30 Best Movies on Tubi
While other streaming services thrive on carefully curated and endlessly curated (i.e. limited) movie selections, Tubi is a little different: It feels like the Wild West, with everything from originals; to popular hits; to critically acclaimed favorites ; to the most basic, low-budget flicks you’ll find this side of an old blockbuster. In that spirit, here’s a sampling of some of the best stuff streaming on Tubi right now, and it’s a wide selection — the streamer won’t be tied to any one location. If you’re unfamiliar, Tubi is a free, ad-supported service, but overall I find the ads less obnoxious and less frequent than on other similar streamers.
Interstellar (2014)
Christopher Nolan’s stunning yet oddly plausible sci-fi epic sends Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, and Jessica Chastain on a quest through space and time to find a new home for humans in a near future in which we’ve made Earth uninhabitable. You can stream Interstellar here .
Colour Out of Space (2019)
Nicolas Cage is at his Nic Cage best in this H.P. Lovecraft adaptation about a family going mad. A beautiful, terrifying, completely unique sensory experience. You can stream Color Out of Space here .
Friday (1995)
An undeniable classic of the stoner comedy, Friday sees Ice Cube and Chris Tucker accidentally smoking the weed they were supposed to sell. Who hasn’t? The two slackers find themselves in debt or paying it back during a misadventure-filled Friday. You can stream Friday here .
Everything Everywhere and at Once (2022)
Michelle Yeoh and Ke Hui Kuan (along with Stephanie Hsu and Jamie Lee Curtis) steered Everything to Oscar glory a couple of years ago, with Yeoh playing the lead role of Evelyn Kuan Wang, a middle-aged immigrant who runs a laundromat with her husband. An IRS audit leads to a wildly outlandish and ultimately emotional journey through a multiverse of possibilities. You can stream Everything Everywhere here .
Dune (1984)
You’ve probably seen Denis Villeneuve’s recent adaptation, but you may be less familiar with director David Lynch’s twisted and gripping take. Kyle MacLachlan leads a stellar cast in a film that doesn’t quite achieve greatness, but still offers plenty of wild ideas, distinctive visuals, and Lynchian madness. You can stream Dune here .
Some Like It Hot (1959)
Tubi offers a better selection of classics than many other streamers, most of which have switched to a “newer is better” focus. Some Like It Hot stars Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis as a pair of jazz-era musicians who run afoul of a mob boss while deciding to escape by posing as members of an all-girl band (one that, oddly, includes Marilyn Monroe). Director Billy Wilder gets the farce just right, at the intersection of clever and silly. You can stream Some Like It Hot here .
Evil Bong (2006)
No social value, just a silly comedy horror movie about a bong that transports smokers to another planet where they are to be killed by exotic dancers. Tommy Chong stars in this film from Full Moon Features, purveyors of good cheap horror movies. You can stream Evil Bong here .
Ghost World (2001)
Enid (Thora Birch) and Rebecca (Scarlett Johansson) face high school graduation and falling in love with Steve Buscemi in Terry Zwigoff’s indie dark comedy. You can stream Ghost World here .
Donnie Darko (2001)
Jake Gyllenhaal stars in this haunting emo puzzler about a troubled teen who escapes disaster by sleepwalking. It’s an instant cult classic that all the cool kids were talking about back in the day. You can watch Donnie Darko (director’s cut) here , or the theatrical version here .
Hollywood Reshuffle (1987)
Robert Townsend directs himself as Bobby Taylor, a satire about the perils of navigating the Hollywood system for an actor who is simultaneously too black and not black enough for the studio bosses’ tastes. Through elaborate fantasy sequences and parodies of popular films, Townsend creates sharp and often extremely funny parodies that (sadly) still hold up. You can stream Hollywood Shuffle here .
Barbarian (2022)
One of the most controversial horror films of the last few years (I love it), The Barbarian stars Georgina Campbell as a woman who rents a house on Airbnb, only to have a man (Bill Skarsgård) show up claiming to have rented the house, too. He seems nice enough, so she lets him in—premise enough for a horror movie, but The Barbarian has twists you’ll never see coming. You can stream The Barbarian here .
Showgirls (1995)
Like most of Paul Verhoeven’s other films, his notoriously cheesy film can be viewed as either a dark satire or an unintentional camp. Either way, it’s incredibly fun, and while it quickly gained a reputation for being trashy, it’s far more watchable than many other films with better reviews. You can stream Showgirls here .
Rec (2007)
This Spanish import is a top-notch found footage film that follows a group of firefighters who respond to an emergency call and find themselves trapped inside a building in the middle of a creeping zombie infestation. This limited, specific geography is key to the film’s fast, efficient, and nerve-wracking effectiveness. You can stream Rec here .
Planet of the Apes (1968)
Astronaut Charlton Heston finds himself on an unknown ( wink wink ) planet in the distant future, where he quickly finds himself at the mercy of the world’s ape overlords. From a slightly silly premise comes this dark, disturbing, and timely fable. You can stream Planet of the Apes here .
