Thanksgiving Movies
by resetsmyth | created - 27 Nov 2013 | updated - 5 months ago | PublicMovies that take place on or around Thanksgiving
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1. The House of Yes (1997)
R | 85 min | Comedy, Drama, Thriller
A mentally unbalanced young woman - who is convinced she is Jackie Kennedy - flies into a murderous rage when her brother returns home to reveal he is engaged.
Director: Mark Waters | Stars: Parker Posey, Josh Hamilton, Tori Spelling, Freddie Prinze Jr.
Votes: 8,834 | Gross: $0.62M
2. Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987)
R | 93 min | Comedy, Drama
A Chicago advertising man must struggle to travel home from New York for Thanksgiving, with a lovable oaf of a shower-curtain-ring salesman as his only companion.
Director: John Hughes | Stars: Steve Martin, John Candy, Laila Robins, Michael McKean
Votes: 160,328 | Gross: $49.53M
3. Son in Law (1993)
PG-13 | 95 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Having gotten a taste of college life, a drastically changed farm girl returns home for Thanksgiving break with her best friend, a flamboyant party animal who is clearly a fish out of water in a small farm town.
Director: Steve Rash | Stars: Pauly Shore, Carla Gugino, Lane Smith, Cindy Pickett
Votes: 22,451 | Gross: $36.45M
4. Dutch (1991)
PG-13 | 107 min | Comedy, Drama
To get to know his girlfriend's son, a working-class good guy volunteers to pick him up from his prep school, only to learn that he isn't the nicest young man.
Director: Peter Faiman | Stars: Ed O'Neill, Ethan Embry, JoBeth Williams, Christopher McDonald
Votes: 14,371 | Gross: $4.60M
5. Scent of a Woman (1992)
R | 156 min | Drama
A prep school student needing money agrees to "babysit" a blind man, but the job is not at all what he anticipated.
Director: Martin Brest | Stars: Al Pacino, Chris O'Donnell, James Rebhorn, Gabrielle Anwar
Votes: 329,051 | Gross: $63.90M
6. Home for the Holidays (1995)
PG-13 | 103 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
After losing her job, making out with her soon-to-be former boss, and finding out that her daughter plans to spend Thanksgiving with her boyfriend, Claudia Larson faces spending the holiday with her family.
Director: Jodie Foster | Stars: Holly Hunter, Anne Bancroft, Robert Downey Jr., Charles Durning
Votes: 14,564 | Gross: $17.52M
7. The Ice Storm (1997)
R | 112 min | Drama
In suburban New Canaan, Connecticut, 1973, middle-class families experimenting with casual sex and substance abuse find their lives beyond their control.
Director: Ang Lee | Stars: Kevin Kline, Joan Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Henry Czerny
Votes: 59,980 | Gross: $7.84M
8. Pieces of April (2003)
PG-13 | 80 min | Comedy, Drama
A wayward daughter invites her dying mother and the rest of her estranged family to her apartment for Thanksgiving dinner.
Director: Peter Hedges | Stars: Katie Holmes, Oliver Platt, Patricia Clarkson, Derek Luke
Votes: 22,127 | Gross: $2.53M
9. The Daytrippers (1996)
R | 87 min | Comedy, Drama
When she discovers a love letter written to her husband by an unknown paramour, the distraught Eliza turns to her tight-knit Long Island family for advice.
Director: Greg Mottola | Stars: Hope Davis, Stanley Tucci, Parker Posey, Liev Schreiber
Votes: 7,155 | Gross: $2.08M
10. Thanksgiving Family Reunion (2003 TV Movie)
PG-13 | 91 min | Comedy
All Mitch Snider wants for his family is a traditional holiday feast with the relatives. The problem is that he doesn't have any. That is until he gets an invitation in the mail from his ... See full summary »
Director: Neal Israel | Stars: Bryan Cranston, Judge Reinhold, Penelope Ann Miller, Hallie Todd
Votes: 1,008
11. Kristy (2014)
Not Rated | 86 min | Horror, Thriller
When a college girl who is alone on campus over the Thanksgiving break is targeted by a group of outcasts, she must conquer her deepest fears to outwit them and fight back.
Director: Olly Blackburn | Stars: Haley Bennett, Ashley Greene, Lucas Till, Chris Coy
Votes: 9,292
12. Blood Freak (1972)
X | 86 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
A biker gets a job at a turkey farm and agrees to act as guinea pig for some chemicals that need tested, failing to anticipate the murderous side effects.
