Movies like Esperando João (1981)
The best movies like Esperando João (1981) are Vitória (2025), Invisible Life (2019) and Dragon Knight (2022). If Esperando João hooked you, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedSuccubus (2024)8.3/10 from 279 votes
- NewestRaízes Perdidas (2026)Released 2026
Vitória (2025)
Nina is an elderly woman who lives alone and feels distressed by the increasing violence in her neighborhood. Amidst conflicts with her neighbors, she decides to film the movement of drug traffickers from her window, hoping to assist the police. After months of recording suspicious activities, her initiative attracts the attention of a journalist, who approaches Nina and offers to support her in her mission.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisInvisible Life (2019)
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 1950. In the conservative home of the Gusmão family, Eurídice and Guida are two inseparable sisters who support each other. While Guida can share with her younger sister the details of her romantic adventures, Eurídice finds in her older sister the encouragement she needs to pursue her dream of becoming a professional pianist.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDragon Knight (2022)
Many years after the war has been lost, and all the dragons slain, a lone knight travels the lands of Agonos seeking to raise an army against the demon lord Abaddon. When a healer's vision reveals that one dragon still lives, and together with an eager young squire, the knight sets off in search of the fabled creature. As the armies of Abaddon descend on the human kingdoms, the dragon is their last hope of fending off the horde, before it lays waste to the lands of men. But does the creature even exist? And if it does, will it fight for them once more?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPhantasm II (1988)
Mike, after his release from a psychiatric hospital, teams up with his old pal Reggie to hunt down the Tall Man, who is at it again. A mysterious, beautiful girl has also become part of Mike's dreams, and they must find her before the Tall Man does.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCocktail (1988)
After being discharged from the Army, Brian Flanagan moves back to Queens and takes a job in a bar run by Doug Coughlin, who teaches Brian the fine art of bar-tending. Brian quickly becomes a patron favorite with his flashy drink-mixing style, and Brian adopts his mentor's cynical philosophy on life and goes for the money.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Dreamseller (2016)
A disillusioned psychologist tries to commit suicide until he strikes up a friendship with an unlikely saviour who teaches him a new way of living.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI Know Where I'm Going! (1945)
Plucky Englishwoman Joan Webster travels to the remote islands of the Scottish Hebrides in order to marry a wealthy industrialist. Trapped by inclement weather on the Isle of Mull and unable to continue to her destination, Joan finds herself charmed by the straightforward, no-nonsense islanders around her, and becomes increasingly attracted to naval officer Torquil MacNeil, who holds a secret that may change her life forever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLone Samurai (2025)
A violent and reckless samurai is shipwrecked on a remote island left without an avenue for his rage. After undertaking a spiritual journey to appease his aggressive thoughts, he finds himself abducted by external demons taking the form of cannibals, putting his sense of reality and deadly talents to the test.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSintel (2010)
A wandering warrior finds an unlikely friend in the form of a young dragon. The two develop a close bond, until one day the dragon is snatched away. She then sets out on a relentless quest to reclaim her friend, finding in the end that her quest exacts a far greater price than she had ever imagined.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStar Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
The surviving Resistance faces the First Order once again as the journey of Rey, Finn and Poe Dameron continues. With the power and knowledge of generations behind them, the final battle begins.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAdventures of Don Juan (1948)
Spanish Lothario Don Juan, the legendary lover and adventurer returns to Spain following a scandal and comes to the aid of his queen, who is under threat from sinister forces.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMysterious Skin (2005)
A teenage hustler and a young man obsessed with alien abductions cross paths, together discovering a horrible, liberating truth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSuccubus (2024)
A new father going through a marital separation joins a dating app and matches with a beautiful but mysterious young woman... whose powers of seduction and manipulation entangle him in a mystery more horrifying than he could have ever imagined.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisGame of Thrones - Conquest & Rebellion: An Animated History of the Seven Kingdoms (2017)
A powerful ruler from House Targaryen begins a campaign to unite a fractured continent ruled by seven competing families. With the aid of formidable dragons, the conquest reshapes the balance of power and leads to the creation of a single throne.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisShattered Glass (2003)
Stephen Glass is a staff writer for the respected current events and policy magazine The New Republic and a freelance feature writer for publications such as Rolling Stone, Harper's and George. By the mid-90s, Glass' articles had turned him into one of the most sought-after young journalists in Washington, but a bizarre chain of events - chronicled in Buzz Bissinger's September 1998 Vanity Fair article - suddenly stopped his career in its tracks.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHarry & Son (1984)
Widower Harry Keach is a construction worker who was raised to appreciate the importance of working for a living. He takes a dim view of his sensitive son Howard's lackadaisical lifestyle and has a strained relationship with his daughter Nina as he does not approve of her husband. When Harry is fired from his job, his life changes drastically as he is made to focus on the relationships around him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisTales from the Crypt: Demon Knight (1995)
Ex-soldier Frank Brayker is the guardian of an ancient key that can unlock tremendous evil; the sinister Collector is a demon who wants the key so he can initiate the apocalypse. On the run from wicked mercenaries for almost 90 years, Brayker finally stops in at a boarding house in New Mexico where — with the help of its residents — he plans to face off against the Collector and his band of ghouls, preventing them from ever seizing the key.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMomo (2025)
Momo is a young orphan girl who lives in the ruins of an old Roman amphitheater and becomes friends with everybody in the neighborhood. But when a powerful international corporation starts stealing everybody’s time, nobody has any time left for her, let alone their friends or families. Momo, together with Master Hora, the custodian of time, are the only ones who can go up against the time thieves before all is lost forever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Tall Man (2012)
When her child goes missing, a mother looks to unravel the legend of the Tall Man, an entity who allegedly abducts children.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI Swear (2025)
Diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome at 15, John Davidson navigates his way against the odds through troubled teenage years and into adulthood, finding inspiration in the kindness of others to discover his true purpose in life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisOs caminhos irregulares da cidade planejada (2025)
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Driver (2025)
In a city gripped by fear, a criminal roams free — while Antônio, a quiet ride-share driver trapped in the monotony of his own existence, begins to question the meaning of his life. One night, a mysterious passenger enters his car… leading him down a dark and unpredictable road.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
DESFEM (2025)
The documentary questions femininity through the perspectives of two defeminized women, who share their experiences and the stigmas they face in society because of the way they dress.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
LUME (2024)
Amanda’s perspective on her hometown changes drastically when she discovers that the simplicity and memories in Neves have shaped her true home.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Meridiano (2025)
An intimate essay about memory and belonging in the city of Porto Alegre, RS.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Trespassing or Close Encounters of the 3rd World (2023)
Why it matches: Similar story and style
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Esperando João?
The closest matches to Esperando João are Vitória (2025), Invisible Life (2019) and Dragon Knight (2022). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Esperando João?
Start with Vitória (2025), the closest match to Esperando João.
What is the highest-rated movie like Esperando João?
Succubus (2024), rated 8.3/10 by 279 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Esperando João?
Raízes Perdidas (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to Esperando João chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Esperando João, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.