60 Best Movies to Watch With Dad This Father’s Day

Updated on August 18th, 2026

Father’s Day is one of the few days Dad happily plants himself on the couch, so you may as well fill it with a cracker of a film. We’ve rounded up the 60 best movies to watch with Dad this Father’s Day 2026 — from LOL comedies, to quiet tearjerkers, to underdog dads, we even have international movies we can’t recommended enough. We’ve also found where to stream each one in Australia. Sort the snacks, dim the lights, and maybe grab a little something from our Father’s Day gift range while you’re at it.

🏆 Our Best Movies Awards

Before the full list, here are the standouts — the films that earned their trophies for a reason.

😊 Feel-Good

Start gentle. These are the crowd-pleasers — the films where nothing hurts too much, everyone comes good in the end, and Dad can happily nod off in the third act without missing the plot. Warm, funny and easy to love, they’re the perfect way to ease into a Father’s Day movie marathon before things get emotional.

Chef (2014)

A burnt-out chef ditches the fine-dining grind, buys a beaten-up food truck and hits the road with his young son, slinging Cuban sandwiches across America. It’s a feel-good story about doing the work you love — and Favreau clearly loves food, because you’ll be starving by the end credits.

• ▶ Why Watch It: It’s a warm father-son road trip disguised as a foodie flick, and the reconnection between dad and lad is the real main course.
• 🎬 Key Moment: The late-night grilled cheese Carl makes for his son — the simplest sandwich, filmed like a religious experience.
• 👤 Audience: Dads who’d rather be at the barbecue, and anyone who reckons a good feed fixes most things.

The Mitchells vs. the Machines (2021)

A gloriously chaotic animated romp about an ordinary, slightly dysfunctional family who accidentally become humanity’s last hope during a robot apocalypse. Beneath the mayhem it’s really about a well-meaning, out-of-touch dad trying to connect with his tech-savvy daughter before she leaves for uni.

• ▶ Why Watch It: It’s hilarious, huge-hearted and lands the ‘dad who doesn’t quite get it but tries anyway’ note perfectly.
• 🎬 Key Moment: Rick’s clumsy attempt to fix the family’s laptop — every dad in the room will wince with recognition.
• 👤 Audience: The whole family, from the kids to the dad who still prints out his emails.

Finding Nemo (2003)

An anxious clownfish crosses an entire ocean to find his lost son, picking up a forgetful blue tang along the way. Two decades on, Pixar’s reef adventure still holds up — funny, gorgeous, and quietly one of the great films about a dad learning to let go.

• ▶ Why Watch It: It’s the ultimate ‘a father would do anything for his kid’ story, and it’s safe for every age at the table.
• 🎬 Key Moment: Marlin and Dory in the belly of the whale — ‘just keep swimming’ never gets old.
• 👤 Audience: Everyone. Grandkids, teenagers, dads and pop — nobody dislikes Nemo.

Onward (2020)

Two elf brothers in a suburban fantasy world get one magical day to bring their late father back — but the spell only half works, leaving them with Dad’s bottom half and a ticking clock. It’s Pixar, so yes, it sneaks up and clobbers you right in the feelings.

• ▶ Why Watch It: A big-hearted adventure about brothers, grief and the dads we never got enough time with.
• 🎬 Key Moment: The final glimpse of their father — you’ll want a tissue handy, no shame in it.
• 👤 Audience: Families with older kids, and anyone missing their own old man.

Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016)

A city foster kid and his gruff, reluctant foster uncle go on the run through the New Zealand bush, becoming unlikely national fugitives. Taika Waititi at his warmest and funniest — a proper feel-good ripper with a big soft centre.

• ▶ Why Watch It: The odd-couple bond between grumpy old Hec and cheeky young Ricky is comedy gold with real heart.
• 🎬 Key Moment: ‘Ricky Baker’ birthday poem — daft, sweet and completely quotable.
• 👤 Audience: Aussie and Kiwi dads especially, and anyone who loves a bit of bush and a lot of banter.

Secondhand Lions (2003)

A shy boy is dumped for the summer with his two eccentric, possibly-loaded great-uncles in rural Texas, and slowly coaxes their wild life stories out of them. A gentle, old-fashioned charmer about the men who shape us when our own parents fall short.

• ▶ Why Watch It: Caine and Duvall as crusty old blokes with hidden hearts — it’s a masterclass in cranky-but-lovable.
• 🎬 Key Moment: Hub’s ‘what every boy needs to know about being a man’ speech in the diner.
• 👤 Audience: Granddads and dads who reckon they don’t make ‘em like they used to.

