Movies like Day at the Zoo (2023)
The best movies like Day at the Zoo (2023) are The Fallen Idol (1948), Rebound: The Legend of Earl 'The Goat' Manigault (1996) and The Young One (1960). If Day at the Zoo hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedHunting Season (2025)7.4/10 from 490 votes
- NewestHunting Season (2025)Released 2025
The Fallen Idol (1948)
Phillipe, the son of an ambassador in London, hero-worships his father's butler Baines. His perception of the man changes when he accidentally discovers the secret that Baines keeps and witnesses the consequences that adults' lies can cause.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRebound: The Legend of Earl 'The Goat' Manigault (1996)
A dramatization of the life of Earl 'The Goat' Manigault (Don Cheadle), with a lot of factual based occurrences. A reformed junkie returns from prison to clean up his act and devote the rest of his life to the young kids of Harlem. 1996 was the 25th anniversary of the first tournament named after him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Young One (1960)
A jazz musician seeks refuge from a lynch mob on a remote island, where he meets a hostile game warden and the young object of his attentions.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Congress (2013)
An aging, out-of-work actress accepts one last job, though the consequences of her decision affect her in ways she didn't consider.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Christmas Shoes (2002)
Two separate stories mesh - in the first, a young music teacher, Maggie Andrews, begins dying of a heart condition and her son Nathan tries to get a pair of Christmas shoes for her before she dies. In the second, lawyer Robert Layton and his wife Kate are slowly drifting apart and the matter comes to a head during Christmas when Kate takes over for Maggie for the school choir.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Enforcer (2022)
A noir thriller set in Miami, the film follows an enforcer who discovers his femme fatale boss has branched out into cyber sex trafficking, putting a young runaway he’s befriended at risk. He sacrifices everything to save the young girl from the deadly organization he’s spent his life building.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLocke & Key (2011)
Three children become the caretakers of a New England mansion that is home to a bevy of secrets and magic.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Parts You Lose (2019)
An unlikely friendship unfolds between a young deaf boy, Wesley, and a fugitive criminal who takes refuge in an abandoned barn on the family’s rural North Dakota farm.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Lords of Discipline (1983)
Will arrives for his last year at Military Academy, in the Deep South USA, in the 1960's. A black student, Pearce, has been accepted, for the first time and Will is asked to keep an eye out for the inevitable racism. The racists come in the form of The Ten, a secret group of the elite students. They want Pearce to leave on his own free will, but are prepared to torture him to make it 'his free will'. Will is forced to help Pearce and he is prepared to risk his own career to do so.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPanic (2000)
Alex is going through a midlife crisis and it has become a very difficult time for him. His marriage is struggling, he's worried about his son, and his job of killing people for his family has become the most stressful part of his life. He seeks the help of a therapist and meets a woman in the waiting room that he connects with.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like this2073 (2024)
Inspired by Chris Marker's iconic 1962 featurette La Jetée; the year is 2073—a not-so-distant dystopian future—and the setting is New San Francisco, the scorched-earth tech-dominant police state where democracy and personal freedom have been well and truly obliterated.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGigi & Nate (2022)
A young man with a bright future suffers a near-fatal accident and recreates his new life with the help of an unlikely animal friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMy Dinner with Hervé (2018)
An unlikely friendship evolves over one wild night in LA between a struggling journalist and actor Hervé Villechaize, the world's most famous gun-toting dwarf, resulting in life-changing consequences for both.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEmbattled (2020)
The eldest son of a ruthlessly tough MMA champion must fight his way out of the abusive cycle his father has continued.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHunting Season (2025)
When a reclusive survivalist and his daughter rescue a mysterious, wounded woman from a river, they become entangled in a deadly web of violence and revenge, forcing them to confront a brutal criminal to survive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLittle Boy Blue (1998)
Living in rural Texas is a dysfunctional family: an abusive dad, a Vietnam vet with a war wound that's left him impotent; a compliant wife and a son of about 20, two small sons who look a lot like their brother. The dad harbors a secret, and he goes to murderous lengths to keep it hidden. The young man, Jimmy, who has suspicions, but little comes out until a Yankee woman comes to town.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI Am Elizabeth Smart (2017)
