Movies like Ivan's Day (2014)
The best movies like Ivan's Day (2014) are F.I.S.T. (1978), Battle of the Year (2013) and Girl in the Box (2016). If Ivan's Day hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedTrue Grit (1969)7.3/10 from 903 votes
- NewestMexicali (2026)Released 2026
F.I.S.T. (1978)
Johnny Kovak joins the Teamsters trade-union in a local chapter in the 1930s and works his way up in the organization. As he climbs higher and higher his methods become more ruthless and finally senator Madison starts a campaign to find the truth about the alleged connections with the Mob.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBattle of the Year (2013)
A down-on-his-luck coach is hired to prepare a team of the best American dancers for an international tournament that attracts all the best crews from around the world, but the Americans haven't won in fifteen years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGirl in the Box (2016)
The true story of 20-year-old Colleen Stan, a hitchhiking woman abducted by a young couple and held captive for seven years, during which time she's tortured and forced to live as a slave to her captors.
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 thisA Bramble House Christmas (2017)
While settling his father’s estate, Finn Conrad becomes suspicious as to why the man left a nurse $100,000. His dad knew her for less than two months before he died. Just before Christmas, Finn wants what to reclaim what he considers his family’s money, going undercover to investigate the bed and breakfast the nurse has recently taken over. When Finn meets Willa, he discovers she’s not a conniving gold digger at all, but a woman in need who put the money to good use. When she discovers his true identity, will it keep Willa from ever trusting him again?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSound of Christmas (2016)
Lizzie is a young piano teacher working at a music school while trying to save enough money for a Steinway piano. The school is gearing up for their major Christmas fundraiser and she has committed much of her time to plan the event. One afternoon, she meets Brad who takes an interest in her playing and asks if she will teach his uninterested teenage daughter. She begins to break through to the young girl, and sparks begin to fly with Brad, but she is shocked to find out that his interest is not solely in her playing, but in the property that houses the music school. She sets out to save the school and the event, but can she work things out with Brad?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAmerican Son (2019)
Time passes and tension mounts in a Florida police station as an estranged interracial couple awaits news of their missing teenage son.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEmbattled (2020)
The eldest son of a ruthlessly tough MMA champion must fight his way out of the abusive cycle his father has continued.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Bridge Part 2 (2016)
The second-half of the movie picks up in the present day, seven years later, with Ryan returning home from being on the road touring as a professional singer and Molly working at her father's corporation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFlicka (2006)
Katy McLaughlin desires to work on her family's mountainside horse ranch, although her father insists she finish boarding school. Katy finds a mustang in the hills near her ranch. The headstrong 16 year old then sets her mind to tame a mustang and prove to her father she can run the ranch. But when tragedy happens, it will take all the love and strength the family can muster to restore hope.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlue Chips (1994)
Pete Bell, a college basketball coach is under a lot of pressure. His team isn't winning and he cannot attract new players. The stars of the future are secretly being paid by boosters. This practice is forbidden in the college game, but Pete is desperate and has pressures from all around.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTrue Grit (1969)
The murder of her father sends a teenage tomboy on a mission of 'justice', which involves avenging her father's death. She recruits a tough old marshal, 'Rooster' Cogburn because he has 'true grit', and a reputation of getting the job done.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRay Donovan: The Movie (2022)
A showdown decades in the making brings the Donovan family legacy full circle. As the events that made Ray who he is today finally come to light, the Donovans find themselves drawn back to Boston to face the past. Each of them struggles to overcome their violent upbringing, but destiny dies hard, and only their fierce love for each other keeps them in the fight.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMexicali (2026)
A former special forces contractor is forced out of retirement as an avocado farmer in Mexico when local gangsters try to force him and his family off their farm.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWelcome to Sudden Death (2020)
Jesse Freeman is a former special forces officer and explosives expert now working a regular job as a security guard in a state-of-the-art basketball arena. Trouble erupts when a tech-savvy cadre of terrorists kidnap the team's owner and Jesse's daughter during opening night. Facing a ticking clock and impossible odds, it's up to Jesse to not only save them but also a full house of fans in this highly charged action thriller.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRebound: The Legend of Earl 'The Goat' Manigault (1996)
A dramatization of the life of Earl 'The Goat' Manigault (Don Cheadle), with a lot of factual based occurrences. A reformed junkie returns from prison to clean up his act and devote the rest of his life to the young kids of Harlem. 1996 was the 25th anniversary of the first tournament named after him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLove Finds You in Charm (2015)
A young Amish woman, who isn't satisfied with her path at home, visits a cousin for the summer. Over the summer, she is exposed to another world, finds friendship and more. Soon she must choose and come to terms with the life she wants.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSeeking Justice (2011)
