Movies like Breaking Joy
The best movies like Breaking Joy are Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016), The Horse Whisperer (1998) and Wuthering Heights (1992). If Breaking Joy hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedBlack Beauty (2020)8.0/10 from 363 votes
- NewestEcho Valley (2025)Released 2025
Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016)
Ricky is a defiant young city kid who finds himself on the run with his cantankerous foster uncle in the wild New Zealand bush. A national manhunt ensues, and the two are forced to put aside their differences and work together to survive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Horse Whisperer (1998)
The mother of a severely traumatized daughter enlists the aid of a unique horse trainer to help the girl's equally injured horse.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWuthering Heights (1992)
Young orphan Heathcliff is adopted by the wealthy Earnshaw family and moves into their estate, Wuthering Heights. Soon, the new resident falls for his compassionate foster sister, Cathy. The two share a remarkable bond that seems unbreakable until Cathy, feeling the pressure of social convention, suppresses her feelings and marries Edgar Linton, a man of means who befits her stature. Heathcliff vows to win her back.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Mudge Boy (2003)
Chronicling the troubled existence of Duncan Mudge, a 14-year-old misfit who—while vying for the attention of his vacant father—struggles to fill the void brought on by his mother's sudden death.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPollyanna (1960)
A young girl comes to an embittered town and confronts its attitude with her determination to see the best in life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlack Beauty (2020)
Born free in the American West, Black Beauty is a horse rounded up and brought to Birtwick Stables, where she meets spirited teenager Jo Green. The two forge a bond that carries Beauty through the different chapters, challenges and adventures.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisEcho Valley (2025)
Kate lives a secluded life—until her troubled daughter shows up, frightened and covered in someone else's blood. As Kate unravels the shocking truth, she learns just how far a mother will go to try to save her child.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Longest Ride (2015)
The lives of a young couple intertwine with a much older man as he reflects back on a lost love while he's trapped in an automobile crash.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDreamer: Inspired By a True Story (2005)
Ben Crane believes that a severely injured racehorse deserves another chance. He and his daughter Cale adopt the mare and save it from being sacrificed by the owner.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Great Gilly Hopkins (2015)
Young and feisty Gilly Hopkins devises a scheme to escape from her new foster home and reunite with her birth mother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Lost Husband (2020)
Trying to put her life back together after the death of her husband, Libby and her children move to her estranged Aunt's goat farm in central Texas.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHow I Live Now (2013)
An American girl, sent to the English countryside to stay with relatives, finds love and purpose while fighting for her survival as war envelops the world around her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Best of Me (2014)
A pair of former high school sweethearts reunite after many years when they return to visit their small hometown.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAfter (2019)
Tessa Young is a dedicated student, dutiful daughter and loyal girlfriend to her high school sweetheart. Entering her first semester of college, Tessa's guarded world opens up when she meets Hardin Scott, a mysterious and brooding rebel who makes her question all she thought she knew about herself -- and what she wants out of life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWelcome Home, Roxy Carmichael (1990)
Movie star Roxy Carmichael is abandoning the bright lights of Hollywood, Calif. and returning to her small Ohio hometown -- at least long enough to dedicate a city building. And now the whole town of Clyde is bracing for Carmichael's return, most of all her now-married old flame Denton Webb and troubled teen Dinky Bossetti. An orphan with few friends, Dinky is convinced that Carmichael is her birth mother, and that the actress will reclaim her when she returns.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGod's Own Country (2017)
A young farmer in rural Yorkshire numbs his daily frustrations with binge drinking and casual sex, until the arrival of a Romanian migrant worker.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBecause of Winn-Dixie (2005)
A girl, abandoned by her mother when she was three, moves to a small town in Florida with her father. There, she adopts an orphaned dog she names Winn-Dixie. The bond between the girl and her special companion brings together the people in a small Florida town and heals her own troubled relationship with her father.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAll Dogs Go to Heaven (1989)
When a casino-owning dog named Charlie is murdered by his rival Carface, he finds himself in Heaven. Wanting to get back at his killer, he cons his way back to the living with the warning that doing so damns him to Hell. Once back, he teams with his old partner, Itchy, to prep his retaliation. He stumbles upon an orphan girl who can talk to the animals, thus allowing him to get the inside info on the races to ensure his wins to finance his plans. However, all the while, he is still haunted by nightmares of what's waiting for him on the other side unless he can prove that he is worthy of Heaven again.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEmma's Chance (2016)
While fulfilling her community service hours at a horse rescue ranch, Emma forms an unlikely bond with an abused show horse who won't let anyone ride him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCold Comfort Farm (1995)
In this adaptation of the satirical British novel, Flora Poste, a plucky London society girl orphaned at age 19, finds a new home with some rough relatives, the Starkadders of Cold Comfort Farm. With a take-charge attitude and some encouragement from her mischievous friend, Mary, Flora changes the Starkadders' lives forever when she settles into their rustic estate, bringing the backward clan up to date and finding inspiration for her novel in the process.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Breaking Joy?
The closest matches to Breaking Joy are Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016), The Horse Whisperer (1998) and Wuthering Heights (1992). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Breaking Joy?
Start with Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016), the closest match to Breaking Joy.
What is the highest-rated movie like Breaking Joy?
Black Beauty (2020), rated 8.0/10 by 363 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Breaking Joy?
Echo Valley (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Breaking Joy?
Yes: Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016), The Horse Whisperer (1998) and Wuthering Heights (1992).
How are movies similar to Breaking Joy chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Breaking Joy, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.