3 Best Movies To Watch For Free This Weekend (Sept 12-13)

Published Sep 11, 2026, 6:00 PM EDT Simon Gallagher has worked in movie and TV journalism for more than 17 years. He has written more than 6000 articles and reviews, and edited thousands more. He is an expert in the entertainment industry, particularly in the golden age of screen superheroes. Simon is also a Rotten Tomatoes approved critic. As subscription prices continue their seemingly endless march upwards, it’s becoming increasingly important to make sure your monthly subscriptions are delivering everything you want. Netflix, Disney+, and the other streamers continue to add a huge number of new movies and TV shows each month, but as prices increase, it’s far more tempting to audit exactly what you’re spending, and whether each service is offering anything more than expensive decision paralysis. At the same time, though, the availability of free streaming platforms - where ad-supported content is less of a concern now that you’re having to pay for that elsewhere, now - has matured impressively into a genuine contender to the big names. It’s no accident that we’re beginning to hear more about streamers like Netflix weighing up their own free services. And with platforms like Tubi, Pluto TV, and Plex, and lesser-known services like Kanopy, which can be accessed with a library card, there are hundreds of movies added every month. Gone are the days when free streamers meant direct-to-video oddities and the content other streamers won’t touch, with some incredible movies - from sci-fi classics through to family-friendly offerings, both old and recently released - landing every month. And if you’re looking for recommendations on what to watch on the services, we’ve got you covered with the best titles you can stream this weekend. All three of the following movies are truly great, and all are new to free streaming platforms in September, with one chosen to celebrate a special occasion. 3 Pulp Fiction (1994) - Pluto TV As Quentin Tarantino continues to refuse to make his final movie, the director’s next project - a stage play called Popinjay Cavalier - announced Sacha Baron Cohen as its lead. And if you can’t wait for that 2027 West End event, you can go back to his first masterpiece, which has been added to Pluto TV this month as its exclusive free streaming home. Endlessly quotable and timeless in a way only the best movies are, Pulp Fiction continues to feel fresh, exciting in its boldness, and brilliantly creative. The non-linear structure framed around a clean-up job by John Travolta and Samuel L Jackson’s hip assassins, and a crooked boxing match gone wrong is infinitely more than a gimmick, and it’s a reminder of just how incredible Tarantino was even this early in his career. The performances - including an unexpected, brilliant turn by Bruce Willis - are effortlessly cool and irresistibly memorable. And none of it has lost any of its bite after 30 years. 2 The Road To El Dorado (2000) - Tubi September 12 marks the birthday of legendary composer Hans Zimmer, making it the perfect excuse to revisit anything the musical master turned his hand to. While there are a lot of his movies available on streaming, if you want something less obvious but no less excellent, turn to DreamWorks’ endlessly charming 2000 animated adventure, The Road to El Dorado, which is now on Tubi. The animation, which stars Kenneth Branagh and Kevin Kline as Miguel and Tulio, was a box office flop, taking only $76m against a $95m budget, and critics were unnecessarily harsh, and it’s easily one of the most underrated animated gems since the end of the 1990s. The problem for anything not made by Disney, inevitably, is Disney, and The Road to El Dorado was unfairly overshadowed by the bigger company, but watching it back now - and enjoying one of Zimmer’s most underrated scores - makes its original reception all the more baffling. 1 The Iron Claw (2023) - Tubi, Pluto TV & Plex While it didn’t make a huge amount of money and was largely overlooked by the big awards ceremonies, Sean Durkin’s tragic family saga, The Iron Claw, landed a devastating blow in 2023 and is easily one of the best American dramas of recent years. It tells the legendary, tragic story of the Von Erich wrestling dynasty and the impact of one father’s relentless ambition. Starkly at odds with the flamboyance and testosterone of the world of sports entertainment, The Iron Claw is defined by vulnerability and emotion. Zac Efron has never been better than he is as Kevin Von Erich, while there’s also remarkable supporting work by Jeremy Allen White and Harris Dickinson. The fact that people do not talk about this movie more is baffling, and now that it’s available to watch free on multiple platforms, there’s no excuse not to watch and be completely enraptured by the empathetic take on generational trauma that manages to avoid over-sensationalizing a breathtaking story. Pulp Fiction 10/10 Release Date September 10, 1994 Runtime 154 minutes Quentin Tarantino's classic tale of violence and redemption follows the intertwining tales of three protagonists: hitman Vincent Vega, prizefighter Butch Coolidge, and Vincent's business partner Jules Winnfield. The Iron Claw 8/10 Release Date December 21, 2023 Runtime 132 minutes The Iron Claw portrays the rise and fall of the Von Erich family, a dynasty in professional wrestling. Directed by Sean Durkin, the film explores the family members' personal struggles and tragic fates and the lasting impact they left on the sport.