Movies Like 500 Fireflies

If you liked 500 Fireflies (2025), a movie directed by Lysandra Petersson, 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
Mr. Harrigan's Phone (2022)
★ 6.4/10
Craig, a young boy living in a small town befriends an older, reclusive billionaire, Mr. Harrigan. The two form a bond over books and an iPhone, but when the man passes away the boy discovers that not everything dead…
2
The Beach House (2018)
★ 6.3/10
Cara Rudland thought she’d left her Southern roots and troubled family far behind, but returns to the scenic Lowcountry of her childhood summers after losing her job in Chicago. There, she reconnects with her mother…
3
The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)
★ 7.9/10
A struggling salesman takes custody of his son as he's poised to begin a life-changing professional career.
4
The Magic of Belle Isle (2012)
★ 7/10
In an effort to tap into his original talent, a wheelchair-bound author moves to a rural town, where he befriends a single mother and her three kids, who help reignite his passion for writing.
5
Bravetown (2015)
★ 6.7/10
After an accidental drug overdose, a talented teenage DJ goes to live with his estranged father in a small Army town, where he gets to the bottom of his own pain and learns empathy for others.
6
The Last Song (2010)
★ 7.2/10
A drama centered on a rebellious girl who is sent to a Southern beach town for the summer to stay with her father. Through their mutual love of music, the estranged duo learn to reconnect.
7
Magnolia (1999)
★ 7.7/10
On one random day in the San Fernando Valley, a dying father, a young wife, a male caretaker, a famous lost son, a police officer in love, a boy genius, an ex-boy genius, a game show host and an estranged daughter will…
8
Float (2024)
★ 6.6/10
Waverly thought she had her future figured out: she’d start her medical residency in Toronto after a summer visit to her parents in Taipei. When her plans suddenly change, she makes an impulsive detour to a small…
9
Mr. Church (2016)
★ 7.4/10
A unique friendship develops when a little girl and her dying mother inherit a cook - Mr. Church. What begins as an arrangement that should only last six months, instead spans fifteen years.
10
The Map of Tiny Perfect Things (2021)
★ 7.1/10
Two teenagers trapped in an endless time loop set out to find all the tiny things that make that one day perfect.
11
This Boy's Life (1993)
★ 7.1/10
When a son and mother move to Seattle in hopes for a better life, the mother meets a seemingly polite man. Things go south when the man turns out to be abusive, endangering their lives. As the mother struggles to…
12
The Florida Project (2017)
★ 7.4/10
The story of a precocious six year-old and her ragtag group of friends whose summer break is filled with childhood wonder, possibility and a sense of adventure while the adults around them struggle with hard times.
13
The Way Way Back (2013)
★ 7.1/10
Shy 14-year-old Duncan goes on summer vacation with his mother, her overbearing boyfriend, and her boyfriend's daughter. Having a rough time fitting in, Duncan finds an unexpected friend in Owen, manager of the Water…
14
Bastard Out of Carolina (1996)
★ 7.1/10
A poor, struggling South Carolinian mother and daughter face painful choices with their resolve and pride. Bone, the eldest daughter, and Anney her tired mother, grow both closer and farther apart: Anney sees Glen as…
15
Ghostlight (2024)
★ 7.2/10
When melancholic construction worker Dan finds himself drifting from his wife and daughter, he discovers community and purpose in a local theater's production of Romeo and Juliet. As the drama onstage starts to mirror…
16
Hillbilly Elegy (2020)
★ 6.7/10
An urgent phone call pulls a Yale Law student back to his Ohio hometown, where he reflects on three generations of family history and his own future.
17
The Station Agent (2003)
★ 7.3/10
When his only friend dies, a man born with dwarfism moves to rural New Jersey to live a life of solitude, only to meet a chatty hot dog vendor and a woman dealing with her own personal loss.
18
The Spitfire Grill (1996)
★ 6.5/10
Percy, upon being released from prison, goes to the small town of Gillead, to find a place where she can start over again. She is taken in by Hannah, to help out at her place, the Spitfire Grill. Percy brings change to…
19
Wildflower (2023)
★ 7.4/10
The story of Bea Johnson from birth to graduation as she navigates life with an intellectually disabled parent and an extended family who can't quite agree on the best way to help.
20
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. (2023)
★ 7.1/10
When her family moves from New York City to New Jersey, an 11-year-old girl navigates new friends, feelings, and the beginning of adolescence.