Thanksgiving films are rare—but when they land, they tend to hit deep. The autumn holiday occupies an awkward zone: sandwiched between Halloween and the Christmas season, it lacks the visual spectacle of sleighs or Santa, but carries the emotional weight of family, travel, and gratitude. Over the years, the genre has remained niche (only about ~40 major “Thanksgiving movies” made between 1980 and 2025), yet the ones that do arrive often leave a memorable impression.
Quick Facts: Thanksgiving in Cinema
- Total major Thanksgiving films (1980-2025): ~40 (versus 200+ Christmas films)
- First major Thanksgiving film: actually Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987) precedes later entries
- Most successful: Free Birds (2013) – ~$110 M box office (animated)
- Critical darling: The Ice Storm (1997) – ~86% on Rotten Tomatoes.
- Horror surge: The 2020s saw 4+ Thanksgiving horror films
- Common themes: Family dysfunction (~60%), travel chaos (~30%), gratitude (~20%)
- Release strategy: Most debut early November or on streaming in late October
- Streaming dominance: ~75% of Thanksgiving films premiere on streaming vs. ~40% for Christmas films
Why Are Thanksgiving Movies So Rare? The Hollywood Problem
Timing Issues
- The immediate shift from Halloween (Oct 31) straight into the Christmas season gives studios little runway for a “Turkey Day” film.
- The Thanksgiving holiday (Nov 28 in 2024) offers only a ~2-week theatrical window before full Christmas marketing kicks in.
- Box Office Data: Thanksgiving weekend 2023 ~$200 M total; Christmas weekend 2023 ~$600 M total (This is an illustration of scale disparity).
Lack of Visual Iconography
- Christmas has Santa, reindeer, elves, snow, decorated trees, which are easy visuals.
- Thanksgiving has turkey, pilgrims (problematic imagery), and fall leaves (overlaps with Halloween).
- The Result: It is harder to market visually.
Thematic Challenges
- Christmas films lean into magic, miracles, and generosity, which are universally feel-good.
- Thanksgiving films often revolve around family conflict, historical guilt, or consumerism. These are glasses half full or half empty.
- Studios have often said that “Thanksgiving is hard to sell. It’s either a comedy about dysfunctional families or a dark drama about American history. Neither plays well internationally.
No International Appeal
- While Christmas is celebrated globally (even secularly), Thanksgiving is primarily U.S./Canada, and carries colonial baggage.
- The Result: Thanksgiving films often earn ~90% of revenue domestically (vs. ~60% for Christmas films).
The 1980s: The Birth of the Modern Thanksgiving Classic
Cultural Context:
The 1980s defined what we now consider the “modern Thanksgiving movie.” Amid Reagan-era nostalgia for traditional Americana, Hollywood embraced stories about family, homecomings, and gratitude. Directors like John Hughes and studios like Amblin Entertainment shaped the era’s emotional tone—warm, chaotic, and deeply human. Hughes’s comedies of mismatched personalities and Amblin’s suburban adventures made Thanksgiving’s themes of reunion and redemption cinematic staples.
Meanwhile, the VHS boom turned small, heartfelt films into annual household traditions. The result was a formula that still endures today: a journey home, clashing personalities, a dinner-table crisis, and a moment of hard-won gratitude.
Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987) – The Definitive Thanksgiving Film
- Director: John Hughes
- Stars: Steve Martin, John Candy
- Budget: ~$15 million
- Box Office: ~$49.5 million
- Runtime: 1h 33m
- Rating: R
- IMDb: 7.6/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 93%
The Plot: Marketing executive Neal Page (Steve Martin) just wants to get home to his family for Thanksgiving—but a blizzard, flight delays, and a very friendly shower-ring salesman, Del Griffith (John Candy), turn his trip into chaos. Their misadventures across planes, trains, and automobiles evolve from irritation to unlikely friendship, culminating in a heartfelt homecoming dinner.
Why It’s the Definitive Thanksgiving Movie:
- Travel chaos = Universal Thanksgiving experience (TSA nightmares, delayed flights)
- Found family = Gratitude for unexpected connections
- Thanksgiving dinner payoff = Emotionally earned homecoming
- Class commentary = Neal (wealthy) learns empathy from Del (working-class)
Cultural Impact & Legacy
- Preserved in the U.S. National Film Registry (2023)
- Annual TV marathon tradition (e.g., AMC, Freeform)
- Gifs/memes of Martin’s meltdown on bus/train/plane
Where to Watch
PlutoTV, MGM+, Amazon Channel, Paramountus, Paramount+ Amazon Channel, MGM Plus, Philo.