The Incredibles (2004)

A retired superhero dad, itching for his glory days while stuck in a cubicle and a bulging waistline, drags his gifted family back into the cape game. Pixar dressed up a sharp, funny film about middle-aged dad restlessness as a superhero blockbuster — and nailed both.

• ▶ Why Watch It: Mr. Incredible is basically every dad who misses his younger, faster self — with laser precision and a lot of laughs.
• 🎬 Key Moment: The whole family fighting side by side on the island — teamwork, dad-style.
• 👤 Audience: Families, action-loving dads, and anyone who’s ever felt past their prime.

About Time (2013)

A young man learns the men in his family can travel back through their own lives, and uses it to chase love — but the film’s real heart is the friendship between him and his dad. It starts as a rom-com and ends as one of the great father-son films, so brace yourself.

• ▶ Why Watch It: That last father-son scene is a gut-punch about savouring ordinary days with your old man — watch it with Dad and try not to well up.
• 🎬 Key Moment: The final walk on the beach between Tim and his father. That’s the one.
• 👤 Audience: Sentimental dads, and anyone lucky enough to still have theirs around.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002)

A big, loud, loving Greek family turns their daughter’s wedding to a nice non-Greek boy into a full-blown production. It’s daft, warm and endlessly quotable — and any dad who’s ever been gloriously stubborn about tradition will see himself in Gus.

• ▶ Why Watch It: Gus is the ultimate proud, over-the-top dad — Windex and all — and it’s a laugh from start to finish.
• 🎬 Key Moment: Gus proving every word in the world comes from Greek. Give him any word.
• 👤 Audience: Dads from big families, and anyone who loves a warm-hearted comfort watch.

Instant Family (2018)

A couple decide to foster and end up with three kids at once, getting the chaos, the tantrums and the slow-building love all in one messy hit. It’s funnier and more moving than it has any right to be — a genuinely lovely look at what makes someone a dad.

• ▶ Why Watch It: It nails the terrifying, hilarious, heart-swelling reality of becoming a parent overnight.
• 🎬 Key Moment: Pete finally winning over teenage Lizzy after a rocky start — earned, not cheap.
• 👤 Audience: Dads, step-dads, foster dads — anyone who knows fatherhood isn’t just biology.

❤️ Heartfelt & Emotional

Right, tissues out. This is the deep end — the films about fathers and children that hit somewhere real. Some will have Dad going misty and pretending it’s the dust; others are quiet masterpieces you’ll be chatting about long after the credits roll. Pour a decent drink, sit close, and let these ones do their work.

The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)

Based on a true story, a struggling salesman battles homelessness while raising his young son and chasing a shot at a better life. Will Smith and his real-life boy Jaden give it a raw, lived-in honesty — it’s about a dad who simply refuses to give up on his kid.

• ▶ Why Watch It: It’s the definitive ‘a father’s love and grit against all odds’ film, and it earns every tear.
• 🎬 Key Moment: The night they’re locked out and sleep in a train-station toilet — heartbreaking, and unforgettable.
• 👤 Audience: Any dad who’s ever grafted quietly for his family. This one’s for him.

Big Fish (2003)

A son sits at his dying father’s bedside, trying to sort the tall tales from the truth of the old man’s larger-than-life stories. Tim Burton at his warmest — a gorgeous, bittersweet film about the myths dads build and the sons who finally come to understand them.

• ▶ Why Watch It: It’s a love letter to storytelling dads — the ones who never let facts spoil a good yarn.
• 🎬 Key Moment: The riverside finale, where Will finishes his father’s last story. Have the tissues ready.
• 👤 Audience: Sons who never quite figured their dad out, and dads who tell a cracking (embellished) story.

CODA (2021)

The only hearing member of a deaf fishing family must choose between her duty to them and her dream of a music career. The Oscar-winning charmer earns its Must-Watch Masterpiece trophy — funny, tender, and anchored by Troy Kotsur’s beautiful turn as a dad learning to let his girl fly.

• ▶ Why Watch It: The father-daughter scenes are some of the most moving you’ll see all year — simple as that.
• 🎬 Key Moment: Frank pressing his hands to Ruby’s throat to ‘feel’ her sing. Absolutely wrecking.
• 👤 Audience: Dads of daughters, and anyone who loves a film that earns its Best Picture stripes.

Aftersun (2022)

A woman looks back on a holiday she took as a girl with her young father, piecing together the man she was too little to fully understand at the time. Quiet, aching and beautifully acted — our Tearjerker Trophy winner, and a film that lingers for days.

• ▶ Why Watch It: It’s a devastating study of a dad quietly struggling behind the sunscreen and the smiles.
• 🎬 Key Moment: The final dancefloor scene. That’s all we’ll say.
• 👤 Audience: Grown-up kids reflecting on their dads, and viewers who like their emotion understated and earned.

