Movies like Holy Cow (2016)
The best movies like Holy Cow (2016) are Nobody Speak: Trials of the Free Press (2017), Capital in the Twenty-First Century (2019) and A Toxic Love Story (2026). If Holy Cow hooked you with its documentary, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedHoneyland (2019)7.9/10 from 317 votes
- NewestA Toxic Love Story (2026)Released 2026
Nobody Speak: Trials of the Free Press (2017)
The courtroom and publicity battles between the superstar wrestler and the notorious website explode in a sensational trial all about the limits of the First Amendment and the new no holds barred nature of celebrity life in an internet dominated society.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCapital in the Twenty-First Century (2019)
Film adaptation of French economist Thomas Piketty's ground-breaking global bestseller of the same name: an eye-opening journey through wealth and power.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Toxic Love Story (2026)
A string of threatening emails escalates into a revenge plot involving a newly married US marshal and his ex-girlfriend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDrew: The Man Behind the Poster (2013)
A documentary on legendary movie-poster artist Drew Struzan.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAvatar: The Deep Dive - A Special Edition of 20/20 (2022)
An inside look at one of the most anticipated movie sequels ever with James Cameron and cast.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEx Libris: The New York Public Library (2017)
A documentary about how a dominant cultural and demographic institution both sustains their traditional activities and adapts to the digital revolution.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJim: The James Foley Story (2016)
In August, 2014, a video of the public execution of American photojournalist James Foley rippled across the globe. Foley wore an orange jumpsuit as he knelt beside an ISIS militant dressed in black. That image challenged the world to deal with a new face of terror. And it tested one American family. Seen through the lens of filmmaker Brian Oakes, Foley’s close childhood friend, Jim takes us from small-town New England to the adrenaline-fueled front lines of Libya and Syria, where Foley pushed the limits of danger to report on the plight of civilians impacted by war.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like this180° South (2010)
The film follows adventurer Jeff Johnson as he retraces the epic 1968 journey of his heroes Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins to Patagonia.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTo Kill a Tiger (2023)
Ranjit, a farmer in India, takes on the fight of his life when he demands justice for his 13-year-old daughter, the victim of a brutal gang rape. His decision to support his daughter is virtually unheard of, and his journey unprecedented.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDirected by John Ford (1971)
A documentary about the life and films of director John Ford.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Class of ‘92 (2013)
A detailing of the rise to prominence and global sporting superstardom of six supremely talented young Manchester United football players (David Beckham, Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Phil and Gary Neville). The film covers the period 1992-1999, culminating in Manchester United's European Cup triumph.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBoys State (2020)
This raucous journey into the heart of democracy captures an unusual rite of passage: 1,100 teenage boys from across Texas coming together to build a representative government from the ground up.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMy Mom Jayne (2025)
Through deeply personal interviews with her siblings and an examination of the photographs, letters, and belongings left behind, Mariska assembles a new portrait of her mother Jayne Mansfield, an extraordinary and complex woman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisA Decade Under the Influence (2003)
A documentary examining the decade of the 1970s as a turning point in American cinema. Some of today's best filmmakers interview the influential directors of that time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Curious Birth of Benjamin Button (2009)
A documentary about the making of David Fincher's 2008 film THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON. Virtually every element in the evolution of the Fincher's film is documented here, from the project's attachment to numerous other directors during the 1990s, to its shoot in 2006 and 2007 in New Orleans, to its complex, CGI-intensive postproduction process.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAfter Truth: Disinformation and the Cost of Fake News (2020)
An investigation into the ongoing threat caused by the phenomenon of “fake news” in the U.S., focusing on the real-life consequences that disinformation, conspiracy theories and false news stories have on the average citizen.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNaqoyqatsi (2002)
A visual montage portrait of our contemporary world dominated by globalized technology and violence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God (2012)
Alex Gibney explores the charged issue of pedophilia in the Catholic Church, following a trail from the first known protest against clerical sexual abuse in the United States and all way to the Vatican.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisS4: The Bob Lazar Story (2026)
