Movies like The Hopeful (2024)
The best movies like The Hopeful (2024) are Omaha (2025), Black or White (2015) and Ordinary Angels (2024). If The Hopeful hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedIt's a Wonderful Life (1946)8.3/10 from 5,160 votes
- NewestSaint Paisios (2026)Released 2026
Omaha (2025)
A young girl and her brother are awoken by their father and loaded into the car on an early morning in 2008. As they road trip across the American West, she discovers the truth about their seemingly spontaneous journey.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlack or White (2015)
A grieving widower is drawn into a custody battle over his granddaughter, whom he helped raise her entire life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOrdinary Angels (2024)
Inspired by the incredible true story of a hairdresser who single-handedly rallies an entire community to help a widowed father save the life of his critically ill young daughter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Last Bus (2021)
Widower Tom, on the recent passing of his wife Mary, uses his free bus pass to travel the length of Britain from John O'Groats in Caithness to Land's End in Cornwall, their shared birthplace, using only local buses. It's an incident-fuelled nostalgia trip and his encounters with local people make him a media phenomenon. Tom is totally unaware and to his surprise on arrival at Land’s End he’s greeted as a celebrity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSounder (1972)
The oldest son of a loving and strong family of black sharecroppers comes of age in the Depression-era South after his father is imprisoned for stealing food.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWhere the Red Fern Grows (2003)
Set in the Ozark Mountains during the Great Depression, Billy Coleman works hard and saves his earnings for 2 years to achieve his dream of buying two coonhound pups. He develops a new trust in God as he faces overwhelming challenges in adventure and tragedy roaming the river bottoms of Cherokee country with "Old Dan" and "Little Ann."
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhere the Red Fern Grows (1974)
Billy Coleman works hard and saves his earnings for two years to achieve his dream of buying two red-bone coonhound pups. He develops a new trust in life as he faces overwhelming challenges in adventure and tragedy roaming the river bottoms of Cherokee country with his dogs, Old Dan and Little Ann.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLittle Women (1933)
Four sisters come of age in America in the aftermath of the Civil War.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLucky (2017)
Follows the journey of a 90-year-old atheist and the quirky characters that inhabit his off-the-map desert town. He finds himself at the precipice of life, thrust into a journey of self-exploration.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMansfield Park (2007)
Fanny Price is sent to live with her wealthy relatives, the Bertrams, where she is treated poorly by most except her cousin Edmund. Her life is complicated by the arrival of the worldly Mary and Henry Crawford
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIt's a Wonderful Life (1946)
George Bailey has spent his entire life giving to the people of Bedford Falls. All that prevents rich skinflint Mr. Potter from taking over the entire town is George's modest building and loan company. But on Christmas Eve the business's $8,000 is lost and George's troubles begin.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisA Home of Our Own (1993)
In 1960s Los Angeles an energetic widow and her six children try to make a dream of theirs come true: to have a home of their own. They leave L.A. and head for the countryside, all the while facing numerous difficulties and obstacles during their journey.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMiss Austen Regrets (2008)
Jane Austen is about to turn 40, but she still hasn't found her ideal man. When Jane is approached by her niece Fanny and asked to help select the perfect husband for the young girl, the aging spinster begins to wonder why it is that she never found a man to share her own life with.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBUtterfield 8 (1960)
Gloria Wandrous, a promiscuous fashion model, falls in love with Weston Liggett, the hard drinking son of a working class family who has married into money.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFinding Neverland (2004)
During a writing slump, playwright J.M. Barrie meets a widow and her four children, all young boys—who soon become an important part of Barrie’s life and the inspiration that lead him to create his masterpiece. Peter Pan.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMiracles from Heaven (2016)
When Christy discovers her 10-year-old daughter Anna has a rare, incurable disease, she becomes a ferocious advocate for her daughter’s healing as she searches for a solution. After Anna has a freak accident and falls three stories, a miracle unfolds in the wake of her dramatic rescue that leaves medical specialists mystified, her family restored and their community inspired.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLetters to God (2010)
A young boy fighting cancer writes letters to God, touching lives in his neighborhood and inspiring hope among everyone he comes in contact. An unsuspecting substitute postman, with a troubled life of his own, becomes entangled in the boy's journey and his family by reading the letters. They inspire him to seek a better life for himself and his own son he's lost through his alcohol addiction.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHeaven Is for Real (2014)
After their young son, Colton, undergoes emergency surgery, small-town parents Todd and Sonja Burpo are overjoyed at the child's miraculous recovery. However, the Burpos are unprepared for what happens next... Colton says that during his surgery he went to heaven and back, and tells his parents things that he couldn't possibly know. Can Todd find the courage and conviction to share his son's extraordinary, life-changing experience with the world?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGreyfriars Bobby (1961)
