Over the years, Warner Bros. has tried to monetize its catalog of older movies through different subscription streaming services, including FilmStruck — which it shut down less than a year after it launched in 2018.
Now, Warner Bros. Entertainment has quietly taken a new approach to bringing its content to YouTube to farm its film catalog for digital ad revenue.
Since the start of 2025, the company has released 31 movies on Warner Bros.-owned YouTube channels, all available for free. The movies include ads, unless you are a YouTube Premium subscriber. Warner Bros. has published a YouTube playlist with the free movies, available at this link.
The titles are varied and cut across genres, with some films on the list dating back decades. The movies include “Mutiny on the Bounty” starring Marlon Brando, “The Adventures of Pluto Nash” starring Eddie Murphy, “Oh, God!” featuring George Burns in the titular role, “The Mission” starring Robert De Niro, “Waiting for Guffman,” “Return of the Living Dead Part II” and Leonardo DiCaprio’s climate change documentary “The 11th Hour.”
Popular on Variety
The most-viewed movie of the batch is “Mr. Nice Guy,” the 1997 action-comedy starring Jackie Chan (pictured above), which has more than 16 million views since WB released it on Jan. 1 on YouTube. WB’s release of the films on YouTube was spotted by Gizmodo.
Warner Bros. has previously licensed movies to YouTube for the video platform’s free, ad-supported movies & TV section. What is new is that the studio, in a test with YouTube, is now making free titles available on Warner Bros.’s own channels (like Warner Bros. Classics) to improve their visibility and discoverability. Meanwhile, WBD also has cut deals to license content to free, ad-supported platforms Roku and Tubi.
It’s worth noting that none of the films streaming free on YouTube are currently available on Max, Warner Bros. Discovery’s subscription streaming service.
“Watch your favorite full movies here from Warner Bros. Entertainment!” a message on the Warner Bros. Entertainment playlist on YouTube says. “All your favorite legends are here including Jackie Chan, Ryan Reynolds, Catherine O’Hara, Tarzan, Liam Neeson, Julia Roberts, Eugene Levy, and more! Keep an eye out for more feature length films for free, right here.” (The blurb’s use of the word “favorite” is possibly ambitious.)
Here’s the full list of titles from Warner Bros. currently available for free on YouTube:
- “The Wind and the Lion” (1975) starring Sean Connery
- “Michael Collins” (1996)
- “Mr. Nice Guy” (1997) starring Jackie Chan
- “City Heat” (1984) with Clint Eastwood and Burt Reynolds
- “The 11th Hour” (2007)
- “The Adventures of Pluto Nash” (2002) starring Eddie Murphy
- “Chaos Theory” (2007) starring Ryan Reynolds
- “Waiting for Guffman” (1996)
- “American Ninja V” (1993) starring David Bradley
- “Mutiny on the Bounty” (1962) starring Marlon Brando
- “Dungeons & Dragons” (2000)
- “The Bonfire of the Vanities” (1990) starring Tom Hanks
- “Return of the Living Dead Part II” (1998)
- “The Accidental Tourist” (1988)
- “Critters 4” (1992)
- “Murder in the First” (1995) starring Kevin Bacon and Gary Oldman
- “The Year of Living Dangerously” (1982) starring Mel Gibson
- “December Boys” (2007)
- “Lionheart” (1987) starring Eric Stoltz
- “Oh, God!” (1977) starring John Denver and George Burns
- “Crossing Delancey” (1988)
- “Price of Glory” (2000) with Jimmy Smits
- “Flight of the Living Dead: Outbreak on a Plane” (2007)
- “Deal of the Century” (1983) starring Chevy Chase
- “Deathtrap” (1982) starring Michael Caine and Christopher Reeve
- “The Mission” (1986) starring Robert De Niro
- “SubUrbia” (1996) directed by Richard Linklater with Steve Zahn and Giovanni Ribisi
- “Hot to Trot” (1988) with Bobcat Goldthwait
- “True Stories” (1986) with David Byrne and John Goodman
- “The Science of Sleep” (2006)
- “The Big Tease” (1999) starring Craig Ferguson