Get Paid to Watch Movies: Where, How, Pros, Cons, and More
If you have a passion for movies, you can turn it into an extra source of income. Learn how to get paid to watch movies, step-by-step, here.
- Watching movies can be a lucrative side hustle with various online platforms.
- Payment varies widely; part-time gigs pay less, full-time roles like critics pay more.
- Essential tools include an internet device, streaming subscriptions, and note-taking tools.
- Top platforms include Swagbucks, Rev, BestMark, Nielsen, and Netflix for movie-watching gigs.
Brett has years of experience starting businesses.
Some of the best side hustles allow us to make extra dollars doing things we enjoy.
If you’re a movie buff, there are ways to capitalize on your hobby and earn extra income.
Many online platforms and companies offer a plethora of gigs in which you get paid to watch movies.
Continue reading to learn more about them, the benefits and drawbacks of this side hustle, and more!
You can easily make extra cash by watching movies and their variations. Nowadays, there are countless job opportunities to do so, each with its own set of responsibilities and pay rates.
Some won’t qualify for full-time jobs because of their low pay. But others, like becoming a professional movie critic or reviewer, could be your ticket to turning your hobby into your main source of income.
How Much Can You Make by Watching Movies
The pay scale for this side hustle varies depending on the task.
Let’s say you’re looking for a part-time gig. Watching movie previews with Swagbucks (a reward program we’ll talk about later) could net you $1 to $5 per day.
If you decide to make a living out of it, opt for jobs with heftier rates. For instance, film critics in the U.S. make an average of more than $42,000 annually, according to Comparably.
Full List of Ways to Get Paid to Watch Movies
We’ve included an overview of our top picks above. For a full list and detailed information on each pick, scroll down.
What You’ll Need to Get Paid to Watch Movies
The tools and equipment you’ll need to prepare will differ depending on the job. But, in general, you must have the following:
- Electronic Device with Internet Access: Most movie-watching gigs require an internet-connected electronic device, like a phone or laptop.
- Streaming Service Subscription: A subscription to various streaming services, such as Netflix and Hulu, is a must, as they’ll make it easier to watch exclusive movies.
- Notepad/Note-Taking App: Whether you prefer pen and paper or digital note-taking apps, you’ll need something to document your thoughts about what you watched.
Where to Get Paid to Watch Movies
Now it’s time to reveal the trade secrets and show you the best and most legitimate ways to make extra money watching movies:
1. Swagbucks
Swagbucks is a popular platform for earning money from your phone and the comfort of your home. It’s a rewards program that provides a wide range of online tasks to supplement your income.
You can earn gift cards or cash rewards by completing simple assignments, such as watching movie trailers, taking surveys, playing video games, etc.
How Much You Can Make
How much money you make depends on the number and value of the tasks you complete. Most users earn $1 to $5 daily, with occasional high-paying offers ranging from $50 to $250.
The higher you progress in their Member Recognition Program, the more benefits you’ll receive.
For instance, when you unlock the diamond-level status, which requires earning more than $20,000, you’ll get a $250 bonus.
What Makes This Option Great
Swagbucks is an excellent program for monetizing your spare time.
They don’t have fixed working hours, so you can start on their tasks whenever and wherever you want. Plus, they have plenty of gigs that are easy to complete.
We also appreciate how flexible they are with payments, as they provide their members with various payment options.
- Pay Range: $1 to $5 daily
- Payment Methods: Gift cards, PayPal, check, and prepaid Visa cards
2. Rev
Writing movie transcripts or subtitles is a fantastic side hustle you can do from home; some people even make it their full-time job. Rev is a wonderful platform for getting started in this field.
How Much You Can Make
Rev pays $0.30 to $1.10 per audio or video minute. Their experienced transcriptionists make around $1,495 per month. That’s higher than the average monthly earnings, $245.
What Makes This Option Great
Subtitling is a straightforward task that can earn you a decent living.
With Rev, you’ll experience other advantages to this job. These include skimming through various projects and selecting the ones you’ll enjoy working on.
You’ll also appreciate having a flexible work schedule as a freelancer; more importantly, they’ll pay you weekly. No more waiting until the end of the month to be paid for your projects.
- Pay Range: $0.30 to $1.10 per audio or video minute
- Payment Methods: PayPal
3. BestMark
You may have heard of becoming a mystery shopper in physical stores. But in the entertainment industry, it takes on a slightly different form and is sometimes called certified field associate.
BestMark is one of the top companies you can work with for this position. They’ve been in business since 1986, helping organizations achieve customer satisfaction through mystery shoppers who assess theaters.
Mystery shopping in movie theaters entails filing reports on audience interaction, staff, safety standards, overall customer experience, and more.
How Much You Can Make
A beginner secret shopper’s hourly pay ranges between $7 and $20. Your pay might increase if you have a proven track record of working similar jobs.
What Makes This Option Great
Although you may not always get the chance to sit through an entire movie, you’ll be able to watch many of them for free.
