Movies like The Hot Tears (1976)
The best movies like The Hot Tears (1976) are Fourteen Hours (1951), A Patch of Blue (1965) and The Reluctant Nanny (2015). If The Hot Tears hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedBird (2024)7.2/10 from 250 votes
- NewestDoing Life (2026)Released 2026
Fourteen Hours (1951)
A young man, morally destroyed by his parents not loving him and by the fear of being not capable to make his girlfriend happy, rises on the ledge of a building with the intention of committing suicide. A policeman makes every effort to argue him out of it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Patch of Blue (1965)
A blind, uneducated white girl is befriended by a black man, who becomes determined to help her escape her impoverished and abusive home life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Reluctant Nanny (2015)
IT guru Libby gets more than she bargained for when, after losing her job, she reluctantly agrees to help a cop with fostering two abandoned kids.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRocks (2020)
15-year-old Rocks fears that she and her little brother Emmanuel will be taken into care and forced apart if anyone finds out that their mother has left them. Against all odds, and with the help of her loyal friends, she evades the authorities and navigates the most defining days of her young life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBird (2024)
12-year-old Bailey lives with her single dad Bug and brother Hunter in a squat in North Kent. Bug doesn’t have much time for his kids, and Bailey, who is approaching puberty, seeks attention and adventure elsewhere.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRosie (2019)
A mother strives to shield her young family from their new reality when their landlord sells the property and renders them homeless.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisYou're Not Alone (2020)
After the premature death of her estranged husband, Emma (Winter) regains custody of their young daughter Isla (Jones) and hopes to rebuild their relationship after many years apart. But when an evil entity begins to torment them, mother and daughter are forced to face the inexplicable presence that inhabits the walls of their new home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisMy Spy (2020)
A hardened CIA operative finds himself at the mercy of a precocious 9-year-old girl, having been sent undercover to surveil her family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete (2013)
Coming of age story about two inner city youths, who are left to fend for themselves over the summer after their mothers are taken away by the authorities.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies 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
SnoozefestMovies like thisWhat Maisie Knew (2013)
In New York City, six-year-old Maisie is caught in the middle of a bitter custody battle between her self-absorbed parents—an aging rock singer mother and a distracted art dealer father. As both quickly marry new partners to strengthen their legal standing, Maisie is shuttled back and forth in an endless game of emotional point-scoring. Yet amid the chaos and upheaval, Maisie begins to find true comfort and affection in her new step-parents.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Sleepover (2020)
Two siblings who discover their seemingly normal mom is a former thief in witness protection. Mom is forced to pull one last job, and the kids team up to rescue her over the course of an action-packed night.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPlease Don't Feed the Children (2025)
After a viral outbreak ravaged the country’s adult population, a group of orphans heads south in search of a new life, only to find themselves at the mercy of a deranged woman harboring a dangerous secret.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGimme Shelter (2013)
After running away from her abusive mother, a streetwise teen seeks refuge with her father, but he rejects her when he learns that she's pregnant.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDoing Life (2026)
A single mother and an incarcerated man forge an unlikely bond through heartfelt letters, unlocking a door to redemption, hope and love against all odds.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisSeptember (1987)
After a suicide attempt, Lane has moved into her country house to recuperate. Her best friend, Stephanie, has come to join her for the summer. Lane's mother, Diane, has recently arrived with her husband Lloyd, Lane's stepfather. Lane is close to two neighbors: Peter, and Howard. Howard is in love with Lane, Lane is in love with Peter, and Peter is in love with Stephanie.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMona Lisa and the Blood Moon (2022)
A young woman with psychokinetic powers breaks out of a Louisiana asylum and makes her way to New Orleans, where she falls into the city’s netherworld of misfits and miscreants.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisYou Can Count on Me (2000)
A single mother's life is thrown into turmoil after her struggling, rarely-seen younger brother returns to town.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDetective Story (1951)
Tells the story of one day in the lives of the various people who populate a police detective squad. An embittered cop, Det. Jim McLeod, leads a precinct of characters in their grim daily battle with the city's lowlife. The characters who pass through the precinct over the course of the day include a young petty embezzler, a pair of burglars, and a naive shoplifter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCase 39 (2009)
In her many years as a social worker, Emily Jenkins believes she has seen it all, until she meets 10-year-old Lilith and the girl's cruel parents. Emily's worst fears are confirmed when the parents try to harm the child, and so Emily assumes custody of Lilith while she looks for a foster family. However, Emily soon finds that dark forces surround the seemingly innocent girl, and the more she tries to protect Lilith, the more horrors she encounters.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Hot Tears?
The closest matches to The Hot Tears are Fourteen Hours (1951), A Patch of Blue (1965) and The Reluctant Nanny (2015). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Hot Tears?
Start with Fourteen Hours (1951), the closest match to The Hot Tears.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Hot Tears?
Bird (2024), rated 7.2/10 by 250 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Hot Tears?
Doing Life (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to The Hot Tears chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Hot Tears, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.