Directors: Brad F. Grinter, Steve Hawkes | Stars: Steve Hawkes, Dana Cullivan, Randy Grinter, Heather Grinter
Votes: 1,817
13. ThanksKilling (2008)
Not Rated | 70 min | Comedy, Horror, Thriller
A homicidal turkey axes off college kids during Thanksgiving break.
Director: Jordan Downey | Stars: Wanda Lust, Natasha Cordova, Lindsey Anderson, Lance Predmore
Votes: 5,465
14. ThanksKilling 3 (2012)
Not Rated | 99 min | Comedy, Horror, Sci-Fi
Fowl-mouthed villain Turkie carves through the likes of a rapping grandma, a mindless puppet, a wig-wearing inventor, a bisexual space worm, and their equally ridiculous friends on his quest to recover the last copy of "ThanksKilling 2".
Director: Jordan Downey | Stars: Daniel Usaj, Joe Hartzler, Preston Altree, Benjamin Siemon
Votes: 1,286
15. Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
PG-13 | 107 min | Comedy, Drama
Between two Thanksgivings two years apart, Hannah's husband falls in love with her sister Lee, while her hypochondriac ex-husband rekindles his relationship with her sister Holly.
Director: Woody Allen | Stars: Mia Farrow, Dianne Wiest, Michael Caine, Barbara Hershey
Votes: 76,805 | Gross: $40.08M
16. Home Sweet Home (1981)
TV-PG | 85 min | Horror
An escaped mental patient steals a station wagon and makes his way to the Bradleys' Thanksgiving celebration, where he plans to make them a little less thankful...
Director: Nettie Peña | Stars: Jake Steinfeld, Vinessa Shaw, Peter De Paula, Don Edmonds
Votes: 892
17. Intensity (1997 TV Movie)
186 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
A woman spending Thanksgiving at the home of her friend's family in the rural Pacific Northwest finds herself in the clutches of a disturbed serial killer.
Director: Yves Simoneau | Stars: John C. McGinley, Molly Parker, Blu Mankuma, Lori Triolo
Votes: 2,181
18. Alien Abduction: Incident in Lake County (1998 TV Movie)
TV-MA | 93 min | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
After a mysterious blackout, a son goes out to investigate and captures footage of actual aliens. When the aliens follow him and his brothers back to their home, all hell breaks loose.
Director: Dean Alioto | Stars: Benz Antoine, Kristian Ayre, Gillian Barber, Michael Buie
Votes: 3,857
19. Addams Family Values (1993)
PG-13 | 94 min | Comedy, Fantasy
The Addams Family try to rescue their beloved Uncle Fester from his gold-digging new love, a black widow named Debbie.
Director: Barry Sonnenfeld | Stars: Anjelica Huston, Raul Julia, Christopher Lloyd, Joan Cusack
Votes: 109,648 | Gross: $48.92M
20. Broadway Danny Rose (1984)
PG | 84 min | Comedy
In his attempts to reconcile a lounge singer with his mistress, a hapless talent agent is mistaken as her lover by a jealous gangster.
Director: Woody Allen | Stars: Woody Allen, Mia Farrow, Nick Apollo Forte, Sandy Baron
Votes: 26,953 | Gross: $10.60M
21. For Your Consideration (2006)
PG-13 | 86 min | Comedy
Three actors learn that their respective performances in the film "Home for Purim," a drama set in the mid-1940s American South, are generating award-season buzz.
Director: Christopher Guest | Stars: Catherine O'Hara, Harry Shearer, Parker Posey, Christopher Guest
Votes: 15,892 | Gross: $5.54M
22. Grumpy Old Men (1993)
PG-13 | 103 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A lifelong feud between two neighbors since childhood only gets worse when a new female neighbor moves across the street.
Director: Donald Petrie | Stars: Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Ann-Margret, Burgess Meredith
Votes: 53,845 | Gross: $70.17M
23. Tadpole (2002)
PG-13 | 78 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Coming-of-age story about a suave 15-year-old prep school student who falls in love with his stepmother. When her best friend responds to his advances, he suddenly finds himself in way over his head.
Director: Gary Winick | Stars: Sigourney Weaver, Aaron Stanford, Kate Mara, Robert Iler
Votes: 6,263 | Gross: $2.88M
24. The Big Chill (1983)
R | 105 min | Comedy, Drama
A group of seven former college friends gather for a weekend reunion at a South Carolina vacation home after the funeral of another of their college friends.
