Movies like Phenomenon (1996)
The best movies like Phenomenon (1996) are Winter's Tale (2014), Borrowed Hearts (1997) and Charly (1968). If Phenomenon hooked you with its drama and romance, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedFive Feet Apart (2019)8.2/10 from 6,024 votes
- NewestThe Life of Chuck (2025)Released 2025
Winter's Tale (2014)
A burglar falls for an heiress as she dies in his arms. When he learns that he has the gift of reincarnation, he sets out to save her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBorrowed Hearts (1997)
Single mom Kathleen Russell (Roma Downey) and her daughter Zoey pretend to be Kathleen's boss's "family" so he can close a major business deal with the mysterious Mexican financier Javier Del Campo.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCharly (1968)
An experiment on a simpleton turns him into a genius. When he discovers what has been done to him he struggles with whether or not what was done to him was right.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Fountain (2006)
Spanning over one thousand years, and three parallel stories, The Fountain is a story of love, death, spirituality, and the fragility of our existence in this world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDark Victory (1939)
Socialite Judith Traherne lives a lavish but emotionally empty life. Riding horses is one of her few joys, and her stable master is secretly in love with her. Told she has a brain tumor by her doctor, Frederick Steele, Judith becomes distraught. After she decides to have surgery to remove the tumor, Judith realizes she is in love with Dr. Steele, but more troubling medical news may sabotage her new relationship, and her second chance at life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPowder (1995)
Harassed by classmates who won't accept his shocking appearance, a shy young man known as "Powder" struggles to fit in. But the cruel taunts stop when Powder displays a mysterious power that allows him to do incredible things. This phenomenon changes the lives of all those around him in ways they never could have imagined.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWhen Nietzsche Wept (2007)
Viennese doctor Josef Bruer meets with philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche to help him deal with his despair.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Life of Chuck (2025)
In this extraordinary story of an ordinary man, Charles 'Chuck' Krantz experiences the wonder of love, the heartbreak of loss, and the multitudes contained in all of us.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like this2 Hearts (2020)
When illness strikes two people who are polar opposites, life and death bring them together in surprising ways.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAngel Eyes (2001)
A story about a seemingly unlikely couple who cross paths under life-threatening circumstances as though they are destined not only to meet but to save each other's lives. Not once, but twice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHereafter (2010)
Three people — a blue-collar American, a French journalist and a London school boy — are touched by death in different ways.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBreathe (2017)
Based on the true story of Robin, a handsome, brilliant and adventurous man whose life takes a dramatic turn when polio leaves him paralyzed.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Theory of Everything (2014)
Once a healthy, active young man, Hawking received an earth-shattering diagnosis at 21 years of age. With Jane fighting tirelessly by his side, Stephen embarks on his most ambitious scientific work, studying the very thing he now has precious little of – time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFive Feet Apart (2019)
Seventeen-year-old Stella spends most of her time in the hospital as a cystic fibrosis patient. Her life is full of routines, boundaries and self-control — all of which get put to the test when she meets Will, an impossibly charming teen who has the same illness. There's an instant flirtation, though restrictions dictate that they must maintain a safe distance between them. As their connection intensifies, so does the temptation to throw the rules out the window and embrace that attraction.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisAll My Life (2020)
It was a chance meeting started by one of Sol’s friends trying to chat up Jennifer. However, in the end, it was those two who hit it off. Sol enjoyed Jen’s smile, her effort, and how silly she could be. Jen enjoyed Sol’s cooking, his athleticism, and that he would join her in fun moments. As you can imagine, love bloomed, and things got serious. Jen’s investment in Sol led to her pushing him to follow his dreams and even move in to save money. Sol’s investment in Jen well, it led to him proposing. But what started as a liver tumor grew into full-on cancer, so with a diagnosis of 6 months to live, Sol and Jennifer try to make the best of it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLife in a Year (2020)
A 17 year old finds out that his girlfriend is dying, so he sets out to give her an entire life, in the last year she has left.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisAn Autumn Romance (2021)
When librarian Taylor Harris suddenly loses her job, she decides to visit her brother in a small town in Montana. There, she gets involved in the fight to help save her brother's hotel from tycoon Joel Sheenan, who wants to renovate it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAt First Sight (1999)
A blind man has an operation to regain his sight at the urging of his girlfriend and must deal with the changes to his life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDisappearing Acts (2000)
A struggling construction worker and an aspiring musician find themselves falling in love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Secret: Dare to Dream (2020)
A widow with three children hires a handyman to fix her house during a major storm. When not doing home repairs, he shares his philosophy of believing in the power of the universe to deliver what we want.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHe Loves Me… He Loves Me Not (2002)
A talented art student named Angélique is passionately in love with Dr. Loïc Le Garrec, a handsome married man whom she believes will leave his wife. When he eventually decides to stay in his marriage, it causes Angélique to spiral. However, as the story shifts from Angélique's perspective to Loïc's, the surprising truth about their relationship is revealed.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Christmas Cure (2017)
A doctor returns home for Christmas to find that her father has decided to retire from his own practice. After reuniting with her high school sweetheart, she wonders if she should stay and take over her father's practice.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisCrazy (2008)
Crazy is the story of a legendary guitar player who emerged from Nashville in the 1950s. Blessed with incomparable, natural talent, Hank Garland quickly established his reputation as the finest sessions player in Nashville.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Boxing Helena (1993)
A top surgeon is besotted with a beautiful woman who once rebuffed him. Unable to come to terms with life without her, he tries to convince her that they need each other. She has other ideas, but a horrific accident leaves her at his mercy.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
SnoozefestMovies like this42plus (2007)
When the beautiful, efficient and successful Christine, 42, arrives at their summer beach home with her husband and teenage daughter, a young hitchhiker catches her eye. What follows is the story of a woman who frees herself, tears her life into pieces and puts it back together in a different order.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Inhale (2010)
A couple goes to dangerous lengths to find a lung donor for their daughter.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEe Sabdam Innathe Sabdam (1985)
A group of unruly youth harasses Dr. Ramachandran (Mammotty) and his family. His wife (Sobhana) ends up being raped and murdered by this group. His sister Pushpa (Rohini) becomes mentally ill following the trauma. Distraught when the law doesn't give him justice, the doctor ends up being a vigilante and decides to take revenge on the people who destroyed his family.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Varsham (2014)
The film narrates the tale of Venu, owner of a small finance company in Thrissur. His life is shaken up after some unprecedented events leaving him at a dead end. This movie is about how he finds a purpose to live.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Henry Poole Is Here (2008)
Henry Poole abandons his fiancée and family business to spend what he believes are his remaining days alone. The discovery of a 'miracle' by a nosy neighbor ruptures his solitude and restores his faith in life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisUp! Up! To the sky (2008)
From an early age, Arnold believes he is an extraterrestrial. Day in, day out, he is busy trying to build a flying machine that will finally take him "home". Protected by his mother Ida and her long-time admirer, the country doctor Emil, he is regarded as a quirky but lovable outsider in his home village.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like Phenomenon and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Phenomenon?
The closest matches to Phenomenon are Winter's Tale (2014), Borrowed Hearts (1997) and Charly (1968). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Phenomenon?
Start with Winter's Tale (2014), the closest match to Phenomenon.
What is the highest-rated movie like Phenomenon?
Five Feet Apart (2019), rated 8.2/10 by 6,024 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Phenomenon?
The Life of Chuck (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Phenomenon?
Yes: Winter's Tale (2014), Borrowed Hearts (1997) and Charly (1968).
How are movies similar to Phenomenon chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Phenomenon, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.