Movies Like The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys (2002)

The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys is a 2002 comedy, drama film from Peter Care with a MovieMagicScore of 6.6/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Wild Tigers I Have Known and Yosemite.

Comedy Drama

Wild Tigers I Have Known

2006

A lyrical telling of the coming of age of a 14-year-old boy who learns to cope with his new found sexuality and his unrequited love for the cool kid in school.

5.6

MagicScore

Yosemite

2016

It's the fall of 1985. The intertwining tales of three 5th grade friends, Chris, Joe and Ted, unfold in the suburban paradise of Palo Alto, as the threat of a mountain lion looms over the community.

4.7

MagicScore

Heaven Help Us

1985

Sixteen-year-old Michael Dunn arrives at St. Basil's Catholic Boys School in Brooklyn circa 1965. There, he befriends all of the misfits in his class as they collide with the repressive faculty and discover the opposite sex as they come of age.

6.3

MagicScore

We Bought a Zoo

2011

Benjamin has lost his wife and, in a bid to start his life over, purchases a large house that has a zoo – welcome news for his daughter, but his son is not happy about it. The zoo is in need of renovation and Benjamin sets about the work with the head keeper and the rest of the staff, but, the zoo soon runs into financial trouble.

6.8

MagicScore

The Mighty Macs

2011

In 1971, Cathy Rush becomes the head basketball coach at a tiny, all-girls Catholic college. Though her team has no gym and no uniforms — and the school itself is in danger of being sold — Rush looks to steer her girls to their first national championship.

5.2

MagicScore

Bigger Fatter Liar

2017

Kevin Shepard is a tech-savvy young genius who uses his intelligence to slack off. When greedy video game executive Alan Wolf gets a hold of his ideas for a video game, Kevin and his best friend Becca set off for San Francisco to make Wolf's life miserable through a series of pranks.

5.3

MagicScore

BlacKkKlansman

2018

Colorado Springs, late 1970s. Ron Stallworth, an African American police officer, and Flip Zimmerman, his Jewish colleague, run an undercover operation to infiltrate the Ku Klux Klan.

7.5

MagicScore

The Hurricane

1999

The story of Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, a boxer wrongly imprisoned for murder, and the people who aided in his fight to prove his innocence.

7.4

MagicScore

The Penguin Lessons

2025

In 1976, as Argentina descends into violence and chaos, a world-weary English teacher regains his compassion for others thanks to an unlikely friendship with a penguin.

7.1

MagicScore

#10

Born on the Fourth of July

1989

Paralyzed in the Vietnam war, Ron Kovic becomes an anti-war and pro-human rights political activist after feeling betrayed by the country he fought for.

7.0

MagicScore

#11

Cry Freedom

1987

A dramatic story, based on actual events, about the friendship between two men struggling against apartheid in South Africa in the 1970s. Donald Woods is a white liberal journalist in South Africa who begins to follow the activities of Stephen Biko, a courageous and outspoken black anti-apartheid activist.

7.0

MagicScore

#12

Priscilla

2023

When teenage Priscilla Beaulieu meets Elvis Presley at a party, the man who is already a meteoric rock-and-roll superstar becomes someone entirely unexpected in private moments: a thrilling crush, an ally in loneliness, a vulnerable best friend.

6.8

MagicScore

#13

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress

2002

During the Cultural Revolution, two young men are sent to a remote mining village where they fall in love with the local tailor's beautiful granddaughter and discover a suitcase full of forbidden Western novels.

6.8

MagicScore

#14

Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool

2017

Liverpool, 1978: What starts as a vibrant affair between a legendary femme-fatale, the eccentric Academy Award-winning actress Gloria Grahame, and her young lover, British actor Peter Turner, quickly grows into a deeper relationship, with Turner being the person Gloria turns to for comfort.

6.4

MagicScore

#15

The Bromley Boys

2018

A boy, a girl, and the worst football team in Britain. You can't choose who you're going to fall in love with.

6.0

MagicScore

#16

Baltimore

2024

Based on actual events that took place on 26 April 1974, former debutante turned IRA member Rose Dugdale and three comrades carried out an armed raid on Russborough House, Wicklow, in which nineteen masterpieces were stolen in an effort to support the IRA’s armed struggle. The film plays out over the course of the days following the raid, when Rose is in hiding in a remote cottage.

6.0

MagicScore

#17

The Mastermind

2025

In a sedate Massachusetts suburb circa 1970, unemployed family man and amateur art thief J.B. Mooney sets out on his first heist. With the museum cased and accomplices recruited, he has an airtight plan. Or so he thinks.

5.8

MagicScore

#18

Finding Steve McQueen

2019

In 1972, a gang of close-knit thieves from Youngstown, Ohio attempt to steal $30 million in illegal contributions. Based on the true story of the biggest bank heist in US history.

6.1

MagicScore

#19

Baadshaho

2017

Emergency has been declared in India. Maharani Gitanjali from one of Rajasthan's princely states has already lost her privy purse. Now, she fears that she will lose the last treasure chest of gold which has been forcibly taken away from her. So she asks her trusted lieutenant, Bhawani to step in and plan a heist.

5.7

MagicScore

#20

The Bear

1988

An orphan bear cub hooks up with an adult male as they try to dodge human hunters.

7.1

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys?

The top films similar to The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys by MovieMagicScore are Wild Tigers I Have Known (5.6), Yosemite (4.7), Heaven Help Us (6.3). Each shares comedy/drama themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys worth watching?

The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys holds a MovieMagicScore of 6.6/10 from 166 viewer ratings.

What kind of movie is The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys?

The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys (2002) is a comedy, drama film directed by Peter Care, starring Kieran Culkin, Emile Hirsch, Jena Malone.

Where can I find more recommendations like The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys?

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

Keep exploring

Movies like Wild Tigers I Have Known Movies like Yosemite Movies like Heaven Help Us Movies like We Bought a Zoo Movies like The Mighty Macs Movies like Bigger Fatter Liar

About movies like The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys

This ranked list pairs The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys (2002), a comedy and drama film from Peter Care, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Kieran Culkin 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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