Feast Your Eyes on These 20 Thanksgiving Movies, From “Friendsgiving” to “Turkey Drop”
Stuff your Thanksgiving movie menu with fall favorites like 'Planes, Trains and Automobiles,' 'Knives Out' and more
Stuff your Thanksgiving movie menu with fall favorites like 'Planes, Trains and Automobiles,' 'Knives Out' and more TriStar Pictures and Spyglass Media Group; United Feature Syndicate; Claire Folger/Lionsgate/Kobal/Shutterstock A masked killer in 'Thanksgiving,' 2023; The cast of 'A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving,' 1973; Ana de Armas in 'Knives Out,' 2019:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/thanksgiving-charlie-brown-knives-out-111924-7130651f99c1463f9fc8f28528672cf5.jpg "A masked killer in 'Thanksgiving,' 2023; The cast of 'A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving,' 1973; Ana de Armas in 'Knives Out,' 2019")
After you’re done feasting on turkey this Thanksgiving, head to the couch for some binge-watching.
Of course, many people will be tuned into the morning's Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, but for a post-meal bonding moment, there are also countless movies centered around Thanksgiving to turn on.
Whether you’re looking for something family-friendly like A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving or heartwarming like Miracle on 34th Street, there’s a little something for everyone this holiday.
And once you’re done watching all these notable films, you can head right into the next holiday with the best Christmas movies.
Read ahead for the best movies to stream this Thanksgiving.
A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving
CBS Woodstock and Snoopy in 'A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving,' 1973
In this Peanuts special, the entire gang gets together for a special Thanksgiving meal cooked by none other than Snoopy.
Watch A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving on Apple TV+
Related: Snoopy Look-alike Bayley the Mini Sheepadoodle Is Winning the Hearts of the Internet
Thanksgiving
Pief Weyman/TriStar Pictures The killer in a John Carver mask in 'Thanksgiving,' 2023
If you're not quite ready to move on from the horror films of Halloween, Eli Roth's turkey-themed slasher serves up exactly what you crave. A year after a poorly supervised Black Friday sale ends several lives in Plymouth, Mass., a ruthless killer donning a Pilgrim mask decides that revenge is a dish best served cold.
Knives Out
Claire Folger/Lionsgate/Courtesy Everett Don Johnson and Jamie Lee Curtis in 'Knives Out,' 2019
Though the murder mystery film doesn’t explicitly take place during the Thanksgiving holiday, it certainly evokes the feeling of fall, from the changing leaves around the family's mansion to Chris Evans’ cozy sweaters.
Planes, Trains and Automobiles
Steve Martin and John Candy star in this comedy film about two polar opposites who wind up becoming travel companions as they try to make it home in time for Thanksgiving. (We guarantee you'll be able to find this one playing on cable all day Thursday.)
Watch Planes, Trains and Automobiles on Paramount+
Little Women
Columbia Pictures Saoirse Ronan and Timothée Chalamet in 'Little Women,' 2019
This 2019 adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s eponymous novel chronicles the lives of the March sisters — Meg (Emma Watson), Jo (Saoirse Ronan), Beth (Eliza Scanlen) and Amy (Florence Pugh) — through their many ups and downs. Though it doesn’t explicitly take place around Thanksgiving, it's got themes of gratitude, family and togetherness, and will certainly give you all the warm and cozy feelings.
Miracle on 34th Street
After unknowingly hiring the real-life Santa (Richard Attenborough) to play Santa in the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, the store and its employees learn the true meaning of Christmas when a series of miracles take place on 34th Street.
Watch Miracle on 34th Street on Disney+
The Humans
Linda Kallerus/Showtime Networks/Courtesy Everett Collection Clockwise from lower left: June Squibb, Amy Schumer, Steven Yeun, Beanie Feldstein, Richard Jenkins and Jayne Houdyshell in 'The Humans,' 2021
Based on Stephen Karam's Tony-winning one-act play, The Humans captures a tense Thanksgiving evening as the Blake family convenes in a shabby Manhattan duplex. Once night falls, creepy disturbances echo through the apartment, bringing the group's deepest fears to light.
