Movies Like Second Best (1994)

Second Best is a 1994 drama, family film from Chris Menges with a MovieMagicScore of 6.7/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Welcome to the South and Outside.

Drama Family

Welcome to the South

2010

Alberto, post office manager of a small town in Brianza, under pressure of his wife Sylvia, is willing to do anything to get the transfer to Milan. Even pretending to be disabled to climb in the ranking. But the trick does not work and as punishment, he is transferred in a small town in Campania, which to an inhabitant of the north is equivalent to a nightmare ...

6.7

MagicScore

Outside

2024

A family retreats to an isolated farm during a zombie outbreak, but years of painful secrets take a toll as they navigate their desolate world.

6.2

MagicScore

Oliver!

1968

Musical adaptation of Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist, a classic tale of an orphan who runs away from the workhouse and joins up with a group of boys headed by the Artful Dodger and trained to be pickpockets by master thief Fagin.

7.0

MagicScore

Chain Kulii Ki Main Kulii

2007

An orphan boy with dreams of finding a family and fame as a cricketer, finds a bat with magical powers and lands a spot in the Indian cricket team.

5.8

MagicScore

Despicable Me

2010

Determined to prove he's the world's greatest supervillain, Gru hatches an audacious plan to steal the Moon. To pull it off, he adopts three orphaned girls—Margo, Edith, and Agnes—intending to use them as pawns in his scheme. But the unexpected bond they form forces him to question the criminal life he's always known.

7.3

MagicScore

Christmas Comes But Once a Year

1936

At an orphanage, the children are sad because they received used defective toys as gifts. Professor Grampy sees the children while passing by in his sled and has an idea on how to give them a merry Christmas.

7.2

MagicScore

12 Mighty Orphans

2021

Haunted by his mysterious past, a devoted high school football coach leads a scrawny team of orphans to the state championship during the Great Depression and inspires a broken nation along the way.

7.2

MagicScore

The Cider House Rules

1999

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?

7.1

MagicScore

Sundays and Cybele

1962

The tragic story of a young orphan girl who is befriended by an innocent but emotionally disabled veteran of the French Indochina War.

7.1

MagicScore

#10

Primavera

2025

In 18th-century Venice, 20-year-old violin virtuoso Cecilia lives at the Pièta orphanage, where, despite her talent, she remains confined, knowing that marriage is the only way out. Yet, her life takes a turn after she meets Antonio Vivaldi, a brilliant and ambitious composer who becomes the new violin teacher. Guided by Vivaldi and his music, Cecilia finds the strength to challenge the destiny that once seemed inevitable.

7.0

MagicScore

#11

Hostile Territory

2022

Former P.O.W. Jack Calgrove moves Heaven and Earth to be reunited with his children following the Civil War. After returning home, Jack discovers that his wife has tragically died and his children, presumed to be orphans, are heading deep into the West on a train crossing enemy lines, with the intent of being placed into new homes. Calgrove and another soldier team up with a troop of Native American sharpshooters and a freed slave as they try to stop the train.

7.0

MagicScore

#12

The Paper Man

1963

A deaf and mute vagabond finds a large denomination bill in a Mexico City dump, and while he tries to buy something with it, others try to con him into giving it away.

6.8

MagicScore

#13

House of Voices

2004

In 1958, in the French Alp, the young servant Anna Jurin arrives in Saint Ange Orphanage to work with Helena while the orphans moved to new families. Anna, who is secretly pregnant, meets the last orphan, Judith, left behind because of her mental problems, and they become closer when Anna find that Judith also hear voices and footsteps of children.

5.8

MagicScore

#14

Anne of Green Gables

1985

At the turn of the century on Prince Edward Island, Matthew Cuthbert and his sister Marilla decide to take on an orphan boy as help for their farm. But they get an unexpected jolt when they're mistakenly sent a girl instead: Anne Shirley.

8.1

MagicScore

#15

The Promised Neverland

2020

A number of children are being well fed, taken care of, and pampered at a very meticulate and managed orphanage. The facility and grounds are impressive, but the wall acting as a barrier is high. There is a secret to the place and once revealed to several orphans, they're desperate to escape.

7.3

MagicScore

#16

A Slight Case of Murder

1938

Former bootlegger Remy Marco has a slight problem with foreclosing bankers, a prospective son-in-law, and four hard-to-explain corpses.

6.3

MagicScore

#17

Martyrs

2015

A woman and her childhood friend seek out revenge on those who victimized and abused them.

5.1

MagicScore

#18

The Jungle Book 2

2003

Mowgli has been living in the man-village with his little stepbrother Ranjan and his best friend Shanti. But the man-cub still has that jungle rhythm in his heart, and he misses his old buddies Baloo and Bagheera. When Mowgli wanders back to the wild for some swingin' fun, he soon finds the man-eating tiger Shere Khan is lurking in the shadows and planning his revenge.

5.9

MagicScore

#19

Nothing But the Night

1973

When various trustees of the Van Traylen Orphanage begin dying in close order, it's at first written off as a coincidence. But, when a school bus accident very nearly takes out three more of them along with a group of orphans, Col. Bingham and his pathologist friend, Mark, begin looking into the deaths. They come to think the answer lies with one of the girls on the bus, who has vivid memories of things she could not possibly have seen.

6.1

MagicScore

#20

Turtles Can Fly

2005

Turtles Can Fly tells the story of a group of young children near the Turkey-Iraq border. They clean up mines and wait for the Saddam regime to fall.

7.7

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Second Best?

The top films similar to Second Best by MovieMagicScore are Welcome to the South (6.7), Outside (6.2), Oliver! (7.0). Each shares drama/family themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Second Best worth watching?

Second Best holds a MovieMagicScore of 6.7/10 from 39 viewer ratings.

What kind of movie is Second Best?

Second Best (1994) is a drama, family film directed by Chris Menges, starring William Hurt, Nathan Yapp, Jane Horrocks.

Where can I find more recommendations like Second Best?

Browse the full ranked list above, or explore more drama recommendations on MovieMagicScore, where every list is ordered by genuine viewer ratings.

Keep exploring

Movies like Welcome to the South Movies like Outside Movies like Oliver!Movies like Chain Kulii Ki Main Kulii Movies like Despicable Me Movies like Christmas Comes But Once a Year

About movies like Second Best

This ranked list pairs Second Best (1994), a drama and family film from Chris Menges, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of William Hurt take note). Unlike critic-driven sites, every position here is ordered by MovieMagicScore — a rating built only from real viewers, with no studio marketing or paid placement. Scores update as more people rate, so the list stays current.

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