News The 20 best movies on Tubi to watch in August 2024 The free streaming service carries tens of thousands of titles. By Kevin Jacobsen and Katie Rife Updated on August 5, 2024 07:03AM EDT Duane Jones in 'Night of the Living Dead'; Paprika in 'Paprika'; Cher in 'Moonstruck'. Photo: Everett Collection; Sony Pictures Entertainment; MGM/Courtesy Everett Although it doesn’t have the biggest star power as a brand, Tubi is one of the best streaming services out there in its own low-key, commercial-sponsored way. It’s free, for one, which is always a plus. But beyond that, Tubi’s selection is impressive: There are more than 50,000 titles in the streamer’s catalog, a number that puts other competitors like Netflix to shame. With that many films to browse through, decision fatigue can be overwhelming. Let Entertainment Weekly’s critics help you sort through the options with our list of the 20 best movies on Tubi right now. 01 of 20 Another Round (2020) Mads Mikkelsen in 'Another Round'. Henrik Ohsten/Samuel Goldwyn Films We’ve seen numerous movies explore male midlife crises, but this Oscar-winning dramedy from writer-director Thomas Vinterberg provides a fresh perspective. The Danish film follows four teacher friends who add flavor to their listless lives with an odd experiment: try to maintain a blood alcohol level of 0.05% at all times for maximum creativity and relaxation. While the colleagues commit to the same drinking schedule, the results vary as one of them develops a troubling addiction. EW’s critic calls Another Round “an intoxicated tale of midlife angst and catharsis,” anchored by Mads Mikkelsen in one of his best performances. —Kevin Jacobsen Where to watch Another Round: Tubi EW grade: B (read the review) Director: Thomas Vinterberg Cast: Mads Mikkelsen, Thomas Bo Larsen, Magnus Millang, Lars Ranthe Thomas Vinterberg on Another Round and convincing Mads Mikkelsen to dance 02 of 20 Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) Gary Oldman in 'Bram Stoker's Dracula'. Columbia Pictures/Fotos International/Getty The story of Dracula has been told countless times on the big and small screen, but rarely with such style as this '90s favorite. Directed with impeccable visual flair by Francis Ford Coppola, Bram Stoker's Dracula is not, in fact, an entirely faithful adaptation of Bram Stoker's story, but the changes made are fascinating nonetheless. Gary Oldman stars as the vampiric Count Dracula, who falls in love with his solicitor Jonathan Harker's (Keanu Reeves) fiancée, Mina (Winona Ryder). Deviating from the source material, Mina falls in love with Dracula in return; meanwhile, Professor Abraham Van Helsing (Anthony Hopkins) is called upon to help fight the increasingly powerful Dracula. "There’s nothing remotely old-fashioned about Coppola's movie," writes EW's critic. "His Dracula is less a filmed novel than an explosion of lava-hot imagery." —K.J. Where to watch Bram Stoker's Dracula: Tubi EW grade: B– (read the review) Director: Francis Ford Coppola Cast: Gary Oldman, Winona Ryder, Anthony Hopkins, Keanu Reeves Francis Ford Coppola remembers Dracula, firing his special effects crew, and Keanu Reeves' accent 03 of 20 Bringing Up Baby (1938) Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant in 'Bringing Up Baby'. Mary Evans/RKO RADIO PICTURES/Ronald Grant/Everett Collection Based on the initial response to Bringing Up Baby, few guessed that it would become the screwball classic it is today. Critics praised the zippy comedy, but audiences all but rejected it, making it a box office bomb. The film concerns the misadventures of paleontologist David (Cary Grant) and free-spirited heiress Susan (Katharine Hepburn), whom he meets the day before his wedding. Susan enlists him to help her transport a leopard to her farm, and things naturally become complicated when she falls in love with