Movies like Erik XIV (1974)
The best movies like Erik XIV (1974) are Prizefighter: The Life of Jem Belcher (2022), Mary (2024) and Mr. Turner (2014). If Erik XIV hooked you with its history and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Vikings (1958)7.0/10 from 394 votes
- NewestGiant (2026)Released 2026
Prizefighter: The Life of Jem Belcher (2022)
At the turn of the 19th century, Pugilism was the sport of kings and a gifted young boxer fought his way to becoming champion of England.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both history & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMary (2024)
A miraculous conception. A merciless king. A murderous pursuit. Mary's journey to give birth to Jesus unfolds in this biblical coming-of-age epic.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMr. Turner (2014)
Eccentric British painter J.M.W. Turner lives his last 25 years with gusto and secretly becomes involved with a seaside landlady, while his faithful housekeeper bears an unrequited love for him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both history & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Month in the Country (1987)
A destitute WWI veteran is hired to help carry out restoration work on a medieval mural in a rural Yorkshire church. While living in the quiet village, he forms a close friendship with an archaeologist and begins to come to terms with his trauma.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both history & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStockholm Bloodbath (2024)
In 1520, the notorious and power-hungry Danish King Christian II is determined to seize the Swedish crown from Sten Sture, no matter what it takes. Meanwhile, sisters Freja and Anne make a solemn promise to seek revenge on the men who brutally murdered their family. Everything comes to a head in the heart of Stockholm, where the sisters are drawn into a ruthless political struggle between Sweden and Denmark that culminates in a mass execution, presided over by the mad King "Christian the Tyrant," known as the Stockholm Bloodbath.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both history & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVictoria & Abdul (2017)
Queen Victoria strikes up an unlikely friendship with a young Indian clerk named Abdul Karim.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDalíland (2022)
In 1973, a young gallery assistant goes on a wild adventure behind the scenes as he helps aging genius Salvador Dali prepare for a big show in New York.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both history & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisFirebrand (2024)
Katherine Parr, the sixth wife of King Henry VIII, is named regent while the tyrant battles abroad. When the king returns, increasingly ill and paranoid, Katherine finds herself fighting for her own survival.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Last Rifleman (2023)
A WWII veteran escapes his care home in Northern Ireland and embarks on an arduous but inspirational journey to France to attend the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings, finding the courage to face the ghosts of his past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRadium Girls (2020)
Young women toiling in a factory are exposed to hazardous material which takes a disastrous toll on their health.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Private Life of Henry VIII (1933)
Renowned for his excess, King Henry VIII goes through a series of wives during his rule. With Anne Boleyn, his second betrothed, executed on charges of treason, Henry weds maid Jane Seymour, but that wedded bliss also ends in tragedy. Not one to be single for long, the tyrannical king chooses German-born Anne of Cleves, but their union lasts only months before an annulment is granted, and so Henry's reign of spousal terror continues.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both history & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Call to Spy (2020)
The story of Vera Atkins, a crafty spy recruiter, and two of the first women she selects for Churchill's "secret army": Virginia Hall, a daring American undaunted by a disability and Noor Inayat Khan, a pacifist. These civilian women form an unlikely sisterhood while entangled in dangerous missions to turn the tide of the war.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both history & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMedieval (2022)
The story of fifteenth century Czech icon and warlord, Jan Zizka, who defeated armies of the Teutonic Order and the Holy Roman Empire.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGiant (2026)
Follows Prince Naseem Hamed from his humble beginnings on the tough working-class streets of Sheffield and his discovery by Ingle, himself a steel industry worker turned boxing trainer. Their unlikely partnership, Naz’s unorthodox style, cocky persona, and sheer dominance in the ring propelled them to the top of boxing’s elite and unprecedented levels of global superstardom, all in the face of the rampant Islamophobia and racism of ’80s and 90’s Britain.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEnd of the Spear (2005)
"End of the Spear" is the story of Mincayani, a Waodani tribesman from the jungles of Ecuador. When five young missionaries, among them Jim Elliot and Nate Saint, are speared to death by the Waodani in 1956, a series of events unfold to change the lives of not only the slain missionaries' families, but also Mincayani and his people.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Vikings (1958)
Einar, brutal son of the viking Ragnar and future heir to his throne, tangles with clever slave Eric, for the hand of a beautiful English maiden.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOutlaw King (2018)
Forced into exile by the English after being crowned King of Scotland, legendary warrior Robert the Bruce fights to reclaim the throne.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKings of the Sun (1963)
