Movies like Dear Maria (2020)
The best movies like Dear Maria (2020) are 5 Flights Up (2014), Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948) and Letters to God (2010). If Dear Maria hooked you, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedFar from the Tree (2021)8.1/10 from 395 votes
- NewestOne of Them Days (2025)Released 2025
5 Flights Up (2014)
A long-time married couple who've spent their lives together in the same New York apartment become overwhelmed by personal and real estate-related issues when they plan to move away.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLetter from an Unknown Woman (1948)
A pianist about to flee from a duel receives a letter from a woman he cannot remember. As she tells the story of her lifelong love for him, he is forced to reinterpret his own past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLetters to God (2010)
A young boy fighting cancer writes letters to God, touching lives in his neighborhood and inspiring hope among everyone he comes in contact. An unsuspecting substitute postman, with a troubled life of his own, becomes entangled in the boy's journey and his family by reading the letters. They inspire him to seek a better life for himself and his own son he's lost through his alcohol addiction.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMr. Deeds (2002)
When Longfellow Deeds, a small-town pizzeria owner and poet, inherits $40 billion from his deceased uncle, he quickly begins rolling in a different kind of dough. Moving to the big city, Deeds finds himself besieged by opportunists all gunning for their piece of the pie. Babe, a television tabloid reporter, poses as an innocent small-town girl to do an exposé on Deeds.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisSecret Admirer (1985)
An anonymous love letter left in Michael Ryan's locker on the last day of school wreaks havoc on his life and the lives of everyone who comes in contact with it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Seven Year Itch (1955)
When his family goes away for summer vacation, a hitherto faithful publishing executive with an overactive imagination is tempted by an attractive new neighbor.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAnother Woman (1988)
Marion is a woman who has learned to shield herself from her emotions. She rents an apartment to work undisturbed on her new book, but by some acoustic anomaly she can hear all that is said in the next apartment in which a psychiatrist holds his office. When she hears a young woman tell that she finds it harder and harder to bear her life, Marion starts to reflect on her own life. After a series of events she comes to understand how her unemotional attitude towards the people around her affected them and herself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Lake House (2006)
When architect Alex Wyler moves into an unusual glass house on stilts over a lake, he discovers a note from the previous tenant in the mailbox--but no one's lived in the house for years. He replies and soon discovers that he's corresponding with a doctor named Kate Forster. Their correspondence, only through the 'magical' mailbox, turns romantic and their paths cross in unexpected ways, but when they try to truly connect, danger looms. They must try to unravel the mystery behind their extraordinary romance before it's too late.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLittle Men (2016)
Jake is a quiet, sensitive middle schooler with dreams of being an artist. He meets the affably brash Tony at his grandfather's funeral, and the unlikely pair soon hit it off. The budding friendship is put at risk, however, when a rent dispute between Jake's father, Brian, and Tony's mother, Leonor, threatens to become contentious.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Kissing Booth 2 (2020)
With college decisions looming, Elle juggles her long-distance romance with Noah, changing relationship with bestie Lee and feelings for a new classmate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEntergalactic (2022)
Ambitious artist Jabari attempts to balance success and love when he moves into his dream Manhattan apartment and falls for his next-door neighbor.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Landlord (1970)
At the age of twenty-nine, Elgar Enders "runs away" from home. This running away consists of buying a building in a black ghetto in the Park Slope section of Brooklyn. Initially, his intention is to evict the black tenants and convert the building into a posh flat. But Elgar is not one to be bound by yesterday's urges, and soon he has other thoughts on his mind.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Simpsons Movie (2007)
After Homer accidentally pollutes the town's water supply, Springfield is encased in a gigantic dome by the EPA and the Simpsons are declared fugitives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRoxanne (1987)
In this modern take on Edmond Rostand's classic play "Cyrano de Bergerac," C. D. Bales is the witty, intelligent, and brave fire chief of a small Pacific Northwest town who, due to the size of his enormous nose, declines to pursue the girl of his dreams, lovely Roxanne Kowalski. Instead, when his shy underling Chris McConnell becomes smitten with Roxanne, C.D. feeds the handsome young man the words of love to win her heart.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBroken Flowers (2005)
