Movies like How to Build a Better Boy (2014)
The best movies like How to Build a Better Boy (2014) are Minutemen (2008), Harriet the Spy: Blog Wars (2010) and Teen Beach 2 (2015). If How to Build a Better Boy hooked you with its family and science fiction, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedStargirl (2020)7.4/10 from 579 votes
- NewestTall Girl 2 (2022)Released 2022
Minutemen (2008)
When three high-school friends invent a time-machine, they decide to use it to go back in time and prevent other youngsters from making humiliating mistakes.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both family & science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisHarriet the Spy: Blog Wars (2010)
Young spy Harriet Welsch crosses paths with popular student Marion Hawthorne as the two girls vie to become the official blogger of their high school class.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both family
SnoozefestMovies like thisTeen Beach 2 (2015)
When characters from the movie musical “Wet Side Story” get stuck in the real world, teens Brady and Mack must find a way to return them home.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisF.R.E.D.I. (2018)
An intelligent, lovable robot known as "F.R.E.D.I." is stolen from a secret research facility by the project's lead scientist. The robot is found by a 15 year old teenager, James. Soon the two begin to communicate and create a bond in which F.R.E.D.I. learns about teenage life and James learns about some new values.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction & family
SnoozefestMovies like thisFrenemies (2012)
Three pairs of friends relationships go from good to bad and back again. Several couple fall out over girls, boys and work. Can all these couples settle their differences and be friends again?
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both family
SnoozefestMovies like thisGeek Charming (2011)
Film geek Josh is looking for the subject of his new documentary when a chance meeting puts the perfect star in his sights—Dylan, his school's most popular junior. But Dylan's hopes of using the film to become Blossom Queen don't quite match with Josh's goal to make a hard-hitting exposé about popularity. Will Josh shoot the film as planned, or show Dylan as the truly interesting person she is?
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisZapped (2014)
Zoey is a talented dancer whose organized life is rudely disrupted when she moves in with her new step-dad and three step-brothers, until she discovers a dog-training app that can get boys to obey her every command. But she soon learns that it isn't the cure-all she had hoped for.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Swap (2016)
Based on the book by Megan Shull, The Swap follows the adventures of a rhythmic gymnast named Ellie with a make-it-or-break-it competition, and the younger brother named Jack in a hockey family who's vying for a varsity spot on his school team. But when a simple text causes the two to swap bodies, their paths take an unexpected cross.
Why it matches: Fans watch both
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRead It and Weep (2006)
A young girl turns into an A-List celebrity over night when her private journal is accidently published and becomes a best-seller.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both family
SnoozefestMovies like thisTeen Spirit (2011)
Amber, a mean popular girl who gets electrocuted and dies, is not allowed to enter into heaven unless she helps the least popular girl in school become Prom Queen within a week, but things do not go as planned.
Why it matches: Fans watch both
SnoozefestMovies like thisRobosapien: Rebooted (2013)
A robotic boy and a human boy join forces to save their parents from the organization that funded the robot's creator.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both family & science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisStatus Update (2018)
After being uprooted by his parents' separation and unable to fit into his new hometown, a teenager stumbles upon a magical app that causes his social media updates to come true.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like this16 Wishes (2010)
The story about Abby Jensen, a girl who's been eager to reach her 16th birthday and has kept a secret wish list since she was a little girl. When the Big Day actually arrives, utter disaster strikes, leaving Abby to think her birthday is ruined. But when a mysterious box of magical birthday candles arrives to turn things around, Abby's 16 Wishes start to come true. Her day gets better and better...until she makes one wish that threatens to change everything.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlurt! (2018)
When nice-guy Jeremy Martin puts on mysterious virtual reality glasses at the mall, he suddenly loses his “inside voice” and starts spouting every thought he has out loud. Making matters worse, Jeremy is running for student council president against his classmate Milly, who is full of great ideas to improve the school. Desperate to get back to normal, Jeremy and his sister Victoria must figure out how to convince his brain that he can speak up for himself.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisProm (2011)
At “Prom,” every couple has a story and no two are exactly alike. As the big dance approaches for Nova Prescott, it’s a battle of wills as she finds herself drawn to the guy who gets in the way of her perfect prom. Fellow seniors Mei and Tyler harbor secrets, while others face all the insecurity and anticipation that surrounds one of high school’s most seminal events.
Why it matches: Fans watch both
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPicture This (2008)
Bookish and unpopular Mandy finds her luck finally changing when Drew, the school hottie, invites her to the year's biggest party. But with being grounded and Drew's ex-girlfriend bent on thwarting her, Mandy may be destined to remain a geek. Can a little ingenuity and some help from her friends save the day?
