The Best Movies to Watch on Thanksgiving (And Where to Stream)

To quote Charlie Brown: “We’ve got another holiday to worry about. It seems Thanksgiving Day is upon us.” It’s that time of year again where we give thanks, eat turkey, gobble up the best Black Friday deals in the spirit of consumerism, and then settle in to watch our favorite holiday movies and TV shows. There’s plenty of entertainment to be thankful for, whether you’re revisiting the time-honored tradition that is A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, watching this year’s tripleheader of Thanksgiving Day NFL games, catching your favorite Saturday Night Live sketches in the annual SNL Thanksgiving Special, or tuning into the 97th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. 

Still not stuffed? Feast your eyes on the best movies to watch on Thanksgiving (and where to stream them) here:

A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving

That lovable blockhead Charlie Brown may not serve a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, but the Peanuts Thanksgiving special is as much a tradition as roast turkey, stuffing, and pumpkin pie. As Peppermint Patty realizes, Thanksgiving isn’t about the food: “We should just be thankful for being together.I think that’s what they mean by ‘Thanksgiving,’ Charlie Brown.”

Where to watch: A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving is streaming on Apple TV+

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

The seminal Thanksgiving movie is Planes, Trains and Automobiles, the 1987 John Hughes comedy starring Steve Martin and John Candy as hapless travelers trying to get home for Thanksgiving dinner. When high-strung cynic Neal (Martin) gets saddled with loud-mouthed salesman Del Griffith (Candy), they spend three days battling — and bonding — as they make their trek to Chicago.

Where to Watch: Planes, Trains and Automobiles is streaming on Paramount+

Rocky (1976)

Rocky is the underdog story of small-time Philadelphia boxer Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone), who strives to go the distance when he lands a million-in-one shot to fight world heavyweight champion Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers). Set around the holidays, the film sees Paulie (Burt Young) set up his sister, Adrian (Talia Shire), with Rocky for their first date on Thanksgiving 1976.

Where to Watch: You can stream Rocky “instamatically” (as Paulie would say) on Max and Amazon Prime Video

Spider-Man (2002)

Spider-Man is one of the rare blockbusters set on or around Thanksgiving — and it also happens to be the only superhero movie where Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) quips about beating an old lady with a stick for a can of cranberries. Plus, with an action sequence that sees Spider-Man battle the Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe) during a parade, it’s the perfect pick for comic book fans to rewatch every November. And you better remember that cranberry sauce.

Where to Watch: Spider-Man is streaming on Disney+ and on Netflix (until December 1st)

Tower Heist

Tower Heist takes place during the Thanksgiving holiday and follows a crew of unlikely criminals — including hotel manager Josh (Ben Stiller), evicted tenant Mr. Fitzhugh (Matthew Broderick), maid Odessa (Gabourey Sidibe), new hire Enrique (Michael Peña), and petty crook Slide (Eddie Murphy) — as they plot payback to rob a con man’s (Alan Alda) penthouse in an ultra-secure New York high rise.

Where to Watch: Tower Heist is streaming on Hulu

Free Birds

This Turkey Day, watch “the greatest turkey movie of all time”: Free Birds. The 2013 animated movie sees two turkeys from the opposite sides of the tracks — pardoned domestic turkey Reggie (Owen Wilson) and Turkey Freedom Front president Jake (Woody Harrelson) — band together to travel back in time to save their ancestors from the firstThanksgiving.

Where to Watch: Free Birds is streaming on Starz

Paul Blart: Mall Cop

In the way that mall security guard Paul Blart (Kevin James) isn’t technically a cop, Paul Blart: Mall Cop isn’t technically a Thanksgiving movie. Set in a mall on Black Friday, this “PG Die Hard” has heart and humor as Blart becomes a hero who single-handedly stops a brazen mall heist.

Where to Watch: Paul Blart: Mall Cop is streaming on Netflix and Starz

Addams Family Values

They’re creepy and they’re kooky, mysterious and spooky, and they’re all together ooky, but the Addams Family Values makes note of “a seminal event in American history”: the first Thanksgiving. When Wednesday (Christina Ricci) is forced to participate in a play as Pocahontas at the chipper Camp Chippewa, she turns up the heat as revenge against camp director Gary (Peter MacNicol).

Where to Watch: Addams Family Values is streaming on Paramount+