Fun Fact
John Candy improvised the “I like me” speech — Steve Martin cried during the take.
Other 1980s Mentions
- Dutch (1991) – Comedy/road movie with Thanksgiving anchor
- Home Sweet Home (1981) – Low-budget slasher set at Thanksgiving (proto-Turkey-Day horror)
- Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) – Thanksgiving bookends a complex Woody Allen story
The 1990s: Family Dysfunction and Holiday Melancholy
Cultural Context
The 1990s turned Thanksgiving movies inward, trading road-trip optimism for domestic tension. As Gen-X cynicism replaced Reagan-era nostalgia, filmmakers explored fractured families and emotional honesty. The indie boom led by Sundance and studios like Miramax favored intimate, character-driven stories over spectacle.
Films such as Home for the Holidays and The Ice Storm captured the holiday as a pressure cooker of secrets, awkward reunions, and quiet melancholy. Visually muted and emotionally raw, these films redefined Thanksgiving as a space for reckoning rather than celebration—a reflection of an America questioning the ideals it once romanticized.
Home for the Holidays (1995) – Jodie Foster’s Chaotic Family Portrait
Director: Jodie Foster
Stars: Holly Hunter, Robert Downey Jr., Anne Bancroft, Charles Durning
Budget: ~$20 million
Box Office: ~$22.1 million
Runtime: 1h 43m
Rating: PG-13
IMDb: 6.6/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 63%
The Plot: Single mom Claudia Larson (Holly Hunter), just fired and sad, flies from Chicago to her parents’ home in Baltimore for Thanksgiving only to face her eccentric siblings, oddball relatives, and a turkey-day reunion full of chaos and emotional misfires.
Why It’s the Definitive ’90s Thanksgiving Movie:
- Family dysfunction = Thanksgiving gathering becomes the setting for generational, financial, and emotional strain.
- Relatable misery = The holiday ideal collides with real-life job loss, relational tension, and awkwardness.
- Dinner table payoff = The emotional arc ends at the Thanksgiving meal; reconciliation of sorts is earned.
- Female directorial voice = Jodie Foster’s unique vantage gives the holiday film a sharper edge.
Cultural Impact & Legacy:
- Grown into a seasonal cult favourite among holiday film fans.
- Often cited as one of the few mainstream films centred around Thanksgiving.
- Resonates for its honest portrayal of what “home for the holidays” really can mean.
Where to Watch:
MGM+, Amazon Channel,Paramountus, Paramount+ Amazon Channel, Paramount+ Roku Premium Channel
Fun Fact:
Robert Downey Jr.’s character Tommy Larson brings sardonic humor to the ensemble; the film was adapted from a short story by Chris Radant.
The Ice Storm (1997) – Thanksgiving as American Decay
Director: Ang Lee
Stars: Kevin Kline, Joan Allen, Tobey Maguire, Christina Ricci, Sigourney Weaver
Budget: ~$18 million
Box Office: ~$16 million worldwide
Runtime: 1h 53m
Rating: R
IMDb: 7.3/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 86%
The Plot: Set over a Thanksgiving weekend in 1973 in affluent Connecticut suburbia, two neighbouring families – the Hoods and the Carvers appear outwardly stable, but beneath the surface they are wracked by infidelity, existential drift, teenage misadventures, and a coming ice storm that forces emotional reckonings.
Why It’s the Definitive Thanksgiving Horror-of-Family Movie:
- Thanksgiving tension = The holiday becomes a backdrop for unraveling idealism and suburban malaise.
- Emotional freeze = The literal ice storm mirrors emotional freezing and breakdown within the families.
- Social critique = Looks beyond the perfect façade of the American middle class to its fracture lines.
- Genre nuance = While not horror in the slasher sense, it delivers a chilling portrait of personal crisis during a holiday.
Cultural Impact & Legacy:
- Acclaimed as a masterful depiction of ’70s America in decline.
- Frequently cited in “best Thanksgiving movies” lists for its subversive take.
- Has grown in stature through home video and streaming for its craft and thematic depth.
Where to Watch:
Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Apple TV (To Buy/Rent)
Fun Fact:
Production shot ice-storm scenes by artificially freezing streets and trees; the crew actually encountered a real ice storm during location shooting.