Watch The Humans on Amazon Prime Video
Home for the Holidays
everett collection The cast of 'Home for the Holidays,' 1995
After getting fired from her job, a single mother decides to fly home for Thanksgiving to spend time with her dysfunctional family in this family comedy directed by Jodie Foster.
Watch Home for the Holidays on Paramount+
Son-in-Law
South Dakota farm girl Rebecca (Carla Gugino) is a fish out of water when she heads off to college in L.A., but things start to look up when she befriends Crawl (Pauly Shore), a wildly charismatic partygoer. By Thanksgiving break, Rebecca returns home transformed — with Crawl in tow, posing as her fake fiancé.
What’s Cooking?
Flashpoint/Stagescreen/Kobal/Shutterstock Julianna Margulies, Lainie Kazan and Kyra Sedgwick in 'What's Cooking?,' 2000
Be a fly on the wall as four diverse L.A. families — each with their own cultural and household traditions — prepare for Thanksgiving dinner in this 2000 ensemble comedy starring Julianna Margulies, Alfre Woodard, Joan Chen, Mercedes Ruehl and more.
Watch What's Cooking? on Amazon Prime Video
Friendsgiving
Everett Collection The cast of 'Friendsgiving,' 2020
As the title suggests, the comedy film starring Malin Åkerman and Kat Dennings revolves around a group of friends who reunite for the holidays.
Holidate
Sick of never having a date for the holidays, a young man (Luke Bracey) and woman (Emma Roberts) make a deal to only date each other on annual celebrations — which include Thanksgiving, St. Patrick's Day and more.
Addams Family Values
Paramount/Kobal/Shutterstock Anjelica Huston and Raul Julia in 'Addams Family Values,' 1993
While The Addams Family is reserved for Halloween time, its sequel Addams Family Values counts as a Thanksgiving film thanks to Wednesday’s (Christina Ricci) chaotic play at camp.
Watch Addams Family Values on Paramount+
Instant Family
Starring Mark Wahlberg and Rose Byrne, the film follows a couple who adopt three siblings following a Thanksgiving dinner with their reluctant family.
Watch Instant Family on Paramount+
Turkey Drop
Upon returning home for the holidays, a young woman named Lucy (Olivia Holt) fears she’s about to be dumped by her high school sweetheart (Tyler Perez) and, as a result, decides to take charge of her life.
Pieces of April
Starring Katie Holmes, the film follows a young woman named April who attempts to throw a Thanksgiving dinner for her estranged and slightly dysfunctional family.
Garfield's Thanksgiving
Garfield & Friends/YouTube Garfield and Jon Arbuckle in 'Garfield's Thanksgiving,' 1989
Based on the Garfield comic strip, the special follows the legendarily lazy orange cat as he gets some very bad news ahead of Thanksgiving: He must go on a diet.
Watch Garfield's Thanksgiving on Peacock
Black Friday
Everett Collection Michael Jai White and Devon Sawa in 'Black Friday,' 2021
In this horror film, store employees working on Thanksgiving night get more than they bargained for as an alien parasite crashes to Earth and turns Black Friday shoppers into murderous monsters.
Watch Black Friday on Prime Video
Related: 19 Thanksgiving TV Episodes Worth Watching Again
Jim Henson's Turkey Hollow
Everett Collection Mary Steenburgen in 'Jim Henson's Turkey Hollow,' 2015
In this Thanksgiving TV movie, a single father (Jay Harrington) and his two kids (Graham Vereche, Genevieve Buechner) head to the town of Turkey Hollow to spend time with their aunt (Mary Steenburgen), where they quickly become enchanted by a tale about a legendary monster named Howling Hoodoo.
Watch Jim Henson’s Turkey Hollow on Disney+
The Turkey Bowl
Everett Collection Alan Ritchson and the cast of 'The Turkey Bowl,' 2019
After being tricked by his friends to return home for Thanksgiving, a man finds himself playing in a football game that was previously snowed out 15 years ago.
Watch The Turkey Bowl on Peacock
Related: 35 Classic Christmas Movies to Watch During the Holidays
