35 Thanksgiving Movies to Stream With the Whole Family

‘A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving’

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It’s not a Thanksgiving Day movie round-up without A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. Charlie Brown and his pals celebrate the holiday with an impromptu Thanksgiving dinner complete with Snoopy’s finest confections. This movie is a staple of the season, and it’s a must-watch for the holiday.

‘The Humans’

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An adaptation of the Tony Award-winning play, The Humans follows the Blake family on one rather somber Thanksgiving. Taking place in a run-down Chinatown apartment rented by Brigid (Beanie Feldstein) and her partner Richard (Steven Yeun), Brigid’s family comes together for a night full of revealing truths, heartfelt reflection, and more. As far as dysfunctional family dramas go, The Humans feels so grounded and tangible. It’s well worth the watch.

‘Planes, Trains, and Automobiles’

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Let’s be honest: traveling during the holidays is a pain. But just remember it could always be worse. Planes, Trains, and Automobiles is sure to soothe any of your travel day woes. Steve Martin and the late John Candy are hilarious in this laugh-out-loud romp about a New York businessman (Martin) trying to get home to Chicago for Thanksgiving, with a shower curtain salesman (Candy) as his less-than-ideal travel buddy. This film will keep you laughing all Thanksgiving long.

‘She’s Gotta Have It’

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While She’s Gotta Have It isn’t your typical Thanksgiving Day fare, it definitely features one of our favorite Thanksgiving dinner scenes. Nola Darling (Tracy Camilla Johns) is a woman whose sexual spirit cannot be tamed. But when she has all three of her lovers over for Thanksgiving, it’s not just dinner that’s served, but also some delicious drama.

‘Mistress America’

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Thanksgiving is a day to be thankful, and we’re definitely grateful for this Noah Baumbach gem starring his wife, Greta Gerwig. Mistress America is full of the Thanksgiving spirit, with plenty of laughter and a healthy dose of cringe served up by lead actress Gerwig as Brooke, who spends the film shepherding her soon-to-be stepsister through New York City. Come for the laughs, stay for the dysfunction.

‘Addams Family Values’

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We hear you — Addams Family Values might not be the first movie you think of when Thanksgiving comes to mind. But let’s be honest for a moment: what says Thanksgiving more than time with the ones you love, even if that means your family loves to finagle with dark forces? Plus, this movie features one of the most iconic Thanksgiving pageants.

‘The Big Chill’

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When a group of eclectic friends get back together following a funeral for their college pal, they reminisce about all the times they had together, including one particular Thanksgiving. The Big Chill might be a bit more somber than most films for the holiday, but it’s no less a great addition to your watch list.

‘Soul Food’

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While Soul Food doesn’t seem like a Thanksgiving Day movie at face value, it has all the ingredients to make it a holiday essential. Food, family, and tradition play a big part in this beloved film. Mama Joe hosts family dinners every Sunday for the ones she loves. But when the matriarch is hospitalized, true emotions start to surface and a family that seemed so close might be more divided than they thought.

‘Dan in Real Life’

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We’re giving Dan in Real Life an honorary Thanksgiving Day movie title simply because of the laughter, family, and Rhode Island fall foliage. Steve Carell stars as Dan, a widower with three daughters, who heads to Rhode Island to be together with his family. He falls for a beautiful stranger named Annie (Juliette Binoche) but finds out she’s dating one of his brothers. The movie is all about the ties that bind us and features plenty of heart with a healthy dose of laughs. 

‘Free Birds’

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In a Thanksgiving movie that might have you questioning your menu, Free Birds tells the story of turkeys Reggie and Jake as they travel back in time to 1621, just before the first Thanksgiving, to prevent all turkeys from ever becoming holiday dinners. Of course, that mission becomes much more convoluted than they expected once the hungry Pilgrims come around. 

‘Miracle on 34th Street’

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Ok, hear us out: we know 1947’s Miracle on 34th Street is 95% a Christmas movie. However, it does begin at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. If you’re searching for a movie post-Thanksgiving dinner to usher in the holiday season, this one is positively perfect.

An absolute classic, Miracle on 34th Street follows Doris Walker (Maureen O’Hara), a divorced mom of daughter Susan (Natalie Wood), who hires a man to play Santa at Macy’s. Little does she know, Ms. Walker has actually hired the real Kris Kringle (Edmund Gwenn). The holiday season is all about believing in something greater than ourselves, and this movie will surely get you in the spirit of the season.

‘The Oath’

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The Oath is a Thanksgiving family dysfunction movie with quite a twist. The movie starts off with partners Chris (Jon Barinholtz) and Kai (Tiffany Haddish) as they begin to come to terms with a new government oath that everyone needs to sign. As they continue to refuse, however, their family and two government agents’ arrival only heightens the tensions. 

‘Friendsgiving’

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Starring Hollywood funny women Christine Taylor, Kat Dennings, Aisha Tyler, Wanda Sykes, and Malin Akerman, Friendsgiving follows friends Molly and Abbey and they host their friends in an utterly dysfunctional thanksgiving. 

‘The Turkey Bowl’

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What would you do if a major Thanksgiving football game between you and your rivals was canceled due to snow? Would you call for a rematch 15 years later? Well, that’s exactly what happens in The Turkey Bowl starring Alan Ritchson and Ryan Hansen. 

‘Chicken Run’

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In a perspective that will surely be unique to your Thanksgiving, Chicken Run follows a group of chickens and roosters who are planning to flee to avoid becoming the Thanksgiving meal. 

