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Movies like The Dead Calm (2017)

The best movies like The Dead Calm (2017) are Heartbeat (1938), Thunderstruck (2012) and LOL 2.0: Anne’s Golden Hour (2026). If The Dead Calm hooked you with its comedy, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.

Quick picks

  1. Heartbeat (1938)

    A pompous grocer’s assistant in Marseille annoys a visiting film crew so much that they prank him with a phony acting contract; believing it to be real, the “schpountz” heads to Paris for his new career.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy

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  2. Thunderstruck (2012)

    After NBA star Kevin Durant switches talent with 16 year old Brian, the teenager becomes the star of his high school team, but Durant starts struggling and eventually learns an important lesson.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy

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  3. LOL 2.0: Anne’s Golden Hour (2026)

    At 55, Anne is finally enjoying her freedom after her children leave home. But everything changes when her 23-year-old daughter, Louise, moves back in with her after a professional and romantic failure. And to make matters worse, her son, Théo, announces that she's going to be a grandmother! Anne realizes that life never goes as planned and that, at any age, we are still learning to grow up.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy

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  4. Comédie-Française (2026)

    At the Comédie-Française, there is one golden rule: the play is never canceled. Unfortunately for Nina, everything else is—just three hours before the premiere of her first staging. An actor is stuck on a train, tensions explode, equipment breaks down, egos clash, and panic sets in. With no way out and time slipping away, Nina must hold the show together at all costs. Will she make it until the curtain rises?

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy

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  5. Evening Classes (1967)

    Tati plays a comedy teacher and explains the basic rules of comedy to some rather slow-witted students, illustrating his points with demonstrations.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy

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  6. Three Men and a Cradle (1985)

    Three young men - Jacques, Pierre, and Michel - share an apartment in Paris, and have many girlfriends and parties. Once, during a party, a friend of Jacques' tells him he has a quite compromising package to deliver, and asks him if he can leave it discreetly at their place. Jacques agrees and, as he works as a steward, flies away for a one-month trip in Japan, telling Pierre and Michel about the package. Then, one of Jacques' former girlfriends drops a baby before their door, making Pierre and Michel believing it is the package they are waiting for. Their lives are then completely changed.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy

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  7. Je ne suis pas un héros (2023)

    Louis is a super nice guy. But in his lawyer's office, this is not a compliment. When his doctor wrongly diagnoses a serious disease, his colleagues behaviour changes : they care about him, they ask him questions and they listen his answers. Finally, Louis exists ! So, obviously, he hesitates over telling the truth.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy

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  8. I Love My Dad (2022)

    A hopelessly estranged father catfishes his son in an attempt to reconnect.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy

  9. Little Big League (1994)

    When the owner of the Minnesota Twins passes away, he bequeaths the team to his preteen grandson. The newly minted head honcho quickly appoints himself manager, causing unrest in an organization that struggles to take orders from a 12-year-old.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy

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  10. Much Ado About Nothing (2013)

    A modern retelling of Shakespeare's classic comedy about two pairs of lovers with different takes on romance and a way with words.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy

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  11. Wet Hot American Summer (2001)

    It's the last day of Camp Firewood's season, but there's still time for the big talent show, a little romance… and for everyone to be wiped out by the piece of NASA's Skylab that's hurtling toward Earth.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy

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  12. It Boy (2013)

    38-year-old Alice has everything to become the next editor-in-chief of Rebelle magazine except for her uptight image. But when the young and charming Balthazar, barely 20, crosses Alice's path, she realizes that he holds the key to her promotion.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy

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  13. Le Clan (2023)

    Fred, Achille, Max and Belette form a good-for-nothing gang of crooks. Dismally failing their last raid, they decide to get back in the game, kidnapping Sophie Marceau.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy

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  14. Louise-Michel (2008)

    In this radical and endearing black comedy, a group of retrenched female factory workers decide to pool their compensation money… and hire a hit man to liquidate their boss.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy

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  15. Alter Ego (2026)

    A quiet, middle-aged man spirals into obsession and paranoia when a charismatic look-alike moves in next door, featuring the exact same face—and a full head of hair.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy

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  16. The Fabulous Patars (2016)

    Denis struggles to raise his boisterous daughters Janine and Mercredi on his own while holding down two jobs. Everything goes sour when Denis forgets Mercredi one too many times at the school gates. Séverine, a cheerful social worker, is appointed to scrutinize the family’s daily lives.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy

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  17. The Wild Goose Chase (1975)

    The whole intrigue is centered around carte-blanche documents kept in a vault. Whoever fills in the blank becomes the owner of a revue. Big money is involved. The nephew of the owner of the vault is trying to cheat his uncle and have his name in the documents. Everything is even more complicated because the manager of the bank has a finger in the pie, too. Who but a humble bank-teller (Pierre Richard) will ruin the scheme?

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy

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  18. Jerry Seinfeld: 23 Hours to Kill (2020)

    Jerry Seinfeld takes the stage in New York and tackles talking vs. texting, bad buffets vs. so-called "great" restaurants and the magic of Pop Tarts.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy

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  19. What's in a Name (2012)

    Vincent, a wealthy real estate agent, is invited to dinner by his sister Elizabeth and her husband Peter, both professors in Paris. Claude, a childhood friend and trombonist in a symphony orchestra, is also present. Vincent brings news from the prenatal examination of his and his wife Anna's unborn son. The name chosen by the soon-to-be parents strongly offends the others for many reasons. The dispute between the guests quickly escalates and before long the resurgence of old grudges and hidden secrets is unavoidable...

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy

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  20. Family Resemblances (1996)

    An upper middle-class French family celebrates a birthday in a restaurant. In one evening and during one meal, family history, tensions, collective and separate grudges, delights, and memories both clash and coalesce.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy

    Worth the HypeMovies like this

Like The Dead Calm and something else?

Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.

Frequently asked questions

What are the best movies like The Dead Calm?

The closest matches to The Dead Calm are Heartbeat (1938), Thunderstruck (2012) and LOL 2.0: Anne’s Golden Hour (2026). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.

What should I watch after The Dead Calm?

Start with Heartbeat (1938), the closest match to The Dead Calm.

What is the highest-rated movie like The Dead Calm?

Family Resemblances (1996), rated 7.4/10 by 332 TMDB users.

What is the newest movie like The Dead Calm?

Comédie-Française (2026) is the most recent release on this list.

Are there French movies like The Dead Calm?

Yes: Heartbeat (1938), LOL 2.0: Anne’s Golden Hour (2026) and Comédie-Française (2026).

How are movies similar to The Dead Calm chosen?

First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Dead Calm, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.

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