Apple TV Now Lets Subscribers Stream 20 Popular Movies for Free
Apple has added roughly 20 well-known movies to its Apple TV subscription service. Subscribers can now stream these films at no extra cost, whereas before they had to buy or rent each one individually. The films are tagged "Just Added" in the Apple TV app and include The Martian, Arrival, The Bourne Identity, Looper, E.T., The Proposal, I, Robot, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, 21 Jump Street, The Sixth Sense, Gone Girl, Zoolander, Zodiac, Charlie's Angels, Titanic, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, A Beautiful Mind, The Aviator, and The Rookie (Engadget).
The addition was first reported by 9to5Mac (9to5Mac) and confirmed by Engadget on August 13, 2026.
An Apple TV subscription costs $12.99 per month or $99 per year, with a seven-day free trial available. The Apple TV app runs on smartphones, tablets, PCs, and Apple TV streaming hardware, so you do not need an Apple device to watch (Engadget).
The titles span a wide range of studios and release eras, from early-1980s blockbusters like E.T. to 2010s hits like Gone Girl and The Martian. That breadth matters. Licensing films from multiple studios for a subscription service requires negotiating with each studio separately, and each has its own ideas about when and where its films should be available. Apple securing all of these for its subscription tier points to a deliberate effort to build out the library, not a casual addition.
This is not Apple's first move to bring catalog entertainment to its services. Apple's January 2021 year-in-review listed classic movies and TV shows alongside early-pandemic releases like Trolls World Tour, The Invisible Man, Emma, and The Croods: A New Age among its entertainment offerings (Apple Newsroom). By January 2022, Apple reported that all Apple Original series and films were available through the Apple TV app across more than a billion devices, including popular smart TVs (Apple Newsroom). In January 2026, Apple described 2025 as a record-breaking year for its services division, citing global streaming debuts of F1, Pluribus, The Family Plan 2, and A Charlie Brown Christmas (Apple Newsroom).
The current catalog-film addition sits alongside those Apple Originals rather than replacing them. Apple TV's original programming remains the service's main draw; the catalog titles are a bonus layer, giving subscribers familiar, rewatchable films on top of the shows Apple produces itself. The broader context here is that Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and other subscription services have been doing this for years: they mix their own exclusive content with licensed older films to make the subscription feel more valuable and keep people from cancelling.
Looking at the longer arc, the strategy also echoes Apple's earliest moves in digital film distribution. When Apple launched iTunes Movie Rentals with all major film studios on January 15, 2008, rentals started at $2.99 and were watchable on Macs, PCs, current-generation iPods, iPhone, and Apple TV (Apple Newsroom). That effort established Apple as a place to rent and buy studio content one title at a time. The current shift folds a subset of that same catalog into a subscription bundle, reflecting how Apple's video business has moved from charging per movie toward a recurring monthly fee.
For Apple TV subscribers, the practical effect is immediate: 20 recognizable films available to stream on August 13, 2026, at no extra cost. For competitors in the streaming space, it is a reminder that Apple continues to invest in licensed content alongside its original programming, using its broad app reach to make a $12.99/month subscription more appealing.