Boyhood (2014)

Filmed over twelve real years, we watch a boy grow from six to eighteen — and his flawed, part-time dad grow up right alongside him. A one-of-a-kind film about the slow, ordinary business of raising a kid and becoming a better father in the process.

• ▶ Why Watch It: You literally watch a dad figure it out over a decade — there’s nothing else quite like it.
• 🎬 Key Moment: Mason Sr.’s heart-to-heart with his son about not being a perfect father, but being present.
• 👤 Audience: Patient dads who appreciate a slow burn, and anyone reflective about how fast the years go.

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019)

A cynical journalist is sent to profile beloved TV host Mr. Rogers and ends up confronting his own broken relationship with his father. Tom Hanks radiates warmth, but the beating heart here is a story about forgiving your old man before it’s too late.

• ▶ Why Watch It: It’s a gentle, grown-up film about mending fences with Dad — quietly powerful stuff.
• 🎬 Key Moment: The minute of silence in the diner. It shouldn’t work on screen, but it absolutely does.
• 👤 Audience: Dads and adult kids carrying a bit of unfinished business between them.

The Descendants (2011)

When his wife is left comatose after an accident, a hands-off Hawaiian dad suddenly has to actually parent his two daughters — while wrestling with a secret about their marriage. Funny, sad and very human, with Clooney at his most vulnerable.

• ▶ Why Watch It: It’s about a dad thrown in the deep end of fatherhood and learning to swim — relatable and real.
• 🎬 Key Moment: Matt running down the street in his sandals to confront the truth. Absurd and perfect.
• 👤 Audience: Dads of teenage daughters, and anyone who likes their comedy with a lump in the throat.

Fences (2016)

A former ballplayer turned bin man rules his 1950s household with pride, bitterness and a heavy hand, straining his bond with his son. Adapted from August Wilson’s play, it’s a towering, powerhouse drama about a complicated, all-too-human father.

• ▶ Why Watch It: Washington and Davis are electric — it’s a searing look at the fathers who love hard and get it wrong.
• 🎬 Key Moment: Troy’s ‘I don’t have to like you’ speech to his son. Devastating.
• 👤 Audience: Dads who appreciate serious, meaty drama and a father-son story with real weight.

Captain Fantastic (2016)

A fiercely idealistic dad raises his six kids off-grid in the forest, until tragedy forces the clan back into the real world. A funny, thorny film that asks a proper question: what does it actually mean to be a good father?

• ▶ Why Watch It: Mortensen plays a dad doing everything ‘his way’ — and it sparks a great post-film debate.
• 🎬 Key Moment: The gang belting out Guns N’ Roses at the campfire farewell. Joyous and heartbreaking.
• 👤 Audience: Dads with strong opinions on parenting, and families who like a film that makes them argue (nicely).

Life as a House (2001)

Given only months to live, an estranged father sets out to rebuild both his crumbling house and his relationship with his troubled teenage son. Sentimental, sure — but it’s a genuinely affecting story about making things right while there’s still time.

• ▶ Why Watch It: It’s a big-hearted reminder that it’s never too late for a dad and his kid to start over.
• 🎬 Key Moment: Father and son finishing the house together as the summer ends.
• 👤 Audience: Dads who wear their heart on their sleeve and don’t mind a good weepy.

A Better Life (2011)

An undocumented gardener in Los Angeles risks everything to give his teenage son a shot at a future, even as the boy drifts toward trouble. A quiet, deeply moving film carried by Demián Bichir’s Oscar-nominated turn as a dad who sacrifices without complaint.

• ▶ Why Watch It: It’s a tender, under-seen portrait of a father’s quiet, everyday heroism.
• 🎬 Key Moment: The rodeo scene where father and son finally connect. Beautiful.
• 👤 Audience: Dads who show love through hard work rather than big words.

The Father (2020)

An ageing man slips deeper into dementia while his devoted daughter tries to care for him, the film cleverly trapping us inside his confusion. Anthony Hopkins won a deserved Oscar — it’s a heavy, brilliant watch about a father fading and the daughter who won’t leave his side.

• ▶ Why Watch It: A staggering performance and an honest look at ageing parents — tough, but unforgettable.
• 🎬 Key Moment: Hopkins’ final scene. One of the great pieces of screen acting, full stop.
• 👤 Audience: Grown-up viewers ready for something profound — maybe not the pick if the day’s meant to be light.

Beautiful Boy (2018)

A father watches, helpless, as his bright teenage son spirals through addiction and relapse. Based on a true memoir, it’s a raw, unflinching film about a dad who keeps showing up no matter how many times his heart is broken.

