Movies Like Nian

If you liked Nian (2022), a movie directed by Michelle Krusiec, 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
A Monster Calls (2016)
★ 7.3/10
12-year-old Conor encounters an ancient tree monster who proceeds to help him cope with his mother's terminal illness and being bullied in school.
2
Sight (2023)
★ 6.4/10
Ming Wang is an impoverished Chinese prodigy who flees Communist China to become a pioneering eye surgeon in America. When tasked with restoring the sight of an orphan in India, who was blinded by her stepmother, Wang…
3
Koati (2021)
★ 7.1/10
Three unlikely heroes - Nachi, a free-spirited coati; Xochi, a fearless monarch butterfly and Pako, a hyperactive glass frog - embark on an adventure to stop wicked coral snake Zaina from destroying their rain forest…
4
Heathers (1989)
★ 7.2/10
A girl who halfheartedly tries to be part of the "in crowd" of her school meets a rebel who teaches her a more devious way to play social politics: by killing the popular kids.
5
The Babysitter (2017)
★ 6.2/10
When Cole stays up past his bedtime, he discovers that his hot babysitter is part of a Satanic cult that will stop at nothing to keep him quiet.
6
I Kill Giants (2017)
★ 6.2/10
Sophia, a new high school student, tries to make friends with Barbara, who tells her that “she kills giants,” protecting this way her hometown and its inhabitants, who do not understand her strange behavior.
7
The Swan (2023)
★ 6.8/10
Two large, ignorant bullies ruthlessly pursue a small, brilliant boy in this young adult Roald Dahl short story.
8
The Legend of Ochi (2025)
★ 6.1/10
In a remote village on the island of Carpathia, a shy farm girl named Yuri is raised to fear an elusive animal species known as ochi. But when Yuri discovers a wounded baby ochi has been left behind, she escapes on a…
9
Matilda (1996)
★ 7.2/10
Matilda Wormwood is an brilliant and intelligent little girl. Unfortunately, her parents, Harry and Zinnia, fail to see that fact. As time passes, she finally starts school and has a kind teacher, loyal friends, and a…
10
Bridge to Terabithia (2007)
★ 7.4/10
Jesse Aarons trained all summer to become the fastest runner in school. So he's very upset when newcomer Leslie Burke outruns him and everyone else. Despite this and other differences including that she's rich, he's…
11
Beastly (2011)
★ 6.3/10
A modern-day take on the "Beauty and the Beast" tale where a New York teen is transformed into a hideous monster in order to find true love.
12
Carrie (2013)
★ 6.1/10
An awkward, telekinetic teenage girl is the object of relentless bullying at school and an oppressively religious mother at home.
13
Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life (2016)
★ 6.9/10
A quiet teenage artist Rafe Katchadorian has a wild imagination and is sick of middle school and the rules that have been put before him. Rafe and his best friend Leo have come up with a plan: break every rule in the…
14
A Little Princess (1995)
★ 7.6/10
When her father enlists to fight for the British in WWI, young Sara Crewe goes to New York to attend the same boarding school her late mother attended. She soon clashes with the severe headmistress, Miss Minchin, who…
15
The Beautician and the Beast (1997)
★ 6.7/10
A New York City beautician is mistakenly hired as the school teacher for the children of the president of a small Eastern European country.
16
Bad Apples (2026)
★ 6.9/10
A struggling primary school teacher is forced to take drastic action because of a foul-mouthed, violent student, and uncovers how her community will turn a blind eye to the most outrageous events to preserve harmony…
17
Mean Girls (2004)
★ 7.2/10
Cady Heron is a hit with The Plastics, the A-list girl clique at her new school, until she makes the mistake of falling for Aaron Samuels, the ex-boyfriend of alpha Plastic Regina George.
18
Freaky Friday (2003)
★ 6.6/10
Mother and daughter bicker over everything -- what Anna wears, whom she likes and what she wants to do when she's older. In turn, Anna detests Tess's fiancé. When a magical fortune cookie switches their personalities…
19
Fatima (2020)
★ 7.2/10
In 1917, outside the parish of Fátima, Portugal, a 10-year-old girl and her two younger cousins witness multiple visitations of the Virgin Mary, who tells them that only prayer and suffering will bring an end to World…
20
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (2014)
★ 6.2/10
Alexander's day begins with gum stuck in his hair, followed by more calamities. Though he finds little sympathy from his family and begins to wonder if bad things only happen to him, his mom, dad, brother, and sister…