Movies like Magdusa Ka! (1986)
The best movies like Magdusa Ka! (1986) are Hounddog (2008), Holy Lands (2019) and Gigi & Nate (2022). If Magdusa Ka! hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedWhat Maisie Knew (2013)7.1/10 from 466 votes
- NewestEleanor the Great (2025)Released 2025
Hounddog (2008)
A drama set in the American South, where a precocious, troubled girl finds a safe haven in the music and movement of Elvis Presley.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisGigi & Nate (2022)
A young man with a bright future suffers a near-fatal accident and recreates his new life with the help of an unlikely animal friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHands of Stone (2016)
The legendary Roberto Duran and his equally legendary trainer Ray Arcel change each other's lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlue Chips (1994)
Pete Bell, a college basketball coach is under a lot of pressure. His team isn't winning and he cannot attract new players. The stars of the future are secretly being paid by boosters. This practice is forbidden in the college game, but Pete is desperate and has pressures from all around.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisThe Girl in the Book (2015)
The story of a young writer's transformation when her past invades her present.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Most Hated Woman in America (2017)
The true story of Madalyn Murray O'Hair -- iconoclast, opportunist, and outspoken atheist -- from her controversial rise to her untimely demise.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEleanor the Great (2025)
94-year-old Eleanor Morgenstein tries to rebuild her life after the death of her best friend. As a result, she moves back to New York City after living in Florida for decades.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFast Girls (2012)
A street smart runner develops an intense rivalry with an equally ambitious wealthy young athlete.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSalomé (2013)
After the lewd and frenetic Dance of the Seven Veils, and with the solemn pledge from the very lips of Herod himself that she could have whatever her heart desires up to half his kingdom, wanton and proud young Salomé comes before her king with an unreasonable demand. Beguiled by John the Baptist, and then scorned for the sake of his god, lascivious Salomé—encouraged by her mother, the vindictive, Herodias—commands that John be executed and his head delivered on a silver platter.
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 thisNaked as We Came (2013)
After an unexpected phone call, Laura and her brother Elliot rush to their family’s country estate to find their mother, Lilly, gravely ill and living with a handsome young stranger named Ted. Estranged for some time, their mother’s condition sets Laura and Elliot on a path to realizing where their own lives have gone wrong.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Visit (1964)
Carla Zachanassian had a child by Serge Miller as a teenager. When Serge refused to marry her, she was driven out of town. By her own wit and cunning, she has returned as a multi-millionaire for a visit. The town lays out the red carpet expecting big things from Carla, only to learn that her sole purpose is to see Serge Miller killed...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (1972)
Middle-aged widow Beatrice Hunsdorfer and her daughters Ruth and Matilda are struggling to survive in a society they barely understand. Beatrice dreams of opening an elegant tea room but does not have the wherewithal to achieve her lofty goal. Epileptic Ruth is a rebellious adolescent, while shy but highly intelligent and idealistic Matilda seeks solace in her pets and school projects, including one designed to show how small amounts of radium affect marigolds.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPimp (2018)
An urban love story set on the hard streets of the Bronx. A struggling female pimp, named Wednesday, grows up learning the game from her dad. Once he's gone she's left to look out for her prostitute mother and girlfriend Nikki.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhite Lie (2019)
Katie Arneson is faking cancer. A university dance major, Katie's falsified diagnosis and counterfeit fundraising have transformed her into a campus celebrity surrounded by the supportive community she's always dreamed of. But now dependent on a bursary for sick students to maintain her ruse, Katie learns the funding is in jeopardy unless she can provide copies of her medical records within the week.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Good Neighbor (2022)
A nightmarish evening unfolds for neighbors David and Robert when they accidentally hit a woman on her bike and flee the scene. While David is increasingly plagued by feelings of guilt, Robert shows no remorse and becomes overbearing and possessive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Trials of Cate McCall (2013)
In order to be reinstated to the bar and recover custody of her daughter, a hotshot lawyer, now in recovery and on probation, must take on the appeal of a woman wrongfully convicted of murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Pumpkin Eater (1964)
Jo, the mother of seven children, divorces her second husband in order to marry Jake, a successful but promiscuous screenwriter. Though they are physically and emotionally compatible, they are slowly torn apart.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhen the Waves Are Gone (2023)
One of the Philippines' top investigators, Lieutenant Hermes Papauran, faces a deep moral crossroads. As a firsthand witness of the murderous anti-drug campaign conducted by his force, his anxiety and guilt triggers a severe skin disease, and his healing process is fraught by his dark past.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Dahil Tanging Ikaw (1997)
Erika and Cecil are twins who were separated by poverty right after they were born. Each of them is caught up in her own existence, not knowing that somewhere not so far lived a twin. But one day, fate intervened and found a clever way to bring them together.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Fish Pen Boys (2017)
A coming of age story of a fishpen boy who is learning to dream big, triggered by his sexual awakening from his boss’ new lover. He starts to find ways to elope with the woman. But his dreams will only produce devastating results, not only for him but also for people around him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Kamunggai (2017)
Lolo Peping built his backyard farm in his hometown in Mindanao, out of vegetable scraps or whatever edible plant life he could find in the garbage heap. His neighbors get free food from his garden while he does all the work. They don’t even bother to pay him or say thank you. So Lolo Peping decided to put a bamboo fence around his garden to keep neighbors out.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Santa Santita (2004)
After taking up with a charming cab driver, a wild and hedonistic teenage girl returns home to succeed her mother as a prayer woman.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Grandma Loleng (2017)
A young woman goes back to her province in the countryside where she gets to once again meet her Grandmother Loleng - a distant relative and a senile parol (Christmas lantern) artisan. Together, they will explore Grandma Loleng’s landscape of memories, only to unearth her innermost secrets and wartime experiences. It is about memory and forgetting, both in the context of the personal and of the national consciousness.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Islabodan (2017)
Caloy, a lone, apathetic plastic bottle collector, gets caught in the middle of two warring gangs which changes his disposition in life forever.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Man of Pa-Aling (2017)
"Manong ng Pa-Aling", directly translated as "Man of Pa-Aling", is the incredible story of man's natural relationship with the ocean. And amidst physical frailty, and of his age, Manong decides what he will do next after retiring from his only known profession, to be a fisherman.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Maria (2017)
When the whole family confronts her 14-year-old daughter of a suspected pregnancy, a 50-year-old woman gives birth to her 20th child.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Nakaw (2017)
Bateng, a boy who triggered a series of life-changing events when he stole an old woman's purse.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Magdusa Ka!?
The closest matches to Magdusa Ka! are Hounddog (2008), Holy Lands (2019) and Gigi & Nate (2022). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Magdusa Ka!?
Start with Hounddog (2008), the closest match to Magdusa Ka!.
What is the highest-rated movie like Magdusa Ka!?
What Maisie Knew (2013), rated 7.1/10 by 466 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Magdusa Ka!?
Eleanor the Great (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Magdusa Ka!?
Yes: Hounddog (2008), Holy Lands (2019) and Gigi & Nate (2022).
How are movies similar to Magdusa Ka! chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Magdusa Ka!, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.