In order to flee from powerful enemies, young Mayan king Balam leads his people north across the Gulf of Mexico to the coast of what will become the United States. They build a home in the new land but come into conflict with a tribe of Native Americans led by their chief, Black Eagle, while both Balam and Black Eagle fall in love the beautiful Mayan princess Ixchel.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGirl in the Box (2016)
The true story of 20-year-old Colleen Stan, a hitchhiking woman abducted by a young couple and held captive for seven years, during which time she's tortured and forced to live as a slave to her captors.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Most Hated Woman in America (2017)
The true story of Madalyn Murray O'Hair -- iconoclast, opportunist, and outspoken atheist -- from her controversial rise to her untimely demise.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStall-Erik and the Snapphans (TBA)
Stall-Erik och snapphanarna is a Swedish film project that began filming in 1996 with a preliminary premiere in 2025. Director, producer and lead actor is Anders Olofsson. Olofsson is entirely responsible for the financing of the project and the casting.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & history
Gustav III:s äktenskap (2001)
At 30 years old King Gustav III has a number of great projects behind him already, but his most demanding in front of him - to consummate his marriage and put an heir on the throne. With both determination and anxiety the king begins his amorous battle to secure succession.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & history
Dies Caligo (2022)
The film takes place in the Swedish capitol Stockholm during the year 1809. War has ravaged Europe continuously for the last seventeen years. The common citizens of Stockholm live in misery as poverty, violence and death dominate the shadowy alleys. A coup feels inevitable and the coming dissolvement of the nation is what's on everyone's lips. In a beautiful salon six nobles are hiding away from it all by partying and socializing. One night the hostess Charlotte reveals to her five guests that she will be forced to sign over her property to one of them, for fear of otherwise losing it to the rebelling antigustavians. A game begins in the candlelit salon. A game of covert intentions, manipulation and mind games as five nobles attempt to find out who of them is best suited to take over the beautfiul estate. Time passes as they're all constantly driven towards their own personal abysses. All meanwhile the sounds of gunshots and yelling echo from beyond the gilded window sills.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & history
Varnagel (TBA)
A former guerrilla fighter seeks vengeance on a squadron of Swedish soldiers during the Scanian War 1678.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & history
Gustav Vasa (1965)
Gustav Vasa struggles to keep power while dealing with the Dacke War in his own country and his foreign debts.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & history
Daniel Hjort (1962)
Based on Josef Julius Wecksell's play. The story is set during an era of political unrest in 1590s Sweden, which spills over the Baltic Sea to Finland, then ruled by Sweden. Daniel Hjort, the grim and lonesome assistant to the powerful Fleming family, finds himself caught up between the two opposing parties when Turku Castle is close to coming under siege. In the midst of this, he finds out the truth about the death of his father and sets out on a quest for revenge.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both history & drama
Gustav III (1974)
Based on play by famous swedish author/playwright August Strindberg adapted for swedish TV in 70's. It's about the real life assassination on swedish king Gustav III who was killed by a lieutenant Jacob Johan Anckarström who acted on behalf of a group conspirators.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & history
Tintomara (1970)
In March 1792 the Swedish King Gustav III is murdered at a masked ball. Five young people are involved in the murder story, including Tintomara, a 17 year old inter-sex who dominates over the others.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Dacke (1961)
Nils Dacke, leader of the revolt against Gustav Vasa, is torn between his anger over social injustice and royal oppression, and his doubt in the power of himself and weapons.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Palme's Secret Agent (2015)
At the height of the cold war a struggle broke out between Governments from all over the world as to which position to take about the system of apartheid in South Africa. Leading the fight was Olof Palmes' Swedish Government, which covertly funneled over US$ 1 billion to the resistance movement. This money was given without the knowledge of either the Parliament or the Swedish populace. At the center of the net in South Africa was a Swedish diplomat called Birgitta Karlström Dorph. Meanwhile at the UN the Swedes with their Scandinavian counterparts attempted to win the argument for economic sanctions. This led to bitter arguments which saw Palme leading the fight against the Reagan and Thatcher administrations.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both history
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Erik XIV?
The closest matches to Erik XIV are Prizefighter: The Life of Jem Belcher (2022), Mary (2024) and Mr. Turner (2014). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Erik XIV?
Start with Prizefighter: The Life of Jem Belcher (2022), the closest match to Erik XIV.
What is the highest-rated movie like Erik XIV?
The Vikings (1958), rated 7.0/10 by 394 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Erik XIV?
Giant (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to Erik XIV chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Erik XIV, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.