40 Best Thanksgiving Movies the Whole Family Will Enjoy

The Oprah Magazine said A little bit melancholic, a lotta bit comedic gold, this buddy comedy from John Hughes navigates the hurdles of seasonal travel: heavy traffic, inclement weather, and empty rental car lots.

The Oprah Magazine said There is no such thing as a holiday without Snoopy, Woodstock, and everyone’s favorite insecure Peanuts character, Charlie Brown. A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving sees Chuck and co. celebrate Turkey Day with football, food, and fun.

The Oprah Magazine said From beginning to end, Knives Out is a nonstop delight—but the mystery's level of brilliant detail is what will lead you to multiple rewatches. Your family will be drinking out of mugs like Harlan's that say, "My House. My Rules. My Coffee."

The Oprah Magazine said With its multiple feast scenes, The Joy Luck Club will almost definitely make you hungry—perfect for a Thanksgiving weekend viewing.

The Oprah Magazine said Louisa May Alcott's Little Women has been adapted countless times before, but Greta Gerwig's 2019 adaptation captured the warmth and spontaneous laughter inherent to sisters, as these real-life families of four girls told us. The movie rejoices in the simple act of a family spending time together—not only in the moments of high drama, but in the everyday.

The Oprah Magazine said Spend Thanksgiving parsing the intense dynamic of another family for a change. The warm-hearted romantic comedy follows three brothers' search for love. Starring a young Edward Norton, Connie Britton, and others, The Brothers McMullen is a intimate movie, with interactions that feel so lived-in they might just be real.

The Oprah Magazine said Remember the Titans is a testament to the way sports can bring a community together, or a family on Thanksgiving day.

The Oprah Magazine said Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence play the unlikely central duo, who bond over ballroom dance, the Philadelphia Eagles, and traumatic pasts that they can help each other work through. Watch it instead of, or in addition to, the game.

The Oprah Magazine said Are you the kind of person that bursts out into spontaneous song? Black Nativity, a heartfelt melodrama with many a-gospel tune, is for you. Based on a Langston Hughes story, the star-studded movie follows a recently reunited family in the lead-up to the Christmas holiday as they have long-delayed conversations.

The Oprah Magazine said Tear-jerker alert. Stepmom is one of the all-time greats guaranteed to make you cry. After she begins dating a businessman named Luke (Ed Harris), Isabel (Julia Roberts) adjusts to his family dynamics—including her complicated relationship with his ex-wife and the mother of his kids, Jackie (Susan Sarandon).

The Oprah Magazine said What do family members owe one another: The truth, or kindness? And how are we expected to care for our loved ones, as they age? These questions, among others, are at the heart of this acclaimed and autobiographical movie, which director Lulu Wang based on her life. Watch it before the ending is spoiled, and be sure to have food nearby. Those feast scenes will make your stomach growl.

The Oprah Magazine said Thanksgiving is a time of family gatherings, furry friends included. Beethoven is one of cinema's biggest, and most memorable, pups. John Hughes wrote the 1992 romp about a family and their St. Bernard, which might compel you to adopt a dog (or have the opposite effect).

The Oprah Magazine said We begin in the throes of fall as the leaves are turning and end sometime in spring as the flora are blossoming as quick as the leading couple’s newfound love. But it’s this supermarket scene (pictured), in which Hanks’s Joe Fox comes to the begrudged rescue of Ryan’s Kathleen Kelly on Thanksgiving Day, that snags this chatroom love story a spot on our list.

The Oprah Magazine said A prep school student (Chris O’Donnell) agrees to care for a blind, retired Army vet (Al Pacino) over Thanksgiving to make a little dough for the upcoming Christmas holiday and ends up getting a lesson in life and love he never knew he needed. It was nominated for four Oscars and cleaned up at the Golden Globes. If you’re looking for an odd couple crowd-pleaser that can entertain both your parents and your in-laws, this is it.

The Oprah Magazine said Faith, family, football: It’s the decree of every Southern family. And that includes the Tuohys, the real-life Memphis crew on which this Disney winner is based. Led by matriarch Leigh Anne Tuohy (played by an Oscar-winning Sandra Bullock), they adopt a homeless teen, Michael Oher, who goes on to become an all-American and professional football player. And you can bet there’s a classic Thanksgiving scene.

