Sort by Popularity - Most Popular Movies and TV Shows tagged with keyword "child-abandonment"
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1. There Will Be Blood (2007)
R | 158 min | Drama
A story of family, religion, hatred, oil and madness, focusing on a turn-of-the-century prospector in the early days of the business.
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson | Stars: Daniel Day-Lewis, Paul Dano, Ciarán Hinds, Martin Stringer
Votes: 640,958 | Gross: $40.22M
2. Identity (2003)
R | 90 min | Mystery, Thriller
Stranded at a desolate Nevada motel during a nasty rain storm, ten strangers become acquainted with each other when they realize that they're being killed off one by one.
Director: James Mangold | Stars: John Cusack, Ray Liotta, Amanda Peet, John Hawkes
Votes: 267,126 | Gross: $52.16M
3. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
PG-13 | 166 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Tells the story of Benjamin Button, a man who starts aging backwards with consequences.
Director: David Fincher | Stars: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Tilda Swinton, Julia Ormond
Votes: 695,557 | Gross: $127.51M
4. A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)
PG-13 | 146 min | Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi
A highly advanced robotic boy longs to become "real" so that he can regain the love of his human mother.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Haley Joel Osment, Jude Law, Frances O'Connor, Sam Robards
Votes: 322,964 | Gross: $78.62M
5. Capernaum (2018)
R | 126 min | Drama
While serving a five-year sentence for a violent crime, a 12-year-old boy sues his parents for neglect.
Director: Nadine Labaki | Stars: Zain Al Rafeea, Yordanos Shiferaw, Boluwatife Treasure Bankole, Kawsar Al Haddad
Votes: 105,347 | Gross: $1.66M
6. Batman Returns (1992)
PG-13 | 126 min | Action, Crime, Fantasy
While Batman deals with a deformed man calling himself the Penguin wreaking havoc across Gotham with the help of a cruel businessman, a female employee of the latter becomes the Catwoman with her own vendetta.
Director: Tim Burton | Stars: Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito, Michelle Pfeiffer, Christopher Walken
Votes: 327,397 | Gross: $162.83M
7. Shazam! (2019)
PG-13 | 132 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
A newly fostered young boy in search of his mother instead finds unexpected super powers and soon gains a powerful enemy.
Director: David F. Sandberg | Stars: Zachary Levi, Mark Strong, Asher Angel, Jack Dylan Grazer
Votes: 384,846 | Gross: $140.37M
8. The Golden Child (1986)
PG-13 | 94 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
A private detective specializing in missing children is charged with the task of finding a special child whom dark forces want to eliminate.
Director: Michael Ritchie | Stars: Eddie Murphy, J.L. Reate, Charles Dance, Charlotte Lewis
Votes: 59,375 | Gross: $79.82M
9. But I'm a Cheerleader (1999)
R | 85 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A naive teenager is sent to rehab camp when her straitlaced parents and friends suspect her of being a lesbian.
Director: Jamie Babbit | Stars: Natasha Lyonne, Clea DuVall, Michelle Williams, Brandt Wille
Votes: 41,204 | Gross: $2.21M
10. Capote (2005)
R | 114 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
In 1959, Truman Capote learns of the murder of a Kansas family and decides to write a book about the case. While researching for his novel In Cold Blood, Capote forms a relationship with one of the killers, Perry Smith, who is on death row.
Director: Bennett Miller | Stars: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Clifton Collins Jr., Catherine Keener, Allie Mickelson
Votes: 140,738 | Gross: $28.75M
11. A Taste of Honey (1961)
Not Rated | 101 min | Drama
A pregnant teenage girl must fend for herself when her mother remarries, leaving the girl with only a new male friend for support.
Director: Tony Richardson | Stars: Rita Tushingham, Dora Bryan, Robert Stephens, Murray Melvin
Votes: 6,361
12. Lilya 4-Ever (2002)
R | 109 min | Crime, Drama
Sixteen-year-old Lilja and her only friend, the young boy Volodja, live in Russia, fantasizing about a better life. One day, Lilja falls in love with Andrej, who is going to Sweden, and invites Lilja to come along and start a new life.
Director: Lukas Moodysson | Stars: Oksana Akinshina, Artyom Bogucharskiy, Pavel Ponomaryov, Lyubov Agapova
Votes: 49,381 | Gross: $0.18M
13. Norbit (2007)
PG-13 | 102 min | Comedy, Romance
A mild-mannered guy, who is married to a monstrous woman, meets the woman of his dreams, and schemes to find a way to be with her.
