Movies like Whatever Happens Next (2018)
The best movies like Whatever Happens Next (2018) are Goodbye Berlin (2016), Kodachrome (2017) and Half Brothers (2020). If Whatever Happens Next hooked you with its drama and comedy, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedHalf Brothers (2020)7.2/10 from 224 votes
- NewestDragging the Chain (2025)Released 2025
- In GermanGoodbye Berlin (2016)Also in German
Goodbye Berlin (2016)
Maik, a fourteen-year-old teenager, sets out on a road trip during summertime with Tschick, a new classmate, in a stolen car. The two share life changing experiences during the eventful journey.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKodachrome (2017)
Matt Ryder is convinced to drive his estranged and dying father Benjamin Ryder cross country to deliver four old rolls of Kodachrome film to the last lab in the world that can develop them before it shuts down for good. Along with Ben's nurse Zooey, the three navigate a world changing from analogue to digital while trying to put the past behind them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHalf Brothers (2020)
Mexican aviation exec Renato is shocked to learn that he has an American half-brother he never knew about: free-spirited Asher. They are forced on a road trip together, tracing the path their father took from Mexico to the U.S.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAna (2020)
Ana meets Rafa in a chance encounter and they embark on a road trip to try and save him from bankruptcy, or worse.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGood Luck Charlie, It's Christmas! (2011)
Teddy Duncan's middle-class family embarks on a road trip from their home in Denver to visit Mrs. Duncans Parents, the Blankenhoopers, in Palm Springs. When they find themselves stranded between Denver and Utah, they try to hitch a ride to Las Vegas with a seemingly normal older couple in a station wagon from Roswell, New Mexico. It turns out that the couple believes they are the victims of alien abduction. The Duncan's must resort to purchasing a clunker Yugo to get to Utah, have their luggage stolen in Las Vegas, and survive a zany Christmas with Grandpa and Grandma Blankenhooper.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVielmachglas (2018)
Marleen is in her early 20s, works in a movie theater, still lives at home and is somehow aimless. Her parents torment her with questions about her future and her brother is a high-flyer who has already traveled halfway around the world. When a tragic accident plunges her into sheer endless grief, Marleen just wants to get away. Equipped with the bare essentials, she sets off on a journey into the unknown.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisNothing in Common (1986)
A successful advertising executive finds his freewheeling life crashing to a halt when his parents end their longtime marriage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisMy One and Only (2009)
A mother takes her two sons on an unusual road trip from New York to Pittsburgh, St. Louis and eventually Hollywood in her quest to find a man to take care of them all.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Own Love Song (2010)
A wheelchair-bound singer and her best friend embark on a roadtrip to Memphis.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCharlie & Boots (2009)
After a family tragedy, Charlie and his estranged son, Boots, try to put their differences aside and head off on the road trip of a lifetime - from regional Victoria to the Cape York Peninsula - they overcome many challenges to reach their dream - to fish off the northernmost tip of Australia.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSoul Kitchen (2009)
In Hamburg, German-Greek chef Zinos unknowingly disturbs the peace in his locals-only restaurant by hiring a more talented chef.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUnpregnant (2020)
After discovering she can’t legally get an abortion in Missouri without her parents’ permission, teenager Veronica convinces her former best friend Bailey to take a road trip to Albuquerque to seek the procedure.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRoll Bounce (2005)
In the summer of 1978, a teenager and his group of friends face new challenges when their neighborhood roller-skating rink closes, forcing them to visit a different rink.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEzra (2024)
Stand-up comedian Max Bernal lives with his father Stan while struggling to co-parent his autistic son Ezra with his ex-wife. When forced to confront difficult decisions about their son's future, Max and Ezra embark on a cross-country road trip that has a transcendent impact on both their lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSix Pack (1982)
Stopping briefly in a small Texas town, an itinerant race car driver finds that his stock car, on a trailer behind his motor home, has just been quickly and expertly stripped. He chases down the miscreants, who turn out to be six orphan children. He has no recourse to the law, for the corrupt local sheriff takes most of the proceeds of their thievery in exchange for not putting them in an orphanage. They are charming rogues who are in turn charmed by him. Disliking their arrangement with the sheriff, they stow away with him, and he finds himself becoming a reluctant stepfather. Thanks to their enthusiasm and incredible mechanical know-how, he begins to make a name for himself on the racing circuit. But the sheriff doesn't take kindly to losing his extra income...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHead Full of Honey (2018)
