Movies Like Manchester by the Sea (2016)

Manchester by the Sea is a 2016 drama film from Kenneth Lonergan with a MovieMagicScore of 7.5/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with A Ghost Story and Evil Dead Burn.

Drama

A Ghost Story

2017

Recently deceased, a white-sheeted ghost returns to his suburban home to console his bereft wife, only to find that in his spectral state he has become unstuck in time, forced to watch passively as the life he knew and the woman he loves slowly slip away.

7.1

MagicScore

Evil Dead Burn

2026

After her husband's abrupt death, Alice seeks solace with his remaining family — descendants of a leading researcher on demonic possession. As her in-laws transform one by one into creatures that feed on fear, she comes to discover that the vows she took in life survive even in death.

7.7

MagicScore

The Iron Claw

2023

The true story of the inseparable Von Erich brothers, who made history in the intensely competitive world of professional wrestling in the early 1980s. Through tragedy and triumph, under the shadow of their domineering father and coach, the brothers seek larger-than-life immortality on the biggest stage in sports.

7.5

MagicScore

Fear Strikes Out

1957

True story of the life of Jimmy Piersall, who battled mental illness to achieve stardom in major league baseball.

7.1

MagicScore

Burning Man

2011

Tom is a British chef in a Bondi restaurant who seems to have decided there are no longer any rules he needs to obey. Whatever Tom is up to, his actions seem to be tolerated by those around him. As Tom descends into darkness, fragments of a different story begin to emerge. All the women in his world are trying in their own, very different ways to help put him back together.

5.9

MagicScore

Things We Lost in the Fire

2007

A recent widow invites her husband's troubled best friend to live with her and her two children. As he gradually turns his life around, he helps the family cope and confront their loss.

6.6

MagicScore

Dear Evan Hansen

2021

Evan Hansen, a high schooler with social anxiety, unintentionally gets caught up in a lie after the family of a classmate who committed suicide mistakes one of Hansen’s letters for their son’s suicide note.

6.3

MagicScore

Snow Cake

2006

A drama focused on the friendship between a high-functioning autistic woman and a man who is traumatized after a fatal car accident.

7.1

MagicScore

Godless

2015

Two brothers, Nate and Steven, reconnect after the death of their parents. During this time of mourning, the two brothers' unrelenting love for each other threatens a secret they had buried.

3.9

MagicScore

#10

Collateral Beauty

2016

Retreating from life after a tragedy, a man questions the universe by writing to Love, Time and Death. Receiving unexpected answers, he begins to see how these things interlock and how even loss can reveal moments of meaning and beauty.

7.2

MagicScore

#11

Handling the Undead

2024

On a hot summer day in Oslo, the dead mysteriously awaken, and three families are thrown into chaos when their deceased loved ones come back to them. Who are they, and what do they want?

5.9

MagicScore

#12

Aftermath

2017

A fatal plane crash changes the lives of Roman and Jake forever. Roman loses his wife and daughter in the accident, while Jake loses his mind—as he happens to be the air traffic controller who failed to avert the nightmare. Rage and revenge engulfs Roman and Jake finds himself swamped with guilt and regret.

5.7

MagicScore

#13

Ordinary People

1980

Beth, Calvin, and their son Conrad are living in the aftermath of the death of the other son. Conrad is overcome by grief and misplaced guilt to the extent of a suicide attempt. He is in therapy. Beth had always preferred his brother and is having difficulty being supportive to Conrad. Calvin is trapped between the two trying to hold the family together.

7.5

MagicScore

#14

The Road Home

1999

Prompted by the death of his father and the grief of his mother, a man recalls the story of how they met in flashback.

7.5

MagicScore

#15

Uncle Frank

2020

In 1973, when Frank Bledsoe and his 18-year-old niece Beth take a road trip from Manhattan to Creekville, South Carolina for the family patriarch's funeral, they're unexpectedly joined by Frank's lover Walid.

7.3

MagicScore

#16

One Week and a Day

2016

When Eyal finishes the week of mourning for his late son, his wife urges him to return to their routine but instead he gets high with a young neighbor and sets out to discover that there are still things in his life worth living for.

5.9

MagicScore

#17

Birth/Rebirth

2023

A single mother and a childless morgue technician are bound together by their relationship to a little girl they have reanimated from the dead.

6.3

MagicScore

#18

Another Happy Day

2011

A wedding at her parents' Annapolis estate hurls high-strung Lynn into the center of touchy family dynamics.

5.5

MagicScore

#19

Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown

1988

Pepa resolves to kill herself with a batch of sleeping-pill-laced gazpacho after her lover leaves her. Fortunately, she is interrupted by a deliciously chaotic series of events.

7.4

MagicScore

#20

Jesse Stone: Night Passage

2006

A prequel to "Stone Cold", the story picks up after Jesse Stone is fired from the Los Angeles Police Department. He becomes an unlikely candidate recruited by a town council to become police chief of Paradise, MA, a small fishing town on Boston's North Shore. The board hopes his failed experience will keep him from digging too deep into the town's secrets. His first assignment is to investigate the murder of his predecessor whose death may be tied to a local domestic disturbance case, with connections to money laundering and murder involving some of the town's most affluent names as possible suspects.

6.9

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Manchester by the Sea?

The top films similar to Manchester by the Sea by MovieMagicScore are A Ghost Story (7.1), Evil Dead Burn (7.7), The Iron Claw (7.5). Each shares drama themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Manchester by the Sea worth watching?

Manchester by the Sea holds a MovieMagicScore of 7.5/10 from 6,176 viewer ratings, putting it among the better-reviewed titles in its genre.

What kind of movie is Manchester by the Sea?

Manchester by the Sea (2016) is a drama film directed by Kenneth Lonergan, starring Casey Affleck, Lucas Hedges, Michelle Williams.

Where can I find more recommendations like Manchester by the Sea?

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 A Ghost Story Movies like Evil Dead Burn Movies like The Iron Claw Movies like Fear Strikes Out Movies like Burning Man Movies like Things We Lost in the Fire

About movies like Manchester by the Sea

This ranked list pairs Manchester by the Sea (2016), a drama film from Kenneth Lonergan, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Casey Affleck 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.

← Back to Manchester by the Sea