Movies Like The Big Circus

If you liked The Big Circus (1964), a movie directed by Chun Kim, 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
Water for Elephants (2011)
★ 6.9/10
In this captivating Depression-era melodrama, impetuous veterinary student Jacob Jankowski joins a celebrated circus as an animal caretaker but faces a wrenching dilemma when he's transfixed by angelic married…
2
The Greatest Show on Earth (1952)
★ 6.4/10
To ensure a full profitable season, circus manager Brad Braden engages The Great Sebastian, though this moves his girlfriend Holly from her hard-won center trapeze spot. Holly and Sebastian begin a dangerous…
3
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009)
★ 6.4/10
After a carnival troupe saves his life, a man agrees to help its immortal leader collect five souls and win a bet with the devil.
4
At the Circus (1939)
★ 6.4/10
Jeff Wilson, the owner of a small circus, owes his partner Carter $10,000. Before Jeff can pay, Carter's accomplices steal the money so he can take over the circus. Antonio Pirelli and Punchy, who work at the circus…
5
Dumbo (2019)
★ 6.6/10
A young elephant, whose oversized ears enable him to fly, helps save a struggling circus, but when the circus plans a new venture, Dumbo and his friends discover dark secrets beneath its shiny veneer.
6
The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act (2026)
★ 8.8/10
With Caine gone and the circus dark, the cast are left with only the mistakes and traumas of their pasts to keep them company. As the prospect of eternity closes in around them, they discover the truth about the…
7
Ip Man: The Awakening (2021)
★ 6.8/10
When a young Master Ip stops a kidnapping, he ignites a turf war with a ruthless human-trafficking ring. In retaliation, the gang kidnaps one of Ip Man's close friends, forcing him to face the group's brutal boxing…
8
Adventures in Babysitting (2016)
★ 7.2/10
Two teen rival babysitters, Jenny and Lola, team up to hunt down one of their kids who accidentally ran away into the big city without any supervision.
9
The Unknown (1927)
★ 7.5/10
On the lam, criminal Alonzo hides in the circus as The Armless Wonder—a performer who uses his feet to hurl knives. Alonzo keeps the arms he really has concealed to hide his identity. Meanwhile, ringmaster's daughter…
10
Flicka (2006)
★ 6.9/10
Katy McLaughlin desires to work on her family's mountainside horse ranch, although her father insists she finish boarding school. Katy finds a mustang in the hills near her ranch. The headstrong 16 year old then sets…
11
Broke (2025)
★ 7/10
A bronc rider in denial about his fading rodeo career battles against brain injury and a sudden blizzard while reflecting on how it became so difficult to achieve his dreams.
12
Charlie & Boots (2009)
★ 6/10
After a family tragedy, Charlie and his estranged son, Boots, try to put their differences aside and head off on the road trip of a lifetime - from regional Victoria to the Cape York Peninsula - they overcome many…
13
Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972)
★ 6.2/10
In a futuristic world that has embraced ape slavery, a chimpanzee named Caesar resurfaces after almost twenty years of hiding from the authorities, and prepares for a revolt against humanity.
14
I Am What I Am (2021)
★ 7.3/10
By a fortunate coincidence, Gyun is inspired and encouraged by a girl with the same name. Therefore, he decides to form a lion dance troupe with his friends, Kat and Doggie, to break the constraints of reality and…
15
Good Luck Charlie, It's Christmas! (2011)
★ 6.7/10
Teddy Duncan's middle-class family embarks on a road trip from their home in Denver to visit Mrs. Duncans Parents, the Blankenhoopers, in Palm Springs. When they find themselves stranded between Denver and Utah, they…
16
Go West (1940)
★ 6.6/10
A con man heading west to search for gold teams up with a pair of scheming brothers along the way. The trio soon find themselves in the middle of a feud between two rival families and two underhanded land developers.
17
Fun and Fancy Free (1947)
★ 6.3/10
Jiminy Cricket hosts two Disney animated shorts: Bongo about a circus bear escaping to the wild, and Mickey and the Beanstalk, a take on the famous fairy tale.
18
A Very Jonas Christmas Movie (2025)
★ 6.2/10
Kevin, Nick, and Joe Jonas face a series of escalating obstacles as they struggle to make it from London to New York in time to spend Christmas with their families.
19
Animal Crackers (2018)
★ 6.4/10
A family must use a magical box of Animal Crackers to save a rundown circus from being taken over by their evil uncle Horatio P. Huntington.
20
Little Lord Fauntleroy (1980)
★ 7.3/10
Young Cedric Errol and his widowed mother live in genteel poverty in 1880s Brooklyn after the death of his father. Cedric's grandfather, the Earl of Dorincourt, has long ago disowned his son for marrying an American…