Movies like The World of Us (2016)
The best movies like The World of Us (2016) are An American Girl: Chrissa Stands Strong (2009), Won't Back Down (2012) and I Believe in Unicorns (2015). If The World of Us hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Way Home (2002)8.0/10 from 242 votes
- NewestChimney Town: Frozen in Time (2026)Released 2026
- In KoreanTake Care of My Cat (2001)Also in Korean
An American Girl: Chrissa Stands Strong (2009)
A fourth grader and her friends deal with bullying from a more popular girl in their class.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWon't Back Down (2012)
Jamie Fitzpatrick and Nona Alberts are two women from opposites sides of the social and economic track, but they have one thing in common: a mission to fix their community's broken school and ensure a bright future for their children. The two women refuse to let any obstacles stand in their way as they battle a bureaucracy that's hopelessly mired in traditional thinking, and they seek to re-energize a faculty that has lost its passion for teaching.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI Believe in Unicorns (2015)
Feeling awkward and isolated, an imaginative and strong-willed teenage girl runs away from home with an older punk rock drifter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Little Princess (1995)
When her father enlists to fight for the British in WWI, young Sara Crewe goes to New York to attend the same boarding school her late mother attended. She soon clashes with the severe headmistress, Miss Minchin, who attempts to stifle Sara's creativity and sense of self-worth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTake Care of My Cat (2001)
When one girl from five close school friends moves to Seoul after school is over, the other four try and deal with the loss of her moving and them drifting apart.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHide Your Smiling Faces (2014)
Tommy and his older brother Eric live in the midst of vast remote forests. The death of their friend pushes them close to the edge. Eric doesn’t know how to channel his energy. All at once, nature’s vastness feels stifling.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAll Together Now (2020)
An optimistic, talented teen clings to a huge secret: she's homeless and living on a school bus. When tragedy strikes, can she learn to accept a helping hand?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGirl Fight (2011)
Inspired by a true story, Girl Fight recounts the harrowing story of a 16-year-old, stellar high school student whose life spirals downward when her former friends conspire to upload onto the Internet a shocking video of them beating her up.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMiracle: Letters to the President (2021)
Dreaming of making a way station for his sister and the villagers who have no choice but to commute along the dangerous train tracks every day, Joon-kyung sends many letters to the President, but with no reply. Ra-hee, who has a crush on Joon-kyung, does everything she can to help him meet the President.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSkater Girl (2021)
Prerna, a teenager growing up in rural India, comes of age when she’s introduced to the sport of skateboarding. As a result, she has to fight the odds to follow her dreams and compete in the national championship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Way Home (2002)
This is the story of a 7-year-old boy, Sang-woo, born and raised in the big city, and his mute grandmother, who has spent her whole life in a small rural village.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisLittle Men (2016)
Jake is a quiet, sensitive middle schooler with dreams of being an artist. He meets the affably brash Tony at his grandfather's funeral, and the unlikely pair soon hit it off. The budding friendship is put at risk, however, when a rent dispute between Jake's father, Brian, and Tony's mother, Leonor, threatens to become contentious.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Karate Kid (1984)
New Jersey teen Daniel LaRusso moves to Los Angeles with his mother, and soon strikes up a relationship with Ali. He quickly finds himself the target of bullying by a group of thugs, led by Ali's ex-boyfriend Johnny, who study karate at the Cobra Kai dojo under ruthless sensei John Kreese. Fortunately, Daniel befriends Mr. Miyagi, an unassuming repairman who just happens to be a martial arts master himself. Miyagi takes Daniel under his wing, training him in a more compassionate form of karate for self-defense and, later, preparing him to compete against the brutal Cobra Kai.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJulia (1977)
At the behest of an old and dear friend, playwright Lillian Hellman undertakes a dangerous mission to smuggle funds into Nazi Germany.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Brand New Life (2009)
Abandoned by her father, a girl adjusts to life in an orphanage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisParadise (1991)
A 10-year-old boy spends a summer in the country with a childless couple and a precocious girl.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBridge to Terabithia (2007)
Jesse Aarons trained all summer to become the fastest runner in school. So he's very upset when newcomer Leslie Burke outruns him and everyone else. Despite this and other differences including that she's rich, he's poor, she's a city girl, and he's a country boy the two become fast friends. Together they create Terabithia, a land of monsters, trolls, ogres, and giants where they rule as king and queen.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHungry Hearts (2015)
