Movies like The Third Wish (2012)
The best movies like The Third Wish (2012) are Little Lord Fauntleroy (1980), Angels in the Snow (2015) and I'll Be Home for Christmas (2016). If The Third Wish hooked you with its drama and family, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedMirror (1975)7.9/10 from 1,151 votes
- NewestAlbatross (2025)Released 2025
- In ChineseKaili Blues (2016)Also in Chinese
Little Lord Fauntleroy (1980)
Young Cedric Errol and his widowed mother live in genteel poverty in 1880s Brooklyn after the death of his father. Cedric's grandfather, the Earl of Dorincourt, has long ago disowned his son for marrying an American. But after the death of the Earl's remaining son, he decides to accept Cedric as his heir.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAngels in the Snow (2015)
The affluent, yet troubled Montgomery family hits the road for a special Christmas in the mountains.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI'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 · both family & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLittle Man Tate (1991)
Dede is a sole parent trying to bring up her son Fred. When it is discovered that Fred is a genius, she is determined to ensure that Fred has all the opportunities that he needs, and that he is not taken advantage of by people who forget that his extremely powerful intellect is harboured in the body and emotions of a child.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTwitches Too (2007)
Reunited witch twins Camryn and Alex adjust to their new life as supernatural beings while at the same time trying to maintain a normal existence in this sequel to the magical Disney Channel original movie Twitches. But they soon find themselves going head to head with the forces of darkness that threaten to destroy their world. Luckily, their birth mother, the powerful Miranda, is on hand to help out.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhere the Red Fern Grows (2003)
Set in the Ozark Mountains during the Great Depression, Billy Coleman works hard and saves his earnings for 2 years to achieve his dream of buying two coonhound pups. He develops a new trust in God as he faces overwhelming challenges in adventure and tragedy roaming the river bottoms of Cherokee country with "Old Dan" and "Little Ann."
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
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 · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhere the Red Fern Grows (1974)
Billy Coleman works hard and saves his earnings for two years to achieve his dream of buying two red-bone coonhound pups. He develops a new trust in life as he faces overwhelming challenges in adventure and tragedy roaming the river bottoms of Cherokee country with his dogs, Old Dan and Little Ann.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Perfect Game (2009)
Based on a true story, a group of boys from Monterrey, Mexico who become the first non-U.S. team to win the Little League World Series.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Wrinkle in Time (2003)
Meg and Charles Wallace are aided by Calvin and three interesting women in the search for their father who disappeared during a government experiment. Their travels take them around the universe to a place unlike any other.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Killing of Two Lovers (2021)
In a rural Utah town, David, a father of four, grapples with his separation from wife Nikki as she pursues a new relationship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDeath of a Salesman (1985)
Willy Loman, an aging, failing salesman, struggles to accept reality and his failure to achieve the American Dream.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Son (2022)
A successful lawyer, with a new wife and infant, agrees to care for his teenage son from a previous marriage after his ex-wife becomes concerned about the boy's wayward behavior.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Book of Henry (2017)
Susan, a single mother of two, works as a waitress in a small town. Her son, Henry, is an 11-year-old genius who not only manages the family finances but acts as emotional support for his mother and younger brother. When Henry discovers that the girl next door has a terrible secret, he implores Susan to take matters into her own hands.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKaili Blues (2016)
Chen Sheng goes off in search of his nephew who has been abandoned by his father. Along the way, he encounters numerous people from his past and also those from his future.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIntroducing Dorothy Dandridge (1999)
An acclaimed stage performer, Dorothy still struggled with the challenge of her color, in a time that wouldn't let some stars in by the front door. Yet against the odds she beat out many more famous rivals for the role of "Carmen Jones", becoming the first black woman ever nominated for a Best Actress Academy Award. Marriages and affairs would break her heart, but her heart was strong. Seductive and easily seduced, she was born to be a star - with all the glory and all the pain of being loved, abused, cheated, glorified, undermined and undefeated. Here was a woman who wouldn't wait in the wings. Halle Berry stars as Dorothy Dandrige.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDearest (2014)
A story centered around a divorced couple living in a southern Chinese city Shenzhen and dealing with the disappearance of their missing son.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Bill of Divorcement (1932)
A World War I veteran returns home after fifteen years in an asylum and finds that everything has changed — his daughter is grown and about to marry.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAlex of Venice (2015)
After her stay-at-home husband leaves her, a workaholic lawyer finds that she is not completely up to the tasks of caring for her young son, ailing father and household all by herself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisRemember (2015)
With the aid of a fellow Auschwitz survivor and a hand-written letter, an elderly man with dementia goes in search of the person responsible for the death of his family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSummertime Blues (2009)
The life of 15 year old Alex is turned upside down, when his parents are divorced and find new partners right away. After a fight at school, the mother takes him over to England, where Alex chaotic life continues.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & family
All I Want For Christmas (1991)
Siblings Ethan and Hallie O'Fallon plot to get their divorced parents back together in time for Christmas.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisTorment (1973)
While Elif is pregnant, she receives a blow to her stomach, and the baby remains paralyzed because the baby's food cord is damaged. When she cannot heal her baby in the village, she comes to Istanbul and tries to get to know the city and the people in it.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family & drama
HARLEM FRAGMENTS (TBA)
Harlem Fragments is an Afro-futurist scrapbook storytelling of a Harlem Black family's beautiful destruction during the 2008 recession. A natural disaster so mesmerizing you can't look away from the tragedy. Based on true events- The film explores the haunting societal pressures of achieving the Black American dream, told in the POV of 10 year old TJ revisiting his family's home that's up for sale. By empowering this Black boy in this film with the agency to imagine, TJ, through his own journey, finds a way to process and come to terms with his family's divorce. It's important for every Black child out there enduring the same foreign emotions to know that it's okay to feel them, and affirm that there is a future trajectory forward out of the initial destruction.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & family
Left Bank (2008)
When Marie moves into her boyfriend's apartment, she uncovers a disturbing mystery about the fate of the previous tenant.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisIn the Land of Women (2007)
After a bad breakup with his girlfriend leaves him heartbroken, Carter Webb moves to Michigan to take care of his ailing grandmother. Once there, he gets mixed up in the lives of the mother and daughters who live across the street.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisA Time for Drunken Horses (2000)
After their father dies, a family of five children are forced to survive on their own in a Kurdish village on the border of Iran and Iraq.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAlbatross (2025)
In the quiet villa, a girl cares for her ailing father, a man confronting the weight of his past as his body fails him. As their days blur between duty, resentment, and fleeting tenderness, Albatross unravels a delicate battle between a daughter’s sacrifice and a father’s regrets, asking when is it time to let go?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Little Women (2018)
A modern retelling of Louisa May Alcott's classic novel, we follow the lives of four sisters - Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy March - detailing their passage from childhood to womanhood. Despite harsh times, they cling to optimism, and as they mature, they face blossoming ambitions and relationships, as well as tragedy, while maintaining their unbreakable bond as sisters.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMirror (1975)
A dying man in his forties recalls his childhood, his mother, the war and personal moments that tell of and juxtapose pivotal moments in Soviet history with daily life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Third Wish?
The closest matches to The Third Wish are Little Lord Fauntleroy (1980), Angels in the Snow (2015) and I'll Be Home for Christmas (2016). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Third Wish?
Start with Little Lord Fauntleroy (1980), the closest match to The Third Wish.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Third Wish?
Mirror (1975), rated 7.9/10 by 1,151 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Third Wish?
Albatross (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Chinese movies like The Third Wish?
Yes: Kaili Blues (2016) and Dearest (2014).
How are movies similar to The Third Wish chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Third Wish, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.