It wasn’t too long ago that if you wanted to watch a movie for free, you had to either sit through whatever was playing on basic cable, sneak into a movie theater, or get yourself invited over to the house of a friend who pays for Netflix or one of its competitors.
Not any more: Thousands of films are streaming for free if you know where to look, including some of the best films of all time.
You might think that all streaming services are subscription-based (meaning that you need to pay a monthly fee for access), but you’d be mistaken. Even though subscription streamers like Netflix, HBO Max, and Amazon Prime may get all the press (as well as all the good original series), there’s actually a whole category of streaming platforms that are ad-supported, meaning that, as with cable, they’re completely free as long as you’re willing to sit through a few commercials.
These platforms, like Tubi, Pluto TV, Vudu, and the former IMDb TV, recently rebranded to, er, Amazon Freevee), are all free to download into your Smart TV or access through your computer, and they’re home to a surprisingly good array of movies, including some great movies we bet you’ve never seen.
To determine the best movies to stream for free this May, 24/7 Tempo developed an index using average ratings on IMDb, an online movie database owned by Amazon, and a combination of audience scores and Tomatometer scores on Rotten Tomatoes, an online movie and TV review aggregator, as of April 2022, weighting all ratings equally. We considered only movies with at least 5,000 audience votes on either IMDb or Rotten Tomatoes and that are streaming on Tubi, Pluto TV, Plex, Amazon Freevee, Peacock, Vudu, and Crackle. Documentaries were not considered. (Data on streaming availability, current as of this month, comes from the streaming guide Reelgood, and directorial credits are from IMDb.)
Click here to see the best movies to stream for free this month
From top-tier movies like “Gladiator” and “There Will Be Blood” to lesser-known but equally praiseworthy films like “Lion” and “Dark Waters,” all of these movies are worth watching. And thankfully, they’re all available to stream for free.
50. Gladiator (2000)
> IMDb user rating: 8.5/10 (1,399,053 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 87% (34,128,168 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 77% (201 reviews)
> Directed by: Ridley Scott
> Streaming on: Pluto TV
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49. Cast Away (2000)
> IMDb user rating: 7.8/10 (551,582 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 84% (744,162 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 89% (158 reviews)
> Directed by: Robert Zemeckis
> Streaming on: Tubi
48. Snatch (2000)
> IMDb user rating: 8.3/10 (811,774 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 93% (394,711 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 74% (142 reviews)
> Directed by: Guy Ritchie
> Streaming on: Peacock
47. Sicario (2015)
> IMDb user rating: 7.6/10 (394,471 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 85% (68,050 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 92% (279 reviews)
> Directed by: Denis Villeneuve
> Streaming on: Peacock
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46. The Evil Dead (1981)
> IMDb user rating: 7.5/10 (194,931 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 84% (202,972 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 95% (61 reviews)
> Directed by: Sam Raimi
> Streaming on: Tubi, Pluto TV
45. Control (2007)
> IMDb user rating: 7.7/10 (63,385 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 89% (48,485 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 88% (116 reviews)
> Directed by: Anton Corbijn
> Streaming on: Tubi, Pluto TV, Plex, Amazon Freevee, Vudu
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44. The Wailing (2016)
> IMDb user rating: 7.5/10 (59,362 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 81% (7,116 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 99% (83 reviews)
> Directed by: Hong-jin Na
> Streaming on: Tubi, Pluto TV, Plex, Vudu, Crackle
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43. Searching (2018)
> IMDb user rating: 7.6/10 (151,373 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 87% (7,008 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 92% (256 reviews)
> Directed by: Aneesh Chaganty
> Streaming on: Tubi, Amazon Freevee
42. Dead Man Walking (1995)
> IMDb user rating: 7.5/10 (91,822 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 86% (61,910 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 95% (61 reviews)
> Directed by: Tim Robbins
> Streaming on: Pluto TV
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41. Lion (2016)
> IMDb user rating: 8.0/10 (224,618 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 91% (39,877 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 84% (267 reviews)
> Directed by: Garth Davis
> Streaming on: Tubi, Pluto TV, Plex, Amazon Freevee, Vudu
40. Barton Fink (1991)
> IMDb user rating: 7.7/10 (117,023 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 89% (45,410 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 90% (61 reviews)
> Directed by: Joel & Ethan Coen
> Streaming on: Tubi
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39. Gone Girl (2014)
> IMDb user rating: 8.1/10 (908,882 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 87% (128,693 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 87% (365 reviews)