The story of Elizabeth Smart's kidnapping and captivity, as told from her perspective.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEl Chicano (2019)
A pair of twin brothers from East L.A. choose to live their lives differently and end up on opposite sides of the law.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSilverton Siege (2022)
After a failed sabotage mission, a trio of anti-apartheid freedom fighters ends up in a tense bank hostage situation. Based on a true story.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWar for the Planet of the Apes (2017)
Caesar and his apes are forced into a deadly conflict with an army of humans led by a ruthless Colonel. After the apes suffer unimaginable losses, Caesar wrestles with his darker instincts and begins his own mythic quest to avenge his kind. As the journey finally brings them face to face, Caesar and the Colonel are pitted against each other in an epic battle that will determine the fate of both their species and the future of the planet.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAustralia (2017)
Friday, 11 p.m. Carla, a woman in her forties, is alone in her office. She gets a call. It's Raúl, a young guy who sells cocaine. Tonight will be the last night that Raúl works as a dealer. He wants to change his life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Calibre (2018)
Two lifelong friends head up to an isolated Scottish Highlands village for a weekend hunting trip that descends into a never-ending nightmare as they attempt to cover up a horrific hunting accident.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNot Another Coming Out Story (2025)
Tommy and Star, two south London teens, explores the complexities of young gay life, focusing on themes of friendship, grief, and the messy realities of adolescence while facing their trauma through risky choices and relationships.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Shank (2009)
Teenage gang member Cal, hides his sexuality from his fellow gang members despite their often violent dislike of anyone that isn't the same as them, be they unsuspecting shoppers, foreign students, gays, etc. When his world collides with Olivier, a student he rescues from a pointless beating, he encounters a lifestyle that presents as many new experiences as it does obstacles.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Zed & Two Noughts (1985)
Identical twin zoologists lose their wives in a car crash caused by a white swan. They become obsessed with the death and decay of animals, and develop a strange and unusual relationship with the driver of the car, a woman who is now an amputee.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisChopper (2000)
The true and infamous story of Australia's notorious criminal Mark 'Chopper' Read and his years of crime, interest in violence, drugs and prostitutes.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLast Exit (the underground film) (2003)
The first GRITTY UNDERGROUND feature film ever in Denmark - no budget - no problem! It plumbs the depths of its dark themes with passionate, convincing performances, LAST EXIT is a gritty, sexy psychological thriller. Its antihero is Nigel, an incompetent criminal. He and his wife Maria shack up at a hotel, while each struggles separately with a drug problem. Maria manages to get a straight job, and Nigel gets a gig storing illegal goods for a local crime boss known as the President. Things heat up when Nigel falls for Tanya, a prostitute who works for the President, and their affair makes him ever more distant from Maria. The stage is set for a sex and violence-fueled descent into mayhem that remains intelligent throughout, as the plot twists and secrets are revealed. Maria gets pregnant and Nigel starts to snap, and the only sane one seems to be Jimmie, Nigel's existential pot dealer... "GOOD TASTE MADE BAD TASTE!" - Peter Jackson
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Chasing You (2019)
An adrift man must fall into the depths of drug abuse to resurrect his past lover, oblivious to the catastrophic consequences.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Run Rabbit Run (2012)
Art student Paul Moon descends into the darkness of crystal meth with the help of his new-found dealer-philosopher Jay King.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Taxi to the Toilets (1981)
Frank, a dedicated schoolteacher, embraces the sexual freedoms of the city’s underground scene—navigating a double life in public restrooms, cinemas, and cruising spots. When he meets Bernd, a sweet and steady museum worker, he finds himself torn between the comfort of domestic partnership and the allure of anonymous desire.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Day at the Zoo?
The closest matches to Day at the Zoo are The Fallen Idol (1948), Rebound: The Legend of Earl 'The Goat' Manigault (1996) and The Young One (1960). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Day at the Zoo?
Start with The Fallen Idol (1948), the closest match to Day at the Zoo.
What is the highest-rated movie like Day at the Zoo?
Hunting Season (2025), rated 7.4/10 by 490 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Day at the Zoo?
Hunting Season (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Day at the Zoo?
Yes: The Fallen Idol (1948), Rebound: The Legend of Earl 'The Goat' Manigault (1996) and The Young One (1960).
How are movies similar to Day at the Zoo chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Day at the Zoo, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.