Movies like Many Happy Returns (1990)
The best movies like Many Happy Returns (1990) are The Cement Garden (1993), A Monster Calls (2016) and Three Identical Strangers (2018). If Many Happy Returns hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedLion (2016)8.0/10 from 7,127 votes
- NewestThe Life of Chuck (2025)Released 2025
The Cement Garden (1993)
After the death of her husband, the mother of Julie, Jack, Sue and Tom begins to suffer from a mysterious illness. Aware that she is going to have to go into hospital she opens a bank account for the children, so that they can be financially self-sufficient and will be able to avoid being taken into care by the authorities. Unfortunately she also dies and Julie and Jack (the older, teenage children) decide to hide her body in the basement so that they can have free reign of their household. Soon Tom has taken to dressing as a girl whilst Sue has become increasingly reticent, confiding only to her diary, meanwhile Jack and Julie sense an attraction developing for each other. However Julie's new beau, Derek, threatens to unearth the many dark secrets within this family as he becomes increasingly suspicious of Jack.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Monster Calls (2016)
12-year-old Conor encounters an ancient tree monster who proceeds to help him cope with his mother's terminal illness and being bullied in school.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThree Identical Strangers (2018)
New York, 1980. Three complete strangers accidentally discover that they're identical triplets, separated at birth. The 19-year-olds' joyous reunion catapults them to international fame, but also unlocks an extraordinary and disturbing secret that goes beyond their own lives – and could transform our understanding of human nature forever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIt Feeds (2025)
A clairvoyant therapist confronts her own personal demons while trying to save a young girl who believes a malevolent entity is feeding on her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVillage of the Damned (1960)
In a small English village everyone suddenly falls unconscious. When they awake every woman of child bearing age is pregnant. The resulting children have the same strange blond hair, eyes and a strong connection to each other.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOrphan (2009)
After losing their baby, a married couple adopt 9-year old Esther, who may not be as innocent as she seems.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisUnbroken: Path to Redemption (2018)
Zamperini returns to California where he wound up marrying Cynthia Applewhite while wrestling with untreated PTSD, suffering constant nightmares, angry, bitter and deeply depressed, his wife convinces Zamperini to attend the 1949 Billy Graham Crusade.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLion (2016)
A five-year-old Indian boy gets lost on the streets of Calcutta, thousands of kilometers from home. He survives many challenges before being adopted by a couple in Australia; 25 years later, he sets out to find his lost family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Unbreakable Boy (2025)
When Scott and Teresa LeRette learn that their son Austin is both autistic and has brittle bone disease, they initially worry for their son’s future. But with Scott’s growing faith and Austin’s incredible spirit, they become 'unbreakable', finding joy, gratitude, and courage even in the most trying times.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Keeping Hours (2017)
A supernatural love story that centers on two parents whose life together falls apart after their son dies. The man, now a successful lawyer, and the woman, now married and an author, get a chance at reconciliation ten years later.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDagon (2001)
A boating accident off the coast of Spain sends Paul and his girlfriend Barbara to the decrepit fishing village of Imboca. As night falls, people start to disappear and things not quite human start to appear. Paul is pursued by the entire town. Running for his life, he uncovers Imboca's secret..they worship Dagon, a monstrous god of the sea...and Dagon's unholy offspring are on the loose...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFatima (2020)
In 1917, outside the parish of Fátima, Portugal, a 10-year-old girl and her two younger cousins witness multiple visitations of the Virgin Mary, who tells them that only prayer and suffering will bring an end to World War I. As secularist government officials and Church leaders try to force the children to recant their story, word of the sighting spreads across the country, inspiring religious pilgrims to flock to the site in hopes of witnessing a miracle..
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Bad Seed (1956)
Air Force Colonel Kenneth Penmark and his wife, Christine, adore their daughter Rhoda, despite her secret tendency for selfishness. Christine keeps her knowledge of her daughter's darker side to herself, but when a schoolmate of Rhoda's dies mysteriously, her self-deception unravels.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisChances Are (1989)
Louie Jeffries is happily married to Corinne. On their first anniversary, Louie is killed crossing the road. Louie is reincarnated as Alex Finch, and twenty years later, fate brings Alex and Louie's daughter, Miranda, together. It's not until Alex is invited to Louie's home that he begins to remember his former life, wife and best friend. Of course, there's also the problem that he's attracted to Louie's/his own daughter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFluke (1995)
Workaholic Thomas Johnson dies in an auto accident and reincarnates as a dog. Remembering some of his previous being, he returns to his wife and son to protect them from the man who caused his accident. But, as time goes by, his memories return, and Thomas realizes he wasn't such a good husband and father.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSimon Birch (1998)
Simon Birch and Joe Wenteworth are boys who have a reputation for being oddballs. Joe never knew his father, and his mother, Rebecca, is keeping her lips sealed no matter how much he protests. Simon, meanwhile, is an 11-year-old dwarf whose outsize personality belies his small stature. Indeed, he often assails the local reverend with thorny theological questions and joins Joe on his quest to find his biological father.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Endless (2017)
Two brothers return to the cult they fled from years ago to discover that the group's beliefs may be more sane than they once thought.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Map of Tiny Perfect Things (2021)
Two teenagers trapped in an endless time loop set out to find all the tiny things that make that one day perfect.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Dog's Purpose (2017)
A dog goes on quest to discover his purpose in life over the course of several lifetimes with multiple owners.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Life of Chuck (2025)
In this extraordinary story of an ordinary man, Charles 'Chuck' Krantz experiences the wonder of love, the heartbreak of loss, and the multitudes contained in all of us.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Many Happy Returns?
The closest matches to Many Happy Returns are The Cement Garden (1993), A Monster Calls (2016) and Three Identical Strangers (2018). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Many Happy Returns?
Start with The Cement Garden (1993), the closest match to Many Happy Returns.
What is the highest-rated movie like Many Happy Returns?
Lion (2016), rated 8.0/10 by 7,127 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Many Happy Returns?
The Life of Chuck (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Many Happy Returns?
Yes: The Cement Garden (1993), A Monster Calls (2016) and Three Identical Strangers (2018).
How are movies similar to Many Happy Returns chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Many Happy Returns, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.