Movies like AWOL (2025)
The best movies like AWOL (2025) are Child's Play (1972), Won't Back Down (2012) and The Ron Clark Story (2006). If AWOL hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
AWOL
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Ron Clark Story (2006)7.6/10 from 201 votes
- NewestSmall Steps (2025)Released 2025
Child's Play (1972)
At an exclusive boys' school, a new gym teacher is drawn into a feud between two older instructors, and he discovers that everything at the school is not quite as staid, tranquil and harmless as it seems.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWon't Back Down (2012)
Jamie Fitzpatrick and Nona Alberts are two women from opposites sides of the social and economic track, but they have one thing in common: a mission to fix their community's broken school and ensure a bright future for their children. The two women refuse to let any obstacles stand in their way as they battle a bureaucracy that's hopelessly mired in traditional thinking, and they seek to re-energize a faculty that has lost its passion for teaching.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Ron Clark Story (2006)
Passionate and innovative teacher Ron Clark leaves his small hometown to teach in one of Harlem's toughest schools. But to break through to the students, he must use unconventional methods, including his ground-breaking classroom rules, to help them reach their potential. Based on a true story.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Color of Rain (2014)
After cancer claims Matt Kell's life on Christmas Day 2005, his widow, Gina and two young boys are left to cope with the pain of his loss while their close church community gathers around them for support.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Kindergarten Teacher (2018)
Lisa Spinelli is a Staten Island teacher who is unusually devoted to her students. When she discovers one of her five-year-olds is a prodigy, she becomes fascinated with the boy, ultimately risking her family and freedom to nurture his talent.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Girl in the Book (2015)
The story of a young writer's transformation when her past invades her present.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisMore Beautiful for Having Been Broken (2020)
Three women’s lives intersect at a lakeside resort and are forever changed by the love of a special needs boy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Miracle Worker (2000)
Devoted teacher Anne Sullivan leads deaf, blind and mute Helen Keller out of solitude and helps integrate her into the world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Child Is Waiting (1963)
Dr. Matthew Clark is the head of a state institution for intellectually disabled children. Jean Hansen, a former music teacher anxious to give her life some meaning, joins the staff of the hospital. Jean, who tries to shelter the children with her love, suspiciously regards Dr. Clark's stern training methods. She becomes emotionally involved with 12-year-old Reuben Widdicombe, who has been abandoned by his divorced parents.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Browning Version (1994)
Andrew Crocker-Harris is an embittered and disliked teacher of Greek and Latin at a British prep school. After nearly 20 years of service, he is being forced to retire for 'health reasons', and perhaps may not even be given a pension. The boys regard him as a Hitler, with some justification. His unfaithful wife Laura tries to hurt him in any way she can. Andrew must come to terms with his failed life and at least regain his own self-esteem.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMusic of the Heart (1999)
After Roberta Guaspari separates from her husband, she receives encouragement from her mother to take up a job of a music teacher at the Central Park East School in East Harlem.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHands of Stone (2016)
The legendary Roberto Duran and his equally legendary trainer Ray Arcel change each other's lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Devil's Double (2011)
A chilling vision of the House of Saddam Hussein comes to life through the eyes of the man who was forced to become the double of Hussein's sadistic son.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Only Living Boy in New York (2017)
When a young man learns that his overbearing father is having an affair, he tries to stop it, only to be seduced by the older woman as well.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMiracle Run (2004)
Corinne is a single mother of twin 5-year-old boys, Steven and Phillip, who are diagnosed with autism. Public school officials threaten to remove them from school due to their behavior, but through therapy, the boys are able to make major strides in their capabilities. A decade later, teens Steven and Phillip seek to prove they can handle high school while still struggling with their disorder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMr. Holland's Opus (1995)
In 1965, passionate musician Glenn Holland takes a day job as a high school music teacher, convinced it's just a small obstacle on the road to his true calling: writing a historic opus. As the decades roll by with the composition unwritten but generations of students inspired through his teaching, Holland must redefine his life's purpose.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTyson's Run (2022)
When fifteen-year-old Tyson attends public school for the first time, his life is changed forever. While helping his father clean up after the football team, Tyson befriends champion marathon runner Aklilu. Never letting his autism hold him back, Tyson becomes determined to run his first marathon in hopes of winning his father's approval. With the help of an unlikely friend and his parents, Tyson learns that with faith in yourself and the courage to take the first step, anything is possible.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAmateur (2018)
14-year-old basketball phenom Terron Forte has to navigate the under-the-table world of amateur athletics when he is recruited to an elite NCAA prep school.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe United States of Leland (2003)
A withdrawn young man, Leland Fitzgerald is imprisoned for the murder of a mentally disabled boy, who also happened to be the brother of his girlfriend, Becky. As the community struggles to deal with the killing, Pearl Madison, a teacher at the prison, decides to write about Leland's case. Meanwhile, others affected by the murder, including Becky and her sister, Julie, must contend with their own problems.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Poker House (2008)
Agnes and her two sisters struggle through a day in a home overrun by gamblers, thieves, and johns.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMona Lisa Smile (2003)
Katherine Watson is a recent UCLA graduate hired to teach art history at the prestigious all-female Wellesley College, in 1953. Determined to confront the outdated mores of society and the institution that embraces them, Katherine inspires her traditional students, including Betty and Joan, to challenge the lives they are expected to lead.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSmall Steps (2025)
A short film by Tea & reflection addressing mental health issues in students.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Battle Royale (2000)
In the future, the Japanese government captures a class of ninth-grade students and forces them to kill each other under the revolutionary "Battle Royale" act.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWushu (2008)
A group of Wushu students stumble into a child kidnapping ring run by an alumnus.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Disobedience (1958)
A university student wants to avenge his sister from a businessman who abandoned her after leaving her pregnant. To do this, he decides to seduce the man’s sister to make him suffer the same fate.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Supervised Exam (TBA)
A class of unprepared students will do anything to avoid getting a bad grade on an unexpected exam.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Por Baixo dos Panos (2024)
A former police detective lands a new job at a secret agency, but soon discovers that not everything is as it seems. Haunted by her past after being removed from her position, Bruna must deal with the challenges of her new job, along with her personal traumas.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Hold Me Tight (2010)
In the wake of a series of seemingly insignificant events, an ordinary school day for Sara, Mikkel, Louise and Hassan develops into a tragic turning point that changes everything forever.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like AWOL and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like AWOL?
The closest matches to AWOL are Child's Play (1972), Won't Back Down (2012) and The Ron Clark Story (2006). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after AWOL?
Start with Child's Play (1972), the closest match to AWOL.
What is the highest-rated movie like AWOL?
The Ron Clark Story (2006), rated 7.6/10 by 201 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like AWOL?
Small Steps (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like AWOL?
Yes: Child's Play (1972), Won't Back Down (2012) and The Ron Clark Story (2006).
How are movies similar to AWOL chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside AWOL, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.