Movies like The Donner Party (2009)
The best movies like The Donner Party (2009) are The Revenant (2015), The Salvation (2014) and Man in the Wilderness (1971). If The Donner Party hooked you with its drama and western, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedUnforgiven (1992)7.9/10 from 5,209 votes
- NewestBroke (2025)Released 2025
The Revenant (2015)
In the 1820s, a frontiersman, Hugh Glass, sets out on a path of vengeance against those who left him for dead after a bear mauling.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both western & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Salvation (2014)
In 1870s America, a peaceful American settler kills his family's murderer which unleashes the fury of a notorious gang leader. His cowardly fellow townspeople then betray him, forcing him to hunt down the outlaws alone.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMan in the Wilderness (1971)
In the early 1800s, a group of fur trappers and Indian traders are returning with their goods to civilization and are making a desperate attempt to beat the oncoming winter. When guide Zachary Bass is injured in a bear attack, they decide he's a goner and leave him behind to die. When he recovers instead, he swears revenge on them and tracks them and their paranoiac expedition leader down.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both western & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Mountain Men (1980)
The story concerns two grizzled mountain men -- Bill Tyler and Henry Frapp -- during the dying days of the fur-trapping era. The plot begins when Running Moon runs away from her abusive husband Heavy Eagle and comes across the two seedy fur trappers. The mountain men take her in, unaware that Heavy Eagle has dispatched an army of Indian braves to reclaim her.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both western & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisHostiles (2017)
A legendary Native American-hating Army captain nearing retirement in 1892 is given one last assignment: to escort a Cheyenne chief and his family through dangerous territory back to his Montana reservation.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & western
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBone Tomahawk (2015)
During a shootout in a saloon, Sheriff Hunt injures a suspicious stranger. The doctor's assistant, wife of the local foreman, tends to him in prison. That night, the town is attacked and they both disappear—only the arrow of a cannibal tribe is found. Hunt and a few of his men go in search of the prisoner and the foreman's wife.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSeptember Dawn (2007)
A story set against the Mountain Meadows Massacre, the film is based upon the tragedy which occurred in Utah in 1857. A group of settlers, traveling on wagons, was murdered by the Mormons. All together, about 140 souls of men, women and children, were taken.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & western
SnoozefestMovies like thisDances with Wolves (1990)
Wounded Civil War soldier John Dunbar tries to commit suicide—and becomes a hero instead. As a reward, he's assigned to his dream post, a remote junction on the Western frontier, and soon makes unlikely friends with the local Sioux tribe.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & western
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)
Outlaw Jesse James is rumored to be the 'fastest gun in the West'. An eager recruit into James' notorious gang, Robert Ford eventually grows jealous of the famed outlaw and, when Robert and his brother sense an opportunity to kill James, their murderous action elevates their target to near mythical status.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & western
Worth the HypeMovies like thisButcher's Crossing (2023)
In the 1870s, a young Harvard dropout seeks his destiny out West by tying his fate to a team of buffalo hunters led by a man named Miller. Together, they embark on a harrowing journey risking life and sanity.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & western
SnoozefestMovies like thisOpen Range (2003)
A former gunslinger is forced to take up arms again when he and his cattle crew are threatened by a corrupt lawman.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both western
Worth the HypeMovies like this3:10 to Yuma (2007)
In Arizona in the late 1800s, infamous outlaw Ben Wade and his vicious gang of thieves and murderers have plagued the Southern Railroad. When Wade is captured, Civil War veteran Dan Evans, struggling to survive on his drought-plagued ranch, volunteers to deliver him alive to the "3:10 to Yuma", a train that will take the killer to trial.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both western
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSoldier Blue (1970)
After a cavalry group is massacred by the Cheyenne, only two survivors remain: Honus, a naive private devoted to his duty, and Cresta, a young woman who had lived with the Cheyenne two years and whose sympathies lie more with them than with the US government. Together, they must try to reach the cavalry's main base camp. As they travel onward, Honus is torn between his growing affection for Cresta.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both western & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Proposition (2005)
In 1880s Australia, a lawman offers renegade Charlie Burns a difficult choice. In order to save his younger brother from the gallows, Charlie must hunt down and kill his older brother, who is wanted for rape and murder. Venturing into one of the Outback's most inhospitable regions, Charlie faces a terrible moral dilemma that can end only in violence.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both western & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Homesman (2014)
When three women living on the edge of the American frontier are driven mad by harsh pioneer life, the task of saving them falls to the pious, independent-minded Mary Bee Cuddy. Transporting the women by covered wagon to Iowa, she soon realizes just how daunting the journey will be, and employs a low-life drifter, George Briggs, to join her. The unlikely pair and the three women head east, where a waiting minister and his wife have offered to take the women in. But the group first must traverse the harsh Nebraska Territories marked by stark beauty, psychological peril and constant threat.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both western & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUnforgiven (1992)
