Movies like The Prodigal (1983)
The best movies like The Prodigal (1983) are Skin (2009), The Girl in the Book (2015) and Adopt a Highway (2019). If The Prodigal hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedFireproof (2008)7.7/10 from 887 votes
- NewestOmaha (2025)Released 2025
Skin (2009)
Based on the true story of a black girl who was born to two white Afrikaner parents in South Africa during the apartheid era.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Girl in the Book (2015)
The story of a young writer's transformation when her past invades her present.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisAdopt a Highway (2019)
Russ Millings has just been released from prison after serving 21 years for a 3rd strike conviction for possessing an ounce of marijuana. As he tries to adapt to a world he doesn’t recognize – including trying to learn how to use the internet – he finds an abandoned baby in a dumpster behind the fast food restaurant where he works as a dishwasher. Unsure of what to do, and caught between impulses of kindness and panic, Russ soon realizes this could be his chance at redemption.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAll Together Now (2020)
An optimistic, talented teen clings to a huge secret: she's homeless and living on a school bus. When tragedy strikes, can she learn to accept a helping hand?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTigertail (2020)
A man reflects on the lost love of his youth and his long-ago journey from Taiwan to America as he begins to reconnect with his estranged daughter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe River (1984)
Tom and Mae Garvey are a Tennessee farming couple battling violent floods to save their land. In addition to natural disasters, the Garveys fight to stop a selfish land developer and a local corporation from foreclosing on their farm. While Mae stays at home to care for their children and tend to the crops, Tom finds work as a scab at a steel mill to preserve his family's property.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhat Maisie Knew (2013)
In New York City, six-year-old Maisie is caught in the middle of a bitter custody battle between her self-absorbed parents—an aging rock singer mother and a distracted art dealer father. As both quickly marry new partners to strengthen their legal standing, Maisie is shuttled back and forth in an endless game of emotional point-scoring. Yet amid the chaos and upheaval, Maisie begins to find true comfort and affection in her new step-parents.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHoly Lands (2019)
When lapsed Jew and former cardiologist Harry suddenly decides to spend his retirement as a pig farmer in Nazareth, Israel, the move deeply shocks his family and his new neighbours. Back in New York, Harry’s ex-wife Monica is trying to manage the lives of their adult children, Annabelle and David, as well as her own.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMr. Church (2016)
A unique friendship develops when a little girl and her dying mother inherit a cook - Mr. Church. What begins as an arrangement that should only last six months, instead spans fifteen years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCome Sunday (2018)
Evangelist Carlton Pearson is ostracized by his church for preaching that there is no Hell.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisOmaha (2025)
A young girl and her brother are awoken by their father and loaded into the car on an early morning in 2008. As they road trip across the American West, she discovers the truth about their seemingly spontaneous journey.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDirt (2018)
In search of a lifeline for his struggling off road racing team, a man takes on a young car thief looking for a second chance, but as their worlds collide, they must struggle to forge a successful alliance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Parts You Lose (2019)
An unlikely friendship unfolds between a young deaf boy, Wesley, and a fugitive criminal who takes refuge in an abandoned barn on the family’s rural North Dakota farm.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (1972)
Middle-aged widow Beatrice Hunsdorfer and her daughters Ruth and Matilda are struggling to survive in a society they barely understand. Beatrice dreams of opening an elegant tea room but does not have the wherewithal to achieve her lofty goal. Epileptic Ruth is a rebellious adolescent, while shy but highly intelligent and idealistic Matilda seeks solace in her pets and school projects, including one designed to show how small amounts of radium affect marigolds.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisI Believe (2019)
A 9 year old boy experiences God's power in a supernatural way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHome (2021)
An ex-felon returns home from prison and must confront the demons of his past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHomeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story (2003)
Based on a true story. Liz Murray is a young girl who is taken care of by her loving, but drug-addicted parents. Liz becomes homeless at 15 and after a tragedy comes upon her, she begins her work to finish high school.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMiracles from Heaven (2016)
