Movies like The King of Friday Night (1985)
The best movies like The King of Friday Night (1985) are American Son (2019), Girl in the Box (2016) and Ray Donovan: The Movie (2022). If The King of Friday Night hooked you with its drama and tv movie, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.

Quick picks
- Highest ratedLittle Lord Fauntleroy (1980)7.3/10 from 326 votes
- NewestWhen Morning Comes, I Feel Empty (2023)Released 2023
American Son (2019)
Time passes and tension mounts in a Florida police station as an estranged interracial couple awaits news of their missing teenage son.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGirl in the Box (2016)
The true story of 20-year-old Colleen Stan, a hitchhiking woman abducted by a young couple and held captive for seven years, during which time she's tortured and forced to live as a slave to her captors.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRay Donovan: The Movie (2022)
A showdown decades in the making brings the Donovan family legacy full circle. As the events that made Ray who he is today finally come to light, the Donovans find themselves drawn back to Boston to face the past. Each of them struggles to overcome their violent upbringing, but destiny dies hard, and only their fierce love for each other keeps them in the fight.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBurton and Taylor (2013)
Legendary acting duo and married couple Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor prepare for a 1983 theatrical production of the play "Private Lives."
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 thisConfirmation (2016)
Judge Clarence Thomas' nomination to the United States' Supreme Court is called into question when former colleague, Anita Hill, testifies that he had sexually harassed her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMansfield Park (2007)
Fanny Price is sent to live with her wealthy relatives, the Bertrams, where she is treated poorly by most except her cousin Edmund. Her life is complicated by the arrival of the worldly Mary and Henry Crawford
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSamantha: An American Girl Holiday (2004)
Kindhearted Samantha Parkington's world starts to change the day Nellie O'Malley walks into her life. Nellie, her father, and her two little sisters have moved in next door to be servants for the Ryland family. Though they come from completely different backgrounds, Samantha and Nellie become fast friends. The girls turn to each other in happiness and sorrow, adventure and danger.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLittle Lord Fauntleroy (1980)
Young Cedric Errol and his widowed mother live in genteel poverty in 1880s Brooklyn after the death of his father. Cedric's grandfather, the Earl of Dorincourt, has long ago disowned his son for marrying an American. But after the death of the Earl's remaining son, he decides to accept Cedric as his heir.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBrink! (1998)
Andy "Brink" Brinker and his in-line skating crew--Peter, Jordy, and Gabriella--who call themselves "Soul-Skaters" (which means they skate for the fun of it, and not for the money), clash with a group of sponsored skaters, Team X-Bladz--led by Val--with whom they attend high school in southern California. When Brink discovers his family is in financial trouble, he goes against the wishes of his parents and his friends and joins Team X-Bladz. Brink tries to lead a double life but will be able to pull it off?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRebound: The Legend of Earl 'The Goat' Manigault (1996)
A dramatization of the life of Earl 'The Goat' Manigault (Don Cheadle), with a lot of factual based occurrences. A reformed junkie returns from prison to clean up his act and devote the rest of his life to the young kids of Harlem. 1996 was the 25th anniversary of the first tournament named after him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDolly Parton's Coat of Many Colors (2015)
"Dolly Parton's Coat of Many Colors" is based on the inspiring true story of living legend Dolly Parton's remarkable upbringing. This once-in-a-lifetime movie special takes place inside the tight-knit Parton family as they struggle to overcome devastating tragedy and discover the healing power of love, faith and a raggedy patchwork coat that helped make Parton who she is today. The film is set in the Tennessee Great Smoky Mountains in 1955. It is neither a biopic nor a musical about Dolly's whole life and performing career, but rather a family-oriented faith-based story about the incidents in her and her family's life around the time she was nine years old.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Firm (1989)
A seemingly respectable estate agent leads a double life as the head of a vicious, well-organised gang of football hooligans. When 'The Firm' decide to confront a rival gang, it ends in tragedy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Dinner with Hervé (2018)
An unlikely friendship evolves over one wild night in LA between a struggling journalist and actor Hervé Villechaize, the world's most famous gun-toting dwarf, resulting in life-changing consequences for both.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI Am Elizabeth Smart (2017)
The story of Elizabeth Smart's kidnapping and captivity, as told from her perspective.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Deep End of the Ocean (1999)
A three-year-old boy disappears during his mother's high school reunion. Nine years later, by chance, he turns up in the town in which the family has just relocated.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBattle of the Year (2013)
A down-on-his-luck coach is hired to prepare a team of the best American dancers for an international tournament that attracts all the best crews from around the world, but the Americans haven't won in fifteen years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Congress (2013)
An aging, out-of-work actress accepts one last job, though the consequences of her decision affect her in ways she didn't consider.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNo Retreat, No Surrender 3: Blood Brothers (1990)
