Movies like Pursuit of Happiness (2001)
The best movies like Pursuit of Happiness (2001) are Taking Care of Business (1990), Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948) and Broadway Danny Rose (1984). If Pursuit of Happiness hooked you with its comedy, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedChungking Express (1994)8.0/10 from 2,345 votes
- NewestBadineries (2025)Released 2025
Taking Care of Business (1990)
An uptight advertising exec has his entire life in a filofax organizer which mistakenly ends up in the hands of a friendly convict who poses as him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948)
An advertising executive dreams of getting out of the city and building a perfect home in the country, only to find the transition fraught with problems.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBroadway Danny Rose (1984)
A hapless talent manager named Danny Rose, by helping a client, gets dragged into a love triangle involving the mob. His story is told in flashback, an anecdote shared amongst a group of comedians over lunch at New York's Carnegie Deli. Rose's one-man talent agency represents countless incompetent entertainers, including a one-legged tap dancer, and one slightly talented one: washed-up lounge singer Lou Canova, whose career is on the rebound.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Secret of My Success (1987)
Brantley Foster, a well-educated kid from Kansas, has always dreamed of making it big in New York City, but once there, he learns that jobs - and girls - are hard to get. When he visits his uncle, Howard Prescott, who runs a multi-million-dollar company, he is given a job in the mail room.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Game Plan (2007)
Bachelor football star Joe Kingman seems to have it all. He is wealthy and carefree, and his team is on the way to capturing a championship. Suddenly, he is tackled by some unexpected news: He has a young daughter, the result of a last fling with his ex-wife. Joe must learn to balance his personal and professional lives with the needs of his child.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFootlight Parade (1933)
A fledgling producer finds himself at odds with his workers, financiers and his greedy ex-wife when he tries to produce live musicals for movie-going audiences.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGood Neighbor Sam (1964)
To help his divorced neighbor claim a substantial inheritance, a family man poses as her husband. The ruse spills over into his career in advertising, and his recent promotion relies on his wholesome and moral appearance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Errand Boy (1961)
Paramutual Pictures wants to know where all the money is going so they hire Morty to be their spy. Morty works for Mr. Sneak and gets a job in the mail room so that he can have access to the lot. But all that Morty ever finds is that he can cause havoc no matter what he does.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJerry Seinfeld: 23 Hours to Kill (2020)
Jerry Seinfeld takes the stage in New York and tackles talking vs. texting, bad buffets vs. so-called "great" restaurants and the magic of Pop Tarts.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWho's Minding the Store? (1963)
Norman Phiffer, a proud man in a humble life, doesn't know that his girlfriend, Barbara, is heir to the Tuttle Department Store dynasty. Mrs. Tuttle, Barbara's mother, is determined to split the two lovers, and hires Norman in an attempt to humiliate him enough that Barbara leaves him. Will she ruin their love, or will he ruin her store?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Girl Can't Help It (1956)
A down-and-out gangster hires a down-on-his-luck agent to make his girlfriend a recording star within six weeks.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRock-a-Bye Baby (1958)
An average television repairman must care for the newborn triplets of his former hometown sweetheart—now a famous movie star—so her career will not suffer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBoeing, Boeing (1965)
Living in Paris, journalist Bernard has devised a scheme to keep three fiancées: Lufthansa, Air France and British United. Everything works fine as long as they only come home every third day. But when there's a change in their working schedule, they will be able to be home every second day instead. Bernard's carefully structured life is breaking apart
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLying to Be Perfect (2010)
Nola Devlin is an unassuming, frumpy magazine editor who is overlooked and teased by her coworkers. Though, when she is behind the glow and anonymity of her computer screen, she becomes the famous advice columnist Belinda Apple. Nola’s friends, tired of being overworked and overweight, band together to create the Cinderella Pact, vowing to lose pounds by following the advice of Belinda Apple. When her secret identity is threatened, Nola is forced to take her own alter ego’s advice. But, as the group of friends drops dress sizes, their real issues are exposed, and better-than-expected life changes begin to blossom.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNo Time for Sergeants (1958)
Georgia farm boy Will Stockdale is about to bust with pride. He’s been drafted. Will’s ready. But is Uncle Sam ready for Will?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Trouble with Angels (1966)
Mary and her friend, Rachel, are new students at St. Francis Academy, a boarding school run by the iron fist of Mother Superior. The immature teens grow bored and begin playing pranks on both the unsuspecting nuns and their unpleasant classmates, becoming a constant thorn in Mother Superior's side. However, as the years pass, Mary and Rachel slowly mature and begin to see the nuns in a different light.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMuch Ado About Nothing (2013)