William Munny is a retired, once-ruthless killer turned gentle widower and hog farmer. To help support his two motherless children, he accepts one last bounty-hunter mission to find the men who brutalized a prostitute. Joined by his former partner and a cocky greenhorn, he takes on a corrupt sheriff.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both western
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisJeremiah Johnson (1972)
While slowly adapting to the grueling life of a mountain man in the Rocky Mountains, Jeremiah Johnson encounters the Crow and Flathead tribes as well as hunters, trappers and settlers, all of whom call these mountains home.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both western
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHorizon: An American Saga - Chapter 2 (2024)
Explore the lure of the Old West and how it was won—and lost—through the blood, sweat and tears of many. Spanning 15 years before, during, and following the Civil War, from 1859 to 1874, embark on an emotional journey across a country at war with itself, experienced through the lens of families, friends and foes all attempting to discover what it truly means to be the United States of America.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both western & drama
Woman Walks Ahead (2018)
Based on a true story, this riveting western follows a headstrong New York widow as she journeys west to meet Sioux chief Sitting Bull, facing off with an army officer intent on war with Native Americans.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPale Rider (1985)
A mysterious preacher protects a humble prospector village from a greedy mining company trying to encroach on their land.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both western & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWind River (2000)
The 1854 Wyoming historical drama is based on Tom Shell's adaptation of the true life memoirs of Pony Express rider Nick Wilson.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & western
Meek's Cutoff (2011)
A group of settlers traveling through the Oregon High Desert in 1845 find themselves stranded in harsh conditions.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both western & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTrue Grit (2010)
Following the murder of her father by a hired hand, a 14-year-old farm girl sets out to capture the killer. To aid her, she hires the toughest U.S. Marshal she can find—a man with 'true grit'—Reuben J. 'Rooster' Cogburn.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & western
Worth the HypeMovies like thisYellow Rock (2011)
Five men ride into the eerie town of Yellow Rock, hoping to rescue a family member and his lost boy. The leader, Max Dietrich, hires Mountain Man, Tom Hanner, to guide them into the Black Paw Tribe territory for the search.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both western
Union Pacific (1939)
One of the last bills signed by President Lincoln authorizes pushing the Union Pacific Railroad across the wilderness to California. But financial opportunist Asa Barrows hopes to profit from obstructing it. Chief troubleshooter Jeff Butler has his hands full fighting Barrows' agent, gambler Sid Campeau; Campeau's partner Dick Allen is Jeff's war buddy and rival suitor for engineer's daughter Molly Monahan. Who will survive the effort to push the railroad through at any cost?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDon't Come Knocking (2005)
Howard Spence has seen better days. Once a big Western movie star, he now drowns his disgust for his selfish and failed life with alcohol, drugs and young women. If he were to die now, nobody would shed a tear over him, that's the sad truth. Until one day Howard learns that he might have a child somewhere out there...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHud (1963)
Hud Bannon is a ruthless young man who tarnishes everything and everyone he touches. Hud represents the perfect embodiment of alienated youth, out for kicks with no regard for the consequences. There is bitter conflict between the callous Hud and his stern and highly principled father, Homer. Hud's nephew Lon admires Hud's cheating ways, though he soon becomes too aware of Hud's reckless amorality to bear him anymore. In the world of the takers and the taken, Hud is a winner. He's a cheat, but, he explains, "I always say the law was meant to be interpreted in a lenient manner."
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & western
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFrontera (2014)
After crossing the border illegally for work, Miguel, a hard-working father and devoted husband, finds himself wrongfully accused of murdering a former sheriff’s wife. After learning of his imprisonment, Miguel’s pregnant wife tries to come to his aid and lands in the hands of corrupt coyotes who hold her for ransom. Dissatisfied with the police department’s investigation, the former sheriff tries to uncover the truth about his wife’s death and discovers disturbing evidence that will destroy one family’s future, or tear another’s apart.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBroke (2025)
A bronc rider in denial about his fading rodeo career battles against brain injury and a sudden blizzard while reflecting on how it became so difficult to achieve his dreams.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJubal (1956)
Jubal Troop is a cowboy who is found in a weakened condition, without a horse. He is given shelter at Shep Horgan's large ranch, where he quickly makes an enemy in foreman Pinky, a cattleman who accuses Jubal of carrying the smell of sheep.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
Like The Donner Party and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Donner Party?
The closest matches to The Donner Party are The Revenant (2015), The Salvation (2014) and Man in the Wilderness (1971). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Donner Party?
People who watched The Donner Party most often go on to The Revenant (2015), The Salvation (2014) and Man in the Wilderness (1971).
What is the highest-rated movie like The Donner Party?
Unforgiven (1992), rated 7.9/10 by 5,209 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Donner Party?
Broke (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Donner Party?
Yes: The Revenant (2015), Man in the Wilderness (1971) and The Mountain Men (1980).
How are movies similar to The Donner Party chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Donner Party, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.