Movies Like Ancients

If you liked Ancients (2023), a comedy and history movie directed by Patrick Townsend, here are 20 movies with a similar feel, based on TMDB's recommendations. Each one links to its cast, trailer and where it's streaming.

1
Goltzius & the Pelican Company (2012)
★ 6.1/10Also comedy and history
Goltzius and the Pelican Company tells the story of Hendrik Goltzius, a late 16th century Dutch printer and engraver of erotic prints. A contemporary of Rembrandt and, indeed, more celebrated during his life, Goltzius…
2
Footlight Parade (1933)
★ 6.8/10Also comedy
A fledgling producer finds himself at odds with his workers, financiers and his greedy ex-wife when he tries to produce live musicals for movie-going audiences.
3
Start the Revolution Without Me (1970)
★ 6.1/10Also comedy and history
Two sets of identical twins are accidentally switched at birth. One pair, Phillipe and Pierre DeSisi, are aristocratic and haughty, while the other, Charles and Claude Coupé, are poor and dim-witted. On the eve of the…
4
A Song Is Born (1948)
★ 6.5/10Also comedy
The story of seven scholars in search of an expert to teach them about swing music. They seem to have found the perfect candidate in winsome nightclub singer Honey Swanson. But Honey's gangster boyfriend doesn't want…
5
Bo Burnham: Make Happy (2016)
★ 8/10Also comedy
Combining his trademark wit and self-deprecating humor with original music, Bo Burnham offers up his unique twist on life in this stand-up special about life, death, sexuality, hypocrisy, mental illness and Pringles…
6
Jimmy Carr: Natural Born Killer (2024)
★ 6.4/10Also comedy
Jimmy Carr refutes the idea that you can't joke about anything these days with his edgy takes on gun control, religion, cancel culture and consent.
7
Gabriel Iglesias: Hot and Fluffy (2007)
★ 7.6/10Also comedy
Gabriel Iglesias is one of the fastest-rising comics today! With his unique brand of humor, lovable stage presence and wide range of voices and impressions, it's no wonder that he already has a huge fan following. Now…
8
Dave Chappelle: Sticks & Stones (2019)
★ 7.5/10Also comedy
Dave Chappelle takes on gun culture, the opioid crisis and the tidal wave of celebrity scandals in this defiant stand-up special.
9
Eddie Izzard: Dress to Kill (1999)
★ 7.8/10Also comedy
Eddie Izzard takes her show to San Francisco to give a brief history of pagan and Christian religions, the building of Stonehenge, the birth of the Church of England and of Western empires, and the need for a European…
10
Bill Burr: Drop Dead Years (2025)
★ 7.2/10Also comedy
In what might be his most personal and introspective hour yet, Bill offers hilarious takes on everything from male sadness to dating advice.
11
The F**k-It List (2020)
★ 6/10Also comedy
After a prank blows up a studious high school senior's life, he shares a list of certain things he wishes he'd done differently — and maybe still can.
12
Bill Burr: Paper Tiger (2019)
★ 7.5/10Also comedy
Comedian Bill Burr talks male feminists, outrage culture, robot sex, and cultural appropriation in this standup comedy special shot in London.
13
Babes (2024)
★ 6/10Also comedy
After getting pregnant from a one-night stand, a single woman leans on her married best friend and mother of two to guide her through gestation and beyond.
14
Soul Men (2008)
★ 6.2/10Also comedy
Two former backup soul singers, Louis and Floyd, have not spoken to each other in 20 years, and reluctantly agree to travel across the country together to a reunion concert to honor their recently-deceased lead singer…
15
Babes in Arms (1939)
★ 6.4/10Also comedy
Mickey Moran, son of two vaudeville veterans, decides to put up his own vaudeville show with his girlfriend Patsy Barton. But child actress Rosalie wants to make a comeback and replace Patsy both professionally and as…
16
Thunderstruck (2012)
★ 6.2/10Also comedy
After NBA star Kevin Durant switches talent with 16 year old Brian, the teenager becomes the star of his high school team, but Durant starts struggling and eventually learns an important lesson.
17
Richard Pryor: Live in Concert (1979)
★ 7.4/10Also comedy
Richard Pryor delivers monologues on race, sex, family and his favorite target—himself, live at the Terrace Theatre in Long Beach, California.
18
Chris D'Elia: Man on Fire (2017)
★ 6.2/10Also comedy
Unbridled comic Chris D'Elia reconsiders his approach to major life events like marriage, not having kids and buying pants for your friends.
19
Tom Segura: Sledgehammer (2023)
★ 6.9/10Also comedy
From his dad's unusual deathbed confession to watching his mom get high, Tom Segura tells blisteringly candid stories about marriage, mortality and more.
20
Shane Gillis: Beautiful Dogs (2023)
★ 7/10Also comedy
In a rowdy stand-up set, Shane Gillis riffs on his girlfriend's Navy SEAL ex, touring George Washington's house and being bullied by an Australian Goth.