What’s Cooking? (2000) – Multicultural Thanksgiving Mosaic
Director: Gurinder Chadha
Stars: Mercedes Ruehl, Kyra Sedgwick, Joan Chen, Alfre Woodard, Julianna Margulies
Budget: (Not clearly cited)
Box Office: ~$1.7 million worldwide
Runtime: 1h 49m
Rating: PG-13
IMDb: 6.8/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 52%
The Plot: On Thanksgiving Day in Los Angeles, four ethnically diverse families—Vietnamese, Latino, Jewish, and African American each prepare their own version of the holiday meal while navigating cultural clashes, generational divides, friendship, infidelity, and identity.
Why It’s the Definitive Multicultural Thanksgiving Movie:
- Cultural mash-up = Surrounds the traditional turkey with tamales, spring rolls, kuge, and soul food—a vibrant depiction of America’s diversity.
- Family mosaic = Each family brings its heritage and issues into one shared holiday framework.
- Holiday as microcosm = Thanksgiving meal becomes a stage for broader cultural and social dynamics.
- Inclusive tone = Rather than dysfunction alone, it celebrates connection across difference.
Cultural Impact & Legacy:
- Highlighted in retrospectives as an important Thanksgiving film for multicultural representation.
- Though commercially modest, it remains valued for its ensemble and thematic richness.
- Offers a counterpoint to the usual dysfunctional dinner tropes—showcasing food as a unifier.
Where to Watch:
Tubitv, Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, Starz, Apple TV Channel
Fun Fact:
The film was the Opening Night selection at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival and was the first British script accepted into the Sundance Writers’ Lab.
Other 1990s Mentions
- The Myth of Fingerprints (1997) – Indie drama about family reunion
- Scent of a Woman (1992) – Thanksgiving weekend subplot
- Addams Family Values (1993) – Satirical Thanksgiving camp pageant
The 2000s: Indie Realism and the Rise of “Dinner Table Trauma”
Cultural Context
The 2000s redefined Thanksgiving movies through quiet, intimate realism. In a post-9/11 America marked by anxiety and division, filmmakers turned inward, using the dinner table as a stage for confrontation and truth. The rise of indie studios like Fox Searchlight and Focus Features fueled grounded, handheld dramas such as Pieces of April (2003), which captured the fragile dynamics of modern families. Thanksgiving narratives shifted from celebration to catharsis—where awkward silences, political clashes, and emotional distance reflected a nation struggling to reconnect. The result was a new subgenre: “dinner-table trauma,” where realism replaced sentimentality and forgiveness became the film’s quiet climax.
Pieces of April (2003) – Katie Holmes’ Indie Breakthrough
Director: Peter Hedges
Stars: Katie Holmes, Patricia Clarkson, Derek Luke, Oliver Platt
Budget: ~$300,000
Box Office: ~$3.28 million worldwide
Runtime: 1h 21m
Rating: PG-13
IMDb: 7.0/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 83%
The Plot: April Burns (Katie Holmes), estranged from her comfortable family and living in a gritty NYC apartment with her boyfriend, invites them over for Thanksgiving—while her mother is ill, the turkey is undercooked, the oven fails, and the family road trip is fraught with tension. The evening forces a reckoning of past hurts and new hope.
Why It’s the Definitive Indie Thanksgiving Movie:
- Low-budget realism = Shot ultra-lean but emotionally rich.
- Dysfunctional family = Thanksgiving dinner becomes a crucible for reconciliation and regret.
- Urban setting shift = Moves the holiday from suburbia to the Lower East Side.
- Emotional risk = Tackles illness, alienation, and hope under the guise of a holiday comedy.
Cultural Impact & Legacy:
- Hailed as one of the most endearing Thanksgiving indie films.
- Elevated the holiday dinner trope into grounded human drama.
- Marked a breakthrough for Patricia Clarkson (Oscar-nominated) and Katie Holmes’s range.
Where to Watch:
fuboTV, MGM+ Amazon Channel, MGM Plus Roku Premium Channel, MGM Plus, Philo, MUBI, MUBI Amazon Channel
Fun Fact:
Principal photography was completed in just 16 days on digital cameras, and April’s faulty oven idea was inspired by a real story.
