Movies like Dorothy's Theory (2018)
The best movies like Dorothy's Theory (2018) are Anuja (2024), Inseparable (2007) and Curfew (2012). If Dorothy's Theory hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Neighbors' Window (2019)6.9/10 from 235 votes
- NewestNot Without Hope (2025)Released 2025
Anuja (2024)
When a brilliant nine-year-old working in a sweatshop gets a chance to attend school, she must make a difficult choice for her and her sister's future.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInseparable (2007)
When young dad, Joe, discovers he's dying, drifter Charlie is given a unique opportunity to turn his life around. A story of family, identity and starting again.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCurfew (2012)
At the lowest point of his life, Richie gets a call from his estranged sister asking him to look after his nine-year old niece, Sophia, for a few hours.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEleanor the Great (2025)
94-year-old Eleanor Morgenstein tries to rebuild her life after the death of her best friend. As a result, she moves back to New York City after living in Florida for decades.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Neighbors' Window (2019)
The story of a middle-aged woman with small children whose life is shaken up when two free-spirited twenty-somethings move in across the street.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWon't Back Down (2012)
Jamie Fitzpatrick and Nona Alberts are two women from opposites sides of the social and economic track, but they have one thing in common: a mission to fix their community's broken school and ensure a bright future for their children. The two women refuse to let any obstacles stand in their way as they battle a bureaucracy that's hopelessly mired in traditional thinking, and they seek to re-energize a faculty that has lost its passion for teaching.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBrand Upon the Brain! (2007)
After returning home to his long-estranged mother upon a request from her deathbed, a man raised by his parents in an orphanage has to confront the childhood memories that have long haunted him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTigertail (2020)
A man reflects on the lost love of his youth and his long-ago journey from Taiwan to America as he begins to reconnect with his estranged daughter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
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 · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFedora (1978)
Down-on-his-luck Hollywood producer Barry 'Dutch' Detweiler attempts to lure Fedora, a famous but reclusive film actress, out of retirement, only to discover the horrifying truth behind her success.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHounddog (2008)
A drama set in the American South, where a precocious, troubled girl finds a safe haven in the music and movement of Elvis Presley.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHands of Stone (2016)
The legendary Roberto Duran and his equally legendary trainer Ray Arcel change each other's lives.
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 thisNot Without Hope (2025)
A group of friends' fishing boat capsizes off the coast of Mexico and they're left alone stranded at sea and struggling for survival.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLorelei (2020)
A man is released from prison after 15 years. He reunites with his high school girlfriend, now a single mother of three. What follows is a lyrical take on love, regret and second chances.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Congress (2013)
An aging, out-of-work actress accepts one last job, though the consequences of her decision affect her in ways she didn't consider.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Lords of Discipline (1983)
Will arrives for his last year at Military Academy, in the Deep South USA, in the 1960's. A black student, Pearce, has been accepted, for the first time and Will is asked to keep an eye out for the inevitable racism. The racists come in the form of The Ten, a secret group of the elite students. They want Pearce to leave on his own free will, but are prepared to torture him to make it 'his free will'. Will is forced to help Pearce and he is prepared to risk his own career to do so.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Corner in Wheat (1909)
On a whim, a greedy tycoon decides to corner the world market in wheat. This doubles the price of bread, forcing grain producers into charity lines and others further into poverty. The film contrasts the differences between the lives of those who work to grow the wheat and the life of the man who dabbles in its sale for profit.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Safety of Objects (2002)
In a suburban landscape, the lives of several families interlace with loss, despair and personal crisis. Esther Gold has lost focus on all but caring for her comatose son, Paul, and neglects her daughter and husband. Lawyer Jim Train is devoted to his career, not his family. Helen Christianson wants to find a new spark in life, while Annette Jennings tries to rebuild hers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Young One (1960)
A jazz musician seeks refuge from a lynch mob on a remote island, where he meets a hostile game warden and the young object of his attentions.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFrancis (2013)
Francis is a short story written by american novelist Dave Eggers. This is the story of a young boy growing up in the suburbs of chicago. He spent his vacations in Quetico Provincial Park, up on the border of Minnesota and Canada. But he won't be going back any day soon, not after what happened to a girl called Francis Brandywine.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Breaking the Circles (2012)
Milena, a successful photographer from Macedonia decides to visit Prague and surprise her secret lover. Instead of a warm welcome, Milena faces the emptiness of the city. Most of the time she is alone thinking of their relationship and waiting for her mystique lover to appear. The city slowly drives her into a paranoid journey in which she is forced to face her greatest wishes, desires and fears. Her life is spinning in circles. Alone and desperate, she decides to break that circle.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Spin (2003)
It’s the time of sexual awakening and everything is in a state of flux. A game of spin-the-bottle sets off a chain reaction and, afterwards, nothing is quite same again. An adrenaline-charged tale about what it’s like to be a teenager.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
When Jesse Was Born (2005)
Tragedy strikes a comedic blue collar family as they welcome their third son into the world.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Denko (1993)
An African mother will do just about anything to protect her child. Bilaly is a simple peasant who is blind. He wants to “know” a woman before he dies, but try as his mother might, she cannot find someone to oblige. She finally gets an idea – an idea that completely stuns the village.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
True North (2016)
A girl in a mechanics workshop meets a submarine captain who owns a magical compass. The compass is not functioning, so he asks her to fix it. It turns out that the compass has showed him the way to the treasure he sought the whole time.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Unremarkable (2016)
A journey of a woman's body who is shot and killed on a vacation with her family.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Cutlass (2007)
When Robin's daughter Lacy wants to buy an expensive guitar, Robin reminisces about the days when she was a teenager, asking her dad for her first car, an Olds Cutlass Supreme.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Trap (2007)
Maggie's friends have planned a surprise birthday party (despite it being a month away). During the party, Maggie realizes there's more to it then that.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Umbrella (2023)
With divorce on the horizon, a couple find out that a lunch meeting with the wife’s attorney is about to get very gruesome. Based on the story "Lunch at the Gotham Café" by Stephen King.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Dorothy's Theory?
The closest matches to Dorothy's Theory are Anuja (2024), Inseparable (2007) and Curfew (2012). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Dorothy's Theory?
Start with Anuja (2024), the closest match to Dorothy's Theory.
What is the highest-rated movie like Dorothy's Theory?
The Neighbors' Window (2019), rated 6.9/10 by 235 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Dorothy's Theory?
Not Without Hope (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Dorothy's Theory?
Yes: Anuja (2024), Inseparable (2007) and Curfew (2012).
How are movies similar to Dorothy's Theory chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Dorothy's Theory, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.