Feast Your Eyes on These 18 Thanksgiving Movies

Christmas movies get all the hype, but Thanksgiving has a heaping of films to binge-watch.

In fact, the fall harvest can claim one of the best holiday movies of all time as its own: Planes, Trains and Automobiles, the beloved 1987 comedy starring Steve Martin and the late John Candy.

So, after you’re done watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and gorging on turkey, why not sit down with the family for some post-meal bonding in the form of a Thanksgiving flick?

Whether you’re looking for something family-friendly like A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, terrifying like Thanksgiving or heartwarming like Miracle on 34th Street — or even ones that will make your family look very chill, like Pieces of April or The Ice Storm — there’s a film for everyone to be thankful for.

Here’s everything to know about the best movies to stream during Thanksgiving weekend.

A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (1973)

Break out the popcorn and jelly beans! In this Peanuts special, the gang gets together after Peppermint Patty invites everyone to Charlie Brown’s house for Thanksgiving dinner — even though Charlie is off to see his grandmother. All works out in the end, especially since it’s Snoopy who cooks up the eclectic Thanksgiving feast.

Watch A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving on Apple TV

Thanksgiving (2023)

If you’re not quite ready to move on from the horror films of Halloween, Eli Roth’s 2023 turkey-themed slasher delivers exactly what your spooky heart craves. One 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 — that is, by offing one resident at a time.

Watch Thanksgiving on Hulu

Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987)

In this not-so-buddy road trip comedy, all Neal Page (Martin) wants after an annoying work trip in New York City is to get back home to his family in Chicago in time for Thanksgiving. However, after snow reroutes his flight to Wichita, Kan., he gets stuck with Del Griffith (Candy). The loud salesman causes nothing but misery for Neal as the opposites make many attempts to get to the Windy City.

The beloved 1987 cult classic also marks Matthew Lawrence’s film debut as Neal Jr. and features a cameo by Kevin Bacon.

Watch Planes, Trains and Automobiles on Paramount+

The Ice Storm (1997)

Adapted from the 1994 Rick Moody novel of the same name, The Ice Storm is a darker take on the holiday season that follows two troubled middle-class suburban families in New Canaan, Conn., over Thanksgiving weekend of 1973. The film is a very dark drama that dives into subverted social norms, experiments with infidelity and substance abuse, and teenagers wreaking their own havoc as their families crumble.

Many familiar faces starred in this acclaimed 1997 movie, including Kevin Kline, Joan Allen, Christina Ricci, Sigourney Weaver, Tobey Maguire, Elijah Wood, David Krumholtz and Katie Holmes.

Buy or rent The Ice Storm on Amazon Prime Video

Miracle on 34th Street (1994)

After unknowingly hiring the real-life Kris Kringle (Richard Attenborough) to play Santa Claus in the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, the store and its employees learn the true meaning of Christmas when a series of miracles takes place on, well, 34th Street. The 1994 film is a remake of the 1947 black-and-white holiday flick and is sure to warm the nostalgic hearts of every millennial in your life.

Watch Miracle on 34th Street on Disney+

The Humans (2021)

Based on Stephen Karam’s Tony Award-winning one-act play, The Humans captures a tense Thanksgiving evening as the tight-knit Blake family convenes in a pre-war Manhattan duplex. Once night falls, creepy disturbances echo through the shabby apartment, bringing to light the group’s deepest fears, from aging to betrayal.

Watch The Humans on Tubi

Home for the Holidays (1995)

Directed by Jodie Foster, Home for the Holidays centers on single mother Claudia Larson (Holly Hunter), who decides to fly back to her childhood home in Baltimore for Thanksgiving after being fired from her job and learning that her daughter will spend the holiday with her boyfriend.

It’s not long before Claudia wants to be done with her dysfunctional family, which includes a snobby brother-in-law (Steve Guttenberg), her brother and confidant Tommy (Robert Downey Jr.), Tommy’s business partner Leo Fish (Dylan McDermott) and her eccentric aunt Gladys (Geraldine Chaplin). The 1995 dramedy focuses on the family’s relationships and turmoil before everyone scatters after Thanksgiving.

Watch Home for the Holidays on Paramount+

Son in Law (1993)

South Dakota farm girl Rebecca (Carla Gugino) is a fish out of water when she heads off to college in Los Angeles, 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.