Director: Lawrence Kasdan | Stars: Tom Berenger, Glenn Close, Jeff Goldblum, William Hurt
Votes: 41,459 | Gross: $56.20M
25. Tower Heist (2011)
PG-13 | 104 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
When a group of hard-working guys find out they've fallen victim to their wealthy employer's Ponzi scheme, they conspire to rob his high-rise residence.
Director: Brett Ratner | Stars: Eddie Murphy, Ben Stiller, Casey Affleck, Alan Alda
Votes: 151,036 | Gross: $78.05M
26. Blood Rage (1987)
R | 82 min | Horror
A boy kills a man and accuses his twin brother of the murder, and the innocent brother ends up institutionalized, while his psychotic twin goes free. 10 years later, the innocent twin escapes, which triggers his brother into killing again.
Director: John Grissmer | Stars: Louise Lasser, Mark Soper, Julie Gordon, Jayne Bentzen
Votes: 5,742
27. Boogeyman (2005)
PG-13 | 89 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A young man tries to deal with the childhood terror that has never stopped haunting him.
Director: Stephen Kay | Stars: Barry Watson, Emily Deschanel, Lucy Lawless, Skye McCole Bartusiak
Votes: 32,599 | Gross: $46.75M
28. Don't Say a Word (2001)
R | 113 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
When the daughter of a psychiatrist is kidnapped, he's horrified to discover that the abductors' demand is that he break through to a post traumatic stress disorder suffering young woman who knows a secret...
Director: Gary Fleder | Stars: Michael Douglas, Sean Bean, Brittany Murphy, Skye McCole Bartusiak
Votes: 57,088 | Gross: $55.00M
29. The Granny (1995 Video)
R | 85 min | Comedy, Horror
Granny's family wants her dead so they can collect her insurance. While she is on her death bed, she drinks an eternal life potion and returns to the land of the living. She is on a mission to wreak havoc over her greedy relatives.
Director: Luca Bercovici | Stars: Stella Stevens, Shannon Whirry, Luca Bercovici, Brant von Hoffman
Votes: 760
30. Krisha (2015)
R | 83 min | Drama
Krisha returns for Thanksgiving dinner after ten years away from her family, but past demons threaten to ruin the festivities.
Director: Trey Edward Shults | Stars: Krisha Fairchild, Alex Dobrenko, Robyn Fairchild, Chris Doubek
Votes: 10,061 | Gross: $0.14M
31. Jim Henson's Turkey Hollow (2015 TV Movie)
TV-PG | 88 min | Adventure, Comedy, Family
The Emmerson family heads to the quaint town of Turkey Hollow to visit Aunt Cly. Tim and Annie quickly grow bored without the Internet, and soon try to track the howling hoodoo, an elusive monster the locals dismiss as a legend.
Director: Kirk R. Thatcher | Stars: Mary Steenburgen, Jay Harrington, Graham Verchere, Genevieve Buechner
Votes: 834
32. The Vicious Kind (2009)
R | 92 min | Comedy, Drama
A man tries to warn his brother away from the new girlfriend he brings home during Thanksgiving, but ends up becoming infatuated with her in the process.
Director: Lee Toland Krieger | Stars: Adam Scott, Brittany Snow, Alex Frost, J.K. Simmons
Votes: 8,091
33. The War at Home (1996)
R | 123 min | Drama
Haunted by his experiences in the Vietnam War, a young man returns home and has trouble adjusting back to civilian life, his family and his stern father.
Director: Emilio Estevez | Stars: Emilio Estevez, Kathy Bates, Martin Sheen, Kimberly Williams-Paisley
Votes: 2,599 | Gross: $0.04M
34. Hollidaysburg (2014)
Not Rated | 88 min | Comedy
Home for Thanksgiving break after their first semester at college, five friends discover just how much things change (and don't) after high school.
Director: A.M. Lukas | Stars: Rachel Keller, Tobin Mitnick, Claire Chapelli, Tristan Erwin
Votes: 1,079 | Gross: $0.00M
35. Avalon (1990)
PG | 128 min | Drama
A Polish-Jewish family comes to the U.S. at the beginning of the twentieth century. There, the family and their children try to make themselves a better future in the so-called promised land.
Director: Barry Levinson | Stars: Aidan Quinn, Elizabeth Perkins, Leo Fuchs, Eve Gordon
Votes: 6,781 | Gross: $15.74M
36. Funny People (2009)
R | 146 min | Comedy, Drama
When seasoned comedian George Simmons learns of his terminal, inoperable health condition, his desire to form a genuine friendship causes him to take a relatively green performer under his wing as his opening act.
