Ron Howard has directed 37 films from 1977 to 2024: 28 theatrical features, three TV movies and six documentaries. On October 12, 2026, 22 of them were streaming with a US subscription, 7 were free with ads somewhere, and 28 could be rented or bought digitally. Here is every one, from Grand Theft Auto to Eden, with the services carrying it on that date.
Streaming deals expire and get replaced all the time, so each film in the table links to its JustWatch page, which tracks US availability daily. Everything here comes from one check run on October 12, 2026.
Where to stream Ron Howard movies: the full list
The list follows the films marked “Director” on Howard’s Rotten Tomatoes filmography. Rotten Tomatoes lists one of his TV films twice, as Through the Magic Pyramid (1979) and Tut and Tuttle (1980), with the same cast; it is counted once here, under the first title. Avedon and The Shrinking of Treehorn also carry his directing credit there but had no release date on Rotten Tomatoes by the check date, so they are left out. Years are the ones Rotten Tomatoes gives, which is why Eden sits under 2024 while JustWatch dates it 2025. Live-TV bundles, cable-login apps and disc sellers are excluded; “Rent or buy” lists the main digital stores.
| Movie | Year | Starring | Stream with a subscription | Free with ads | Rent or buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Theft Auto | 1977 | Ron Howard, Nancy Morgan | — | — | — |
| Cotton Candy (TV movie) | 1978 | — | — | — | |
| Through the Magic Pyramid (TV movie) | 1979 | — | — | — | |
| Skyward (TV movie) | 1980 | — | — | — | |
| Night Shift | 1982 | Henry Winkler, Michael Keaton | Howdy | Tubi, The Roku Channel, Hoopla | Prime Video Store, Apple TV, Fandango at Home |
| Splash | 1984 | Tom Hanks, Daryl Hannah | Disney+ | — | Prime Video Store, Apple TV, Fandango at Home |
| Cocoon | 1985 | Steve Guttenberg, Tahnee Welch | — | — | — |
| Gung Ho | 1986 | Michael Keaton, Gedde Watanabe | MGM+ | Kanopy, Hoopla, YouTube (free with ads) | Prime Video Store, Apple TV, Fandango at Home |
| Willow | 1988 | Warwick Davis, Val Kilmer | Prime Video, Disney+ | — | Prime Video Store, Apple TV, Fandango at Home |
| Parenthood | 1989 | Steve Martin, Mary Steenburgen | — | — | Prime Video Store, Apple TV, Fandango at Home |
| Backdraft | 1991 | Kurt Russell, William Baldwin | MGM+ | — | Prime Video Store, Apple TV, Fandango at Home |
| Far and Away | 1992 | Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman | — | YouTube (free with ads) | Prime Video Store, Apple TV, Fandango at Home |
| The Paper | 1994 | Michael Keaton, Robert Duvall | — | — | Prime Video Store, Apple TV, Fandango at Home |
| Apollo 13 | 1995 | Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton | MGM+ | — | Prime Video Store, Apple TV, Fandango at Home |
| Ransom | 1996 | Mel Gibson, Rene Russo | — | — | — |
| EDtv | 1999 | Matthew McConaughey, Woody Harrelson | Prime Video | — | Prime Video Store, Apple TV, Fandango at Home |
| How the Grinch Stole Christmas | 2000 | Jim Carrey, Taylor Momsen | Peacock | — | Prime Video Store, Apple TV, Fandango at Home |
| A Beautiful Mind | 2001 | Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly | Apple TV | — | Prime Video Store, Apple TV, Fandango at Home |
| The Missing | 2003 | Cate Blanchett, Tommy Lee Jones | Howdy | Tubi, Kanopy, Hoopla | Prime Video Store, Apple TV, Fandango at Home |
| Cinderella Man | 2005 | Russell Crowe, Renée Zellweger | — | — | Prime Video Store, Apple TV, Fandango at Home |
