Why go to the cinema if you can watch the latest video at home, comfortably sitting in a soft chair and drinking seagulls? For viewing it is enough to have a device that is capable of playing "weighty" files, and access to the Internet - whether it be a personal computer or your favorite smartphone. And it’s completely legal, because many movie makers in Russia work under license and provide access to their content for a moderate fee.
In our ranking of sites collected the best of legal online movie theaters. Services are arranged according to their market share.
10. Netflix
Price for a month of subscription - from 660 rubles.
Many expected the arrival of the Russian Netflix, like manna from heaven. Is it a joke - one of the largest manufacturers of video content will finally be available on RuNet, and it’s absolutely legal! However, reality disappointed, and greatly disappointed. One of the main complaints is a small media library related to regional politics. For some reason, for Russia, the number of films and series has been greatly reduced. From the whole vast ocean of netflix displays, Russians can enjoy a tenth of their strength. Moreover, at full price, because unlike other foreign operators, Netflix chose not to use regional prices.
Leaves much to be desired and ease of viewing. It’s even strange that such a movie giant did not guess to make an option to skip previously watched TV shows. This inconvenience does not atone for the user-friendly interface as a whole.
9. Google Play
No subscription.
Movies on Google Play are available only to owners of devices whose operating system is Android. Over the years of its existence (and Google Play was born in 2008), the resource has accumulated a huge library of films, series, animated films and various shows. Movies themselves can be either bought or rented. That is, by paying a small amount, you can view them for a certain period. The prices are quite reasonable; discounts and sales are also regularly arranged.
Good news: for all users who once bought a movie in the old, low resolution, the company will provide absolutely free of charge the opportunity to view and download them in 4K. True, so far only residents of the United States and Canada can enjoy their favorite high-quality films, but, hopefully, the update will soon reach Russia.
8. TVzavr
Price for a month of subscription - from 250 rubles.
With "TVzavra" begins a list of popular Russian online cinemas, watching movies on which you can absolutely legally and at the same time completely free. Like many other legal shareware cinemas, this feature is provided by viewing ads. You can either disable it for a fee, or pay a subscription. In total, TVzavr’s several types of subscription - for example, for the smallest viewers the content will cost a little cheaper. You can also buy your favorite movie or rent it.
By the way, in addition to adapting foreign films for a Russian audience, TVzavr popularizes the Russian monk for a foreign audience. For the video available in the library of the online cinema, it is possible to select subtitles in a foreign language.
7. The Media Library
The price for a month of subscription is 600 rubles.
Amediateka specializes in new products - on the site of this online cinema the latest hits of world cinema are available almost immediately after their appearance in Russia. Films and series can be watched both in the original language and in dubbing, with subtitles and without. True, all this beauty is available for free only during the trial period, the length of which is limited to only one week. Then you have to pay a subscription.
6. iTunes
No subscription.
This service works exclusively for happy owners of technology with an "apple" logo. Movies can be downloaded to your favorite iPhone or MacBook or rented for a certain period of time (most often this is a month). From time to time there are discounts, but it is unlikely that viewing new items will cost you less.
Please note that if you decide to rent a movie, you should not start playback simultaneously with the download. Because after the start of viewing, the movie’s availability period is automatically reduced to 48 hours. So if something goes wrong with the Internet or with the program, the viewport will begin to rapidly shrink - until it disappears completely.
5. Rutube
No subscription.
It is logical that one of the companies included in Gazprom-Media specializes in showing the products of the holding. So if you want to get the latest cut of football matches, or live broadcast, or a television show, or your favorite television series - here you are. Many Russian producers of the show also prefer to post their videos on Rutube - either for patriotic reasons, or for more mundane reasons.
The cinema is monetized solely through the display of advertisements, which cannot be turned off. In general, despite a significant market share in the online movie theater, Rutube raises many complaints. Users complain about both the download speed and the inconvenient interface. It is especially annoying that when viewing from a computer, there is completely no possibility of choosing the quality of the video, which miraculously appears in the mobile application.
4. Megogo
Price for a month of subscription - from 397 rubles.
The headquarters of the online cinema is located in Kiev. Over the years of its existence (the service was launched in 2011), it managed to accumulate a sufficient amount of content - at the beginning of the outgoing year, the number of units available for viewing exceeded 77 thousand. Basically, the channel’s profit comes from free views with ads, especially any TV shows, the income from which is the lion's share of the channel’s revenue. However, there are subscription options, and there is a trial period during which the user can evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of both systems.
Megogo’s viewing quality is quite high - it’s worth noting that for the convenience of hearing impaired users, video hosting has its own sign language translation studio. The site supports all available formats, from Android to Smart TV in 4K quality.
3. Okko
Price for a month of subscription - from 100 rubles.
Like Amediateka, Okko uses only the subscription model - there is no advertising on the site. Despite the fact that the service began work in 2011, it came to self-sufficiency two years ago. It seems that subscription services in our country are slowly but surely gaining popularity. Okko’s revenue growth was made possible both by direct agreements with foreign companies to show new products, as well as thematic collections and partnerships with the already mentioned Amediateka.
Now on the site you can either subscribe from a month to a year in length, or order a one-time viewing of an interesting film. The feature of the site is support for display in super high quality 4k or 3D, and also not inferior to the resolution of the sound. You can watch anything from a desktop PC to a PlayStation 4 console.
2. Interactive TV, in the past zabava.ru
Price for a month of subscription - from 150 rubles.
Interactive television, or, in short, IPTV, appeared on the Russian market relatively recently. To use the technology, you need a modern TV and a special set-top box (which you can buy from the operator). It is connected to the TV and voila! Now through it you can go online and watch movies in excellent quality and surround sound. Although IPTV is being mastered by almost all large companies, the most popular at the moment is interactive television from Rostelecom.
The content of the former "Fun" is delivered exclusively by subscription. There are eight of them on the site, the price varies from 600 rubles per month (for the series of the already mentioned Amediateki) to 150 rubles for access to educational television programs in English. The complaints from users are caused only by the standard package, on which there are frankly few channels without connecting additional services.
1. ivi.ru
The price for a month of subscription is 400 rubles.
This is perhaps the most famous and most popular online movie theater in Russia. It alone occupies a fifth of the market, twice the result of Interactive TV. What made him so famous? The amount of content (at the beginning of 2018 it exceeded 55 thousand items), the quality of the video, as well as the efficiency of the release of new products. They appear literally day after day with the release in offline cinemas.
Ivi has a flexible payment system - you can either watch shareware with ad breaks, or use a subscription. There is also a trial period - 14 days of full functionality for a symbolic price of one ruble.
