Movies like Pretville (2012)
The best movies like Pretville (2012) are Sarafina! (1992), Skin (2009) and Mischief (1985). If Pretville hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedAnima (2019)7.3/10 from 502 votes
- NewestThe AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist (2026)Released 2026
Sarafina! (1992)
A Soweto schoolgirl named Sarafina is galvanized to protest apartheid after her teacher is arrested for her activism, leading her to join the student resistance movement.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSkin (2009)
Based on the true story of a black girl who was born to two white Afrikaner parents in South Africa during the apartheid era.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMischief (1985)
1956: The shy Jonathan's luck with girls changes when he wins the rebellious Gene as a friend in his last year of high school. Gene is adored by many girls and manages to teach Jonathan a few lessons. Gene himself would rather just be with one girl: his girlfriend Bunny. But since his father is poor, her parents don't accept him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPeggy Sue Got Married (1986)
At her 25th high school reunion, Peggy Sue faints and awakens in 1960—back in her senior year, before her marriage and all her regrets. Given a second chance to relive her youth, she must decide whether to change the choices that shaped her life or embrace the past that made her who she is.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Knight Before Christmas (2019)
A medieval English knight is magically transported to present day where he ends up falling for a high school science teacher.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlue Hawaii (1961)
Just discharged GI Chad Gates returns to Hawaii, where he becomes a tour guide, defying his mother's wishes for him to join the family business.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEasy Virtue (2008)
A young Englishman marries a glamorous American. When he brings her home to meet the parents, she arrives like a blast from the future - blowing their entrenched British stuffiness out the window.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisParis Christmas Waltz (2023)
Emma relinquishes her job so a colleague with a family will keep his. Contemplating life’s next steps, Emma meets a professional dancer, Leo whose love for competitive dancing is waning, until a once in a lifetime opportunity arises for the novice to join the pro and sweep all of Paris off its feet.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist (2026)
A father-to-be tries to figure out what is happening with all this AI insanity, and explores the most powerful technology humanity has ever created... and what's at stake if we get it wrong.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHannah Montana: The Movie (2009)
When Miley Stewart (aka pop-star Hannah Montana) gets too caught up in the superstar celebrity lifestyle, her dad decides it's time for a total change of scenery. But sweet niblets! Miley must trade in all the glitz and glamour of Hollywood for some ol' blue jeans on the family farm in Tennessee, and question if she can be both Miley Stewart and Hannah Montana.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisArlo the Alligator Boy (2021)
Upon learning that he is from New York City, a wide-eyed boy, who is half human and half alligator, decides to leave his sheltered life in the swamp and search for his long lost father. A musical adventure.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHoliday Harmony (2022)
A likeable and talented underdog gets momentarily sidelined from chasing her musical dreams when her van breaks down in a welcoming small town just before Christmas.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDrumline: A New Beat (2014)
A girl from New York attends a college in Atlanta to join their once-famous marching band.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHigh School Musical (2006)
A popular high school athlete and an academically gifted girl get roles in the school musical and develop a friendship that threatens East High's social order.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAnima (2019)
In a short musical film directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, Thom Yorke of Radiohead stars in a mind-bending visual piece. Best played loud.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThree Wise Men and a Baby (2022)
Three brothers get the surprise of their lives when they are forced to work together to care for a baby over the holidays. As they slowly get the hang of things, they find themselves on unexpected journeys of self-discovery and begin to rebuild their relationships as brothers, as well as the damaged romantic and professional relationships in their respective lives…all while rediscovering their love of Christmas.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTeen Beach Movie (2013)
Life's a beach for surfers Brady and McKenzie – until a rogue wave magically transports them inside the classic '60s beach party flick, "Wet Side Story," where a full-blown rivalry between bikers and surfers threatens to erupt. There, amidst a sea of surfing, singing and dancing, Brady and Mack accidentally change the storyline, and the film’s dreamy hero and heroine fall for them instead of for each other!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Merry Christmas Wish (2022)
Janie, a rising marketing executive living in The Big Apple, returns to her hometown of Woodland Falls when her Great-Uncle Randall passes away. Randall has even arranged for his farmhand, Dylan to help at the event, which is being held in the farm’s sprawling barn. Aware that her Manhattan boyfriend is anxious for her to return to the city so the pair can jet off to a previously planned holiday on the beach, Janie begins to feel an unexpected emotional tug about living life in a more authentic, meaningful way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisZ-O-M-B-I-E-S (2018)
Two star-crossed freshmen – a zombie, Zed and a cheerleader, Addison – each outsiders in their unique ways, befriend each other and work together to show their high school and the Seabrook community what they can achieve when they embrace their differences.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRoad to Morocco (1942)
Two carefree castaways on a desert shore find an Arabian Nights city, where they compete for the luscious Princess Shalmar.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Pretville?
The closest matches to Pretville are Sarafina! (1992), Skin (2009) and Mischief (1985). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Pretville?
Start with Sarafina! (1992), the closest match to Pretville.
What is the highest-rated movie like Pretville?
Anima (2019), rated 7.3/10 by 502 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Pretville?
The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to Pretville chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Pretville, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.