Movies like The Banyan Tree
The best movies like The Banyan Tree are The Girl in the Book (2015), A Prayer Before Dawn (2018) and Strange Weather (2016). If The Banyan Tree hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedAmerican Underdog (2021)7.1/10 from 455 votes
- NewestLion Fist (2026)Released 2026
The 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
SnoozefestMovies like thisA Prayer Before Dawn (2018)
The amazing true story of Billy Moore, an English boxer incarcerated in Thailand’s most notorious prison. Thrown into a world of drugs and violence, he finds his best chance to escape is to fight his way out in prison Muay Thai tournaments.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStrange Weather (2016)
Years after her son's suicide, a woman longs to confront both the past and a friend of his who took his business idea.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisBirth of the Dragon (2017)
Set against the backdrop of San Francisco’s Chinatown, this cross-cultural biopic chronicles Bruce Lee’s emergence as a martial-arts superstar after his legendary secret showdown with fellow martial artist Wong Jack Man.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Mustang (2019)
While participating in a rehabilitation program training wild mustangs, a convict at first struggles to connect with the horses and his fellow inmates, but he learns to confront his violent past as he soothes an especially feisty horse.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJacknife (1989)
A conflict develops between a troubled Vietnam veteran and the sister he lives with when she becomes involved romantically with the army buddy who reminds him of the tragic battle they both survived.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOnly God Forgives (2013)
Julian, who runs a Thai boxing club as a front organization for his family's drug smuggling operation, is forced by his mother Crystal to find and kill the individual responsible for his brother's recent death.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisHammett (1982)
Chinatown, San Francisco, 1928. Former private detective Dashiell Hammett, a compulsive drinker with tuberculosis who writes pulp fiction for a living, receives an unexpected visit from an old friend asking for help.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAmerican Underdog (2021)
The true story of Kurt Warner, who went from a stockboy at a grocery store to a two-time NFL MVP, Super Bowl champion, and Hall of Fame quarterback.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAngel Town (1990)
A graduate student and martial-arts expert rents a room in a house owned by a single mother who lives there with her son. A local street gang is trying to recruit the son, but the new tenant tries to help the boy's mother keep him out of the gang. When they learn of this, they target both the mother and her new tenant.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHome Run (2013)
A pro ball player with a substance abuse problem is forced into rehab in his hometown, finding new hope when he gets honest about his checkered past, and takes on coaching duties for a misfit Little League team
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJolt (2021)
A bouncer with an anger management problem goes on a furious and resentful rampage after the murder of a friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe System (2022)
When a young soldier, newly returned from war, gets caught up in a drug bust, he is recruited by the authorities to go undercover in a notoriously dangerous prison in order to figure out what is really going on.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLion Fist (2026)
Martial arts fighter Joe goes to prison for four years and takes his wife's blame for a drug bust. After his release, he learns that his son needs expensive surgery because of a life-threatening tumor. Joe's only chance to save him: a brutal all-styles tournament with a $100,000 prize.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAdam (2020)
A hard-living salesman becomes a quadriplegic after an accident.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRomeo Must Die (2000)
Two warring gang families (one African-American, the other Chinese) maneuver for bragging rights to the Oakland, California docks. Han Sing and Trish O'Day uncover a trail of deceit that leaves most of the warring factions dead... or worse!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAssault on Wall Street (2013)
Jim is an average New Yorker living a peaceful life with a well paying job and a loving family. Suddenly, everything changes when the economy crashes causing Jim to lose everything. Filled with anger and rage, Jim snaps and goes to extreme lengths to seek revenge for the life taken from him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisHouse of Sand and Fog (2003)
Behrani, an Iranian immigrant buys a California bungalow, thinking he can fix it up, sell it again, and make enough money to send his son to college. However, the house is the legal property of former drug addict Kathy. After losing the house in an unfair legal dispute with the county, she is left with nowhere to go. Wanting her house back, she hires a lawyer and befriends a police officer. Neither Kathy nor Behrani have broken the law, so they find themselves involved in a difficult moral dilemma.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFemale Fight Squad (2017)
A former fighter reluctantly returns to the life she abandoned in order to help her sister survive the sadistic world of illegal fighting and the maniac who runs it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Banyan Tree?
The closest matches to The Banyan Tree are The Girl in the Book (2015), A Prayer Before Dawn (2018) and Strange Weather (2016). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Banyan Tree?
Start with The Girl in the Book (2015), the closest match to The Banyan Tree.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Banyan Tree?
American Underdog (2021), rated 7.1/10 by 455 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Banyan Tree?
Lion Fist (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to The Banyan Tree chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Banyan Tree, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.