then it will cost you a pretty penny. If you’re looking for alternative streaming options, try YouTube, which offers free movies with ads.
YouTube is not a typical streaming service with thousands of movies in its library. However, don’t sleep on YouTube. There are plenty of popular films in multiple genres available to stream immediately. To help influence your selections, we curated a list of the best free movies to watch on YouTube this month.
Looking for more stuff you can watch for free? Check out our guides to the best free shows on YouTube and the best sites for watching free movies online.
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Notting Hill
pg-131999
co*cktail
r1988
There Will Be Blood
r2007
Notting Hill (1999)
68%
7.2/10
pg-13
124m
Genre
Romance, Comedy
Stars
Julia Roberts, Hugh Grant, Gina McKee
Directed by
Roger Michell
Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant, two of the iconic rom-com stars of the 1990s, joined forces for the British romance Notting Hill.William Thacker (Hugh Grant) is a recently divorced everyman who works at a travel book store in Notting Hill, London. Recently divorced, William’s love life turns around when Hollywood actress Anna Scott (Julia Roberts) visits his shop.
After a conversation, the two share a chance encounter capped off with a kiss. Despite their differences, William and Anna begin a passionate love affair. Yet outside forces in their personal lives try to tear them apart. Can an “average Joe” win over the woman of his dreams?
co*cktail (1988)
12%
5.9/10
r
104m
Genre
Romance, Drama, Comedy
Stars
Tom Cruise, Bryan Brown, Elisabeth Shue
Directed by
Roger Donaldson
Because of his intensity, swagger, and charisma, Tom Cruise was the perfect choice to play Brian Flanagan inco*cktail. After serving in the Army, Flanagan heads to business school in New York City. Flanagan becomes a bartender to make ends meet and learns the ropes from Doug Coughlin (Bryan Brown). Coughlin shows Flanagan how to flair, which leads to bigger crowds and tips.
When the duo end their partnership, Flanagan moves to Jamaica to secure enough money to start his own bar. Flanagan begins a passionate affair with Jordan Mooney (Elisabeth Shue). What happens on the island stays on the island. Or does it? Flanagan wants the bar, the girl, and the money. Is he in over his head, or can he have his cake and eat it too?
There Will Be Blood (2007)
93%
8.2/10
r
158m
Genre
Drama
Stars
Daniel Day-Lewis, Paul Dano, Kevin J. O'Connor
Directed by
Paul Thomas Anderson
On the shortlist of best films of the 21st century isThere Will Be Blood, Paul Thomas Anderson’s masterpiece about an oil tycoon’s rise to power in the early 20th century. Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis) moves to California in the early 1900s and discovers oil. He later adopts the son of a dead employee, H.W. (Russell Harvard), to present himself as a family man when approaching people to buy their property for oil.
While examining an oil deposit in Little Boston, Daniel meets Eli Sunday (Paul Dano), a local preacher who suspects the oil man’s nefarious intentions. For the next decade, Daniel strives to become the wealthiest mogul in the region, no matter what it takes.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
89%
8.3/10
r
108m
Genre
Science Fiction, Drama, Romance
Stars
Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Kirsten Dunst
Directed by
Michel Gondry
If you could erase your memories of a former love, would you? In Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, there is a procedure making it possible to do this. Joel Barish (Jim Carrey) is heartbroken to learn that his ex-girlfriend, Clementine Kruczynski (Kate Winslet), signs up for the procedure to remove him from her memories. Depressed, Joel decides to do the same.
While asleep during the procedure, Joel relives his memories with Clementine, which reminds him how much he once loved her. As his memories slowly fade away, Joel fights to keep the spirit of Clementine alive. The movie is a beautiful and painful representation of love, loss, and how we choose to move on.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)
67%
7.9/10
pg-13
103m
Genre
Drama
Stars
Logan Lerman, Emma Watson, Ezra Miller
Directed by
Stephen Chbosky
Charlie (Logan Lerman) is a gentle but socially awkward teenager about to face the biggest challenge of his life: high school. Planning to skate by high school unnoticed, Charlie luckily makes friends with two outgoing seniors: the kindhearted Sam (Emma Watson) and her rebellious stepbrother Patrick (Ezra Miller).
With Sam and Patrick in his life, Charlie comes out of his shell, realizing there’s more to life than burying your head in books and standing on the sidelines. But Charlie suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, and his condition only worsens as the school year reaches its end. Before Charlie can help others, he must learn how to forgive himself.
Point Break (1991)
59%
7.3/10
r
122m
Genre
Action, Thriller, Crime
Stars
Keanu Reeves, Patrick Swayze, Lori Petty
Directed by
Kathryn Bigelow
Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze square off in Kathryn Bigelow’s excellent action thriller, Point Break. Former college quarterback Johnny Utah (Reeves) is a hot-shot FBI agent who teams with veteran agent Angelo Pappas (Gary Busey) to catch a group of bank robbers known as the “Ex-Presidents.” The duo hypothesizes that the robbers are surfers, so Utah goes undercover within the beach community, searching for more information.