> Directed by: David Fincher
> Streaming on: Amazon Freevee
38. Requiem for a Dream (2000)
> IMDb user rating: 8.3/10 (795,904 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 93% (328,609 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 79% (138 reviews)
> Directed by: Darren Aronofsky
> Streaming on: Tubi, Pluto TV, Plex
37. Midnight Express (1978)
> IMDb user rating: 7.6/10 (76,584 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 89% (31,124 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 93% (27 reviews)
> Directed by: Alan Parker
> Streaming on: Crackle
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36. Gandhi (1982)
> IMDb user rating: 8.0/10 (223,630 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 92% (49,867 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 85% (62 reviews)
> Directed by: Richard Attenborough
> Streaming on: Peacock
35. Dazed and Confused (1993)
> IMDb user rating: 7.6/10 (174,013 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 90% (236,467 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 92% (62 reviews)
> Directed by: Richard Linklater
> Streaming on: Amazon Freevee
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34. Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
> IMDb user rating: 7.7/10 (183,958 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 84% (442,786 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 97% (66 reviews)
> Directed by: Robert Zemeckis
> Streaming on: Tubi
33. Sabrina (1954)
> IMDb user rating: 7.7/10 (62,060 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 89% (55,338 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 93% (44 reviews)
> Directed by: Billy Wilder
> Streaming on: Pluto TV
32. Dark Waters (2019)
> IMDb user rating: 7.6/10 (73,532 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 95% (2,642 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 89% (229 reviews)
> Directed by: Todd Haynes
> Streaming on: Peacock
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31. There Will Be Blood (2007)
> IMDb user rating: 8.2/10 (544,988 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 86% (255,474 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 91% (243 reviews)
> Directed by: Paul Thomas Anderson
> Streaming on: Pluto TV
30. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
> IMDb user rating: 7.8/10 (260,773 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 86% (427,499 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 97% (158 reviews)
> Directed by: Ang Lee
> Streaming on: Peacock
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29. The Artist (2011)
> IMDb user rating: 7.9/10 (235,905 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 87% (58,691 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 95% (320 reviews)
> Directed by: Michel Hazanavicius
> Streaming on: Tubi, Pluto TV
28. A Little Princess (1995)
> IMDb user rating: 7.7/10 (33,377 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 88% (240,459 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 97% (35 reviews)
> Directed by: Alfonso Cuarón
> Streaming on: Tubi
27. The Remains of the Day (1993)
> IMDb user rating: 7.8/10 (69,929 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 89% (24,404 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 95% (43 reviews)
> Directed by: James Ivory
> Streaming on: Tubi, Pluto TV
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26. Night of the Living Dead (1968)
> IMDb user rating: 7.9/10 (121,700 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 87% (130,710 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 96% (74 reviews)
> Directed by: George A. Romero
> Streaming on: Tubi, Pluto TV, Plex, Amazon Freevee, Peacock, Vudu
25. Dial M for Murder (1954)
> IMDb user rating: 8.2/10 (166,706 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 92% (38,208 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 89% (47 reviews)
> Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock
> Streaming on: Tubi
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24. The Man from Earth (2007)
> IMDb user rating: 7.9/10 (180,871 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 85% (19,142 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 100% (05 reviews)
> Directed by: Richard Schenkman
> Streaming on: Tubi, Amazon Freevee, Vudu, Crackle
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23. Star Trek (2009)
> IMDb user rating: 7.9/10 (589,910 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 91% (747,981 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 94% (354 reviews)
> Directed by: J.J. Abrams
> Streaming on: Pluto TV
22. Logan (2017)
> IMDb user rating: 8.1/10 (688,052 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 90% (93,272 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 93% (423 reviews)
> Directed by: James Mangold
> Streaming on: Amazon Freevee
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21. Charade (1963)
> IMDb user rating: 7.9/10 (72,875 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 92% (42,943 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 94% (50 reviews)
> Directed by: Stanley Donen
> Streaming on: Pluto TV, Amazon Freevee, Vudu
20. American History X (1998)
> IMDb user rating: 8.5/10 (1,067,616 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 96% (479,979 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 83% (87 reviews)
> Directed by: Tony Kaye
> Streaming on: Tubi
