Movies like It's a Wonderful Life (1946)

Name: It's a Wonderful Life
Released: 1946

10 films to watch after It's a Wonderful Life, ranked by how well they match its tone — not just its genre.

George Bailey has spent his entire life giving to the people of Bedford Falls. All that prevents rich skinflint Mr. Potter from taking over the entire town is George's modest building and loan company. But on Christmas Eve the business's $8,000 is lost and George's troubles begin.

1

A Christmas Carol (1997)

Fit 71%

Shares Family, Fantasy and Drama with It's a Wonderful Life.

Miser Ebenezer Scrooge is awakened on Christmas Eve by spirits who reveal to him his own miserable existence, what opportunities he wasted in his youth, his current cruelties, and the dire fate that awaits him if he does not change his ways. Scrooge is faced with his own story of growing bitterness and meanness, and must decide what his own future will hold: death or redemption.
2

FX's A Christmas Carol (2019)

Fit 64%

Shares Drama and Fantasy with It's a Wonderful Life.

London, 1843. Ebenezer Scrooge, a bitter old man, despises the Christmas holiday. Over the course of Christmas Eve night he is visited by three ghosts to show him his past, present and future.
3

Northfork (2003)

Fit 60%

Shares Fantasy and Drama with It's a Wonderful Life.

The year is 1955, and a great flood is coming to Northfork, Montana. A new hydroelectric dam is about to be installed in the mountains above the town, ready to submerge the valley in the name of progress. It is the responsibility of a six-man Evacuation Committee to relocate the townsfolk to higher ground. Most have duly departed, but a few stubborn stragglers remain – among them a priest caring for a sickly orphan, a boy whose fevered visions are leading him to believe he is a member of a roaming band of lost angels desperately searching for a way home.
4

Miracles from Heaven (2016)

Fit 58%

Shares Family and Drama with It's a Wonderful Life.

When Christy discovers her 10-year-old daughter Anna has a rare, incurable disease, she becomes a ferocious advocate for her daughter’s healing as she searches for a solution. After Anna has a freak accident and falls three stories, a miracle unfolds in the wake of her dramatic rescue that leaves medical specialists mystified, her family restored and their community inspired.
5

The Shack (2017)

Fit 51%

Shares Drama and Family with It's a Wonderful Life.

A grieving man receives a mysterious, personal invitation to meet with God at a place called 'The Shack'.
6

Spencer's Mountain (1963)

Fit 51%

Shares Drama and Family with It's a Wonderful Life.

Clay Spencer and his wife, Olivia, live in a small town deep in the mountains. When Clay isn't busy drinking with his buddies or railing against the town minister, he's building the house he's always promised Olivia. He is overjoyed when he learns his eldest son will be the first Spencer to attend college, if he can resist the charms of a pretty local girl and rustle up the money for tuition.
7

The Lovely Bones (2009)

Fit 50%

Shares Fantasy and Drama with It's a Wonderful Life.

After being brutally murdered, 14-year-old Susie Salmon watches from heaven over her grief-stricken family -- and her killer. As she observes their daily lives, she must balance her thirst for revenge with her desire for her family to heal.
8

The Unbreakable Boy (2025)

Fit 47%

Shares Family and Drama with It's a Wonderful Life.

When Scott and Teresa LeRette learn that their son Austin is both autistic and has brittle bone disease, they initially worry for their son’s future. But with Scott’s growing faith and Austin’s incredible spirit, they become 'unbreakable', finding joy, gratitude, and courage even in the most trying times.
9

Lost on a Mountain in Maine (2024)

Fit 46%

Shares Drama and Family with It's a Wonderful Life.

When twelve-year-old Donn Fendler gets tired of waiting for his father and brothers to join him on the summit of Maine's highest peak, he decides to find his own way back to camp. But Donn doesn't count on a fast-moving fog that obscures the path. He doesn't count on falling down an embankment that hides him from sight. And he doesn't count on taking a turn that leaves him alone to wander aimlessly for nearly two weeks in the empty mountain wilderness.
10

Before I Fall (2017)

Fit 45%

Shares Drama and Fantasy with It's a Wonderful Life.

Samantha Kingston has everything. Then, everything changes. After one fateful night, she wakes up with no future at all. Trapped into reliving the same day over and over, she begins to question just how perfect her life really was.