Movies like The Birthday (2023)
The best movies like The Birthday (2023) are TalhotBlond (2012), Eleanor the Great (2025) and My Dinner with Hervé (2018). If The Birthday hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedHarold and Maude (1971)7.6/10 from 1,265 votes
- NewestEleanor the Great (2025)Released 2025
- In FrenchThe Outsider (2016)Also in French
TalhotBlond (2012)
Thomas Montgomery, a married father of two young daughters, gets seduced by the world of online gambling and chat rooms where a virtual romance and sexual obsession ultimately leads to the murder of an innocent man.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEleanor the Great (2025)
94-year-old Eleanor Morgenstein tries to rebuild her life after the death of her best friend. As a result, she moves back to New York City after living in Florida for decades.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisHounddog (2008)
A drama set in the American South, where a precocious, troubled girl finds a safe haven in the music and movement of Elvis Presley.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Outsider (2016)
A drama about the less known aspects of the trading activity inside one of the biggest banks in the world - Société Générale. The movie tracks the rise and fall of anonymous trader turned superstar turned escape goat - Jérôme Kerviel - just as the 2008 financial crisis was unfolding
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 thisRogue Agent (2022)
Conman Robert Freegard poses as an undercover MI5 agent and kidnaps countless victims amidst a high-stakes manhunt, until the woman who fell for him brings him to justice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGirl in the Box (2016)
The true story of 20-year-old Colleen Stan, a hitchhiking woman abducted by a young couple and held captive for seven years, during which time she's tortured and forced to live as a slave to her captors.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHands of Stone (2016)
The legendary Roberto Duran and his equally legendary trainer Ray Arcel change each other's lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAaliyah: The Princess of R&B (2014)
The story of R&B singer and actress Aaliyah; namely, the highs and lows of her career, her romantic pursuits, and the events leading up to her death in 2001 at the age of 22.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAbove the Rim (1994)
Story of a promising high school basketball star and his relationships with two brothers, one a drug dealer and the other a former basketball star fallen on hard times and now employed as a security guard.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisImperial Dreams (2014)
A 21-year-old reformed gangster's devotion to his family and his future is put to the test when he is released from prison and returns to his old stomping grounds in Watts, Los Angeles.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like this1 Chance 2 Dance (2014)
When a 17-year old aspiring dancer is uprooted in her high school senior year, she finds herself divided between two boys, and she will have one last shot at making her dream a reality.
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 thisAnuja (2024)
When a brilliant nine-year-old working in a sweatshop gets a chance to attend school, she must make a difficult choice for her and her sister's future.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI Never Promised You a Rose Garden (1977)
A disturbed and institutionalized 16-year-old girl struggles between fantasy and reality.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisNenette and Boni (1997)
Teenage siblings Nenette and Boni were raised apart as a result of their parents' divorce. Their mother, who doted on her son Boni, has died. He works for an interesting couple as a pizza baker, and is surprised and enraged when his younger sister, having run away from boarding school, suddenly turns up. There's a problem that they must confront.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Last Diamond (2014)
Simon, a burglar on probation, agreed to go on the biggest shot of his life: The flight of the "Florentine", a mythical diamond set auction by its owners. To succeed, he must approach Julia, expert diamond for sale which is a considerable personal and family issue. Beyond a jigsaw particularly daring, Julia Simon will lead to a destiny she could not imagine.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInside I'm Dancing (2004)
Michael is a 24-year-old who has cerebral palsy and long-term resident of the Carrigmore Residential Home for the Disabled, run by the formidable Eileen. His life is transformed when the maverick Rory O'Shea moves in.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLove Me No More (2008)
Antoine Méliot is around 40 years old and has everything he needs to be happy: a beautiful wife, two adorable children, friends he can count on, a pretty house in the Yvelines and money. But one day he decides to ruin everything in one weekend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHarold and Maude (1971)
A deadpan young man obsessed with death meets an eccentric septuagenarian who teaches him to live life to the fullest.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGloomy Sunday (1999)
Budapest in the 1930s. Restaurant owner Laszlo hires pianist András to play in his restaurant. Both men fall in love with the beautiful waitress Ilona who inspires András to his only composition. His song of Gloomy Sunday is, at first, loved and then feared, for its melancholic melody sets off a chain of suicides. The fragile balance of the erotic ménage à trois is sent off kilter when the German Hans falls in love with Ilona as well.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisParty Monster (2003)
The New York club scene of the 80s and 90s was a world like no other. Into this candy-colored, mirror ball playground stepped Michael Alig, a wannabe from nowhere special. Under the watchful eye of veteran club kid James St. James, Alig quickly rose to the top... and there was no place to go but down.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisDalecarlians (2004)
Mia returns from Stockholm to her parents' home in a small town in Dalecarlia (Dalarna) to celebrate her father's 70th birthday. Her elder sisters Eivor and Gunilla welcome her, but their different lifestyles prevent them from really communicating. The tension builds, and the party that should be a celebration turns out to be a turning point for the family and their friends
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Man from Earth (2007)
A departing professor gathers his closest colleagues for an intimate farewell, but the night takes an unexpected turn when he shares a stunning secret about his past. As the conversation unfolds, skepticism and curiosity collide, challenging everything they thought they knew about history, science, and belief.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Nephew (2018)
Burgundy, France, end of 1945. On the day of his 15th birthday, Louis receives a very special gift from his uncle Jules, who decides to take his nephew to his favorite brothel in an attempt to let him explore his new life as a grown-up man. Through the evening’s bittersweet encounters, Louis discovers the adult world in all its complexity and cruelty.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Neon (2024)
To get closer to each other, a mother takes her son to a house by the sea to celebrate his birthday. But something is not right, neither of them should be there. The discomfort creeps under the skin in an equally beautiful and poignant portrayal of mental illness and its consequences.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Twenty Something (2021)
Follows Gia, who has to deal with the challenges and insecurities of "adulting" during her 21st birthday.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBirthday Boy (2024)
On his 16th birthday, alone and depressed Yoke is taken on a journey by his friend Rico, to have the best birthday possible given the poverty stricken circumstances; some unexpected company and lessons are found along the way. Shot on MiniDV tapes and totally handheld.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Immortal Song (1977)
Semra is a famous singer, and her daughter Cigdem goes to the Conservatoire. Cigdem falls in love with the new music teacher Bulent. There is a piece of music which Semra plays, and Cigdem is curious about it. Semra tells her daughter about her love from the youth named Kemal. Bulent also has a similar story at his home and it turns out Bulent is the son of Semra's old love Kenan. Cigdem and Bulent want to get married but Cigdem's father doesn't approve their marriage. Bulent resigns from the school and becomes a successful singer. Eventually, love beats all the difficulties and Cigdem and Bulent share a happy life together.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Birthday?
The closest matches to The Birthday are TalhotBlond (2012), Eleanor the Great (2025) and My Dinner with Hervé (2018). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Birthday?
Start with TalhotBlond (2012), the closest match to The Birthday.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Birthday?
Harold and Maude (1971), rated 7.6/10 by 1,265 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Birthday?
Eleanor the Great (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there French movies like The Birthday?
Yes: The Outsider (2016), Nenette and Boni (1997) and The Last Diamond (2014).
How are movies similar to The Birthday chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Birthday, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.