The history of 123Movies one of the world's most visited illegal movie websites is a proof of the current legislation's efficiency. This web service remained a source of contention for the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), which represents major Hollywood film production companies. The activities of the pirate website previously resulted in significant losses for both providers and filmmakers.
Eventually, the platform that had been operating from Vietnam was declared illegal and banned not only in the US but in many other countries across the globe. After a criminal investigation was launched, the illegal service was only able to be taken over by the Vietnamese authorities. The wheels were set in motion thanks to the negotiations between the US Ambassador to Vietnam and Head of the local Ministry of Information and Communications.
However, first things first The 123Movies platform's history 123Movies a pirate streaming website designed for viewing films and TV series was launched at the turn of 2015-2016. The web service did not feature in 2015's list of "Notorious Markets" to be paid special attention to and was first mentioned in the report of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) only in 2016.
The fact that the service allowed users to watch free movies in HD, HD-RIP, and Blu-ray contributed to its growing popularity. The website had more than 9.26 million unique visitors in August of 2016, according to SimilarWeb, a major web analytics platform. First steps to take According to Alexa Internet, 123Movies.to ranked No. 559 globally and No. 386 in the United States in MPAA's annual report for USTR, which was released in October 2016. In the same month, after the report's data became publicly known, Business Insider called 123Movies.to "Great Britain's most visited pirate website". From that moment on, the platform came to the attention of the regulatory bodies.
However, prior to October 2016, the popular website took the first precautions in anticipation of the anticipated blocking. "In case the main domain has been blocked by your provider, you can get access to our website using another domain 123movies The website's administration was well aware that the traffic reduction was inevitable, so the audience was offered an alternative option aimed at minimizing losses to access 123Movies using a new domain name in the Russian Federation area," read the message that appeared on the homepage for users.
What became of 123Movies in the year 2025? In March of 2017, TorrentFreak a blog dedicated to the infringement of copyright and digital right - revealed the information about the talks between the US Ambassador to Vietnam Ted Osius and the local Minister of Information and Communications Truong Minh Tuan. The US diplomat brought up the issue of blocking the illegal streaming website and urged the member of the Vietnamese government to bring the website's operators, who were allegedly residing in the Republic, to justice during the discussion. The response of the pirate website's administration was not slow in coming. Even before March was over, information appeared in 123Movies's official account that the domain name was changed to 123movies and several days later to 123movies The website's domain name was changed to Memovies.to on March 28. A few hours later, the website's representative informed TorrentFreak that GoMovies.to would be the site's official domain "at least for the time being." Changing domain names for the main reason Replying to a question about the domain name changes, the representative said that it was done partly to distinguish the service from a huge number of fake websites and proxies that had appeared on the Web recently.
Taking advantage of the associations created by the similarity of names, numerous fake sources that had nothing to do with 123Movies managed to occupy rather high positions in the search engines, thereby intensifying an already fierce competition. Having changed the brand name and the logo on the official website to GoMovies, the operator altered the service's Twitter account as well.
The domain name was changed once more in July 2017 to GoStream. There was a lot of speculation that this measure was taken because of traffic growth or a reason that was already known (the rapid spread of clone websites). 18.45 million unique visitors from all over the world visited the website in July, according to SimilarWeb. All these changes were included in MPAA's annual report for USTR in October. In addition, the document stated that, despite GoStream.is' numerous efforts to conceal its operator's identity, such as setting up reverse proxy servers in the United States, Iran, and Romania, there was strong evidence that he was still in Vietnam. The right holders' representatives even managed to find out that the content was being uploaded to the website through the cyberlockers from numerous email accounts originating from Can Tho University of Medicine and Pharmacy.
Later that year, the domain name was changed to 123movieshub.to/is and MeMovies.to, respectively. What transpired in 2018 with 123Movies? In January the findings of SimilarWeb analysts' investigation were published, according to which 98 mln people visited 123movieshub.is each month. Although experts assert that the audience of approximately 100 million is still capable of causing severe damage to the film industry, this number is significantly lower than the record 282 million unique visitors that The Pirate Bay attracted, making it the absolute leader among all pirate services. In early March MPAA's Executive Vice President and Chief of Global Content Protection Jan van Voorn made a statement that the Association had sent its representatives to Vietnam. In the hope that it would result in the streaming platform's demise, this measure coordinated efforts with the local Police Investigation Authority. Additionally, Van Voorn emphasized that the introduction of legal counterparts should accompany the upcoming blocking of pirate websites. In his opinion, the public ought to be enlightened so that it changed its attitude to piracy in the film industry.
Absolute blocking On March 19 of 2018 - several days after the speech of MPAA's Vice President - the popular streaming website 123Movies, also known as GoMovies, GoStream, MeMovies, and 123movieshub, announced its closure: "We have been providing links to movies and TV series for many years. It's time to say our goodbyes now. We are grateful to you for being our friends and for sticking with us for so long. The service team did not elaborate on the shutdown's cause, but they did send a PSA: "Please pay for the movies and TV shows." This is what we should do to be respectful to the people who created them". The platform was allegedly shut down under the pressure of the Vietnamese authorities and due to a criminal investigation opened at the initiative of the industry's giants represented by MPAA.
Which of 123Movies's websites is legitimate? After the closure of 123Movies, a great number of clone websites flooded the Web but the pirate streaming services had, and have to this day, no relation to the brand since it ceased to operate. The websites known as 123Movies, GoMovies, GoStream, MeMovies, or 123movieshub are nothing more than minor players. Vast pirated content to which the brand's official website used to provide access is now offered by few illegal streaming giants. As the successful criminal investigation in Vietnam in 2018 elevated the fight against film piracy to a qualitatively new level, their number decreases annually. TorrentFreak claims that the FBI shut down WatchAsap and dozens of other websites that were similar to 123Movies in November 2018. However, new fake services appear daily since demand generates supply. Millions of movie websites' users who are not ready to pay for viewing movies and TV series and shows remain overboard.
A look at a typical website that looks like 123Movies The reputation of 123Movies, a service that started attracting 98 million unique visitors each month in less than three years thanks to the uploading of high-quality content represented by the most recent movies, is not the only factor contributing to the popularity of clone websites. A typical pirate website that looks like 123Movies has options that are very similar to the legendary original, which is often the most important factor for users when choosing a free viewing platform. For instance, the design of the service 123movies, whose domain name is nearly identical to that of its well-known predecessor, is similar.
The slogan "Watch Your Favorite Movies Online" is displayed above a search line in the middle of the homepage. To locate a film or television series, type its name into the search bar and then select the magnifying glass icon on the right. The user will then be taken to the page containing the search results. Clicking on the desired movie or TV series will open the page with the player, while pressing on the play button in the middle of the screen will enable the user to start the viewing.
The movie or the first episode of the series will play after a short loading the duration of which depends on the speed of your Internet connection. The "NIGHT MODE" button can be found on the left side of the player. This button makes the screen darker for easier viewing. Some useful information can be found below the player window, including the film's genre, cast, director, country of production, duration, quality, release date, and IMDb rating. Further below there is the "You may also like" block that features recommended movies of a similar genre and plot.
Navigation
The logo is on the left side of the header, and the navigation blocks HOME, GENRE, TV SERIES, and MOVIES are on the right side, closer to the middle of the page. You can open the homepage with relevant collections sorted by IMDb rating, release date, genre, country of production, etc. by clicking "HOME."