Movies like December 20th (1982)
The best movies like December 20th (1982) are The Miniaturist (2017), The Rosa Parks Story (2002) and The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (2017). If December 20th hooked you with its history and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedRay Donovan: The Movie (2022)6.8/10 from 242 votes
- NewestRay Donovan: The Movie (2022)Released 2022
The Miniaturist (2017)
A woman moves to live with her new husband in 17th century Amsterdam, but soon discovers that not everything is what it seems.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both history & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Rosa Parks Story (2002)
A seamstress recalls events leading to her act of peaceful defiance that prompted the 1955 bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (2017)
An African-American woman becomes an unwitting pioneer for medical breakthroughs when her cells are used to create the first immortal human cell line in the early 1950s.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Scarlet and the Black (1983)
Fr. Hugh O'Flaherty is a Vatican official in 1943-45 who has been hiding downed pilots, escaped prisoners of war, and Italian resistance families. His activities become so large that the Nazis decide to assassinate him the next time he leaves the Vatican.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies 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 & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAll the Way (2016)
Lyndon B. Johnson's amazing 11-month journey from taking office after JFK's assassination, through the fight to pass the 1964 Civil Rights Act and his own presidential campaign, culminating on the night LBJ is actually elected to the office – no longer the 'accidental President.'
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Conquest of Siberia (2019)
Ivan Demarin, a young officer of Peter the First’s new guards, follows the Tsar’s order and goes to the frontier town of Tobolsk, deep in the Siberian forest. There Ivan falls in love for the first time and he and his regiment happen to be involved in conspiracy of local princes who hunt for gold in the town of Yarkand. His fort is surrounded by hordes of wild Dzungars and there is no one to call for help…
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both history & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOutlaws - For Greater Glory (2012)
A chronicle of the Cristeros War (1926-1929), which was touched off by a rebellion against the Mexican government's attempt to secularize the country.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both history & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCheaters (2000)
In the fall of 1994, a teacher at Chicago's run-down Steinmetz High conspires with the school's academic decathlon team to cheat on an academic competition.
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 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 thisIron Jawed Angels (2004)
Defiant young activists take the women's suffrage movement by storm, putting their lives at risk to help American women win the right to vote.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBaywatch: Hawaiian Wedding (2003)
Mitch Buchannon, believed to have died in a boating accident survived and only has amnesia, he has been recovering in a Los Angeles hospital. His new fiancée, Allison Ford, resembles his old lover, Lt. Stephanie Holden who died years ago.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Call to Spy (2020)
The story of Vera Atkins, a crafty spy recruiter, and two of the first women she selects for Churchill's "secret army": Virginia Hall, a daring American undaunted by a disability and Noor Inayat Khan, a pacifist. These civilian women form an unlikely sisterhood while entangled in dangerous missions to turn the tide of the war.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both history & 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 thisWalking with the Enemy (2014)
Regent Horthy is the leader of Hungary and a German ally, but his favorable standing with Hitler changes as the war comes to an end. Forced to cede Hungary’s power or else witness the execution of his son, Regent Horthy gives up control of his country to the Nazis, who quickly move Hungarians to ghettos and death camps, with no hope in sight. But the despair changes when a young man named Elek emerges. Separated from his family during the relocations and aided by the woman he loves , Elek defies the enemy by becoming one of them. In a race against time, disguised as a Nazi Officer he embarks on a mission to save his family and thousands of his countrymen.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisField of Lost Shoes (2015)
A group of teenage cadets sheltered from war at the Virginia Military Institute must confront the horrors of an adult world when they are called upon to defend the Shenandoah Valley.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIntroducing Dorothy Dandridge (1999)
An acclaimed stage performer, Dorothy still struggled with the challenge of her color, in a time that wouldn't let some stars in by the front door. Yet against the odds she beat out many more famous rivals for the role of "Carmen Jones", becoming the first black woman ever nominated for a Best Actress Academy Award. Marriages and affairs would break her heart, but her heart was strong. Seductive and easily seduced, she was born to be a star - with all the glory and all the pain of being loved, abused, cheated, glorified, undermined and undefeated. Here was a woman who wouldn't wait in the wings. Halle Berry stars as Dorothy Dandrige.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Christmas Shoes (2002)
