Google Play Movies reaches 5 billion installs on the Play Store

Damien Wilde | Jun 9 2020 - 5:12 am PT

Google Play Movies has now amassed a whopping 5 billion installs on the Google Play Store, no doubt spurred on as a result of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

While many people will instantly head to dedicated video streaming services like Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, and YouTube, Google Play Movies provides you with a one-stop-shop for TV shows and movies to keep.

Because of the nature of streaming services and competition across the board, not all of your favorite shows and movies will be available unless you start racking up a cable-TV level subscription for multiple services. Google Play Movies is great if you simply want to relive a favorite show or movie without tying yourself into an ongoing subscription.

The fine folks over at Android Police spotted that the app reached this impressive milestone, but it’s undoubtedly helped by the inclusion as a pre-installed app on most Android smartphones. However, according to app-tracker AppBrain, since mid-May that install figure has skyrocketed. It wouldn’t be a stretch to assume that by that point, global lockdowns meant that most of the worthwhile series and movies on Netflix had already been binged to death.

We don’t know just how many people who downloaded the app have paid for content or rented content on Google Play Movies though. Just installing Google Play Movies isn’t a pre-cursor to actually consuming anything in that regard. People might just be browsing recently available blockbuster movies that have become available on the service as theaters around the globe have been shuttered to help prevent the spread of the virus.