List of films set around Thanksgiving

This is a list of films set on or around the American Thanksgiving holiday. It does not include Thanksgiving television specials.

Action

• Below Utopia (aka Body Count), a 1997 film starring Justin Theroux, Alyssa Milano, and Ice-T
• Spider-Man, a 2002 film directed by Sam Raimi

Animated

• B.C.: The First Thanksgiving, a 1973 cartoon special based on B.C.
• A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, a 1973 cartoon special based on Peanuts
• A Doonesbury Special, a 1977 cartoon special based on Doonesbury
• Do or Diet a 1953 cartoon featuring Casper the Friendly Ghost
• Feedin' the Kiddie, a 1957 cartoon short featuring Tom and Jerry
• Free Birds, a 2013 film directed by Jimmy Hayward
• Holiday for Drumsticks, a 1949 Merrie Melodies cartoon short featuring Daffy Duck
• Jerky Turkey, a 1945 MGM Tex Avery cartoon short
• The Little Orphan, a 1949 MGM cartoon short featuring Tom and Jerry
• Pilgrim Popeye, a 1951 Famous Studios cartoon short featuring Popeye
• Pilgrim Porky, a 1940 Looney Tunes cartoon short featuring Porky Pig
• Soup's On, a 1948 Walt Disney cartoon short featuring Donald Duck with Huey, Dewey, and Louie
• Tom Turk and Daffy, a 1944 Looney Tunes cartoon short featuring Daffy Duck and Porky Pig
• The Voice of the Turkey, a 1950 Noveltoons cartoon short

Comedy

• Addams Family Values, a 1993 film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld
• Alice's Restaurant, a 1969 film directed by Arthur Penn
• An Ache in Every Stake, a Three Stooges short film
• Awkward Thanksgiving, a 2014 film written and directed Henrique Couto
• Beethoven, a 1992 film directed by Brian Levant
• The Big Chill, a 1983 film directed by Lawrence Kasdan
• Broadway Danny Rose, a 1984 film written and directed by Woody Allen
• Diary of a Mad Housewife, a 1970 film directed by Frank Perry
• Down and Out in Beverly Hills, a 1986 film written and directed by Paul Mazursky
• Dutch, a 1991 film written by John Hughes and directed by Peter Faiman
• For Your Consideration, a 2006 film written and directed by Christopher Guest
• Friendsgiving, a 2020 film written and directed by Nicol Paone
• Funny People, a 2009 film cowritten and directed by Judd Apatow
• The Gold Rush, a 1925 film written by, directed by, and starring Charlie Chaplin
• Gone Fishin' (film), a film directed by Christopher Cain and written by J. J. Abrams and Jill Mazursky.
• Grumpy Old Men, a 1993 film directed by Donald Petrie
• Hanging Up, a 2000 film directed by and starring Diane Keaton
• Hannah and Her Sisters, a 1986 film written and directed by Woody Allen
• Home for the Holidays, a 1995 film directed by Jodie Foster
• The House of Yes, a 1997 film directed by Mark Waters
• Instant Family, a 2018 American comedy-drama directed by Sean Anders
• Jack and Jill, a 2011 film directed by Dennis Dugan
• Mistress America, a 2015 film directed by Noah Baumbach
• My Blue Heaven, a 1990 film directed by Herbert Ross
• National Lampoon's Thanksgiving Family Reunion, a 2003 television film directed by Neal Israel
• Nobody's Fool, a 1994 film directed by Robert Benton
• Not Cool, a 2014 film directed by Shane Dawson
• The Oath, a 2018 film directed by Ike Barinholtz
• The Object of My Affection, a 1998 film directed by Nicholas Hytner
• The Other Sister, a 1999 film directed by Garry Marshall
• Palo Alto, a 2007 film directed by Brad Leong
• Paul Blart Mall Cop, a 2009 film directed by Steve Carr
• Pieces of April, a 2003 film written and directed by Peter Hedges
• Planes, Trains and Automobiles, a 1987 film written, produced, and directed by John Hughes
• Primary Colors, a 1998 film directed by Mike Nichols
• The Prince & Me, a 2004 film directed by Martha Coolidge
• She's Gotta Have It, a 1986 film written and directed by Spike Lee
• Smart People, a 2008 film written by Mark Poirier and directed by Noam Murro
• Somebody Killed Her Husband, a 1978 film directed by Lamont Johnson
• Son in Law, a 1993 film directed by Steve Rash
• The Star-Crossed Romance of Josephine Cosnowski, a 1985 television film written by Jean Shepherd and directed by Fred Barzyk
• Starting Over, a 1979 film directed by Alan J. Pakula
• Sweet Hearts Dance, a 1988 film directed by Robert Greenwald
• Tadpole, a 2002 American film directed by Gary Winick
• Thanksgiving, a 2014 film directed by Adam Newport-Berra
• Thanksgiving Day, a 1990 television film directed by Gino Tanasescu
• Tower Heist, a 2011 film directed by Brett Ratner
• The Turkey Bowl, a 2019 film directed by Greg Coolidge
• Turkey Drop, a 2019 TV film directed by Jerry Ciccoritti
• What's Cooking?, a 2000 film directed by Gurinder Chadha
• Youth in Revolt, a 2009 film directed by Miguel Arteta
• You've Got Mail, a 1998 film written and directed by Nora Ephron

