Movies like The Reading Room (1990)
The best movies like The Reading Room (1990) are The Public (2019), The First Wives Club (1996) and The Marsh King's Daughter (2023). If The Reading Room hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Birds (1963)7.5/10 from 4,648 votes
- NewestThe Marsh King's Daughter (2023)Released 2023
The Public (2019)
An act of civil disobedience turns into a standoff with police when homeless people in Cincinnati take over the public library to seek shelter from the bitter cold.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe First Wives Club (1996)
After years of helping their hubbies climb the ladder of success, three mid-life Manhattanites have been dumped for a newer, curvier model. But the trio is determined to turn their pain into gain. They come up with a cleverly devious plan to hit their exes where it really hurts - in the wallet!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Marsh King's Daughter (2023)
Helena, a woman living a seemingly ordinary life, hides a dark secret—her father is the infamous 'Marsh King', the man who kept her and her mother captive in the wilderness for years. After a lifetime of trying to escape her past, Helena is forced to face her demons when her father unexpectedly escapes from prison.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Birds (1963)
Thousands of birds flock into a seaside town and terrorize the residents in a series of deadly attacks.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisParty Girl (1995)
Although Mary has little income, she still finds ways to spend her nights at clubs. After being arrested for throwing an illegal rave, she asks her aunt Judy for bail money. Judy then finds Mary a job at her library so that Mary can repay her. Initially, Mary finds the job as a clerk boring and stifling, and prefers to get to know a street food vendor whom she likes. However, Mary must refocus her life once she loses her job and apartment.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisYou're So Cupid (2010)
Fraternal twin sisters Emma and Lilly are as different as night and day. Emma, the beautiful blonde tomboy, would rather be riding a horse than anything else in the world. While Lilly, her shy redheaded twin, loves to be left alone to curl up with a good book. Emma and Lilly have an insatiable desire to play matchmaker, because their father is actually Cupid. Life gets complicated when they discover they're in love with the same guy and they become bitter rivals as they try to win his affection. But can Emma and Lily overcome their problems and use their matchmaking skills to bring their parents back together?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisExperiment in Terror (1962)
A man with an asthmatic voice telephones and assaults clerk Kelly Sherwood at home and coerces her into helping him steal a large sum from her bank.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFour Rooms (1995)
It's Ted the Bellhop's first night on the job...and the hotel's very unusual guests are about to place him in some outrageous predicaments. It seems that this evening's room service is serving up one unbelievable happening after another.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Knack... and How to Get It (1965)
A nebbish schoolteacher begs his smooth (and misogynistic) pal to teach him 'the knack' – how to score with women. Serendipitously, the men meet up with a new girl in town, as well as a friendly lunatic who can’t help but paint things white.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Mist (2007)
After a violent storm, a dense cloud of mist envelops a small Maine town, trapping David Drayton and his five-year-old son in a local grocery store with other local residents. They soon discover that the mist conceals deadly horrors that threaten their lives, and worse, their sanity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe War with Grandpa (2020)
Peter is thrilled that his Grandpa is coming to live with his family. That is, until Grandpa moves into Peter's room, forcing him upstairs into the creepy attic. And though he loves his Grandpa, he wants his room back - so he has no choice but to declare war.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Prize (1963)
A group of Nobel laureates descends on Stockholm to accept their awards. Among them is American novelist Andrew Craig, a former literary luminary now writing pulp detective stories to earn a living. Craig, who is infamous for his drinking and womanizing, formulates a wild theory that physics prize winner Dr. Max Stratman has been replaced by an impostor, embroiling Craig and his chaperone in a Cold War kidnapping plot.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Bad Seed Returns (2022)
Several years after the murderous events of the first movie left her father dead, Emma is now living with her aunt Angela and navigating high school. Angela’s husband begins to suspect that Emma may not be as innocent as she appears and suggests sending her off to boarding school. Meanwhile, a new girl at school seems to know Emma’s secrets, leaving Emma no choice but to slip back to her old ways and take care of her enemies by any means necessary.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNecronomicon (1993)
H.P. Lovecraft anthology is divided into four segments: "The Library" which is the wraparound segment involving Lovecraft's research into the Book of The Dead and his unwitting release of a monster and his writing of the following horror segments "The Drowned", "The Cold", and "Whispers".
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisSafe Haven (2013)
A young woman with a mysterious past lands in Southport, North Carolina where her bond with a widower forces her to confront the dark secret that haunts her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGod Is a Bullet (2023)
Vice detective Bob Hightower finds his ex-wife murdered and daughter kidnapped by a cult. Frustrated by the botched official investigations, he quits the force and infiltrates the cult to hunt down the leader with the help of the cult’s only female victim escapee, Case Hardin.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Jerk (1979)
After discovering he's not really black like the rest of his family, likable dimwit Navin Johnson sets off on a hilarious misadventure that takes him from rags to riches and back again. The slaphappy jerk strikes it rich, but life in the fast lane isn't all it's cracked up to be and, in the end, all that really matters to Johnson is his true love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFamily Guy Presents: It's a Trap! (2010)
With the Griffins stuck again at home during a blackout, Peter tells the story of “Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.”
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies 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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGhostbusters (1984)
After losing their university jobs, three parapsychologists start a ghost-catching business in New York City and uncover a supernatural threat that could destroy the world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Reading Room?
The closest matches to The Reading Room are The Public (2019), The First Wives Club (1996) and The Marsh King's Daughter (2023). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Reading Room?
Start with The Public (2019), the closest match to The Reading Room.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Reading Room?
The Birds (1963), rated 7.5/10 by 4,648 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Reading Room?
The Marsh King's Daughter (2023) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Reading Room?
Yes: The Public (2019), The First Wives Club (1996) and The Marsh King's Daughter (2023).
How are movies similar to The Reading Room chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Reading Room, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.