Movies like The Reading Boy (2012)
The best movies like The Reading Boy (2012) are Skater Girl (2021), Where the Red Fern Grows (1974) and Where the Red Fern Grows (2003). If The Reading Boy 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 ratedWhisper of the Heart (1995)7.9/10 from 2,401 votes
- NewestTut Wuri Handayani (2026)Released 2026
- In ChineseThe Secret of the Magic Gourd (2007)Also in Chinese
Skater Girl (2021)
Prerna, a teenager growing up in rural India, comes of age when she’s introduced to the sport of skateboarding. As a result, she has to fight the odds to follow her dreams and compete in the national championship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWhere the Red Fern Grows (1974)
Billy Coleman works hard and saves his earnings for two years to achieve his dream of buying two red-bone coonhound pups. He develops a new trust in life as he faces overwhelming challenges in adventure and tragedy roaming the river bottoms of Cherokee country with his dogs, Old Dan and Little Ann.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhere the Red Fern Grows (2003)
Set in the Ozark Mountains during the Great Depression, Billy Coleman works hard and saves his earnings for 2 years to achieve his dream of buying two coonhound pups. He develops a new trust in God as he faces overwhelming challenges in adventure and tragedy roaming the river bottoms of Cherokee country with "Old Dan" and "Little Ann."
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI Believe (2019)
A 9 year old boy experiences God's power in a supernatural way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFlicka (2006)
Katy McLaughlin desires to work on her family's mountainside horse ranch, although her father insists she finish boarding school. Katy finds a mustang in the hills near her ranch. The headstrong 16 year old then sets her mind to tame a mustang and prove to her father she can run the ranch. But when tragedy happens, it will take all the love and strength the family can muster to restore hope.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGreyfriars Bobby (1961)
In Scotland 1865, An old shepherd and his little Skye terrier go to Edinburgh. But when the shepherd dies of pneumonia, the dog remains faithful to his master, refuses to be adopted by anyone, and takes to sleeping on his master's grave in the Greyfriars kirkyard, despite a caretaker with a "no dogs" rule. And when Bobby is taken up for being unlicensed, it's up to the children of Edinburgh and the Lord Provost to decide what's to be done.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHeidi (2005)
Swiss girl Adelheid 'Heidi' is orphaned young. Aunt Detie brings her to grandpa Alp and his wife, who live isolated in the Alps since his murder charge. Heidi soon takes to the wild country, especially accompanying young goatherd Peter. Grandpa refuses to send her to school in the city, but aunt Detie returns and forces him to give in. She's sent to a posh lady in Frankfurt, where she'll be a companion for crippled daughter Clara after school hours.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLittle Lord Fauntleroy (1980)
Young Cedric Errol and his widowed mother live in genteel poverty in 1880s Brooklyn after the death of his father. Cedric's grandfather, the Earl of Dorincourt, has long ago disowned his son for marrying an American. But after the death of the Earl's remaining son, he decides to accept Cedric as his heir.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Secret of the Magic Gourd (2007)
When schoolboy Wang Bao discovers a magical gourd that can instantly grant his every wish, the awkward child suddenly becomes a hero amongst his curious classmates. When the gourd proves more of a burden than a blessing and the boy decides to get rid of it, he quickly discovers that's easier said than done.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Second Chance (2011)
A young girl and her coach overcome adversity to make their way into the National Australian Gymnastics Squad.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFar from Home: The Adventures of Yellow Dog (1995)
Teenager Angus adopts a stray dog and names him Yellow. Several days later, while travelling along the coast of British Columbia with Angus's father, John, the boy and dog become stranded when turbulent waters capsize their boat. Angus's parents relentlessly badger rescue teams. Angus, schooled by his father in wilderness survival skills, and assisted by the intelligent Yellow Dog, tries to attract rescuers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAn American Girl: McKenna Shoots for the Stars (2012)
A young girl struggles to maintain her school grades while competing as a gymnast.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEinstein and Einstein (2018)
A 13-year-old girl deals with the issues brought about by her family's high-priced son.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Truth About Emanuel (2013)
A troubled young woman becomes obsessed with her mysterious new neighbor, who bears a striking resemblance to the girl's dead mother.