Documentary

• The Last Waltz, a 1978 documentary film directed by Martin Scorsese about The Band's farewell concert, which took place on Thanksgiving Day in 1976

• American Movie, a 1999 documentary film directed by Chris Smith.

Drama

• American Gangster, a 2007 film directed by Ridley Scott
• American Son, a 2008 film directed by Neil Abramson
• Antwone Fisher, a 2002 film directed by and starring Denzel Washington
• Avalon, a 1990 film directed by Barry Levinson
• The Blind Side, a 2009 film directed by John Lee Hancock
• Brokeback Mountain, a 2005 film directed by Ang Lee
• Cast Away, a 2000 film directed by Robert Zemeckis
• A Child Is Waiting, a 1963 film directed by Abby Mann
• The Daytrippers, a 1996 film directed by Greg Mottola
• The Doors, a 1991 biopic about Jim Morrison starring Val Kilmer
• Four Brothers, a 2005 film directed by John Singleton
• Giant, a 1956 film directed by George Stevens
• Home of the Brave, a 2006 film directed by Irwin Winkler
• The Humans, a 2021 film written and directed by Stephen Karam
• The Ice Storm, a 1997 film directed by Ang Lee
• Maestro, a 2023 film directed by and starring Bradley Cooper
• The Morning After, a 1986 film directed by Sidney Lumet
• The Myth of Fingerprints, a 1997 film directed by Bart Freundlich
• One Special Night, a 1999 television film directed by Roger Young
• One True Thing, a 1998 film directed by Carl Franklin
• Palo Alto, a 2007 film written and directed by Brad Leong
• Plymouth Adventure, a 1952 film directed by Clarence Brown
• Prisoners, a 2013 film directed by Denis Villeneuve
• Repeat Performance, a 1947 film directed by Alfred L. Werker
• Rescue Dawn, a 2006 film directed by Werner Herzog
• Rocky, a 1976 film directed by John G. Avildsen, written by and starring Sylvester Stallone
• Rocky II, a 1979 film written and directed by and starring Sylvester Stallone
• Scent of a Woman, a 1992 film directed by Martin Brest
• Stepmom, a 1998 film directed by Chris Columbus
• Still Alice, a 2014 film directed by Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland
• Stuck in Love, a 2012 film written and directed by Josh Boone
• Sweet November, a 2001 film directed by Pat O'Connor
• Thanksgiving, a 2004 short film directed by Tom Donahue
• A Time to Remember, a 2003 television film directed by William Sims Myers
• Unfaithful, a 2002 film directed by Adrian Lyne
• Unhook the Stars, a 1996 film directed by Nick Cassavetes
• The Vicious Kind, a 2009 film directed by Lee Toland Krieger
• The War at Home, a 1996 film directed by and starring Emilio Estevez

