Movies like The Optimistic Futurist (2004)
The best movies like The Optimistic Futurist (2004) are Walt Before Mickey (2015), The End of the Tour (2015) and Pinball: The Man Who Saved the Game (2023). If The Optimistic Futurist hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Art of Racing in the Rain (2019)8.1/10 from 1,765 votes
- NewestPinball: The Man Who Saved the Game (2023)Released 2023
Walt Before Mickey (2015)
Based on the book "Walt Before Mickey" covers the early years of Walt Disney's career. The legendary Walt Disney had a tumultuous childhood, yet he was determined to overcome obstacles in his path, before the creation of his first iconic character: Mickey Mouse.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe End of the Tour (2015)
The story of the five-day interview between Rolling Stone reporter David Lipsky and acclaimed novelist David Foster Wallace, which took place right after the 1996 publication of Wallace's groundbreaking epic novel, 'Infinite Jest.'
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPinball: The Man Who Saved the Game (2023)
The dramatic comedy is based on the true story of writer and pinball wizard Roger Sharpe, chronicling his journey to overturn New York City’s 35-year ban on pinball.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Perfect Game (2009)
Based on a true story, a group of boys from Monterrey, Mexico who become the first non-U.S. team to win the Little League World Series.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThank You for Smoking (2005)
Nick Naylor is a charismatic spin-doctor for Big Tobacco who'll fight to protect America's right to smoke -- even if it kills him -- while still remaining a role model for his 12-year old son. When he incurs the wrath of a senator bent on snuffing out cigarettes, Nick's powers of "filtering the truth" will be put to the test.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHarry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts (2022)
An enchanting making-of story told through all-new in-depth interviews and cast conversations, inviting fans on a magical first-person journey through one of the most beloved film franchises of all time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFor Love of the Game (1999)
A baseball legend almost finished with his distinguished career at the age of forty has one last chance to prove who he is, what he is capable of, and win the heart of the woman he has loved for the past four years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Founder (2016)
The true story of how Ray Kroc, a salesman from Illinois, met Mac and Dick McDonald, who were running a burger operation in 1950s Southern California. Kroc was impressed by the brothers’ speedy system of making the food and saw franchise potential. He maneuvered himself into a position to be able to pull the company from the brothers and create a billion-dollar empire.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSaving Mr. Banks (2013)
Author P.L. Travers looks back on her childhood while reluctantly meeting with Walt Disney, who seeks to adapt her Mary Poppins books for the big screen.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Rookie (2002)
Jim Morris never made it out of the minor leagues before a shoulder injury ended his pitching career twelve years ago. Now a married-with-children high-school chemistry teacher and baseball coach in Texas, Jim's team makes a deal with him: if they win the district championship, Jim will try out with a major-league organization. The bet proves incentive enough for the team, and they go from worst to first, making it to state for the first time in the history of the school. Jim, forced to live up to his end of the deal, is nearly laughed off the try-out field--until he gets onto the mound, where he confounds the scouts (and himself) by clocking successive 98 mph fastballs, good enough for a minor-league contract with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Jim's still got a lot of pitches to throw before he makes it to The Show, but with his big-league dreams revived, there's no telling where he could go.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPlanes, Trains and Automobiles (1987)
An irritable marketing executive, Neal Page, is heading home to Chicago for Thanksgiving when a number of delays force him to travel with a well meaning but overbearing shower curtain ring salesman, Del Griffith.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWaffle Street (2015)
The true story of Jimmy Adams, a V.P. of a $30 billion hedge fund, who loses his job and winds up working as a waiter at a waffle shop. Amidst the greasy madness of the 24-hour diner, Jimmy befriends Edward, an ex-con grill master who serves up hard lessons about life, finance, and grits.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhen in Rome (2010)
Disillusioned with romance, Beth, an ambitious New Yorker, travels to Rome for her sister's wedding, where she plucks magic coins from a special fountain of love. The coins attract unwanted attention from an assortment of odd yet ardent suitors: a sausage merchant, a street magician, an artist, and a male model. But when the best man from the wedding, persistent reporter Nick, throws his hat in the ring, Beth wonders if his love is the real thing.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Mouse That Roared (1959)
The Duchy of Grand Fenwick decides that the only way to get out of their economic woes is to declare war on the United States, lose and accept foreign aid. They send an invasion force (in chain mail, armed with bows and arrows) to New York and they arrive during a nuclear drill that has cleared the streets.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Dinner with Andre (1981)
Wally, a struggling playwright and actor, reluctantly agrees to catch up with his old friend Andre, a theater director who disappeared several years prior in order to travel the world. Meeting at a posh Manhattan restaurant, the two share life stories, anecdotes and philosophical musings over the course of an evening meal.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Art of Racing in the Rain (2019)
A family dog – with a near-human soul and a philosopher's mind – evaluates his life through the lessons learned by his human owner, a race-car driver.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisLucy and Desi (2022)
Explore the unlikely partnership and enduring legacy of one of the most prolific power couples in entertainment history. Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz risked everything to be together.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAmerican Graffiti (1973)
A couple of high school graduates spend one final night cruising the strip with their buddies before they go off to college.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Dark Tower (2017)
A boy haunted by visions of a parallel world aids its disillusioned guardian in preventing the destruction of the nexus of universes known as the Dark Tower.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisA King in New York (1957)
A recently-deposed "Estrovian" monarch seeks shelter in New York City, where he becomes an accidental television celebrity. Later, he's wrongly accused of being a Communist and gets caught up in subsequent HUAC hearings.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Optimistic Futurist?
The closest matches to The Optimistic Futurist are Walt Before Mickey (2015), The End of the Tour (2015) and Pinball: The Man Who Saved the Game (2023). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Optimistic Futurist?
Start with Walt Before Mickey (2015), the closest match to The Optimistic Futurist.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Optimistic Futurist?
The Art of Racing in the Rain (2019), rated 8.1/10 by 1,765 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Optimistic Futurist?
Pinball: The Man Who Saved the Game (2023) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Optimistic Futurist?
Yes: Walt Before Mickey (2015), The End of the Tour (2015) and Pinball: The Man Who Saved the Game (2023).
How are movies similar to The Optimistic Futurist chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Optimistic Futurist, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.