Movies Like Spellbound (2002)

Spellbound is a 2002 documentary film from Jeffrey Blitz with a MovieMagicScore of 7.4/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Akeelah and the Bee and Bad Words.

Documentary

Akeelah and the Bee

2006

11-year-old Akeelah Anderson has a way with words. After winning her schoolwide spelling bee, she decides to enter the competition, despite her classmates' derision and the antipathy of her mother Tanya. Thanks to the efforts of her teacher Dr. Larabee, she reaches the finals. As she gets to know her fellow competitors, Akeelah realizes that coming first isn't everything in life.

7.1

MagicScore

Bad Words

2013

Forty-year-old misanthrope, Guy Trilby, enters the National Golden Quill Spelling Bee through a loophole in the rules.

6.4

MagicScore

Strokes of Genius

2018

The film intertwines Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal's lives with their famed 2008 Wimbledon championship - an epic match so close and so reflective of their competitive balance that, in the end, the true winner was the sport itself.

7.7

MagicScore

The Speed Cubers

2020

This documentary captures the extraordinary twists and turns in the journeys of Rubik's Cube-solving champions Max Park and Feliks Zemdegs.

7.4

MagicScore

McFarland, USA

2015

A track coach in a small California town transforms a team of athletes into championship contenders.

7.5

MagicScore

Daddy Day Care

2003

Two men get laid off and have to become stay-at-home dads when they can't find jobs, which inspires them to open their own day-care center.

5.9

MagicScore

Melania

2026

Offering unprecedented access to the 20 days leading up to the 2025 Presidential Inauguration — through the eyes of the First Lady-elect herself — step inside Melania Trump's world as she orchestrates inauguration plans, navigates the complexities of the White House transition, and reenters public life with her family. With exclusive footage capturing critical meetings, private conversations, and never-before-seen environments, Mrs. Trump returns to one of the world's most powerful roles.

3.3

MagicScore

The Class

2008

Teacher and novelist François Bégaudeau plays a version of himself as he negotiates a year with his racially mixed students from a tough Parisian neighborhood.

7.0

MagicScore

Games of Love and Chance

2003

A group of teenagers living in a housing project in the outskirts of Paris rehearse a scene from Marivaux's play of the same name. Krimo is determined not to take part, but after developing feelings for Lydia, he quickly assumes the main role and love interest in the play.

6.6

MagicScore

#10

Dancer in the Dark

2000

Selma, a Czech immigrant on the verge of blindness, struggles to make ends meet for herself and her son, who has inherited the same genetic disorder and will suffer the same fate without an expensive operation. When life gets too difficult, Selma learns to cope through her love of musicals, dreaming up little numbers to the rhythmic beats of her surroundings.

7.9

MagicScore

#11

Undertaking Betty

2002

A politician's wife and the mortician who has secretly loved her for years plan to fake her death so they can run away together.

6.1

MagicScore

#12

Morning Glory

2010

A young and devoted morning television producer is hired as an executive producer on a long-running morning show at a once-prominent but currently failing station in New York City. Eager to keep the show on air, she recruits a former news journalist and anchor who disapproves of co-hosting a show that does not deal with real news stories.

6.4

MagicScore

#13

October Sky

1999

The true story of Homer Hickam, a coal miner's son who was inspired by the first Sputnik launch to take up rocketry against his father's wishes.

7.7

MagicScore

#14

Risky Business

1967

A teenage girl accuses her primary schoolteacher, Jean Doucet (Jacques Brel), of trying to rape her. The police and the mayor investigate, but Doucet denies the charges. Two other students come forward to reveal more of Doucet's misconduct – one confessing to be his mistress. Doucet faces trial and hard labor if convicted.

7.4

MagicScore

#15

Weapons

2025

When all but one child from the same class mysteriously vanish on the same night at exactly the same time, a community is left questioning who or what is behind their disappearance.

7.3

MagicScore

#16

Some Came Running

1958

A former novelist returns to his small Midwest town after serving in the Army during WWII, to the chagrin of his social-climbing brother, and becomes close with an easy-going professional gambler and torn between two very different women.

6.9

MagicScore

#17

Hurricane Bianca

2016

A teacher from New York moves to a small town in Texas, gets fired for being gay, and returns disguised in drag to get revenge on the people who were nasty to him.

6.1

MagicScore

#18

Let Us Prey

2014

Rachel, a rookie cop, is about to begin her first night shift in a neglected police station in a Scottish, backwater town. The kind of place where the tide has gone out and stranded a motley bunch of the aimless, the forgotten, the bitter-and-twisted who all think that, really, they deserve to be somewhere else. They all think they're there by accident and that, with a little luck, life is going to get better. Wrong, on both counts. Six is about to arrive - and All Hell Will Break Loose!

5.7

MagicScore

#19

My Wonderful Life

2021

A caring daughter, a laid-back mother, a popular teacher, a wife you are thick as thieves with – Joanna – is outstanding in each of these roles. But in none of them does she feel like herself. That is why she leads a double life. She has a secret she shares with no-one.

4.9

MagicScore

#20

Gospel Hill

2008

Gospel Hill tells the intersecting story of two men in the fictional South Carolina town of Julia. Danny Glover plays John Malcolm, the son of a slain civil rights activist. Jack Herrod (Tom Bower) is the former sheriff who never got to the bottom of the murder. Their paths begin to cross when a development corporation comes to town with plans to raze Julia's historic Gospel Hill.

4.7

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Spellbound?

The top films similar to Spellbound by MovieMagicScore are Akeelah and the Bee (7.1), Bad Words (6.4), Strokes of Genius (7.7). Each shares documentary themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Spellbound worth watching?

Spellbound holds a MovieMagicScore of 7.4/10 from 115 viewer ratings, putting it among the better-reviewed titles in its genre.

What kind of movie is Spellbound?

Spellbound (2002) is a documentary film directed by Jeffrey Blitz.

Where can I find more recommendations like Spellbound?

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

Keep exploring

Movies like Akeelah and the Bee Movies like Bad Words Movies like Strokes of Genius Movies like The Speed Cubers Movies like McFarland, USA Movies like Daddy Day Care

About movies like Spellbound

This ranked list pairs Spellbound (2002), a documentary film from Jeffrey Blitz, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap. 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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