Over 35 years after Bob Lazar's revelations, this documentary exposes secrets of a facility the government still denies. Featuring Lazar's testimony, recreations, and new evidence, it reopens a case that continues to spark global curiosity
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisFather Soldier Son (2020)
When Sgt. First Class Brian Eisch is critically wounded in Afghanistan, it sets him and his sons on a journey of love, loss, redemption and legacy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFull Metal Village (2007)
The film describes the microcosmos of the small village Wacken and shows the clash of the cultures, before and during the biggest heavy metal festival in Europe.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
A Cow at My Table (1998)
A Cow at My Table explores Western attitudes towards farm animals and meat, and the intense battle between animal advocates and the meat industry to influence the consumer's mind. Five years in production took Director Jennifer Abbott across Canada, the US, Australia and New Zealand to meet with the leaders of the animal rights movement, animal welfare advocates as well as spokespeople from livestock industries. A Cow at My Table inter-cuts these diverse perspectives with archival films, images from modern-day agribusiness and footage of farm animals shot from uncharacteristic vantage points.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Cows, Cash & Cover-ups? Investigating VCJD (2019)
Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) is the human version of mad cow disease and has been described as a "ticking time bomb" in Britain. This documentary explores the claims by families of vCJD victims that a criminal inquiry should be held to examine the possibility of a cover-up by authorities of BSE in farming and the food industry.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
The Cow's Drama (1984)
Drama, from the Greek, to do, act, or perform. A composition in which a story is related by means of dialogue and action and is represented with accompanying gesture, costume and scenery, as in real life, a play. The simplest story; a cow in a field, a day passes, articulated by a sequence of simple actions. Another day passes and the actions only vary with the chance events that make one day different from any other. Between the days three traditional songs about work, love and death are sung. These are stories too, but of generalisation, metaphor and myth, whereas the cow's drama follows only the surface pattern of events, the specific.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Rumenatomija: The Story of Brandas Addiction (2008)
Branda has hit rock bottom. Her addiction has spiralled so far out of control that medical intervention is the only option left. She's forced to confront her darkest demons in order to lick her deadly appetite, and must apply all 12 steps to her four stomachs - Branda is a cow addicted to eating plastic bags. It's easy to find humour and irony in Branda's toxic lifestyle, harder to admit that we're the ones being ridiculed.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Restrepo (2010)
Directors Hetherington and Junger spend a year with the 2nd Battalion of the United States Army located in one of Afghanistan's most dangerous valleys. The documentary provides insight and empathy on how to win the battle through hard work, deadly gunfights and mutual friendships while the unit must push back the Taliban.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOld Partner (2009)
An elderly farmer lives out his final days with his wife and a loyal ox in the Korean countryside.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Into Great Silence (2005)
An intimate portrayal of the everyday lives of Carthusian monks of the Grande Chartreuse, high in the French Alps (Chartreuse Mountains). The idea for the film was proposed to the monks in 1984, but the Carthusians said they wanted time to think about it. The Carthusians finally contacted Gröning 16 years later to say they were now willing to permit Gröning to shoot the movie, if he was still interested.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret (2014)
Follow the shocking, yet humorous, journey of an aspiring environmentalist, as he daringly seeks to find the real solution to the most pressing environmental issues and true path to sustainability.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHoneyland (2019)
When nomadic beekeepers break Honeyland’s basic rule (take half of the honey, but leave half to the bees), the last female beehunter in Europe must save the bees and restore natural balance.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Holy Cow?
The closest matches to Holy Cow are Nobody Speak: Trials of the Free Press (2017), Capital in the Twenty-First Century (2019) and A Toxic Love Story (2026). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Holy Cow?
Start with Nobody Speak: Trials of the Free Press (2017), the closest match to Holy Cow.
What is the highest-rated movie like Holy Cow?
Honeyland (2019), rated 7.9/10 by 317 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Holy Cow?
A Toxic Love Story (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to Holy Cow chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Holy Cow, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.