50 Movies Like The Shape of Water (2017) You Need to Watch Next
Updated August 2026
View The Shape of Water details →Guillermo del Toro's 2017 fantasy unfolds against Cold War America circa 1962, where a mute janitor at a secretive government lab forms a wordless bond with an amphibious man held captive there and hatches a plan to free him. Del Toro treats the premise as a tender fairy tale for adults, wrapping romance, danger and outsider longing in lush, aquatic-hued production design. The film moves at a deliberate, dreamlike pace, favoring mood and empathy over spectacle, and its fantasy elements sit beside real cruelty and period tension. Viewers drawn to grown-up fables, unconventional love stories and painterly craft will be rewarded; those wanting brisk action should look elsewhere.
If you loved The Shape of Water (2017) by Guillermo del Toro, 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 Wicked, Cinderella, Edward Scissorhands. 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 The Shape of Water
Selected for their real similarity in content, these are the movies that share the most with The Shape of Water 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.
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
Beauty and the Beast
2014 · Christophe Gans
Forced to face the cruel side of life, a devastated, bankrupt merchant chances upon the enchanted castle of a hideous creature, the mere sight of it chills the bone to the marrow. There, a fate worse
In common: 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
Meet Joe Black
1998 · Martin Brest
Bill Parrish has it all - success, wealth and power. Days before his 65th birthday, he receives a visit from a mysterious stranger, Joe Black, who soon reveals himself as Death. In exchange for extra
In common: Drama · Fantasy · Romance
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
Sleeping Beauty
1959 · Clyde Geronimi
Cursed to die by the evil fairy Maleficent when she was a baby, Princess Aurora is sent into hiding under protection from three good fairies. As she grows up far away, Maleficent becomes increasingly
In common: Fantasy
Enchanted
2007 · Kevin Lima
The beautiful princess Giselle is banished by an evil queen from her magical, musical animated land and finds herself in the gritty reality of the streets of modern-day Manhattan. Shocked by this stra
In common: Fantasy
Big Fish
2003 · Tim Burton
Throughout his life Edward Bloom has always been a man of big appetites, enormous passions and tall tales. In his later years, he remains a huge mystery to his son, William. Now, to get to know the re
In common: Drama · Fantasy
Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas
1997 · Andy Knight
Astonished to find the Beast has a deep-seated hatred for the Christmas season, Belle endeavors to change his mind on the matter.
In common: Fantasy
Beauty and the Beast
2017 · Bill Condon
A live-action adaptation of Disney's version of the classic tale of a cursed prince and a beautiful young woman who helps him break the spell.
In common: 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
Snow White and the Huntsman
2012 · Rupert Sanders
After the Evil Queen marries the King, she performs a violent coup in which the King is murdered and his daughter, Snow White, is taken captive. Almost a decade later, a grown Snow White is still in t
In common: Drama · Fantasy
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
Red Riding Hood
2011 · Catherine Hardwicke
Valerie is in love with a brooding outsider, Peter, but her parents have arranged for her to marry another man. Unwilling to lose each other, Valerie and Peter plan to run away together when Valerie's
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
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 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
Snow White
2025 · Marc Webb
Following the benevolent King's disappearance, the Evil Queen dominated the once fair land with a cruel streak. Princess Snow White flees the castle when the Queen, in her jealousy over Snow White's i
In common: Fantasy
The Dreamers
2003 · Bernardo Bertolucci
When Isabelle and Theo invite Matthew to stay with them, what begins as a casual friendship ripens into a sensual voyage of discovery and desire in which nothing is off limits and everything is possib
In common: Drama · Romance
Brokeback Mountain
2005 · Ang Lee
In 1960s Wyoming, two men develop a strong emotional and sexual relationship that endures as a lifelong connection complicating their lives as they get married and start families of their own.
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
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
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
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
Flipped
2010 · Rob Reiner
When Juli meets Bryce in the second grade, she knows it's true love. After spending six years trying to convince Bryce the same, she's ready to give up - until he starts to reconsider.
In common: Drama · Romance
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
Titanic
1997 · James Cameron
101-year-old Rose DeWitt Bukater tells the story of her life aboard the Titanic, 84 years later. A young Rose boards the ship with her mother and fiancé. Meanwhile, Jack Dawson and Fabrizio De Rossi w
In common: Drama · Romance
Our Fault
2025 · Domingo González
Jenna and Lion's wedding brings about the long-awaited reunion between Noah and Nick after their breakup. Nick's inability to forgive Noah stands as an insurmountable barrier. He, heir to his grandfat
In common: Drama · Romance
Cruel Intentions
1999 · Roger Kumble
Slaking a thirst for dangerous games, Kathryn challenges her stepbrother, Sebastian, to deflower their headmaster's daughter before the summer ends. If he succeeds, the prize is the chance to bed Kath
In common: Drama · Romance
After
2019 · Jenny Gage
Tessa Young is a dedicated student, dutiful daughter and loyal girlfriend to her high school sweetheart. Entering her first semester of college, Tessa's guarded world opens up when she meets Hardin Sc
In common: Drama · Romance
The Notebook
2004 · Nick Cassavetes
An epic love story centered around an older man who reads aloud to a woman with Alzheimer's. From a faded notebook, the old man's words bring to life the story about a couple who is separated by World
In common: Drama · Romance
Love
2015 · Gaspar Noé
Murphy is an American living in Paris who enters a highly sexually and emotionally charged relationship with the unstable Electra. Unaware of the seismic effect it will have on their relationship, the
In common: Drama · Romance
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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.