A modern retelling of Shakespeare's classic comedy about two pairs of lovers with different takes on romance and a way with words.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Big Store (1941)
A detective is hired to protect the life of a singer, who has recently inherited a department store, from the store's crooked manager.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSneakerella (2022)
When El, an aspiring sneaker designer from Queens, meets Kira King, the fiercely independent daughter of legendary basketball star and sneaker tycoon Darius King, sparks fly as the two bond over their mutual affinity for sneakers. With a little nudge from his best friend and a sprinkle of Fairy Godfather magic, El finds the courage to use his talent to pursue his dream of becoming a ‘legit’ sneaker designer in the industry.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe First Wives Club (1996)
After years of helping their hubbies climb the ladder of success, three mid-life Manhattanites have been dumped for a newer, curvier model. But the trio is determined to turn their pain into gain. They come up with a cleverly devious plan to hit their exes where it really hurts - in the wallet!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBadineries (2025)
While their couple is falling apart, Baptiste and Violette, two students, discover a new passion that may revive their relationship: murder. Yet, it is not sure that Gabriel and Madeleine, their Catholic and puritan friends, are going to approve this process...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Chungking Express (1994)
Two melancholic Hong Kong policemen fall in love: one with a mysterious underworld figure, the other with a beautiful and ethereal server at a late-night restaurant.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisKate & Leopold (2001)
When her scientist ex-boyfriend discovers a portal to travel through time -- and brings back a 19th-century nobleman named Leopold to prove it -- a skeptical Kate reluctantly takes responsibility for showing Leopold the 21st century. The more time Kate spends with Leopold, the harder she falls for him. But if he doesn't return to his own time, his absence will forever alter history.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy secretary is mad... mad... mad... (1967)
The aviation company for which Ricardo works gives a secretary a trip to Peru.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Summer Catch (2001)
Local boy Ryan Dunne, now a pitcher for Boston College, meets Tenley Parrish, the daughter of a wealthy couple who summer on the Cape. Ryan and Tenley fall in love, much to the chagrin of their families, while Ryan clings to one last hope of being discovered and signed to a pro baseball contract.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisCarry On Cruising (1962)
Captain Crowther's lot is not a happy one! Five of his crew have to be replaced and at such short notice before the voyage begins there isn't much to choose from. Not only does he get the five most incompetent shipmates ever to sail the seven seas, but the passengers turn out to be a rather strange bunch too. The SS Happy Wanderer will never be the same.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhere There's a Will (1955)
A Cockney family inherit a ramshackle Devon farm. The rest of the family don't want to leave London but the father insists and off they go, to face the unknown.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Empathic Master (2021)
Chen Jun Fei runs a marriage counseling center. In order to complete the entrustment of a beautiful client named Shan Zhuo, Chen Jun Fei personally disguised himself as a fortune-telling master. Unexpectedly, one after another troubles followes them, and Chen Jun Fei, known as a master of empathy, found that the commission this time, it's definitely not that simple.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
The Elephant in the Room (2025)
A progressive woman meets a man she is attracted to, but his support for Donald Trump challenges her beliefs and leaves her questioning whether their political differences can be overcome for a relationship to work.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
8 Dates (2008)
Men and women deal with different stages of love. Desire, jealousy, longing and melancholy are part of the romantic story of each of the characters, including a teacher, a middle-aged couple and a jealous boyfriend.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Like Pursuit of Happiness and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Pursuit of Happiness?
The closest matches to Pursuit of Happiness are Taking Care of Business (1990), Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948) and Broadway Danny Rose (1984). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Pursuit of Happiness?
Start with Taking Care of Business (1990), the closest match to Pursuit of Happiness.
What is the highest-rated movie like Pursuit of Happiness?
Chungking Express (1994), rated 8.0/10 by 2,345 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Pursuit of Happiness?
Badineries (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Pursuit of Happiness?
Yes: Taking Care of Business (1990), Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948) and Broadway Danny Rose (1984).
How are movies similar to Pursuit of Happiness chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Pursuit of Happiness, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.