The Oprah Magazine said They’re creepy and they’re kooky, and they’re even funnier in the sequel to the 1991 original. And although the central plot is dedicated to rescuing Uncle Fester from the gold-digging clutches of a widow nanny, Thanksgiving gets its due at Wednesday’s grade-school production of the events set around the nation’s very first time the Pilgrims broke bread with the Indians. Or at least tried to.

The Oprah Magazine said On-screen dueling duo Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau go for broke in this comedy about a pair of crotchety neighbors. Their differences only deepen when a siren played by Ann-Margret moves to town, sending the former friends into a tailspin on Thanksgiving Day when they both see her on a date with someone else entirely.

The Oprah Magazine said Not only was Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky a holiday release back in 1976, but the underdog tale about a Philly boxer who gets into a bout with a heavyweight champ features one of the most memorable Turkey Day scenes in the canon of holiday films. Rather than ruin it for you, we’ll just say the chaos leads to one of cinema’s sweetest love stories.

The Oprah Magazine said Nothing says “happy Thanksgiving” like a good, old-fashioned key party. Set in November 1973, Ang Lee’s story that’s based on the Rick Moody novel pulls the curtain back on the seemingly idyllic family life in New Canaan, Connecticut, where parental units are swapping spouses and thoughts on Nixon, while the minors are staying entertained with sex, pot, and booze of their own.

The Oprah Magazine said April, the estranged outcast of in the Burns clan, is all of us when she invites her family to her New York City apartment for Thanksgiving… and they actually accept. It’s dysfunction served with sides of humor, mortality, and of course mashed potatoes.

The Oprah Magazine said Dutch is a criminally underappreciated 1991 road trip comedy set over the days leading up to Thanksgiving. Played by Ed O’Neill, Dutch Dooley takes it upon himself to retrieve his girlfriend’s uppity preteen from boarding school to celebrate the holiday at home. Unfortunately for them, but lucky for us, that is only where the hilarity and misadventures begin.

The Oprah Magazine said Eddie Murphy, Ben Stiller, Matthew Broderick, and Gabby Sidibe join forces for a Brett Ratner holiday heist. Their goal: to rob the wealthy hotel owner (Alan Alda) who ripped them off with his self-serving Ponzi scheme. There’s a game plan made out of LEGOS, a fake Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade, and plenty of Murphy zingers to keep the entire family satisfied.

The Oprah Magazine said Director Jodie Foster’s sophomore film stars Holly Hunter as a single mom who is forced to spend the holiday with the very people she tries the rest of the year to avoid: her family. A mix of slapstick comedy and character study, the film is stacked with quintessential ‘90s talent; think Robert Downey Jr., Anne Bancroft, Dylan McDermott, and Steve Guttenberg. If only Clark Griswold were free.

The Oprah Magazine said So, it’s not technically a Thanksgiving movie—in fact, it has nothing to do with Thursday and everything to do with Sunday dinner. But this classic about a Chicago family who are held together by their matriarch “Mama Jo,” has food, family, and soul at its core, and if that’s the essence of Thanksgiving, then we don’t know what it.

The Oprah Magazine said One of those movies that makes you go, “Oh, yeah, I loved that movie.” An emotional reunion drama about a group of friends gather post-college, it’s a sentimental watch to be devoured in the company of your own homecoming.

The Oprah Magazine said Though the Thanksgiving Day meal spread differs from culture to culture—for some it’s turkey and gravy; for others, it’s eggrolls and sticky rice—one theme that transcends households during the holiday is family, no matter how much grief they cause. In this comedy stuffed with soul, flavor, and customs, four Los Angeles families gather round the table to celebrate the day for giving thanks.

The Oprah Magazine said Okay, so this may be a stretch because there is no turkey and no mention of the Thanksgiving holiday in this delightful rom-com about a widowed dad-of-three (Steve Carell) who falls for his younger brother’s gal, but the nippy fall atmosphere and convergence of extended family on display is just begging to be included in a holiday movie roundup. So here you go, Dan.

The Oprah Magazine said This one stars J. K. Simmons, Brittany Snow, and Adam Scott. Despite its insinuating title, there isn’t anything diabolical in this indie film festival gem about a pair of brothers in love with the same woman. Except for the destructive behavior on display over Thanksgiving by the black sheep of the family, Caleb, played by Scott.