Director: Brian Robbins | Stars: Eddie Murphy, Thandiwe Newton, Terry Crews, Clifton Powell
Votes: 79,762 | Gross: $95.67M
14. Flowers in the Attic (1987)
PG-13 | 93 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Children are hidden away under an attic by their conspiring mother and grandmother.
Director: Jeffrey Bloom | Stars: Louise Fletcher, Victoria Tennant, Kristy Swanson, Jeb Stuart Adams
Votes: 11,269 | Gross: $15.15M
15. Punky Brewster (1984–1988)
TV-G | 30 min | Comedy, Family
Young Punky Brewster is abandoned with her dog, Brandon, in a supermarket. When she befriends Henry Warnimont, her new family life begins.
Stars: Soleil Moon Frye, George Gaynes, Cherie Johnson, Sandy
Votes: 6,106
16. El Topo (1970)
Not Rated | 125 min | Drama, Western
A mysterious black-clad gunfighter wanders a mystical Western landscape encountering multiple bizarre characters.
Director: Alejandro Jodorowsky | Stars: Alejandro Jodorowsky, Brontis Jodorowsky, José Legarreta, Alfonso Arau
Votes: 31,383 | Gross: $0.04M
17. Nobody Knows (2004)
PG-13 | 141 min | Drama
In a small Tokyo apartment, twelve-year-old Akira must care for his younger siblings after their mother leaves them and shows no sign of returning.
Director: Kore-eda Hirokazu | Stars: Yûya Yagira, Ayu Kitaura, Hiei Kimura, Momoko Shimizu
Votes: 31,395 | Gross: $0.68M
18. The Joy Luck Club (1993)
R | 139 min | Drama
The life histories of four East Asian women and their daughters reflect and guide each other.
Director: Wayne Wang | Stars: Tamlyn Tomita, Rosalind Chao, Kieu Chinh, Tsai Chin
Votes: 18,232 | Gross: $32.86M
19. Antwone Fisher (2002)
PG-13 | 120 min | Biography, Drama
Antwone Fisher, a young navy man, is forced to see a psychiatrist after a violent outburst against a fellow crewman. During the course of treatment a painful past is revealed and a new hope begins.
Director: Denzel Washington | Stars: Denzel Washington, Derek Luke, Joy Bryant, Malcolm David Kelley
Votes: 38,416 | Gross: $21.08M
20. Hick (2011)
R | 99 min | Comedy, Drama
A Nebraska teen gets more than she bargained for when she sets out for the bright lights of Las Vegas.
Director: Derick Martini | Stars: Chloë Grace Moretz, Blake Lively, Rory Culkin, Eddie Redmayne
Votes: 20,832
21. Soldier Blue (1970)
R | 112 min | Drama, War, Western
After a cavalry patrol is ambushed by the Cheyenne, the two survivors, a soldier and a woman, must reach the safety of the nearest fort.
Director: Ralph Nelson | Stars: Candice Bergen, Peter Strauss, Donald Pleasence, John Anderson
Votes: 6,276 | Gross: $0.51M
22. The Burning Plain (2008)
R | 107 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A drama with a two-tiered storyline concerning a mother and daughter who try to form a bond after the young woman's difficult childhood.
Director: Guillermo Arriaga | Stars: Charlize Theron, John Corbett, José María Yazpik, Robin Tunney
Votes: 21,335 | Gross: $0.20M
23. Slow West (2015)
R | 84 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A young Scottish man travels across America in pursuit of the woman he loves, attracting the attention of an outlaw who is willing to serve as a guide.
Director: John Maclean | Stars: Kodi Smit-McPhee, Caren Pistorius, Aorere Paki, Jeffrey Thomas
Votes: 47,962 | Gross: $0.23M
24. Departures (2008)
PG-13 | 130 min | Drama
Soon after buying an expensive cello, Daigo learns that his orchestra is disbanding. He moves back to his hometown with his wife, where he answers an ad for what Daigo thinks is a travel agency but is, in actuality, a mortuary.
Director: Yôjirô Takita | Stars: Masahiro Motoki, Ryôko Hirosue, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Kazuko Yoshiyuki
Votes: 54,966 | Gross: $1.50M
25. The Champ (1979)
PG | 121 min | Drama, Sport
Billy Flynn is an ex-champion boxer who was KO'd by booze and gambling. When the wealthy, estranged mother of his young son begins trying to lure the boy away from him, Flynn must return to the ring to provide for his child.
Director: Franco Zeffirelli | Stars: Jon Voight, Faye Dunaway, Ricky Schroder, Jack Warden
Votes: 9,240 | Gross: $30.44M
26. Evelyn (2002)
PG | 94 min | Drama
Desmond's wife leaves him and their 3 kids after Christmas 1953. As he's unemployed in Dublin, the authorities place the kids in orphanages; when he finds a job, he tries to get his kids back.