The relationship of a couple who meet by chance in New York City is put to the test when they encounter a life or death circumstance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy First Client (2019)
A success-hungry lawyer finds himself unable to turn his back on a suspicious case involving a child who claims she murdered her brother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisIn Front of Your Face (2021)
She has never lived in a high-rise apartment, and she wonders how her sister can live at this height every day. A few days ago she kind of burst in to stay with her sister, and she is now becoming re-accustomed to life in Korea. While seeming to keep a grave secret to herself, she manages life one day at a time with a sense of mindfulness. Meanwhile a certain director, some years younger than her, has asked her to join his project, and after a polite refusal, they have agreed to meet for the first time today. Downtown Seoul is filled with narrow alleys that harbor tiny old bars, and that's where they meet. As they are getting drunk, there is sudden rainfall and thunder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFatso (1980)
Dominick DiNapoli is a man who loves food and is overweight as a result. After an obese cousin dies due to health problems, Dominick's sister Antoinette sets out to help him lose weight. Although he has a hard time trying to slim down, Dominick finds inspiration when he meets and falls for shop owner Lydia. Can he get up the courage to ask her out, or will he go back to the comfort of overeating?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisPlatonic Sex (2001)
When Aoi is gang-raped by her classmates and kicked out of her home by her own parents she sees no reason to continue living. Before she commits suicide, however, she receives an email on her cellphone from a man named Toshi addressed to a girl named Ai. The message simply thanks the girl for being alive, but this specific message has an effect on Aoi and she decides to keep on living. Without many options, Aoi resorts to everything from paid dating to porn to earn money and meets a lot of less than reputable characters. Throughout it all though she looks toward Toshi as her hope for happiness and the two form a relationship.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Coming Through the Rye (2016)
Coming Through the Rye, set in 1969, is a touching coming of age story of sensitive, 16 year old Jamie Schwartz, who is not the most popular kid at his all boys' boarding school. Disconnected from students and teachers, he believes he is destined to play Holden Caulfield, the main character of The Catcher in the Rye, and has adapted the book as a play.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
In My Life (2009)
A headstrong woman moves to New York and must come to terms with her estranged gay son and his partner.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Wilma or The Ghosts of Freedom (2025)
Wilma has many qualifications and talents, yet suffers just as many disappointments in life. After she catches her husband cheating, she runs away to Vienna in search of a new life. There she lives with bustling bohemians, tries her luck at a variety of jobs and perhaps... at love again.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Veni Vidi Vici (2024)
The Maynards and their children lead an almost perfect billionaire family life. Amon is a passionate hunter, but doesn’t shoot animals, as the family's wealth allows them to live totally free from consequences.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The High Pressures (2014)
Miguel travels to Pontevedra, his hometown, with the request of serching for some locations for a movie. His trip takes him back to the place where he grew up, meeting up with some old friends, but also leads him to the possibility of a new relationship: Alicia, a young nurse who will get to calm him down. Miguel will try to finish his work even though he mostly prefers to film the natives he meets, the movements and faces of his friends, the trains coming or the sea. A journey around the uprooting (the cinema) and love.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
H7N3 (2014)
A doctor struggles with his professional obligations as he attempts to diagnose a little girl's alarming symptoms on the eve of a viral outbreak.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Tale of a Tiger (1984)
Primary school aged Orville has a fascination for model planes which intensifies when he encounters Harry who owns a sadly neglected but real Tiger Moth. Orville becomes obsessed with the notion that the Tiger might fly once more and the adventure begins when he and Harry set out to achieve that goal.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Chimney Town: Frozen in Time (2026)
After losing his friend Poupelle, young Lubicchi wanders into a mysterious realm where a clock in a tower is frozen at 11:59. To return home, he must restart it – and find the courage to believe again.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The World of Us?
The closest matches to The World of Us are An American Girl: Chrissa Stands Strong (2009), Won't Back Down (2012) and I Believe in Unicorns (2015). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The World of Us?
Start with An American Girl: Chrissa Stands Strong (2009), the closest match to The World of Us.
What is the highest-rated movie like The World of Us?
The Way Home (2002), rated 8.0/10 by 242 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The World of Us?
Chimney Town: Frozen in Time (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Korean movies like The World of Us?
Yes: Take Care of My Cat (2001), Miracle: Letters to the President (2021) and The Way Home (2002).
How are movies similar to The World of Us chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The World of Us, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.