Movies like Waaris (1988)
The best movies like Waaris (1988) are Hurry Sundown (1967), The Damned Don't Cry (1950) and Each Dawn I Die (1939). If Waaris hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedCat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)7.6/10 from 879 votes
- NewestOmaha (2025)Released 2025
- In HindiHomebound (2025)Also in Hindi
Hurry Sundown (1967)
A ruthless Southern opportunist tries to buy his cousin's land, and when thwarted, brings several tragedies to the lives of his loved ones.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Damned Don't Cry (1950)
Fed up with her small-town marriage, a woman goes after the big time and gets mixed up with the mob.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEach Dawn I Die (1939)
A corrupt D.A. with governatorial ambitions is annoyed by an investigative reporter's criticism of his criminal activities and decides to frame the reporter for manslaughter in order to silence him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Strange Woman (1946)
In early 19th century New England, an unscrupulous woman uses her beauty and wits to seduce, deceive and control the men around her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHamlet (1948)
Winner of four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor, Sir Laurence Olivier’s Hamlet continues to be the most compelling version of Shakespeare’s beloved tragedy. Olivier is at his most inspired—both as director and as the melancholy Dane himself—as he breathes new life into the words of one of the world’s greatest dramatists.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWon't Back Down (2012)
Jamie Fitzpatrick and Nona Alberts are two women from opposites sides of the social and economic track, but they have one thing in common: a mission to fix their community's broken school and ensure a bright future for their children. The two women refuse to let any obstacles stand in their way as they battle a bureaucracy that's hopelessly mired in traditional thinking, and they seek to re-energize a faculty that has lost its passion for teaching.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhile the City Sleeps (1956)
Newspaper men compete against each other to find a serial killer dubbed "The Lipstick Killer".
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOmaha (2025)
A young girl and her brother are awoken by their father and loaded into the car on an early morning in 2008. As they road trip across the American West, she discovers the truth about their seemingly spontaneous journey.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Long, Hot Summer (1958)
Accused barn burner and conman Ben Quick arrives in a small Mississippi town and quickly ingratiates himself with its richest family, the Varners.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Christmas Shoes (2002)
Two separate stories mesh - in the first, a young music teacher, Maggie Andrews, begins dying of a heart condition and her son Nathan tries to get a pair of Christmas shoes for her before she dies. In the second, lawyer Robert Layton and his wife Kate are slowly drifting apart and the matter comes to a head during Christmas when Kate takes over for Maggie for the school choir.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUndercurrent (1946)
After a rapid engagement, a dowdy daughter of a chemist weds an industrialist, knowing little of his family or past. He transforms her into an elegant society wife, but becomes enraged whenever she asks about Michael, his mysterious long-lost brother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Asphalt Jungle (1950)
Recently paroled from prison, legendary burglar "Doc" Riedenschneider, with funding from Alonzo Emmerich, a crooked lawyer, gathers a small group of veteran criminals together in the Midwest for a big jewel heist.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBroken Lance (1954)
Tensions erupt within an Arizona cattle baron's household when his three sons vie for control of the ranch.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Last Bus (2021)
Widower Tom, on the recent passing of his wife Mary, uses his free bus pass to travel the length of Britain from John O'Groats in Caithness to Land's End in Cornwall, their shared birthplace, using only local buses. It's an incident-fuelled nostalgia trip and his encounters with local people make him a media phenomenon. Tom is totally unaware and to his surprise on arrival at Land’s End he’s greeted as a celebrity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMan in the Shadow (1957)
In a modern cow town, the powerful ranch owner’s henchmen kill a ranch hand, prompting the sheriff to investigate despite facing strong opposition. He finds an unlikely ally in the rancher's overprotected daughter, but their quest for justice puts them both in danger.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHomebound (2025)
Two childhood friends from a small North Indian village chase a police job that promises them the dignity they’ve long been denied. But as they inch closer to their dream, mounting desperation threatens the bond that holds them together.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGlengarry Glen Ross (1992)
