Movies like Wishful Thinking (1990)
The best movies like Wishful Thinking (1990) are Hot Frosty (2024), Ted (2012) and Three Thousand Years of Longing (2022). If Wishful Thinking hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedVoicemails for Isabelle (2026)8.3/10 from 1,047 votes
- NewestVoicemails for Isabelle (2026)Released 2026
Hot Frosty (2024)
When a young widow's magic scarf brings a dashing snowman to life, can he help her rediscover romance, laughter and holiday cheer before he melts away?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisTed (2012)
John Bennett, a man whose childhood wish of bringing his teddy bear to life came true, now must decide between keeping the relationship with the bear or his girlfriend, Lori.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThree Thousand Years of Longing (2022)
A solitary scholar discovers an ancient bottle while on a trip to Istanbul and unleashes a djinn who offers her three wishes. Filled with reluctance, she is unable to come up with one, so the djinn tries to inspire her with his stories.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPenelope (2006)
Forlorn heiress Penelope Wilhern is cursed, and the only way out is to fall in love with someone of suitable stock. But how can she find her soulmate when she's sequestered inside her family's estate with only her parents to keep her company? This untraditional fairy tale is about a girl who bucks convention to create her own happy ending.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChristmas with You (2022)
Feeling career burnout, pop star Angelina escapes to grant a young fan's wish in small-town New York, where she not only finds the inspiration to revitalize her career but also a shot at true love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisBedtime Stories (2008)
Skeeter Bronson is a down-on-his-luck guy who's always telling bedtime stories to his niece and nephew. But his life is turned upside down when the fantastical stories he makes up for entertainment inexplicably turn into reality. Can a bewildered Skeeter manage his own unruly fantasies now that the outrageous characters and situations from his mind have morphed into actual people and events?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Sassy Girl (2008)
A guy has his life planned out until he is wooed, groomed and then dumped by an elusive woman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIn the Lost Lands (2025)
A queen sends the powerful and feared sorceress Gray Alys to the ghostly wilderness of the Lost Lands in search of a magical power, where she and her guide, the drifter Boyce, must outwit and outfight both man and demon.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIrish Wish (2024)
Maddie's dream guy is days away from marrying her best friend when a wish for true love made on an ancient stone in Ireland magically alters her fate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBell, Book and Candle (1958)
Gillian Holroyd, a modern-day witch, becomes smitten with her handsome upstairs neighbor, Shep Henderson. Using her magical powers, she casts a love spell on him, only to face unexpected complications when genuine feelings emerge, threatening her supernatural abilities.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEndless Love (2014)
A privileged girl and a charismatic boy's instant desire sparks a love affair made only more reckless by parents trying to keep them apart.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGenie (2023)
Flora, a genie trapped for more than 2,000 years inside an antique jewelry box, is accidentally called to service by Bernard, whose life is unraveling around him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTeen Witch (1989)
Louise is not very popular at her highschool. Then she learns that she's descended from the witches of Salem and has inherited their powers. At first she uses them to get back at the girls and teachers who teased her and to win the heart of the handsome footballer's captain. But soon she has doubts if it's right to 'cheat' her way to popularity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Best of Me (2014)
A pair of former high school sweethearts reunite after many years when they return to visit their small hometown.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLove Potion No. 9 (1992)
Unlucky in love, chemist Paul Matthews visits gypsy Madame Rosa for help. Quickly realizing he is a hopeless nerd, she gifts him with Love Potion No. 8, which makes anyone who wears it irresistible to the opposite sex for four hours. Paul and animal psychologist coworker Diane Farrow decide to test it on themselves. The awkward pair suddenly find themselves alluring to anyone they approach, but soon realize they are most attracted to each other.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLove Is in the Air (2023)
A fiercely independent pilot fighting to keep her family business afloat starts to fall for the man sent by corporate to ground her operation forever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe World to Come (2021)
In 1856, two women forge a close connection despite their isolation on the American frontier.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947)
Walter Mitty, a daydreaming writer with an overprotective mother, likes to imagine that he is a hero who experiences fantastic adventures. His dream becomes reality when he accidentally meets a mysterious woman who hands him a little black book. According to her, it contains the locations of the Dutch crown jewels hidden since World War II. Soon, Mitty finds himself in the middle of a confusing conspiracy, where he has difficulty differentiating between fact and fiction.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVoicemails for Isabelle (2026)
A young woman's hilariously confessional voicemails to her late sister are unknowingly redirected to a stranger, who begins to fall in love from afar.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisGirl Haunts Boy (2024)
Cole, a teen grieving the loss of his dad, forms an unlikely bond with Bea, a ghost. As they navigate life and death, they must break an ancient curse.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Wishful Thinking?
The closest matches to Wishful Thinking are Hot Frosty (2024), Ted (2012) and Three Thousand Years of Longing (2022). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Wishful Thinking?
Start with Hot Frosty (2024), the closest match to Wishful Thinking.
What is the highest-rated movie like Wishful Thinking?
Voicemails for Isabelle (2026), rated 8.3/10 by 1,047 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Wishful Thinking?
Voicemails for Isabelle (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Wishful Thinking?
Yes: Hot Frosty (2024), Ted (2012) and Three Thousand Years of Longing (2022).
How are movies similar to Wishful Thinking chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Wishful Thinking, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.