50 Movies Like Meet Joe Black (1998) You Need to Watch Next
Updated August 2026
View Meet Joe Black details →Martin Brest's 1998 drama takes a patient, almost stately approach to a fantastical premise: a media tycoon nearing his sixty-fifth birthday finds Death itself has taken human form and moved into his home. What follows is less a thriller than a slow meditation on mortality, love and how a powerful man reckons with borrowed time when the stranger he's guiding falls for his daughter. At nearly three hours, it asks for patience, and rewards viewers drawn to romance played in a hushed, deliberate key rather than plot mechanics. Best suited to those who like their fantasy grounded in feeling, with elegant settings and long, lingering conversations.
If you loved Meet Joe Black (1998) by Martin Brest, here are 50 movies that share its content DNA. iRankMovies measures real similarity using cosine similarity across eight weighted dimensions — genre (50%), tone (12%), pace (10%), structure (8%), era (7%), theme (6%), audience (4%) and narrative perspective (3%) — not just the rating. The closest matches according to our analysis are Intimacy, The Age of Adaline, City of Angels. Every title is ranked by how closely it matches and backed by the iRank Score, a composite of IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic and TMDb across 12,000+ analysed titles.
The Best Movies Similar to Meet Joe Black
Selected for their real similarity in content, these are the movies that share the most with Meet Joe Black in terms of theme, narrative tone, and cinematic style. Every recommendation goes beyond genre — we evaluate the type of conflict, pacing, dramatic context, and the experience they create for viewers.
Intimacy
2001 · Patrice Chéreau
Failed musician Jay abandoned his family and now earns a living as head bartender in a trendy London pub. Every Wednesday afternoon, a woman comes to his house for graphic, almost wordless, sex. One d
In common: Drama · Fantasy · Romance
The Age of Adaline
2015 · Lee Toland Krieger
After 29-year-old Adaline recovers from a nearly lethal accident, she inexplicably stops growing older. As the years stretch on and on, Adaline keeps her secret to herself until she meets a man who c
In common: Drama · Fantasy · Romance
City of Angels
1998 · Brad Silberling
When a guardian angel – who invisibly watches over the citizens of Los Angeles – becomes captivated by a strong-willed heart surgeon, he ponders trading in his pure, otherworldly existence for a morta
In common: Drama · Fantasy · Romance
The Lake House
2006 · Alejandro Agresti
When architect Alex Wyler moves into an unusual glass house on stilts over a lake, he discovers a note from the previous tenant in the mailbox--but no one's lived in the house for years. He replies an
In common: Drama · Fantasy · Romance
What Dreams May Come
1998 · Vincent Ward
Chris Nielsen dies to find himself in a heaven more amazing than he could have ever dreamed of. There is one thing missing: his wife. After he died, his wife Annie killed herself and went to hell. Chr
In common: Drama · Fantasy · Romance
Twilight
2008 · Catherine Hardwicke
When Bella Swan moves to a small town in the Pacific Northwest, she falls in love with Edward Cullen, a mysterious classmate who reveals himself to be a 108-year-old vampire. Despite Edward's repeated
In common: Drama · Fantasy · Romance
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2
2012 · Bill Condon
After the birth of Renesmee, the Cullens gather other vampire clans in order to protect the child from a false allegation that puts the family in front of the Volturi.
In common: Drama · Fantasy · Romance
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
2010 · David Slade
Bella once again finds herself surrounded by danger as Seattle is ravaged by a string of mysterious killings and a malicious vampire continues her quest for revenge. In the midst of it all, she is for
In common: Drama · Fantasy
The Twilight Saga: New Moon
2009 · Chris Weitz
Forks, Washington resident Bella Swan is reeling from the departure of her vampire love, Edward Cullen, and finds comfort in her friendship with Jacob Black, a werewolf. But before she knows it, she's
In common: Drama · Fantasy
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
2008 · David Fincher
Born under unusual circumstances, Benjamin Button springs into being as an elderly man in a New Orleans nursing home and ages in reverse. Twelve years after his birth, he meets Daisy, a child who flit
In common: Drama · Fantasy · Romance
Shallow Hal
2001 · Peter Farrelly
After taking his dying father's advice, Hal dates only the embodiments of female physical perfection. But that all changes after Hal has an unexpected run-in with self-help guru Tony Robbins. Intrigue
In common: Drama · Fantasy
The Shape of Water
2017 · Guillermo del Toro
An other-worldly story, set against the backdrop of Cold War era America circa 1962, where a mute janitor working at a lab falls in love with an amphibious man being held captive there and devises a p
In common: Drama · Fantasy · Romance
Ruby Sparks
2012 · Jonathan Dayton
Calvin is a young novelist who achieved phenomenal success early in his career but is now struggling with his writing – as well as his romantic life. Finally, he makes a breakthrough and creates a cha
In common: Drama · Fantasy
A Dog's Will
2000 · Guel Arraes
The lively João Grilo and the sly Chicó are poor guys living in the hinterland who cheat a bunch of people in a small town in Northeastern Brazil. When they die, they have to be judged by Christ, the
In common: Drama · Fantasy
The Family Man
2000 · Brett Ratner
Jack's lavish, fast-paced lifestyle changes one Christmas night when he stumbles into a grocery store holdup and disarms the gunman. The next morning he wakes up in bed lying next to Kate, his college
In common: Drama · Fantasy
Just My Luck
2006 · Donald Petrie
Manhattanite Ashley is known to many as the luckiest woman around. After a chance encounter with a down-and-out young man, however, she realizes that she's swapped her fortune for his.
