Movies like It Could Happen to You (1994)
The best movies like It Could Happen to You (1994) are Arthur (1981), Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961) and The Proposal (2009). If It Could Happen to You hooked you with its comedy and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedForrest Gump (1994)8.5/10 from 30,875 votes
- NewestOne Night Only (2026)Released 2026
Arthur (1981)
Arthur is a 30-year-old child who will inherit $750 million if he complies with his family's demands and marries the woman of their choosing.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBreakfast at Tiffany's (1961)
Holly Golightly is an eccentric New York City playgirl determined to marry a Brazilian millionaire. But when young writer Paul Varjak moves into her apartment building, her past threatens to get in their way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Proposal (2009)
When she learns she's in danger of losing her visa status and being deported, overbearing book editor Margaret Tate forces her put-upon assistant, Andrew Paxton, to marry her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHow to Lose Friends & Alienate People (2008)
Sidney Young is a down-on-his-luck journalist. Thanks to a stint involving a pig and a glitzy awards ceremony, Sidney turns his fortunes around, attracting the attention of Clayton Harding, editor of New York-based glossy magazine 'Sharps', and landing the holy grail of journalism jobs. The Brit jets off to the Big Apple and moves from one blunder to the next.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIs This Thing On? (2025)
As their marriage quietly unravels, Alex faces middle age and an impending divorce, seeking new purpose in the New York comedy scene while Tess confronts the sacrifices she made for their family—forcing them to navigate co-parenting, identity, and whether love can take a new form.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA California Christmas (2020)
With his carefree lifestyle on the line, a wealthy charmer poses as a ranch hand to get a hardworking farmer to sell her family’s land before Christmas.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
Longfellow Deeds lives in a small town, leading a small town kind of life. When a relative dies and leaves Deeds a fortune, Longfellow moves to the big city where he becomes an instant target for everyone. Deeds outwits them all until Babe Bennett comes along. When small-town boy meets big-city girl anything can, and does, happen.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAnnie Hall (1977)
New York comedian Alvy Singer falls in love with the ditsy Annie Hall.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBefore We Go (2014)
A chance encounter between two strangers in Grand Central Terminal sparks a life-changing, nighttime sojourn through New York City. They grow into each other's most trusted confidants when an evening of unexpected adventure forces them to confront their fears and take control of their lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFools Rush In (1997)
After a one night stand with Alex, Isabel realizes that she is pregnant and they decide to get married. However, along with the marriage comes compromise of one's own cultural traditions.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMaid in Manhattan (2002)
Marisa Ventura is a struggling single mom who works at a posh Manhattan hotel and dreams of a better life for her and her young son. One fateful day, hotel guest and senatorial candidate Christopher Marshall meets Marisa and mistakes her for a wealthy socialite. After an enchanting evening together, the two fall madly in love. But when Marisa's true identity is revealed, issues of class and social status threaten to separate them. Can two people from very different worlds overcome their differences and live happily ever after?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhich Brings Me to You (2023)
Two romantic burnouts, Jane and Will, are immediately drawn to each other at a mutual friend’s wedding. After a disastrous hookup in the coatroom, the two spend the next 24 hours together, trading candid confessions of messy histories and heartbreak, on the off chance that this fling might be the real thing.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhen Harry Met Sally... (1989)
Sex always gets in the way of friendships between men and women. At least, that's what Harry Burns believes. So when Harry meets Sally Albright and a deep friendship blossoms between them, Harry's determined not to let his attraction to Sally destroy it. But when a night of weakness ends in a morning of panic, can the pair avoid succumbing to Harry's fears by remaining friends and admitting they just might be the perfect match for each other?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHe Said, She Said (1991)
Womanising, right-wing Dan Hanson and quiet, liberal Lorie Bryer work for the Baltimore Sun. Rivals for the job of new writer of a vacant column, the paper ends up instead printing their very different opinions alongside each other, which leads to a similarly combative local TV show. At the same time their initial indifference to each other looks like it may evolve into something more romantic.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisYoung Adult (2011)
A divorced writer from the Midwest returns to her hometown to reconnect with an old flame, who's now married with a family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisEveryone Says I Love You (1996)
A New York girl sets her father up with a beautiful woman in a shaky marriage while her half sister gets engaged.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMr. Deeds (2002)