An Old Fashioned Thanksgiving (2008) – Hallmark Traditionalism
Director: Graeme Campbell
Stars: Jacqueline Bisset, Helene Joy, Tatiana Maslany
Budget: (Not clearly cited)
Box Office: (TV film – no theatrical box office)
Runtime: 1h 30m
Rating: TV-G/Family-friendly (Hallmark)
IMDb: 6.5/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 53%
The Plot: Set on a modest 19th-century farm, widow Mary Bassett and her three children struggle through poverty and illness around Thanksgiving. A letter sent to the estranged wealthy grandmother leads to her visit, forcing reconciliation, forgiveness, and the true meaning of gratitude amid hardship.
Why It’s the Definitive Hallmark Thanksgiving Movie:
- Old-fashioned setting = Emphasises simplicity, gratitude, and traditional values.
- Holiday as healing = Thanksgiving framed as redemption and family unity.
- Family-friendly tone = Clean, uplifting, safe for all ages.
- Made-for-TV prominence = Exemplifies the seasonal TV special model
Cultural Impact & Legacy:
- Premiered to strong ratings on the Hallmark Channel and remains a staple of the network’s holiday lineup.
- Showcases the “safe” end of the Thanksgiving movie spectrum—comfort over conflict.
- Offers contrast to more dysfunctional holiday films by focusing on gratitude and togetherness.
Where to Watch:
Pluto TV
Fun Fact:
The story is loosely based on a short work by Louisa May Alcott, and filming took place in Canada despite the 1860s U.S. setting.
Four Christmases (2008) – While a Christmas Film, Its Prologue Centres on Thanksgiving
Director: Seth Gordon
Stars: Vince Vaughn, Reese Witherspoon, Robert Duvall, Sissy Spacek
Budget: ~$80 million
Box Office: ~$163 million worldwide
Runtime: 1h 28m
Rating: PG-13
IMDb: 5.7/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 25%
The Plot: Brad (Vaughn) and Kate (Witherspoon), an unmarried couple avoiding family holidays, plan a vacation for Thanksgiving—until airplane fog cancels it and they’re forced to visit four different family homes in one day. The Thanksgiving-to-Christmas transition becomes a comedic plunge into chaos, love, and discovery.
Why It’s a Noteworthy Thanksgiving-Adjacent Movie:
- Thanksgiving prologue = Uses the holiday as a trigger for the film’s central arc.
- Holiday multi-visits = Mirrors travel-and-family chaos typical of Thanksgiving films.
- Major budget = Unusually big for a Thanksgiving-related movie, though marketed as Christmas.
- Comedy of Errors = Plays into the “journey home” and “family chaos” tropes of Turkey Day films.
Cultural Impact & Legacy:
- One of the highest-grossing holiday comedies of the era, and showed the crossover between Thanksgiving and Christmas films.
- Demonstrated how holiday films with Thanksgiving settings can still hit big box-office numbers.
- Sparked conversations about whether Thanksgiving can anchor major studio budgets.
Where to Watch:
Apple TV+, HBO Max, Amazon Channel
Fun Fact:
It opened with a record Thanksgiving-weekend launch, grossing ~$46.7 million over the five days.
Other 2000s Mentions
- The House of Yes (re-released 2000) – Dark comedy on Thanksgiving
- A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (1973) – Though from the ’70s, it remained influential throughout the 2000s as a perennial TV special
The 2010s: Streaming, Horror, and the Thanksgiving Comeback
Cultural Context: The 2010s marked a quiet revival for Thanksgiving movies, driven by the rise of streaming platforms like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime. Freed from the constraints of theatrical competition with Christmas blockbusters, smaller films found a home online—spanning indie dramas, political satires, and even horror.
This decade saw the emergence of “Turkey Day slashers,” blending seasonal iconography with suspense and dark humor. Filmmakers began using Thanksgiving as a canvas for modern anxieties—family divisions, consumerism, and ideological rifts while animation and satire (Free Birds, The Oath) broadened its tone.
Free Birds (2013) – Animated Turkey Time Travel
Director: Jimmy Hayward
Stars: Owen Wilson, Woody Harrelson, Amy Poehler
Budget: ~$55 million
Box Office: ~$110 million worldwide
Runtime: 1h 31m
Rating: PG
IMDb: 5.8/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 20%
The Plot: Two turkeys, Reggie (Owen Wilson) and Jake (Woody Harrelson), form an unlikely partnership after discovering a secret government time machine. Determined to rewrite history, they travel back to 1621—the very first Thanksgiving to stop humans from making turkey the traditional holiday dish. Along the way, they encounter a tribe of wild turkeys, clash with settlers, and learn about courage, sacrifice, and friendship.
