Amazon this week started offering free movies to its Prime customers -- those who pay roughly $80 a year for free shipping. I'm already an Amazon movie customer, watching movies through my Roku device on my home TV.
So I thought I would browse the selection offered. From "Risky Business" to "March of the Penguins" to "Ghostbusters Two" (wait, they made a Ghostbusters Two?), there's a fair amount of free material to watch.
However, the movies looked familiar. And not just because I've seen "Risky Business" a million times. It's because Amazon's list of most downloaded free movies looks a heckuva lot like Netflix's list of Watch It Now movies.
Put another way: if you're already a Netflix customer -- and who isn't? -- you already have access to most of the movies offered on Amazon Prime.
I wrote down all the movies listed as most watched on Amazon's front page and then cross checked them against Netflix.
Syriana
Analyze That
Charlie's Angels
Contact *
Risky Business *
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo *
Amadeus *
Chariots of Fire *
The Mask
Best in Show *
March of the Penguins *
Batman Returns *
Little Shop of Horrors *
Batman Forever *
Clockwork Orange *
Ant Bully *
Dirty Harry *
Driving Miss Daisy *
Interview with the Vampire *
Ghostbusters Two *
Food, Inc *
City of Angels *
Last Action Hero
Postcards From the Edge *
The Age of the Innocence *
*on Amazon Prime AND Netflix Watch It Now
So, if you want to watch "Syriana," "Analyze That," "Charlie's Angels," "The Mask" or "Last Action Hero," then you're gaining something by signing up for Amazon Prime. Otherwise, Netflix subscribers are getting the same movies.
That said, if you compare total price, it's cheaper to be an Amazon Prime movie watcher than a Netflix subscriber if you decide to choose one over the other.
