Movies like Dear Friends (1977)
The best movies like Dear Friends (1977) are 8-Bit Christmas (2021), The Grinch (2018) and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989). If Dear Friends hooked you, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Dear Friends
Quick picks
- Highest ratedMickey's Christmas Carol (1983)7.7/10 from 1,021 votes
- NewestDes vertes et des pas mûres (2024)Released 2024
8-Bit Christmas (2021)
In suburban Chicago during the late 1980s, ten-year-old Jake Doyle embarks on a herculean quest to get the latest and greatest video game system for Christmas.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Grinch (2018)
The Grinch hatches a scheme to ruin Christmas when the residents of Whoville plan their annual holiday celebration. But a certain little who might change things.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNational Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989)
It's Christmastime, and the Griswolds are preparing for a family seasonal celebration. But things never run smoothly for Clark, his wife Ellen, and their two kids. Clark's continual bad luck is worsened by his obnoxious family guests, but he manages to keep going, knowing that his Christmas bonus is due soon.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPrep & Landing Stocking Stuffer: Operation: Secret Santa (2010)
Wayne and Lanny, now partners, are called by Magee to meet with a secret contact – Mrs. Claus, who sends them on a new mission to retrieve a box from Santa’s secret workshop. Later they sneak into Santa’s office while he is asleep, using their high tech equipment from the previous film. Lanny’s expertise at dressing the tree enables them to enter the hidden workshop where they recover the box and escape just in time. But what is the box for?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCharlie Brown's Christmas Tales (2002)
Tis the season for the cheer and charm of the Peanuts kids - and this delight special offers five segments full of unforgettable moments. Snoopy works as a bell-ringer to raise money and tries making peace with the ferocious cat next door. Linus strives to strike the right tone in his letter to Santa - and his friendship with an indecisive girl at school. Sally's idea about gift giving and the identity of Santa may be unusual - but her strange notion about how to obtain a Christmas tree surprisingly does the job. Lucy tries awfully hard to be nice...and still coax everyone around her to buy her presents. Charlie Brown and Sally wait up for Santa (a surprisingly short man), who spreads Christmas gift cheer further than they had thought. Make merry!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBeethoven's Christmas Adventure (2011)
A Christmas elf accidentally takes off in Santa's sleigh, crash lands in a small town, and loses the magic toy bag. Beethoven must rescue the elf, recover the bag from greedy crooks, and return the sleigh to Santa in time to save Christmas.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMerry Christmas, Drake & Josh (2008)
Step brothers Drake and Josh must give a foster family the best Christmas ever or face years in jail for a Christmas party gone wrong.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPrep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice (2011)
Lanny and Wayne are at it again! With the Big 2-5 fast approaching, Wayne and Lanny must race to recover classified North Pole technology which has fallen into the hands of a computer-hacking Naughty Kid! Desperate to prevent Christmas from descending into chaos, Wayne seeks out the foremost Naughty Kid expert to aid in the mission: a bombastic member of the Coal Bucket Brigade who also happens to be his estranged brother, Noel.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDaddy's Home 2 (2017)
Father and stepfather Dusty and Brad join forces to make Christmastime perfect for the children. Their newfound partnership soon gets put to the test when Dusty's old-school, macho dad and Brad's gentle father arrive to turn the holiday upside down. After a sudden change in plans, the four men decide to take the kids to a luxury resort for a fun-filled getaway that turns into a hilarious and chaotic adventure.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisReal Life (1979)
A pushy, narcissistic filmmaker persuades a Phoenix family to let him and his crew film their everyday lives, in the manner of the ground-breaking PBS series "An American Family".
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThree Wise Men and a Baby (2022)
Three brothers get the surprise of their lives when they are forced to work together to care for a baby over the holidays. As they slowly get the hang of things, they find themselves on unexpected journeys of self-discovery and begin to rebuild their relationships as brothers, as well as the damaged romantic and professional relationships in their respective lives…all while rediscovering their love of Christmas.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMerry Little Batman (2023)
This Christmas, Damian Wayne wants to be a superhero like his dad – the one and only Batman. When Damian is left home alone while Batman takes on Gotham’s worst supervillains on Christmas Eve, he stumbles upon a villainous plot to steal Christmas and leaps at the chance to save the day.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Christmas Story Christmas (2022)
Follows Ralphie, now adult, who returns to the house on Cleveland Street to give his kids a magical Christmas like the one he had as a child, reconnecting with childhood friends, and reconciling the passing of his Old Man.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Gift Wrapped Christmas (2015)
Personal shopper Gwen's newest client, Charlie, is a high-rolling, workaholic, single father. When Gwen meets his 8-year-old son, Owen, during a package drop, she is saddened to see just how little time Charlie spends with him. Determined to get Charlie to appreciate his family, Gwen makes it her Christmas mission to get him into the festive spirit.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisReturn to Christmas Creek (2018)
As Christmas approaches, Amelia Hughes, a career-focused Chicago app developer lacking in holiday spirit, returns to her small hometown of Christmas Creek to rediscover the meaning of Christmas. There, she reunites with her childhood best friend Mike and her estranged uncle Harry, whose mysterious rift with Amelia’s father divided her family during the holiday season when she was a child.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJingle All the Way (1996)