When Longfellow Deeds, a small-town pizzeria owner and poet, inherits $40 billion from his deceased uncle, he quickly begins rolling in a different kind of dough. Moving to the big city, Deeds finds himself besieged by opportunists all gunning for their piece of the pie. Babe, a television tabloid reporter, poses as an innocent small-town girl to do an exposé on Deeds.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & romance
SnoozefestMovies like thisI Love You to Death (1990)
Joey Boca is the owner of a pizza parlour, and has been married to Rosalie for years. When Rosalie discovers that Joey is a womanizer and has been cheating on her for a long time, she goes to extreme lengths to punish him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Grass Is Greener (1960)
Victor and Hillary are down on their luck to the point that they allow tourists to take guided tours of their castle. But Charles Delacro, a millionaire oil tycoon, visits, and takes a liking to more than the house. Soon, Hattie Durant gets involved and they have a good old fashioned love triangle.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFor Love or Money (1993)
New York concierge Doug Ireland wants to go into business for himself and refurbish a hotel on Roosevelt Island, N.Y., but he needs an investor. With a few weeks left before his option on the site runs out, Doug agrees to help wealthy Christian Hanover conceal his affair with salesgirl Andy Hart from his wife. Despite his own attraction to Andy, Doug tries to stay focused on getting Christian to invest $3 million in his project.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisForrest Gump (1994)
A man with a low IQ has accomplished great things in his life and been present during significant historic events—in each case, far exceeding what anyone imagined he could do. But despite all he has achieved, his one true love eludes him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisRaising Helen (2004)
Helen Harris has a glamorous, big-city life working for one of New York's hottest modeling agencies. But suddenly her free-spirited life gets turned upside down when she must choose between the life she's always loved, and the new loves of her life!
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPeacock Alley (1930)
Show dancer Claire finds herself in the New York hotel-suite with Stoddard Clayton, saying goodbye to him before her impending marriage the following day. When she returns to the hotel with her husband the following night, the house detective accuses her of prostitution and throws them out. Now Claire must explain everything to her unsympathetic husband.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
One Night Only (2026)
Two love-starved strangers crash into each other on the one night of the year when single people are allowed to have sex.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Super Ex-Girlfriend (2006)
When New York architect Matt Saunders dumps his new girlfriend Jenny Johnson—a smart, sexy, and reluctant superhero known as G-Girl—she uses her powers to make his life a living hell.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & romance
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
Born under unusual circumstances, Benjamin Button springs into being as an elderly man in a New Orleans nursing home and ages in reverse. Twelve years after his birth, he meets Daisy, a child who flits in and out of his life as she grows up to be a dancer. Though he has all sorts of unusual adventures over the course of his life, it is his relationship with Daisy, and the hope that they will come together at the right time, that drives Benjamin forward.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTo Win the Lottery (1970)
A poor and oppressed employee wins the football bet lottery and decides to live the life he dreamed so many years, wastefully scattering his money.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Blow (2001)
The story of how George Jung, together with the Medellín Cartel led by Pablo Escobar, established the billion-dollar cocaine empire in the United States in the 1970s.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBreach (2007)
Eric O'Neill, a low-level surveillance expert with the FBI, believes he is accomplishing his dream of becoming a full-fledged agent, with his unexpected promotion and assignment to clerk for Robert Hanssen, a renowned senior agent with 25 years in the FBI. However, he soon learns the reason for his promotion is to gain Hanssen's trust and find proof that he is a traitor to the country. Determined to draw the suspected double-agent out of deep cover, O'Neill finds himself in a lethal game of spy vs. spy, where nothing is as it seems.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShe Walks by Night (1959)
Based on an actual murder case in Frankfurt after the war, the film tells the story of the murder of Rosemarie, a prostitute, and how she ended up strangled in her apartment.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like It Could Happen to You?
The closest matches to It Could Happen to You are Arthur (1981), Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961) and The Proposal (2009). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after It Could Happen to You?
Start with Arthur (1981), the closest match to It Could Happen to You.
What is the highest-rated movie like It Could Happen to You?
Forrest Gump (1994), rated 8.5/10 by 30,875 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like It Could Happen to You?
One Night Only (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like It Could Happen to You?
Yes: Arthur (1981), Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961) and The Proposal (2009).
How are movies similar to It Could Happen to You chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside It Could Happen to You, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.