Movies like Billy Galvin (1986)
The best movies like Billy Galvin (1986) are I Believe (2019), Second Best (1994) and The Stray (2017). If Billy Galvin hooked you with its drama and family, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedStill Walking (2008)7.8/10 from 477 votes
- NewestFloated By (2025)Released 2025
I Believe (2019)
A 9 year old boy experiences God's power in a supernatural way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSecond Best (1994)
The difficult relationship between a british postal officer and his adoptive son.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Stray (2017)
A young father takes his nine year old son, the family dog, and two of his son's friends backpacking in the mountains of Colorado only for all five of them to be struck by lightning.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Family Man (2016)
Dane Jensen is a driven, Chicago-based headhunter, working at a cut-throat job placement firm. When his boss pits Dane against Lynn Vogel, Dane's equally driven but polar-opposite rival at the firm, in a battle for control over the company. When his young son is then given a harrowing diagnosis, Dane is suddenly pulled between achieving his professional dream and spending time with the family that needs him now more than ever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDeath of a Salesman (1985)
Willy Loman, an aging, failing salesman, struggles to accept reality and his failure to achieve the American Dream.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Memory Keeper's Daughter (2008)
During a blizzard in 1964, Dr. David Henry delivers his son Paul with the help of nurse Caroline. But when Henry realizes his wife is also carrying a girl with Down syndrome, he hands the second child over to Caroline without his wife's knowledge. Henry's fateful decision yields grave consequences for his family over the next 20 years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOver the Top (1987)
Lincoln Hawk a hard-luck big-rig trucker takes us under the glaring Las Vegas lights for all the boisterous action of the World Armwrestling Championship. Relying on wits and willpower, Hawk tries to rebuild his life by capturing the first-place prize money, and the love of the son he abandoned years earlier into the keeping of his rich, ruthless father-in-law.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Long, Hot Summer (1958)
Accused barn burner and conman Ben Quick arrives in a small Mississippi town and quickly ingratiates himself with its richest family, the Varners.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thisI Am David (2003)
A 12-year-old boy manages to flee a Communist concentration camp on his own, through sheer will and determination. All he has in his possession is a loaf of bread, a letter to deliver to someone in Denmark, and a compass to help get him there.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisF.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 thisFences (2016)
In 1950s Pittsburgh, a frustrated African-American father struggles with the constraints of poverty, racism, and his own inner demons as he tries to raise a family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Judge (2014)
A successful lawyer returns to his hometown for his mother's funeral only to discover that his estranged father, the town's judge, is suspected of murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Company Men (2010)
Bobby Walker lives the proverbial American dream: great job, beautiful family, shiny Porsche in the garage. When corporate downsizing leaves him and two co-workers jobless, the three men are forced to re-define their lives as men, husbands and fathers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Son (2022)
A successful lawyer, with a new wife and infant, agrees to care for his teenage son from a previous marriage after his ex-wife becomes concerned about the boy's wayward behavior.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Book of Henry (2017)
Susan, a single mother of two, works as a waitress in a small town. Her son, Henry, is an 11-year-old genius who not only manages the family finances but acts as emotional support for his mother and younger brother. When Henry discovers that the girl next door has a terrible secret, he implores Susan to take matters into her own hands.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRiot in Cell Block 11 (1954)
A prisoner leads his counterparts in a protest for better living conditions which turns violent and ugly.
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 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 thisNowhere Special (2020)
John, a 35-year-old window cleaner, has dedicated his life to bringing up his 4-year-old son, Michael, after the child's mother left them soon after giving birth. When John is given only a few months left to live, he attempts to find a new, perfect family for Michael, determined to shield him from the terrible reality of the situation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStill Walking (2008)
A family gathers together for a commemorative ritual whose nature only gradually becomes clear.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Actor The Liar The Murderer (2024)
In the last days of their tumultuous relationship Julian and Lara are confronted with a life changing event and now must bear the consequences.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & family
Treadmill (TBA)
'Treadmill' is a short film drama set in a busy sportswear store in central London. Atlas, is a 30 years old sales advisor who has been working in the same position for quite a long time. His manager Harvey constantly humiliates his staff in front of clients, he is overly demanding and controlling, creating an abusive work environment. Eventually, Atlas will plot a way to get his manager fired but his lust for power will transform him into his much hated enemy.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Reputation (2024)
A drug dealer begins to question his life choices when his violent partner-in-crime is released from prison.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Floated By (2025)
A young adult silently drowning in trauma, yearning to let out what’s inside of him, navigates a series of encounters—each revealing fragments of his inner struggle, toxic masculinity, and unspoken vulnerability, as well as the painful dissonance between his desires and his actions.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
A Moment in the Reeds (2018)
Having moved to Paris for university, Leevi returns to his native Finland for the summer to help his estranged father renovate the family lake house so it can be sold. Tareq, a recent asylum seeker from Syria, has been hired to help with the work, and when Leevi's father has to return to town on business, the two young men establish a connection and embark on a romance set against the idyllic Finnish summer. However, looming over this chance encounter, is the father's imminent return to the lake house, the continuation of Leevi's studies abroad as well as Tareq's complex relationship with his family in Syria.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Iron Claw (2023)
The true story of the inseparable Von Erich brothers, who made history in the intensely competitive world of professional wrestling in the early 1980s. Through tragedy and triumph, under the shadow of their domineering father and coach, the brothers seek larger-than-life immortality on the biggest stage in sports.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRot (2019)
A grad student breaks up with her boyfriend to focus on her thesis, not realizing something has infected him and that he's going to wreak havoc on her life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Ravens (2017)
A hard-working farmer, despairing by the harsh reality of his daily struggle, is determined to have his son taking over the farm and continue his legacy. The mother tries her best to keep the family together. Yet, with increasing horror, the son witnesses his father's psychotic behavior escalate.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Brink's Job (1978)
In 1950, a group of unlikely criminal masterminds commits the robbery of the century. Led by Tony Pino, a petty thief fresh out of prison, and Joe McGinnis, who specializes in planning lucrative capers, the gang robs Brink's main office in Boston of more than $2 million. However, things begin to go awry when the FBI gets involved, the cops start cracking down on the gang and McGinnis refuses to hand over the loot...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Billy Galvin?
The closest matches to Billy Galvin are I Believe (2019), Second Best (1994) and The Stray (2017). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Billy Galvin?
Start with I Believe (2019), the closest match to Billy Galvin.
What is the highest-rated movie like Billy Galvin?
Still Walking (2008), rated 7.8/10 by 477 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Billy Galvin?
Floated By (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Billy Galvin?
Yes: I Believe (2019), Second Best (1994) and The Stray (2017).
How are movies similar to Billy Galvin chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Billy Galvin, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.