Movies like The First Time (1978)
The best movies like The First Time (1978) are The Poker House (2008), From Straight A's to XXX (2017) and Woman of the Hour (2024). If The First Time hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedGran Torino (2008)8.0/10 from 11,974 votes
- NewestWoman of the Hour (2024)Released 2024
The Poker House (2008)
Agnes and her two sisters struggle through a day in a home overrun by gamblers, thieves, and johns.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFrom Straight A's to XXX (2017)
When a change of circumstances leaves Miriam unable to pay her college tuition, she makes a surprising decision: to start performing in adult films, using the pseudonym Belle Knox. Miriam lies to her family and her friends at school, keeping her double life a secret. But soon rumours spread and Miriam becomes the subject of vicious online attacks and unwanted attention. Miriam fights back: she talks to the media, saying her new line of work empowers her as a feminist. But her confident stand has unintended consequences. Miriam is shunned by her conservative family and her colleagues in the adult film world. One impulsive decision has quickly spiralled out of control - and Miriam's problems are just beginning.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisWoman of the Hour (2024)
An aspiring actress crosses paths with a prolific serial killer in '70s LA when they're cast on an episode of "The Dating Game."
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStraw Dogs (2011)
A young couple moves to a quaint southern town. Soon their perfect getaway turns out to become a living hell when dark secrets and lethal passions spiral out of control.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisMay December (2023)
Twenty years after their notorious tabloid romance gripped the nation, a married couple buckles under the pressure when an actress arrives to do research for a film about their past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDogville (2003)
A woman on the run from the mob is reluctantly accepted in a small Colorado community in exchange for labor, but when a search visits the town, she learns that their support has a price.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCareful What You Wish For (2015)
A guy gets more than he bargained for after entering into an affair with the wife of an investment banker. Soon, a suspicious death and substantial life insurance policy embroil him in a scandal.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSergeant Rutledge (1960)
Respected black cavalry Sergeant Brax Rutledge stands court-martial for raping and killing a white woman and murdering her father, his superior officer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSpeak (2004)
Freshman high-school student Melinda has refused to speak ever since she called the cops on a popular summer party. With her old friends snubbing her for being a rat, and her parents too busy to notice her troubles, she folds into herself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPitfall (1948)
An insurance man wishing for a more exciting life becomes wrapped up in the affairs of an imprisoned embezzler, his model girlfriend, and a violent private investigator.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTape (2001)
Jon, a first-time filmmaker, finds himself in Lansing, Michigan to present his film at a local film festival. Vince, his high school friend who is now a volunteer fireman and small-time drug dealer, also visits the town to support Jon on his big day, or so it seems. After a raucous hello and much backslapping, it appears that there is an undercurrent of tension in the air.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFish Tank (2009)
Fifteen-year-old Mia is in a constant state of war with her family and the world around her. When she meets her party-girl mother’s charming new boyfriend Connor, she is amazed to find he returns her attention, and believes he might help her start to make sense of her life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDouble Mommy (2016)
After taking a break for the summer before their senior year, Ryan and Jess rekindle their relationship, and find out that Jess is pregnant with twins. When Ryan's mother demands a paternity test, they find out that Ryan is only the father of one baby... The other father is Ryan's best friend Brent, who Ryan discovers date-raped Jess at a party over the summer. With college recruiters and an overbearing father looming over Brent's head, he will stop at nothing to make sure that he clears his name--even if it means getting rid of Jess and her babies!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThirteen (2003)
When 13-year-old Tracy befriends Evie, the most popular girl in school, her life is turned upside down as Evie introduces her to a world of sex, drugs, and money. But it isn’t long before Tracy’s new lifestyle begins to take a heavy toll on her and her family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Burning Bed (1984)
An abused battered wife has had enough of husband beating up on her. Everywhere she turns for help, there's not much anyone will do. After he rapes her one night, she sets the bed on fire with him in it asleep.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisXiu Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl (1998)