Howard Langston, a salesman for a mattress company, is constantly kept busy at his job, disappointing his son. After he misses his son's karate exposition, Howard vows to make it up to him by buying an action figure of his son's favorite television hero for Christmas. Unfortunately for Howard, it is Christmas Eve, and every store is sold out of Turbo Man. Now, Howard must travel all over town and compete with everybody else to find a Turbo Man action figure.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMickey's Christmas Carol (1983)
Ebenezer Scrooge is far too greedy to understand that Christmas is a time for kindness and generosity. But with the guidance of some new found friends, Scrooge learns to embrace the spirit of the season. A retelling of the classic Dickens tale with Disney's classic characters.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisChristmas on the Bayou (2013)
When successful New York marketing executive Katherine discovers her workaholic ways are taking a toll on her eight-year-old son, Zac, she decides to spend Christmas with him and her mother, Lilly in her home town on the bayou. When Caleb tries to rekindle a childhood romance and convince her to move back home, Katherine is torn between the bright lights of the big city and the quiet, gentler rhythms of her Southern roots. Only a Christmas miracle orchestrated by Papa Noel can steer her heart to her true home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI'll Be Home for Christmas (1998)
Estranged from his father, college student Jake is lured home to New York for Christmas with the promise of receiving a classic Porsche as a gift. When the bullying football team dumps him in the desert in a Santa suit, Jake is left without identification or money to help him make the journey. Meanwhile, his girlfriend, Allie, does not know where he is, and accepts a cross-country ride from Jake's rival, Eddie.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOnce Upon a Deadpool (2018)
A kidnapped Fred Savage is forced to endure Deadpool's PG-13 rendition of Deadpool 2, as a Princess Bride-esque story full of magic, wonder, and zero Fs.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisI DREAM OF THE END OF POST-COLONAILISM IN THE PARK 5 min. (2026)
Relaxing in the park, haunted by the tower, city, and modern world, hallucinated by the internet.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Coming SoonMovies like thisWings of Christmas (2013)
The film's protagonists get an opportunity to make a wish. Consequently, their lives take the path they themselves ordained. Several "coincidences" bring them everything they wanted and they have the chance to experience their wishes. We are not only responsible in our lives for everything that we do, but also for everything we say, we think and desire.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
FUCK TV (2019)
After concluding the now-legendary public access TV series, The Pain Factory, Michael Nine embarked on a new and more subversive public access endeavor: a collaboration with Scott Arford called Fuck TV. Whereas The Pain Factory predominantly revolved around experimental music performances, Fuck TV was a comprehensive and experiential audio-visual presentation. Aired to a passive and unsuspecting audience on San Francisco’s public access channel from 1997 to 1998, each episode of Fuck TV was dedicated to a specific topic, combining video collage and cut-up techniques set to a harsh electronic soundtrack. The resultant overload of processed imagery and visceral sound was unlike anything presented on television before or since. EPISODES: Yule Bible, Cults, Riots, Animals, Executions, Static, Media, Haterella (edited version), Self Annihilation Live, Electricity.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
The Holdovers (2023)
A curmudgeonly instructor at a New England prep school is forced to remain on campus during Christmas break to babysit the handful of students with nowhere to go. Eventually, he forms an unlikely bond with one of them — a damaged, brainy troublemaker — and with the school’s head cook, who has just lost a son in Vietnam.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSanta Claus vs. Cupid (1915)
A desperate man and two romantic rivals encounter one another at a Christmas party.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Triumph and Ruins (1997)
History as immersion and dispersion in the fragments of the past, a visionary journey accompanied by the voice of Patty Pravo. Presented at the Taormina Festival '97.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
The Nutcracker & the Mouse King (2011)
Going to see Nutcracker with the whole family has been a tradition in other countries for many years. Now it is a tradition in the Netherlands as well. It became apparent that the Netherlands had also adopted this tradition in 1996, when the Dutch National Ballet presented its own version of the famous fairytale ballet. It is a magical production that has won the hearts of more than 250,000 people to date. Choreographers Toer van Schayk and Wayne Eagling created a Nutcracker for the children and adults of today. It is more dynamic and exciting, and less sweet than usual. They also chose to give a Dutch twist to their interpretation of the story, with skaters on the canals and a living room that transforms into a snowy forest. Unlike the original story, the production by Eagling and Van Schayk (who also designed the delightful sets and costumes) does not take place on Christmas Eve in a German town, but during St. Nicholas celebrations in Amsterdam, around 1810.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Vertigem Branca (2012)
What remains for me is to promote my own ruin. Aware of inevitable loneliness, the incarnation of cruelty.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Dear Friends?
The closest matches to Dear Friends are 8-Bit Christmas (2021), The Grinch (2018) and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Dear Friends?
Start with 8-Bit Christmas (2021), the closest match to Dear Friends.
What is the highest-rated movie like Dear Friends?
Mickey's Christmas Carol (1983), rated 7.7/10 by 1,021 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Dear Friends?
Des vertes et des pas mûres (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Dear Friends?
Yes: 8-Bit Christmas (2021), The Grinch (2018) and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989).
How are movies similar to Dear Friends chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Dear Friends, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.