The best free streaming services can’t compete with Netflix, Prime Video and Max when it comes to making headlines new movies and TV shows, but they also offer a surprisingly large selection of older titles for you to enjoy.
Last week overview of the best free movies to stream included Blackberry, Margin callAnd 500 days of summerand this week’s edition is just as varied. Below, I’ve highlighted five of the best free movies to stream over the next few days on Tubi, Pluto TV, Amazon Freevee, and other free streaming services.
Tropical Thunder (Pluto TV)
Release date: September 2008
RT score: 82%
Length: 107 minutes
Director: Ben Stiller
Main cast: Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr., Tom Cruise
Tropical Thunder feels like the kind of movie that just wouldn’t be made in 2024. This star-studded ’00s comedy follows a group of veteran actors who, while filming a new Vietnam War movie, find themselves embroiled in a real-life conflict with native Southeast Asians (think Galaxy Quest with jungles and helicopters).
Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr., Matthew McConaughey and Tom Cruise (yes, Tom Cruise) are among the film’s all-star cast, with Stiller directing. You’ll find Tropical Thunder available to stream for free on Pluto TV.
The Hunt (Tubi, Kanopy, The Roku Channel)
Release date: May 2012
RT score: 92%
Length: 115 minutes
Director: Thomas Winterberg
Main cast: Mads Mikkelsen, Thomas Bo Larsen, Annika Wedderkopp, Lasse Fogelstrøm
The first of many collaborations between Danish film legends Mads Mikkelsen and Thomas Vinterberg, The hunt – now streaming for free on Tubi, Kanopy and The Roku Channel – is among the best foreign films of the past 20 years.
Set in a small Danish village in the run-up to Christmas, the film follows the plight of a divorced kindergarten teacher, Lucas (Mikkelsen), who falls prey to mass hysteria after he is wrongly accused of sexually abusing a young girl in his class. That sounds bleak, of course – and The hunt is not exactly a cheerful affair, but this small-budget film is still interesting to watch.
Zodiac (Hoopla, Pluto TV – leaving soon)
Release date: January 2009
RT score: 90%
Length: 157 minutes
Director: David Fincher
Main cast: Jsuch as Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, Robert Downey Jr., Brian Cox
Long legs may have dominated the horror movie scene in recent months, but Oz Perkins’ atmospheric murder mystery takes inspiration from David Fincher’s filmography in more than a few ways, including: Zodiac.
Inspired by true events, this thriller chronicles the manhunt for the Zodiac Killer, a notorious (and possibly still at large) serial killer who used letters, codes and crime scene evidence to taunt investigators in the San Francisco Bay Area in the late 1960s. Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo and Robert Downey Jr. all star. Zodiacwhich is a great addition to Fincher’s best film, Seven.
3:10 to Yuma (Tubi – leaving soon)
Release date: August 2007
RT score: 89%
Length: 122 minutes
Director: James Mangold
Main cast: Russell Crowe, Christian Bale, Logan Lerman, Ben Foster
For some reason James Mangold 3:10 to Yuma was my favorite Sunday afternoon movie when I was a kid. This star-studded remake of the 1957 Western of the same name follows a down-on-his-luck rancher (Bale) who agrees to help law enforcement officers escort a notorious outlaw (Crowe) to a train bound for prison.
Director James Mangold has since directed several more commercially successful films (Logan And Ford vs Ferrari among them), but 3:10 to Yuma remains for me one of his most accomplished and rewatchable films. It is now streaming for free on Tubi, but will disappear soon, so be quick if you want to see Russell Crowe in villainous cowboy mode.
Submarine (Amazon Freevee)
Release date: September 2010
RT score: 88%
Length: 97 minutes
Director: Richard Ayoade
Main cast: Craig Roberts, Yasmin Paige, Sally Hawkins, Noah Taylor
Fancy something short and sweet this week? Look no further than Richard Ayoade’s charming 2010 indie flick Submarinewhich is now streaming on Amazon Freevee.
This coming-of-age romance film stars Noah Taylor as Oliver Tate, an unpopular 15-year-old boy in rural Wales who is torn between winning the affections of his charismatic classmate Jordana (Yasmin Paige) and keeping his mother (Sally Hawkins) from succumbing to her spiritual ex-lover Graham (Paddy Considine). Like 3:10 to Yuma, Submarine is leaving its free streaming service soon, so start watching ASAP.
For more free streaming coverage, check out our recent roundups of the five films rated over 90% on Rotten Tomatoes on Plex, the five films rated over 90% on Rotten Tomatoes on Pluto TV, and the three films on Amazon Freevee rated over 80% on Rotten Tomatoes.