Director: Bruce Beresford | Stars: Pierce Brosnan, Julianna Margulies, Aidan Quinn, Sophie Vavasseur
Votes: 7,124 | Gross: $1.48M
27. Alice in the Cities (1974)
Not Rated | 113 min | Drama
A German journalist is saddled with a nine-year-old girl after encountering her mother at a New York airport.
Director: Wim Wenders | Stars: Yella Rottländer, Rüdiger Vogler, Lisa Kreuzer, Edda Köchl
Votes: 13,230
28. The Innocents (2016)
PG-13 | 115 min | Drama, History
1945. Mathilde is a French Red Cross doctor working on a mission to help the French survivors of the German camps. While she works in Poland, she is asked for help by a nun. In her convent, several nuns are pregnant.
Director: Anne Fontaine | Stars: Lou de Laâge, Agata Buzek, Agata Kulesza, Vincent Macaigne
Votes: 11,603 | Gross: $1.06M
29. North Sea Texas (2011)
Not Rated | 98 min | Drama, Romance
A teenage boy's search for love finds him fixated on a boy who lives nearby.
Director: Bavo Defurne | Stars: Ben Van den Heuvel, Eva van der Gucht, Thomas Coumans, Katelijne Damen
Votes: 9,998 | Gross: $0.03M
30. The Devils (2002)
105 min | Drama
Orphaned 12-year-old twins Joseph and Chloé have been on the run together. Chloé is autistic, non-verbal and fears being touched. Joseph dearly loves her and dreams she will recover if they find their parents and fight the system.
Director: Christophe Ruggia | Stars: Vincent Rottiers, Adèle Haenel, Rochdy Labidi, Jacques Bonnaffé
Votes: 1,360
31. Born Wild (2012)
R | 105 min | Drama
After being released from prison for the murder of a fellow biker; CJ returns to his hometown to confront his former gang. However; he arrives to find that the past is not forgotten easily; and now they are out for blood.
Director: Dustin Rikert | Stars: Barry Corbin, Joe Lando, William Shockley, Mickey Jones
Votes: 202
32. The Whole Truth (2021)
TV-MA | 125 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
When two siblings stumble on a strange hole in the wall of their grandparents' house, horrifying incidents reveal sinister secrets about their family.
Director: Wisit Sasanatieng | Stars: Sompob Benjathikul, Tarika Tidatid, Sutatta Udomsilp, Mac Nattapat Nimjirawat
Votes: 4,385
33. Goodnight Mr Tom (1998 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 101 min | Drama, Family, War
A shy and quiet World War II evacuee is housed by a disgruntled old man, and they soon develop a close bond.
Director: Jack Gold | Stars: John Thaw, Nick Robinson, Annabelle Apsion, Thomas Orange
Votes: 4,916
34. Water (I) (2005)
PG-13 | 117 min | Drama
Set in colonial India against Gandhi's rise to power, it's the story of 8-year-old Chuyia, who is widowed and sent to a home to live in penitence; once there, Chuyia's feisty presence deeply affects the lives of the other residents.
Director: Deepa Mehta | Stars: Lisa Ray, John Abraham, Seema Biswas, Sarala Kariyawasam
Votes: 15,357 | Gross: $3.22M
35. The Young and the Damned (1950)
Not Rated | 80 min | Crime, Drama
A group of juvenile delinquents live a violent and crime-filled life in the festering slums of Mexico City, as the morals of young Pedro are gradually corrupted and destroyed by the others.
Director: Luis Buñuel | Stars: Alfonso Mejía, Roberto Cobo, Estela Inda, Miguel Inclán
Votes: 21,999
36. Too Young to Die? (1990 TV Movie)
R | 92 min | Crime, Drama
An abused 15-year-old is charged with a murder that carries the death penalty.
Director: Robert Markowitz | Stars: Michael Tucker, Juliette Lewis, Brad Pitt, Alan Fudge
Votes: 4,265
37. Oedipus Rex (1967)
Not Rated | 104 min | Drama
Rescued from abandonment and raised by the King and Queen, Oedipus is still haunted by a prophecy--he'll murder his father and marry his mother.
Director: Pier Paolo Pasolini | Stars: Silvana Mangano, Franco Citti, Alida Valli, Carmelo Bene
Votes: 6,879
38. Martian Child (2007)
PG | 106 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
A science-fiction writer, recently widowed, considers whether to adopt a hyper-imaginative 6-year-old abandoned and socially rejected boy who says he's really from Mars.
