Movies like Vending Machine (2020)
The best movies like Vending Machine (2020) are Where the Red Fern Grows (2003), Where the Red Fern Grows (1974) and Little Lord Fauntleroy (1980). If Vending Machine hooked you with its drama and family, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedA Brighter Summer Day (1991)8.2/10 from 417 votes
- NewestBlue Night (2026)Released 2026
Where the Red Fern Grows (2003)
Set in the Ozark Mountains during the Great Depression, Billy Coleman works hard and saves his earnings for 2 years to achieve his dream of buying two coonhound pups. He develops a new trust in God as he faces overwhelming challenges in adventure and tragedy roaming the river bottoms of Cherokee country with "Old Dan" and "Little Ann."
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhere the Red Fern Grows (1974)
Billy Coleman works hard and saves his earnings for two years to achieve his dream of buying two red-bone coonhound pups. He develops a new trust in life as he faces overwhelming challenges in adventure and tragedy roaming the river bottoms of Cherokee country with his dogs, Old Dan and Little Ann.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLittle Lord Fauntleroy (1980)
Young Cedric Errol and his widowed mother live in genteel poverty in 1880s Brooklyn after the death of his father. Cedric's grandfather, the Earl of Dorincourt, has long ago disowned his son for marrying an American. But after the death of the Earl's remaining son, he decides to accept Cedric as his heir.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSkater Girl (2021)
Prerna, a teenager growing up in rural India, comes of age when she’s introduced to the sport of skateboarding. As a result, she has to fight the odds to follow her dreams and compete in the national championship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisI Believe (2019)
A 9 year old boy experiences God's power in a supernatural way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAngels in the Snow (2015)
The affluent, yet troubled Montgomery family hits the road for a special Christmas in the mountains.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHeidi (2005)
Swiss girl Adelheid 'Heidi' is orphaned young. Aunt Detie brings her to grandpa Alp and his wife, who live isolated in the Alps since his murder charge. Heidi soon takes to the wild country, especially accompanying young goatherd Peter. Grandpa refuses to send her to school in the city, but aunt Detie returns and forces him to give in. She's sent to a posh lady in Frankfurt, where she'll be a companion for crippled daughter Clara after school hours.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCanvas (2020)
After a heartbreaking loss, a grandfather struggling to reclaim his passion for painting finds the inspiration to create again.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSamantha: An American Girl Holiday (2004)
Kindhearted Samantha Parkington's world starts to change the day Nellie O'Malley walks into her life. Nellie, her father, and her two little sisters have moved in next door to be servants for the Ryland family. Though they come from completely different backgrounds, Samantha and Nellie become fast friends. The girls turn to each other in happiness and sorrow, adventure and danger.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMoondance Alexander (2007)
Curiously named teen Moondance Alexander lives with her eccentric mother, and is faced with another uneventful summer until she discovers a lost pinto pony named Checkers. Although Moondance returns the horse to his rightful owner, the gruff and mysterious Dante Longpre, she is convinced that Checkers is a champion jumper in disguise and is determined to help him realize his full potential.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGreyfriars Bobby (1961)
In Scotland 1865, An old shepherd and his little Skye terrier go to Edinburgh. But when the shepherd dies of pneumonia, the dog remains faithful to his master, refuses to be adopted by anyone, and takes to sleeping on his master's grave in the Greyfriars kirkyard, despite a caretaker with a "no dogs" rule. And when Bobby is taken up for being unlicensed, it's up to the children of Edinburgh and the Lord Provost to decide what's to be done.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFlicka (2006)
Katy McLaughlin desires to work on her family's mountainside horse ranch, although her father insists she finish boarding school. Katy finds a mustang in the hills near her ranch. The headstrong 16 year old then sets her mind to tame a mustang and prove to her father she can run the ranch. But when tragedy happens, it will take all the love and strength the family can muster to restore hope.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Encounter (2010)
When five strangers with nothing in common come together at a remote roadside eatery, they place their orders with the diner's omniscient owner, who seems to know everything about them ... and is eerily reminiscent of Jesus Christ.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFlicka: Country Pride (2012)
Flicka and Toby help out a struggling stable owner and her teenage daughter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Little Prince(ss) (2021)
When Gabriel, a 7-year-old Chinese kid who loves ballet, becomes friends with Rob, another Chinese kid from school, Rob’s dad gets suspicious about Gabriel's feminine behavior and decides to intervene.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFamily Romance, LLC (2019)