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19. The Peanut Butter Falcon (2019)
> IMDb user rating: 7.6/10 (82,141 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 96% (4,708 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 95% (220 reviews)
> Directed by: Tyler Nilson & Michael Schwartz
> Streaming on: Peacock
18. High Noon (1952)
> IMDb user rating: 8.0/10 (100,798 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 89% (25,494 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 97% (58 reviews)
> Directed by: Fred Zinnemann
> Streaming on: Pluto TV
17. The Iron Giant (1999)
> IMDb user rating: 8.0/10 (180,630 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 90% (204,968 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 96% (142 reviews)
> Directed by: Brad Bird
> Streaming on: Amazon Freevee
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16. The General (1926)
> IMDb user rating: 8.1/10 (86,816 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 92% (11,542 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 93% (59 reviews)
> Directed by: Clyde Bruckman & Buster Keaton
> Streaming on: Amazon Freevee
15. Notorious (1946)
> IMDb user rating: 8.0/10 (97,303 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 91% (35,835 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 96% (48 reviews)
> Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock
> Streaming on: Tubi
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14. Knives Out (2019)
> IMDb user rating: 7.9/10 (528,467 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 92% (33,859 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 97% (466 reviews)
> Directed by: Rian Johnson
> Streaming on: Amazon Freevee
13. His Girl Friday (1940)
> IMDb user rating: 7.9/10 (56,106 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 90% (24,333 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 99% (67 reviews)
> Directed by: Howard Hawks
> Streaming on: Tubi, Pluto TV, Plex, Amazon Freevee, Vudu
12. Short Term 12 (2013)
> IMDb user rating: 8.0/10 (85,013 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 92% (21,553 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 98% (174 reviews)
> Directed by: Destin Daniel Cretton
> Streaming on: Tubi, Pluto TV, Plex, Amazon Freevee, Peacock, Vudu
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11. Roman Holiday (1953)
> IMDb user rating: 8.0/10 (133,359 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 93% (63,537 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 97% (60 reviews)
> Directed by: William Wyler
> Streaming on: Pluto TV
10. The Killing (1956)
> IMDb user rating: 8.0/10 (85,754 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 92% (22,285 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 98% (42 reviews)
> Directed by: Stanley Kubrick
> Streaming on: Tubi, Pluto TV
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9. The Usual Suspects (1995)
> IMDb user rating: 8.5/10 (1,028,997 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 96% (435,145 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 88% (77 reviews)
> Directed by: Bryan Singer
> Streaming on: Pluto TV
8. Die Hard (1988)
> IMDb user rating: 8.2/10 (820,820 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 94% (574,298 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 94% (79 reviews)
> Directed by: John McTiernan
> Streaming on: Tubi
7. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
> IMDb user rating: 8.1/10 (60,985 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 93% (10,855 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 98% (91 reviews)
> Directed by: William Wyler
> Streaming on: Pluto TV
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6. The Princess Bride (1987)
> IMDb user rating: 8.1/10 (408,278 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 94% (527,843 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 97% (78 reviews)
> Directed by: Rob Reiner
> Streaming on: Amazon Freevee
5. Paths of Glory (1957)
> IMDb user rating: 8.4/10 (187,198 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 95% (35,412 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 95% (62 reviews)
> Directed by: Stanley Kubrick
> Streaming on: Tubi, Pluto TV
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4. The Gold Rush (1925)
> IMDb user rating: 8.2/10 (106,473 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 93% (20,591 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 100% (50 reviews)
> Directed by: Charles Chaplin
> Streaming on: Amazon Freevee
3. The Kid (1921)
> IMDb user rating: 8.3/10 (120,168 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 95% (15,470 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 100% (48 reviews)
> Directed by: Charles Chaplin
> Streaming on: Pluto TV, Amazon Freevee
2. Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
> IMDb user rating: 8.4/10 (116,454 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 95% (9,011 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 100% (33 reviews)
> Directed by: Billy Wilder
> Streaming on: Tubi, Pluto TV
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1. 12 Angry Men (1957)
> IMDb user rating: 9.0/10 (702,293 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 97% (105,515 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 100% (55 reviews)
> Directed by: Sidney Lumet
> Streaming on: Tubi, Pluto TV
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