Movies like Marathon (2005)
The best movies like Marathon (2005) are A Mile in His Shoes (2011), The Unbreakable Boy (2025) and Ocean Heaven (2010). If Marathon hooked you with its drama and family, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedForrest Gump (1994)8.5/10 from 30,848 votes
- NewestTanvi the Great (2025)Released 2025
- In KoreanCheer Up, Mr. Lee (2019)Also in Korean
A Mile in His Shoes (2011)
Based on the book “The Legend of Mickey Tussler”, this film follows the story of eighteen-year-old Mickey Tussler, who lives on a farm with his father and mother and who has Asperger’s Syndrome, a form of autism. But he can throw apples at an amazing speed. When a chance meeting occurs with the baseball manager of the semi-pro team the River Rats, from Clayton, Ohio, Mickey gets a chance to pitch for the team and to prove to his father he can do more than live hidden away on the family farm, taking care of his pig Oscar.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & family
The Unbreakable Boy (2025)
When Scott and Teresa LeRette learn that their son Austin is both autistic and has brittle bone disease, they initially worry for their son’s future. But with Scott’s growing faith and Austin’s incredible spirit, they become 'unbreakable', finding joy, gratitude, and courage even in the most trying times.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both family & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisOcean Heaven (2010)
The story of a father's tireless love for his autistic son. A terminally ill father's attempt to teach his autistic son the necessary life skills to survive on his own before he passes away. It is also a poignant tribute to the infinite love that parents have for their children and their unending desire to take care and look after them to their best abilities, no matter the struggle, no matter the effort.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like this100 Meters (2016)
Based on the incredibly true story of a Spanish man with Multiple Sclerosis who tried to finish an Iron-Man: 3,8km swimming, 180km cycling and 42 running. And he was told that he could not make 100 meters.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTyson's Run (2022)
When fifteen-year-old Tyson attends public school for the first time, his life is changed forever. While helping his father clean up after the football team, Tyson befriends champion marathon runner Aklilu. Never letting his autism hold him back, Tyson becomes determined to run his first marathon in hopes of winning his father's approval. With the help of an unlikely friend and his parents, Tyson learns that with faith in yourself and the courage to take the first step, anything is possible.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Giant (2016)
A film about Rikard, age 30. He is autistic and severely disfigured. He lives in a home for disabled people. He was separated from his mother as a three-year-old, and this continues to torment him today. To deal with life's trials, Rikard escapes into a fantasy world in which he's a 50-meter-tall giant.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Temple Grandin (2010)
A biopic of Temple Grandin, an autistic American who has become one of the leading scientists in humane livestock handling.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Blind Side (2009)
The story of Michael Oher, a homeless and traumatized boy who became an All American football player and first round NFL draft pick with the help of a caring woman and her family.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMillion Dollar Arm (2014)
In a last-ditch effort to save his career, sports agent JB Bernstein dreams up a wild game plan to find Major League Baseball’s next great pitcher from a pool of cricket players in India. He soon discovers two young men who can throw a fastball but know nothing about the game of baseball. Or America. It’s an incredible and touching journey that will change them all — especially JB, who learns valuable lessons about teamwork, commitment and family.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTanvi the Great (2025)
Autistic young Tanvi Raina learns of her deceased Indian Army father's dream to salute the flag at Siachen Glacier. Despite barriers facing those neurodivergent in military service, she resolves to complete his mission.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Cheer Up, Mr. Lee (2019)
Chul-soo is a man with an intellectual disability. One day, Chul-soo finds out that a young girl, Saet-byul, who is in hospital is his daughter. And soon, Saet-byul sneaks out of the hospital and travels by herself to a faraway city for her friend's birthday. As Chul-soo accompanies Saet-byul's journey, friendship develops between the two.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & family
Without Limits (1998)
The life of renowned runner Steve Prefontaine and his relationship with legendary coach Bill Bowerman.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRain Man (1988)
When car dealer Charlie Babbitt learns that his estranged father has died, he returns home to Cincinnati, where he discovers that he has a savant older brother named Raymond and that his father's $3 million fortune is being left to the mental institution in which Raymond lives. Motivated by his father's money, Charlie checks Raymond out of the facility in order to return with him to Los Angeles. The brothers' cross-country trip ends up changing both their lives.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWonder (2017)
The story of August Pullman – a boy with facial differences – who enters fifth grade, attending a mainstream elementary school for the first time.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both family & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisAs One (2012)
A unified team representing the two Koreas competed at the 1991 Chiba International Table Tennis Championships. It was the first such sport team since the division of the Korean peninsula. The unified team won the group competition event, beating the front runner, China.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBig World (2024)
