The 25 Best Thanksgiving Movies of All Time
When one thinks of holiday movies, the first thing that springs to mind is most likely Christmas. With new releases every year at both the box office and on streaming services, as well as all those classic favorites we know and love, there’s no shortage of Christmas movies to add to your watch list. But amid all that Yuletide cheer, Thanksgiving shouldn’t be forgotten—and there are quite a few movies that align with turkey day, many of which can be an enjoyable addition to seasonal traditions.
Stacker analyzed data from Letterboxd, IMDb, and Metacritic to rank the highest-rated Thanksgiving films of all time. To determine which movies would qualify, our experts surveyed the history of film, comprehensive film databases, and legitimate editorial compilations of Thanksgiving movies.
At Stacker, we recognize that genre is meant to help describe and communicate the vibe of a film, not to serve as a limiting factor on what films can and cannot be. There are no hard and fast rules that define a Thanksgiving movie, and we agree that leaning into more open interpretations of what fits in certain fringe genres is best practice for developing a pool of films that represent all possible expressions of a particular sub-genre. As a result, we considered any movie that takes place over Thanksgiving, or involving significant Thanksgiving scenes, to be part of our “best of” list.