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 thisA Dry White Season (1989)
During the 1976 Soweto uprising, a white school teacher's life and values are threatened when he asks questions about the death of a young black boy who died in police custody.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEmbattled (2020)
The eldest son of a ruthlessly tough MMA champion must fight his way out of the abusive cycle his father has continued.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKaili Blues (2016)
Chen Sheng goes off in search of his nephew who has been abandoned by his father. Along the way, he encounters numerous people from his past and also those from his future.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRemember (2015)
With the aid of a fellow Auschwitz survivor and a hand-written letter, an elderly man with dementia goes in search of the person responsible for the death of his family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlack Dog (2024)
Released from jail, Lang returns to his hometown in Northwest China. As part of a dog patrol tasked with clearing stray dogs before the 2008 Olympics, he bonds with a black stray. The two lonely souls embark on a new journey together.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStip & Pensil (2017)
Toni, Aghi, Bubu, and Saras get the task of making essays. They create a free school for street children but they chose to earn money than learn.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & family
Underdogs (2008)
In Brunnenberg prison for men, the new warden introduces a revolutionary convict re-socializing project: training guide dogs for the blind. The perks make all convicts volunteer for only seven slots. Except burly macho Moskowitch 'Mosk', who cares only for the manly work out contest. The warden blackmails him, he can only do the contest if his assigned pup passes the first test. All dogs must pass or the project is halted. Unlike the others, Mosk only starts caring for his canine when it gets sick.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & family
My Teacher Is a Thug (2017)
Jia Tianxiong (Li Nanxing) is a gambler and addicted to drinking. He was asked to do a mission to spy on someone and disguised himself as a teacher in SCP school. He met Zeng Kaixin (Bonnie Loo), a teacher in the school. But, on Kaixin's birthday, her foster father told her that he is not her biological father. Kaixin was devastated and felt angry with her biological father for not reuniting with her and her mother who had passed away. Will Kaixin ever find her biological father?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & family
Whisper of the Heart (1995)
Shizuku lives a simple life, dominated by her love for stories and writing. One day she notices that all the library books she has have been previously checked out by the same person: "Seiji Amasawa."
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & family
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisHoshiar Singh (2025)
Denied education for being 'unfit', Hoshiar Singh later seeks to become a teacher. The system throws obstacles at him, leading him to create an innovative teaching approach and lifestyle.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Die Klasse von '99 - Schule war gestern, Leben ist jetzt (2003)
The story of a group of contemporary young people, growing up in well-to-do small-town
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Four on Eleven : The Fading Glory Of Parsi Cricket (2025)
The Parsi Community has inked an incredible mark in Cricket, with a rich and storied legacy dating back to the early days of Cricket in India. Parsi Cricketers played a pioneering role in nurturing and popularising the game, producing some iconic cricketers. However, over time, the Parsi Community's influence on the sport has gradually declined, reflecting broader changes. While their contributions remain essential to the history of Indian cricket, the community's active participation on the field has diminished. But, is there still hope left?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
To Sir, with Love (1967)
A British Guianese engineer starts a job as a high school teacher in London’s East End, where his uninterested and delinquent pupils are in desperate need of attention and care.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTut Wuri Handayani (2026)
A high-achieving student attempts to expose violence at his school during a child-friendly evaluation, but is then psychologically pressured by a corrupt religious studies teacher trying to protect the institution’s reputation. Caught in a manipulative educational system, the student is faced with an agonising moral dilemma: should he save his academic future or sacrifice his moral integrity?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like The Reading Boy and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Reading Boy?
The closest matches to The Reading Boy are Skater Girl (2021), Where the Red Fern Grows (1974) and Where the Red Fern Grows (2003). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Reading Boy?
Start with Skater Girl (2021), the closest match to The Reading Boy.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Reading Boy?
Whisper of the Heart (1995), rated 7.9/10 by 2,401 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Reading Boy?
Tut Wuri Handayani (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Chinese movies like The Reading Boy?
Yes: The Secret of the Magic Gourd (2007), Einstein and Einstein (2018) and Kaili Blues (2016).
How are movies similar to The Reading Boy chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Reading Boy, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.