Movies like The Orphanage (2019)
The best movies like The Orphanage (2019) are Teen Spirit (2019), Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould (1993) and Taking Sides (2002). If The Orphanage hooked you with its music and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedTrue Grit (1969)7.3/10 from 903 votes
- NewestBallistic (2026)Released 2026
Teen Spirit (2019)
A shy teenager living on the Isle of Wight dreams of pop stardom. With the help of an unlikely mentor, she enters a singing competition that will test her integrity, talent, and ambition.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould (1993)
A collection of vignettes highlighting different aspects of the life, work, and character of the acclaimed Canadian classical pianist.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTaking Sides (2002)
One of the most spectacular and renowned conductors of the 1930s, Wilhelm Furtwangler's reputation rivaled that of Toscanini's. After the war, he was investigated as part of the Allies' de-Nazification programme. In the bombed-out Berlin of the immediate post-war period, the Allies slowly bring law and order to bear on an occupied Germany. An American major is given the Furtwangler file, and is told to find everything he can and to prosecute the man ruthlessly. Tough and hard-nosed, Major Steve Arnold sets out to investigate a world of which he knows nothing.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Sound of Music Live! (2013)
The Sound of Music Live! is a television special that was originally broadcast by NBC on December 5, 2013. Produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, the special was an adaptation of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Broadway musical The Sound of Music, starring country singer Carrie Underwood as Maria von Trapp, performed and televised live from Grumman Studios in Bethpage, New York. Meron felt that if the telecast were successful, the concept could become "another kind of entertainment that can exist on TV." By her request, Underwood's casting as Maria was personally endorsed by Julie Andrews, who starred in the 1965 film.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSkin (2009)
Based on the true story of a black girl who was born to two white Afrikaner parents in South Africa during the apartheid era.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOn Fire (2023)
Inspired by true and harrowing events, an ordinary man finds his world suddenly torn apart as devastating wildfires rip through the surrounding countryside. With precious moments ticking by, he must flee with his son and pregnant wife if they have any hope of surviving the rapid forces of mother nature.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFort Bliss (2014)
After returning home from an extended tour in Afghanistan, a decorated U.S. Army medic and single mother struggles to rebuild her relationship with her young son.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI Am David (2003)
A 12-year-old boy manages to flee a Communist concentration camp on his own, through sheer will and determination. All he has in his possession is a loaf of bread, a letter to deliver to someone in Denmark, and a compass to help get him there.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGiant (2026)
Follows Prince Naseem Hamed from his humble beginnings on the tough working-class streets of Sheffield and his discovery by Ingle, himself a steel industry worker turned boxing trainer. Their unlikely partnership, Naz’s unorthodox style, cocky persona, and sheer dominance in the ring propelled them to the top of boxing’s elite and unprecedented levels of global superstardom, all in the face of the rampant Islamophobia and racism of ’80s and 90’s Britain.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBallistic (2026)
When a soldier's mother discovers the bullet that killed her son in Afghanistan was made at the factory where she works, she sets out on a path of revenge against those responsible.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies 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 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 thisAll Together Now (2020)
An optimistic, talented teen clings to a huge secret: she's homeless and living on a school bus. When tragedy strikes, can she learn to accept a helping hand?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTrue Grit (1969)
The murder of her father sends a teenage tomboy on a mission of 'justice', which involves avenging her father's death. She recruits a tough old marshal, 'Rooster' Cogburn because he has 'true grit', and a reputation of getting the job done.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies 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 · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCave Rescue (2019)
When a youth football team of 12 boys, aged 11-16, and their 25-year-old coach is trapped deep inside a cave in Northern Thailand, thousands of volunteers and soldiers from around the world unite in a race against time to find them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Caveman's Valentine (2001)
Romulus, a misunderstood musician turned recluse hiding from personal demons in a New York City cave, finds the frozen body of a young drifter in a tree. The authorities, including his police officer daughter, claim the death is accidental. Romulus is convinced the man was murdered by a prominent art photographer but how can he prove he's right when everyone thinks he's insane?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Parts You Lose (2019)