Why It’s a Noteworthy Thanksgiving Movie:
- Turkey-time travel hook = Unique premise built around Thanksgiving itself.
- Family-oriented = Animated film aimed at kids/families, broadening the holiday genre.
- High box office = One of the most commercially successful Turkey-Day themed films.
- Holiday marketing savvy = Early November release and strong seasonal tie-in.
Cultural Impact & Legacy:
- Demonstrated that Thanksgiving can anchor a mainstream animated feature.
- Became a go-to family film for Turkey-Day viewing in some households.
- Spurred more interest (though limited) in Thanksgiving-themed films for younger audiences.
Where to Watch:
Amazon Video, Apple TV+, Fandango At Home (Buy/Rent)
Fun Fact:
The film’s original title was Turkeys and was later retitled to Free Birds before its November 1, 2013, release.
Kristy (2014) – Campus Slasher Set at Thanksgiving
Director: Oliver Blackburn
Stars: Haley Bennett, Ashley Greene, Chris Coy
Budget: ~$6.9 million
Box Office: ~$260,371 worldwide (limited release)
Runtime: 1h 26m
Rating: R
IMDb: 5.9/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 43%
The Plot: College student Justine stays on campus over Thanksgiving break. When cost-saving means she can’t go home, she becomes the target of a masked cult of ritual killers on an otherwise empty campus during the holiday weekend.
Why It’s a Noteworthy Thanksgiving Movie:
- Holiday isolation = Uses Thanksgiving break as the setup for the horror scenario.
- Campus setting = Subverts typical home-gathering tropes by focusing on being away from family.
- Slasher meets holiday = One of the few explicit slasher films anchored in Thanksgiving.
- Back-to-school twist = Explores loneliness and vulnerability during the holiday when others have left.
Cultural Impact & Legacy:
- Gained a cult following among horror fans looking for non-Christmas holiday horrors.
- Highlighted the potential of Turkey-Day settings for genre films (beyond family comedies).
- Demonstrated how limited release horror can exploit holiday windows for niche appeal.
Where to Watch:
Starz Apple TV Channel, Fandango at Home
Fun Fact:
The film was initially titled Satanic and later Random before settling on Kristy.
The Oath (2018) – Political Satire Set During Thanksgiving
Director: Ike Barinholtz
Stars: Ike Barinholtz, Tiffany Haddish, John Cho, Carrie Brownstein
Budget: (Not publicly listed in major sources)
Box Office: ~$401,463 (reported gross)
Runtime: 1h 33m
Rating: R (strong language, violence)
IMDb: 5.7/10 (approx)
Rotten Tomatoes: 63%
The Plot: In a near-future America, citizens are asked to sign a “Patriot Oath” by Black Friday. A politically divided family hosts Thanksgiving dinner amidst escalating tensions, sparring relatives, and the arrival of two government agents who turn the holiday gathering into an absurd and violent conflict.
Why It’s a Noteworthy Thanksgiving Movie:
- Political dinner table = Uses the Thanksgiving meal as a battleground for ideological conflict.
- Holiday + dystopia = Merges Thanksgiving family chaos with speculative satire of government control.
- Modern relevance = Reflects contemporary polarization and how the holiday gathering can mirror societal divisions.
- Subversion of comfort = Turns the familiar “thankful family dinner” trope into tension and satire.
Cultural Impact & Legacy:
- Cited as a relevant piece for understanding how holiday gatherings reflect modern conflict.
- Explored how Thanksgiving movies can move beyond feel-good into biting social commentary.
- Provided a blueprint for Thanksgiving-set satire rather than just sentimentality.
Where to Watch:
Amazon Video, Apple TV+, Fandango At Home (Buy/Rent)
Fun Fact:
The trailer for the film described it as “surviving life and Thanksgiving in the age of political tribalism.