A young girl tries to help her grandfather, who is suffering from Alzheimer’s, navigate his increasing forgetfulness, and ends up going on a remarkable adventure with him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLady Driver (2020)
When a rebellious teen embarks on a solo summer journey to connect with her roots, she finds herself in a new world, geared up for the ride of her life, and discovers she had the drive in her all along.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDirt (2018)
In search of a lifeline for his struggling off road racing team, a man takes on a young car thief looking for a second chance, but as their worlds collide, they must struggle to forge a successful alliance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSon of Rambow (2007)
Will is looking for an escape from his family when he encounters Lee, the school bully. Armed with a video camera and a copy of Rambo, Lee plans to make his own action-packed video epic.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTalhotBlond (2012)
Thomas Montgomery, a married father of two young daughters, gets seduced by the world of online gambling and chat rooms where a virtual romance and sexual obsession ultimately leads to the murder of an innocent man.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMama's Boy (2013)
Middle-aged cinephile and film projectionist Pera still lives with his mother - and best friend - Mara, in Belgrade. It's 1999 and when NATO bombs start raining down on Serbia, the two of them become refugees. After a surreal journey, they end up in New York, where Pera realizes that he can no longer do the old job he loved so much. While he and Mara were struggling to survive, the new age of digital projection was born. Then Pera stumbles upon some discarded projectors and his new mission in life becomes clear: he will travel around and show people the magic of Real Cinema - the magic that can only be created by celluoid, mechanical projectors, the silver screen and flickering light.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & comedy
Long Roads - Secret Love (1969)
Long-haul driver Hannes picks up a young hitchhiker, Herb, who had a falling-out with his parents after dropping out of college and now travels around doing odd jobs. After a series of adventures, they are joined by Johanna and her child, who missed their bus and need a ride to Berlin. Johanna has left her husband so that he can reflect on their broken relationship and both men gradually begin to fall in love with her.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & comedy
Aaltra (2004)
In this pitch black comedy the rivalry between two neighbors escalates into an all out war. Through a maintenance error on a tractor they both end up, paralyzed, in a wheelchair. It seems they are doomed to stay together. They no longer focus their rage on each other but on the manufacturer of the tractor, in Helsinki. So get ready for a hilarious wheelchair road movie.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDragging the Chain (2025)
While on the run, a young woman finds herself stranded at a mysterious, isolated petrol station. Haunted by her memories and a sinister stranger, she must confront the dark truths she’s been running from before they consume her completely.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Final Day (2024)
Yadira, a creative young Cuban girl, struggles packing on her final day home. Embarking on an immigration journey alone, her suitcase feels too small to carry everything her heart holds.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Hope Dealer (2024)
A door to door bible salesman is not who he seems to be.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Freedom (2017)
Nora walks out on her husband Philip and their two children without a word of explanation. She’s driven by an irresistible force. She wants to be free.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Smokey and the Bandit II (1980)
The Bandit goes on another cross-country run, transporting an elephant from Florida to Texas. And, once again, Sheriff Buford T. Justice is on his tail.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Third Eye (2001)
Michael is supposed to go to prison for 18 months, but escapes from the police officer. On the run, he meets Malika, who has also committed "stupid things." Together, they flee from the "third eye" of her mother, who, according to Malika, can see into the distance.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Journey (1992)
A young man living in a cold southern village in South America, decides to start a trip looking for his father. By doing this he discovers unexpected facts about his Latin American essence.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Whatever Happens Next?
The closest matches to Whatever Happens Next are Goodbye Berlin (2016), Kodachrome (2017) and Half Brothers (2020). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Whatever Happens Next?
Start with Goodbye Berlin (2016), the closest match to Whatever Happens Next.
What is the highest-rated movie like Whatever Happens Next?
Half Brothers (2020), rated 7.2/10 by 224 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Whatever Happens Next?
Dragging the Chain (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there German movies like Whatever Happens Next?
Yes: Goodbye Berlin (2016), Vielmachglas (2018) and Soul Kitchen (2009).
How are movies similar to Whatever Happens Next chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Whatever Happens Next, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.