The Oprah Magazine said In what is now an even more timely political dark comedy than when it premiered one year ago, Tiffany Haddish and Ike Barinholtz bring the funny and the farce in a fiercely dysfunctional holiday film written and directed by its star, Barinholtz. Not only is Thanksgiving around the corner, but so is a deadline to sign the nation’s loyalty oath. It’s dividing task leads to argument, arrest, and even annihilation.

The Oprah Magazine said In Son in Law, a rural-set delight about a no longer straight-laced college student who brings her eccentric West Coast “bu-ddy” home for the holiday, it drives home that age-old adage: Don’t judge a book by its crinkle-haired cover.

The Oprah Magazine said Okay, so this holiday gem may be more suited to a Christmas movie roundup, but hear us out: Because Christmas season officially unofficially launches the literal day after Thanksgiving, why not get started on jingle-bell fare with the best there is? Plus, this comedy romance starring Diane Keaton, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Rachel McAdams has family drama, a botched home-cooked meal, and the most awkward dinnertime conversation a dining room table has ever been privy to. Sounds pretty Thanksgiving-worthy to us.

The Oprah Magazine said Before Superbad, Adventureland, and The Newsroom, director Greg Mottola was cutting his teeth on a tiny independent comedy called The Daytrippers. It stars Hope Davis, Parker Posey, and Liev Schreiber as a group of suburban meddlers who use the day after Thanksgiving to investigate whether or not adultery is going down in the big city.

The Oprah Magazine said Based on the same-name Arlo Guthrie song, the motion picture adaptation stars Guthrie himself opposite Patricia Quinn (The Waltons) and James Broderick (Dog Day Afternoon). The song has become a staple of the holiday, as it’s played on various rock stations through the country on the day of. And the film, which tracks the bizarre aftermath of some Turkey Day littering, is following suit.

The Oprah Magazine said Who doesn’t have half an hour to get reacquainted with the orange fur ball you grew up watching? Just one of several holiday specials starring the lazy cat voiced by Bill Murray and his yellow-dog sidekick, Garfield’s Thanksgiving is one part nostalgia, one part comedy, and entirely necessary in your seasonal movie lineup.

The Oprah Magazine said It stars Tracy Camilla Johns as Nola Darling, a woman whose love story is told by her, her three lovers, and her friends. Never the monogamous type, Nola Darling’s sexual adventures come to a head around the Thanksgiving dinner table.

The Oprah Magazine said First read the synopsis: A woman (Parker Posey) who believes she is Jackie Kennedy Onassis goes on a murder spree when she learns over the holiday that her twin brother is engaged (to Tori Spelling’s Lesly). Now, take a peek at the director -> It’s Mark Waters, who brought you Mean Girls. Touted as a screwball comedy, The House of Yes is like Mean Girls in pearls and a pillbox hat.

The Oprah Magazine said Not your typical feel-good fare, indie director Trey Edward Shults’s assault on the senses just might be the perfect antidote to that inevitable sugary cranberry sauce overdose. Krisha is a recovering alcoholic who returns home on Thanksgiving Day after 10 years away. Wanting to contribute, she takes over turkey duties. We don’t need to tell you how it ends. You just need to see it for yourself.

The Oprah Magazine said Terrence Malick: He’s a visionary who produces cinema that’s not easy to digest. But it is worth chewing over. A filmmaker who’s more interested in capturing gripping and stunning imagery than necessarily delivering a traditional narrative, Malick gives the origin of Thanksgiving a go with a Pocahontas romance drama starring Colin Farrell and Q’orianka Kilcher.

The Oprah Magazine said Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal take the lead in this whodunit thriller that doesn’t release its grip until the literal final shot. Jackman plays a father desperate to find his little girl and her friend who went missing on Thanksgiving Day; Gyllenhaal co-stars as the cop on the case. Viola Davis and Terrence Howard co-star also.

The Oprah Magazine said Yes, this is technically a Christmas movie about believing in Santa Claus. But lest we forget the beginning of the film? One of very few movies that truly showcases the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, the cine-miracle begins on that crisp November day in New York City as oversize balloons float through the city down to Midtown as a precocious little girl watches from behind gloomy-colored glasses.