In Scotland 1865, An old shepherd and his little Skye terrier go to Edinburgh. But when the shepherd dies of pneumonia, the dog remains faithful to his master, refuses to be adopted by anyone, and takes to sleeping on his master's grave in the Greyfriars kirkyard, despite a caretaker with a "no dogs" rule. And when Bobby is taken up for being unlicensed, it's up to the children of Edinburgh and the Lord Provost to decide what's to be done.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHeidi (2005)
Swiss girl Adelheid 'Heidi' is orphaned young. Aunt Detie brings her to grandpa Alp and his wife, who live isolated in the Alps since his murder charge. Heidi soon takes to the wild country, especially accompanying young goatherd Peter. Grandpa refuses to send her to school in the city, but aunt Detie returns and forces him to give in. She's sent to a posh lady in Frankfurt, where she'll be a companion for crippled daughter Clara after school hours.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDead Man (1995)
On the run after committing murder, an accountant encounters a strange Native American man who prepares him for his journey into the spiritual world.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Man Who Would Be King (1975)
Tired of life as soldiers, Peachy Carnehan and Danny Dravot travel to the isolated land of Kafiristan, where they are ultimately embraced by the people and revered as rulers. After a series of misunderstandings, the natives come to believe that Dravot is a god, but he and Carnehan can't keep up their deception forever.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSaint Paisios (2026)
The story of Saint Paisios, or else known as Arsenios Eznepidis. After being uprooted from Farasa of Cappadocia as refugees, the family of young Arsenios settles in Konitsa, Epirus where he grows up with his mother and grandmother, who inherit to him their deep faith in Christ as well as their love for all people. Fast forward to many years later, his time in Mounth Athos and his move to Filotheos monastery play a catalytic role in his religious journey. Eventually, he sends a photograph of himself to his mother, bidding her farewell and telling her that from then on the Virgin Mary will be his mother. He no longer signs using the name Arsenios, but Paisios.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Jesus Freaks (2024)
A woman's story of love and redemption during the Christian youth revolution that swept across America in the 1970's.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Elephant Man (1980)
A Victorian surgeon rescues a heavily disfigured man being mistreated by his "owner" as a side-show freak. Behind his monstrous façade, there is revealed a person of great intelligence and sensitivity.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Steppe (1962)
Based on a Anton Chekhov short story, this slight tale has some good moments as the drama of a young boy's journey unfolds. The lad comes from peasant stock, and one day his family decides it would be best for him to go live with his uncle in the city. The only problem is that the city is all the way across the Russian steppes, and at this time in history, that arduous journey could only be undertaken by horse and carriage. Reminiscent of the American pioneer wagon trains heading West, the tale lacks any attacks from hostile forces but is filled with charming vignettes. In one part of the journey, the boy comes across some fishermen along a river, harpooning their catch for the day. In another segment, he is entertained when some folk dancers do a lively show. But in general, it is too long and unmomentous a journey to hold attention well for nearly two hours.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
No Address (2025)
A group of individuals who unexpectedly fall into homelessness. They bond together as an unconventional family, struggling to survive on the streets while warding off a harassing gang, an unforgiving community, and local authorities.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Nun Nancy (2021)
Nun Nancy follows the heartfelt ministry of a passionate woman of God that served the inner city of Baltimore, Maryland disguised as a bartender so that she could more effectively share God's love to the drunks and prostitutes.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Sven Tuuva the Hero (1958)
For six hundred years Sweden had controlled most of Finland until the war with Russia that ended in 1809, when Finland became a Grand Duchy of the Russian Czar. This period drama is set during that early 19th-century war and focuses on one of its heroes, Sven Tuuva. Sven is a decent yet not too brilliant soldier, and his exploits are partly balanced here by the charms of a compatriot.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Great White Throne Judgment (TBA)
Follows a group of bikers who run a small town through a drug and human trafficking trade; a preacher who lost his way; and a pre-med student who has a dark secret. Angels watch them trying to direct them on to a noble path.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Hopeful?
The closest matches to The Hopeful are Omaha (2025), Black or White (2015) and Ordinary Angels (2024). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Hopeful?
Start with Omaha (2025), the closest match to The Hopeful.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Hopeful?
It's a Wonderful Life (1946), rated 8.3/10 by 5,160 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Hopeful?
Saint Paisios (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Hopeful?
Yes: Omaha (2025), Black or White (2015) and Ordinary Angels (2024).
How are movies similar to The Hopeful chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Hopeful, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.