Movies like The Newspaper (2020)
The best movies like The Newspaper (2020) are The River (1984), What Maisie Knew (2013) and Skin (2009). If The Newspaper hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedWhat Maisie Knew (2013)7.1/10 from 466 votes
- NewestAkhati (2026)Released 2026
The River (1984)
Tom and Mae Garvey are a Tennessee farming couple battling violent floods to save their land. In addition to natural disasters, the Garveys fight to stop a selfish land developer and a local corporation from foreclosing on their farm. While Mae stays at home to care for their children and tend to the crops, Tom finds work as a scab at a steel mill to preserve his family's property.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhat Maisie Knew (2013)
In New York City, six-year-old Maisie is caught in the middle of a bitter custody battle between her self-absorbed parents—an aging rock singer mother and a distracted art dealer father. As both quickly marry new partners to strengthen their legal standing, Maisie is shuttled back and forth in an endless game of emotional point-scoring. Yet amid the chaos and upheaval, Maisie begins to find true comfort and affection in her new step-parents.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSkin (2009)
Based on the true story of a black girl who was born to two white Afrikaner parents in South Africa during the apartheid era.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHoly Lands (2019)
When lapsed Jew and former cardiologist Harry suddenly decides to spend his retirement as a pig farmer in Nazareth, Israel, the move deeply shocks his family and his new neighbours. Back in New York, Harry’s ex-wife Monica is trying to manage the lives of their adult children, Annabelle and David, as well as her own.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Color of Friendship (2000)
Mahree Bok lives on a farm in South Africa. Her father is a policeman who cannot hide his joy when activist Steve Biko is caught by the South African authorities. Piper Dellums is the daughter of a US congressman from California and who lives in a nice home in Washington DC. When Mahree is chosen to spend a semester at the Dellums' house, she doesn't expect that her host family would be black. Nor do her hosts suspect that she is not a black South African.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (1972)
Middle-aged widow Beatrice Hunsdorfer and her daughters Ruth and Matilda are struggling to survive in a society they barely understand. Beatrice dreams of opening an elegant tea room but does not have the wherewithal to achieve her lofty goal. Epileptic Ruth is a rebellious adolescent, while shy but highly intelligent and idealistic Matilda seeks solace in her pets and school projects, including one designed to show how small amounts of radium affect marigolds.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Girl in the Book (2015)
The story of a young writer's transformation when her past invades her present.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisResurrecting the Champ (2007)
Up-and-coming sports reporter rescues a homeless man ("Champ") only to discover that he is, in fact, a boxing legend believed to have passed away. What begins as an opportunity to resurrect Champ's story and escape the shadow of his father's success becomes a personal journey as the ambitious reporter reexamines his own life and his relationship with his family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTalhotBlond (2012)
Thomas Montgomery, a married father of two young daughters, gets seduced by the world of online gambling and chat rooms where a virtual romance and sexual obsession ultimately leads to the murder of an innocent man.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisF.I.S.T. (1978)
Johnny Kovak joins the Teamsters trade-union in a local chapter in the 1930s and works his way up in the organization. As he climbs higher and higher his methods become more ruthless and finally senator Madison starts a campaign to find the truth about the alleged connections with the Mob.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlue Chips (1994)
Pete Bell, a college basketball coach is under a lot of pressure. His team isn't winning and he cannot attract new players. The stars of the future are secretly being paid by boosters. This practice is forbidden in the college game, but Pete is desperate and has pressures from all around.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCome Sunday (2018)
Evangelist Carlton Pearson is ostracized by his church for preaching that there is no Hell.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Visit (1964)
Carla Zachanassian had a child by Serge Miller as a teenager. When Serge refused to marry her, she was driven out of town. By her own wit and cunning, she has returned as a multi-millionaire for a visit. The town lays out the red carpet expecting big things from Carla, only to learn that her sole purpose is to see Serge Miller killed...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thisFast Girls (2012)
A street smart runner develops an intense rivalry with an equally ambitious wealthy young athlete.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCall Me Crazy: A Five Film (2013)
A psychotherapist helps a law student cope with schizophrenia in one of five interconnected tales dealing with mental illness.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Question of Faith (2017)
When Tragedy Strikes three Families, their Destiny forces them on a coverging path and mercy as the challenges of their fate could also resurrect their beliefs
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like this90 Minutes in Heaven (2015)
A man involved in a horrific car crash is pronounced dead, only to come back to life an hour and a half later, claiming to have seen Heaven.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Railway Children Return (2022)
Follow a group of children who are evacuated to a Yorkshire village during the Second World War, where they encounter a young soldier who, like them, is far away from home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGigi & Nate (2022)
A young man with a bright future suffers a near-fatal accident and recreates his new life with the help of an unlikely animal friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWhen Almonds Blossomed (1973)
Zura, a son of a rich businessman, steals a car of his father’s friend to amuse his classmates. When informed about it, the school principal discards him from the bike tournament. Nevertheless, Zura’s father manages to persuade her to allow his son to participate and even succeeds in bribing his championship. Zura’s classmates know that he became a champion undeservedly but can’t do anything about it. Only Khatuna, his alleged girlfriend, and Lexo, Zura’s friend, dare to protest against it. Their lack of loyalty enrages Zura and in the rush of the blood he crashes his father’s car. The accident takes Laxo’s life. Zura’s father does his best to save his son from deserved punishment but the first one against his decision is Zura himself.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
THIS IS NOT A FICTION. (2018)
Heleno has a disease unknown to most of the population. In the course of their suffocating routine, situations arise that defy the usual in society. But is it really Heleno's illness that prevents him from adapting to the world?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Dark Wind (2017)
In a village affected by climate change and scanty rainfall, a blind farmer strikes a deal with the debt recovery agent to save his son from a debt trap.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Verna (2017)
A married couple's life falls apart as they face extraordinary circumstances.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Ini Oru Sudhanthiram (1987)
Satyamurthi comes to his village to claim farmland his father left for him whereas, Muthukalai struggles to make ends meet..
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Thanneer... Thanneer... (1981)
A small village in Tamil Nadu faces water scarcity. The film highlights the plight of the villagers and the sufferings they endure at the hands of bureaucrats when they try to resolve their problem.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Dhoop Chhaon (1935)
A remake of the Bengali film Bhagya Chakra, it was the first Hindi film to use playback singing. It was director Nitin Bose who came up with the idea of playback singing.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Our Life (2010)
Claudio is a construction worker living in the outskirts of Rome. He's happily married and his wife is pregnant with their third child. However, a dramatic event comes to upset this simple and happy life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOf Games & Escapes (2010)
Of Games and Escapes is a psychological drama about Patrick McBride, a career salesman and amateur board game developer, who needs to make a difference in the world before he ends his own.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Newspaper?
The closest matches to The Newspaper are The River (1984), What Maisie Knew (2013) and Skin (2009). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Newspaper?
Start with The River (1984), the closest match to The Newspaper.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Newspaper?
What Maisie Knew (2013), rated 7.1/10 by 466 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Newspaper?
Akhati (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to The Newspaper chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Newspaper, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.