• ▶ Why Watch It: Carell and Chalamet are extraordinary — it’s the definitive film on a parent’s love through addiction.
• 🎬 Key Moment: The diner conversation where David realises he can’t save his son alone.
• 👤 Audience: Older audiences and dads who can handle a heavy, honest subject. Not for the little ones.

C’mon C’mon (2021)

A radio journalist unexpectedly finds himself minding his lively nine-year-old nephew, and the odd pairing quietly changes them both. Shot in gorgeous black-and-white, it’s a gentle, wise film about the patience and payoff of caring for a kid.

• ▶ Why Watch It: It captures the messy, funny, profound business of looking after a child better than almost anything.
• 🎬 Key Moment: Johnny and Jesse’s late-night chats about growing up. Pure gold.
• 👤 Audience: Thoughtful dads and uncles, and anyone who’s ever been surprised by how much a kid teaches you.

Manchester by the Sea (2016)

A grief-stricken loner is named guardian of his teenage nephew after his brother’s death, forcing him back to the hometown he fled. A quietly shattering, Oscar-winning drama about loss, responsibility and the hard work of stepping up.

• ▶ Why Watch It: Casey Affleck’s performance is a masterclass, and the reluctant father-figure story cuts deep.
• 🎬 Key Moment: The street run-in between Lee and his ex-wife. One of modern cinema’s most gutting scenes.
• 👤 Audience: Dads and viewers who value serious, beautifully made drama over an easy watch.

To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)

In the Depression-era South, a principled small-town lawyer defends a wrongly accused man while raising his two children to do the right thing. Gregory Peck’s Atticus Finch remains the gold standard of the wise, decent movie dad — our Old School Cool Dad winner.

• ▶ Why Watch It: Atticus is quite simply the most admirable father in film history. Every dad can learn from him.
• 🎬 Key Moment: Atticus leaving the courtroom as the gallery rises: ‘Stand up, your father’s passing.’
• 👤 Audience: Granddads, dads and older kids — a timeless classic worth passing down.

🥊 Sport & Underdog

Every dad loves an underdog. These are the films about grit, second chances and coaches (or fathers) who push their kids to be better than they thought they could be. Whether Dad’s into the footy, the boxing or the racing, there’s a fist-pump moment here with his name on it.

King Richard (2021)

The true story of Richard Williams, the stubborn, visionary dad who mapped out tennis greatness for daughters Venus and Serena from a rough Compton court. Will Smith won an Oscar for it — our Legacy Award pick, and proof of what a father’s unshakeable belief can build.

• ▶ Why Watch It: It’s a stirring look at a dad who backed his kids’ dreams to the hilt, come what may.
• 🎬 Key Moment: Richard staring down the doubters with his hand-written 78-page plan. Legend.
• 👤 Audience: Sporty dads, dads of daughters, and anyone who loves a proper against-the-odds true story.

Field of Dreams (1989)

A farmer hears a whisper — ‘if you build it, he will come’ — and ploughs his cornfield into a baseball diamond, not knowing it’ll lead him back to his late father. Our Father-Son Dynamic Duo winner, and a film that famously turns grown men to mush in the final reel.

• ▶ Why Watch It: The last scene — ‘wanna have a catch, Dad?’ — is one of cinema’s all-time father-son gut-punches.
• 🎬 Key Moment: That final game of catch between Ray and his dad. Every time. Every single time.
• 👤 Audience: Dads and sons, sport tragics, and anyone who’d give anything for one more day with their old man.

Ford v Ferrari (2019)

The roaring true story of the American misfits who built a car to beat Ferrari at Le Mans in 1966. Our Best Petrolhead Pick — a proper blokey crowd-pleaser, with a lovely father-son thread running through Ken Miles and his racing-mad boy.

• ▶ Why Watch It: The engines, the rivalry, the mateship — it’s exactly the kind of film dads happily rewatch.
• 🎬 Key Moment: Ken and his son sitting on the hill, mapping out the perfect lap together.
• 👤 Audience: Petrolhead dads, motorsport fans, and anyone who likes a true story told at full throttle.

Warrior (2011)

Two estranged brothers — one a battered teacher, one a haunted ex-marine — end up on a collision course in the same MMA tournament, with their recovering-alcoholic father caught in the middle. Our Best Underdog winner: brutal in the cage, and quietly heartbreaking outside it.

• ▶ Why Watch It: It’s a knockout sports drama that’s really about a broken family trying to heal.
• 🎬 Key Moment: The final fight, where a headlock turns into a whispered ‘I love you.’ Floods, guaranteed.
• 👤 Audience: Dads who love combat sports and don’t mind admitting a fight film made them cry.