An unlikely friendship unfolds between a young deaf boy, Wesley, and a fugitive criminal who takes refuge in an abandoned barn on the family’s rural North Dakota farm.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Boy in the Woods (2023)
The remarkable true-life survival story of a Jewish boy hiding and being hunted in the forests of Nazi-occupied Eastern Europe, based on Maxwell Smart's memoir.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRiot in Cell Block 11 (1954)
A prisoner leads his counterparts in a protest for better living conditions which turns violent and ugly.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBallads of the Exodus (2020)
The life of Moses as told through the Book of Exodus, the imagination of a dying boy, and the ballads of his father.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & music
The Admiral: Roaring Currents (2014)
Admiral Yi Sun-sin faces a tough challenge when he is forced to defend his nation with just 13 battleships against 300 Japanese enemy ships in the Battle of Myeongryang.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKambakkht Ishq (2009)
Simrita, a doctor, performs her first surgery on Viraj, a man she hates. She soon realises that she accidentally left her watch inside his body and must do whatever it takes to save her career.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisNo Gods No Masters (2025)
The story unfolds in the winter of the year 1215. A mysterious stranger who has escaped from prison arrives in a tiny, remote village in the kingdom of France plagued by famine and leprosy, and ruled by an ageing lord, a former hero from the Crusades, Lord Ocam. Together with his horde of knights, Ocam abducts a young girl from the village in order to exert his droit du seigneur over her. A handful of villagers, backed up by The Stranger, attempt to release her, but they only have until nightfall…
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Ants (2004)
"Ants" follows the bus journey of 27 different passengers who each represent a different section of Indian society. They meet, move together, and a few even talk to each other, as they reach their respective destinations like a line of ants. Two of the passengers form a relationship, yet remain perfect strangers to each other until the very end.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Desires of the Heart (2015)
An Indian psychiatrist practicing in Savannah, Georgia begins a relationship with a local artist, only to be summoned home for an arranged marriage. As he weighs love against family expectations, he uncovers old secrets that may determine his future.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Olga (2004)
Based upon the true story of Olga Benário, the German-born wife of Brazilian communist leader Luís Carlos Prestes. During the dictatorship of Getúlio Vargas (1930-1945) she was arrested and sent to Nazi Germany, where she was put to death in a concentration camp. After World War II began, Vargas decided to uphold the Allies.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRed Zone (TBA)
"Red Zone" is an International Feature Film in English language created by the Award Winning Film Maker Sunil Babbar. It is based on Buddhism. The film reflects the mysterious life journey of a revered Buddhist Monk, who wishes to achieve the Buddhahood in his present life, but falls down when a mysterious girl enters his life. Shot on the beautiful locales of Galle Fort in Sri Lanka, it presents the journey of two different persons belonging to two different Worlds, exhibiting their pains, agonies and their quest to achieve Buddhahood.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Taita Boves (2010)
TAITA BOVES chronicles a thirst for revenge that devastated a country. It tells the true story of Jose Tomás Boves, a cruel man who became a legend during the Venezuelan War of Independence, the most violent in the Americas. He went from seafarer to pirate, horse smuggler to prosperous merchant, prisoner to military chief. Spanish by birth, he spearheaded a grass roots troop of slaves, mulattoes, Indians and mestizos that crushed Simón Bolívar and his patriot army. Respectfully referred to as "Taita" by them, he fought for the underprivileged and the poorest of the poor, and curtailed three centuries of order in this colonial region. This film is about his passions and power, his loves and misadventures, and a bloody saga that rocked Venezuela.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
With A Kiss I Die (2018)
When Juliet Capulet (of Shakespearean fame) is plucked from death and turned into a vampire, she is forced to live all eternity without her sweet Romeo. Now, 800 years later, Juliet meets a young woman who captures her heart again and teaches her that love and loss are all a part of life, and that a life without love is no life at all.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Orphanage?
The closest matches to The Orphanage are Teen Spirit (2019), Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould (1993) and Taking Sides (2002). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Orphanage?
Start with Teen Spirit (2019), the closest match to The Orphanage.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Orphanage?
True Grit (1969), rated 7.3/10 by 903 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Orphanage?
Ballistic (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to The Orphanage chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Orphanage, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.