The intended purpose of these movies has led to their classification into distinct "modes" or "types of movies." There are three basic types of movies: Fictional, Experimental & Animation, and Documentaries.
These three modes can each be further broken down into genres (i.e., categories of stories or arrangements that are well-known).
The mode that is most frequently referred to as simply "the movies" is fictional. It has adapted the storytelling techniques that have always been used in culture and developed a variety of cinematic settings and languages to tell its stories.
The experimental movie mode encompasses the newer movie-making techniques. It explores and pushes the technological boundaries to create its art form. The experimental mode tests the limits of technology currently available to tell its stories; it includes non-photographic animated and computer-generated movies.
Last but not least is the documentary mode, which draws heavily on cinema's ability to convey events in the world while incorporating the strength of the motion picture.
So the 3 main types of movies are:
Fictional
Experimental & Animation
Documentaries
You can get more detailed information on these three motion picture types below: