Movies like Little Johnny Jones (1980)
The best movies like Little Johnny Jones (1980) are Secretariat (2010), 50 to 1 (2014) and The Set-Up (1949). If Little Johnny Jones hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Sting (1973)8.0/10 from 3,183 votes
- NewestHamilton (2025)Released 2025
Secretariat (2010)
Housewife and mother Penny Chenery agrees to take over her ailing father's Virginia-based Meadow Stables, despite her lack of horse-racing knowledge. Against all odds, Chenery - with the help of veteran trainer Lucien Laurin - manages to navigate the male-dominated business, ultimately fostering the first Triple Crown winner in 25 years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like this50 to 1 (2014)
A misfit group of New Mexico cowboys find themselves on the journey of a lifetime when they learn their crooked-footed racehorse qualifies to run in the Kentucky Derby. Based on the true story of Mine That Bird, the cowboys must overcome impossible odds even before they reach Churchill Downs and the land of Kentucky's blue bloods.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Set-Up (1949)
Expecting the usual loss, a boxing manager takes bribes from a betting gangster without telling his fighter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIndiscreet (1958)
Anna Kalman is an accomplished actress who has given up hope of finding the man of her dreams. While talking about this subject with her sister, in walks Philip Adams and she realizes that this is the charming, smart, and handsome man she has been waiting for.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Grifters (1990)
A small-time conman has his loyalties torn between his estranged mother and his new girlfriend, both of whom are high-stakes grifters with their own angles to play.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNight and the City (1950)
Londoner Harry Fabian is a second-rate con man looking for an angle. After years of putting up with Harry's schemes, his girlfriend, Mary, becomes fed up when he taps her for yet another loan.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Sting (1973)
A novice con man teams up with an acknowledged master to avenge the murder of a mutual friend by pulling off the ultimate big con and swindling a fortune from a big-time mobster.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisHamilton (2025)
Presenting the tale of American founding father Alexander Hamilton, this filmed version of the original Broadway smash hit is the story of America then, told by America now.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRide Like a Girl (2019)
The story of Michelle Payne, the first female jockey to win the Melbourne Cup.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAnna Karenina (2012)
In Imperial Russia, Anna, wife of the officer Karenin, goes to Moscow to visit her brother. On the way, she meets charming cavalry officer Vronsky, to whom she's immediately attracted. But in St. Petersburg’s high society, a relationship like this could destroy a woman’s reputation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBody and Soul (1947)
Charley Davis, against the wishes of his mother, becomes a boxer. As he becomes more successful the fighter becomes surrounded by shady characters, including an unethical promoter named Roberts, who tempt the man with a number of vices. Charley finds himself faced with increasingly difficult choices.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSalvable (2025)
When a battered boxer past his prime finds his dreams and his relationships on the ropes, he falls back in with a dangerous crowd and has to take the biggest swing of his life to reclaim his hope and his family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Gentlemen (2020)
American expat Mickey Pearson has built a highly profitable marijuana empire in London. When word gets out that he’s looking to cash out of the business forever it triggers plots, schemes, bribery and blackmail in an attempt to steal his domain out from under him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSeabiscuit (2003)
True story of the undersized Depression-era racehorse whose victories lifted not only the spirits of the team behind it but also those of their nation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOscar (1991)
Angelo "Snaps" Provolone made his dying father a promise on his deathbed: he would leave the world of crime and become an honest businessman. Despite having no experience in making money in a legal fashion, Snaps sets about to keep his promise.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Tall T (1957)
Pat Brennan's luck is about to go from bad to worse; after gambling his horse away, he gets a ride from Willard and Doretta Mims. However, their stagecoach is hijacked by a trio of merciless bandits, led by ruthless Frank Usher. As Usher holds the passengers hostage, Brennan falls in love with Doretta and develops a risky plan to free himself and the Mimses, leading to a bloody final standoff.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAnna Karenina (1948)
In Imperial Russia, Anna, wife of the officer Karenin, goes to Moscow to visit her brother. On the way, she meets charming cavalry officer Vronsky, to whom she's immediately attracted— but in St. Petersburg’s high society, a relationship like this could destroy a woman’s reputation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRobbery (1967)
In this fictionalised account of the Great Train Robbery, career criminal Paul Clifton plans an audacious crime: the robbery of a mail train carrying millions in cash.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLittle Miss Marker (1980)
Sorrowful Jones is a cheap bookie in the 1930s. When a gambler leaves his daughter as a marker for a bet, he gets stuck with her. His life changes a great deal with her arrival and he finds sudden love for a woman also involved in gambling operations.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Westerner (1940)
Drifter Cole Harden is accused of stealing a horse and faces hanging by self-appointed Judge Roy Bean, but Harden manages to talk his way out of it by claiming to be a friend of stage star Lillie Langtry, with whom the judge is obsessed, even though he has never met her. Tensions rise when Harden comes to the defense of a group of struggling homesteaders who Judge Bean is trying to drive away.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like this
Like Little Johnny Jones and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Little Johnny Jones?
The closest matches to Little Johnny Jones are Secretariat (2010), 50 to 1 (2014) and The Set-Up (1949). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Little Johnny Jones?
Start with Secretariat (2010), the closest match to Little Johnny Jones.
What is the highest-rated movie like Little Johnny Jones?
The Sting (1973), rated 8.0/10 by 3,183 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Little Johnny Jones?
Hamilton (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Little Johnny Jones?
Yes: Secretariat (2010), 50 to 1 (2014) and The Set-Up (1949).
How are movies similar to Little Johnny Jones chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Little Johnny Jones, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.