Movies Like Paper Airplanes

If you liked Paper Airplanes (2026), a drama and family movie directed by Alyssa Thurman, 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
The Shack (2017)
★ 7.5/10Also drama and family
A grieving man receives a mysterious, personal invitation to meet with God at a place called 'The Shack'.
2
Remember (2015)
★ 7.3/10Also drama
With the aid of a fellow Auschwitz survivor and a hand-written letter, an elderly man with dementia goes in search of the person responsible for the death of his family.
3
Manchester by the Sea (2016)
★ 7.5/10Also drama
After his older brother passes away, Lee Chandler is forced to return home to care for his 16-year-old nephew. There he is compelled to deal with a tragic past that separated him from his family and the community where…
4
Fathers and Daughters (2015)
★ 7.2/10Also drama
A Pulitzer-winning writer grapples with being a widower and father after a mental breakdown, while, 27 years later, his grown daughter struggles to forge connections of her own.
5
Mr. Church (2016)
★ 7.4/10Also drama
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.
6
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)
★ 7.6/10Also drama
An alcoholic ex-football player drinks his days away, having failed to come to terms with his sexuality and his real feelings for his football buddy who died after an ambiguous accident. His wife is crucified by her…
7
If Anything Happens I Love You (2020)
★ 7.7/10Also drama
Grieving parents journey through an emotional void as they mourn the loss of a child after a tragic school shooting.
8
Dad (1989)
★ 6.4/10Also drama
A busy executive learns during a meeting that his mother may be dying and rushes home to her side. He ends up being his father's caretaker and becomes closer to him than ever before. Estranged from his own son, the…
9
Things We Lost in the Fire (2007)
★ 6.6/10Also drama
A recent widow invites her husband's troubled best friend to live with her and her two children. As he gradually turns his life around, he helps the family cope and confront their loss.
10
Rabbit Hole (2010)
★ 6.6/10Also drama
Life for a happy couple is turned upside down after their young son dies in an accident.
11
Tetro (2009)
★ 6.8/10Also drama
In Buenos Aires, 17-year-old Bennie seeks out his estranged brother Tetro, a once-promising writer haunted by their family’s past. As Bennie uncovers Tetro’s hidden manuscript, old secrets and rivalries resurface…
12
Interiors (1978)
★ 6.8/10Also drama
When Eve, an interior designer, is deserted by her husband of many years, Arthur, the emotionally glacial relationships of the three grown-up daughters are laid bare. Twisted by jealousy, insecurity and resentment…
13
Premonition (2007)
★ 6.3/10Also drama
A depressed housewife who learns her husband was killed in a car accident the day previously awakens the next morning to find him alive and well at home, and then awakens the day after to a world in which he is still…
14
Cassandra's Dream (2007)
★ 6.3/10Also drama
The tale of two brothers with serious financial woes. When a third party proposes they turn to crime, things go bad and the two become enemies.
15
Hereafter (2010)
★ 6.2/10Also drama
Three people — a blue-collar American, a French journalist and a London school boy — are touched by death in different ways.
16
The Secret Life of Bees (2008)
★ 7.5/10Also family and drama
Set in South Carolina in 1964, this is the tale of Lily Owens a 14 year-old girl who is haunted by the memory of her late mother. To escape her lonely life and troubled relationship with her father, Lily flees with…
17
Prayers for Bobby (2009)
★ 8.1/10Also drama
Bobby Griffith was his mother's favorite son, the perfect all-American boy growing up under deeply religious influences in Walnut Creek, California. Bobby was also gay. Struggling with a conflict no one knew of, much…
18
The Book of Henry (2017)
★ 7.5/10Also drama
Susan, a single mother of two, works as a waitress in a small town. Her son, Henry, is an 11-year-old genius who not only manages the family finances but acts as emotional support for his mother and younger brother…
19
The Starling (2021)
★ 6.9/10Also drama
A woman adjusting to life after a loss contends with a feisty bird that's taken over her garden — and a husband who's struggling to find a way forward.
20
Black or White (2015)
★ 6.8/10Also drama
A grieving widower is drawn into a custody battle over his granddaughter, whom he helped raise her entire life.