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Movies like The Dreamer

The best movies like The Dreamer are I Never Promised You a Rose Garden (1977), Dream Scenario (2023) and Still Breathing (1997). If The Dreamer hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.

Quick picks

  1. I Never Promised You a Rose Garden (1977)

    A disturbed and institutionalized 16-year-old girl struggles between fantasy and reality.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

  2. Dream Scenario (2023)

    Hapless family man Paul Matthews finds his life turned upside down when millions of strangers suddenly start seeing him in their dreams. But when his nighttime appearances take a nightmarish turn, Paul is forced to navigate his newfound stardom.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  3. Still Breathing (1997)

    Two lost souls: she a con-artist in L.A.; he a puppeteer in San Antonio have the same dream linking each with the other. He travels to L.A. to find this woman he has become obsessed with. She resists, afraid of his kooky ideas until she travels with him to San Antonio and meets his wise grandmother. Story of two disparate people linked by "fate" gets increasingly interesting as it rolls along.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  4. MirrorMask (2005)

    In a fantasy world of opposing kingdoms, a 15-year old girl must find the fabled MirrorMask in order to save the kingdom and get home.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  5. The Spectacular Now (2013)

    Sutter, a popular party animal, unexpectedly meets the introverted Aimee after waking up on a stranger's lawn. As Sutter deals with the problems in his life and Aimee plans for her future beyond school, an unexpected romance blossoms between them.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  6. Riding in Cars with Boys (2001)

    In 1965, a young woman with dreams of becoming a writer has a son at the age of 15 and struggles to make things work with the drug-addicted father.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  7. The Deliverance (2024)

    Ebony Jackson, a struggling single mother fighting her personal demons, moves her family into a new home for a fresh start. But when strange occurrences inside the home raise the suspicions of Child Protective Services and threaten to tear the family apart, Ebony soon finds herself locked in a battle for her life and the souls of her children.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  8. The Fall (2008)

    In a hospital on the outskirts of 1920s Los Angeles, an injured stuntman begins to tell a fellow patient, a little girl with a broken arm, a fantastic story about 5 mythical heroes. Thanks to his fractured state of mind and her vivid imagination, the line between fiction and reality starts to blur as the tale advances.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  9. Neglected (2026)

    Detective Shaw is about to retire when he finds out on his last day of work that a serial killer has buried his son alive. He then races against the clock to solve three murders and find his son’s location before he runs out of air.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  10. Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere (2025)

    Bruce Springsteen, a young musician on the cusp of global superstardom, struggles to reconcile the pressures of success with the ghosts of his past.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  11. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947)

    Walter Mitty, a daydreaming writer with an overprotective mother, likes to imagine that he is a hero who experiences fantastic adventures. His dream becomes reality when he accidentally meets a mysterious woman who hands him a little black book. According to her, it contains the locations of the Dutch crown jewels hidden since World War II. Soon, Mitty finds himself in the middle of a confusing conspiracy, where he has difficulty differentiating between fact and fiction.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  12. Winter Spring Summer or Fall (2024)

    Remi and Barnes, two very different teenagers, meet by chance in the winter of their senior year, then spend four days together over the course of a year that will change their lives forever.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  13. Vicious (2025)

    When Polly receives a mysterious box, it comes with one rule: place inside something she needs, something she hates, and something she loves. If she doesn’t obey, it will consume everything—and everyone—she’s ever known.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  14. Paperhouse (1988)

    A young girl lost in the loneliness and boredom of reality finds solace in an ill boy, whom she can visit in a surreal dream world that she drew in her school composition book.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  15. Along for the Ride (2022)

    The summer before college, Auden meets the mysterious Eli, a fellow insomniac. While the seaside town of Colby sleeps, the two embark on nightly quests to help Auden experience the fun, carefree teen life she never knew she wanted.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  16. Bedtime Stories (2008)

    Skeeter Bronson is a down-on-his-luck guy who's always telling bedtime stories to his niece and nephew. But his life is turned upside down when the fantastical stories he makes up for entertainment inexplicably turn into reality. Can a bewildered Skeeter manage his own unruly fantasies now that the outrageous characters and situations from his mind have morphed into actual people and events?

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  17. Turtles All the Way Down (2024)

    17-year-old Aza Holmes tries be a good daughter, a good friend, and a good student, all while navigating an endless barrage of invasive, obsessive thoughts that she cannot control. When she reconnects with Davis, her childhood crush, Aza is confronted with fundamental questions about her potential for love, happiness, friendship, and hope.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  18. Thunderstruck (2012)

    After NBA star Kevin Durant switches talent with 16 year old Brian, the teenager becomes the star of his high school team, but Durant starts struggling and eventually learns an important lesson.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  19. Alice in Wonderland (1933)

    In Victorian England, a bored young girl dreams that she has entered a fantasy world called Wonderland, populated by even more fantastic characters.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  20. Ghostland (2018)

    A mother of two inherits a home from her aunt. On the first night in the new home she is confronted with murderous intruders and fights for her daughters’ lives. Sixteen years later the daughters reunite at the house, and that is when things get strange...

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this

Like The Dreamer and something else?

Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.

Frequently asked questions

What are the best movies like The Dreamer?

The closest matches to The Dreamer are I Never Promised You a Rose Garden (1977), Dream Scenario (2023) and Still Breathing (1997). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.

What should I watch after The Dreamer?

Start with I Never Promised You a Rose Garden (1977), the closest match to The Dreamer.

What is the highest-rated movie like The Dreamer?

The Fall (2008), rated 7.6/10 by 1,655 TMDB users.

What is the newest movie like The Dreamer?

Neglected (2026) is the most recent release on this list.

Are there English movies like The Dreamer?

Yes: I Never Promised You a Rose Garden (1977), Dream Scenario (2023) and Still Breathing (1997).

How are movies similar to The Dreamer chosen?

First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Dreamer, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.

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