An introverted man receives an anonymous letter from an ex-lover informing him that he has a son who may be looking for him. A freelance sleuth neighbor motivates the man to embark on a cross-country search for his past flames, seeking answers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFar from the Tree (2021)
On an idyllic beach in the Pacific Northwest, curiosity gets the better of a young raccoon whose frustrated parent attempts to keep them both safe.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisYou've Got Mail (1998)
Book superstore magnate Joe Fox and independent book shop owner Kathleen Kelly fall in love in the anonymity of the Internet—both blissfully unaware that he's trying to put her out of business.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOne of Them Days (2025)
When one roommate's boyfriend blows their rent money, two best friends embark on a chaotic race against time to avoid eviction while trying to keep their friendship intact.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFirehouse Dog (2007)
Rexxx, Hollywood's top canine star, gets lost and is adopted into a shabby firehouse. He teams up with a young kid to get the station back on its feet.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLaughing Gravy (1931)
Stan and Ollie try to hide their pet dog Laughing Gravy from their exasperated, mean tempered landlord, who has a "No Pets" policy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSecret Window (2004)
Mort Rainey, a writer just emerging from a painful divorce with his ex-wife, is stalked at his remote lake house by a psychotic stranger and would-be scribe who claims Rainey swiped his best story idea. But as Rainey endeavors to prove his innocence, he begins to question his own sanity.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAsk the Dust (2006)
Mexican beauty Camilla hopes to rise above her station by marrying a wealthy American. That is complicated by meeting Arturo Bandini, a first-generation Italian hoping to land a writing career and a blue-eyed blonde on his arm.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
SnoozefestMovies like thisThis Man Must Die (1969)
When his young son is killed in a hit and run accident, Charles Thenier resolves to hunt down and murder the killer. By chance, Thenier makes the acquaintance of an actress, Helène Lanson, who was in the car at the time of the accident. He then meets Helène’s brother-in-law, Paul Decourt, a truly horrible individual.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLove, Dad (2022)
A short film about ties and gaps between a child and a parent. The author rediscovers letters her dad used to write her from prison. That love seems to be gone now. She decides to write back in hope to find the connection again. She puts in writing what could not be said: blaming him for family´s break-up but also trying to understand.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Wild Seed (1965)
A 17-year-old girl runs away from her east coast home, going west to Los Angeles to meet her biological father. She has learned from letters her mother kept that he was tragically separated from her before the girl's birth. On the road, she is protected and befriended by an independent-minded young drifter who helps her on her journey.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Shine (1996)
Pianist David Helfgott, driven by his father and teachers, has a breakdown. Years later he returns to the piano, to popular if not critical acclaim.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Light That Shines (2021)
What happens when you are left alone with nothing to be remembered for? A man tries to keep his sanity in tact by writing a letter to get help, but keeps getting memories of his fears and what was lost, will he manage to get out alive or he is left to rot with what remains inside with him?
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Before Noon (2022)
An unfinished short student film about dreaming
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Love Letters from the Engadine (1938)
Constance, the young widow of a wealthy American, gets a love letter from the Engadine region, signed by the famous guide Toni Anewater she had met during a holiday in the previous year. Constanze and her friend Dorothy therefore go to Switzerland for winter sports. But identical love letters to other ladies in London, Paris and Rome have been sent. Toni does not know anything about the letters. Everything seems to be a cunning of the hotel owner to attract tourists.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Cause for Alarm! (1951)
A bedridden and gravely ill man believes his wife and doctor are conspiring to kill him, and outlines his suspicions in a letter.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Dear Maria?
The closest matches to Dear Maria are 5 Flights Up (2014), Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948) and Letters to God (2010). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Dear Maria?
Start with 5 Flights Up (2014), the closest match to Dear Maria.
What is the highest-rated movie like Dear Maria?
Far from the Tree (2021), rated 8.1/10 by 395 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Dear Maria?
One of Them Days (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Dear Maria?
Yes: 5 Flights Up (2014), Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948) and Letters to God (2010).
How are movies similar to Dear Maria chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Dear Maria, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.