The Humans (2021) – A24 Theatrical Horror-Drama Anchored by Thanksgiving
Director: Stephen Karam
Stars: Richard Jenkins, Beanie Feldstein, Amy Schumer, Steven Yeun, Jayne Houdyshell
Budget: (Not clearly cited in major sources)
Box Office: ~$47,000 reported (limited release)
Runtime: 1h 48m
Rating: R
IMDb: 6.1/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 92%
The Plot: On Thanksgiving, three generations of the Blake family gather in a poorly furnished Manhattan apartment for a holiday dinner. As night falls and outside the window, something unseen stirs, the claustrophobic setting amplifies secrets, fears, and the darker burdens the family carries.
Why It’s a Noteworthy Thanksgiving Movie:
- Thanksgiving gathering central = The entire film is structurally built around the holiday reunion.
- Dysfunction meets horror = The mood merges family drama with psychological dread.
- Indie prestige = From A24, adapted from a Tony-winning play, bringing Thanksgiving into arthouse territory.
- Subversion of comfort = The most unsettling “holiday film” of the era—Thanksgiving as unsettling.
Cultural Impact & Legacy:
- Named one of the best films of 2021 by several critics, elevating the Thanksgiving film to serious drama.
- Challenged the notion that Thanksgiving films must be light or feel-good.
- Set a new high-water mark for Turkey-Day cinema in terms of depth and tone.
Where to Watch:
Fandango at Home Free, Xumo Play, Apple TV+
Fun Fact:
The director also adapted the original stage play into the film, preserving much of its theatrical intensity and family setting.
Other 2010s Mentions
- Master of None: “Thanksgiving” episode (2017) – TV episode spanning multiple Thanksgivings, won acclaim
- Tower Heist (2011) – Thanksgiving parade subplot
- Pardoned (2017) – Faith-based Thanksgiving forgiveness film
The 2020s: Genre Blending and Social Commentary
Cultural Context: The 2020s transformed Thanksgiving movies into mirrors of modern anxieties and evolving values. Post-COVID isolation reshaped how audiences viewed family gatherings as no longer comforting rituals but as emotionally loaded reunions.
Streaming platforms became the dominant release format, allowing smaller, riskier stories to thrive outside theaters. At the same time, a wave of social commentary emerged, reframing Thanksgiving through the lenses of consumerism, colonial history, and identity politics.
Films like Thanksgiving (2023) and Wildcat (2023) blended genres—horror, biopic, satire—to explore deeper truths about gratitude, guilt, and belonging. The decade redefined the holiday movie as both a reflection and a critique of American culture.
Thanksgiving (2023) – Eli Roth’s Thanksgiving-Slasher
Director: Eli Roth
Stars: Patrick Dempsey, Addison Rae, Nell Verlaque, Gina Gershon
Budget: ~$15 million
Box Office: ~$46.6 million worldwide
Runtime: 1h 46m
Rating: R
IMDb: 6.2/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 83% fresh
The Plot: In Plymouth, Massachusetts, a deadly Black Friday mob incident at a superstore leaves several wounded. One year later, a masked killer wearing a pilgrim’s hat, “John Carve,” begins targeting those connected to the riot around Thanksgiving time. As the body count rises, Jessica Wright and her friends must survive a gruesome horror-fest where turkey-day traditions turn into terror.
Why It’s a Noteworthy Thanksgiving Movie:
- Thanksgiving setting central = The holiday and Black Friday riot launch the entire horror narrative.
- Horror-slasher tradition = Merges the road-to-home/holiday meal trope with gore and genre thrills.
- High-yield budget vs niche holiday = Shows that a Thanksgiving film can get major backing and theatrical release.
- Subversion of comfort = Transforms turkey-day into a violent, uneasy experience rather than family warmth.
Cultural Impact & Legacy:
- Marked a rare high-profile Thanksgiving horror release, carving out a niche in the holiday calendar.
- Reinforced that the holiday genre is evolving—turning from family comedy into genre hybridity.
Where to Watch:
Hulu, fuboTV, Apple TV+
Fun Fact:
The film is based on a faux trailer from the 2007 Grindhouse anthology by Eli Roth.
Somebody I Used to Know (2023) – Amazon Rom-Com Set Around Thanksgiving
Director: Dave Franco
Stars: Alison Brie, Jay Ellis, Kiersey Clemons
Budget: (Not publicly listed)
Box Office: Streaming release, no theatrical data
Runtime: 1h 46m (106 minutes)
Rating: Likely PG-13
IMDb: 5.7/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 71%
The Plot: Workaholic showrunner Ally returns to her hometown for a Thanksgiving-week home visit and runs into her ex Sean. As she reconnects with old friends and confronts past versions of herself, the holiday backdrop becomes a catalyst for self-reflection, rekindled chemistry, and painful truths.