Family

• A Family Thanksgiving, a 2010 Hallmark Channel Original Movie directed by Neill Fearnley
• Holiday Engagement, a 2011 Hallmark Channel Original Movie starring Bonnie Somerville and Shelley Long
• The Hoboken Chicken Emergency, a 1984 Television Movie based on the 1977 book
• Love at the Thanksgiving Day Parade, a 2012 Hallmark Channel Original Movie
• Miracle on 34th Street, a 1947 comedy-fantasy spanning from Thanksgiving to Christmas; remade for television in 1973 and theatrically in 1994
• Molly's Pilgrim, a 1985 Oscar-winning short film
• The National Tree, a 2009 Hallmark Channel Original Movie starring Andrew McCarthy
• An Old Fashioned Thanksgiving, a 2008 Hallmark Channel Original Movie based on a short story by Louisa May Alcott
• The Santa Clause, a 1994 fantasy-comedy from Disney film spanning a year, with a scene in the latter half of the film set during Thanksgiving which helps kick off the film's final act
• Squanto: A Warrior's Tale, a 1994 Disney film based on the life of Squanto, featuring the first Thanksgiving in the final scene
• The Thanksgiving House, a 2013 Hallmark Channel Original Movie starring Emily Rose
• The Thanksgiving Promise, a 1986 TV film starring Beau Bridges
• The Thanksgiving Treasure, a 1973 sequel to the critically acclaimed The House Without a Christmas Tree in which young protagonist Addie Mills befriends a cranky elderly man after she falls in love with his horse. Stars Lisa Lucas as Addie, Jason Robards, Mildred Natwick, and Barnard Hughes as Walter Rhenquist.
• The Thanksgiving Visitor, a 1967 TV adaptation of the story by Truman Capote
• Turkey Hollow, a 2015 film from Jim Henson Productions

Horror

• Alien Abduction: Incident in Lake County (1998), a family is terrorized by extraterrestrial creatures while celebrating Thanksgiving
• Blood Rage (1987), a psychopath goes on a homicidal rampage after the twin brother he framed for murder years earlier escapes on Thanksgiving
• Boogeyman (2005), around Thanksgiving, a man is stalked by the entity that haunted his childhood
• Christmas Evil (1980), a mentally unbalanced man believes himself to be Santa Claus, giving presents to children and punishing the "naughty" through violence; part of the film takes place at Thanksgiving
• Derelicts (2017), a dysfunctional family's Thanksgiving is interrupted when their home is invaded by a gang of sadistic drifters
• Escape Room (2019), a withdrawn student is challenged by a professor to do something that scares her over Thanksgiving break
• Ghost Note (2017), the ghost of a blues musician terrorizes childhood friends who have reunited over Thanksgiving weekend
• Home Movie (2008), home video footage documents a family's descent into violence and madness; includes scenes of various holidays including Thanksgiving
• Home Sweet Home (1981), an escaped mental patient embarks on a killing spree over Thanksgiving weekend
• Intensity (1997), a young woman encounters a serial killer while visiting a friend's family for Thanksgiving, then follows him to try and rescue a teenager he's abducted
• Kristy (2014), a college girl who is alone on campus over the Thanksgiving break is targeted by a group of outcasts
• The Last Thanksgiving (2020), a family of cannibals kill people who don't celebrate Thanksgiving
• Séance (2006), a group of college students left alone in their dorm over Thanksgiving weekend decide to hold a séance
• Thanksgiving (2006; short film), two couples are taken captive and tortured by a sadist during Thanksgiving dinner
• Thanksgiving (2007; short film), an insane, turkey-obsessed pilgrim commits a series of random murders on Thanksgiving; directed by Eli Roth
• Thanksgiving (2023), a full-length feature film version of the above short film, also directed by Roth
• ThanksKilling (2009), a group of students are hunted by a demonic turkey during Thanksgiving break
• ThanksKilling 3, a 2012 film sequel to ThanksKilling
• ThanXgiving (2006), a college film student, Spectre, who takes his film crew to a deserted campground to finish his thesis film over Thanksgiving break, gets terrorized by cannibal serial killers

Musical

• By the Light of the Silvery Moon, a 1953 film directed by David Butler
• Holiday Inn, a 1942 film directed by Mark Sandrich
• The Wiz, a 1978 film directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Diana Ross

Thriller

• The Morning After, a 1986 film directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Jane Fonda
• Don't Say a Word, a 2001 film directed by Gary Fleder
• Prisoners, a 2013 film directed by Denis Villeneuve
• Traitor, a 2008 film directed by Jeffrey Nachmanoff about a terrorist attack planned for Thanksgiving Day
• Unknown, a 2011 film directed by Jaume Collet-Serra

See also

• List of Thanksgiving television specials

External links

• List of Thanksgiving Feature Films and Videos at the Internet Movie Database