Why it matches: Fans watch both
SnoozefestMovies like thisBixler High Private Eye (2019)
Teenage detective Xander DeWitt is the new kid at Bixler Valley High, and he's there to unravel the biggest mystery of his life- the truth about his missing father. But in order to crack this case, Xander must learn to work with a partner- fearless investigative reporter Kenzie Messina.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSplitting Adam (2015)
After accidentally stumbling into his uncle's mysterious "tanning bed", Adam learns the answer to all of his problems - multiple Adams. With his new collection of clones, Adam is hopping on one wild summer ride with an epic splash.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both family & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTall Girl 2 (2022)
After Jodi Kreyman gains popularity, her miscommunications start causing rifts with those around her and now she really needs to "stand tall".
Why it matches: Fans watch both
SnoozefestMovies like thisF the Prom (2017)
Maddy and Cole were inseparable friends until high school started and Maddy became the most popular girl on campus. When she starts feeling lonely and heartbroken, she reconnects with Cole and the duo conspire to destroy the ultimate teen popularity contest
Why it matches: Fans watch both
SnoozefestMovies like thisSleepover (2004)
Desperate to improve their social status, four best friends enter into an all-night scavenger hunt against the popular clique in their school.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHope Springs Eternal (2018)
A teen's cancer diagnosis makes her more popular at school, so when she goes into remission, she decides to conceal the news.
Why it matches: Fans watch both
SnoozefestMovies like thisMen, Women & Children (2014)
Follows the story of a group of high school teenagers and their parents as they attempt to navigate the many ways the internet has changed their relationships, their communication, their self-image, and their love lives.
Why it matches: Fans watch both
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStargirl (2020)
An unassuming high schooler finds himself inexplicably drawn to the free-spirited new girl, whose unconventional ways change how they see themselves…and their world.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRadio Rebel (2012)
High school senior Tara is so painfully shy that she dreads speaking to anyone in the hallways or getting called on in class. But in the privacy of her bedroom with her iPod in hand, she rocks out -- doing mock broadcasts for Miami's hottest FM radio station, which happens to be owned by her stepfather. When a slot opens up at The SLAM, Tara surprises herself by blossoming behind the mike into confident, "Radio Rebel" -- and to everyone's shock, she's a hit!
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSkyrunners (2009)
Tyler and his brother find an alien ship which makes Tyler appear older and gives him other abilities. This turns his high school life upside down, and may enable him to help his older brother's love life. After he is abducted by beings who intend to takeover Earth, he must depend on his inept and lovelorn brother to rescue him.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction & family
SnoozefestMovies like thisPixel Perfect (2004)
Samantha's band, the Zettabytes, is meeting with little success, so her friend Roscoe uses his knowledge of technology designed by his father to create a holographic lead singer, Loretta Modern. The band instantly becomes successful, but Samantha begins to feel alienated, Roscoe discovers feelings for Samantha, and Loretta struggles with individuality.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both family & science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisDrink Slay Love (2017)
A 16-year old vampire discovers she has the ability to withstand sunlight. Sensing an opportunity to round up new victims, her family enrolls her in high school, where her who-cares attitude quickly makes her the coolest girl around.
Why it matches: Fans watch both
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Cheetah Girls (2003)
A four-member teen girl group named the Cheetah Girls go to a Manhattan High School for the Performing Arts and try to become the first freshmen to win the talent show in the school's history. During the talent show auditions, they meet a big-time producer named Jackal Johnson, who tries to make the group into superstars, but the girls run into many problems.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBratz (2007)
The popular Bratz dolls come to life in their first live-action feature film. Finding themselves being pulled further and further apart, the fashionable four band together to fight peer pressure, learn what it means to stand up for your friends, be true to oneself and live out your dreams.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both family
SnoozefestMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like How to Build a Better Boy?
The closest matches to How to Build a Better Boy are Minutemen (2008), Harriet the Spy: Blog Wars (2010) and Teen Beach 2 (2015). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after How to Build a Better Boy?
People who watched How to Build a Better Boy most often go on to Minutemen (2008), Harriet the Spy: Blog Wars (2010) and Teen Beach 2 (2015).
What is the highest-rated movie like How to Build a Better Boy?
Stargirl (2020), rated 7.4/10 by 579 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like How to Build a Better Boy?
Tall Girl 2 (2022) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like How to Build a Better Boy?
Yes: Minutemen (2008), Harriet the Spy: Blog Wars (2010) and Teen Beach 2 (2015).
How are movies similar to How to Build a Better Boy chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside How to Build a Better Boy, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.