1. Keep checking the iPlayer, ITVX, etc
For smart TV and laptop watchers, arguably the first port of call should be the main on-demand services such as BBC iPlayer, ITVX, Channel 4 (formerly known as All 4), My5 and STV Player. Films sometimes come and go quite quickly, so it’s worth getting into the habit of checking regularly. At the time of writing, the iPlayer was offering Oscar winners The Theory of Everything, the Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga version of A Star Is Born, and Sound of Metal.
From 1 March, ITVX is showcasing a selection of Oscar-winning and nominated films, including No Country for Old Men, There Will Be Blood, Drive and Dogtooth (the latter an early film by the Poor Things director, Yorgos Lanthimos), plus all-time classics such as The Apartment, Vertigo and Rear Window.
These services typically require you to register and sign in to use them. And, of course, with all the above bar the iPlayer, there are adverts during the films, unless you opt to pay and see fewer ads or go ad-free.
2. Find new channels
Scroll through your TV’s main menu and you will probably find channels you have never watched or even heard of. For example, Amazon Freevee is a free, ad-supported streaming service boasting thousands of shows and movies, including A Dangerous Method, starring Keira Knightley, and Darren Aronofsky’s acclaimed drama Requiem for a Dream.
Plex is a free-with-ads service with an excellent range of old and new movies. It boasts a particularly good selection of foreign, arthouse and midnight movie gems, including Japanese classics by Akira Kurosawa, Yasujirō Ozu and Kenji Mizoguchi, several movies by the Italian horror maestro Dario Argento, and a stack of Bollywood films.
Other channels include the vintage movie specialist Talking Pictures TV, Great! Movies, LEGEND, Rakuten TV, Pluto TV and wedotv.
How and where to watch these services will vary, depending on your kit and your preference – it might be via Freeview, Sky or Virgin Media, or via an app on your TV or device, or via another platform. In most cases there is a website that spells this out.
3. Use free trials
Many of the streaming services offer free trials, so you could sign up, watch a lot of films and then cancel before you are rolled over into a paid-for subscription (read the terms and conditions very carefully to make sure you are not caught out).
Apple TV+ is running a free seven-day trial, giving you the chance to watch Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon, which has been nominated for 10 Oscars. Its other movies include the 2021 film Coda, winner of three Oscars including Best Picture.
Amazon Prime has a 30-day free trial, allowing you to check out new movies such as Saltburn and Foe, a sci-fi drama starring Paul Mescal and Saoirse Ronan. Students can get six months’ free membership when signing up to Prime Student.
Other services offering seven-day free trials include Paramount+ (its movies include the Tom Cruise blockbuster Top Gun: Maverick and Babylon, starring Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie), Lionsgate+, StudioCanal Presents, MGM, and four that are particularly good for arthouse fare and classics: BFI Player, Curzon, Mubi and the eastern Europe specialist Klassiki.
Netflix does not currently offer free trials.
4. Beware of illegal sites
“Be careful when you search online – many websites will send you to dubious destinations that not only stream illegal content but also slam you with spammy warnings and pop-up windows,” says Or Goren at the website Cord Busters. He says that in general, if it looks too good to be true – for example, the most recent Hollywood hits being offered “for free” – then “there’s something fishy”.
Last autumn Guardian Money highlighted how people in the UK who illegally stream movies, sport and TV shows online were being warned they risked having their bank accounts emptied or their identities stolen. The BeStreamWise campaign also points out that people who watch pirated content can potentially be prosecuted.
5. Scan listings
If you want to watch films for free on the big screen, event listings websites can help. For example, Eventbrite lists free screenings around the country, which often take place at libraries and community spaces.
In north London, Wood Green library is showing Citizen Kane on 15 February, The Book Thief on 22 February and Vertigo on 29 February, while Laxton Victory Hall in Laxton, East Yorkshire, has a “romcom movie night” (film TBC) on 23 FebruaryThe Plaza cinema in the Liverpool suburb of Waterloo also runs community screenings, with the next ones scheduled for 6 February and 5 March.
Museums and galleries sometimes host free film screenings. BFI Southbank in London has the Mediatheque, where you can explore the riches of the British Film Institute’s national archive for free, including classics such as Brief Encounter and Withnail and I.
Some cinemas organise free screenings for certain groups. For example, BFI Southbank has screenings that are free for the over-60s. The next ones are the Oscar-nominated 2016 romantic drama Loving on 5 February and the 1992 drama Blue Black Permanent on 1 March.
6. Join a club
A number of services discreetly offer free and cheap tickets to movies and other events, often at short notice – it’s typically about filling empty seats and building a buzz. One of the best for movies is ShowFilmFirst, which occasionally offers free tickets to previews, director Q&As and so on (you have to apply to be a member, and it will let you know if you’ve been successful).
Also check out Free Movies UK (FMUK), a non-profit, free-membership organisation and web forum dedicated to getting its members “as many free cinema tickets [typically provided by film distributors] as possible”.
7. More freebies on the way
A new BFI-supported multi-year project called Escapes will offer free film screenings in cinemas to almost 1 million people across the UK. Beginning in early 2024, Escapes will offer regular free screenings at up to 400 cinemas and aim “to grow cinema engagement across the UK and break down primary barriers to cinema-going among audiences, particularly those excluded by price”. More details should emerge soon – keep an eye on the website, escapetothecinema.co.uk.