Why It’s a Noteworthy Thanksgiving Movie:
- Holiday setting = Thanksgiving homecoming serves as the story’s emotional launching point.
- Adult rom-com lens = Applies familiar holiday-family gathering tropes in a romantic-comedy framework.
- Streaming exclusive = Reflects the shift of holiday films to digital platforms in the 2010s-2020s.
Cultural Impact & Legacy:
- Highlights how Thanksgiving can serve as a backdrop for romantic comedies, not just family dramas.
- Adds to the diversity of Thanksgiving content by blending rom-com, holiday, and adult themes.
Where to Watch:
Amazon Prime Video (U.S.)
Fun Fact:
Though not heavily marketed as a “Thanksgiving film,” the holiday setting is integral to the homecoming plot mechanism.
You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah (2023) – Netflix Family Comedy with Thanksgiving Backdrop
Director: Sammi Cohen
Stars: Idina Menzel, Jackie Sandler, Adam Sandler, Sunny Sandler (and more)
Budget: (Not publicly listed)
Box Office: Streaming exclusive
Runtime: 1h 43m
Rating: (Teen/family friendly)
IMDb: 5.9/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 91%
The Plot: BFFs Stacy and Lydia plan epic bat mitzvahs ahead of their big teen celebration. But lingering family dynamics, middle-school popularity battles, a popular boy’s attention, and extended holiday gatherings around Thanksgiving disrupt their plans—and force them to rethink friendship, identity, and tradition.
Why It’s a Noteworthy Thanksgiving Movie:
- Holiday backdrop = Thanksgiving-week narrative anchors the family gathering portion of the story.
- Family/coming-of-age tone = Blends holiday film tropes with tween/teen identity crises.
- Cultural merge = Combines Jewish coming-of-age (bat mitzvah) with broader U.S. holiday context.
Cultural Impact & Legacy:
- Offers a fresh family-holiday film perspective beyond turkey dinners and adult dysfunction.
- Shows how Thanksgiving films can intersect with other cultural rites (bat mitzvah) and audiences.
- Contributes to the growing genre of “holiday movies” for younger viewers streaming at home.
Where to Watch:
Netflix (U.S.)
Fun Fact:
The film’s family-holiday setting provides both the bat mitzvah drama and the urkey-day gathering in one hybrid event.
Wildcat (2023) – Ethan Hawke’s Flannery O’Connor Biopic; Thanksgiving Dinner Scene Crucial
Director: Ethan Hawke
Stars: Maya Hawke, Laura Linney, Rafael Casal, Cooper Hoffman
Budget: (Not publicly listed)
Box Office: ~$565,170 (limited U.S. release)
Runtime: 1h 48m
Rating: PG-13
IMDb: 5.8/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 59%
The Plot: This biographical drama chronicles Southern novelist Flannery O’Connor as she grapples with illness, faith, and creativity while writing her first major works. The film interweaves her lived experience with haunting sequences from her short stories, including a pivotal Thanksgiving dinner scene where the tensions of heritage, literature, and identity converge.
Why It’s a Noteworthy Thanksgiving Movie:
- Thanksgiving dinner as narrative anchor = The holiday dinner scene becomes a crucible for identity and Southern Gothic themes.
- Blending life and literature = Uses O’Connor’s writing and personal history to illuminate larger themes around heritage, faith, and family.
- Indie prestige = A contemplative holiday-centered film rather than traditional turkey-day fare.
Cultural Impact & Legacy:
- Highlighted the potential for Thanksgiving to serve as a lens for cultural and intellectual inquiry, not just festive comfort.
- Helped position holiday films for awards-festival circuits rather than purely seasonal viewership.
Where to Watch:
Criterion Channel
Fun Fact:
Directed by Ethan Hawke and starring his daughter Maya Hawke, the film treats the Thanksgiving dinner scene as a microcosm of Flannery O’Connor’s complex Southern heritage and thematic concerns.
Other 2020s Mentions
- The Starling Girl (2023) – Coming-of-age drama with a Thanksgiving background
- Arlo the Alligator Boy (2021) – Animated Netflix film featuring a Thanksgiving song
- Marry Me (2022) – Romantic comedy with Thanksgiving subplot
Honorable Mentions: Films That Use Thanksgiving as a Narrative Anchor
These aren’t “Thanksgiving movies” per se, but they use the holiday as a key plot moment.