him. —K.J. Where to watch Bringing Up Baby: Tubi Director: Howard Hawks Cast: Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, Charles Ruggles, Barry Fitzgerald, May Robson, Walter Catlett, Fritz Feld 04 of 20 Eve's Bayou (1997) Lynn Whitfield and Debbi Morgan in 'Eve's Bayou'. Chris Halcermanas-Benge / Trimark Pictures / Courtesy Everett Kasi Lemmons' evocative directorial debut is a Southern gothic drama about family secrets and the trauma we carry. Ten-year-old Eve Batiste (Jurnee Smollett), a member of a well-to-do Louisiana family, is blessed with the gift of premonitions. One night, she catches her father cheating on her mother, putting a strain on their relationship as Eve struggles with how to proceed from there. Eve turns to the women in her community for guidance, leading to a fateful action that will change everyone's lives forever. Mysterious and moving, Eve's Bayou "covers a tremendous amount of emotional territory with the lightest and most graceful of steps," writes EW's critic. —K.J. Where to watch Eve's Bayou: Tubi EW grade: A– (read the review) Director: Kasi Lemmons Cast: Jurnee Smollett, Samuel L. Jackson, Lynn Whitfield, Debbi Morgan, Vondie Curtis-Hall, Branford Marsalis, Lisa Nicole Carson, Meagan Good, Diahann Carroll Eve's Bayou director Kasi Lemmons reveals her biggest influences 05 of 20 Heathers (1989) Winona Ryder, Kim Walker, Lisanne Falk, and Shannen Doherty in 'Heathers'. New World Pictures/courtesy Everett Collection The OG razor-sharp teen comedy, Heathers is the poisoned apple tree from which films like Clueless (1995), Jawbreaker (1999), and Mean Girls (2004) would later blossom. Winona Ryder stars as Veronica, one of the popular girls at a suburban high school where suicide has suddenly become the hottest new fad. Originally a box-office flop, this 1987 comedy has since become a cult classic. “To be honest, I have no clue how a satire as delightfully mean-spirited as Heathers ever got greenlit,” EW’s critic writes. “All I know is, [Lindsay] Lohan and [Emma] Stone should be thankful it did.” —Katie Rife Where to watch Heathers: Tubi EW grade: B+ (read the review) Director: Michael Lehmann Cast: Winona Ryder, Christian Slater, Shannen Doherty Heathers: An oral history 06 of 20 Klute (1971) Jane Fonda in 'Klute'. Courtesy Everett Collection This absorbing psychological thriller brilliantly evokes the paranoia of 1970s America. Donald Sutherland plays John Klute, a private detective hired to solve the disappearance of an executive. His only lead is Bree Daniels (Jane Fonda), a high-priced sex worker who has been receiving obscene phone calls and letters. Klute and Bree develop a complex relationship that becomes fraught when they fear she may be targeted next. Tense and nervy, Klute is a fascinating time capsule that also serves as a marvelous showcase for Fonda, who won her first Best Actress Oscar for the role. —K.J. Where to watch Klute: Tubi Director: Alan J. Pakula Cast: Jane Fonda, Donald Sutherland, Charles Cioffi, Nathan George, Dorothy Tristan, Roy Scheider, Rita Gam All the way to the top: Why a trilogy of 1970s paranoid thrillers still resonates 50 years later 07 of 20 Memento (2001) Guy Pearce in 'Memento'. Danny Rothenberg/Newmarket Oscar-winning director Christopher Nolan burst onto the scene with his intricate, intellectual style already fully developed in Memento, his second feature film. Guy Pearce stars as Leonard, a broken man out for revenge for the murder of his wife — a mission that’s made more difficult by the fact that he has an untreatable condition that resets his short-term memory every 15 minutes. “Memento has a spooky repetitive urgency that takes on the clarity of a dream,” writes EW’s critic. “It’s like an Oliver Sacks case study played as malevolent film noir.” —K.R. Where to watch Memento: Tubi EW grade: A (read the review) Director: