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The best free movies on YouTube right now (June 2024)

A woman on a microphone sings to a woman sitting down.
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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)

10 Things I Hate About You
70%
7.3/10
pg-13
97m
Genre
Comedy, Romance, Drama
Stars
Heath Ledger, Julia Stiles, Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Directed by
Gil Junger
Watch on YouTube

The 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)

13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi
48%
7.3/10
r
144m
Genre
War, Action, History, Drama
Stars
John Krasinski, James Badge Dale, Dominic Fumusa
Directed by
Michael Bay
Watch on YouTube

Because 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)

My Best Friend's Wedding
51%
6.3/10
pg-13
105m
Genre
Comedy, Romance
Stars
Julia Roberts, Dermot Mulroney, Cameron Diaz
Directed by
P.J. Hogan
Watch on YouTube

Julia 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)

Alien
89%
8.5/10
r
117m
Genre
Horror, Science Fiction
Stars
Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, Veronica Cartwright
Directed by
Ridley Scott
Watch on YouTube

“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)

Lady Bird
93%
7.4/10
r
94m
Genre
Drama, Comedy
Stars
Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf, Tracy Letts
Directed by
Greta Gerwig
Watch on YouTube

Before 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)

I Kill Giants
74%
6.1/10
pg-13
106m
Genre
Fantasy, Drama
Stars
Madison Wolfe, Imogen Poots, Sydney Wade
Directed by
Anders Walter
Watch on YouTube
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)

My Friend Dahmer
68%
6.2/10
r
107m
Genre
Drama, History, Crime
Stars
Ross Lynch, Alex Wolff, Anne Heche
Directed by
Marc Meyers
Watch on YouTube

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)

The Illusionist
68%
7.6/10
pg-13
110m
Genre
Fantasy, Drama, Thriller, Romance
Stars
Edward Norton, Paul Giamatti, Jessica Biel
Directed by
Neil Burger
Watch on YouTube
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 Duchess 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)

Night of the Living Dead
89%
7.9/10
96m
Genre
Horror, Thriller
Stars
Duane Jones, Judith O'Dea, Karl Hardman
Directed by
George A. Romero
Watch on YouTube

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.

Editors' Recommendations

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Nick Perry

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

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 Girolamo

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.

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