# IMDb Scraper - Movies, TV Shows, Ratings & Cast (`thirdwatch/imdb-scraper`) Actor

Scrape IMDb movie and TV show data: title, year, rating, votes, genres, director, cast, plot, runtime, poster, and content rating. Search by name or provide IMDb URLs.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/thirdwatch/imdb-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Thirdwatch](https://apify.com/thirdwatch) (community)
- **Categories:** Other
- **Stats:** 3 total users, 0 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $1.80 / 1,000 results

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).

# README

## IMDb Scraper - Movies, TV Shows, Ratings & Cast

> **Thirdwatch portfolio:** 5K users across 88 public Actors, 2M+ records delivered, and >99% run success. [Explore all Thirdwatch Actors](https://apify.com/thirdwatch).

> Scrape IMDb movie and TV show data: titles, ratings, cast, genres, director, plot, and more.

### What you get

Extract structured data from IMDb for any movie or TV show. Search by name or provide IMDb URLs directly. Get ratings, votes, genres, director, cast, plot summaries, runtime, posters, and content ratings.

### Output fields

| Field | Description |
|-------|-------------|
| `title` | Movie or TV show title |
| `year` | Release year |
| `rating` | IMDb rating (1-10) |
| `votes` | Number of votes |
| `genres` | List of genres |
| `director` | Director name |
| `cast` | Main cast members |
| `plot` | Plot summary |
| `runtime` | Runtime in minutes |
| `poster` | Poster image URL |
| `content_rating` | Content rating (PG, R, etc.) |
| `url` | IMDb URL |

### Example output

```json
{
    "title": "The Shawshank Redemption",
    "year": "1994",
    "rating": 9.3,
    "votes": 2800000,
    "genres": ["Drama"],
    "director": "Frank Darabont",
    "cast": ["Tim Robbins", "Morgan Freeman", "Bob Gunton"],
    "plot": "Over the course of several years, two convicts form a friendship...",
    "runtime": "142 min",
    "poster": "https://m.media-amazon.com/images/...",
    "content_rating": "R",
    "url": "https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111161/"
}
```

### Input parameters

| Parameter | Required | Description |
|-----------|----------|-------------|
| `searchQuery` | No | Movie or TV show name to search (e.g. "inception"). Provide this OR `urls`. |
| `urls` | No | List of IMDb title URLs to scrape directly (e.g. `https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1375666/`). |
| `maxResults` | No | Cap on titles returned. Default 15, max 100. |

#### Example input

```json
{
    "searchQuery": "inception",
    "maxResults": 10
}
```

### Use cases

- **Entertainment apps**: Build movie databases with ratings and cast info
- **Data analysts**: Study movie trends, ratings, and genre patterns
- **Content platforms**: Enrich your catalog with IMDb metadata
- **Researchers**: Analyze film industry trends over time
- **Recommendation engines**: Enrich titles with genres, cast, and ratings for ML features

### Limitations

- Search results depend on IMDb's own ranking (the first match may not be the exact title you wanted).
- Some fields may be empty for older or less popular titles (cast, runtime, content rating).
- TV show records cover the series — individual episodes are not returned.
- Vote counts reflect IMDb's public total at the time of the run.

### Compared to alternatives

- **vs. official IMDb datasets (imdb.com/interfaces)**: Official dataset dumps are bulk-only and refreshed daily with no search interface. This actor returns fresh per-title data on demand.
- **vs. OMDb API**: OMDb is free but throttled to 1000 calls/day without a paid key; fields are a subset. This actor has no daily cap.

Pairs well with [YouTube Scraper](https://apify.com/thirdwatch/youtube-scraper?fpr=9m2cd6) for video-side metadata and [Reddit Scraper](https://apify.com/thirdwatch/reddit-scraper?fpr=9m2cd6) for audience sentiment.

### FAQ

**Can I scrape every movie on IMDb?**
No — this is an on-demand scraper. Provide a list of names or URLs, and the actor returns those titles.

**Does it return episode-level data for TV shows?**
No. Only the series record (series-level rating, cast, genres, plot).

**Is ratings data live?**
Yes — each run fetches the current IMDb rating and vote count at run time.

**Can I use this for commercial projects?**
You're responsible for complying with IMDb's terms. Typical uses (internal analytics, recommendation testing, research) are fine; redistribution of full datasets is not.

Last verified: 2026-05

More scrapers at [thirdwatch.dev](https://thirdwatch.dev).

# Actor input Schema

## `searchQuery` (type: `string`):

Movie or TV show name to search for (e.g. 'inception', 'breaking bad').

## `urls` (type: `array`):

List of IMDb title URLs to scrape (e.g. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1375666/).

## `maxResults` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of titles to extract.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "searchQuery": "inception",
  "urls": [],
  "maxResults": 15
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

No description

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "searchQuery": "inception",
    "maxResults": 15
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("thirdwatch/imdb-scraper").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "searchQuery": "inception",
    "maxResults": 15,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("thirdwatch/imdb-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "searchQuery": "inception",
  "maxResults": 15
}' |
apify call thirdwatch/imdb-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,thirdwatch/imdb-scraper"
        }
    }
}

```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/5KPJsqYzEi8pFnKQw/builds/IBuniqtwiGUYu8h57/openapi.json