Christopher Nolan Cast: Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano EW's guide to Memento's biggest head-scratchers 08 of 20 Moonstruck (1987) Cher in 'Moonstruck'. MGM/courtesy Everett Collection Cher won the Best Actress Oscar for her role as an Italian American woman torn between a fiancé she likes but doesn’t love and a passionate affair with her soon-to-be brother-in-law. Nicolas Cage costars in this romantic classic as the inconvenient sibling in question, a baker missing a hand from an industrial accident who woos Cher’s character with puppy-dog charm. The writing and acting in the film are both top-notch, making for a magical movie-watching experience. —K.R. Where to watch Moonstruck: Tubi EW grade: A (read the review) Director: Norman Jewison Cast: Cher, Nicolas Cage, Vincent Gardenia, Olympia Dukakis, Danny Aiello Amy Poehler, Seth Meyers joke Cher and Nicolas Cage had 'zero chemistry' in Moonstruck 09 of 20 The Night of the Hunter (1955) Robert Mitchum in 'The Night of the Hunter'. Courtesy Everett Collection This disturbing thriller classic follows the exploits of Harry Powell (Robert Mitchum), a serial killer posing as a preacher. After learning about a brother and sister who have inherited a large cash sum, he methodically woos their widowed mother and does everything in his power to obtain the money. Oscar-winning actor Charles Laughton’s lone directorial venture, The Night of the Hunter is a masterful film noir and an unsettling descent into darkness that was decades ahead of its time. —K.J. Where to watch The Night of the Hunter: Tubi Director: Charles Laughton Cast: Robert Mitchum, Shelley Winters, Lillian Gish 10 of 20 Night of the Living Dead (1968) Duane Jones in 'Night of the Living Dead'. Courtesy Everett Collection We have Night of the Living Dead to thank for our modern idea of zombies and the many tropes attached to the subgenre. Legendary director George Romero was inspired by the 1954 novel I Am Legend for this independent horror classic, which centers the action on a farmhouse overrun by ravenous, undead “ghouls.” The film’s allusions to then-current events (as EW’s critic writes, “flesh-eating zombies as a Vietnam-era metaphor for America devouring itself”) just make it all the more resonant. —K.J. Where to watch Night of the Living Dead: Tubi EW grade: A+ (read the review) Director: George Romero Cast: Duane Jones, Judith O'Dea, Karl Hardman, Marilyn Eastman, Judith Ridley, Keith Wayne, Kyra Schon How the classic zombie movie Night of the Living Dead refuses to die 11 of 20 Paprika (2006) 'Paprika'. Sony Pictures Entertainment/Youtube This dizzying mind-bender from Satoshi Kon pushes past the limits of what animation can be. Dr. Atsuko Chiba is a psychiatrist who utilizes innovative technology to enter people’s dreams via her colorful alter ego, Paprika. After the device is stolen, Atsuko/Paprika tries to find the person responsible as the line between dreams and the real world begins to blur. To enjoy Paprika is to give yourself over to its surrealistic logic rather than try to puzzle it out. —K.J. Where to watch Paprika: Tubi EW grade: A– (read the review) Director: Satoshi Kon Cast: Megumi Hayashibara, Tōru Emori, Katsunosuke Hori, Tōru Furuya, Akio Ōtsuka, Kōichi Yamadera, Hideyuki Tanaka 12 of 20 Rashomon (1950) Masayuki Mori and Machiko Kyo in 'Rashomon'. Courtesy Everett Collection A film so influential it spawned a namesake cinematic technique, Rashomon centers on the unreliability of human perception and ego. The death of a samurai in the woods leads to multiple contradictory accounts from those involved. A bandit — the No. 1 suspect — says he killed the samurai in a duel. The samurai’s wife claims she fainted during the encounter and awoke to find him dead, but a medium communicates an entirely different story from the perspective of the dead