Movies like El Abuelo (2008)
The best movies like El Abuelo (2008) are Avatar: Creating the World of Pandora (2010), Come See Me in the Good Light (2025) and Gilbert (2017). If El Abuelo hooked you, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedI Am Heath Ledger (2017)7.4/10 from 233 votes
- NewestCome See Me in the Good Light (2025)Released 2025
Avatar: Creating the World of Pandora (2010)
The Making-of James Cameron's Avatar. It shows interesting parts of the work on the set.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCome See Me in the Good Light (2025)
In an intimate and joyful story of love in the face of loss, celebrated poets Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley find strength—and unexpected hilarity—in what might be their final year together.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGilbert (2017)
The life and career of one of comedy's most inimitable modern voices, Mr. Gilbert Gottfried.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAs I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty (2000)
A compilation of over 30 years of private home movie footage shot by Lithuanian-American avant-garde director Jonas Mekas, assembled by Mekas "purely by chance", without concern for chronological order.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBeing James Bond (2021)
Daniel Craig candidly reflects on his 15 year adventure as James Bond. Including never-before-seen archival footage from Casino Royale to the upcoming 25th film No Time To Die, Craig shares his personal memories in conversation with 007 producers, Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies 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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLooking for Richard (1996)
Al Pacino's deeply-felt rumination on Shakespeare's significance and relevance to the modern world through interviews and an in-depth analysis of "Richard III."
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFor the Love of Spock (2016)
The life of Mr. Spock, as well as that of Leonard Nimoy, the actor who played him for almost fifty years, written and directed by his son: Adam.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Owl and the Pussycat (1970)
Meek, owlish Felix and strident, catty Doris live in the same apartment building. His incessant typing bothers her; her gentlemen callers bother him. Felix informs the landlord of her activities, so Doris moves in on Felix. When they both get thrown out, they move in with Barney... until they drive him out! That's when Felix and Doris finally decide to put theory into practice. But do opposites attract?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHarmontown (2014)
A comedic, brutally honest documentary following self-destructive TV writer Dan Harmon as he takes his live podcast on a national tour.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMr. Turner (2014)
Eccentric British painter J.M.W. Turner lives his last 25 years with gusto and secretly becomes involved with a seaside landlady, while his faithful housekeeper bears an unrequited love for him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNightingale (2014)
A dangerously unstable man addresses the unseen followers of his video log about his obsession with an old army buddy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff (2010)
In 2001 Jack Cardiff (1914-2009) became the first director of photography in the history of the Academy Awards to win an Honorary Oscar. But the first time he clasped the famous statuette in his hand was a half-century earlier when his Technicolor camerawork was awarded for Powell and Pressburger's Black Narcissus. Beyond John Huston's The African Queen and King Vidor's War and Peace, the films of the British-Hungarian creative duo (The Red Shoes and A Matter of Life and Death too) guaranteed immortality for the renowned cameraman whose career spanned seventy years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAli Wong: Single Lady (2024)
After a whirlwind couple of years, Ali Wong returns to the stage to dish on the highs, lows and surprises of dating post-divorce.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStruggle: The Life and Lost Art of Szukalski (2018)
Artists in LA discover the work of forgotten Polish sculptor Stanislav Szukalski, a mad genius whose true story unfolds chapter by astounding chapter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisI Am Heath Ledger (2017)
The life and career of an actor, artist, and icon. His own journey through his own camera.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAquaman: Heroines of Atlantis (2019)
Amber Heard and Nicole Kidman discuss their characters Mera and Atlanna.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPaterson (2016)
A week in the life of Paterson, a poet bus driver, and his wife Laura, a very creative artist, who live in Paterson, New Jersey, hometown of many famous poets and artists.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLittle Italy (2018)
Former childhood pals Leo and Nikki are attracted to each other as adults—but will their feuding parents' rival pizzerias put a chill on their sizzling romance?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994)
Two drag performers and a transgender woman travel across the desert to perform their unique style of cabaret.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMary Queen of Scots (2018)
In 1561, Mary Stuart, widow of the King of France, returns to Scotland, reclaims her rightful throne and menaces the future of Queen Elizabeth I as ruler of England, because she has a legitimate claim to the English throne. Betrayals, rebellions, conspiracies and their own life choices imperil both Queens. They experience the bitter cost of power, until their tragic fate is finally fulfilled.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Dark World (1953)
Based on the real life story, the director turned his camera towards the real world of Âşık Veysel, the great poet who wandered around the Anatolian villages.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Sleep on It (2016)
A quarrel puts things into perspective for a gay young couple mattress-shopping for their first apartment.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Law of Desire (1987)
Pablo, a successful film director, disappointed in his relationship with his young lover, Juan, concentrates in a new project, a monologue starring his transgender sister, Tina. Antonio, an uptight young man, falls possessively in love with the director and in his passion would stop at nothing to obtain the object of his desire.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Worth the HypeMovies like thisD'Agostino (2012)
Heading on a transatlantic voyage at sea from an Italian lab to America, D'Agostino is the story of a human clone left for dead at the shores of Santorini Greece. This lost cargo, commissioned by wealthy individuals for organ tranplants, is abandoned as the freight cannot be recovered. Allan Dawson has recently inherited his grandmother's island estate. He's in a loveless relationship with his common law spouse Sylvia. As he finds this interesting freight, what follows is a macabre tale of self realization as Allan proceeds to set himself out of his sedentary existence to mold his latest discovery into a new best friend with dire consequences.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
River Made to Drown In (1997)
Thaddeus Mackenzie, a wealthy lawyer, learns that he is dying and decides to sell all of his property and visit his old friend Allen Hayden. Allen is a struggling artist with a passion for life who once survived by working the streets, but now is romantically involved with Eva, a wealthy European gallery owner living in L.A. Thaddeus implores Allen to find Jamie, a young street hustler that Thaddeus had once tried to rescue. Allen returns to the streets to face the dark corners of his past where he must choose between what he left behind and the uncertainty that lies ahead.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
10 Pesos (2003)
Like O'Henry's Tainted Tenner this 10 peso note, found on a sink in a men's room passes from hand to hand through many lives.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Consent (2012)
In a fancy hotel, a bell boy delivers a bottle of whiskey to a wealthy middle-aged client. The guest seduces the young man and offers him money for a sexual favor. But what started as a simple game becomes perverted and eventually violent.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
The Second Coming (1995)
Futuristic story of Carlos and Ben who fall in love in high school despite the racism and and homophobia. When Fundamentalist forces threaten to take over the U.S. the pair join forces with an underground resistance movement.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Like El Abuelo and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like El Abuelo?
The closest matches to El Abuelo are Avatar: Creating the World of Pandora (2010), Come See Me in the Good Light (2025) and Gilbert (2017). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after El Abuelo?
Start with Avatar: Creating the World of Pandora (2010), the closest match to El Abuelo.
What is the highest-rated movie like El Abuelo?
I Am Heath Ledger (2017), rated 7.4/10 by 233 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like El Abuelo?
Come See Me in the Good Light (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like El Abuelo?
Yes: Avatar: Creating the World of Pandora (2010), Come See Me in the Good Light (2025) and Gilbert (2017).
How are movies similar to El Abuelo chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside El Abuelo, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.