The video-sharing giant offers far more than just schlocky direct-to-streaming titles.

The 10 best movies to stream for free on YouTube, from The Birdcage to Nosferatu

The video-sharing giant offers far more than just schlocky direct-to-streaming titles.

By Kevin Jacobsen

April 26, 2026 8:00 a.m. ET

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Robin Williams as Armand Goldman in 'The Birdcage'; Jackie Siegel in 'The Queen of Versailles'; Mads Mikkelsen as Martin in 'Another Round'. Credit:

Everett; Lauren Greenfield/Magnolia; Samuel Goldwyn Films

As more and more streamers continue to raise prices, some consumers are finding it difficult to justify paying for them. Hence, sites like YouTube are becoming a welcome alternative, offering a selection of high-quality films that can be streamed for free.

YouTube's vast supply movie offerings include Oscar-winning dramas like *Another Round* (2020) and *Ordinary People* (1980), fascinating documentaries like *The Queen of Versailles* (2013), and horror masterpieces like the original *Nosferatu* (1922). The only catch is that the movies come with ad breaks, a minor inconvenience when such titles come free of charge.

Ahead, find our recommendations for the 10 best movies streaming for free (with ads) on YouTube.

Another Round (2020)

Mads Mikkelsen as Martin in 'Another Round'. Samuel Goldwyn Films

A potent cocktail of comedy and tragedy, Thomas Vinterberg's *Another Round* takes place in modern-day Copenhagen as four dissatisfied teacher friends decide to embark on an experiment: maintain a state of boozy buzz to unlock their creative potential. Results are positive to start, with all four finding their moods raised and teaching methods more fruitful for their students. But things take an unfortunate turn as the friends decide to take their alcohol consumption to the next level.**** Featuring a stunning lead performance by Mads Mikkelsen, the Danish film received widespread critical acclaim for its depiction of men of a certain age as they try to quell their midlife crises. Vinterberg received a Best Director Oscar nomination in 2021 for the film, which won the award for Best International Feature.

**EW grade:** B

**Director:** Thomas Vinterberg

**Cast:** Mads Mikkelsen, Thomas Bo Larsen, Magnus Millang, Lars Ranthe

The Birdcage (1995)

Nathan Lane and Robin Williams as Albert and Armand Goldman in 'The Birdcage'. Everett Collection

This riotous English-language adaptation of the 1978 French classic *La Cage aux Folles* is a good old-fashioned farce with a modern sensibility.

The film centers on an out-and-proud gay couple, Armand (Robin Williams) and Albert (Nathan Lane), whose lives are turned upside down when Armand's adult son turns up and reveals he's engaged to a conservative politician's daughter. As Armand and Albert try to pass as straight upon meeting the politician and his wife, hijinks ensue.

"The beauty of *The Birdcage* is that its jokes and its message are one and the same," writes EW's critic. "These characters couldn’t change themselves if they tried. And only a fool would want them to."

**EW grade:** A–

**Director:** Mike Nichols

**Cast:** Robin Williams, Nathan Lane, Gene Hackman

Donnie Darko (2001)

Jake Gyllenhaal as Donnie Darko in 'Donnie Darko'.

Mary Evans/Pandora Cinema/Flower Films/Adam Fields Productions/GA/Ronald Grant/Courtesy Everett Collection

This culty sci-fi thriller is still evocative 25 years later. Jake Gyllenhaal, in one of his early breakout roles, stars as Donnie, an angsty teenager who sleepwalks outside his house, where he is met with a terrifying human-sized rabbit who informs him the world will end in 28 days. That night, a plane crashes into Donnie's house, after which he continues to see the sinister rabbit.

It's a concept that could've gone off the rails if not for Richard Kelly's deft direction. As EW's critic writes, "He swings big — with flair."

**Director:** Richard Kelly

**Cast:** Jake Gyllenhaal, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Drew Barrymore, Seth Rogen, Jena Malone

Ex Machina (2015)

Alicia Vikander as Ava in 'Ex Machina'.

The uneasy relationship between humans and artificial intelligence is more relevant now than ever, ensuring this absorbing sci-fi thriller only gets better with age.

Alex Garland's directorial debut follows a tech employee named Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson) who is chosen to stay for one week at company CEO Nathan Bateman's (Oscar Isaac) lavish estate. Nathan introduces Caleb to Ava (Alicia Vikander), a humanoid robot embedded with AI, with whom Caleb develops a close relationship. After Ava asks Caleb to help her escape, he must determine how to evade Nathan's watchful eye, but can he really trust Ava?

*Ex Machina* artfully blends its high-minded ambitions with a gripping narrative and mesmerizing performances.

**EW grade:** B

**Director:** Alex Garland

**Cast:** Domhnall Gleeson, Alicia Vikander, Oscar Isaac

Minari (2020)

Alan Kim as David Yi and Steven Yeun as Jacob Yi in 'Minari'.

