Movies Like Waiting for You to Return

If you liked Waiting for You to Return (2025), a movie directed by Jiang Minghua, 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
Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
★ 7.5/10
After moving to a new town, troublemaking teen Jim Stark is supposed to have a clean slate, although being the new kid in town brings its own problems. While searching for some stability, Stark forms a bond with a…
2
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.
3
Beaches (1988)
★ 6.7/10
A privileged rich debutante and a cynical struggling entertainer share a turbulent, but strong childhood friendship over the years.
4
The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)
★ 7.8/10
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1991. High school freshman Charlie is a wallflower, always watching life from the sidelines, until two senior students, Sam and her stepbrother Patrick, become his mentors, helping him…
5
Forrest Gump (1994)
★ 8.5/10
A man with a low IQ has accomplished great things in his life and been present during significant historic events—in each case, far exceeding what anyone imagined he could do. But despite all he has achieved, his one…
6
Bob Trevino Likes It (2025)
★ 7.5/10
Lily Trevino unexpectedly befriends an online stranger who shares her self-centered father’s name. This new Bob Trevino’s support could transform her life.
7
How to Date Billy Walsh (2024)
★ 6.4/10
Archie has been in love with his best friend Amelia for as long as he can remember. Just when he builds up the courage to declare his feelings, she falls head over heels for Billy Walsh, a new American transfer student.
8
All of You (2025)
★ 6.3/10
Laura and Simon have been best friends since college. Over the years, they've realized their bond is more than platonic. Can they—and should they—risk everything to explore a love that has existed all along?
9
Legends of the Fall (1994)
★ 7.4/10
In early 20th-century Montana, Col. William Ludlow lives on a ranch in the wilderness with his sons, Alfred, Tristan, and Samuel. Eventually, the unconventional but close-knit family are bound by loyalty, tested by…
10
Joy Ride (2023)
★ 6.5/10
When Audrey's business trip to Asia goes sideways, she enlists the aid of Lolo, her irreverent, childhood best friend who also happens to be a hot mess; Kat, her college friend turned Chinese soap star; and Deadeye…
11
The Fabelmans (2022)
★ 7.5/10
Growing up in post-World War II era Arizona, young Sammy Fabelman aspires to become a filmmaker as he reaches adolescence, but soon discovers a shattering family secret and explores how the power of films can help him…
12
The Last Full Measure (2020)
★ 7.3/10
The incredible true story of Vietnam War hero William H. Pitsenbarger, a U.S. Air Force Pararescuemen medic who personally saved over sixty men. Thirty-two years later, Pentagon staffer Scott Huffman investigates a…
13
Love Me Love Me (2026)
★ 6.1/10
After her brother's death, June moves to Milan for a fresh start, finding comfort in Will, the perfect honor student at her new international school. But when his troubled best friend James—hiding a dangerous life in…
14
Past Lives (2023)
★ 7.7/10
After decades apart, childhood friends Nora and Hae Sung are reunited in New York for one fateful weekend as they confront notions of destiny, love, and the choices that make a life.
15
Uncommon Valor (1983)
★ 6.2/10
A group of Vietnam War veterans re-unite to rescue one of their own left behind and taken prisoner by the Vietnamese.
16
Your Name Engraved Herein (2020)
★ 7.9/10
In 1987, as martial law ends in Taiwan, Jia-han and Birdy fall in love amid family pressure, homophobia and social stigma.
17
The Art of Getting By (2011)
★ 6.6/10
George, a lonely and fatalistic teen who's made it all the way to his senior year without ever having done a real day of work, is befriended by Sally, a popular but complicated girl who recognizes in him a kindred…
18
Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)
★ 7.7/10
An aging Chinese immigrant is swept up in an insane adventure, where she alone can save what's important to her by connecting with the lives she could have led in other universes.
19
To All the Boys I've Loved Before (2018)
★ 7.6/10
Lara Jean's love life goes from imaginary to out of control when her secret letters to every boy she's ever fallen for are mysteriously mailed out.
20
Lan Yu (2001)
★ 7.2/10
A love story between a country boy in Beijing to study and a wealthy businessman set against the backdrop of the 1989 Tiananmen Square incident.