Build a Free Movie App with Thunkable

Follow this comprehensive, step-by-step guide to create a fully functional movie app using free data sources and legal content. You’ll learn account setup, cloning a ready template, integrating free APIs for movies, customizing UI, and publishing your app.

Start with Account Setup Clone Template

No Credit Card

Signup to Thunkable for free and start building instantly.

Ready Template

Clone a complete app with home, details, and player screens.

Legal Sources

Use OMDb and Internet Archive for free and legal content.

Create Your Thunkable Account

Go to Thunkable

Sign Up (Free, No Card)

Visit thunkable.com and click Sign Up.
Use your email or continue with Google.
You’ll land on the Dashboard after onboarding.

Explore the Dashboard

The Dashboard shows your projects, templates, and publishing options. You’ll use it to clone the template and later download APKs.

Projects: List of all your apps.
Data: Add APIs and data sources.
Publish: Export APKs and test on devices.

Tip

Use the Live Test option to preview changes instantly on your phone.

Clone the Movie App Template

Open the Template Link

Use a community-shared project with a ready UI (home screen, movie list, player).

Direct Link

Infinity Cinema Free Movie App (Community Project)

Clone into Your Dashboard

Click Clone Project on the template page.
Confirm to add it to your Dashboard.
Open the project to explore screens and blocks.

Template Screens

Home: Movie grid with posters and titles.
Details: Poster, metadata, and Play button.
Player: Embedded video player (YouTube/Archive).

Add Free Movies (Legal Sources)

OMDb API (Movie Metadata)

OMDb provides titles, posters, and year info. Register to obtain a free key and use it in your requests.

Example URL

https://www.omdbapi.com/?t=Inception&apikey=YOUR_OMDB_KEY

Go to omdbapi.com and get an API key.
In Thunkable, open your project, then go to Data tab.
Add a Web API endpoint using your OMDb URL.

Internet Archive (Public Domain Movies)

Use the Internet Archive to fetch free, legally available movies (e.g., classic films). Integrate via their Advanced Search API.

Example URL

https://archive.org/advancedsearch.php?q=collection:(feature_films)&fl[]=identifier,creator,subject&rows=50&output=json

Copy the URL above into the Thunkable Web API block.
Parse identifier and build the video URL (e.g., https://archive.org/download/IDENTIFIER/FILE.mp4).
Display titles and thumbnails in your movie list.

Add API in Thunkable

Open Project → Data tab → Add API.
Paste OMDb or Archive URL.
Name the endpoint (e.g., MoviesMeta, ArchiveFilms).

Display Movies

Use a List Viewer or custom grid to show posters, titles, and years. Bind the component to your fetched JSON.

OMDb Search: https://www.omdbapi.com/?s=classic&apikey=YOUR_OMDB_KEY

Language & Localization

Add a language dropdown and include a language parameter in your API calls if supported by the source.

Preferred language

Example: https://www.omdbapi.com/?s=free%20movies&apikey=YOUR_OMDB_KEY

Customize the App (Drag & Drop, No Code)

UI Components

Home: Grid of Image + Label components.
Details: Image, labels, and Play button.
Player: Web Viewer or Video component.

Blocks: Fetch & Show Movies

In the Blocks tab, add a Web API call when the Home screen opens and bind the response to your movie list.

When Home Opens → Call Web API (OMDb Search) → Set List Viewer Items to response.Search

Example: https://www.omdbapi.com/?s=free%20movies&apikey=YOUR_OMDB_KEY

Embed the Player

YouTube trailers via Web Viewer using embed URL.
Internet Archive direct MP4 links for public domain films.

YouTube Example: https://www.youtube.com/embed/VIDEO_ID

Test and Publish Your App

Live Test

Click Live Test in the Dashboard.
Scan the QR code with your phone.
Preview and interact with your app in real time.

Download APK (Android)

Go to Publish → Download APK.
Install on your Android device.
Share APK with testers or friends.

Test on iOS

Create a test build and preview via the Thunkable live app or TestFlight depending on your plan.

Use Live Test on iOS with the Thunkable companion app.
For full publishing, follow Apple’s guidelines.

Legal Notes and Tips

Use Only Legal Content

Public domain or properly licensed media (e.g., Internet Archive).
Do not host or link to pirated content.
Credit sources where required.

Get Help

Thunkable Community: Ask questions and find templates.
YouTube Tutorials: Search “Thunkable movie app tutorial”.
API Docs: OMDb and Internet Archive documentation.

Scale Up

Start with 100+ movies via API auto-fetch.
Add categories and search filters.
Optimize images and caching for performance.

OMDb requires a valid API key. Replace YOUR_OMDB_KEY in the examples with your own key from omdbapi.com. Avoid using keys you found online to prevent service interruptions.