Creed (2015)

The son of Apollo Creed steps into the ring and seeks out an ageing Rocky Balboa to train him — and mentor him. A cracking revival that turns the Rocky saga into a warm story about the father figures who step up when our own dads are gone.

• ▶ Why Watch It: Stallone’s Rocky as a surrogate dad is genuinely moving, and the fights are electric.
• 🎬 Key Moment: Rocky in the hospital, telling Adonis he’s the one thing worth fighting for.
• 👤 Audience: Boxing fans, dads who grew up on Rocky, and anyone after a rousing underdog hit.

Dangal (2016, Hindi)

A former wrestler defies his village’s expectations to train his two daughters into world-class champions. One of India’s biggest films ever — a rousing, emotional true story about a demanding dad who saw greatness in his girls before anyone else did.

• ▶ Why Watch It: It’s an inspiring, tear-jerking crowd-pleaser about a father backing his daughters against a whole society.
• 🎬 Key Moment: Geeta’s final gold-medal bout, with her father’s voice in her head.
• 👤 Audience: Dads of daughters and sports-movie lovers happy to read a few subtitles for a big payoff.

💥 Action & Adventure

Time to turn the volume up. Big adventures, bigger heroes, and dads who’ll do whatever it takes — these are the popcorn films built for a Father’s Day couch session. There’s swashbuckling, sci-fi and a bit of a cry hiding in there too, because even the action heroes on this list are really just dads underneath.

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)

Indy teams up with his crusty, bookish father to beat the Nazis to the Holy Grail. Our Best Adventure winner — the entry that added a cracking father-son double act to the whip-cracking action, with Connery and Ford bouncing off each other beautifully.

• ▶ Why Watch It: It’s peak Saturday-arvo adventure, and the Indy-and-Dad bickering is the icing on the cake.
• 🎬 Key Moment: ‘She talks in her sleep’ — the father-son overshare that lands like a bomb.
• 👤 Audience: Dads who grew up on Indy, and families after a genuinely all-ages thrill ride.

Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

The darkest, best-loved chapter of the saga, home to the most famous father-son reveal in movie history. Our Most Iconic pick — if Dad hasn’t seen it, that’s a wrong you can right this Father’s Day; if he has, he’ll happily go again.

• ▶ Why Watch It: ‘No, I am your father’ is basically the patron saint of dad-movie moments. Enough said.
• 🎬 Key Moment: Cloud City. The duel. The reveal. You know exactly the bit we mean.
• 👤 Audience: Every generation of dad — from the ones who saw it in ’80 to the kids discovering it now.

Logan (2017)

A weary, ageing Wolverine ends up protecting a young girl who’s more like him than he’d care to admit. Our Best Action winner — a bruising, elegiac send-off that’s secretly one of the great reluctant-father films dressed up as a superhero movie.

• ▶ Why Watch It: Beneath the claws and the carnage, it’s a moving story about a broken man becoming a dad.
• 🎬 Key Moment: The graveside ‘so this is what it feels like’ moment. Absolutely shattering.
• 👤 Audience: Grown-up comic fans and dads who like their action with real emotional heft. Not for kids.

Interstellar (2014)

A pilot leaves his kids behind to fly through a wormhole and save humanity, gambling that he’ll make it home before they’ve grown old without him. Our Best Sci-Fi Epic — enormous in scope, but its beating heart is a father’s promise to his daughter.

• ▶ Why Watch It: It’s a mind-bending spectacle that’s really about a dad racing time itself to get back to his girl.
• 🎬 Key Moment: Cooper watching 23 years of missed messages from his children in one sitting. Devastating.
• 👤 Audience: Sci-fi dads, big-screen tragics, and anyone who likes a blockbuster that makes them think and feel.

The Way (2010)

After his son dies on the Camino de Santiago, a grieving father decides to walk the ancient pilgrimage himself, carrying the boy’s ashes. A quietly beautiful adventure about loss, connection and finding your feet again — directed by Estevez, starring his real-life dad Martin Sheen.

• ▶ Why Watch It: It’s a gentle, soulful journey film about a father honouring his son with every step.
• 🎬 Key Moment: Tom scattering pieces of his son’s ashes at each stop along the trail.
• 👤 Audience: Reflective dads, keen walkers, and anyone who likes a slow, meaningful travel story.

😱 Thriller & Horror

For the dads who like their films with a racing pulse. These are the white-knuckle picks — protective fathers, desperate journeys and one very quiet monster movie. A word of warning: most of these are firmly for the grown-ups, so maybe wait until the little ones are in bed before you hit play.

