If you want to watch a movie on your Roku device, there are plenty of free subscription-based applications that you can download, including the Roku Channel.
Over the Top (OTT) broadcast services have become very popular forms of in-home entertainment in the last few years, and their popularity is only expected to increase moving forward.
Roku devices offer a lot of freedom when it comes to these OTT services. There are free and paid applications that you can install on your Roku device to watch movies.
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The rise of Over the Top broadcast services
An ever-increasing quantity of households in the United States and around the world are cutting the cord with their traditional cable and satellite television providers in favour of Over the Top broadcast services for more freedom and choice when it comes to their in-home entertainment.
While about 81 percent of households in the United States currently still have cable, this number is expected to drop to below 60 percent in the next 10 years.
In fact, currently there are about 35 million people in the United States who have never even had a cable subscription to begin with. This number is expected to increase as OTT services become more popular.
What app to install on Roku to view movies
The Roku devices have been a popular way for people to cut the cord with their cable and satellite television providers since the first Roku device was released in 2008.
The main reason for this is because Roku offers its customers such a large variety of streaming application options, or “channels” as they are called on Roku devices, as well as price points to choose from.
Although Roku does not have its own widely-available streaming service, the Roku Channel can be added to any Roku device and it has a substantial library of content that the whole family can enjoy.
Other good applications to install on your Roku device if you want to watch movies are the popular paid subscription applications like Netflix, Disney Plus, Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max, and Hulu.
There are also a few free applications that have impressive libraries of films available on Roku, including Pluto TV, Freevee, Tubi, Crackle, Fawesome and Popcornflix.
Adding one or more of these applications or “channels” to you Roku device is as easy as searching for the name of the application on your Roku device, visiting the website of the Roku mobile application, and selecting the “Add Channel” or “Buy” option.
You will then be free to browse and watch movies as you please.
The Roku Channel
The Roku Channel is a must-add for anyone with a Roku device. This channel is completely free and it will give you access to a growing library of television shows, documentaries, Hollywood films, and even live television.
The channel’s layout is user-friendly to navigate and customers in the United States also have the option of adding premium subscriptions for this channel.
However, even the completely free version of the application features fan-favourite movies such as Punch-Drunk Love, Moneyball, A League of Their Own, Dawn of the Dead, American Hustle, The Cable Guy, and many more.
Free applications on which to watch movies on your Roku device
The fortunate thing about having a Roku device for home entertainment is that you do not necessarily need to pay additional subscription fees in order to watch movies on your device.
This is because there is a myriad of free applications that will give you access to libraries of content with hundreds of movies completely free, including:
- Pluto TV, which offers thousands of movies in various categories
- Freevee, which is Amazon’s free streaming platform
- Tubi, which has a wide range of content
- Crackle, which has an impressive library of Hollywood blockbusters
- Fawesome, which has films in an array of niches
- and Popcornflix
Paid subscription options for watching movies on Roku
If you want to watch recently-released movies on your Roku device, your best option is to add the studio-owned paid streaming services to your device, including:
| Subscription-based streaming service | Subscription price | Movie library |
| Netflix | $9.99 to $19.99 per month | A wide variety of movies from different studios including the The Lord of The Rings trilogy and originals like the Knives Out films |
| Disney Plus | $6.99 to $10.99 per month | Includes original Disney animated movies, the original Star Wars series, and some of the movies in the Marvel franchise |
| Amazon Prime Video | $9 per month or free with a Prime membership | A large variety of newly-released movies and original content |
| Hulu | $7.99 to $14.88 per month | One of the most expansive libraries of movies, including indie films like The Worst Person in the World |
