Movies like Open Seas (2018)
The best movies like Open Seas (2018) are Boy Erased (2018), Soldier of Orange (1977) and Wonderstruck (2017). If Open Seas hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedGiant Little Ones (2019)7.1/10 from 317 votes
- NewestOnly Good Things (2025)Released 2025
Boy Erased (2018)
Jared, the son of a Baptist pastor in a small American town, is outed to his parents at age 19. Jared is faced with an ultimatum: attend a gay conversion therapy program – or be permanently exiled and shunned by his family, friends, and faith.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSoldier of Orange (1977)
The lives of Erik Lanshof and five of his closest friends take different paths when the German army invades the Netherlands in 1940: fight and resistance, fear and resignation, collaboration and high treason.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWonderstruck (2017)
The story of a young boy in the Midwest is told simultaneously with a tale about a young girl in New York from fifty years ago as they both seek the same mysterious connection.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Giver (2014)
In a seemingly perfect community, without war, pain, suffering, differences or choice, a young boy is chosen to learn from an elderly man about the true pain and pleasure of the "real" world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (1972)
Middle-aged widow Beatrice Hunsdorfer and her daughters Ruth and Matilda are struggling to survive in a society they barely understand. Beatrice dreams of opening an elegant tea room but does not have the wherewithal to achieve her lofty goal. Epileptic Ruth is a rebellious adolescent, while shy but highly intelligent and idealistic Matilda seeks solace in her pets and school projects, including one designed to show how small amounts of radium affect marigolds.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPassing (2021)
In 1920s New York City, a Black woman finds her world upended when her life becomes intertwined with a former childhood friend who's passing as white.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWinged Creatures (2009)
A psychotic man opens fire in a diner, murdering numerous people before killing himself. The survivors struggle in different ways following this horrendous event: a doctor doubts his own instincts and elects to use an experimental medical procedure on his wife, while a gambler believes he's on a lucky streak. A waitress begins engaging in promiscuous sex, and a young girl whose father is among the dead gains unexpected fame.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe True Adventures of Wolfboy (2019)
Follows a young boy who runs away from home in the search of his estranged mother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisMy Salinger Year (2020)
A college grad takes a clerical job working for the literary agent of the renowned, reclusive writer J.D. Salinger.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHot Milk (2025)
Rose and her daughter Sofia travel to the Spanish seaside town of Almería to consult with the shamanic Dr. Gomez, a physician who could possibly hold the cure to Rose’s mystery illness, which has left her bound to a wheelchair. But in the sultry atmosphere of this sun-bleached town Sofia, who has been trapped by her mother’s illness all her life, finally starts to shed her inhibitions, enticed by the persuasive charms of enigmatic traveller Ingrid.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisAdopt a Highway (2019)
Russ Millings has just been released from prison after serving 21 years for a 3rd strike conviction for possessing an ounce of marijuana. As he tries to adapt to a world he doesn’t recognize – including trying to learn how to use the internet – he finds an abandoned baby in a dumpster behind the fast food restaurant where he works as a dishwasher. Unsure of what to do, and caught between impulses of kindness and panic, Russ soon realizes this could be his chance at redemption.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKiller's Kiss (1955)
Davey Gordon, a New York City boxer at the end of his career, falls for dancer Gloria Price. However, their budding relationship is interrupted by Gloria's violent boss, Vincent Rapallo, who has eyes for Gloria. The two decide to skip town, but before they can, Vincent and his thugs abduct Gloria, and Davey is forced to search for her among the most squalid corners of the city, with his enemy hiding in the shadows.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Girl in the Book (2015)
The story of a young writer's transformation when her past invades her present.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Sound of Silence (2019)
A successful "house tuner" in New York City, who calibrates the sound in people's homes in order to adjust their moods, meets a client with a problem he can't solve.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisCome Sunday (2018)
Evangelist Carlton Pearson is ostracized by his church for preaching that there is no Hell.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisHomeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story (2003)
Based on a true story. Liz Murray is a young girl who is taken care of by her loving, but drug-addicted parents. Liz becomes homeless at 15 and after a tragedy comes upon her, she begins her work to finish high school.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGiant Little Ones (2019)