Aside from BestMark, there are plenty of other trustworthy organizations, such as imyst.
- Pay Range: $7 to $20 per hour
- Payment Methods: Direct deposit, PayPal, or gift card
4. Nielsen
Nielsen is a highly reputable organization specializing in audience measurement and data collection. They offer clients an unrivaled metrics database on consumer behavior and preferences.
To gather information, Nielsen pays people money to access their data.
How Much You Can Make
You can earn up to $60 in rewards points yearly by downloading Nielsen Computer and Mobile Panel.
You can redeem the points through PayPal or as gift cards from well-known retailers, including Amazon and Target.
Nielsen also holds monthly sweepstakes with a total prize pool of $10,000 for 400 winners.
What Makes This Option Great
It’s one of the brilliant passive income ideas you can go with. Just install their panel on your electronic devices and watch your favorite movies (or do whatever you want) to receive your rewards.
It’s that simple!
However, remember that agreeing to sell your data translates to giving up your privacy. Make sure you only do this with legitimate companies and, of course, if you feel comfortable doing so.
- Pay Range: $60 per year
- Payment Methods: PayPal and gift cards
5. InboxDollars
InboxDollars is an online rewards program similar to Swagbucks. They pay small fees for completing quick online tasks, including watching videos like movie trailers.
How Much You Can Make
Your profits depend on the tasks and their commission.
For example, watching videos could net you $0.01 to $0.04 per clip. If you want to get paid to take surveys, you’ll earn $0.10 to $5, with some types paying even more.
New members get a $5 sign-up bonus, and you can get paid for referrals. You’ll receive 10% of each referral’s earnings, so you get 10 cents for every dollar one of your referrals earns.
What Makes This Option Great
It’s a fantastic way to make quick money in your downtime. The tasks take little time and effort, and you can start them anytime you want.
Aside from watching videos, you can look into their other revenue streams, bonuses, and offers to get the most out of your InboxDollars experience.
- Pay Range: $0.01 to $5 per task
- Payment Methods: Gift cards, PayPal, check, and prepaid Visa cards
6. Animation Arena
If you have a knack for writing, this is your chance to shine. You can start writing movie reviews as a freelancer writer on websites like Animation Arena.
This site doesn’t require any professional experience. Just send them some samples so they can evaluate the quality of your work.
Besides, if you’re a fan of video games or comic books, you can also get paid to write reviews about them.
How Much You Can Make
The writers at Animation Arena are paid $15 per review. The review should be at least 550 words long, original, and not copied from elsewhere.
It’s worth mentioning that you can only write a maximum of 10 reviews per month.
What Makes This Option Great
This gig won’t require real work for someone who enjoys writing and analyzing movies. You’ll get to watch films, express your thoughts on them in your own words, and get paid for it; easy peasy!
- Pay Range: $15 per review
- Payment Methods: Direct deposit and PayPal
7. Netflix
You can work as a tagger for Netflix or another streaming service; this position is also known as an editorial analyst. Your main responsibility is to watch movies and shows and categorize them appropriately.
However, not everyone is eligible to apply for this position, as Netflix has specific requirements for applicants. One of which is at least five years of experience in the film or television industry.
How Much You Can Make
Netflix doesn’t specify the exact salary for its taggers as they consider multiple aspects, such as experience and work arrangement. Nonetheless, Netflix taggers make around $25 to $30 per hour.
What Makes This Option Great
Working as a Netflix tagger will allow you to watch various films and TV series for a lucrative hourly rate.
Besides, you’ll have the opportunity to work for one of the companies with the highest rates of employee happiness.
Keep in mind that these opportunities are scarce, and many scammers take advantage of that factor.
Don’t apply through third-party companies, and always check the careers section of the website itself.
- Pay Range: $25 to $30 per hour
- Payment Methods: Direct deposit or PayPal
8. YouTube
Starting a YouTube channel to review movies is an excellent way to take your hobby to the next level.
How Much You Can Make
To start, you need to sign up for YouTube’s Partner Program. You must meet one of the following requirements to be eligible:
- Obtain 1,000 subscribers and at least 4,000 public watch hours within 12 months.
- Acquire 1,000 subscribers and 10 million valid public Shorts views in the last 90 days.
After that, you’ll have access to all the features allowing you to monetize your channel. You can earn around $0.018 per view. The average YouTuber in the U.S. makes about $4,616 per month.
What Makes This Option Great
Becoming a YouTuber opens your eyes to the world of self-employment, which is liberating in many ways.
When your channel is up and running, you’ll be paid handsomely for running ads, affiliate marketing, and other activities.
The more you optimize your channel and create original, unique content, the more likely you are to make it.
- Pay Range: $4,616 on average per month
- Payment Methods: Depending on the collaborator, payment can be via PayPal, gift cards, or direct deposits
9. MyPoints
We complete this list with another widely used online rewards program, MyPoints. They share many aspects with the other platforms we discussed regarding online gigs and pay rates.