Director: Judd Apatow | Stars: Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, Leslie Mann, Eric Bana
Votes: 123,645 | Gross: $51.86M
37. Nobody's Fool (1994)
R | 110 min | Comedy, Drama
A stubborn man past his prime reflects on his life of strict independence and seeks more from himself.
Director: Robert Benton | Stars: Paul Newman, Bruce Willis, Jessica Tandy, Melanie Griffith
Votes: 22,532 | Gross: $39.49M
38. Home Movie (II) (2008)
R | 77 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
In the remote woods of Upstate New York, David and Clare Poe are attempting to live an idyllic life. However, their twin children's bizarre behavior might just tear the family apart.
Director: Christopher Denham | Stars: Lucian Maisel, Cady McClain, Adrian Pasdar, Amber Joy Williams
Votes: 4,841
39.
Into the Dark (2018–2021)
Episode:
Flesh & Blood
(2018)
TV-MA | 93 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
Kimberly, a teenager suffering from agoraphobia, has not left the house since her mother's unsolved murder. On the eve of Thanksgiving, she begins to suspect that the safe harbor of home and her doting father may be a dangerous mirage.
Director: Patrick Lussier | Stars: Dermot Mulroney, Diana Silvers, Tembi Locke, Meredith Salenger
Votes: 2,693
40. The Turkey Bowl (2019)
R | 120 min | Comedy
A 30-something urbanite is pulled back to his rural hometown by his high-school buddies on Thanksgiving to finish The Turkey Bowl, an epic football game against their crosstown rivals that was snowed out 15 years before.
Director: Greg Coolidge | Stars: Ryan Hansen, Matt Jones, Alan Ritchson, Kristen Hager
Votes: 1,318
41. Alice's Restaurant (1969)
GP | 111 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
A cinematic adaption of Arlo Guthrie's classic story-song.
Director: Arthur Penn | Stars: Arlo Guthrie, Patricia Quinn, James Broderick, Pete Seeger
Votes: 4,648 | Gross: $13.99M
42. Smart People (2008)
R | 95 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Into the life of a widowed professor comes a new love and an unexpected visit from his adopted brother.
Director: Noam Murro | Stars: Dennis Quaid, Thomas Haden Church, Sarah Jessica Parker, Elliot Page
Votes: 23,486 | Gross: $9.50M
43.
Into the Dark (2018–2021)
Episode:
Pilgrim
(2019)
TV-MA | 80 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
A woman invites re-enactors to produce an authentic first Thanksgiving for her family and friends. However, things take an unexpected turn when the actors refuse to break character.
Director: Marcus Dunstan | Stars: Reign Edwards, Kerr Smith, Courtney Henggeler, Peter Giles
Votes: 1,898
44. The Oath (2018)
R | 93 min | Comedy, Thriller
In a politically divided America, a man struggles to make it through the Thanksgiving holiday without destroying his family.
Director: Ike Barinholtz | Stars: Ike Barinholtz, Tiffany Haddish, Nora Dunn, Chris Ellis
Votes: 4,991 | Gross: $0.40M
45. The Blind Side (2009)
PG-13 | 129 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
The story of Michael Oher, a homeless and traumatized boy who became an All-American football player and first-round NFL draft pick with the help of a caring woman and her family.
Director: John Lee Hancock | Stars: Quinton Aaron, Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw, Jae Head
Votes: 360,649 | Gross: $255.96M
46. A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (1973 TV Short)
TV-G | 25 min | Animation, Short, Comedy
Peppermint Patty invites herself and her friends over to Charlie Brown's for Thanksgiving, and with Linus, Snoopy, and Woodstock, he attempts to throw together a Thanksgiving dinner.
Directors: Bill Melendez, Phil Roman | Stars: Todd Barbee, Robin Kohn, Stephen Shea, Hilary Momberger-Powers
Votes: 12,352
47. Free Birds (2013)
PG | 91 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
A pair of turkeys discover a time machine and decide to use it to travel to the first Thanksgiving, to take turkeys off the menu forever.
Director: Jimmy Hayward | Stars: Woody Harrelson, Owen Wilson, Dan Fogler, Amy Poehler
Votes: 26,013 | Gross: $55.75M
48. The Pilgrims (2015 TV Movie)
PG | 90 min | Documentary
Arguably one of the most fateful and resonant events of the last half millennium, the Pilgrims' journey west across the Atlantic in the early 17th century is a seminal, if often misunderstood episode of American and world history.