Two popular teen boys, best friends since childhood, discover their lives, families, and girlfriends dramatically upended after an unexpected incident occurs on the night of a 17th birthday party.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Happy Prince (2018)
In 1895, Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) was the most famous writer in London, and Bosie Douglas, son of the notorious Marquess of Queensberry, was his lover. Accused and convicted of gross indecency, he was imprisoned for two years and subjected to hard labor. Once free, he abandons England to live in France, where he will spend his last years, haunted by memories of the past, poverty and immense sadness.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHoly Lands (2019)
When lapsed Jew and former cardiologist Harry suddenly decides to spend his retirement as a pig farmer in Nazareth, Israel, the move deeply shocks his family and his new neighbours. Back in New York, Harry’s ex-wife Monica is trying to manage the lives of their adult children, Annabelle and David, as well as her own.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Detective (1968)
New York City Police detective Joe Leland investigates the grisly murder of Teddy Leikman, the gay son of a politically influential department store owner. While investigating, he discovers links to official corruption in NYC in this drama that delves into a world of sex and drugs, homophobia, homosexuality and bisexuality.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisOzon: Remastered & Uncut (2022)
He thrilled you with 'Swimming Pool', tickled you with '8 Women' and beguiled you with 'Young and Beautiful'. Dive into the the erotic twists and transgressive turns of the early short films of auteur director François Ozon. The 5 short films are: A Summer Dress [Une robe d'été] (1996); X2000 (1998); Truth or Dare [Action vérité] (1994); See the Sea [Regarde la mer] (1997); Little Death [La petite mort] (1995).
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Only Good Things (2025)
Catalão, Brazil, 1984. The rural region of Batalha dos Neves is made up of large crop pastures, a few farms and divided in half by the São Marcos River. Antonio lives alone and isolated taking care of his small farm until the day he encounters Marcelo, a lonely motorcycler who suffers an accident crossing the region. Antonio takes care of Marcelo’s wounds. The two fall in love and live a story that transforms, destabilizes, and causes ruptures in each of them.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Gay Agenda 26 (2024)
In this anthology of shorts, the phrase “Gay Agenda” is reclaimed from the religious right and transformed into a celebration of gay culture. Sit back and enjoy “The Carer,” “Into the Storm,” and “Floating Melon.”
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Vigil (For Kurt Cobain) (1998)
A heartfelt coming of age film for a displaced generation. Following Kurt Cobain’s suicide in 1994, a group of twentysomethings leave Lethbridge, Alberta on a journey to join the vigil for him in Seattle, learning about life, love and death along the way.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Remains (2013)
Itamar and Thomas share a bed, walls, an apartment and electricity bills. Thomas commands, manages, and criticizes; Itamar is silent and listens. Between the apartment walls, frustration and loneliness unfold.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Pink Ulysses (1990)
A homoerotic exploration of the Odyssey mixing black and white, color, and old film clips.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Skipping Stones (2017)
After trying his luck in Berlin, Mitja returns to Slovenia where he is greeted by his boyfriend Bojan. The reunion turns out to be less than ideal as Mitja struggles to tell Bojan a secret that could cost him their relationship. But before he finds the right moment, things quickly get out of hand.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
A Stranger to Myself (2017)
Ben satisfies his longing for closeness and love with strange men and sex dates. But every time he feels empty. How can he break that circle?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Henry Ford's War on Jews and the Legal Battles Against Hate Speech (TBA)
The film will tell the story of the campaign of antisemitism waged by automotive pioneer Henry Ford throughout the 1920s. It was in 1925 that Aaron Sapiro, a self-made lawyer and activist, sued Ford for libel. After a dramatic court case that gripped the nation, Sapiro forced Ford to shut down his antisemitic newspaper, The Dearborn Independent, and apologize publicly to the Jewish people.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Undercurrent (TBA)
A young man recently released from prison attempts to rebuild his life after the death of his mother.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Open Seas?
The closest matches to Open Seas are Boy Erased (2018), Soldier of Orange (1977) and Wonderstruck (2017). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Open Seas?
Start with Boy Erased (2018), the closest match to Open Seas.
What is the highest-rated movie like Open Seas?
Giant Little Ones (2019), rated 7.1/10 by 317 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Open Seas?
Only Good Things (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to Open Seas chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Open Seas, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.