While posing as a surfer, Utah meets Bodhi (Swayze), the eccentric leader of a group of surfers. As Utah spends more time with the surfers, he develops a genuine bond with the free-spirited Bodhi. However, this complicates Utah’s mission, blurring the lines between his new friends and his job.
I Kill Giants (2018)
74%
6.1/10
pg-13
106m
Genre
Fantasy, Drama
Stars
Madison Wolfe, Imogen Poots, Sydney Wade
Directed by
Anders Walter
This fantasy film follows Barbara Thorson (Madison Wolfe), a young girl who finds solace from the realities of her difficult family life by retreating into a magical world where she is the greatest giant fighter the world has ever seen. But as the giants’ threat to her world grows, Barbara finds help from her new friend Sophia (Sydney Wade) and her school counselor, Mrs. Mollé (Avatar: The Way of Water‘s Zoe Saldana).
My Friend Dahmer (2017)
68%
6.2/10
r
107m
Genre
Drama, History, Crime
Stars
Ross Lynch, Alex Wolff, Anne Heche
Directed by
Marc Meyers
Someone at YouTube has very deftly picked up on the renewed interest in Jeffrey Dahmer by getting the rights to stream My Friend Dahmer. This serial killer movie is based upon the true story of John “Derf” Backderf (Alex Wolff), a cartoonist who was the closest friend that Jeffrey Dahmer (Ross Lynch) had in high school. In this adaptation of Backderf’s graphic novel, he and his fellow outcasts befriend Dahmer, but they aren’t blind to his bizarre behavior. However, they couldn’t have predicted that the awkward young man that they knew would go on to become one of the most infamous serial killers of the last century. It’s also a tragic tale, as no one notices how monstrous Dahmer has become until it’s far too late to stop him.
The Illusionist (2006)
68%
7.6/10
pg-13
110m
Genre
Fantasy, Drama, Thriller, Romance
Stars
Edward Norton, Paul Giamatti, Jessica Biel
Directed by
Neil Burger
The Illusionist beat the similarly themed film, The Prestige, to theaters by about two months, but Christopher Nolan’s movie is the superior of the two. Regardless, The Illusionist has its charms, largely in the core trio of Edward Norton, Jessica Biel, and Paul Giamatti. When they were young, Eduard Abramovich (Norton) and duch*ess Sophie Von Teschen (Biel) had a passion for each other that her parents forbade. Upon adulthood, Edward reinvented himself as Eisenheim The Illusionist and reunited with Sophie before she could be married to the malevolent Prince Leopold (Rufus Sewell). When Sophie is murdered, Chief Inspector Walter Uhl (Giamatti) is unnerved when Eisenheim appears to be able to summon Sophie’s spirit at will.
Night of the Living Dead (1968)
89%
7.9/10
96m
Genre
Horror, Thriller
Stars
Duane Jones, Judith O'Dea, Karl Hardman
Directed by
George A. Romero
A seminal entry for American horror cinema, George A. Romero’s classic horror movie follows seven people who find themselves trapped in Pennsylvania as the terrifying walking dead surround them. They have to try to survive without understanding the terror that lurks outside.
The movie has been noted as the first zombie film, and its influences can be seen in everything from 28 Days Later to Shaun of the Dead. Romero’s debut — he wrote, directed, edited, and acted in the film — made him into a superstar,quickly revolutionizing the genre on a budget of a mere $114,000.
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Nick Perry
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Nick Perry is a freelance writer who bounced from Hollywood to Silicon Beach to pajama pants. His work has been featured on Digital Trends, Good Morning America, Entrepreneur, Mashable, and more media outlets.
Blair Marnell has been an entertainment journalist for over 15 years. His bylines have appeared in Wizard Magazine, Geek Monthly, SYFY Wire, Superhero Hype, Collider, DC Universe, and the official sites for Star Trek and Marvel. He also lends his pop culture expertise to Digital Trends on a variety of TV, movie, and streaming features.
Dan is a passionate and multitalented content creator with experience in pop culture, entertainment, and sports. Throughout his career, Dan has been a writer, broadcaster, podcaster, editor, and social media manager. At Digital Trends, Dan covers film and television, from reviewing upcoming projects to interviewing actors and directors. Outside of Digital Trends, he has been an Oscar prognosticator since 2016 as well as a sportswriter with a special concentration in New York professional sports. Dan is still waiting for the New York Knicks to win a championship, but unfortunately, he will have to wait a lot longer for this dream to become a reality.