| The Da Vinci Code | 2006 | Tom Hanks, Audrey Tautou | Netflix, Starz, Sony Pictures Core | — | Prime Video Store, Apple TV, Fandango at Home |
| Frost/Nixon | 2008 | Frank Langella, Michael Sheen | Prime Video | — | Prime Video Store, Apple TV, Fandango at Home |
| Angels & Demons | 2009 | Tom Hanks, Ewan McGregor | Netflix, Starz, Sony Pictures Core | — | Prime Video Store, Apple TV, Fandango at Home |
| The Dilemma | 2011 | Vince Vaughn, Kevin James | — | — | Prime Video Store, Apple TV, Fandango at Home |
| Made in America (documentary) | 2013 | JAŸ-Z, Eddie Vedder | — | — | Fandango at Home |
| Rush | 2013 | Chris Hemsworth, Daniel Brühl | — | — | Prime Video Store, Apple TV, Fandango at Home |
| In the Heart of the Sea | 2015 | Chris Hemsworth, Benjamin Walker | — | — | Prime Video Store, Apple TV, Fandango at Home |
| The Beatles: Eight Days a Week — The Touring Years (documentary) | 2016 | Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr | — | — | Prime Video Store, Apple TV |
| Inferno | 2016 | Tom Hanks, Felicity Jones | Netflix, MovieSphere+ | — | Prime Video Store, Apple TV, Fandango at Home |
| Solo: A Star Wars Story | 2018 | Alden Ehrenreich, Joonas Suotamo | Disney+ | — | Prime Video Store, Apple TV, Fandango at Home |
| Pavarotti (documentary) | 2019 | Luciano Pavarotti, Bono | Lionsgate+ | Tubi, Kanopy, Hoopla, YouTube (free with ads), Fandango at Home (free with ads) | Prime Video Store, Apple TV, Fandango at Home |
| Rebuilding Paradise (documentary) | 2020 | Erin Brockovich, Woody Culleton | Hulu | Tubi, National Geographic | Prime Video Store, Apple TV, Fandango at Home |
| Hillbilly Elegy | 2020 | Amy Adams, Glenn Close | Netflix | — | — |
| Thirteen Lives | 2022 | Viggo Mortensen, Colin Farrell | Prime Video | Prime Video (free with ads) | Apple TV, Fandango at Home |
| We Feed People (documentary) | 2022 | Carlota Andrés, Inés Andrés | Hulu | — | — |
| Jim Henson Idea Man (documentary) | 2024 | Jim Henson, Frank Oz | Disney+ | — | — |
| Eden | 2024 | Sydney Sweeney, Daniel Brühl | Netflix | — | Prime Video Store, Apple TV, Fandango at Home |
Which service has the most Howard films?
By our count, Netflix leads with 5 of the 37 films. Because each film is licensed separately, the rest are scattered across 20 different subscription and free services.
| Subscription service | Ron Howard films included |
|---|---|
| Netflix | 5 of 37 |
| Disney+ | 4 of 37 |
| Prime Video | 4 of 37 |
| MGM+ | 3 of 37 |
| Howdy | 2 of 37 |
| Hulu | 2 of 37 |
| Sony Pictures Core | 2 of 37 |
| Starz | 2 of 37 |
The documentaries
Six of the films on the list are documentaries: Made in America, The Beatles: Eight Days a Week — The Touring Years, Pavarotti, Rebuilding Paradise, We Feed People and Jim Henson Idea Man. Four of them had a subscription or free home on October 12, 2026: Pavarotti streams on Lionsgate+ (and free with ads on Fandango at Home, Hoopla, Kanopy, Tubi and YouTube), Rebuilding Paradise streams on Hulu (and free with ads on National Geographic and Tubi), We Feed People streams on Hulu and Jim Henson Idea Man streams on Disney+. Made in America and The Beatles: Eight Days a Week — The Touring Years can only be rented or bought digitally.
Howard movies you can watch free
These 7 films could be streamed free with ads on October 12, 2026. Kanopy and Hoopla need a card from a participating library; the rest need at most a free sign-up.