Taken (2008)

When his daughter is snatched by traffickers in Paris, a retired special-ops dad puts his ‘very particular set of skills’ to lethal use. A lean, mean revenge thriller that launched a thousand memes — and the ultimate power fantasy for any dad who’d tear the world apart for his kid.

• ▶ Why Watch It: It’s a relentless, fist-pumping ride, and Neeson’s protective-dad rage is oddly heart-warming.
• 🎬 Key Moment: ‘I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you.’ Chills, every time.
• 👤 Audience: Dads who love a no-nonsense action thriller. Keep it for the older crowd.

Nobody (2021)

A mild-mannered suburban dad, written off by his own family as a pushover, turns out to be a retired hitman — and one wrong break-in unleashes the beast. A gleefully violent, very funny thriller about a bloke reclaiming his mojo.

• ▶ Why Watch It: It’s the ultimate underestimated-dad fantasy, and Odenkirk is brilliant as the quiet one you shouldn’t poke.
• 🎬 Key Moment: The bus fight, where dad decides he’s had quite enough, thanks.
• 👤 Audience: Dads who fancy a John Wick-style romp with a dark sense of humour. Adults only.

A Quiet Place (2018)

In a world stalked by blind monsters that hunt by sound, a family survives in near-total silence — and a father does everything to protect his kids. Our Best Thriller/Horror winner: nerve-shredding, clever, and surprisingly tender for a creature feature.

• ▶ Why Watch It: It’s a masterclass in tension that’s really about a dad’s love and sacrifice for his family.
• 🎬 Key Moment: Lee’s final, wordless act for his children. You’ll be holding your breath and blinking back tears.
• 👤 Audience: Dads who like a smart scare — and can handle the odd jump. Fine for teens.

The Road (2009)

A father and son trudge across a dead, ash-grey America, scavenging to survive and clinging to each other as the last good thing left. Based on Cormac McCarthy’s novel, it’s bleak and harrowing — but the father-son bond at its centre is unforgettable.

• ▶ Why Watch It: It’s a punishing but profound look at how far a dad will go to keep his boy alive and human.
• 🎬 Key Moment: The father teaching his son to ‘carry the fire’ — their code for holding onto hope.
• 👤 Audience: Dads who don’t mind a heavy, harrowing watch with real substance. Adults only.

Train to Busan (2016, Korean)

A workaholic dad and his neglected young daughter are trapped on a speeding train as a zombie outbreak tears through Korea. One of the best zombie films of the century — a heart-hammering ride that’s secretly a story about a father learning what actually matters.

• ▶ Why Watch It: It’s a brilliant, emotional thriller where a distant dad rediscovers his heart at 300km/h.
• 🎬 Key Moment: Seok-woo’s final sacrifice, remembering the day his daughter was born.
• 👤 Audience: Horror-loving dads happy with subtitles. Genuinely scary and genuinely moving. Adults only.

😂 Comedy

Nothing beats hearing Dad properly belly-laugh. These are the films that’ll do it — from classic dad-in-a-frock chaos to disastrous family road trips and the world’s worst wedding planner. Easy watching, endlessly quotable, and guaranteed to have someone quoting lines at the dinner table for weeks.

Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)

A recently divorced dad, desperate to spend time with his kids, disguises himself as a no-nonsense Scottish housekeeper. Our Best Comedy winner — Robin Williams at his most gloriously unhinged, wrapped around a genuinely tender story about a father who can’t bear to be apart from his children.

• ▶ Why Watch It: It’s hilarious and heartfelt in equal measure — a proper dad-movie classic that never gets old.
• 🎬 Key Moment: ‘Help is on the way, dear!’ — the kitchen catches fire, and so does Robin’s improv.
• 👤 Audience: The whole family, from little kids to granddad. Everyone loves Mrs. Doubtfire.

Father of the Bride (1991)

A doting dad completely loses the plot when his little girl announces she’s getting married — and the wedding costs keep climbing. A warm, funny comfort watch about a father struggling to let go, with Steve Martin at his flustered best.

• ▶ Why Watch It: Any dad of a daughter will feel every bit of George’s ‘but she’s my baby’ panic.
• 🎬 Key Moment: George melting down in the supermarket over hot-dog buns. Peak dad logic.
• 👤 Audience: Dads of daughters especially — and anyone with a wedding on the horizon.

National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983)

A well-meaning dad drags his family across America on the road trip from hell, determined to have fun whether they like it or not. The definitive disastrous-family-holiday comedy — every dad who’s ever ‘made memories’ on a doomed trip will see himself in Clark Griswold.