Love is a business at Family Romance, a company that rents human stand-ins for any occasion. Founder Yuichi Ishii helps make his clients’ dreams come true. But when the mother of 12-year-old Mahiro hires Ishii to impersonate her missing father, the line between acting and reality threatens to blur.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSanjay's Super Team (2015)
SANJAY'S SUPER TEAM follows the daydream of a young Indian boy, bored with his father's religious meditation, who imagines "a kind of ancient, Hindu version of The Avengers," with the gods appearing like superheros.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Pagemaster (1994)
Rich knows a lot about accidents. So much so, he is scared to do anything that might endanger him, like riding his bike, or climbing into his treehouse. While in an old library, he is mystically transported into the unknown world of books, and he has to try and get home again.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Brave Little Toaster (1987)
A group of dated appliances, finding themselves stranded in a summer home that their family had just sold, decide to seek out their eight year old 'master'.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thisGood Morning (1959)
Two boys beg their parents for a television set, nagging them until all patience is lost. The parents order the boys to be quiet and the boys do exactly that--refusing to utter a word. The boys' silence ultimately puts the whole neighborhood into turmoil.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTraces of Grief (2024)
Shell-shocked Barbara must face up to the loss of a dear companion after a tragic accident. Her best friend Klara and husband Torsten devise a plan to thaw Barbara's heart, after she reminisces about the incident, the funeral, and happier times. Will she agree to the suggestions of her nearest and dearest? Can grief turn into hope?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & family
I Live in Fear (1955)
An aging foundry patriarch, gripped by terror of nuclear annihilation, tries to uproot his family to Brazil. When they petition to have him declared incompetent, a family-court counselor witnesses his obsession slide into ruin—and asks whether ignoring the atomic threat is any saner.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGbre gundan (2025)
"After a freak accident leaves him deaf, a young man enters therapy, only to discover that losing his hearing has granted him a deeper understanding of his fractured family and inner turmoil. ግብረ ጉንዳን/Gbre gundan is a psychological drama that blurs the line between perception and reality, questioning whether true healing comes from what we hear or what we choose to ignore."
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Haruhara-san's Recorder (2021)
Sachi quits her job at a museum, starts working part-time at a café, and moves into an apartment recommended by a regular customer. Although she has started a new life, Sachi is still haunted by the memory of her partner whom she will never see again.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
o jardineiro - ou os equinócios de uma memória latente (2025)
Oliver, an elderly gardener with Alzheimer's, discovers a Super 8 film reel he recorded decades ago, during the early days of his relationship with Julia, his late wife. As he watches the images from the past, his memories blur with the present, and he finds himself torn between reality and the recollections of a love that still blooms in his mind. While searching for answers that never come, Oliver confronts the fleeting nature of life and the beauty of memories that withstand the passage of time.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
A Brighter Summer Day (1991)
A boy experiences first love, friendships and injustices growing up in 1960s Taiwan.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisBlue Night (2026)
On Christmas Eve, Alexandre, a lonely young man burdened by his own emotional defenses, invites Guilherme—a male escort who has just been kicked out of his home—to stay at his house. As the hours pass, the ordinary night transforms into a deep dive into the vulnerabilities, fears, and desires of both, showcasing the hesitant and contradictory construction of an inescapable connection that remains uncertain: whether it is love, friendship, or simply the recognition of two mirrored lonely souls.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
My Neighbors the Yamadas (1999)
The Yamadas are a typical middle class Japanese family in urban Tokyo and this film shows us a variety of episodes of their lives. With tales that range from the humorous to the heartbreaking, we see this family cope with life's little conflicts, problems, and joys in their own way.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisUnder My Window (2024)
Anna is thinking of quitting sex work. She hears screaming from out the window.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Vending Machine?
The closest matches to Vending Machine are Where the Red Fern Grows (2003), Where the Red Fern Grows (1974) and Little Lord Fauntleroy (1980). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Vending Machine?
Start with Where the Red Fern Grows (2003), the closest match to Vending Machine.
What is the highest-rated movie like Vending Machine?
A Brighter Summer Day (1991), rated 8.2/10 by 417 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Vending Machine?
Blue Night (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Vending Machine?
Yes: Where the Red Fern Grows (2003), Where the Red Fern Grows (1974) and Little Lord Fauntleroy (1980).
How are movies similar to Vending Machine chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Vending Machine, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.