The best free movies on YouTube right now (January 2025) (2025)

The new year means a more movies have been added to YouTube’s library. Unlike most streaming services, YouTube does not charge customers to watch movies. These films are ad-supported and can be watched for free.

Don’t be skeptical about YouTube’s selection. There are quality movies ready to stream with the click of a button. For example, Prometheusis Ridley Scott’s excellent prequel to Alien. A high-quality movie like Prometheusshould cost money to rent, but not on YouTube. If you’re looking for more movies to watch, scroll below for our recommendations.

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. If you’re willing to pay, read these guides on the best new movies to stream and the best movies on Netflix.

Recently added to YouTube

  • The best free movies on YouTube right now (January 2025) (1)

    Prometheus

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  • The best free movies on YouTube right now (January 2025) (2)

    The Hunt for Red October

    pg-131990

  • The best free movies on YouTube right now (January 2025) (3)

    Jurassic World

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Prometheus (2012)

The best free movies on YouTube right now (January 2025) (4)

The best free movies on YouTube right now (January 2025) (5)64%

The best free movies on YouTube right now (January 2025) (6)7.0/10

r

124m

Genre

Science Fiction, Adventure, Mystery

Stars

Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron

Directed by

Ridley Scott

Watch on YouTube

After a 30-year absence, Ridley Scott returned to the franchise he created with an Alien prequel, Prometheus. In the year 2089, archaeologistsElizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace)and Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green) believe humanity’s creators, “The Engineers,” are inviting them to a distant moon to discover the origin of life.

Peter Weyland (Guy Pearce) of the Weyland Corporation commissions an expedition to this moon to meet the Engineers and discover the secret to immortality. Once the crew reaches their destination, they quickly learn that the Engineers aren’t so friendly. To make matters worse, terrifying alien creatures are on the hunt, with the unsuspecting crew as their targets.

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The Hunt for Red October (1990)

The best free movies on YouTube right now (January 2025) (7)

The best free movies on YouTube right now (January 2025) (8)7.5/10

pg-13

135m

Genre

Action, Adventure, Thriller

Stars

Sean Connery, Alec Baldwin, Scott Glenn

Directed by

John McTiernan

Watch on YouTube

The first live-action adaptation of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan series came in 1990’s The Hunt for Red October. At the height of the Cold War, Soviet captain Marko Ramius (Sean Connery) controls the Red October,a new ballistic missile submarine. Ramius plans to defect to the U.S. However, the American government is unaware of Ramius’ plans, believing he wants to attack the U.S.

CIA agent Jack Ryan (Alec Baldwin) deduces that Ramius wants to defect, but he can’t prove it yet. With the U.S. and Russia on the brink of war, Ryan races to confirm his theory and save the world from nuclear war.

Jurassic World (2015)

The best free movies on YouTube right now (January 2025) (9)

The best free movies on YouTube right now (January 2025) (10)59%

The best free movies on YouTube right now (January 2025) (11)6.9/10

pg-13

124m

Genre

Action, Adventure, Science Fiction, Thriller

Stars

Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Irrfan Khan

Directed by

Colin Trevorrow

Watch on YouTube

After three films, the Jurassic Park series experienced a reboot in 2015 with Jurassic World. After years of trying to master cloning dinosaurs, John Hammond’s dream comes to fruition with Jurassic World, a new theme park on Isla Nublar. The park’s top attraction is the Indominus rex, a transgenic dinosaur more powerful than a tyrannosaurus.

LikeJurassic Park, life finds a way, as this Indominus rex escapes from captivity and wreaks havoc on the island. More dinosaurs are freed, leading to widespread panic and chaos. Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard), Jurassic World’s operations manager, and Owen Grady (Chris Pratt), a dinosaur handler, are humanity’s only hope in keeping the cloned creatures from becoming the dominant species on the island.

Point Break (1991)

The best free movies on YouTube right now (January 2025) (12)

The best free movies on YouTube right now (January 2025) (13)59%

The best free movies on YouTube right now (January 2025) (14)7.3/10

r

122m

Genre

Action, Thriller, Crime

Stars

Keanu Reeves, Patrick Swayze, Lori Petty

Directed by

Kathryn Bigelow

Watch on YouTube

Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze square off in Kathryn Bigelow’s excellent action thriller, Point Break. Former college quarterback Johnny Utah (Reeves) is a hot-shot FBI agent who teams with veteran agent Angelo Pappas (Gary Busey) to catch a group of bank robbers known as the “Ex-Presidents.” The duo hypothesizes that the robbers are surfers, so Utah goes undercover within the beach community, searching for more information.

While posing as a surfer, Utah meets Bodhi (Swayze), the eccentric leader of a group of surfers. As Utah spends more time with the surfers, he develops a genuine bond with the free-spirited Bodhi. However, this complicates Utah’s mission, blurring the lines between his new friends and his job.

I Kill Giants (2018)

The best free movies on YouTube right now (January 2025) (15)

The best free movies on YouTube right now (January 2025) (16)74%

The best free movies on YouTube right now (January 2025) (17)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)

The best free movies on YouTube right now (January 2025) (18)

The best free movies on YouTube right now (January 2025) (19)68%

The best free movies on YouTube right now (January 2025) (20)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 best free movies on YouTube right now (January 2025) (21)

The best free movies on YouTube right now (January 2025) (22)68%

The best free movies on YouTube right now (January 2025) (23)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)

The best free movies on YouTube right now (January 2025) (24)

The best free movies on YouTube right now (January 2025) (25)89%

The best free movies on YouTube right now (January 2025) (26)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.

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The best free movies on YouTube right now (January 2025) (27)

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.

The best free movies on YouTube right now (January 2025) (28)

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.

The best free movies on YouTube right now (January 2025) (29)

Dan Girolamo

Entertainment Writer

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.

The best free movies on YouTube right now (January 2025) (2025)

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