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 does not have the expansive libraries that Netflix or Max boast. However, YouTube offers many films in multiple genres, including drama, comedy, action, adventure, thriller, and horror. To help guide your choice, 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.
10 Things I Hate About You (1999)
70%
7.3/10The story of William Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew gets a modern update in 10 Things I Hate About You. Cameron (Joseph Gordon) is a new student at Padua High who falls in love with Bianca Stratford (Larisa Oleynik), a popular sophomore. Unfortunately for Cameron, Bianca can’t date until her older sister Kat (Julia Stiles) gets a boyfriend. Kat is antisocial and angry at the world, so taming this “shrew” might be impossible.
Cameron has a plan, and his name is Patrick Verona (Heath Ledger), the school’s rebel. Cameron convinces Joey Donner (Andrew Keegan), a senior who wants to date Bianca, to pay Patrick to date Kat. Patrick pulls out all the stops to win Kat over. Yet, his genuine feelings for Kat complicate the mission.
13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi (2016)
48%
7.3/10Because of his signature style with fast cuts, special effects, and explosions, Michael Bay was the perfect filmmaker to tackle 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi, based on the 2012 attacks in Benghazi. On September 11, 2012, a wave of militants attacked the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya. Less than one mile from the consulate is “The Annex,” a CIA compound with dozens of employees and important American documents.
Six former soldiers who work for the Global Response Staff (GRS) are tasked with protecting the Annex. Two of these men are Tyrone “Rone” Woods (James Badge Dale), the leader of the GRS, and his friend, Jack Silva (John Krasinski). Facing multiple militant attacks, the six men hunker down at the Annex and engage in a firefight for their lives. Can they survive long enough before reinforcements arrive?
My Best Friend's Wedding (1997)
51%
6.3/10Julia Roberts knows a thing or two about romantic comedies. One of her best rom-coms is My Best Friend’s Wedding. Jules Potter (Roberts) and her childhood friend Michael O’Neal (Dermot Mulroney) agreed to marry each other if they were single by age 28. A few weeks before her 28th birthday, Jules receives a call from Michael with news of his impending marriage to Kimmy Wallace (Cameron Diaz), the young daughter of the Chicago White Sox’s owner.
Realizing she’s in love with Michael, Jules heads to Chicago to sabotage the wedding. However, things become complicated after Kimmy asks Jules to be the maid of honor. Jules turns to her friend George Downes (Rupert Everett) for help. To achieve her mission, Jules needs to say a little prayer.
Alien (1979)
89%
8.5/10“In space, no one can hear you scream.” That’s the famous tagline for Alien, Ridley Scott’s terrifying sci-fi horror set in deep space. Pitched as “Jaws in space,” Alien follows the crew of the Nostromo on their way home to Earth. Notable crewmembers include Dallas (Tom Skerritt), the ship’s captain; Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), a warrant officer; and Ash (Ian Holm), the Nostromo’s science officer.
While in stasis, the crew is awakened early to investigate a distress call from a nearby moon. During their investigation, the crew discovers a desolate alien ship home to hundreds of eggs. The nightmare begins when one of the eggs hatches and attaches to a crewmember’s face. Once the alien boards the Nostromo, all bets are off. The alien is now the apex predator. With nowhere to run, the crew must act quickly and figure out how to escape before they meet their end at the hands of the alien.
Lady Bird (2017)
93%
7.4/10Before helming the No. 1 movie at the box office in 2023, Barbie director Greta Gerwig excelled in quieter coming-of-age films, with her solo directorial debut, Lady Bird, being her standout. Set in 2002, Lady Bird stars Saoirse Ronan as Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson, an angsty high school senior who dreams of escaping Sacramento in favor of the big cities on the East Coast. Lady Bird’s mother, Marion (Laurie Metcalf), loves her daughter but tries to ground her in reality, causing friction between the two.
The ambitious Lady Bird uses her senior year to open up and experience new things, even if that means pretending to be someone she’s not. Thanks to Gerwig’s keen writing and directing, Lady Bird is a charming and beautiful story about adolescence at an important time in one’s development.
I Kill Giants (2018)
74%
6.1/10My Friend Dahmer (2017)
68%
6.2/10Someone 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%
7.6/10Night of the Living Dead (1968)
89%
7.9/10A 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.
