Movies like A Christmas Carol (2020)
The best movies like A Christmas Carol (2020) are Scrooge (1970), A Christmas Carol (2004) and Into the Woods (1991). If A Christmas Carol hooked you with its fantasy and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Green Mile (1999)8.5/10 from 20,129 votes
- NewestThe Wave (2025)Released 2025
Scrooge (1970)
A musical adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic ghost tale starring Albert Finney.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Christmas Carol (2004)
Miser Ebenezer Scrooge is awakened on Christmas Eve by spirits who reveal to him his own miserable existence, what opportunities he wasted in his youth, his current cruelties, and the dire fate that awaits him if he does not change his ways. Scrooge is faced with his own story of growing bitterness and meanness, and must decide what his own future will hold: death or redemption.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInto the Woods (1991)
In a woods filled with magic and fairy tale characters, a baker and his wife set out to end the curse put on them by their neighbor, a spiteful witch.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & fantasy
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisPinocchio (2009)
The enchanted story of Pinocchio.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHow Sarah Got Her Wings (2015)
Good Samaritan Sarah Fitzpatrick has a fatal accident just before Christmas, and finds herself in the lobby before the gates of Heaven. Certain that she will be let in, she is shocked to find that her name is not on the reservation list. However, she is granted the chance to return to Earth as an "angel in training" with the requirement to help a soul in need. Sarah has the 12 days before Christmas to secure her place on the list leaving her in the race for her after-life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & fantasy
SnoozefestMovies like thisBattle of the Year (2013)
A down-on-his-luck coach is hired to prepare a team of the best American dancers for an international tournament that attracts all the best crews from around the world, but the Americans haven't won in fifteen years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLegends of Oz: Dorothy's Return (2014)
Dorothy wakes in post-tornado Kansas, only to be whisked back to Oz to try to save her old friends, the Scarecrow, the Lion, the Tin Man, and Glinda, from a devious new villain, the Jester. New comrades Wiser the Owl, Marshal Mallow, China Princess, and Tugg the Tugboat join Dorothy on her latest magical journey through the colorful landscape of Oz to restore order and happiness to Emerald City.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPinocchio (2022)
A wooden puppet embarks on a thrilling adventure to become a real boy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
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 thisScrooge: A Christmas Carol (2022)
On a cold Christmas Eve, selfish miser Ebenezer Scrooge has one night left to face his past — and change the future — before time runs out.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMansfield Park (2007)
Fanny Price is sent to live with her wealthy relatives, the Bertrams, where she is treated poorly by most except her cousin Edmund. Her life is complicated by the arrival of the worldly Mary and Henry Crawford
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHamlet (2009)
David Tennant stars in a film of the Royal Shakespeare Company's award-winning production of Shakespeare's great play. Director Gregory Doran's modern-dress production was hailed by the critics as thrilling, fast-moving and, in parts, very funny.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Christmas Shoes (2002)
Two separate stories mesh - in the first, a young music teacher, Maggie Andrews, begins dying of a heart condition and her son Nathan tries to get a pair of Christmas shoes for her before she dies. In the second, lawyer Robert Layton and his wife Kate are slowly drifting apart and the matter comes to a head during Christmas when Kate takes over for Maggie for the school choir.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Bridge (2015)
The sweeping tale of Molly Callens and Ryan Kelly, two young students who share a profound friendship their first semester in college, a time that becomes the defining moment of their lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAlice's Adventures in Wonderland (1972)
An all-star cast highlights this vibrant musical adaptation of Lewis Carroll's immortal tale. One day, plucky young Alice follows a white rabbit down a hole and discovers a world of bizarre characters.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSound of Christmas (2016)
Lizzie is a young piano teacher working at a music school while trying to save enough money for a Steinway piano. The school is gearing up for their major Christmas fundraiser and she has committed much of her time to plan the event. One afternoon, she meets Brad who takes an interest in her playing and asks if she will teach his uninterested teenage daughter. She begins to break through to the young girl, and sparks begin to fly with Brad, but she is shocked to find out that his interest is not solely in her playing, but in the property that houses the music school. She sets out to save the school and the event, but can she work things out with Brad?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWonderstruck (2017)
The story of a young boy in the Midwest is told simultaneously with a tale about a young girl in New York from fifty years ago as they both seek the same mysterious connection.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOslo (2021)