• ▶ Why Watch It: It’s the ultimate over-committed-dad comedy, and Chevy Chase is a riot from woe to go.
• 🎬 Key Moment: Clark’s meltdown when they finally reach a very closed Walley World.
• 👤 Audience: Dads who’ve survived a family road trip — which is all of them, really.

Liar Liar (1997)

A smooth-talking lawyer and hopeless dad is magically cursed — by his son’s birthday wish — to tell nothing but the truth for 24 hours. Jim Carrey at full rubber-faced tilt, wrapped around a sweet story about a father learning to actually show up for his kid.

• ▶ Why Watch It: Carrey’s physical comedy is unhinged, and the dad-becomes-a-better-father arc gives it real warmth.
• 🎬 Key Moment: Fletcher beating himself up in the office bathroom. Comedy gold.
• 👤 Audience: Families with older kids, and any dad who loves classic Jim Carrey mayhem.

Raising Arizona (1987)

An ex-crook and his wife, unable to have a baby of their own, decide to ‘borrow’ one from a local family blessed with quintuplets. A gloriously daft early Coen Brothers caper about the lengths a couple will go to become parents — fast, weird and very funny.

• ▶ Why Watch It: It’s a wildly original comedy with a surprisingly sweet streak about wanting to be a dad.
• 🎬 Key Moment: The nappy-run convenience-store chase. Cinema’s finest.
• 👤 Audience: Dads with a taste for offbeat, quotable comedy classics.

The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)

A washed-up, deadbeat patriarch fakes a terminal illness to worm his way back into the lives of his estranged, once-gifted children. Wes Anderson’s deadpan classic — wickedly funny, oddly moving, and anchored by Gene Hackman as one of cinema’s great rascally dads.

• ▶ Why Watch It: It’s a stylish, bittersweet comedy about a hopeless father trying, very late, to make good.
• 🎬 Key Moment: Royal taking the grandkids on a day of glorious, reckless mischief.
• 👤 Audience: Dads who like their comedy dry, quirky and a little bit arthouse.

🌐 International

Fatherhood looks a little different around the world, but the heart of it is the same everywhere. This last batch is worth the subtitles — some of the most moving films about dads ever made, from Tokyo to Tehran. If Dad’s open to something a bit different, there are real gems waiting here, including a couple of proper masterpieces.

Life Is Beautiful (1997, Italian)

A playful Italian father uses every ounce of imagination to shield his little boy from the horror of a Nazi concentration camp, pretending the whole nightmare is an elaborate game. Funny, then utterly devastating — one of cinema’s greatest tributes to a father’s love.

• ▶ Why Watch It: Guido’s determination to protect his son’s innocence at any cost will wreck you (in the best way).
• 🎬 Key Moment: The final scene, where Guido keeps up the game for his boy right to the very end.
• 👤 Audience: Dads ready for something profound — funny and heartbreaking in one unforgettable film.

The Intouchables (2011, French)

A wealthy quadriplegic and the cheeky young man he hires as his carer form an unlikely, life-changing friendship. Based on a true story, it’s warm, hilarious and hugely uplifting — a proper feel-good crowd-pleaser that happens to be in French.

• ▶ Why Watch It: It’s one of the most joyful buddy films ever made — guaranteed to leave Dad grinning.
• 🎬 Key Moment: Driss getting Philippe to loosen up on his birthday, Earth, Wind & Fire blasting.
• 👤 Audience: Any dad after an uplifting watch — even subtitle-sceptics tend to love this one.

A Separation (2011, Persian)

An Iranian couple’s marriage fractures over whether to leave the country or stay and care for a father with dementia — and a single incident spirals into a moral and legal knot. A gripping, Oscar-winning drama with the tension of a thriller.

• ▶ Why Watch It: It’s a beautifully layered look at duty, family and a man torn between his wife and his father.
• 🎬 Key Moment: Nader washing his elderly, confused dad — a quiet, wrenching act of devotion.
• 👤 Audience: Dads who love a smart, morally complex drama that sticks with you.

Shoplifters (2018, Japanese)

A ramshackle Tokyo family, scraping by on odd jobs and petty theft, takes in a neglected little girl — and we slowly learn what really binds them together. Our Best International winner: a tender, quietly radical Palme d’Or masterpiece about what actually makes a family.

• ▶ Why Watch It: It asks whether a real dad is the one who raises you, not the one who’s related — and it’ll stay with you for days.
• 🎬 Key Moment: Osamu asking the boy to finally call him ‘dad’ — heartbreaking and beautiful.
• 👤 Audience: Dads who appreciate slow-burn, deeply humane world cinema at its very best.

Like Father, Like Son (2013, Japanese)

Two families discover their six-year-old sons were switched at birth, forcing a driven, workaholic father to ask what fatherhood really means — blood, or the years of love and care. A gentle, quietly profound Kore-eda drama that lingers long after.

