Movies like Dear Mary (2024)
The best movies like Dear Mary (2024) are Beyond the Sea (2004), Hungry Hearts (2015) and Effie Gray (2014). If Dear Mary hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedInside I'm Dancing (2004)7.4/10 from 243 votes
- NewestUphill (2026)Released 2026
Beyond the Sea (2004)
Based on the life and career of legendary entertainer, Bobby Darin, the biopic moves back and forth between his childhood and adulthood, to tell the tale of his life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHungry Hearts (2015)
The relationship of a couple who meet by chance in New York City is put to the test when they encounter a life or death circumstance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEffie Gray (2014)
A look at the mysterious relationship between Victorian art critic John Ruskin and his teenage bride Effie Gray.
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 Good Neighbor (2022)
A nightmarish evening unfolds for neighbors David and Robert when they accidentally hit a woman on her bike and flee the scene. While David is increasingly plagued by feelings of guilt, Robert shows no remorse and becomes overbearing and possessive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCoda (2020)
A famous pianist at the twilight of his career meets a free-spirited music critic who soon becomes his rock as his mental state deteriorates.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGoodbye June (2025)
Four siblings' lives change drastically when their ailing mother takes a turn for the worse over the holiday season.
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 thisBattle of the Year (2013)
A down-on-his-luck coach is hired to prepare a team of the best American dancers for an international tournament that attracts all the best crews from around the world, but the Americans haven't won in fifteen years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Crush (1993)
A precocious and obsessive teenager develops a crush on a naive writer with harrowing consequences.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAddicted (2014)
A gallerist risks her family and flourishing career when she enters into an affair with a talented painter and slowly loses control of her life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Nest (2020)
Rory is an ambitious entrepreneur who brings his American wife and kids to his native country, England, to explore new business opportunities. After abandoning the sanctuary of their safe American suburban surroundings, the family is plunged into the despair of an archaic '80s Britain and their unaffordable new life in an English manor house threatens to destroy the family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSkin (2009)
Based on the true story of a black girl who was born to two white Afrikaner parents in South Africa during the apartheid era.
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 thisIce Castles (2010)
Young, beautiful, talented Alexis Winston comes from nowhere to become a figure skating superstar. But her rise to stardom isn’t easy. She has to push herself, reinvent herself, and most painfully of all, leave her hometown boyfriend behind. When a tragic fall leaves her blind, she needs someone to believe in her, to love her; someone to convince her she has the strength to skate and dream again.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMo' Better Blues (1990)
Talented but self-centered trumpeter Bleek Gilliam is obsessed with his music and indecisiveness about his girlfriends Indigo and Clarke. But when he is forced to come to the aid of his manager and childhood friend, Bleek finds his world more fragile than he ever imagined.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Color of Friendship (2000)
Mahree Bok lives on a farm in South Africa. Her father is a policeman who cannot hide his joy when activist Steve Biko is caught by the South African authorities. Piper Dellums is the daughter of a US congressman from California and who lives in a nice home in Washington DC. When Mahree is chosen to spend a semester at the Dellums' house, she doesn't expect that her host family would be black. Nor do her hosts suspect that she is not a black South African.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSeptember (1987)
After a suicide attempt, Lane has moved into her country house to recuperate. Her best friend, Stephanie, has come to join her for the summer. Lane's mother, Diane, has recently arrived with her husband Lloyd, Lane's stepfather. Lane is close to two neighbors: Peter, and Howard. Howard is in love with Lane, Lane is in love with Peter, and Peter is in love with Stephanie.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShirley (2020)
A famous horror writer finds inspiration for her next book after she and her husband take in a young couple.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTigertail (2020)
A man reflects on the lost love of his youth and his long-ago journey from Taiwan to America as he begins to reconnect with his estranged daughter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLast Life in the Universe (2003)
An obsessive-compulsive Japanese librarian living in Bangkok spends most of his days contemplating suicide in his apartment. His life changes when he witnesses the death of a young girl and becomes acquainted with her elder sister.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBiker Boyz (2003)