Two separate stories mesh - in the first, a young music teacher, Maggie Andrews, begins dying of a heart condition and her son Nathan tries to get a pair of Christmas shoes for her before she dies. In the second, lawyer Robert Layton and his wife Kate are slowly drifting apart and the matter comes to a head during Christmas when Kate takes over for Maggie for the school choir.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Wrinkle in Time (2003)
Meg and Charles Wallace are aided by Calvin and three interesting women in the search for their father who disappeared during a government experiment. Their travels take them around the universe to a place unlike any other.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe '60s (1999)
The Herlihys are a working class family from Chicago whose three children take wildly divergent paths: Brian joins the Marines right out of High School and goes to Vietnam, Michael becomes involved in the civil rights movement and after campaigning for Bobby Kennedy and Eugene McCarthy becomes involved in radical politics, and Katie gets pregnant, moves to San Francisco and joins a hippie commune. Meanwhile, the Taylors are an African-American family living in the deep South. When Willie Taylor, a minister and civil rights organizer, is shot to death, his son Emmet moves to the city and eventually joins the Black Panthers, serving as a bodyguard for Fred Hampton.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Ivanhoe (1982)
Ivanhoe, a worthy and noble knight, the champion of justice returns to England after the holy wars, and finds England under the reign of Prince John and his henchmen and finds himself being involved in the power-struggle for the throne of England.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDeadly Secrets by the Lake (2017)
A decorated NYPD detective returns to her hometown after her sister is charged with the murder of her boss and attempts to make amends with her estranged family while exposing the dark underbelly of a long-suppressed secret that threatens to tear the town apart.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Lenz Papers (1986)
Four-part german limited serial about the baden revolution in 1848 and 1849.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & history
Luz, Câmera, 50 Anos: Presença de Anita - O Filme (2015)
Adapted from the series aired in 2001. Looking for inspiration during the holidays, Nando sees Anita as the ideal character for his novel. She lives in a townhouse where a passionate crime happened in the past. Intense, Anita seduces Nando and awakens to
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
A Season of Giants (1990)
At the turn of the sixteenth century, Michelangelo (Mark Frankel), Raphael (Andrea Prodan), and Leonardo Da Vinci (John Glover) create their masterpieces, while dealing with religious persecution, political turmoil, and the discovery of America.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & history
Der Untergang der Pamir (2006)
The story of the German sail-training ship Pamir that sunk in a hurricane.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Castles and Cottages (1957)
Lifelong hard work for the count makes the servant Anton a cripple. Everybody calls him Crooked Anton. When, after the end of the war, the land of the count gets divided amongst the farmers, Anton receives a piece and hopes to be able to work freely. But an old debt and intrigue keep Anton and his family from finding peace. The farmers of the village begin to discover their own power when Annegret, Anton's daughter, leaves. Is a new beginning possible for Anton? This film paints an impressive panorama of the development of a minor village in Mecklenburg from the end of the war to the uprising of 17 June 1953.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Unschuldig (2018)
A condemned man comes out of prison and does his utmost to find the true murderer of his wife in order to get his children back. This is the starting point for the touching crime drama "Innocent" with crime scene commissar Felix Klare in the lead role. He plays with great intensity the family man who wants to bring the truth to light on his own. For relatives, witnesses and even the police, this could be a problem. Between the fronts, Britta Hammelstein becomes an indomitable commissioner, exposing a fatal network of false statements and investigation errors.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The School of Power (2009)
A retelling in two parts, from 1977 to 1986, of the education and the rise to power of a group of young graduates of the prestigious ENA school.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Like December 20th and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like December 20th?
The closest matches to December 20th are The Miniaturist (2017), The Rosa Parks Story (2002) and The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (2017). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after December 20th?
Start with The Miniaturist (2017), the closest match to December 20th.
What is the highest-rated movie like December 20th?
Ray Donovan: The Movie (2022), rated 6.8/10 by 242 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like December 20th?
Ray Donovan: The Movie (2022) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to December 20th chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside December 20th, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.