Movies like Lily's World of Wax (1986)
The best movies like Lily's World of Wax (1986) are Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933), Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang (2010) and Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story (2025). If Lily's World of Wax hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedEverybody’s Everything (2019)8.4/10 from 311 votes
- NewestRose of Nevada (2026)Released 2026
Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933)
A wax sculptor opens a new museum years after he is severely injured during a fire that destroyed his original collection. The disappearance of both people and corpses coincides with this grand reopening and leads a reporter to start investigating.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNanny McPhee and the Big Bang (2010)
Nanny McPhee appears at the door of a harried young mother who is trying to run the family farm while her husband is away at war. But once she’s arrived, Nanny discovers that the children are fighting a war of their own against two spoiled city cousins who have just moved in. Relying on everything from a flying motorcycle and a statue that comes to life to a tree-climbing piglet and a baby elephant, Nanny uses her magic to teach her mischievous charges five new lessons.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story (2025)
The authorized documentary celebrating the film that redefined Hollywood, 50 years after its premiere. Featuring rare archival footage and interviews with acclaimed Hollywood directors alongside Steven Spielberg, top shark scientists, and conservationists, the film uncovers the behind-the-scenes chaos and how the film launched the summer blockbuster, inspired a new wave of filmmakers, and paved the way for shark conservation that continues today.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWonder Wheel (2017)
The story of four characters whose lives intertwine amid the hustle and bustle of the Coney Island amusement park in the 1950s: Ginny, an emotionally volatile former actress now working as a waitress in a clam house; Humpty, Ginny’s rough-hewn carousel operator husband; Mickey, a handsome young lifeguard who dreams of becoming a playwright; and Carolina, Humpty’s long-estranged daughter, who is now hiding out from gangsters at her father’s apartment.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLast Summer (1969)
During summer vacation on Fire Island, three young people become very close. When an uncool girl tries to infiltrate the trio's newly found relationship, they construct an elaborate plot that has violent results.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAdoration (2013)
Lil and Roz are two lifelong friends, having grown up together as neighbors in an idyllic beach town. As adults, their sons have developed a friendship as strong as that which binds their mothers. One summer, all four are confronted by simmering emotions that have been mounting between them, and each find unexpected happiness in relationships that cross the bounds of convention.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShag (1989)
Summer of 1963. Carson is getting married to her boyfriend so her friends Melaina, Pudge and Luanne take her to Myrtle Beach for one last irresponsible weekend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEverybody’s Everything (2019)
The story of artist Lil Peep from his birth in Long Island and meteoric rise as a genre blending pop star & style icon, to his death due to an accidental opioid overdose in Arizona at just 21 years of age.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisBeing Eddie (2025)
From teen comedian to Hollywood legend, Eddie Murphy revisits his extraordinary showbiz ride with raw honesty and humor.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThey'll Love Me When I'm Dead (2018)
As his life comes to its end, famous Hollywood director Orson Welles puts it all on the line at the chance for renewed success with the film The Other Side of the Wind.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJanet Planet (2024)
In rural Western Massachusetts, 11-year-old Lacy spends the summer of 1991 at home, enthralled by her own imagination and the attention of her mother, Janet. As the months pass, three visitors enter their orbit, all captivated by Janet.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCigarette Burns (2005)
With a torrid past that haunts him, a movie theatre owner is hired to search for the only existing print of a film so notorious that its single screening caused the viewers to become homicidally insane.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRose of Nevada (2026)
When a fishing boat, the Rose of Nevada, lost with all hands 30 years ago, mysteriously reappears in the old harbour of a forgotten Cornish village, for those who remember, it’s surely a sign. The boat must go out to sea again and maybe then the luck of the devastated village will turn. Young father Nick and enigmatic newcomer Liam join captain Murgey, and they head to sea. But when they return, satisfied with their haul, something is amiss – they’ve slipped back in time, and the villagers greet them as if they are the original crew.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSly (2023)
His love of film began as an escape from a rocky childhood. From underdog to Hollywood legend, Sylvester Stallone tells his story in this documentary.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStardust Memories (1980)
While attending a retrospect of his work, a filmmaker recalls his life and his loves: the inspirations for his films.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisScooby Goes Hollywood (1979)
Shaggy and Scooby-Doo quit their Saturday morning TV series in pursuit of Hollywood stardom.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMaria by Callas (2017)
Told through performances, TV interviews, home movies, family photographs, private letters and unpublished memoirs, the film reveals the essence of an extraordinary woman who rose from humble beginnings in New York City to become a glamorous international superstar and one of the greatest artists of all time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like this8MM (1999)
A small, seemingly innocuous plastic reel of film leads surveillance specialist Tom Welles down an increasingly dark and frightening path. With the help of the streetwise Max, he relentlessly follows a bizarre trail of evidence to determine the fate of a complete stranger. As his work turns into obsession, he drifts farther and farther away from his wife, family and simple life as a small-town PI.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPortrait of Jennie (1948)
In Depression-era New York, painter Eben Adams despairs at his lack of success. One cold winter evening in Central Park, he meets enigmatic, old-fashioned Jennie Appleton, who captures his fancy when she asks him to wait for her to grow up. Soon after, Eben sells a sketch of Jennie to kindly art dealer Miss Spinny and, as he meets the oddly mutable Jennie in fleeting moments, begins to realize they share a special destiny.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBeach Rats (2017)
On the outskirts of Brooklyn, Frankie, an aimless teenager, suffocates under the oppressive glare cast by his family and a toxic group of delinquent friends. Struggling with his own identity, Frankie begins to scour hookup sites for older men.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Lily's World of Wax?
The closest matches to Lily's World of Wax are Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933), Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang (2010) and Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story (2025). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Lily's World of Wax?
Start with Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933), the closest match to Lily's World of Wax.
What is the highest-rated movie like Lily's World of Wax?
Everybody’s Everything (2019), rated 8.4/10 by 311 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Lily's World of Wax?
Rose of Nevada (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Lily's World of Wax?
Yes: Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933), Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang (2010) and Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story (2025).
How are movies similar to Lily's World of Wax chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Lily's World of Wax, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.