• ▶ Why Watch It: It poses the ultimate dad question — nature or nurture? — without ever preaching.
• 🎬 Key Moment: Ryota finding the photos his son secretly took of him. Absolutely gutting.
• 👤 Audience: Reflective dads who like a thoughtful, understated family drama.

Bicycle Thieves (1948, Italian)

In post-war Rome, a poor man and his young son search desperately for the stolen bicycle he needs to keep his job. A landmark of Italian cinema — simple, devastating, and one of the most humane father-son stories ever committed to film.

• ▶ Why Watch It: It’s a timeless portrait of a dad’s dignity, and the son who never stops believing in him.
• 🎬 Key Moment: The final walk home, hand in hand, after everything falls apart. Pure heartbreak.
• 👤 Audience: Dads and older kids with a taste for the classics — a genuine all-time great.

A Man Called Ove (2015, Swedish)

A grumpy, rule-obsessed widower has his lonely routine turned upside down by the lively young family who move in next door. Funny, warm and quietly moving — the Swedish original that inspired the Tom Hanks remake, and a lovely watch for the crankier dad.

• ▶ Why Watch It: Every dad knows an Ove — or is one — and watching his frosty exterior thaw is a joy.
• 🎬 Key Moment: Ove and Parvaneh’s driving lesson. Grumpiness, meet its match.
• 👤 Audience: Dads who play up the grump but have a big soft heart underneath.

Toni Erdmann (2016, German)

A shaggy, prank-loving dad worries his high-flying corporate daughter has lost her sense of fun, so he invents an outrageous alter-ego and gatecrashes her buttoned-up life. A wildly original, oddly touching comedy about a father just trying to reconnect with his kid.

• ▶ Why Watch It: It’s a one-of-a-kind film about an embarrassing dad whose heart is entirely in the right place.
• 🎬 Key Moment: The completely bonkers ‘naked party’ finale. You’ll never forget it.
• 👤 Audience: Dads open to something long, strange and rewarding — and anyone with an embarrassing father.

Ode to My Father (2014, Korean)

One ordinary Korean man carries a promise made to his father through decades of hardship — war, separation and sacrifice — to hold his family together. A sweeping, unashamedly emotional epic that was a monster hit in Korea for good reason.

• ▶ Why Watch It: It’s a big, tear-soaked tribute to the quiet sacrifices fathers make for the next generation.
• 🎬 Key Moment: The final conversation Deok-soo has with his late father. Bring the whole box of tissues.
• 👤 Audience: Dads who love a sweeping, generational family saga and aren’t afraid of a good cry.

Still Walking (2008, Japanese)

A family gathers for a single day to mark the anniversary of a son’s death, and old tensions with the stern, disappointed father quietly resurface. A masterful, delicate drama about the things we never quite say to our parents — and the time that slips away.

• ▶ Why Watch It: It’s a beautifully observed film about a prickly dad and the grown son still seeking his approval.
• 🎬 Key Moment: The small, unspoken moments over the family dinner table — Kore-eda’s specialty.
• 👤 Audience: Patient, thoughtful dads who love a quiet film with real emotional depth.

Broker (2022, Korean)

Two soft-hearted brokers who quietly re-home babies left at a ‘baby box’ end up on an unlikely road trip with a young mother and her child. A gentle, warm Kore-eda film about the makeshift families we build and what it means to be a parent.

• ▶ Why Watch It: Song Kang-ho is wonderful in a tender story about found family and unexpected fatherly love.
• 🎬 Key Moment: The quiet motel scene where each character thanks the baby for being born.
• 👤 Audience: Dads who loved Shoplifters and want more of Kore-eda’s big-hearted humanism.

Perfect Days (2023, Japanese)

A quiet, contented Tokyo toilet cleaner finds deep joy in small daily rituals — music, books, trees — until a visit from his estranged niece gently stirs the past. Our Hidden Gem: a serene, beautiful film and a masterclass in finding grace in the ordinary.

• ▶ Why Watch It: Kōji Yakusho’s near-wordless performance is extraordinary — a calm, soulful watch for a slow afternoon.
• 🎬 Key Moment: The final shot of Hirayama driving at dawn, a whole life flickering across his face.
• 👤 Audience: Reflective dads who’d rather savour a film than be walloped by it. Quietly perfect.

🍿 The Last Word

However you carve up the day, a film with Dad is time well spent — so pick a mood, load up the snacks and let the man himself have the remote for once. Whether he’s after a belly laugh, a good cry or a subtitled masterpiece, there’s something on this list with his name on it.