How to scrape IMDb with an unofficial IMDb API 🎞️

Extract and collect structured IMDb data about movies, TV shows, and video games, including genres, directors, actors, ratings, and more.

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If you want to conduct sentiment analysis, collecting ratings and reviews from IMDb helps you understand audience reception and preferences. You can also carry out market research to identify top films and genres for targeted merchandising.

But how do you get that data in a structured format?

IMDb scrapers are the answer. They simplify data organization and help you gain insights into industry trends quickly and efficiently.

       Try IMDb Advanced Scraper for Free
Try IMDb Advanced Scraper for Free
This scraper can be integrated with other IMDb scrapers, such as IMDb Scraper πŸ”— or IMDb Ratings πŸ”—.

🎬 Why scrape IMDb?

IMDb is a leading entertainment data platform that covers extensive details about movies, TV series, and video games. IMDb Advanced Scraper enables you to extract and download custom machine-readable IMDb datasets containing all information on your selected listings from IMDb.com.

Which data can I get from IMDb using this scraping tool?

πŸ“½οΈ Genres 🎬 Directors
🎭 Actors πŸ“ Plot summaries
πŸ§‘πŸ»β€πŸ€β€πŸ§‘πŸ» Cast πŸ“© User reviews
✍️ User description ⭐ User Rating
πŸ“† Release dates πŸ† Awards
πŸ”‘ Keywords & more
πŸ’‘
This scraper allows you to download all this data in a structured dataset with no limitations.
      Learn how to scrape data from IMDb step-by-step πŸ‘‡
Learn how to scrape data from IMDb step-by-step πŸ‘‡

How can I scrape data from IMDb? πŸ€”

IMDb Advanced Scraper, which extracts information from the IMDb database. All you have to do is provide it with an IMDb URL to scrape. Let’s go through the steps together! πŸ‘ž

Step 1. Go to IMDb Advanced Scraper and click Try for Free

In Apify Store, search for the IMDb Advanced Scraper page and click the Try for free button. You’ll be redirected to Apify Console, which is basically your dashboard.

Try IMDb Advanced Scraper for Free
Try IMDb Advanced Scraper for Free

If you don’t have an Apify account yet, don’t worry. Signing up with your email account, Google, or GitHub is free and easy. You don’t need to provide your credit card, so don’t be shy and sign up!

Sign up for free
Sign up for free

Step 2. Fill out the input and run the scraper

Simply insert your desired search keyword and URLs into the scraper's input field. You'll be prompted to begin a free trial as the IMDb Scraper is a paid Actor. But no need to worry – no credit card information is necessary!

You can scrape IMDb with both search keywords and URLs.
You can scrape IMDb with both search keywords and URLs.
Use the + Add button to include one or more URLs based on your needs.
Use the + Add button to include one or more URLs based on your needs.

Step 3. Click Start ▢️ to run the scraper

Click start to run IMDb Advanced Scraper
Click start to run IMDb Advanced Scraper

While the IMDb Advanced Scraper is running, you’ll see the data coming in, but it is not done until the status changes to Succeeded.

You can monitor your scraper and watch the process in the Apify console. Check logs for updates or issues.
You can monitor your scraper and watch the process in the Apify console. Check logs for updates or issues.

πŸ₯ And voilΓ ! You can now view the extracted data.

View the results and download IMDb data
View the results and download IMDb data

Note that you can preview your results before downloading them. You can download and export IMDb data to Excel, JSON, CSV, and HTML.

View the results and download IMDb data
View the results and download IMDb data

We extracted 20 results in a minute! Now, click the Export button to view and download your comprehensive IMDb data.

Export IMDb dataset
Export IMDb dataset
Your IMDb dataset in JSON
Your IMDb dataset in JSON

Now, you know how to scrape data from IMDb. It’s as easy as that! πŸ₯³

How can I use scraped IMDb data? πŸ“² 

IMDb scrapers use cases

🎞️ Film production companies can analyze trends and preferences to shape their upcoming projects, ensuring they resonate with audiences.

πŸ’» Marketing professionals might delve into review and rating data to craft compelling campaigns or identify the right influencers for their promotions.

🏫 Academic researchers could utilize IMDb data to study patterns in film genres, actor popularity, or the impact of release dates on success.

➑️
Got a great idea? You can build your own scraper from scratch!

❓FAQs

Does IMDb have an API? πŸ”

Yes, IMDb offers three APIs to extract data available through monthly subscription packages. However, these packages are fixed and not customizable, and the subscriptions can be expensive.

‼️
IMDb Scraper effectively creates an unofficial IMDb API that allows you access to live IMDb data directly from the website for a lower price.

Do you need proxies to extract data from IMDb?

Usually, you will need to use a proxy to scrape IMDb, or the scraper might get blocked. Luckily, your free Apify account comes with an Apify Proxy trial, which should help you get started with web scraping Booking.

Yes, web scraping is legal, and it is perfectly legitimate to scrape publicly available information from the web. IMDb provides a public directory of real estate listings, so scraping IMDb data is perfectly legal. If you're unsure whether your reason for scraping those is legitimate, consult your lawyers. We also recommend that you read our blog post: Is web scraping legal?

πŸ’‘
Pro tip: Check out the IMDb actor. Try it for free, and then use it for up to $1.00/month.
Scrape IMDb data
Scrape IMDb data
Michelle Macias
Michelle Macias
Jr. Marketing Coordinator at Apify with a driven passion for media and communication, particularly interested in the digital realm.

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