- Night Shift (1982): Tubi, The Roku Channel, Hoopla
- Gung Ho (1986): Kanopy, Hoopla, YouTube (free with ads)
- Far and Away (1992): YouTube (free with ads)
- The Missing (2003): Tubi, Kanopy, Hoopla
- Pavarotti (2019): Tubi, Kanopy, Hoopla, YouTube (free with ads), Fandango at Home (free with ads)
- Rebuilding Paradise (2020): Tubi, National Geographic
- Thirteen Lives (2022): Prime Video (free with ads)
The hard-to-find ones
Grand Theft Auto (1977), Cotton Candy (1978), Through the Magic Pyramid (1979), Skyward (1980), Cocoon (1985) and Ransom (1996) have no US streaming, free or digital rental listing on JustWatch as of October 12, 2026. All three of his TV movies are in that group, and JustWatch has no page for them at all. Rotten Tomatoes dates the TV premieres of Cotton Candy to October 26, 1978, and Skyward to November 20, 1980. JustWatch does have pages for Grand Theft Auto, Cocoon and Ransom, but no US service was offering them on the check date.
Another 8 had no subscription or free home and could only be rented or bought: Parenthood, The Paper, Cinderella Man, The Dilemma, Made in America, Rush, In the Heart of the Sea and The Beatles: Eight Days a Week — The Touring Years.
The actors he keeps working with
Tom Hanks is among the top-billed actors JustWatch lists for five of the films: Splash, Apollo 13, The Da Vinci Code, Angels & Demons and Inferno. Other repeat names in those cast lists: Michael Keaton in Night Shift, Gung Ho and The Paper; Chris Hemsworth in Rush and In the Heart of the Sea; Daniel Brühl in Rush and Eden; Glenn Close in The Paper and Hillbilly Elegy; Kevin Bacon in Apollo 13 and Frost/Nixon; Russell Crowe in A Beautiful Mind and Cinderella Man; Woody Harrelson in EDtv and Solo: A Star Wars Story.
Howard also acted in his first feature: Rotten Tomatoes lists him as an actor on Grand Theft Auto, and JustWatch puts him first in its cast.
The newest film on the list is Eden; on October 12, 2026, it streams with a subscription on Netflix. For a first pass through his work, Splash, Parenthood, Apollo 13 and Rush cover several different sides of it. Our guides cover the age rating for How the Grinch Stole Christmas and where Solo fits in the Star Wars watch order, and if Apollo 13 is your favorite, see our list of space movies about rescue missions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where can I stream Apollo 13?
As of October 12, 2026, Apollo 13 streams with a subscription on MGM+.
Where can I watch A Beautiful Mind?
As of October 12, 2026, A Beautiful Mind streams with a subscription on Apple TV.
Where are the Ron Howard movies starring Tom Hanks streaming?
JustWatch lists Tom Hanks among the top-billed cast of five films Howard directed. As of October 12, 2026: Splash streams on Disney+; Apollo 13 streams on MGM+; The Da Vinci Code streams on Netflix, Sony Pictures Core and Starz; Angels & Demons streams on Netflix, Sony Pictures Core and Starz; Inferno streams on MovieSphere+ and Netflix.
Which streaming service has the most Ron Howard movies?
By our count on October 12, 2026, Netflix carries 5 of the 37 films he has directed; Disney+ and Prime Video have 4 each.
Can I watch any Ron Howard movies for free?
Yes. On October 12, 2026, 7 of the 37 films were free with ads on at least one US service. Kanopy and Hoopla work through participating public libraries; the others are ad-supported apps.
Sources
- Ron Howard filmography — Rotten Tomatoes, accessed October 12, 2026
- Cotton Candy (1978) and Skyward (1980) — Rotten Tomatoes movie pages (TV release dates), accessed October 12, 2026
- JustWatch US streaming guide — title-by-title US availability, cast and runtimes, checked October 12, 2026