7 Thanksgiving Movies to Whet Your Turkey Day Appetite

Christmas movies seem to dominate this time of year, but before you dive into the deliciously cheesy Hallmark holiday movies or go check out The red one in theaters, consider spending some time during Thanksgiving week watching, well, Thanksgiving movies! An oft-overlooked (and frankly, pretty rare) type of holiday movie, the Thanksgiving movie could barely touch Turkey Day, but it has tons of fall vibes (like the Nora Ephron classic You have received mail), centers solely on getting home in time for Thanksgiving dinner (as Planes, trains and cars) or fall somewhere between the two (as Boyfriendwhich begins streaming on Max November 28).

A Thanksgiving movie can be the perfect side dish to your turkey dinner this holiday season—and is definitely a great idea for that post-dinner food coma. Here are seven of the best Thanksgiving movies to stream this holiday season.

Boyfriend (Nov. 28)

Boyfriend follows two best friends and college freshmen with one goal to accomplish over the Thanksgiving break: break up with their high school significant others, aka the “Turkey Dump.” Kiernan Shipka, Nico Hiraga and Caleb Hearon star in this coming-of-age comedy. Boyfriend premieres on Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 28) on Max.

Stream on Max

The people (2021)

In a time of turmoil, a family gathers in a small apartment in New York’s Chinatown for Thanksgiving dinner. Richard Jenkins, Jayne Houdyshell, Amy Schumer, Beanie Feldstein, Steven Yeun and June Squibb star in this underrated A24 film based on the Tony Award-winning play of the same name. You can stream it for free through Amazon’s Prime Video.

Stream on Prime Video

Holiday (2020)

While not exclusively a thanksgiving movie, Holiday covering Turkey Day! Emma Roberts and Luke Bracey star in the romantic comedy about two single adults who team up to be each other’s dates for all the family parties of the year. You can stream Holiday on Netflix.

Stream on Netflix

Friendsgiving (2020)

A group of dysfunctional friends gather for a Friendsgiving, bringing with them vegan dishes and tons of drama. Malin Åkerman, Kat Dennings, Aisha Tyler, Chelsea Peretti, Christine Taylor, Jane Seymour, Deon Cole, Wanda Sykes, Margaret Cho and Fortune Feimster star in Friendsgiving, streaming on Starz.

Stream on Starz

Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)

Another non-specific Thanksgiving movie, huh Fantastic Mr. Fox what it lacks in official Turkey Day scenes, it makes up for in stolen turkeys, elaborate dinner scenes and a beautiful autumn color palette. George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman and Bill Murray are the vocal stars of this 2009 Wes Anderson film. You can catch Fantastic Mr. Fox streaming on Disney+.

Stream on Disney+

You have received mail (1998)

Isn’t it all Nora Ephron movie is the perfect fall movie? You have MaiI might just have it an iconic Thanksgiving scenebut I’ll take any excuse to return to this 1998 romantic comedy starring Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks. Plus, Elwood Edwards, the voice behind the iconic “You’ve got Mail!” notification, died earlier this month. So for both of these reasons I recommend visiting again You have received mail this Thanksgiving. It’s not streaming anywhere right now, but you can rent it for $4 on Amazon.

Rent on Amazon

Planes, trains and cars (1986)

Steve Martin and John Candy star in this heartwarming John Hughes film about two strangers who are constantly thrown together after a series of travel mishaps as they try to get home for Thanksgiving. You can stream Planes, trains and cars on Paramount+.

Stream on Paramount+