Apartment (1960)
Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine star in this searing, bittersweet, but ultimately humane comedy. MacLaine’s Fran Kubelik is an elevator operator who has an affair with the big boss at an insurance company, while Lemmon’s Bud Baxter gets ahead by renting out his apartment to upper management for various extramarital affairs. The budding friendship between them puts both their careers at risk. You can stream The Apartment here .
Whale Rider (2002)
Pai is a 12-year-old Maori girl and a direct descendant of her tribe’s famous ancestor, Whale Rider, except traditionally women can’t be leaders. Star Keisha Castle-Hughes became the youngest ever Best Actress Oscar nominee for her frank, candid performance. You can stream Whale Rider here .
The Descent (2006)
Getting lost in these caves is scary enough, even before we discover we’re not alone. The ultimate in speleological terror. You can stream The Descent here .
Menace to Society II (1993)
A piercing and raw portrait of 1990s urban violence, the Hughes brothers’ film follows Cain Lawson (Tyrene Turner) and his friends as they struggle to make a better life amid crime and poverty, only to find themselves drawn deeper into crime and violence. The performances from all the actors are phenomenal. You can stream Menace II Society here .
Beauty Salon (2005)
This Barbershop spinoff follows widowed hairstylist Gina Norris, who starts a new life in Atlanta with her daughter and opens her own salon when her job doesn’t work out. Queen Latifah is as amazing as ever, and she’s joined by a great cast including Alfre Woodard, Della Reese, Alicia Silverstone, Andie MacDowell, Kevin Bacon, and Djimon Hounsou. You can stream Barbershop here .
Room 237 (2012)
This fascinating documentary explores, without judgment, the many (and often truly wild) theories and interpretations surrounding Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining . It’s probably not what you’re looking for if you want a bit of film analysis, but as an exploration of conspiracy thinking? You could do a lot worse. You can stream Room 237 here .
Horror (2016)
Damien Leone’s low-budget horror series has been quietly building itself into a nauseating empire, with the latest film a box office smash. In it, real-life clown Art from Hell stalks party girl Tara Hayes and her sister Victoria (Scaffidi) on Halloween night. You can stream The Terrifying here .
Return of the Living Dead (1985)
This punk horror comedy is both a knowing parody of zombie movies and an impressively gory thriller that moves the genre forward in its own right. Plus, it has a great death-rock soundtrack. You can stream Return of the Living Dead here .
Frankenhooker (1990)
A raunchy and silly, but surprisingly effective horror comedy, Frankenhooker stars former Penthouse favorite Patty Mullen as a Mary Shelley-esque monster filmed in the likeness of a medical student’s dead fiancée and assembled from sex workers. The styling and special effects are pretty good here. You can stream Frankenhooker here .
Ghost in the Shell (1995)
One of the best anime films of all time, at least when it comes to sci-fi and cyberpunk, Ghost in the Shell boasts impeccable style in addition to the thoughtfulness and complexity of its story. Major Motoko Kusanagi is a cyborg security agent hunting a mysterious hacker known only as the “Puppet Master” in the fast-approaching year 2029, a time when the rise of AI threatens even the idea of individual existence. You can stream Ghost in the Shell here .
Leather Boys (1964)
A classic of British kitchen sink realism, a 1960s movement that featured hyper-realistic portraits of, often angry, teenagers and young adults, The Leather Boys shows young couple Reggie and Dot growing increasingly distant from each other, while Reggie mostly just wants to hang out with his biker buddies. Among those friends is Pete, who seems to be developing an attraction to Reggie that goes beyond the typical biker bro. You can stream The Leather Boys here .
North by Northwest (1959)
One of Hitchcock’s best films (and that’s saying a lot), North by Northwest is a nearly non-stop thrill ride as Cary Grant’s Roger Thornhill is chased across the country by criminals who mistake him for someone else. It’s as funny as it is clever, and it’s nearly impossible to stop once you start watching. You can watch North by Northwest here .
Lars and the Real Girl (2007)
The sweetest, most adorable movie about a romance between a man and his lifelike love doll that you’re likely to encounter. You can stream Lars and the Real Girl here .
They Call Me Trinity (1970)
A classic Spaghetti Western, Trinity (which appropriately opens a trilogy) stars Terence Hill and Bud Spencer as brothers Trinity and Bambino, who help protect a Mormon settlement from bandits and land-grabbing Major (Farley Granger). It’s the rare comedy that emerged from Italy’s obsession with Westerns, and it’s a lot of fun. You can stream They Call Me Trinity here .
The Wizard (1978)
Long before Wicked reimagined (or at least reimagined) L. Frank Baum, the Broadway musical on which this film is based featured Dorothy Gale as a black schoolteacher from Harlem. The joyful film version is almost a who’s who of black talent from the 1970s: Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Nipsey Russell, Ted Ross, Mabel King, Theresa Merritt, Thelma Carpenter, Lena Horne, and Richard Pryor all play roles, while Quincy Jones, Luther Vandross, and Charlie Smalls contribute music. You can stream The Wiz here .
Cabaret (1972)
Liza Minnelli and Joel Grey star in this essential musical about the good times and extravagant style of Weimar Germany giving way to the rising tide of fascism. You can stream Cabaret here .