How Much You Can Make
You’re paid in points, each worth $0.006, give or take, depending on how you redeem them.
You can earn 500 points per day, which is the equivalent of $3, by watching some video playlists.
You’ll also receive a $5 welcome bonus, 25 points per referral, and 750 points for referrals who spend $20 or more.
What Makes This Option Great
Joining MyPoints allows you to set your working hours. You have several outlets for making money, and some of them are as simple as reading emails and watching trailers.
This organization is one of the oldest in the industry, and you can rest assured that it’s safe and credible.
- Pay Range: $1 to $5 daily
- Payment Methods: Gift cards, PayPal, check, airline miles, and prepaid Visa cards
How to Get Paid to Watch Movies: Step-By-Step Instructions
Knowing where you can make extra bucks while doing your favorite hobby is great, but it still pays to have a roadmap to make this side hustle successful.
Don’t worry; it’s not rocket science. Just follow these three steps:
Step 1: Define Your Goals
Figure out what you want to get from this side hustle and how much money you want to make.
With those in mind, you’ll have a better idea of how much time and effort to put in and what types of jobs to apply for. Otherwise, you’ll waste a lot of time on irrelevant sources.
To illustrate, if you want to make a career out of this hobby, look for positions that are, or have the potential, to be full-time. Such tasks could include writing movie reviews or starting a blog.
Alternatively, if you only want to supplement your income, you can go for quick gigs like those offered by MyPoints and Swagbucks.
Step 2: Do Your Research
If you decide to look into other platforms or websites besides the ones we mentioned, do extensive research before working with any of them to avoid being scammed.
Since most tasks will be done online, you must be absolutely certain of the organization’s legitimacy.
Look for reviews on sites like GlassDoor, or see if it has been mentioned on Reddit or Quora.
That way, you can avoid unpleasant scenarios, such as doing the work without being paid or suffering a security breach.
Step 3: Explore Different Options
Maximize your earnings by looking into various options, especially if you’re not seeking a full-time job.
As you can see, many of the gigs we mentioned don’t pay well alone, but juggling between them can bring in some serious cash.
For example, downloading multiple reward programs on your phone and working on small tasks whenever you have time can add to a nice sum.
Things to Consider When Watching Movies for Money
We want to share with you a few things to think about when deciding to watch movies for cash:
Internet Connectivity
You’ll need to make the most of your free time to enjoy the rewards of the gigs we discussed.
Having constant internet access would be crucial.
Activate your mobile data so that you can still earn money when there’s no Wi-Fi connection.
For example, when you’re commuting, you can watch a couple of quick videos and make a few bucks.
Side Gig Value
Take your time trying out your luck in different roles.
You can check out platforms that were not discussed, but be on the lookout for warning signs that they’re not worth it.
For instance, if you determine that you’re not achieving your hustle goals with your current gig, it may be better to try something else.
Why You Should Consider Watching Movies as a Side Hustle
There are plenty of reasons to consider starting this side hustle, including:
- Flexibility: Most jobs that pay you to watch movies, trailers, or videos are remote, with no fixed working hours.
- Diverse Opportunities: Monetize your love for movies in various ways, from writing reviews to rating theaters.
- Quick and Easy Income Source: Projects and tasks related to movie-watching jobs are usually a breeze to complete.
- Share Valuable Feedback: Many gigs rely on your feedback or work to benefit customers or educate viewers.
Problems With Watching Movies for Money
To get the complete picture of earning money from watching movies, we’ve listed its four drawbacks:
- Low Pay: Many jobs, particularly those with no requirements, pay meager commissions
- Associated Responsibilities: You’ll have responsibilities that may make watching movies less enjoyable, like focusing on transcribing or checking out the theater.
- Monotonous Tasks: Some of the roles for this side hustle necessitate dull and repetitive actions.
- Limited Advancement Opportunities: Don’t expect to develop new skills while doing movie-watching side hustles.
Is There a Job Where You Just Watch Movies?
Most jobs that only task you to watch movies collect your data. If you’re fine with that, they’re a great source of passive income.
Other gigs come with additional responsibilities. For example, you might also be tasked to write a review or check the theater.
Similar Ways to Get Paid
If you want to have more easy income streams, we recommend the following:
- Nap: Believe it or not, there are several ways to make money simply by napping; turn your snooze time into cash!
- Read Books: If you enjoy reading, you’ll be glad to know you can earn up to $200 doing what you love.
- Walk: Put on your comfy shoes and stroll through various routes to earn money just by walking.
Wrapping Up
Watching movies may not be the most profitable side hustle, but film enthusiasts might want to give it a shot.
Besides these platforms, you can also keep an eye out for similar freelance projects posted on sites like Upwork and Fiverr. It’s a great way to network in this industry.
We’d love to hear your thoughts on the article, so please leave them in the comments. And if you found it helpful, don’t forget to share!