Young teen girl Xiu Xiu is sent away to a remote corner of the Sichuan steppes for manual labor in 1975 (sending young people to there was a part of Cultural Revolution in China). A year later, she agrees to go to even more remote spot with a Tibetan saddle tramp Lao Jin to learn horse herding.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMammal (2016)
After Margaret, a divorcée living in Dublin, loses her teenage son, she develops an unorthodox relationship with Joe, a homeless youth. Their tentative trust is threatened by his involvement with a violent gang and the escalation of her ex-husband's grieving rage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNymphomaniac: Vol. II (2013)
The continuation of Joe's sexually dictated life delves into the darker aspects of her adult life and what led to her being in Seligman's care.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLuckiest Girl Alive (2022)
A successful woman in New York City finds her life upended when she is forced to confront a dark truth that threatens to unravel her meticulously crafted life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things (2004)
Young Jeremiah lives in a stable environment with loving foster parents until the day his troubled mother, Sarah, returns to claim him. Jeremiah becomes swept up in his mother's dangerous world of drugs, seedy hotels, strip joints and revolving lovers. Salvation comes in the form of the boy's ultrareligious grandparents, but soon Jeremiah's mother returns. Maternal love binds the pair together on the road until Sarah's desperate and depraved lifestyle finally consumes her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisOnce Upon a Time in… Hollywood (2019)
Los Angeles, 1969. TV star Rick Dalton, a struggling actor specializing in westerns, and stuntman Cliff Booth, his best friend, try to survive in a constantly changing movie industry. Dalton is the neighbor of the young and promising actress and model Sharon Tate, who has just married the prestigious Polish director Roman Polanski…
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGe.hen'nah (TBA)
A drama set in a small rural town in Lebanon about Yvette who is past 30, unmarried, devoutly religious and still living with her parents. Today, she is preparing to go to a retreat. It's a dream come true for her. However, as the bus approaches, a fight breaks out between her parents. She tries to intercede, but her father's rage is overwhelming. Is she able to calm her father and go to the trip? How far would you go to protect your mother?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Redbelt (2008)
Martial artist Mike Terry lives by a strict code of no competitions, for he feels that such contests weaken fighters. After saving a famous action star from a brutal attack, Mike takes a job in the film industry. He soon finds his personal beliefs and integrity on the line as circumstances force him to participate in a prize fight.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBad Lieutenant (1992)
While investigating a young nun's rape, a corrupt New York City police detective, with a serious drug and gambling addiction, tries to change his ways and find forgiveness.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPerversion (2010)
Ryan McNamara has been beaten, abused, witnessed slaughter, and been subjected to sexual torture. But that's nothing compared to what Ryan is about to do.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
A Woman in Berlin (2008)
A woman tries to survive the invasion of Berlin by the Soviet troops during the last days of World War II.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAn American Crime (2007)
The true story of suburban housewife Gertrude Baniszewski, who kept a teenage girl locked in the basement of her Indiana home during the 1960s.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Husband for Anna (1953)
Anna Zaccheo is a beautiful young woman from a working class Neapolitan family. Her main concern is to find herself a suitable husband. She meets a young sailor Andrea one day and gets engaged to him. But while she is waiting for Andrea to return from the navy she gets raped by her boss. Her life suddenly takes a downward spiral.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Gran Torino (2008)
Disgruntled Korean War veteran Walt Kowalski sets out to reform his neighbor, Thao Lor, a Hmong teenager who tried to steal Kowalski's prized possession: a 1972 Gran Torino.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The First Time?
The closest matches to The First Time are The Poker House (2008), From Straight A's to XXX (2017) and Woman of the Hour (2024). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The First Time?
Start with The Poker House (2008), the closest match to The First Time.
What is the highest-rated movie like The First Time?
Gran Torino (2008), rated 8.0/10 by 11,974 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The First Time?
Woman of the Hour (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The First Time?
Yes: The Poker House (2008), From Straight A's to XXX (2017) and Woman of the Hour (2024).
How are movies similar to The First Time chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The First Time, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.