Movies like The Challenge (1965)
The best movies like The Challenge (1965) are A Child Is Waiting (1963), I Am Sam (2001) and Out of My Mind (2024). If The Challenge hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
The Challenge
Quick picks
- Highest ratedWonder (2017)8.1/10 from 8,465 votes
- NewestOut of My Mind (2024)Released 2024
A Child Is Waiting (1963)
Dr. Matthew Clark is the head of a state institution for intellectually disabled children. Jean Hansen, a former music teacher anxious to give her life some meaning, joins the staff of the hospital. Jean, who tries to shelter the children with her love, suspiciously regards Dr. Clark's stern training methods. She becomes emotionally involved with 12-year-old Reuben Widdicombe, who has been abandoned by his divorced parents.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI Am Sam (2001)
Sam, a neurodivergent man, has a daughter with a homeless woman who abandons them when they leave the hospital, leaving Sam to raise Lucy on his own. But as Lucy grows up, Sam's limitations as a parent start to become a problem and the authorities take her away. Sam convinces high-priced lawyer Rita to take his case pro bono and in turn teaches her the value of love and family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOut of My Mind (2024)
Melody Brooks, a sixth grader with cerebral palsy, has a quick wit and a sharp mind, but because she is non-verbal and uses a wheelchair, she is not given the same opportunities as her classmates. When a young educator notices her student's untapped potential and Melody starts to participate in mainstream education, Melody shows that what she has to say is more important than how she says it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWonder (2017)
The story of August Pullman – a boy with facial differences – who enters fifth grade, attending a mainstream elementary school for the first time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisSnoopy Presents: It's the Small Things, Charlie Brown (2022)
Charlie Brown is determined to win the big baseball game. But things turn into a fiasco right before the matchup, when Sally bonds with a little flower on the pitcher's mound and vows to protect it at all costs.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSimon Birch (1998)
Simon Birch and Joe Wenteworth are boys who have a reputation for being oddballs. Joe never knew his father, and his mother, Rebecca, is keeping her lips sealed no matter how much he protests. Simon, meanwhile, is an 11-year-old dwarf whose outsize personality belies his small stature. Indeed, he often assails the local reverend with thorny theological questions and joins Joe on his quest to find his biological father.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMatilda (1996)
Matilda Wormwood is an brilliant and intelligent little girl. Unfortunately, her parents, Harry and Zinnia, fail to see that fact. As time passes, she finally starts school and has a kind teacher, loyal friends, and a terrifying, sadistic headmistress. As she becomes fed up with the constant cruelty, she discovers she has a special gift that she just might be able to use to outwit the unruly adults around her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisD.A.R.Y.L. (1985)
Daryl is a normal 10-year-old boy in many ways. However, unbeknown to his foster parents and friends, Daryl is actually a government-created robot with superhuman reflexes and mental abilities. Even his name has a hidden meaning -- it's actually an acronym for Data Analyzing Robot Youth Life-form. When the organization that created him deems the "super soldier" experiment a failure and schedules Daryl to be disassembled, it is up to a few rogue scientists to help him escape.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Mighty (1998)
Kevin, an intelligent guy helps out Maxwell to improve his reading skills. In return, Kevin wants Maxwell to take him out places since he is not authorized to go out. Being the social outcasts of the town, Kevin and Maxwell come to realize that they are similar to each other and accept that they are "freaks" and nothing will stop them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRoom for One More (1952)
Anne and "Poppy" Rose have three quirky kids. Anne has a generous heart and the belief in the innocence of children. To the unhappy surprise of her husband she takes in the orphan Jane, a problem child who already tried to kill herself once.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAdam (2009)
Adam, a lonely man with Asperger's Syndrome, develops a relationship with his upstairs neighbor, Beth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRadio (2003)
In the racially divided town of Anderson, South Carolina in 1976, football coach Harold Jones spots a mentally disabled African-American young man nicknamed Radio near his practice field and is inspired to befriend him. Soon, Radio is Jones' loyal assistant, and he becomes a student at T.L. Hanna High School. But things start to sour when Coach Jones begins taking guff from parents and fans who feel that his devotion to Radio is getting in the way of the team's quest for a championship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWords on Bathroom Walls (2020)
Diagnosed with a mental illness halfway through his senior year of high school, a witty, introspective teen struggles to keep it a secret while falling in love with a brilliant classmate who inspires him to open his heart and not be defined by his condition.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThink Like a Man (2012)
The balance of power in four couples’ relationships is upset when the women start using the advice in Steve Harvey’s book, Act Like A Lady, Think Like A Man, to get more of what they want from their men. When the men realize that the women have gotten a hold of their relationship “playbook,” they decide that the best defense is a good offense and come up with a plan to use this information to their advantage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWildflower (2023)
The story of Bea Johnson from birth to graduation as she navigates life with an intellectually disabled parent and an extended family who can't quite agree on the best way to help.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFront of the Class (2008)
A boy with Tourette's syndrome overcomes criticism and discrimination to achieve his dream of becoming a teacher.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisMy Little Pony: The Movie (1986)
The first day of Spring is on its way and the Little Ponies are preparing for it with a big festival. But all the fun may come to an end if the witch Hydia has her way! Can the Ponies defeat Hydia and her evil daughters, Reeka and Draggle? More importantly, can they save Ponyland from the witches’ concoction, the strange purple goo called Smooze, that’s threatening to bury the whole town?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMarvellous (2014)
Dramatisation of the true story of the life of Neil "Nello" Baldwin. Born with a mild learning disability but without the burden of social embarrassment & how his inexhaustible ability to see the good in any situation overcame any stigma society tried to label him with.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMagic Beyond Words: The J.K. Rowling Story (2011)
A look at J.K. Rowling from her humble beginnings as an imaginative young girl and awkward teenager, to the loss of her mother and the genesis of the Harry Potter book series.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMartian Child (2007)
A recently-widowed science fiction writer considers whether to adopt a hyper-imaginative 6-year-old abandoned and socially-rejected boy who says he's really from Mars.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Challenge?
The closest matches to The Challenge are A Child Is Waiting (1963), I Am Sam (2001) and Out of My Mind (2024). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Challenge?
Start with A Child Is Waiting (1963), the closest match to The Challenge.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Challenge?
Wonder (2017), rated 8.1/10 by 8,465 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Challenge?
Out of My Mind (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Spanish movies like The Challenge?
The closest matches are in other languages.
How are movies similar to The Challenge chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Challenge, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.