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

Scrape IMDb movie and TV show data. Extract titles, ratings, votes, genres, runtime, cast, plot summaries, and images from Top 250, Most Popular charts, or genre searches. Detail mode adds full cast and awards.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/lulzasaur/imdb-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [lulz bot](https://apify.com/lulzasaur) (community)
- **Categories:** Other
- **Features:** Limited permissions
- **Stats:** 15 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $30.00 / 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.

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

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
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.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## 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.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## IMDb Scraper

Apify Actor for scraping IMDb movie and TV show data. Uses CheerioCrawler to parse server-rendered `__NEXT_DATA__` for fast, reliable extraction without a browser.

### Features

- Scrape IMDb charts: Top 250 Movies, Top 250 TV Shows, Most Popular Movies, Most Popular TV Shows
- Search by genre with results sorted by user rating
- Two modes: quick chart/search data or full detail scraping
- Extracts rich structured data from `__NEXT_DATA__` JSON
- Detail mode adds: cast, directors, writers, box office, metacritic score, keywords, production companies, countries, and languages

### Input

| Field | Type | Default | Description |
|-------|------|---------|-------------|
| `chartTypes` | string\[] | `["top"]` | Charts to scrape: `top`, `toptv`, `moviemeter`, `tvmeter` |
| `searchQueries` | string\[] | `[]` | Genre search queries (e.g., `action`, `comedy`, `horror`) |
| `maxListings` | integer | `250` | Max titles per chart or search (0=unlimited) |
| `scrapeDetails` | boolean | `false` | Visit each title page for full details |
| `proxyConfiguration` | object | `{}` | Proxy settings (recommended for large runs) |

#### Example Input

```json
{
    "chartTypes": ["top", "toptv"],
    "maxListings": 50,
    "scrapeDetails": false
}
```

#### Genre Search Example

```json
{
    "chartTypes": [],
    "searchQueries": ["action", "comedy", "horror"],
    "maxListings": 25
}
```

### Output

#### Chart mode (default)

```json
{
    "rank": 1,
    "imdbId": "tt0111161",
    "title": "The Shawshank Redemption",
    "titleType": "Movie",
    "year": 1994,
    "rating": 9.3,
    "votes": 2900000,
    "runtimeSeconds": 8520,
    "runtime": "2h 22m",
    "certificate": "R",
    "genres": ["Drama"],
    "plot": "A banker convicted of uxoricide forms a friendship...",
    "imageUrl": "https://m.media-amazon.com/images/...",
    "url": "https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111161/",
    "chartType": "top",
    "scrapedAt": "2026-03-17T12:00:00.000Z"
}
```

#### Detail mode (`scrapeDetails: true`)

Adds these fields to each title:

```json
{
    "directors": [{"name": "Frank Darabont", "id": "nm0001104"}],
    "writers": [{"name": "Stephen King", "id": "nm0000175"}],
    "cast": [
        {"name": "Tim Robbins", "id": "nm0000209", "characters": ["Andy Dufresne"]},
        {"name": "Morgan Freeman", "id": "nm0000151", "characters": ["Ellis Boyd 'Red' Redding"]}
    ],
    "keywords": ["wrongful imprisonment", "prison", "escape"],
    "metacriticScore": 82,
    "boxOffice": {
        "budget": {"amount": 25000000, "currency": "USD"},
        "grossDomestic": {"amount": 58300000, "currency": "USD"},
        "grossWorldwide": {"amount": 58300000, "currency": "USD"}
    },
    "productionCompanies": ["Castle Rock Entertainment"],
    "countries": ["United States"],
    "languages": ["English"]
}
```

### Available Charts

| Chart Type | Description |
|-----------|-------------|
| `top` | IMDb Top 250 Movies |
| `toptv` | IMDb Top 250 TV Shows |
| `moviemeter` | Most Popular Movies |
| `tvmeter` | Most Popular TV Shows |

### Available Genres for Search

action, adventure, animation, biography, comedy, crime, documentary, drama, family, fantasy, film-noir, history, horror, music, musical, mystery, romance, sci-fi, sport, thriller, war, western

### How It Works

1. Fetches IMDb chart or search pages via HTTP (no browser needed)
2. Extracts `__NEXT_DATA__` JSON embedded in the server-rendered HTML
3. Parses structured title data from the Next.js page props
4. Optionally visits individual title pages for rich detail extraction
5. Outputs clean, structured JSON to the Apify dataset

### Quick Start

```bash
apify run --purge
```

### Deploy to Apify

```bash
apify login
apify push
```

***

### Run on Apify

This scraper runs on the [Apify platform](https://apify.com/?fpr=lulzasaur) — a full-stack web scraping and automation cloud. Sign up for a free account to get started with 30-day trial of all features.

[Try Apify free →](https://apify.com/?fpr=lulzasaur)

### Related Scrapers

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- [Thumbtack Scraper](https://apify.com/lulzasaur/thumbtack-scraper) — Local service professionals

# Actor input Schema

## `chartTypes` (type: `array`):

IMDb charts to scrape. Options: 'top' (Top 250 Movies), 'toptv' (Top 250 TV Shows), 'moviemeter' (Most Popular Movies), 'tvmeter' (Most Popular TV Shows).

## `searchQueries` (type: `array`):

Search IMDb by genre (e.g., 'action', 'comedy', 'drama', 'horror', 'sci-fi', 'thriller'). Results are sorted by user rating. Leave empty to use chart mode only.

## `maxListings` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of titles to scrape per chart or search query. Top 250 charts have up to 250 items. Set to 0 for unlimited.

## `scrapeDetails` (type: `boolean`):

If enabled, visits each title's page for full data: cast, directors, writers, keywords, box office, metacritic score, production companies, countries, and languages. Slower but much richer data.

## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):

Proxy settings for avoiding rate limiting. Recommended for large-scale scrapes or when using detail mode.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "chartTypes": [
    "top"
  ],
  "searchQueries": [],
  "maxListings": 5,
  "scrapeDetails": false,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": false
  }
}
```

# 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 = {
    "chartTypes": [
        "top"
    ],
    "searchQueries": [],
    "maxListings": 5
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("lulzasaur/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 = {
    "chartTypes": ["top"],
    "searchQueries": [],
    "maxListings": 5,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("lulzasaur/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 '{
  "chartTypes": [
    "top"
  ],
  "searchQueries": [],
  "maxListings": 5
}' |
apify call lulzasaur/imdb-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,lulzasaur/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/BQ2EM0TZ5AwzlDKFj/builds/tmtimKm2TOfs5dqeV/openapi.json