An examination of the machinations behind the scenes at a real estate office. Unscrupulous salesmen try to hawk dubious real estate to suckers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Quiller Memorandum (1966)
After two British Secret Intelligence Service agents are murdered at the hands of a cryptic neo-Nazi group known as Phoenix, the suave agent Quiller is sent to Berlin to investigate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisCat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)
An alcoholic ex-football player drinks his days away, having failed to come to terms with his sexuality and his real feelings for his football buddy who died after an ambiguous accident. His wife is crucified by her desperation to make him desire her: but he resists the affections of his wife. His reunion with his father—who is dying of cancer—jogs a host of memories and revelations for both father and son.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMy Father's Shadow (2025)
Two young brothers explore Lagos with their estranged father during the 1993 Nigerian election crisis, witnessing both the city's magnitude and their father's daily struggles as political unrest threatens their journey home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAkeli Mat Jaiyo (1963)
A prince disguises himself as a common man to win the love of Seema, a middle-class woman. Complications arise when his true identity is revealed, testing their love and trust.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
III Smoking Barrels (2018)
A combination of three stories, each exploring a different stage in life - A CHILD involved in armed conflicts, a BOY in drug peddling and a MAN entangled in elephant poaching.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Mohabbatein (2000)
At a prestigious all-male university, three friends seek love outside of the school grounds; at the same time, a newly-hired music teacher seeks to befriend and loosen up the militantly strict headmaster.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAlmost Pyaar with DJ Mohabbat (2023)
In pursuit of forbidden love, two young couples from different worlds find their lives entangled as rebellion and intolerance collide in dual stories.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Uff! Yeh Mohabbat (1997)
St. George's College in Bombay has two sweethearts namely, Chiclet (Saddiya Siddiqui), and Raja (Abhishek Kapoor), until Raja sets his eyes on Sonia Verma (Twinkle Khanna).
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Sham Ghansham (1998)
Satyadev Singh lives with his wife, Ganga, and two sons, Sham and Ghansham, and their family leads a fairly comfortable life. Things turn for the worse for them when a new corrupt Collector named Bhim Singh enters their region. Satyadev is killed, and Ganga has to flee with her children away from this region, and from Bhim Singh. Years later, Sham and Ghansham have grown up and would like to avenge their father's death. Their quest takes them to Collector Bhim Singh and his men, who are ready to let history repeat itself, by killing the sons of Satyadev Singh.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Dulhan Ek Raat Ki (1967)
Arrogant son of a wealthy, blind woman, rapes his mother's nurse and abandons her. She gets pregnant but the child does not live, and she continues to live her life and follow up on her love life, only to face the past, and her "reformed" rapist.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Mehlon Ke Khwaab (1960)
After winning a lottery, Asha and Bela round up a holiday to find suitable husbands. But they end up being framed for stealing a precious necklace.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Pyaar Mein Kabhi Kabhi... (1999)
Siddhant recounts three months in his struggle to attain fame via the National Institute of Performing Arts and his close friendship with fellow-students: Baksh Bhargav, Radha, Ruby, KS, Ronnie, Hari, and new-comer Khushi. His attraction towards supermodel Roxy spurs him on to make a name for himself, while also maintaining an attachment to Khushi, who also has a secret admirer in this group. And the group's attempts to deal with the fact that one of them is HIV positive. - Written by rAjOo
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Aurat (1940)
Radha is a resolute mother, who strives hard against poverty and a lecherous money lender to feed her two sons who grew up with contrasting temperament.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like Waaris and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Waaris?
The closest matches to Waaris are Hurry Sundown (1967), The Damned Don't Cry (1950) and Each Dawn I Die (1939). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Waaris?
Start with Hurry Sundown (1967), the closest match to Waaris.
What is the highest-rated movie like Waaris?
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), rated 7.6/10 by 879 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Waaris?
Omaha (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Hindi movies like Waaris?
Yes: Homebound (2025), Akeli Mat Jaiyo (1963) and III Smoking Barrels (2018).
How are movies similar to Waaris chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Waaris, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.