Liu Chunhe, suffering from cerebral palsy, bravely breaks through the shackles of body and mind to realize the dream stage for his grandmother, while trying to find the coordinates of his own life. After experiencing a summer transformation, he finally embarked on a new journey.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & family
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisOut of My Mind (2024)
Melody Brooks, a sixth grader with cerebral palsy, has a quick wit and a sharp mind, but because she is non-verbal and uses a wheelchair, she is not given the same opportunities as her classmates. When a young educator notices her student's untapped potential and Melody starts to participate in mainstream education, Melody shows that what she has to say is more important than how she says it.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Prince of Tennis (2006)
Twelve year old tennis prodigy, Ryoma Echizen attends the distinguished school of Seishun Academy Middle School with his eyes set on being on the regulars team of the tennis club, which the school is famous for.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (2011)
A year after his father's death, Oskar, a troubled young boy, discovers a mysterious key he believes was left for him by his father and embarks on a scavenger hunt to find the matching lock.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMolly (1999)
Molly McKay is a profoundly autistic twenty-something woman who has lived in an institution from a young age following her parents' death in a car accident. When the institution must close due to budget cuts, Molly is left in the care of her neurotypical, older brother, Buck McKay, an advertising executive and perennial bachelor. Buck forces her to undergo an experimental medical treatment, with unexpectedly drastic results.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisMy Name Is Khan (2010)
Rizwan Khan, a Muslim from the Borivali section of Mumbai, has Asperger's syndrome. He marries a Hindu single mother, Mandira, in San Francisco. After 9/11, Rizwan is detained by authorities at LAX who treat him as a terrorist because of his condition and his race.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisInvincible (2006)
Inspired by the true story of Vince Papale, a man with nothing to lose who ignored the staggering odds and made his dream come true. When the coach of Papale's beloved hometown football team hosted an unprecedented open tryout, the public consensus was that it was a waste of time – no one good enough to play professional football was going to be found this way.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisForrest Gump (1994)
A man with a low IQ has accomplished great things in his life and been present during significant historic events—in each case, far exceeding what anyone imagined he could do. But despite all he has achieved, his one true love eludes him.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Way Home (2002)
This is the story of a 7-year-old boy, Sang-woo, born and raised in the big city, and his mute grandmother, who has spent her whole life in a small rural village.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & family
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisI Am Sam (2001)
Sam, a neurodivergent man, has a daughter with a homeless woman who abandons them when they leave the hospital, leaving Sam to raise Lucy on his own. But as Lucy grows up, Sam's limitations as a parent start to become a problem and the authorities take her away. Sam convinces high-priced lawyer Rita to take his case pro bono and in turn teaches her the value of love and family.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Lighthouse of the Orcas (2016)
A mother travels to Patagonia with her autistic son with the hope that a ranger and a pod of wild orcas can help him find an emotional connection.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisChariots of Fire (1981)
In the class-obsessed and religiously divided UK of the early 1920s, two determined young runners train for the 1924 Paris Olympics. Eric Liddell, a devout Christian born to Scottish missionaries in China, sees running as part of his worship of God's glory and refuses to train or compete on the Sabbath. Harold Abrahams overcomes anti-Semitism and class bias, but neglects his beloved sweetheart in his single-minded quest.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Black Balloon (2008)
Thomas is turning 16. His dad's in the army and they've just moved to a town in New South Wales; his mom is pregnant; his older brother, Charlie, who's autistic, has his own adolescent sexual issues. Thomas finds Charlie an embarrassment in public, so when Thomas is attracted to Jackie, a girl in his swim class, Charlie presents any number of obstacles when she drops by their house, when the three of them go for a walk, and during a family birthday dinner. Can Thomas find a way to enter the world of teen romance and still be his brother's keeper, or is Charlie's disability going to prove more than Thomas can handle?
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAfter Thomas (2006)
Television film adaptation of the true story ("A Friend Like Henry" by Nuala Gardner) of a young autistic boy and his extraordinary friendship with his dog, Thomas.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
The Cure (1995)
Erik, a loner, finds a friend in Dexter, an eleven-year-old boy with AIDS. They vow to find a cure for AIDS together and save Dexter's life in an eventful summer.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & family
Absolute CinemaMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Marathon?
The closest matches to Marathon are A Mile in His Shoes (2011), The Unbreakable Boy (2025) and Ocean Heaven (2010). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Marathon?
People who watched Marathon most often go on to A Mile in His Shoes (2011), The Unbreakable Boy (2025) and Ocean Heaven (2010).
What is the highest-rated movie like Marathon?
Forrest Gump (1994), rated 8.5/10 by 30,848 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Marathon?
Tanvi the Great (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Korean movies like Marathon?
Yes: Cheer Up, Mr. Lee (2019), As One (2012) and The Way Home (2002).
How are movies similar to Marathon chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Marathon, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.