In common: Drama
The Illusionist
2006 · Neil Burger
With his eye on a lovely aristocrat, a gifted illusionist named Eisenheim uses his powers to win her away from her betrothed, a crown prince. But Eisenheim's scheme creates tumult within the monarchy
In common: Drama · Fantasy · Romance
Wicked
2024 · Jon M. Chu
In the land of Oz, ostracized and misunderstood green-skinned Elphaba is forced to share a room with the popular aristocrat Glinda at Shiz University, and the two's unlikely friendship is tested as th
In common: Drama · Fantasy · Romance
Cinderella
2015 · Kenneth Branagh
When her father unexpectedly passes away, young Ella finds herself at the mercy of her cruel stepmother and her daughters. Never one to give up hope, Ella's fortunes begin to change after meeting a da
In common: Drama · Fantasy
Edward Scissorhands
1990 · Tim Burton
A small suburban town receives a visit from a castaway unfinished science experiment named Edward.
In common: Drama · Fantasy · Romance
The Time Traveler's Wife
2009 · Robert Schwentke
Due to a genetic disorder, handsome librarian Henry DeTamble involuntarily zips through time, appearing at various moments in the life of his true love, the beautiful artist Clare Abshire.
In common: Drama · Fantasy · Romance
About Time
2013 · Richard Curtis
The night after another unsatisfactory New Year's party, Tim's father reveals to him that the men in their family have the ability to travel through time. They can't change history, but they can chang
In common: Drama · Fantasy · Romance
Desire
2011 · Laurent Bouhnik
In a social context deteriorated by a countrywide economic crisis, the life of several people will be turned upside down after they meet Cécile, a character who symbolizes desire.
In common: Drama · Romance
Before Sunrise
1995 · Richard Linklater
An unexpected meeting on a train leads two travelers to spend an evening wandering through Vienna. As the night unfolds, they share stories and conversations about life and love, exploring new ideas w
In common: Drama · Romance
I Want You
2012 · Fernando González Molina
After two years away, Hache returns to Barcelona seeking a fresh start. Falling for Gin while facing unresolved feelings for Babi, he must confront love, loss, and who he's becoming.
In common: Drama · Romance
Past Lives
2023 · Celine Song
After decades apart, childhood friends Nora and Hae Sung are reunited in New York for one fateful weekend as they confront notions of destiny, love, and the choices that make a life.
In common: Drama · Romance
The Piano Teacher
2001 · Michael Haneke
Erika Kohut, a sexually repressed piano teacher living with her domineering mother, meets a young man who starts romantically pursuing her.
In common: Drama · Romance
Materialists
2025 · Celine Song
A young, ambitious New York City matchmaker finds herself torn between the perfect match and her imperfect ex.
In common: Drama · Romance
Disobedience
2018 · Sebastián Lelio
New York photographer Ronit flies to London after learning about the death of her estranged father. Ronit is returning to the same Orthodox Jewish community that shunned her decades earlier for her ch
In common: Drama · Romance
Blue Is the Warmest Color
2013 · Abdellatif Kechiche
Adèle's life is changed when she meets Emma, a young woman with blue hair, who will allow her to discover desire, to assert herself as a woman and as an adult. In front of others, Adele grows, seeks h
In common: Drama · Romance
Good Luck to You, Leo Grande
2022 · Sophie Hyde
Nancy Stokes, a retired schoolteacher, is pretty sure she has never had good sex. Now that her husband has died, she is determined to take a tour of sexual vistas that until now she has only imagined.
In common: Drama · Romance
The Life of Chuck
2025 · Mike Flanagan
In this extraordinary story of an ordinary man, Charles 'Chuck' Krantz experiences the wonder of love, the heartbreak of loss, and the multitudes contained in all of us.
In common: Drama · Fantasy
The Fault in Our Stars
2014 · Josh Boone
Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a patient named Augustus W
In common: Drama · Romance
The Bridges of Madison County
1995 · Clint Eastwood
Photographer Robert Kincaid wanders into the life of housewife Francesca Johnson for four days in the 1960s.