Director: Ric Burns | Stars: Sue Allan, Bernard Bailyn, Michael Braddick, Marge Bruchac
Votes: 157
49. Soul Food (1997)
R | 115 min | Comedy, Drama
One person can keep a family together and, when that one person is gone, a family can be torn apart.
Director: George Tillman Jr. | Stars: Vanessa Williams, Vivica A. Fox, Nia Long, Michael Beach
Votes: 9,016 | Gross: $43.49M
50. Crooklyn (1994)
PG-13 | 115 min | Comedy, Drama
Spike Lee's vibrant semi-autobiographical portrait of a school teacher, her stubborn jazz musician husband and their five kids living in Brooklyn in 1973.
Director: Spike Lee | Stars: Alfre Woodard, Delroy Lindo, David Patrick Kelly, Zelda Harris
Votes: 11,336 | Gross: $13.64M
51. Curly Sue (1991)
PG | 101 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
A homeless man and his young companion, who survive by conning people, meet a woman who may need them even more than they need her.
Director: John Hughes | Stars: Jim Belushi, Kelly Lynch, Alisan Porter, John Getz
Votes: 23,243 | Gross: $33.69M
52. She's Gotta Have It (1986)
R | 84 min | Comedy, Romance
Story of a woman and her three lovers.
Director: Spike Lee | Stars: Tracy Camilla Johns, Tommy Redmond Hicks, John Canada Terrell, Spike Lee
Votes: 16,317 | Gross: $7.14M
53. Friendsgiving (2020)
R | 95 min | Comedy, Drama
Molly and Abbey, along with their crew of close friends and acquaintances, host a dysfunctional, comical and chaotic Thanksgiving dinner.
Director: Nicol Paone | Stars: Malin Akerman, Kat Dennings, Jack Donnelly, Aisha Tyler
Votes: 3,760
54. Black Friday (III) (2021)
84 min | Comedy, Horror
A group of toy store employees must protect each other from a horde of parasite infected shoppers.
Director: Casey Tebo | Stars: Devon Sawa, Ivana Baquero, Ryan Lee, Stephen Peck
Votes: 8,069
55. Gone Fishin' (1997)
PG | 94 min | Comedy, Crime
Two lifelong fishing buddies must overcome a series of obstacles to enjoy their ultimate fishing trip.
Director: Christopher Cain | Stars: Joe Pesci, Danny Glover, Rosanna Arquette, Lynn Whitfield
Votes: 10,599 | Gross: $19.74M
56. Starting Over (1979)
R | 105 min | Comedy, Romance
A divorced man falls in love, but somehow he can't get over his ex-wife. This affects his love life in comic ways. Based on Dan Wakefield's novel.
Director: Alan J. Pakula | Stars: Burt Reynolds, Jill Clayburgh, Candice Bergen, Charles Durning
Votes: 3,244 | Gross: $41.64M
57. The Humans (2021)
R | 108 min | Drama
During one evening, the Blake family gathers to celebrate thanksgiving in a broken-down flat newly rented by the daughter and her new man. As the darkness falls, we find that all have less to be thankful about.
Director: Stephen Karam | Stars: Richard Jenkins, Jayne Houdyshell, Amy Schumer, Beanie Feldstein
Votes: 10,819
58. What's Cooking? (2000)
PG-13 | 109 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Four families in LA of different ethnicity (Latino, Asian/Vietnamese, African and Jewish) gather together for Thanksgiving dinner.
Director: Gurinder Chadha | Stars: Joan Chen, Julianna Margulies, Mercedes Ruehl, Victor Rivers
Votes: 2,915 | Gross: $1.04M
59. Lez Bomb (2018)
TV-14 | 90 min | Comedy, Drama
A still closeted young woman brings her girlfriend home for Thanksgiving, only to have her coming out efforts thwarted by the unexpected arrival of her male roommate.
Director: Jenna Laurenzo | Stars: Jenna Laurenzo, Caitlin Mehner, Deirdre O'Connell, Dorothi Fox
Votes: 1,638
60. Derelicts (2017)
73 min | Horror
A strained suburban family's Thanksgiving is disrupted by a gang of vicious vagrants.
Director: Brett Glassberg | Stars: Kelly Dealyn, David Lee Hess, Emily Ammon, Dalton Allen
Votes: 144
61. Ghost Note (2017)
102 min | Horror, Thriller
An immortal blues musician terrorizes childhood sweethearts reunited over the Thanksgiving holiday.
Director: Troy Hart | Stars: Alicia Underwood, Justin Duncan, Kenny Gardner, Allyn Carrell
Votes: 973
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