Melissa Lukenbaugh/A24

"It grows anywhere, like weeds. So anyone can pick and eat it. Rich or poor, anyone can enjoy it and be healthy... Minari is wonderful, wonderful!" Grandmother Soon-ja (Yuh-Jung Youn, who won an Oscar for her performance) explains this to young David (Alan Kim) of the titular plant in Lee Isaac Chung's tender family drama. It proves an apt metaphor for the Yi family, Korean immigrants who are trying to get by in rural Arkansas.

David's parents, Jacob (Steven Yeun) and Monica (Han Ye-ri), often squabble over work and money, leaving David under the care of Soon-ja, who doesn't act the way he thinks a grandmother should.

Despite the harsh realities of their situation, *Minari*'s strength lies in the chemistry of the cast as the family faces obstacles both big and small.******EW grade:** A–

**Director:** Lee Isaac Chung

**Cast:** Steven Yeun, Han Ye-ri, Alan Kim, Noel Kate Cho, Yuh-Jung Youn

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Nosferatu (1922)

Max Schreck as Count Orlok in 'Nosferatu'.

ullstein bild/ullstein bild via Getty

With the 2024 release of Robert Eggers' *Nosferatu*, you no longer have an excuse to put off catching up on the horror-genre-defining original. An unauthorized German adaptation of Bram Stoker's *Dracula*, *Nosferatu*'s vision of the iconic vampire is Count Orlok (Max Schreck), who takes a special interest in his estate agent's wife, Ellen (Greta Schröder).

Filled with haunting imagery (particularly Count Orlok's appearance), the silent horror drama "conjures and then sustains, for its entire running time, the feeling of being a child, up late at night channel-surfing, and coming across a film that is so alarming, so out-of-this-world, you have to hope it was only a dream," writes EW's critic.

**Director:** F.W. Murnau

**Cast:** Max Schreck, Gustav von Wangenheim, Greta Schröder, Alexander Granach, Ruth Landshoff

Ordinary People (1980)

Judd Hirsch as Tyrone C. Berger and Timothy Hutton as Conrad Jarrett in 'Ordinary People'.

Paramount/Everett

What happens to a seemingly picture-perfect family in the wake of an unspeakable tragedy? Beth (Mary Tyler Moore) and Calvin (Donald Sutherland) Jarrett are forced to confront the harsh realities of trying to move on after the untimely death of their eldest son, while trying to reckon with their guilt-ridden younger son, Conrad (Timothy Hutton).

As Conrad enters therapy to try to work through his issues, Beth freezes him out, unable to grapple with what's happened, while Calvin desperately tries to bring them back together.

A devastating yet emotionally cathartic domestic drama, *Ordinary People* was universally acclaimed by critics in 1980 and won four Oscars, including Best Picture.

**Director:** Robert Redford

**Cast:** Timothy Hutton, Donald Sutherland, Mary Tyler Moore, Judd Hirsch

Paprika (2006)

Madhouse/Sony/Kobal/Shutterstock

This thought-provoking Japanese anime film from visionary director Satoshi Kon will weave into your subconscious.

The film centers on a psychologist who uses innovative dream technology to help her patients, using the alter ego Paprika. After the technology is stolen, the psychologist and her fellow scientists try to prevent catastrophic consequences.

Dizzying and dazzling all at once, *Paprika* finds Kon mixing strong visuals with trippy perspectives, resulting in a message of seeming forewarning.

**Director: **Satoshi Kon

**Cast: **Megumi Hayashibara, Tōru Emori, Katsunosuke Hori, Tōru Furuya, Akio Ōtsuka

The Piano Teacher (2001)

Benoît Magimel as Walter Klemmer and Isabelle Huppert as Erika Kohut in 'The Piano Teacher'.

Isabelle Huppert delivers one of her most fearless performances to date in this boundary-pushing psychological drama.

The French acting legend stars as a repressed piano teacher who enters into an affair with a student. Hoping to indulge in her sadomasochistic fantasies, she presents her desires to her new lover, which only complicates matters.

Mesmerizing and disturbing in equal measure, *The Piano Teacher* is an erotically charged character study that could only come from an audacious European director like Michael Haneke.

**Director:** Michael Haneke

**Cast:** Isabelle Huppert, Annie Girardot, Benoît Magimel

The Queen of Versailles (2013)

Jackie Siegel in 'The Queen of Versailles'. Everett Collection

In this riveting look at the lifestyles of the rich and famous, we follow David and Jackie Siegel, an obscenely wealthy couple raising their eight kids while building a mansion modeled after France's Palace of Versailles. But their American dream soon becomes a nightmare when the Great Recession of 2008 significantly impacts David's timeshare business, putting construction on indefinite hiatus and leaving the Siegels to contend with a new economic reality.

Described by EW as "a parable of the despair bred by overreach," *The Queen of Versailles* is a rise-and-fall story that continues to enthrall.

**EW grade:** A

**Director:** Lauren Greenfield

**Cast:** David Siegel, Jackie Siegel

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Source: “EW Movie”