Movies like Picnic (1955)
The best movies like Picnic (1955) are The Fugitive Kind (1960), Some Came Running (1958) and Inventing the Abbotts (1997). If Picnic hooked you with its drama and romance, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedWinter Spring Summer or Fall (2024)7.3/10 from 267 votes
- NewestLove Me Love Me (2026)Released 2026
The Fugitive Kind (1960)
Val Xavier, a drifter of obscure origins, arrives at a small town and gets a job in a store run by Lady Torrence. Her husband, Jabe M. Torrance, is dying of cancer. Val is pursued by Carol Cutere, the enigmatic local tramp-of-good-family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSome Came Running (1958)
A former novelist returns to his small Midwest town after serving in the Army during WWII, to the chagrin of his social-climbing brother, and becomes close with an easy-going professional gambler and torn between two very different women.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInventing the Abbotts (1997)
In the 1950s, brothers Jacey and Doug Holt, who come from the poorer side of their sleepy Midwestern town, vie for the affections of the wealthy, lovely Abbott sisters. Lady-killer Jacey alternates between Eleanor and Alice, wanting simply to break the hearts of rich young women. But sensitive Doug has a real romance with Pamela, which Jacey and the Abbott patriarch, Lloyd, both frown upon.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlue Valentine (2010)
Dean and Cindy live a quiet life in a modest neighborhood. They appear to have the world at their feet at the outset of the relationship. However, his lack of ambition and her retreat into self-absorption cause potentially irreversible cracks in their marriage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTime Is Up (2021)
Vivien, an accomplished student with a passion for physics, and Roy, a troubled young man, are involved in an accident that forces them to reclaim their lives one minute at the time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWuthering Heights (2011)
Yorkshire moorlands, northern England, in the late 18th century. Young Heathcliff, rescued from the streets of Liverpool by Mr. Earnshaw, the owner of Wuthering Heights, an isolated farm, develops over the years an insane passion for Cathy, his foster sister, a sick obsession destined to end tragically.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
SnoozefestMovies like thisBlind (2017)
A novelist is blinded in a car crash that killed his wife and several years later rediscovers his passion for life and writing when he embarks on an affair with the neglected wife of an indicted businessman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTwo for the Seesaw (1962)
After leaving his wife, lawyer Jerry Ryan moves from Omaha, Nebraska to New York City to start a new life. While studying for the New York Bar Examination and working to finalize his divorce, Ryan meets dancer Gittel Mosca, and the two begin a cautious courtship. However, Ryan feels that he must come to terms with his failed marriage and overcome his lingering attachment to his ex-wife before he can redefine himself and embrace his budding romance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWinter Spring Summer or Fall (2024)
Remi and Barnes, two very different teenagers, meet by chance in the winter of their senior year, then spend four days together over the course of a year that will change their lives forever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLove Me Love Me (2026)
After her brother's death, June moves to Milan for a fresh start, finding comfort in Will, the perfect honor student at her new international school. But when his troubled best friend James—hiding a dangerous life in clandestine MMA fights—sparks a rivalry that quickly turns into irresistible attraction, June must choose between safety and a love that upends everything she thought she wanted.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGloria Bell (2019)
Gloria is a free-spirited divorcée who spends her days at a straight-laced office job and her nights on the dance floor, joyfully letting loose at clubs around Los Angeles. After meeting Arnold on a night out, she finds herself thrust into an unexpected new romance, filled with both the joys of budding love and the complications of dating, identity, and family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
SnoozefestMovies like thisNewness (2017)
In contemporary Los Angeles, two millennials navigating a social media–driven hookup culture begin a relationship that pushes both emotional and physical boundaries.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGame of Love (2022)
Follows Vivien and Roy as their love story continues and leads them to Roy’s childhood home in Sicily to prepare for the sale of the family estate. During the visit, a mysterious woman arrives and befriends Vivien, much to Roy’s displeasure. Tensions build and lines are crossed as secrets from Roy’s past force the couple to face aspects of their relationship they did not know existed.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisElena Undone (2010)
The wife of a pastor who preaches against homosexuality embarks on an affair with a female writer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInferno (1999)
Eddie Lomax is a drifter who has been in a suicidal funk since the death of his close friend Johnny. Riding his motorcycle into a small desert town where Johnny once lived, Lomax is confronted by a gang of toughs, who beat him and steal his bike. However, Lomax is not a man to take an injustice lying down, and soon he begins exacting a violent revenge on the men who stole his motorcycle, with local handyman Jubal Early lending a hand and several area ladies offering aid and comfort.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCircle of Friends (1995)