‘What’s Cooking?’

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In the 2000 movie What Cooking?, viewers follow four completely different families as they prepare for Thanksgiving in their own special way. From turkey tamales to spring rolls, the movie shows what the holiday is all about – no matter where you’re from. 

‘Love at the Parade’

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Starring Antonio Cupo and Autumn Reeser, Love at the Parade follows the organizer for the Thanksgiving Day Parade in Chicago as she meets the consultant hired to look over the Parade’s finances. Soon, tensions between them blossom into more than workplace disagreements. 

‘The Blind Side’

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While The Blind Side is about much more than Thanksgiving, the 2009 movie about a Southern family adopting a 17-year-old foster kid named “Big Mike” shows what the holiday is all about. Plus, “Big Mike” is taken in on the night before Thanksgiving. Talk about perfect timing!

‘Home for the Holidays’

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With stars like Holly Hunter, Robert Downey Jr., Claire Danes and Dylan McDermott, Home for the Holidays is a true Thanksgiving treat! The movie follows single mom Claudia (Hunter) as she travels solo to her family Thanksgiving and watches everything unravel. 

‘Grumpy Old Men’

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Grumpy Old Men is a Thanksgiving movie that will have the whole family laughing out loud! The movie follows two lifelong neighbors and rivals right when a new female neighbor fuels their rivalry like never before. 

‘The Family Stone’

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While this is another classic Christmas movie, The Family Stone might give you all the Thanksgiving feels too. The movie follows NYC businesswoman Meredith (Sarah Jessica Parker) and she goes to her boyfriend’s family home in Connecticut for Christmas. Safe to say things don’t go too smoothly….

‘Black Friday’

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Sure, this isn’t about Thanksgiving per se, but isn’t a day later soon enough? Black Friday puts an action spin on holiday movies as the chaos of Black Friday shopping overlaps with a new alien parasite. 

‘Pieces of April’

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Starring Katie Holmes, Pieces of April tells the story of a young girl who decides to host her family Thanksgiving dinner after her mom’s diagnosed with a serious illness. As her family weathers the storm to find her, April does her best to cook a meal in her tiny Manhattan apartment. 

‘Fantastic Mr. Fox’

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Based on the beloved book by Roald Dahl, Fantastic Mr. Fox follows Mr. Fox (voice by George Clooney) as he reverts back to his sneaky, mysterious ways and plans the biggest chicken heist of all time to get supplies for his Thanksgiving dinner. 

‘Son in Law’

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Son in Law is a Thanksgiving movie about how differences might be just the thing to bring people together. The movie follows party animal named Crawl (Pauly Shore) as he joins his girlfriend Rebecca’s (Carla Gugino) Thanksgiving in rural South Dakota. 

‘Jack and Jill’

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If your annual Thanksgiving has some sort of sibling rivalry, then Jack and Jill might be the movie for you. The comedy follows twins Jack and Jill (duh, we know!) as they reunite for Thanksgiving and have to learn to cohabitate throughout the rest of holiday season. 

‘Four Brothers’

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This might be an unconventional pick, but Four Brothers is, after all, about family during Thanksgiving time. The movie follows four adopted brothers, played by Mark Wahlberg, Tyrese Gibson, André Benjamin and Garrett Hedlund, who seek revenge on their foster mom after she’s killed shopping for their Thanksgiving meal. 

‘Rocky’

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While 1976’s Rocky is more about boxing and perseverance than anything else, Thanksgiving makes for some iconic scenes in the movie. In a nutshell, the movie follows boxer Rocky Balboa as he is arbitrarily chosen to take on the reigning world heavyweight champion, Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers).

‘A Family Thanksgiving’

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In A Family Thanksgiving, a successful corporate lawyer (Daphne Zuniga) gets a mighty reality check from her busy life when a bizarre mystic (Faye Dunaway) presents her with a completely different alternate reality. 

‘The Ice Storm’

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The Ice Storm follows two suburban families as their Thanksgiving break takes a turn for the worse. From infidelity to drug abuse, everything seems to be bursting at the seams. 

‘Jim Henson’s Turkey Hollow’

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Jim Henson’s Turkey Hollow tells the story of Tim and Annie as they head to the quaint town of Turkey Hollow to spend a rustic Thanksgiving with their recently divorced dad. Once they arrive, they get set on finding the “Howling Hoodoo,” an elusive monster that has long been dismissed as mere legend.

‘Hannah and Her Sisters’

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Starring an impressive lineup of stars like Dianne Wiest, Mia Farrow and Michael Caine, 1986’s Hannah and Her Sisters follows three successive Thanksgiving dinners and the lives of three sisters over the years. 

‘You’ve Got Mail’

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In a movie that tops most people’s “Favorite Rom-Coms” list, You’ve Got Mail follows independent book shop owner Kathleen (Meg Ryan) as she becomes pen-pals with a mysterious and charming man. Little does she know, he also happens to be her enemy and the heir to the Foxbooks chain store.

‘The House of Yes’

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In another story of partner-meeting-the-family, The House of Yes follows Marty (Josh Hamilton) and he introduces his fiancée (Tori Spelling) to his dark family and utterly twisted twin sister (Parker Posey).

‘Scent of a Woman’

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In another unconventional pick, Scent of a Woman follows a retired Lt. Col. in the US Army (Al Pacino) as he hires college student Charlie (Chris O’Donnell) to take after him during Thanksgiving break. Pacino went on to win a Best Actor Oscar for his role.