A mythic motorcycle tale of father and son, this is the story of Manuel Galloway, also known as "the King of Cali", the president of a motorcycle club whose members are all African-American men, mostly white-collar workers who exchange their suits and ties at night and on weekends for leather outfits and motorcycle helmets.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNo Reservations (2007)
Master chef Kate Armstrong runs her life and her kitchen with intimidating intensity. However, a recipe for disaster may be in the works when she becomes the guardian of her young niece while crossing forks with the brash sous-chef who just joined her staff. Though romance blooms in the face of rivalry, Kate needs to look outside the kitchen to find true happiness.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Fear is Love (TBA)
Ethan Burrows graduates from the University of Columbia with aspirations of attending a PHD program for mathematics. Life, however, has other plans for him. Everything in his life seems to fall through the cracks one piece at a time. Ethan finds joy in the least likely of places, a ten year old girl named Mia. Mia is no stranger to hard times herself. Her brother was killed in a car accident right before her eyes. Together Mia and Ethan find happiness, together, through the power of music and their passion for guitar.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Uphill (2026)
Ambitious Madleen and carefree creative spirit Hugo embark on a symbolic journey up the mountain of success, exposing the tension between societal pressure and self-fulfillment. While Madleen strives to meet society’s expectations and achieve a high-status career, Hugo chooses to move through life at his own pace, guided by creativity rather than external expectations. The film invites the audience to reflect on the choices young adults face in a success-driven society and to question the decisions we make and the values we prioritize in life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani (2023)
Gym-freak brat Rocky falls in love with Rani, who comes from a well-educated Bengali family. Being from polar opposite worlds, the two decide to switch their families to adjust to each other's cultures and backgrounds and to know if their marriage will survive. Rocky and Rani are trapped in a world where they are united by love but divided by families and the ultimate question is will they fit in?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEl amor de mi bohío (1947)
El Amor de M Bohio, which translates to "The Love of My Hut" (or shack ) and it comes from the lyrics o a popular love ballad of the same name. It is Director Juan Orol's tale of a violent love triangle where two farm hands out to prove who is the most macho, and thereby win the affections of a woman. This tragic love story takes place on a tropical plantation located just outside of Havana, where its workers are housed in small, thatched-roof "bohios". The two rival suitors are driven by passion for the girl they both love, and soon engage in a series of challenges designed to help this young woman choose the right guy in the end. These competitions start out to include simple and benign activities at first, like dancing, singing and dueling guitars, or betting on the winning bird at a cock-fight, However, they soon escalate to more violent activities, like public brawls, and saber dueling, which set life changing events into motion for everyone.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Jane (2022)
When Olivia gets deferred from her dream college, she begins to spiral. In an attempt to regain control, she embarks on a social media-fueled rampage against those that stand in the way of her success. But as things escalate, she is forced to confront her darkest impulses in order to get ahead.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisAbhiyum Anuvum (2018)
They fell in love and swore to always be together, until a strange twist of fate reveals them to be more than just lovers. To what extent will they go to protect their love?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Death of the Incredible Hulk (1990)
In his final attempt to free himself from the curse of the Hulk, Dr. David Banner becomes involved in a dangerous international espionage mission that may finally lead to a cure. As forces close in and the stakes rise, Banner faces an ultimate sacrifice, bringing his tragic journey to a definitive and emotional conclusion.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Dear Mary?
The closest matches to Dear Mary are Beyond the Sea (2004), Hungry Hearts (2015) and Effie Gray (2014). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Dear Mary?
Start with Beyond the Sea (2004), the closest match to Dear Mary.
What is the highest-rated movie like Dear Mary?
Inside I'm Dancing (2004), rated 7.4/10 by 243 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Dear Mary?
Uphill (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Dear Mary?
Yes: Beyond the Sea (2004), Hungry Hearts (2015) and Effie Gray (2014).
How are movies similar to Dear Mary chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Dear Mary, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.