3 best free movies on YouTube right now

A person watching YouTube on a television with popcorn
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Settle in and claim your spot on the couch — movie night doesn't require a subscription anymore. If you haven't poked around lately, YouTube is quietly one of the best places to stream full movies for free, and you don't need YouTube Premium to do it. Just hit play, survive a few ads and you're in.

It's also a lot more expansive than people assume. The free selection spans popular studio titles, throwback favorites, niche genre picks and documentaries — and the lineup rotates regularly, so there's always a reason to check back.

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'Mallrats'

Mallrats | Official Trailer | 1995 - YouTube Mallrats | Official Trailer | 1995 - YouTube
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This cult Kevin Smith comedy follows best friends T.S. Quint (Jeremy London) and Brodie Bruce (Jason Lee), whose lives unravel in the span of a single day — so naturally, they do what any reasonable person would: head to the mall. Food courts, comic shops, and a rotating cast of miscreants await as they hatch increasingly desperate plans to win back their girlfriends. Along the way, they hang with slackers Jay and Silent Bob (Jason Mewes and Smith), terrorize a dating show host, and somehow end up meeting Stan Lee. It's peak '90s Smith — lo-fi, loud, and deeply funny. If you haven't seen it, it's completely free on YouTube, so you're out of excuses.

Watch on YouTube

'Coneheads'

This big-screen expansion of the beloved SNL sketch follows cone-headed aliens Beldar and Prymaat (Dan Aykroyd and Jane Curtin) after they crash-land on Earth and face an uncomfortable truth: They're stuck here. So they do the only reasonable thing — blend in. They settle in New Jersey, raise their daughter Connie (Michelle Burke), and maintain a surprisingly functional suburban life, despite being, you know, aliens with cone heads. The catch is that the government hasn't stopped looking for them, and their cover can only hold so long. What starts as a survival strategy slowly becomes something more complicated — a life they didn't plan on, and might not want to leave.

Watch on YouTube

'True Grit'

True Grit - Official Trailer - YouTube True Grit - Official Trailer - YouTube
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When her father is murdered, teenage farm girl Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld) doesn't wait around for someone else to handle it. She hires Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges), a U.S. marshal of questionable sobriety but undeniable results, to track down the killer, Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin). Texas Ranger LaBoeuf (Matt Damon) joins the ride with his own score to settle, and the unlikely trio heads into rough country to find Chaney and collect what's owed. It's a Western coming-of-age story, which sounds like an odd combination until you watch Steinfeld command every scene she's in.

Watch on YouTube


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Brittany Vincent has been covering video games and tech for over 13 years for publications including Tom's Guide, MTV, Rolling Stone, CNN, Popular Science, Playboy, IGN, GamesRadar, Polygon, Kotaku, Maxim, and more. She's also appeared as a panelist at video game conventions like PAX East and PAX West and has coordinated social media for companies like CNET. When she's not writing or gaming, she's looking for the next great visual novel in the vein of Saya no Uta. You can follow her on Twitter @MolotovCupcake.

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