Movies like The Lunchbox (2013)
The best movies like The Lunchbox (2013) are The Secret: Dare to Dream (2020), A Big Bold Beautiful Journey (2025) and Love Everlasting (2016). If The Lunchbox hooked you with its drama and romance, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedMy Name Is Khan (2010)8.0/10 from 1,528 votes
- NewestA Big Bold Beautiful Journey (2025)Released 2025
- In HindiSir (2018)Also in Hindi
The Secret: Dare to Dream (2020)
A widow with three children hires a handyman to fix her house during a major storm. When not doing home repairs, he shares his philosophy of believing in the power of the universe to deliver what we want.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Big Bold Beautiful Journey (2025)
Sarah and David are single strangers who meet at a mutual friend’s wedding and soon, through a surprising twist of fate, find themselves on a funny, fantastical, sweeping adventure together where they get to re-live important moments from their respective pasts, illuminating how they got to where they are in the present... and possibly getting a chance to alter their futures.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLove Everlasting (2016)
Bridger is a young outsider who's always wanted more. He and his mother flee an abusive home, eventually finding a small town in the middle of nowhere. Once there, Bridger finds true acceptance with another misfit.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSir (2018)
A prosperous young Indian man falls in love with his servant, a widow with the dream of becoming a fashion designer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRaja Hindustani (1996)
Raja, a taxi driver, falls in love with Aarti, a rich girl, and marries her against her parents' wishes. Later, her stepmother tries to create a rift betweenthe couple.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSave the Last Dance (2001)
After the death of her mother, Sara moves to the South Side of Chicago to live with her father and gets transferred to a majority-black school. Her life takes a turn for the better when befriends Chenille and her brother Derek, who helps her with her dancing skills.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFallen Angel (1945)
An unemployed drifter, Eric Stanton wanders into a small California town and begins hanging around the local diner. While Eric falls for the lovely waitress Stella, he also begins romancing a quiet and well-to-do woman named June Mills. Since Stella isn't interested in Eric unless he has money, the lovelorn guy comes up with a scheme to win her over, and it involves June. Before long, murder works its way into this passionate love triangle.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTere Naam (2003)
A rowdy ex-college boy who, after a hazing session, loses his heart to first year student Nirjara, a traditional Brahmin girl.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Name Is Khan (2010)
Rizwan Khan, a Muslim from the Borivali section of Mumbai, has Asperger's syndrome. He marries a Hindu single mother, Mandira, in San Francisco. After 9/11, Rizwan is detained by authorities at LAX who treat him as a terrorist because of his condition and his race.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisQayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988)
Both Dhanraj Singh and Randhir Singh are two bitter and old time enemies. They faced a disastrous situation when their children, Raj and Rashmi fall deeply in love. They openly declare their hatred for one another and will do anything in their power, even kill - but they will not accept their children's choice. But Raj and Rashmi are dedicated to their love and are not willing to accept the fact that their fathers are mutual enemies.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAll My Life (2020)
It was a chance meeting started by one of Sol’s friends trying to chat up Jennifer. However, in the end, it was those two who hit it off. Sol enjoyed Jen’s smile, her effort, and how silly she could be. Jen enjoyed Sol’s cooking, his athleticism, and that he would join her in fun moments. As you can imagine, love bloomed, and things got serious. Jen’s investment in Sol led to her pushing him to follow his dreams and even move in to save money. Sol’s investment in Jen well, it led to him proposing. But what started as a liver tumor grew into full-on cancer, so with a diagnosis of 6 months to live, Sol and Jennifer try to make the best of it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFar from Heaven (2002)
In 1950s Connecticut, a housewife's life is upended by a marital crisis and mounting racial tensions in society.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDil Chahta Hai (2001)
Three inseparable childhood friends are just out of college. Nothing comes between them - until they each fall in love, and their wildly different approaches to relationships creates tension.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between (2022)
Clare and Aidan make a pact to break up before college — no regrets, no broken hearts. But will one epic goodbye date offer them a last chance at love?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStanley & Iris (1990)
An illiterate cook at a company cafeteria tries for the attention of a newly widowed woman. As they get to know one another, she discovers his inability to read. When he is fired, she takes on trying to teach him to read in her kitchen each night.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAlice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974)
After her husband dies, Alice and her son, Tommy, leave their small New Mexico town for California, where Alice hopes to make a new life for herself as a singer. Money problems force them to settle in Arizona instead, where Alice takes a job as waitress in a small diner.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKiller's Kiss (1955)