Director: Menno Meyjes | Stars: John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Bobby Coleman, Sophie Okonedo
Votes: 20,948 | Gross: $7.49M
39. The Color of Paradise (1999)
PG | 90 min | Drama, Family
The story of Mohammed, a blind Iranian boy and his father, Hashem, who is always oscillating between accepting his son as he is and abandoning him, as he represents a burden for him, after the loss of his wife.
Director: Majid Majidi | Stars: Hossein Mahjoub, Mohsen Ramezani, Salameh Feyzi, Farahnaz Safari
Votes: 18,197 | Gross: $1.81M
40. A Thousand Acres (1997)
R | 105 min | Drama
A family is torn apart after a father gives his valuable farm land to his daughters.
Director: Jocelyn Moorhouse | Stars: Michelle Pfeiffer, Jessica Lange, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jason Robards
Votes: 5,812 | Gross: $7.94M
41. Homecoming (1996 TV Movie)
PG | 105 min | Drama, Family
Tales of a group of siblings who are forced to fend for themselves when they are abandoned by their mother in the parking lot of a shopping mall. They eventually meet their grandmother, a loner who is reluctant to take them in.
Director: Mark Jean | Stars: Anne Bancroft, Kimberlee Peterson, Trever O'Brien, Hanna Hall
Votes: 1,075
42. A Room for Romeo Brass (1999)
R | 90 min | Comedy, Drama
After stopping 12 y.o. Romeo and Gavin from being beaten up, Morell drives them home and meets Romeo's adult sister and falls in love. The boys "help" him in his pursuit.
Director: Shane Meadows | Stars: Martin Arrowsmith, Dave Blant, Darren Campbell, Paddy Considine
Votes: 6,171 | Gross: $0.02M
43. Tokyo Twilight (1957)
Not Rated | 140 min | Drama
Two sisters find out the existence of their long-lost mother, but the younger cannot take the truth of being abandoned as a child.
Director: Yasujirô Ozu | Stars: Setsuko Hara, Ineko Arima, Chishû Ryû, Isuzu Yamada
Votes: 4,934
44. Rocks (2019)
TV-MA | 93 min | Drama
A young teenage girl finds herself struggling to take care of herself and her younger brother after being abandoned by their single mother with no choice but to live out on the streets.
Director: Sarah Gavron | Stars: Bukky Bakray, Kosar Ali, D'angelou Osei Kissiedu, Shaneigha-Monik Greyson
Votes: 5,547
45. Burning Palms (2010)
R | 105 min | Comedy, Thriller
A subversive tale that interlaces five stories set in Los Angeles, where no taboo is left unexplored as each character careens toward a dark and often comic fate.
Director: Christopher Landon | Stars: Jamie Chung, Rosamund Pike, Dylan McDermott, Shannen Doherty
Votes: 3,080
46. All the Invisible Children (2005)
124 min | Drama
Through the plights of seven different children, seven cruel destinies unfold, as the unknown innocents who share the same sensitivities and desires struggle for survival, understanding--and above all--love, in an apathetic grown-up world.
Directors: Mehdi Charef, Emir Kusturica, Spike Lee, Kátia Lund, Jordan Scott, Ridley Scott, Stefano Veneruso, John Woo | Stars: Adama Bila, Elysée Rouamba, Rodrigue Ouattara, Uros Milovanovic
Votes: 4,282
47. Happy Sugar Life (2018)
TV-MA | 24 min | Animation, Crime, Drama
This is a psychopathic horror story of pure trembling love of a girl named Satou Matsuzaka.
Stars: Kana Hanazawa, Misaki Kuno, Natsuki Hanae, Yumiri Hanamori
Votes: 791
48. Streets (1990)
R | 85 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
The story of runaways living in Venice, California, under the threat of a psychotic cop who is a serial killer of prostitutes.
Director: Katt Shea | Stars: Christina Applegate, David Mendenhall, Eb Lottimer, Jane Chung
Votes: 879 | Gross: $1.51M
49. Sleepwalking (2008)
R | 101 min | Drama
The drama follows a twelve-year-old girl's struggle to come to terms with her mother's abandonment.
Director: Bill Maher | Stars: Charlize Theron, Nick Stahl, AnnaSophia Robb, Deborra-Lee Furness
Votes: 6,055 | Gross: $0.17M
50. Citadel (I) (2012)
R | 84 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
An agoraphobic father teams up with a renegade priest to save his daughter from the clutches of a gang of twisted feral children who committed an act of violence against his family years earlier.
Director: Ciarán Foy | Stars: Aneurin Barnard, James Cosmo, Wunmi Mosaku, Jake Wilson
Votes: 7,333