- Rocky (1976) – Adrian and Paulie’s Thanksgiving dinner builds character development
- Scent of a Woman (1992) – Thanksgiving weekend trip subplot
- Addams Family Values (1993) – Thanksgiving camp pageant satire
- Spider-Man (2002) – Parker’s Thanksgiving at the Osborns is pivotal.
- Master of None: “Thanksgiving” (2017) – Emmy-winning TV episode about a gay Black man coming out over multiple Thanksgivings
- Knives Out (2019) – Family gathering post-Thanksgiving
- Eighth Grade (2018) – Thanksgiving dinner anxiety scene
Thanksgiving Horror: Why the 2020s Embraced Turkey Day Slashers
The Subgenre’s Rise
Early Attempts (1980s-2000s)
- Home Sweet Home (1981) – Low-budget slasher at Thanksgiving
- ThanksKilling (2009) – Cult comedy-horror (killer turkey puppet)
- Kristy (2014) – Campus slasher
Modern Legitimization (2020s)
- Thanksgiving (2023) – Studio-backed slasher
- Black Friday (2021) – Zombie outbreak at toy store day after Thanksgiving
- Blood Rage (1987 re-release 2020) – Rediscovered Thanksgiving slasher
Why Thanksgiving Works for Horror
- Confined Setting: Family Home, Locked Doors, Forced Gatherings
Thanksgiving horror thrives on claustrophobia. Families are trapped together by tradition—often in remote homes or small towns—creating perfect tension. The inability to leave amplifies emotional strain, forcing old resentments to surface. When danger strikes, there’s nowhere to run—turning the cozy family home into a psychological pressure cooker.
- Table Knife/Carving Imagery Naturally Creepy
Few holidays involve such deliberate use of blades at the dinner table. Carving knives, forks, and meat slicers—symbols of togetherness—become instruments of terror. In horror, these tools blur domestic comfort and violence, transforming ordinary rituals like carving a turkey into unsettling metaphors for suppressed anger and bloodshed.
- Colonial Guilt/Pilgrim Imagery Used as Horror Metaphor
Thanksgiving’s sanitized history of colonization lends itself to horror reinterpretation. Filmmakers twist pilgrim hats, feasts, and colonial settings into symbols of historical guilt and violence. This subversion exposes the darker roots of the holiday, transforming national pride into reckoning—where the ghosts of America’s past literally and metaphorically come home to feast.
- Black Friday Consumerism (Post-Thanksgiving) as Viable Horror Subtext
The day after Thanksgiving turns gratitude into greed—making Black Friday an ideal horror backdrop. Frenzied shoppers, corporate greed, and mob violence reflect society’s descent from family warmth to material obsession. Horror films use this contrast to critique capitalism, revealing how consumerism devours empathy faster than any cinematic monster.
Upcoming/Noted
- Thanksgiving 2 (2025) – Eli Roth sequel in development
- Pilgrim (TBA) – A24 horror in development
The Thanksgiving Movie Checklist: Common Tropes
Almost every Thanksgiving film includes:
- Travel chaos (delays, cancellations, road trips)
- Dysfunctional family (siblings bicker, parents divorce, secrets surface)
- Dinner-table argument (politics, religion, sexuality)
- Overcooking crisis (burned turkey, broken oven)
- Unexpected guest (stranger invited, ex shows up)
- Reconciliation (family hugs it out by dessert)
- Football on TV (background Americana)
- Fall aesthetics (leaves, pumpkins, harvest colours)
Rarely Seen:
- Indigenous perspectives (only What’s Cooking? attempts this)
- International settings (U.S./Canada exclusive)
- Big-budget action or sci-fi (no Die Hard for Thanksgiving)
- Huge spectacles ($50 M+ productions rarely happen)
Conclusion
Thanksgiving movies may never rival the celebration and hype of Christmas blockbusters or even Halloween horror, but that’s exactly their power. They don’t need to. They exist in the quiet in-between — small stories about family, travel, conflict, and the fragile hope that maybe, this year, things will be different. From Planes, Trains & Automobiles to The Humans and Thanksgiving (2023), the genre has evolved from slapstick chaos to psychological introspection, always circling the same truth: the hardest place to return to is home.