samurai. It’s unclear where the truth lies, and master director Akira Kurosawa expertly delivers an engaging mystery that makes the audience an active participant. —K.J. Where to watch Rashomon: Tubi Director: Akira Kurosawa Cast: Toshiro Mifune, Machiko Kyō, Masayuki Mori, Takashi Shimura, Minoru Chiaki Akira Kurosawa's seven magnificent films 13 of 20 Secretary (2002) Maggie Gyllenhaal in 'Secretary'. Mary Evans/LION'S GATE FILMS/Ronald Grant/Everett Collection This BDSM-themed rom-com stars Maggie Gyllenhaal as Lee, an emotionally unbalanced young woman who finds her purpose when she takes a job as a secretary for Mr. Grey (James Spader), a strict and demanding attorney. What starts as sexual tension soon turns into an elaborate, kinky roleplaying game that consumes both boss and assistant. Could true love be far behind? —K.R. Where to watch Secretary: Tubi EW grade: A (read the review) Director: Steven Shainberg Cast: James Spader, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jeremy Davies, Patrick Bauchau, Stephen McHattie, Lesley Ann Warren Maggie Gyllenhaal talks on-screen sexuality and movies that change the world 14 of 20 Short Term 12 (2013) Brie Larson and LaKeith Stanfield in 'Short Term 12'. Cinedigm/courtesy Everett Collection Destin Daniel Cretton’s acclaimed indie drama is among the most significant launching pads for future 21st-century movie stars. The film, about the residents and staff of a group home for troubled teenagers, marked the feature debuts of LaKeith Stanfield (Sorry to Bother You) and Stephanie Beatriz (Brooklyn Nine-Nine), as well as early roles for Kaitlyn Dever (Booksmart) and Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody, Mr. Robot). It was also the first lead movie role for future Captain Marvel Brie Larson, who reunited with the director in a mid-credits scene in 2021’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. —K.R. Where to watch Short Term 12: Tubi EW grade: A (read the review) Director: Destin Daniel Cretton Cast: Brie Larson, John Gallagher Jr., Kaitlyn Dever, Rami Malek, LaKeith Stanfield, Kevin Hernandez, Melora Walters, Stephanie Beatriz After Captain Marvel and Bohemian Rhapsody, it's time to revisit Short Term 12 15 of 20 Snowpiercer (2014) Chris Evans, Tilda Swinton, and Octavia Spencer in 'Snowpiercer'. Weinstein Company/Courtesy Everett Collection Adapted from the French graphic novel Le Transperceneige by Jacques Lob, Snowpiercer tells the high-stakes story of a self-sustaining train circling the planet in the wake of a climate disaster that ushered in a new Ice Age. The passengers are segregated according to class, which leads to a revolt as those at the tail-end attempt to make their way to the front of the train to confront those in charge. Featuring the kinds of memorable visuals, thrilling plot twists, and cultural commentary we've come to expect from director Bong Joon Ho, Snowpiercer is one of the most audacious sci-fi action films of the modern age. As EW's critic writes, "It leaves you with the all too rare sensation that you've just witnessed something you've never seen before… and need to see again and again." —K.J. Where to watch Snowpiercer: Tubi EW grade: A (read the review) Director: Bong Joon Ho Cast: Chris Evans, Song Kang-ho, Tilda Swinton, Jamie Bell, Octavia Spencer, Ewen Bremner, Go Ah-sung, John Hurt, Ed Harris Everything you need to know about Snowpiercer 16 of 20 Tickled (2016) David Farrier, Richard Ivey, and a tickle subject in 'Tickled'. Magnolia Pictures Lots of documentaries describe themselves as “stranger than fiction,” but Tickled makes them all look downright tame. New Zealand journalist David Farrier serves as the deadpan narrator of this bizarre tale, which starts as a quirky human-interest story about “competitive endurance tickling” before descending into an online conspiracy headed by a