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Movies like The Little Match Girl (1974)

The best movies like The Little Match Girl (1974) are I'll Be Home for Christmas (2016), The Curse of the Cat People (1944) and Out of the Blue (1981). If The Little Match Girl hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.

Quick picks

  1. I'll Be Home for Christmas (2016)

    Jackie Foster, a dynamic Assistant District Attorney and single mom, is looking forward to wrapping up her latest case and spending Christmas with Gracie, her adorable and precocious, eight-year old daughter. But when Jackie’s estranged dad, Jack , a gruff retired police officer, unexpectedly shows up at her door, they will be forced to confront old wounds.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

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  2. The Curse of the Cat People (1944)

    Amy, the young, friendless daughter of Oliver and Alice Reed, befriends her father's late first wife and an aging, reclusive actress.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  3. Out of the Blue (1981)

    A young girl whose father is an ex-convict and whose mother is a junkie finds it difficult to conform and tries to find comfort in a quirky combination of Elvis and the punk scene.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  4. Girl (2020)

    A young woman returns to her small hometown intent on killing her abusive father only to discover someone murdered him the day before. As the girl searches for answers, she uncovers a family legacy more dangerous than she'd imagined.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

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  5. Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead (1995)

    Five different criminals face imminent death after botching a job quite badly.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

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  6. Cassandra's Dream (2007)

    The tale of two brothers with serious financial woes. When a third party proposes they turn to crime, things go bad and the two become enemies.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

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  7. The War with Grandpa (2020)

    Peter is thrilled that his Grandpa is coming to live with his family. That is, until Grandpa moves into Peter's room, forcing him upstairs into the creepy attic. And though he loves his Grandpa, he wants his room back - so he has no choice but to declare war.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

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  8. Ben Is Back (2018)

    19-year-old Ben Burns unexpectedly returns home to his family's suburban home on Christmas Eve morning. Ben's mother, Holly, is relieved and welcoming but wary of her son staying clean. Over a turbulent 24 hours, new truths are revealed, and a mother's undying love for her son is tested as she does everything in her power to keep him safe.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  9. My Dad's Christmas Date (2020)

    It’s Christmas and the charming city of York, home to Jules, 16, and her dad, David, is decked out ready for the festive season. In many ways, David and Jules’ relationship is no different from that of most fathers and their sixteen-year-old daughters. He struggles to understand her, she refuses to communicate with him. He wants to be involved in her life, she wants her own space. In one important respect, however, David and Jules share a profound bond: the death of Jules’ mum, and David’s wife, in a car crash two years before. With both struggling to cope with everyday life in the shadow of their loss, Jules, inspired by happy memories of her mum, decides to take matters into her own hands.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

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  10. Dad (1989)

    A busy executive learns during a meeting that his mother may be dying and rushes home to her side. He ends up being his father's caretaker and becomes closer to him than ever before. Estranged from his own son, the executive comes to realize what has been missing in his own life.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  11. Captains Courageous (1937)

    Harvey, the arrogant and spoiled son of an indulgent absentee-father, falls overboard from a transatlantic steamship and is rescued by a fishing vessel on the Grand Banks. Harvey fails to persuade them to take him ashore, nor convince the crew of his wealth. The captain offers him a low-paid job, until they return to port, as part of the crew that turns him into a mature, considerate young man.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  12. The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey (2007)

    When a broken hearted boy loses the treasured wooden nativity set that links him to his dead father, his worried mother persuades a lonely ill-tempered woodcarver to create a replacement, and to allow her son to watch him work on it.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

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  13. The Lovely Bones (2009)

    After being brutally murdered, 14-year-old Susie Salmon watches from heaven over her grief-stricken family -- and her killer. As she observes their daily lives, she must balance her thirst for revenge with her desire for her family to heal.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  14. The 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

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  15. Swimming Upstream (2003)

    A young man aspiring for recognition of his talents battles against his estranged father's sentiment towards him as the father deals with his own demons.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  16. Silent Night (2023)

    A tormented father witnesses his young son die when caught in a gang's crossfire on Christmas Eve. While recovering from a wound that costs him his voice, he makes vengeance his life's mission and embarks on a punishing training regimen in order to avenge his son's death.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  17. Godmothered (2020)

    A young and unskilled fairy godmother that ventures out on her own to prove her worth by tracking down a young girl whose request for help was ignored. What she discovers is that the girl has now become a grown woman in need of something very different than a "prince charming."

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  18. 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 this
  19. Angela's Christmas (2017)

    A trip to church with her family on Christmas Eve gives young Angela an extraordinary idea. A heartwarming tale based on a story by Frank McCourt.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  20. Saving Mr. Banks (2013)

    Author P.L. Travers looks back on her childhood while reluctantly meeting with Walt Disney, who seeks to adapt her Mary Poppins books for the big screen.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this

Like The Little Match Girl and something else?

Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.

Frequently asked questions

What are the best movies like The Little Match Girl?

The closest matches to The Little Match Girl are I'll Be Home for Christmas (2016), The Curse of the Cat People (1944) and Out of the Blue (1981). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.

What should I watch after The Little Match Girl?

Start with I'll Be Home for Christmas (2016), the closest match to The Little Match Girl.

What is the highest-rated movie like The Little Match Girl?

Magnolia (1999), rated 7.7/10 by 4,233 TMDB users.

What is the newest movie like The Little Match Girl?

Silent Night (2023) is the most recent release on this list.

Are there English movies like The Little Match Girl?

Yes: I'll Be Home for Christmas (2016), The Curse of the Cat People (1944) and Out of the Blue (1981).

How are movies similar to The Little Match Girl chosen?

First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Little Match Girl, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.

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