Two feuding brothers of differing political views, one a policeman, the other a martial artist, join forces to avenge the death of their father, a retired agent who was brutally murdered by the mafia.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWWE WrestleMania 21 (2005)
WrestleMania 21 was the twenty-first annual WrestleManiaPPV. It was presented by Snickers and took place on April 3, 2005 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The main match on the Raw brand was Triple H versus Batista for the World Heavyweight Championship. The predominant match on the SmackDown brand was John "Bradshaw" Layfield versus John Cena for the WWE Championship. Another primary match was an interpromotional match between The Undertaker versus Randy Orton. The featured matches on the undercard were Kurt Angle versus Shawn Michaels and a Money in the Bank ladder match. The event also featured the return of Stone Cold Steve Austin who started his part-time appearances with WWE at this event. The event drew a Staples Center record attendance of 20,193 people and grossed more than $2.1 million in ticket sales.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisParallel Lives (1994)
A college reunion turns into a tangled web of passion, romance and intrigue as old friends and enemies catch up with each other's lives. Includes a long list of stars.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Dance Exponents: Why Does Love? (2017)
The story of the rise and fall and rise of one of New Zealand’s most loved and iconic bands, The Exponents.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Groomsmen (2006)
Blue-collar Paulie prepares for fatherhood and his forthcoming wedding to Sue by hanging out with his groomsmen. Brother Jimbo, cousin Mike, and his pals fill the reunion with drinking, boys-will-be-boys antics and a few unexpected personal confessions. But, when the bonding devolves into accusations and regret, Paulie has to decide whether he's ready to tie the knot and take this big step into adulthood.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisWhat Fools Men (1925)
Joseph Greer is a wealthy businessman in New York City with all the trappings including a prim-and-proper secretary, Jenny McFarlan, who takes dictation during working hours and, at night, minus her eyeglasses, serves as his nightclub companion and mistress. Then his daughter,Beatrice, whom he has never seen, shows up and moves in with him. Beatrice is a grown-up flapper who loves jazz, pool parties, flaunting prohibition and carrying-on in general. Most of her carrying-on is with the family chauffeur and her father does not approve, says so, and fires the chauffeur. His parental-guidance technique backfires as Beatrice ups and elopes with the chauffeur. Later, the father has some problems with his business associates and loses his business and most of his fixtures and disappears. But Beatrice locates him and there is a happy reunion between father and daughter, especially since daughter has brought along Jenny to cheer him up.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael (1990)
Movie star Roxy Carmichael is abandoning the bright lights of Hollywood, Calif. and returning to her small Ohio hometown -- at least long enough to dedicate a city building. And now the whole town of Clyde is bracing for Carmichael's return, most of all her now-married old flame Denton Webb and troubled teen Dinky Bossetti. An orphan with few friends, Dinky is convinced that Carmichael is her birth mother, and that the actress will reclaim her when she returns.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Fuckboi Story (2023)
Ulises meets again with David one night in a street in the center of Madrid. An inevitable return to the dynamics of the past will make him wonder if it is possible that this relationship has a future.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
My Boyfriend's Back (1989)
A female singing group from the '60s reunites for a TV special.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Cult Culture: The Poseidon Adventure (2003)
This documentary follows avid fans and the pop cultural impact of the classic disaster movie The Poseidon Adventure.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
When Morning Comes, I Feel Empty (2023)
24-year-old Nozomi quit her job at an ad agency and now works part-time at a convenience store. Her ordinary days are enlivened by funny and kind co-workers but her heart is troubled because she cannot tell her parents about her situation and she is haunted by her failure to meet the excessive demands at her previous workplace. One day, her former junior high school classmate Kanako appears and Nozomi begins to articulate how she feels.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Tailor of Panama (2001)
A British spy is banished to Panama after having an affair with an ambassador's mistress. Once there he makes connection with a local tailor with a nefarious past and connections to all of the top political and gangster figures in Panama. The tailor also has a wife, who works for the Panamanian president and a huge debt. The mission is to learn what the President intends to do with the Canal.
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 The King of Friday Night?
The closest matches to The King of Friday Night are American Son (2019), Girl in the Box (2016) and Ray Donovan: The Movie (2022). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The King of Friday Night?
Start with American Son (2019), the closest match to The King of Friday Night.
What is the highest-rated movie like The King of Friday Night?
Little Lord Fauntleroy (1980), rated 7.3/10 by 326 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The King of Friday Night?
When Morning Comes, I Feel Empty (2023) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The King of Friday Night?
Yes: American Son (2019), Girl in the Box (2016) and Ray Donovan: The Movie (2022).
How are movies similar to The King of Friday Night chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The King of Friday Night, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.





