sinister figure who’s much more dangerous than one would ever expect the head of a tickling racket to be. —K.R. Where to watch Tickled: Tubi EW grade: A– (read the review) Directors: David Farrier and Dylan Reeve 17 of 20 Train to Busan (2016) Gong Yoo in 'Train to Busan'. From Parasite to Squid Game, South Korean entertainment is making waves across the globe, and the high-voltage thrills of Train to Busan are among the best the country has to offer. Set on a high-speed locomotive during a zombie outbreak, the film speeds forward like, well, a runaway train, blending equal parts intense post-apocalyptic horror, exhilarating action, and engaging family melodrama. Between its sequels, prequels, and a planned American remake, its status as a modern horror classic is set. —K.R. Where to watch Train to Busan: Tubi EW grade: B+ (read the review) Director: Yeon Sang-ho Cast: Gong Yoo, Jung Yu-mi, Ma Dong-seok, Kim Su-an, Choi Woo-shik, Ahn So-hee, Kim Eui-sung 18 of 20 The Visitor (2007) Richard Jenkins and Haaz Sleiman in 'The Visitor'. Overture Films/courtesy Everett Collection Richard Jenkins gives the performance of a lifetime in this small, unassuming drama as an economics professor who discovers an immigrant couple (Haaz Sleiman and Danai Gurira) squatting in his little-used NYC apartment. Rather than evicting them, he befriends them, bearing witness to the harsh inequalities of post-9/11 America when one of them is arrested and detained on immigration charges. What follows is a touching drama anchored by its leading man, whom EW’s critic describes as “an artist who inhabits, rather than visits, the characters he plays.” —K.R. Where to watch The Visitor: Tubi EW grade: B+ (read the review) Director: Tom McCarthy Cast: Richard Jenkins, Hiam Abbass, Haaz Sleiman, Danai Gurira Richard Jenkins: Entertainer of the year 19 of 20 Whale Rider (2003) Keisha Castle-Hughes in 'Whale Rider'. Newmarket Films A tween Māori girl tries to prove her destiny as her tribe's leader in this inspiring indie drama. Paikea (Keisha Castle-Hughes in her film debut) is a 12-year-old who faces sexist traditions within her tribe, as elders believe only a male descendant of their beloved ancestor can take up the mantle of Chief. Over and over again, Paikea proves herself to be the most worthy, particularly when she demonstrates her innate connection to the local whales. Sensitively directed by Niki Caro, Whale Rider is a fascinating look at customs and traditions led by Castle-Hughes in a remarkably lived-in performance that earned her an Oscar nomination. —K.J. Where to watch Whale Rider: Tubi EW grade: N/A (read the review) Director: Niki Caro Cast: Keisha Castle-Hughes, Rawiri Paratene, Vicky Haughton, Cliff Curtis Keisha Castle-Hughes had a memorable 2004 Oscars moment 20 of 20 What's Up, Doc? (1972) Barbra Streisand and Ryan O'Neal in 'What's Up, Doc?'. Courtesy Everett Collection Peter Bogdanovich evoked the screwball comedies of the Golden Age of Hollywood with this farcical delight. Ryan O'Neal stars as a frequently befuddled musicologist who heads west with his nagging fiancée, Eunice (Madeline Kahn, hilarious in her film debut) for a potential research grant. At the hotel, he meets Judy (Barbra Streisand), an agent of chaos who takes a liking to him. Several switched suitcases and hilarious set pieces later, they all eventually find themselves on a high-speed chase through the streets of San Francisco. With a plot that grows more absurd with each passing scene, plus committed performances from O’Neal and Streisand at their comedic best, What’s Up, Doc? is a total gem. —K.J. Where to watch What’s Up, Doc?: Tubi EW grade: A (read the review) Director: Peter Bogdanovich Cast: Barbra Streisand, Ryan O'Neal, Kenneth Mars, Austin Pendleton, Sorrell Booke, Michael Murphy, Madeline Kahn Why What's Up, Doc? is Ryan O'Neal's best movie