Movies like Awakenings
Awakenings (1990) is a drama movie directed by Penny Marshall. The list below collects the movies that people who loved it enjoyed most, best known first.
1. Breakthrough (2019)
★ 7.7 · 1,160 votes · Drama
Tragedy strikes when a woman named Joyce's son falls through the ice on a frozen lake and is trapped underwater for over 15 minutes. After being rushed to the hospital, the 14-year-old boy continues to fight for his life as Joyce, her husband and their pastor stay by his bedside and pray for a miracle.
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2. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
★ 8.4 · 11,866 votes · Drama
A petty criminal fakes insanity to serve his sentence in a mental ward rather than prison. He soon finds himself as a leader to the other patients—and an enemy to the cruel, domineering nurse who runs the ward.
Movies like One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest →
3. Brain on Fire (2017)
★ 7.0 · 1,448 votes · Drama
Susannah Cahalan, an up-and-coming journalist at the New York Post becomes plagued by voices in her head and seizures, causing a rapid descent into insanity.
Movies like Brain on Fire →
4. If I Stay (2014)
★ 7.3 · 4,373 votes · Drama
Mia Hall, a talented young cellist, thought the most difficult decision she would ever have to make would be whether to pursue her musical dreams at prestigious Juilliard or follow her heart to be with the love of her life, Adam, a rock singer/guitarist. However, a car wreck changes everything in an instant, and now Mia's life hangs in the balance. Suspended between life and death, Mia faces a choice that will decide her future.
Movies like If I Stay →
5. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
★ 8.7 · 31,581 votes · Drama, Crime
Imprisoned in the 1940s for the double murder of his wife and her lover, upstanding banker Andy Dufresne begins a new life at the Shawshank prison, where he puts his accounting skills to work for an amoral warden. During his long stretch in prison, Dufresne comes to be admired by the other inmates -- including an older prisoner named Red -- for his integrity and unquenchable sense of hope.
Movies like The Shawshank Redemption →
6. Rocky II (1979)
★ 7.3 · 5,006 votes · Drama, Action
After Rocky goes the distance with champ Apollo Creed, both try to put the fight behind them and move on. Rocky settles down with Adrian but can't put his life together outside the ring, while Creed seeks a rematch to restore his reputation. Soon enough, the "Master of Disaster" and the "Italian Stallion" are set on a collision course for a climactic battle that is brutal and unforgettable.
Movies like Rocky II →
7. Unknown (2011)
★ 6.7 · 4,321 votes · Action, Mystery, Thriller
A man awakens from a coma, only to discover that someone has taken on his identity and that no one, (not even his wife), believes him. With the help of a young woman, he sets out to prove who he is.
Movies like Unknown →
8. Miracles from Heaven (2016)
★ 7.5 · 1,302 votes · Family, Drama
When Christy discovers her 10-year-old daughter Anna has a rare, incurable disease, she becomes a ferocious advocate for her daughter’s healing as she searches for a solution. After Anna has a freak accident and falls three stories, a miracle unfolds in the wake of her dramatic rescue that leaves medical specialists mystified, her family restored and their community inspired.
Movies like Miracles from Heaven →
9. The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
★ 8.0 · 26,721 votes · Crime, Drama, Comedy
A New York stockbroker refuses to cooperate in a large securities fraud case involving corruption on Wall Street, corporate banking world and mob infiltration. Based on Jordan Belfort's autobiography.
Movies like The Wolf of Wall Street →
10. Richard Jewell (2019)
★ 7.4 · 2,828 votes · Drama, History, Crime
Richard Jewell thinks quick, works fast, and saves hundreds, perhaps thousands, of lives after a domestic terrorist plants several pipe bombs and they explode during a concert, only to be falsely suspected of the crime by sloppy FBI work and sensational media coverage.
Movies like Richard Jewell →
11. The Cider House Rules (1999)
★ 7.1 · 1,342 votes · Drama
Homer is an orphan who was never adopted, becoming the favorite of orphanage director Dr. Larch. Dr. Larch imparts his full medical knowledge on Homer, who becomes a skilled, albeit unlicensed, physician. But Homer yearns for a self-chosen life outside the orphanage. What will Homer learn about life and love in the cider house? What of the destiny that Dr. Larch has planned for him?
Movies like The Cider House Rules →
12. The Rainmaker (1997)
★ 7.0 · 1,564 votes · Drama, Crime, Thriller
Fresh out of law school and desperate for work, idealistic rookie Rudy Baylor takes on a powerful insurance company accused of denying a dying boy’s claim. Teaming up with a scrappy, unlicensed paralegal, he finds himself in a David-versus-Goliath courtroom battle that tests his ethics, courage, and belief in justice.
Movies like The Rainmaker →
13. Fathers and Daughters (2015)
★ 7.2 · 1,079 votes · 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.
Movies like Fathers and Daughters →
14. Clouds (2020)
★ 8.2 · 1,071 votes · Music, Drama
Young musician Zach Sobiech discovers his cancer has spread, leaving him just a few months to live. With limited time, he follows his dream and makes an album, unaware that it will soon be a viral music phenomenon.
Movies like Clouds →
15. Before I Fall (2017)
★ 7.0 · 3,599 votes · Drama, Fantasy
Samantha Kingston has everything. Then, everything changes. After one fateful night, she wakes up with no future at all. Trapped into reliving the same day over and over, she begins to question just how perfect her life really was.
Movies like Before I Fall →
16. The Verdict (1982)
★ 7.5 · 774 votes · Drama
Frank Galvin is a down-on-his-luck lawyer and reduced to drinking and ambulance chasing, when a former associate reminds him of his obligations in a medical malpractice suit by serving it to Galvin on a silver platter—all parties are willing to settle out of court. Blundering his way through the preliminaries, Galvin suddenly realizes that the case should actually go to court—to punish the guilty, to get a decent settlement for his clients... and to restore his standing as a lawyer.
Movies like The Verdict →
17. Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
★ 8.2 · 1,789 votes · Drama, Mystery, Crime
An ailing barrister is thrust back into the courtroom in what becomes one of the most unusual and eventful murder cases of the lawyer's career when he finds himself defending a man being tried for the murder of a socialite.
Movies like Witness for the Prosecution →
18. Dark Waters (2019)
★ 7.5 · 2,640 votes · Drama, Thriller
A tenacious attorney uncovers a dark secret that connects a growing number of unexplained deaths to one of the world's largest corporations. In the process, he risks everything — his future, his family, and his own life — to expose the truth.
Movies like Dark Waters →
19. Point Blank (1967)
★ 7.0 · 456 votes · Crime, Thriller, Drama
After being double-crossed and left for dead, a mysterious man named Walker single-mindedly tries to retrieve the rather inconsequential sum of money that was stolen from him.
Movies like Point Blank →
20. The Life of Chuck (2025)
★ 7.3 · 1,327 votes · Drama, Fantasy
In this extraordinary story of an ordinary man, Charles 'Chuck' Krantz experiences the wonder of love, the heartbreak of loss, and the multitudes contained in all of us.
Movies like The Life of Chuck →