The true story of negotiations between implacable enemies — the secret back-channel talks, unlikely friendships and quiet heroics of a small but committed group of Israelis, Palestinians and one Norwegian couple that led to the 1993 Oslo Peace Accords.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAmerican Son (2019)
Time passes and tension mounts in a Florida police station as an estranged interracial couple awaits news of their missing teenage son.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Sound of Music Live! (2013)
The Sound of Music Live! is a television special that was originally broadcast by NBC on December 5, 2013. Produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, the special was an adaptation of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Broadway musical The Sound of Music, starring country singer Carrie Underwood as Maria von Trapp, performed and televised live from Grumman Studios in Bethpage, New York. Meron felt that if the telecast were successful, the concept could become "another kind of entertainment that can exist on TV." By her request, Underwood's casting as Maria was personally endorsed by Julie Andrews, who starred in the 1965 film.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Green Mile (1999)
A supernatural tale set on death row in a Southern prison, where gentle giant John Coffey possesses the mysterious power to heal people's ailments. When the cell block's head guard, Paul Edgecomb, recognizes Coffey's miraculous gift, he tries desperately to help stave off the condemned man's execution.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisFortune Comes at Nine o'Clock (1961)
One day, Fortune and Worry come to town. Fortune leaves her magical cloak in the local inn, saying that it fulfills every wish to those who wear it. However, Worry knows that Fortune doesn't come alone, but brings worries with herself, too. The magical cloak changes its owner and fulfills the most unusual wishes of timid professor of violin, old night guard, naive student and blonde girl. When all their wishes are fulfilled, they find out that they did not achieve happiness.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy & drama
Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
After Dr. Bill Harford's wife, Alice, admits to having sexual fantasies about a man she met, Bill becomes obsessed with having a sexual encounter. He discovers an underground sexual group and attends one of their meetings -- and quickly discovers that he is in over his head.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMary Poppins (1964)
In turn of the century London, a magical nanny employs music and adventure to help two neglected children become closer to their father.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Beautiful Mind (2001)
From the heights of notoriety to the depths of depravity, John Forbes Nash Jr. experiences it all. As a brilliant but socially awkward mathematician, he made a groundbreaking discovery early in his career and stands on the brink of international acclaim. But as the handsome and arrogant Nash accepts secret work in cryptography, he becomes entangled in a mysterious conspiracy. His life takes a nightmarish turn and he soon finds himself on a painful and harrowing journey of self-discovery.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisCasino (1995)
In Las Vegas, two best friends-a casino executive and a Mafia enforcer--compete for a gambling empire and a fast-living, fast-loving socialite.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Wave (2025)
A music student’s testimony ignites a feminist uprising on her campus, where protest becomes performance and collective voice becomes an act of resistance.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Life and Death in Flanders (1963)
A drama consisting of two parts: In 't Water and De Boer Die Sterft. The first part tells the story of Jan Boele, who is forced to marry Tale Siepers, a girl who is pregnant with his child. However, Jan is in love with Poezeke, the daughter of a wealthy farmer, and dreads his marriage. On their wedding day, he refuses to get up when the bride arrives, leading to a tragic ending. The second part follows Nand, a Flemish farmer who, on his deathbed, looks back on his life, which consisted mainly of working and eating according to the rhythm of the seasons. He remembers his childhood, his wife Wanne, and his mother, and realizes that his life was not as empty as he thought.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Beach (2000)
Twenty-something Richard travels to Thailand and finds himself in possession of a strange map. Rumours state that it leads to a solitary beach paradise, a tropical bliss - excited and intrigued, he sets out to find it.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBirds Without Names (2017)
An unstable young woman pines for the ex-boyfriend who nearly beat her to death – and who has mysteriously disappeared.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like A Christmas Carol?
The closest matches to A Christmas Carol are Scrooge (1970), A Christmas Carol (2004) and Into the Woods (1991). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after A Christmas Carol?
Start with Scrooge (1970), the closest match to A Christmas Carol.
What is the highest-rated movie like A Christmas Carol?
The Green Mile (1999), rated 8.5/10 by 20,129 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like A Christmas Carol?
The Wave (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like A Christmas Carol?
Yes: Scrooge (1970), A Christmas Carol (2004) and Into the Woods (1991).
How are movies similar to A Christmas Carol chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside A Christmas Carol, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.