Davey Gordon, a New York City boxer at the end of his career, falls for dancer Gloria Price. However, their budding relationship is interrupted by Gloria's violent boss, Vincent Rapallo, who has eyes for Gloria. The two decide to skip town, but before they can, Vincent and his thugs abduct Gloria, and Davey is forced to search for her among the most squalid corners of the city, with his enemy hiding in the shadows.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRaajneeti (2010)
It is the story of a fiercely fought election campaign, where money power and corruption are the accepted norms, and where treachery and manipulation are routinely used weapons. As the personal drama of these conflict-ridden characters unfolds against this gritty backdrop, love and friendship become mere baits, and relationships get sacrificed at the altar of political alignments. The darkness that rises from their souls threatens to envelope all that they hold precious. Until eventually, in the crescendo of increasing violence, the line between good and evil blurs, making it impossible to distinguish heroes from villains. Raajneeti is the story of Indian democracy. And its ugly underside. It is about politics. And beyond.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Color of Friendship (2000)
Mahree Bok lives on a farm in South Africa. Her father is a policeman who cannot hide his joy when activist Steve Biko is caught by the South African authorities. Piper Dellums is the daughter of a US congressman from California and who lives in a nice home in Washington DC. When Mahree is chosen to spend a semester at the Dellums' house, she doesn't expect that her host family would be black. Nor do her hosts suspect that she is not a black South African.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Caveman's Valentine (2001)
Romulus, a misunderstood musician turned recluse hiding from personal demons in a New York City cave, finds the frozen body of a young drifter in a tree. The authorities, including his police officer daughter, claim the death is accidental. Romulus is convinced the man was murdered by a prominent art photographer but how can he prove he's right when everyone thinks he's insane?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisHis Father's Voice (2019)
A gifted male dancer separated from his musician father in childhood, must return to him, to be able to dance again.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Good Newwz (2019)
Two couples with the same surnames pursue in-vitro fertilisation and wait for their upcoming babies. Trouble ensues when they find that the sperms of each couple have been mixed with each other.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBobby Aur Rishi Ki Love Story (2025)
Set against the picturesque backdrop of Cambridge, the film follows the journey of Bobby and Rishi as they going through the complexities of love and life. The story revolves around their passionate romance, which faces numerous challenges and misunderstandings. Despite being separated by circumstances, their love remains strong. Years later, fate gives them a second chance to rekindle their relationship and overcome the obstacles that once tore them apart.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & drama
Love 86 (1986)
Laxmi Devi is a strict mother having two daughters named Leena and Isha. She wants them to get married in a prosperous and rich family with two brothers so that they can be together for life. But two orphaned boys named Omi and Vikram Doshi who are thieves by profession, fall for these two sisters. Now Laxmi Devi wants to control the fate of her daughters but can she do this?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & drama
Dastak (1996)
Dastak (English: Knock) is a 1996 Hindi language Indian feature film directed by Mahesh Bhatt, starring Sushmita Sen in her debut film supported by Mukul Dev with Sharad Kapoor as the psychopath.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & drama
Judaai (1980)
The wealthy doctor Shashikant marries a servant girl, the much-loved Gauri. When an old flame makes makes contact with Shashikant, pride jeopardizes their marriage and the lives of their children.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Dear Maya (2017)
Anna and Ira prank a local woman by writing her letters from a secret admirer. The prank takes a more serious turn when the local women goes missing.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Raabta (2017)
An inseparable couple Saira and Shiva find themselves in a complicated situation when a stranger claims to be her reincarnated lover from their previous lifetime, hellbent on destroying their relationship and winning her back.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
SnoozefestMovies like thisJudwaa 2 (2017)
Separated at birth and peculiarly connected via their reflexes, twins Prem and Raja are reunited with each other as they set out to take down the underground smuggling world.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
SnoozefestMovies like thisAnhonee (1973)
Dr. Rekha admits a patient, Sunil, in her mental hospital and soon, he responds to the treatment and recovers. They fall in love with each other but everything is not as it seems to be.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like The Lunchbox and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Lunchbox?
The closest matches to The Lunchbox are The Secret: Dare to Dream (2020), A Big Bold Beautiful Journey (2025) and Love Everlasting (2016). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Lunchbox?
Start with The Secret: Dare to Dream (2020), the closest match to The Lunchbox.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Lunchbox?
My Name Is Khan (2010), rated 8.0/10 by 1,528 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Lunchbox?
A Big Bold Beautiful Journey (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Hindi movies like The Lunchbox?
Yes: Sir (2018), Raja Hindustani (1996) and Tere Naam (2003).
How are movies similar to The Lunchbox chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Lunchbox, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.