When Christy discovers her 10-year-old daughter Anna has a rare, incurable disease, she becomes a ferocious advocate for her daughter’s healing as she searches for a solution. After Anna has a freak accident and falls three stories, a miracle unfolds in the wake of her dramatic rescue that leaves medical specialists mystified, her family restored and their community inspired.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Visit (1964)
Carla Zachanassian had a child by Serge Miller as a teenager. When Serge refused to marry her, she was driven out of town. By her own wit and cunning, she has returned as a multi-millionaire for a visit. The town lays out the red carpet expecting big things from Carla, only to learn that her sole purpose is to see Serge Miller killed...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thisJohn Hus (1977)
A faithful recounting of the ministry, trial and martyrdom of the fifteenth century Bohemian priest John Hus, who built on the reforms of John Wycliffe, taught the Bible in the vernacular and who influenced Martin Luther a century later.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
First Reformed (2018)
A pastor of a small church in upstate New York starts to spiral out of control after a soul-shaking encounter with an unstable environmental activist and his pregnant wife.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTaken by Grace (2013)
An ex-con kidnaps a Christian couple in a bid to avenge his son's murder in this faith-based thriller starring Angus MacFayden and Haylie Duff. Years ago, Lucas Blackstone (Macfadyen) watched helplessly as his son was killed in cold blood. Years later, upon being released from prison, Lucas determines to see justice served at the business end of a .357. After kidnapping Shawn Everett (Bradley Dorsey) and his wife Carrie (Duff) from a campsite, Lucas instructs them to drive him to the town of Trinity so he may carry out the execution. Now as the trio drives to their grim destination, Lucas learns that Shawn and Carrie have put their trust in their faith to save their broken marriage. Unmoved by their devotion, he threatens to take their lives if they try to stop him. Later, a shocking discovery about his intended target leaves the grieving father questioning everything he ever thought he knew.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Flywheel (2003)
Jay Austin wants to sell you a used car, but watch out! Many victims have fallen prey to his smiling face and hasty promises. Austin does everything his way until his dishonesty and manipulation are exposed. Like many men, he becomes disgusted by the masks he wears and the lies he tells. In every man's life, there can be a turning point. When Jay makes his turn, he never looks back.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGod's Not Dead: A Light in Darkness (2018)
Pastor Dave responds to the unimaginable tragedy of having his church, located on the grounds of the local university, burned down.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Prodigal Planet (1983)
About to executed by the forces of the Antichrist, a fundamentalist Christian guerrilla is rescued by an Antichrist agent pretending to be a double agent for the Believers' Underground. The agent hopes to trick the Christian into leading her to the dissidents' hidden base. Meanwhile, Armageddon and the Second Coming draw nigh.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Enemy (1974)
Christians Betsy and Tim grapple with demons who have possessed a pair of young brothers. Based on the novel by Jim Grant.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Fireproof (2008)
A heroic fire captain values dedication and service to others above all else, but the most important partnership in his life, his marriage, is about to go up in smoke.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisChristmas at Cadillac Jack's (2007)
While stranded at a diner on Christmas Eve, Rose finds personal redemption in protecting a young baby from an abusive father on her way to reconciling with the child she had to give up for adoption in her youth.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Journey to the Sky (1977)
This is the powerful drama of Sadhu Sundar Singh, missionary to India. Being raised a Sikh and miraculously meeting Jesus, then facing death by his own family, this man lived a life that can influence anyone.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like The Prodigal and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Prodigal?
The closest matches to The Prodigal are Skin (2009), The Girl in the Book (2015) and Adopt a Highway (2019). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Prodigal?
Start with Skin (2009), the closest match to The Prodigal.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Prodigal?
Fireproof (2008), rated 7.7/10 by 887 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Prodigal?
Omaha (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Prodigal?
Yes: Skin (2009), The Girl in the Book (2015) and Adopt a Highway (2019).
How are movies similar to The Prodigal chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Prodigal, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.