Movies like Bye Bye Boy (2023)
The best movies like Bye Bye Boy (2023) are Magnolia (1999), Wasp (2003) and The Watcher in the Woods (1980). If Bye Bye Boy hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedCaptain Fantastic (2016)7.9/10 from 7,047 votes
- NewestDoing Life (2026)Released 2026
- In SpanishThe Orphanage (2007)Also in Spanish
Magnolia (1999)
On one random day in the San Fernando Valley, a dying father, a young wife, a male caretaker, a famous lost son, a police officer in love, a boy genius, an ex-boy genius, a game show host and an estranged daughter will each become part of a dazzling multiplicity of plots, but one story.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWasp (2003)
Zoë is a single mother who lives with her four children in Dartford. She is poor and can't afford to buy food. One day her old flame drives by and asks her to go on a date with him. Scared that he doesn't want to go out with her, she lies and tells him that she is just babysitting the kids. This will be her first date in years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Watcher in the Woods (1980)
After an American family moves to an old country manor in rural England, one of the daughters is tormented by the spirit of the owner's long lost daughter, who mysteriously disappeared 30 years ago during a solar eclipse.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Orphanage (2007)
A woman brings her family back to her childhood home, which used to be an orphanage, intent on reopening it. Before long, her son starts to communicate with a new invisible friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLabor Day (2013)
Two strangers are drawn together under incredible circumstances. What starts as an unforeseen encounter over a long holiday weekend soon becomes a second chance love story.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Secret Life of Bees (2008)
Set in South Carolina in 1964, this is the tale of Lily Owens a 14 year-old girl who is haunted by the memory of her late mother. To escape her lonely life and troubled relationship with her father, Lily flees with Rosaleen, her caregiver and only friend, to a South Carolina town that holds the secret to her mother's past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDoing Life (2026)
A single mother and an incarcerated man forge an unlikely bond through heartfelt letters, unlocking a door to redemption, hope and love against all odds.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisRestless (2011)
Two outsiders, both shaped by the circumstances that have brought them together, forge a deep and lasting love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCaptain Fantastic (2016)
Deep in the forests of the Pacific Northwest, a father devoted to raising his six kids with a rigorous physical and intellectual education is forced to leave his paradise and enter the world, beginning a journey that challenges his idea of what it means to be a parent.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisHeavenly Creatures (1994)
Precocious teenager Juliet moves to New Zealand with her family and soon befriends the quiet, brooding Pauline through their shared love of fantasy and literature. This friendship gradually develops into an intense and obsessive bond.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Beach House (2018)
Cara Rudland thought she’d left her Southern roots and troubled family far behind, but returns to the scenic Lowcountry of her childhood summers after losing her job in Chicago. There, she reconnects with her mother Lovie, who has been caring for her young, pregnant friend Toy in her charming beach house.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLife-Size (2000)
Sad and lonely after the death of her mother, Casey would do anything to see her again. But when a series of mystic mishaps mistakenly brings her fashion doll “Eve” to life instead, it changes Casey’s world forever!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStealing Beauty (1996)
Lucy Harmon, an American teenager is arriving in the lush Tuscan countryside to be sculpted by a family friend who lives in a beautiful villa. Lucy visited there four years earlier and exchanged a kiss with an Italian boy with whom she hopes to become reacquainted.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEverything Everywhere All at Once (2022)
An aging Chinese immigrant is swept up in an insane adventure, where she alone can save what's important to her by connecting with the lives she could have led in other universes.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlended (2014)
Recently divorced mom Lauren and widowed dad Jim let their friends push them into a blind date, which goes disastrously wrong. Unsurprisingly, neither wants to see the other ever again. However, fate intervenes when both Jim and Lauren, unbeknownst to each other, purchase one-half of the same vacation package at a South African resort for families, during spring break. They and their children are forced to share the same romantic suite and participate in a slew of family activities together.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDaddy's Head (2024)
A boy and his stepmother fear for their safety after an eerie creature resembling the boy's recently deceased father visits them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisPadre no hay más que uno 5: Nido repleto (2025)
Some parents experience the anguish of the "empty nest" when their children leave home. Javier, on the other hand, suffers the trauma of the "full nest": no one wants to leave home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBegotten (1991)
Begotten is the creation myth brought to life, the story of no less than the violent death of God and the (re)birth of nature on a barren earth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisYou're Not Alone (2020)
After the premature death of her estranged husband, Emma (Winter) regains custody of their young daughter Isla (Jones) and hopes to rebuild their relationship after many years apart. But when an evil entity begins to torment them, mother and daughter are forced to face the inexplicable presence that inhabits the walls of their new home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisInteriors (1978)
When Eve, an interior designer, is deserted by her husband of many years, Arthur, the emotionally glacial relationships of the three grown-up daughters are laid bare. Twisted by jealousy, insecurity and resentment, Renata, a successful writer; Joey, a woman crippled by indecision; and Flyn, a budding actress; struggle to communicate for the sake of their shattered mother. But when their father unexpectedly falls for another woman, his decision to remarry sets in motion a terrible twist of fate…
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Bye Bye Boy?
The closest matches to Bye Bye Boy are Magnolia (1999), Wasp (2003) and The Watcher in the Woods (1980). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Bye Bye Boy?
Start with Magnolia (1999), the closest match to Bye Bye Boy.
What is the highest-rated movie like Bye Bye Boy?
Captain Fantastic (2016), rated 7.9/10 by 7,047 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Bye Bye Boy?
Doing Life (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Spanish movies like Bye Bye Boy?
Yes: The Orphanage (2007) and Padre no hay más que uno 5: Nido repleto (2025).
How are movies similar to Bye Bye Boy chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Bye Bye Boy, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.