After his wife is assaulted, a husband enlists the services of a vigilante group to help him settle the score.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisViolent Saturday (1955)
Three men case a small town very carefully, with plans to rob the bank on the upcoming Saturday, which turns violent and deadly.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGigi & Nate (2022)
A young man with a bright future suffers a near-fatal accident and recreates his new life with the help of an unlikely animal friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMidsummer (2003)
It is the last day of school for Christian and his younger sister Sophie. They are heading to a party at his friend Trina. High school graduation is just around the corner and after the freedom and future. But behind the idyllic facade lurks tragedy and secrets. That evening Sophie commits suicide.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Miss Julie (1951)
Based on the play by August Strindberg, Miss Julie vividly depicts the battle of the sexes and classes that ensues when Julie, a wealthy businessman's daughter, falls for Jean, her father's bitter servant.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisClose to Eden (1991)
A farmer and his wife live in a rural part of Inner Mongolia with their three children. Chinese population control policies prevent them from having any more. The farmer sets out for the nearest town to obtain birth control. He comes upon a Russian truck driver who has ended up in a lake. The farmer takes the man back to his farm, and after initially being appalled, the Russian becomes enchanted with the peaceful life of the countryside and decides to stay. But his presence presages big changes for the peasants.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Midsummer's Fantasia (2015)
Reality and fantasy melds as a Korean documentary film director attempts to capture life in the small town of Gojo, Japan.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
A Swedish Midsummer Sex Comedy (2009)
A beautiful waterfront house, a Swedish flag fluttering in the wind. A sailboat tied to the wooden deck below. This is the setting of the friends' annual Midsummer celebrations. The friends are gathered at Emil's family house and the herring lunch, sauna, games and compulsory skinny dipping are as always prepared. Expectations are set - Micke worries about his highly pregnant wife and the fastest way to the nearest hospital. Eva is looking for some distraction from her recent split with Patrick and Sam. Emil's college buddy from the States arrives with his own expectations of Swedish sin. Wannabe singer-songwriter Anders hasn't told his wannabe pregnant girlfriend Maria about his low sperm count and hopes to solve the problem over the weekend. To top it off Emil's surprise seems to lift the party to unprecedented heights. If everything had gone according to plan that is.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Goldfish (2013)
This film is an adaptation of Etgar Keret's famed short story 'What Of This Goldfish Would You Wish?' in which a young man named Yoni (Jason Ritter) sets out to make a documentary about the secret longings of everyday Americans. By knocking on strangers doors and asking them this question: 'If you had a magic goldfish that granted you three wishes, what of this goldfish would you wish?' Yoni thinks he will discover the hopes, dreams and greatest wishes his fellow citizens. But Yoni is not prepared when he meets an elderly immigrant named Sergei who we learn has been wrestling with the exact same question for years and is desperate not to lose his old friend-- a beautiful talking goldfish (Lucy Punch).
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Longest Day (2020)
Midsummer in Sweden; somewhere above the Arctic Circle. Many curious stories unfold in a small Finnish-speaking village, while the sun never sets.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
A Swedish Love Story (1970)
The puppy love of two teenagers is set against a backdrop of adults struggling with their own lives. As a couple in love, they don't care about anything but themselves and seem totally unaware about everything that surrounds them.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWhite Night Wedding (2008)
Jon, a middle-aged professor is going to get married tomorrow, for the second time, to one of his ex-students half his age. But it's not all roses. First, there's his cranky mother-in-law-to-be who violently opposes the marriage and who demands repayment of Jon's loan before the wedding night. Second, his plans to build a golf course on the little island of Flatey where they live aren't going at all to plan. Third, his extremely drunk best man is on the loose without any shoes and lastly, the continual presence of his emotional first wife is haunting his every move. When the guests start flocking to the island, Jon starts getting cold feet. After a very long night of drinking and thinking, will Jon be able to make it to the church on time?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Madness (1969)
Before the end of the Second World War, a special commando marches into a mental hospital located in a beautiful manor house to eliminate the patients. But the Gestapo has received an anonymous letter saying that an enemy agent is hiding among the madmen. Officer Windisch is tasked with finding a simulant among several hundred mental patients in a matter of days.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like Ivan's Day and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Ivan's Day?
The closest matches to Ivan's Day are F.I.S.T. (1978), Battle of the Year (2013) and Girl in the Box (2016). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Ivan's Day?
Start with F.I.S.T. (1978), the closest match to Ivan's Day.
What is the highest-rated movie like Ivan's Day?
True Grit (1969), rated 7.3/10 by 903 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Ivan's Day?
Mexicali (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to Ivan's Day chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Ivan's Day, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.