Dynamic Watchlist Hub: Jan 13, 2026

10 Best Movies Like How They Smiled

If you loved How They Smiled, we've curated the perfect watchlist for you based on shared genres, themes, and directorial style.

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Expert Review & Ratings

See our full critical analysis and audience score for How They Smiled.

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#1
The Normal Heart

The Normal Heart

2014★ 7.7

Why watch this? A perfect follow-up to How They Smiled for fans of Drama. It captures a similar emotionally gripping atmosphere.

The story of the onset of the HIV-AIDS crisis in New York City in the early 1980s, taking an unflinching look at the nation's sexual politics as gay activists and their allies in t...

#2
Avatar

Avatar

2009★ 7.6

Why watch this? A perfect follow-up to How They Smiled for fans of Action. It captures a similar adrenaline-pumping atmosphere.

In the 22nd century, a paraplegic Marine is dispatched to the moon Pandora on a unique mission, but becomes torn between following orders and protecting an alien civilization....

#3
Ex Machina

Ex Machina

2015★ 7.6

Why watch this? A perfect follow-up to How They Smiled for fans of Drama. It captures a similar emotionally gripping atmosphere.

Caleb, a coder at the world's largest internet company, wins a competition to spend a week at a private mountain retreat belonging to Nathan, the reclusive CEO of the company. But ...

#4
Oppenheimer

Oppenheimer

2023★ 8.0

Why watch this? A perfect follow-up to How They Smiled for fans of Drama. It captures a similar emotionally gripping atmosphere.

The story of J. Robert Oppenheimer's role in the development of the atomic bomb during World War II....

#5
Django Unchained

Django Unchained

2012★ 8.2

Why watch this? A perfect follow-up to How They Smiled for fans of Drama. It captures a similar emotionally gripping atmosphere.

With the help of a German bounty hunter, a freed slave sets out to rescue his wife from a brutal Mississippi plantation owner....

#6
Inception

Inception

2010★ 8.4

Why watch this? A perfect follow-up to How They Smiled for fans of Action. It captures a similar adrenaline-pumping atmosphere.

Cobb, a skilled thief who commits corporate espionage by infiltrating the subconscious of his targets is offered a chance to regain his old life as payment for a task considered to...