For example, I asked Yidio to find me free animation movies released since 2020 and to sort the list by IMDb rating. The top several results provided links to watch those films on Tubi, Roku, Pluto TV, and other free streaming sites. Flicks are segmented into genres that are more unique than the standard ones, such as Out for Revenge and Medieval Action.
Vudu
Kanopy does a great job of providing useful categories to look through. There's Short Film, History - Ancient, LGBTQ Cinema, War & Action, Sociology, Performing Arts, Human Rights, Everyday Health, and K-12 Lessons. This isn't a perfect service, but it works great nearly every time I use it. Pluto TV is the closest thing I've found to free cable TV.
The Roku Channel
Providing free movies and shows, Tubi is another fantastic service for legal movie streams. Here, you'll be able to view newer movies from as recent as 2022, as well as older favorites. But for those with patience, YouTube is a treasure trove of free, legal movies to stream. No matter what device you choose, you can pick up where you left off with ease. On the home page are handy categories I have yet to find on another website with free movies. They often change, but some that I've seen recently include End of Summer Laughs, Dinosaurs & Dragons, Leading Men, Retro Action Movies, and Music on the Small Screen.
Filmzie
Instead, you'll mostly see movies dating back anywhere from a few months to many years. Additionally, some sites include original productions and amateur films. There's also an entirely separate section for kid movies at Kanopy. My son's old enough now to watch more mature movies, but if he weren't, I'd be thrilled with this. There are what to stream this weekend like Story Time and Read-Along Storybooks.
Sites often subsidize their free streaming movies offerings by including advertising along with the films. Sometimes there will be periodic commercial breaks throughout the movie. And in the case of TV series, the experience is much like watching an episode on traditional broadcast TV. The ads allow the streaming platform to make money without charging the viewer a subscription fee. Many viewers find that it's worth a few commercials to avoid paying a subscription or rental fee.
Yidio doesn't host any content, but it has a robust search feature that finds where you can watch films and shows for free online. Here's everything you need to know on how to download movies to watch offline, for free and legally. With either of those, you can watch hundreds of free movies. These include a lot of documentaries and international films, so this is a great fit for those who want something a little different. Still, Yidio makes finding free movie streams far easier than checking individual sites manually. You can filter by rating, genre, and more to find something to watch.
While it's available for Roku streaming devices via an app, you can watch on the web too. With a few clicks, you can stream Roku Originals, popular TV shows, and new-arrival movies. Once you do, you can use Hoopla to borrow movies and TV shows, plus audiobooks and ebooks, from your library's collection. The service is available on the web as well as apps for all your devices and TV streaming boxes.
That, and both TV shows and movies are mixed into the same lists and said lists must be browsed horizontally in a carousel-like menu. You might already know about Roku's free movies if you have a Roku TV or streaming device. But even if you don't, you can still watch all the same free movies, TV shows, and live TV from a computer, phone, or tablet.
Peacock, a new service from NBCUniversal, offers hundreds of movies and thousands of TV episodes from the media giant's catalog. Crackle offers an impressive catalog of theatrical movies. And it also offers a library of original series and movies you can only watch on the Crackle platform.