Three girlhood friends now at college share first loves, first kisses and first betrayals. At the center of it all is the best-looking boy on campus. Can a self-conscious dreamer hook the biggest fish in the pond?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Map That Leads to You (2025)
Heather is a young woman traveling Europe with friends before starting her perfectly planned life. A chance meeting with Jack sparks an unexpected romance that leads to deep emotional discovery. As secrets and life choices test their bond, her path changes forever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisScarecrow (1973)
Two drifters bum around, visit earthy women and discuss opening a car wash in Pittsburgh.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Starling Girl (2023)
17-year-old Jem Starling struggles with her place within her Christian fundamentalist community. But everything changes when her magnetic youth pastor Owen returns to their church.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUncle Frank (2020)
In 1973, when Frank Bledsoe and his 18-year-old niece Beth take a road trip from Manhattan to Creekville, South Carolina for the family patriarch's funeral, they're unexpectedly joined by Frank's lover Walid.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMuch Ado About Nothing (1993)
In this Shakespearean farce, Hero and her groom-to-be, Claudio, team up with Claudio's commanding officer, Don Pedro, the week before their wedding to hatch a matchmaking scheme. Their targets are sharp-witted duo Benedick and Beatrice -- a tough task indeed, considering their corresponding distaste for love and each other. Meanwhile, meddling Don John plots to ruin the wedding.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Burning Plain (2008)
A trailer is burning in the middle of a plain. The bodies of two adulterous lovers are found. Scenes from both families, before and after the dramatic events, suggest an unusual connection between them. But what is their secret?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWater Drops on Burning Rocks (2000)
In 1970s Germany, Léopold, a 50-year-old businessman, picks up and seduces 20-year-old Franz, who swiftly moves into his apartment. The dynamic between them intensifies with the sudden arrival of their ex-girlfriends.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHow the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer (2005)
Three generations of women in a Mexican American family experience sexual awakenings over the course of a summer.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Beddua (1980)
Story of a famous singer from a small rural village, making it big in the city by following their passion.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Would You Still Love Me? (2023)
A romantic picnic takes an unexpected turn.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
This Greedy Old Skin (1960)
A kind of modern dress "Donzoko" "The Lower Depths", about slum life in Osaka, where a greedy widow (Mimasu) takes advantage of her poor roomers, including her own son, who makes a meagre living stripping taxicabs.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Heaven Can Wait (1978)
Joe Pendleton is a quarterback preparing to lead his team to the superbowl when he is almost killed in an accident. An overanxious angel plucks him to heaven only to discover that he wasn't ready to die, and that his body has been cremated. A new body must be found, and that of a recently-murdered millionaire is chosen. His wife and accountant—the murderers—are confused by this development, as he buys the L.A. Rams in order to once again quarterback them into the Superbowl.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWho We Are Now (2018)
Recently released from prison, Beth is working with her public defender to get her son back from her sister, who was awarded legal custody while Beth was incarcerated for ten years. Soon after, Beth forms an unlikely alliance with Jess, an idealistic young protégé of the public defense team, who decides to take on Beth's cause whether she likes it or not.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisFive Fingers for Marseilles (2018)
Years ago, the young Five Fingers fought for the rural town of Marseilles against brutal police oppression. Now, after fleeing in disgrace, Tau, one of them, returns to Marseilles, seeking only a peaceful life. When he finds the town under new threat, he must reluctantly fight to free it.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like Picnic and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Picnic?
The closest matches to Picnic are The Fugitive Kind (1960), Some Came Running (1958) and Inventing the Abbotts (1997). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Picnic?
Start with The Fugitive Kind (1960), the closest match to Picnic.
What is the highest-rated movie like Picnic?
Winter Spring Summer or Fall (2024), rated 7.3/10 by 267 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Picnic?
Love Me Love Me (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Picnic?
Yes: The Fugitive Kind (1960), Some Came Running (1958) and Inventing the Abbotts (1997).
How are movies similar to Picnic chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Picnic, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.