Movies Like The Contest

If you liked The Contest (2019), a movie directed by Saulė Bliuvaitė, 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
Starting Over (1979)
★ 6.4/10
After divorcing his ambitious singer wife, a middle-aged man begins a new relationship with a teacher.
2
Holidate (2020)
★ 7/10
Fed up with being single on holidays, two strangers agree to be each other's platonic plus-ones all year long, only to catch real feelings along the way.
3
The Dead (1987)
★ 6.9/10
After a convivial holiday dinner party, things begin to unravel when a husband and wife address some prickly issues concerning their marriage.
4
A Merry Little Ex-Mas (2025)
★ 6/10
Recently separated, Kate hopes to celebrate one last perfect family Christmas with her soon-to-be ex-husband Everett and their kids before their divorce is final and the house is sold. But her holiday plans are…
5
The Noel Diary (2022)
★ 6.3/10
Cleaning out his childhood home at Christmas, a novelist meets a woman searching for her birth mother. Will an old diary unlock their pasts — and hearts?
6
I'll Be Home for Christmas (2016)
★ 6.1/10
Jackie Foster, a dynamic Assistant District Attorney and single mom, is looking forward to wrapping up her latest case and spending Christmas with Gracie, her adorable and precocious, eight-year old daughter. But when…
7
Secrets & Lies (1996)
★ 7.6/10
After her adoptive mother dies, Hortense, a successful black optometrist, seeks out her birth mother. She's shocked when her research leads her to Cynthia, a working class white woman.
8
The Map That Leads to You (2025)
★ 6.7/10
Heather is a young woman traveling Europe with friends before starting her perfectly planned life. A chance meeting with Jack sparks an unexpected romance that leads to deep emotional discovery. As secrets and life…
9
St. Vincent (2014)
★ 7.1/10
A young boy whose parents just divorced finds an unlikely friend and mentor in the misanthropic, bawdy, hedonistic, war veteran who lives next door.
10
EXmas (2023)
★ 6.4/10
When Graham decides to surprise his family by traveling home for Christmas, he is shocked to discover them already celebrating with an unexpected guest of honor, his ex-fiancée, Ali. The two exes battle it out to see…
11
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989)
★ 7.2/10
It's Christmastime, and the Griswolds are preparing for a family seasonal celebration. But things never run smoothly for Clark, his wife Ellen, and their two kids. Clark's continual bad luck is worsened by his…
12
The Thin Man (1934)
★ 7.5/10
Former detective Nick Charles has retired from police work, preferring a life of cocktails, parties, and relaxation with his wealthy wife, Nora. Their holiday is interrupted when the daughter of Nick’s former client…
13
Evelyn (2002)
★ 6.4/10
Desmond Doyle is devastated when his wife abandons their family on the day after Christmas. His unemployment, and the fact that there is no woman in the house to care for the children—Evelyn, Dermot and Maurice—make it…
14
The Secret: Dare to Dream (2020)
★ 7.4/10
A widow with three children hires a handyman to fix her house during a major storm. When not doing home repairs, he shares his philosophy of believing in the power of the universe to deliver what we want.
15
The First Wives Club (1996)
★ 6.7/10
After years of helping their hubbies climb the ladder of success, three mid-life Manhattanites have been dumped for a newer, curvier model. But the trio is determined to turn their pain into gain. They come up with a…
16
Hider in the House (1989)
★ 6.2/10
A deranged man hides in the attic of a new house and becomes obsessed with the unsuspecting family that moves in.
17
The Best Man Holiday (2013)
★ 6.5/10
When college friends reunite after 15 years over the Christmas holidays, they discover just how easy it is for long-forgotten rivalries and romances to be reignited.
18
A Christmas Prince: The Royal Baby (2019)
★ 6.3/10
Christmas brings the ultimate gift to Aldovia: a royal baby. But first, Queen Amber must help her family and kingdom by finding a missing peace treaty.
19
Memory (2023)
★ 7/10
Sylvia is a social worker who leads a simple and structured life: her daughter, her job, her AA meetings. This is blown open when Saul follows her home from their high school reunion. Their surprise encounter will…
20
Safe Haven (2013)
★ 7.2/10
A young woman with a mysterious past lands in Southport, North Carolina where her bond with a widower forces her to confront the dark secret that haunts her.