Buy or rent Son in Law on Amazon Prime Video

What’s Cooking? (2000)

Four diverse L.A. families, each with their own cultural and household traditions, prepare for Thanksgiving dinner in this diverse 2000 ensemble comedy starring Julianna Margulies, Alfre Woodard, Joan Chen and Mercedes Ruehl.

Watch What’s Cooking? on Amazon Prime Video

Friendsgiving (2020)

This movie certainly fits its spot-on title! Molly (Malin Akerman) and Abby (Kat Dennings) host what ends up being a chaotic, dysfunctional Thanksgiving dinner. The ensemble comedy also stars Akerman’s husband, Jack Donnelly, in addition to Aisha Tyler, Jane Seymour, Christine Taylor and Chelsea Peretti.

Watch Friendsgiving on Paramount+

Holidate (2020)

Sick of never having a date for the holidays, Jackson (Luke Bracey) and Sloane (Emma Roberts) make a deal to be platonic dates for each other (a.k.a. “holidates”) for the big holidays, including Thanksgiving. The arrangement is meant to last one year, but since this is a rom-com, you probably can guess where this is going.

Watch Holidate on Netflix

Addams Family Values (1993)

Sure, Addams Family Values takes place over the summer, but this sequel to 1991’s The Addams Family absolutely counts as a Thanksgiving film thanks to the iconic, chaotic summer camp play about the first Thanksgiving and Wednesday’s (Ricci) fiery takedown of it. “Eat me!” the turkeys sang, and who are we to ignore the pleas to feast on this comic delight?

Buy or rent Addams Family Values on Amazon Prime Video

Turkey Drop (2019)

In this Freeform film, Lucy (Olivia Holt) fears she’s about to be dumped by her high school sweetheart (Tyler Perez) over Thanksgiving break — a.k.a. a “turkey drop.”

“Turkey drop is a phrase that comes from two people being in a long-distance relationship, and when they both come back in town for the holidays around Thanksgiving, one of them ends up dropping the other,” Holt told PEOPLE in November 2019.

To cope with her worries, Lucy leans on her mother (Cheryl Hines) for support while she fights to save her relationship — just as a new potential partner (Ben Levin) appears. While Lucy ends up in a sort of love triangle, the movie is ultimately about learning how to make decisions as a young adult.

Watch Turkey Drop on Freeform

Pieces of April (2003)

Directed by Peter Hedges, this indie darling follows the titular April (Holmes), an “alterna-girl” living in N.Y.C. who decides to host Thanksgiving dinner for her estranged, slightly dysfunctional family after learning that her mom (Patricia Clarkson) is facing a serious illness.

Clarkson was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as Joy Burns. April’s father, Jim (Oliver Platt), is no slouch either.

Watch Pieces of April on Tubi

Garfield’s Thanksgiving (1989)

Based on the Garfield comic strip, the 1989 animated special follows the legendarily lazy orange cat, who believes that Thanksgiving is about people celebrating “food by eating as much of it as possible.” However, Garfield gets some very bad news about his beloved tradition ahead of the holiday: He must go on a diet.

Watch Garfield’s Thanksgiving on Apple TV

Black Friday (2021)

In this 2021 horror film, disgruntled toy 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.

Make it a double feature with star Devon Sawa’s 1999 horror comedy Idle Hands, which featured a different kind of possession.

Watch Black Friday on Amazon Prime Video

Jim Henson’s Turkey Hollow (2015)

In this Thanksgiving TV movie, Ron (Jay Harrington), a recently divorced single father and his two kids, Jim (Graham Vereche) and Annie (Genevieve Buechner), head to the town of Turkey Hollow to spend time with their aunt (Mary Steenburgen). There, they quickly become enchanted by a tale about a legendary monster named Howling Hoodoo.

Watch Jim Henson’s Turkey Hollow on Amazon Prime Video

The Turkey Bowl (2019)

Patrick Hodges (Ryan Hansen) gets tricked by his friends into returning to his rural Oklahoma hometown for Thanksgiving so they can finally complete The Turkey Ball, a football game versus their crosstown rivals (led by Alan Ritchson as Ronnie Best) that got snowed out 15 years prior.

Watch The Turkey Bowl on Tubi