In common: Drama · Romance
Slumdog Millionaire
2008 · Danny Boyle
A teenager reflects on his life after being accused of cheating on the Indian version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?".
In common: Drama · Romance
Before Sunset
2004 · Richard Linklater
Nine years later, Jesse travels across Europe giving readings from a book he wrote about the night he spent in Vienna with Celine. After his reading in Paris, Celine finds him, and they spend part of
In common: Drama · Romance
Leaving Las Vegas
1995 · Mike Figgis
Ben Sanderson, an alcoholic Hollywood screenwriter who lost everything because of his drinking, arrives in Las Vegas to drink himself to death. There, he meets and forms an uneasy friendship and non-i
In common: Drama · Romance
What's Eating Gilbert Grape
1993 · Lasse Hallström
Gilbert Grape is a small-town young man with a lot of responsibility. Chief among his concerns are his mother, who is so overweight that she can't leave the house, and his mentally impaired younger br
In common: Drama · Romance
Waves
2019 · Trey Edward Shults
A controlling father’s attempts to ensure that his two children succeed in high school backfire after his son experiences a career-ending sports injury. Their familial bonds are eventually placed unde
In common: Drama · Romance
Little Women
1994 · Gillian Armstrong
Four sisters come of age in America in the aftermath of the Civil War.
In common: Drama · Romance
The Theory of Everything
2014 · James Marsh
The Theory of Everything is the extraordinary story of one of the world’s greatest living minds, the renowned astrophysicist Stephen Hawking, who falls deeply in love with fellow Cambridge student Jan
In common: Drama · Romance
Up in the Air
2009 · Jason Reitman
Corporate downsizing expert Ryan Bingham spends his life in planes, airports, and hotels, but just as he’s about to reach a milestone of ten million frequent flyer miles, he meets a woman who causes h
In common: Drama · Romance
Little Children
2006 · Todd Field
The lives of two lovelorn spouses from separate marriages, a registered sex offender, and a disgraced ex-police officer intersect as they struggle to resist their vulnerabilities and temptations.
In common: Drama · Romance
My Name Is Khan
2010 · Karan Johar
Rizwan Khan, a Muslim from the Borivali section of Mumbai, has Asperger's syndrome. He marries a Hindu single mother, Mandira, in San Francisco. After 9/11, Rizwan is detained by authorities at LAX wh
In common: Drama · Romance
An Officer and a Gentleman
1982 · Taylor Hackford
Zack Mayo is an aloof, taciturn man who aspires to be a navy pilot. Once he arrives at training camp for his 13-week officer's course, Mayo runs afoul of abrasive, no-nonsense drill Sergeant Emil Fole
In common: Drama · Romance
The Seventh Seal
1957 · Ingmar Bergman
When disillusioned Swedish knight Antonius Block returns home from the Crusades to find his country in the grips of the Black Death, he challenges Death to a chess match for his life. Tormented by the
In common: Drama · Fantasy
It's a Wonderful Life
1946 · Frank Capra
George Bailey has spent his entire life giving to the people of Bedford Falls. All that prevents rich skinflint Mr. Potter from taking over the entire town is George's modest building and loan compan
In common: Drama · Fantasy
Damage
1992 · Louis Malle
The life of a respected British politician at the height of his career crumbles when he becomes obsessed with his son's lover.
In common: Drama · Romance
After We Fell
2021 · Castille Landon
Just as Tessa's life begins to become unglued, nothing is what she thought it would be. Not her friends nor her family. The only person that she should be able to rely on is Hardin, who is furious whe
In common: Drama · Romance
Fifty Shades Freed
2018 · James Foley
Believing they have left behind shadowy figures from their past, newlyweds Christian and Ana fully embrace an inextricable connection and shared life of luxury. But just as she steps into her role as
In common: Drama · Romance
Popular Drama series
Breaking Bad
2008 · Michelle MacLaren
Walter White, a New Mexico chemistry teacher, is diagnosed with Stage III cancer and given a prognosis of only two years left to live. He becomes filled with a sense of fearlessness and an unrelenting
Frieren: Beyond Journey's End
2023 · Kazutaka Yamanaka
After the party of heroes defeated the Demon King, they restored peace to the land and returned to lives of solitude. Generations pass, and the elven mage Frieren comes face to face with humanity’s m
The Chosen
2019 · Tyler Thompson
The life of Christ through the eyes of those who encountered him.
When Life Gives You Tangerines
2025 · Park Sang-hyun
In Jeju, a spirited girl and a steadfast boy's island story blossoms into a lifelong tale of setbacks and triumphs — proving love endures across time.
