Movies like Dawn! (1979)
The best movies like Dawn! (1979) are NYAD (2023), Young Woman and the Sea (2024) and Queen of the Ring (2025). If Dawn! hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedYoung Woman and the Sea (2024)7.9/10 from 472 votes
- NewestGiant (2026)Released 2026
NYAD (2023)
Athlete Diana Nyad sets out at 60 to achieve a nearly impossible lifelong dream: to swim from Cuba to Florida across more than 100 miles of open ocean.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisYoung Woman and the Sea (2024)
This is the extraordinary true story of Trudy Ederle, the first woman to successfully swim the English Channel. Through the steadfast support of her older sister and supportive trainers, she overcame adversity and the animosity of a patriarchal society to rise through the ranks of the Olympic swimming team and complete the 21-mile trek from France to England.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisQueen of the Ring (2025)
In a time when pro wrestling for women was illegal all over the country, a small town single mother embraces the danger to change culture as she dominates America's most masculine sport to become the first million dollar female athlete in history.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPride (2007)
Coach Jim Ellis shocks the community and changes lives when, aided by a local janitor, he sets out to form Philadelphia's first black swim team. But the odds are against them as they battle rigid rules, racism and more.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHounddog (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 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 thisEffie Gray (2014)
A look at the mysterious relationship between Victorian art critic John Ruskin and his teenage bride Effie Gray.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Program (2015)
An Irish sports journalist becomes convinced that Lance Armstrong's performances during the Tour de France victories are fueled by banned substances. With this conviction, he starts hunting for evidence that will expose Armstrong.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFoxcatcher (2014)
The greatest Olympic Wrestling Champion brother team joins Team Foxcatcher led by multimillionaire sponsor John E. du Pont as they train for the 1988 games in Seoul - a union that leads to unlikely circumstances.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Dinner with Hervé (2018)
An unlikely friendship evolves over one wild night in LA between a struggling journalist and actor Hervé Villechaize, the world's most famous gun-toting dwarf, resulting in life-changing consequences for both.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBobby Jones: Stroke of Genius (2004)
The story of golf icon and legend, Bobby Jones, who retired from competition at the tender age of 28.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies 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 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 Audrey Hepburn Story (2000)
The film spans from Hepburn's early childhood to the 1950s which details her life as a Dutch ballerina, coming to grips with her parents' divorce, and enduring life in the Nazi-occupied Netherlands during World War II. She then settles in the U.S. where she succeeds in making it big as a movie actress, in such movies as Breakfast at Tiffany's.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBastard Out of Carolina (1996)
A poor, struggling South Carolinian mother and daughter face painful choices with their resolve and pride. Bone, the eldest daughter, and Anney her tired mother, grow both closer and farther apart: Anney sees Glen as her last chance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Safety of Objects (2002)
In a suburban landscape, the lives of several families interlace with loss, despair and personal crisis. Esther Gold has lost focus on all but caring for her comatose son, Paul, and neglects her daughter and husband. Lawyer Jim Train is devoted to his career, not his family. Helen Christianson wants to find a new spark in life, while Annette Jennings tries to rebuild hers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGiant (2026)
Follows Prince Naseem Hamed from his humble beginnings on the tough working-class streets of Sheffield and his discovery by Ingle, himself a steel industry worker turned boxing trainer. Their unlikely partnership, Naz’s unorthodox style, cocky persona, and sheer dominance in the ring propelled them to the top of boxing’s elite and unprecedented levels of global superstardom, all in the face of the rampant Islamophobia and racism of ’80s and 90’s Britain.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Swimmers (2022)
From war-torn Syria to the 2016 Rio Olympics, two young sisters embark on a risky voyage, putting their hearts and their swimming skills to heroic use.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBruised (2021)
Jackie Justice is a mixed martial arts fighter who leaves the sport in disgrace. Down on her luck and simmering with rage and regret years after the fight, she's coaxed into a brutal underground fight by her manager and boyfriend Desi and grabs the attention of a fight league promoter who promises Jackie a life back in the Octagon. But the road to redemption becomes unexpectedly personal when Manny - the son she gave up as an infant - shows up at her doorstep. A triumphant story of a fighter who reclaims her power, in and out of the ring, when everyone has counted her out
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPelé: Birth of a Legend (2016)
The life story of Brazilian football legend, Pele.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSerpico (1973)
New York cop Frank Serpico blows the whistle on the rampant corruption in the force only to have his comrades turn against him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Accidental Prime Minister (2019)
Based on the memoir by Indian policy analyst Sanjaya Baru, The Accidental Prime Minister explores Manmohan Singh's tenure as the Prime Minister of India, and the kind of control he had over his cabinet and the country.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Amelia (2009)
A look at the life of legendary American pilot Amelia Earhart, who disappeared while flying over the Pacific Ocean in 1937 in an attempt to make a flight around the world.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisMonarch (2000)
From double BAFTA nominated Writer and Director John Walsh. Monarch is part fact, part fiction and unfolds around one night when the injured ruler arrives at a manor house closed for the season.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Jokowi Adalah Kita (2014)
Jokowi slowly proves that he is a leader. From the Mayor of Solo, Jakarta Governor, to President. In the process Jokowi encountered various problems. His wife and family plays an important role as a supporter. The film also shows Jokowi as a husband and head of the family at home.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Enrico Piaggio: Vespa (2019)
It is 1945. Enrico Piaggio’s Pontedera factory is in ruins and the 12,000 people who worked there are condemned to unemployment and misery. Piaggio feels the enormous responsibility resting on his shoulders: the lives of so many families depend on his ability to create new jobs. A project is born in the mind of the entrepreneur: a small, robust, agile and affordable means of transport, capable of relaunching mobility, giving impetus to the recovery of the country’s economic and civil life. To make this dream come true, Piaggio turns to engineer Corradino D’Ascanio, a brilliant designer who uses the experience gained in the field of aeronautics to create the scooter that remains today the symbol of Italian creativity and design: the Vespa!
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIl Divo (2008)
Italy, early '90s. Calm, clever and inscrutable, politician Giulio Andreotti has been synonymous with power for decades. He has survived everything: electoral battles, terrorist massacres, loss of friends, slanderous accusations; but now certain repentant mobsters implicate him in the crimes of Cosa Nostra.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTyson (2008)
Director James Toback takes an unflinching, uncompromising look at the life of Mike Tyson--almost solely from the perspective of the man himself. TYSON alternates between the controversial boxer addressing the camera and shots of the champion's fights to create an arresting picture of the man.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisReagan (2024)
Told through the voice of former KGB agent Viktor Petrovich, whose life becomes inextricably linked with Ronald Reagan's when Reagan first caught the Soviets’ attention as an actor in Hollywood, Reagan overcomes the odds to become the 40th president of the United States.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLizzie (2018)
Massachusetts, 1892. An unmarried woman of 32 and a social outcast, Lizzie lives a claustrophobic life under her father's cold and domineering control. When Bridget Sullivan, a young maid, comes to work for the family, Lizzie finds a sympathetic, kindred spirit, and a secret intimacy soon blossoms into a wicked plan.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Dawn!?
The closest matches to Dawn! are NYAD (2023), Young Woman and the Sea (2024) and Queen of the Ring (2025). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Dawn!?
Start with NYAD (2023), the closest match to Dawn!.
What is the highest-rated movie like Dawn!?
Young Woman and the Sea (2024), rated 7.9/10 by 472 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Dawn!?
Giant (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Dawn!?
Yes: NYAD (2023), Young Woman and the Sea (2024) and Queen of the Ring (2025).
How are movies similar to Dawn! chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Dawn!, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.