Movies like Lesson (2013)
The best movies like Lesson (2013) are Empire Records (1995), All About the Benjamins (2002) and Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (2014). If Lesson hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Lesson
Quick picks
- Highest ratedCitizen Kane (1941)8.0/10 from 6,338 votes
- NewestThe President's Cake (2026)Released 2026
Empire Records (1995)
The employees of an independent music store learn about each other as they try to stop the store from being absorbed by a large chain.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAll About the Benjamins (2002)
Bounty hunter Bucum Jackson teams with the small-time con artist, Reggie Wright, that he is pursuing, in an attempt to locate a missing stash of diamonds and a lottery ticket worth millions of dollars. Bucum and Reggie find themselves in a race to the finish as they embark on an unlikely partnership that should -- when all is said and done -- prove beneficial to them both.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisAlexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (2014)
Alexander's day begins with gum stuck in his hair, followed by more calamities. Though he finds little sympathy from his family and begins to wonder if bad things only happen to him, his mom, dad, brother, and sister all find themselves living through their own terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCharlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)
A young boy wins a tour through the most magnificent chocolate factory in the world, led by the world's most unusual candy maker.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Bookshop (2017)
Set in a small English town in 1959, a woman decides, against polite but ruthless local opposition, to open a bookshop, a decision which becomes a political minefield.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNicholas Nickleby (2002)
Nicholas Nickleby, a young boy in search of a better life, struggles to save his family and friends from the abusive exploitation of his coldheartedly grasping uncle.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHere on Earth (2000)
Three lives of three young people intersect over the course of one summer. A rich student and a young working-class man accidentally destroy a diner when their impromptu road race takes a disastrous turn. Ordered by a judge to spend the summer repairing the building, they find themselves becoming rivals for the affections of the owner's daughter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisJoe the King (1999)
A destitute 14-year-old struggles to keep his life together despite harsh abuse at his mother's hands, harsher abuse at his father's, and a growing separation from his slightly older brother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe President's Cake (2026)
While people across 1990’s Iraq struggle to survive, 9-year-old Lamia has been selected to prepare a cake to celebrate the President’s birthday. In a landscape of fear and scarcity, where basic ingredients are nearly impossible to find, Lamia sets out on a determined journey throughout the big city in search of eggs, flour, and sugar. Accompanied by her grandmother, her loyal friend Saeed, and her pet rooster Hindi, she navigates vendors and police officers along the way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Simple Plan (1998)
Captivated by the lure of sudden wealth, the quiet rural lives of two brothers erupt into conflicts of greed, paranoia and distrust when over $4 million in cash is discovered at the remote site of a downed small airplane. Their simple plan to retain the money while avoiding detection opens a Pandora's box when the fear of getting caught triggers panicked behavior and leads to virulent consequences.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCollision (2022)
Over the course of one fateful day, a corrupt businessman and his socialite wife race to save their daughter from a notorious crime lord.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisRebel Without a Cause (1955)
After moving to a new town, troublemaking teen Jim Stark is supposed to have a clean slate, although being the new kid in town brings its own problems. While searching for some stability, Stark forms a bond with a disturbed classmate, Plato, and falls for local girl Judy. However, Judy is the girlfriend of neighborhood tough, Buzz. When Buzz violently confronts Jim and challenges him to a drag race, the new kid's real troubles begin.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThree O'Clock High (1987)
Nerdy high schooler Jerry Mitchell is assigned to write an article for the school paper about the infamous new delinquent transfer student, Buddy Revell. When Jerry accidentally invades Buddy's personal space and touches him, Buddy challenges Jerry to an afterschool fight in the parking lot, which Jerry tries to avoid at all costs.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEgg Nogg (1988)
Following the emotions associated with entrance examinations to the faculty of pedagogy, Catherine Solska returns to his native village. And here she will surprise - the family without their knowledge to begin preparations for engagement with a rich neighbor Kolasa. Girl falls into despair, tries to oppose the decision of the parents, but is closed in his room. On visits to her fiance and flees out the window calling mail to the university. Receives misleading information and is convinced that was not accepted to college. Resigned returns home and agrees to the wedding. Meanwhile, on the eve of the wedding the postman brings the notice of acceptance to the university.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKindergarten Cop (1990)
Hard-edged cop John Kimble gets more than he bargained for when he goes undercover as a kindergarten teacher to get the goods on a brutal drug lord while at the same time protecting the man's young son. Pitted against a class of boisterous moppets whose antics try his patience and test his mettle, Kimble may have met his match … in more ways than one.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI Am David (2003)
A 12-year-old boy manages to flee a Communist concentration camp on his own, through sheer will and determination. All he has in his possession is a loaf of bread, a letter to deliver to someone in Denmark, and a compass to help get him there.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLittle Big League (1994)
When the owner of the Minnesota Twins passes away, he bequeaths the team to his preteen grandson. The newly minted head honcho quickly appoints himself manager, causing unrest in an organization that struggles to take orders from a 12-year-old.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCitizen Kane (1941)
Newspaper magnate Charles Foster Kane is taken from his mother as a boy and made the ward of a rich industrialist. As a result, every well-meaning, tyrannical or self-destructive move he makes for the rest of his life appears in some way to be a reaction to that deeply wounding event.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisHow to Eat Fried Worms (2006)
During the first day of his new school year, a fifth grade boy squares off against a bully and winds up accepting a dare that could change the balance of power within the class.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShanghaied (1915)
A shipowner intends to scuttle his ship on its last voyage to get the insurance money. Charlie, a tramp in love with the owner's daughter, is grabbed by the captain and promises to help him shanghai some seamen. The daughter stows away to follow Charlie. Charlie assists in the galley and attempts to serve food during a gale.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Lesson?
The closest matches to Lesson are Empire Records (1995), All About the Benjamins (2002) and Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (2014). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Lesson?
Start with Empire Records (1995), the closest match to Lesson.
What is the highest-rated movie like Lesson?
Citizen Kane (1941), rated 8.0/10 by 6,338 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Lesson?
The President's Cake (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to Lesson chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Lesson, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.