Films The Best Single Dad Movies Ever Made

689 votes 204 voters 49.9k views 20 items Follow

This list contains information about single dad movies, ranked from best to worst by user votes. The best single dad movies come in many forms. Some single father relationship movies are about struggle while other movies about single fathers are comedies. Movies like Signs and War of the Worlds feature single dads as heroes in science fiction situations.

What films will you find on this best single father movie list? Will Smith teamed-up with his real-life son, Jaden Smith, for the 2006 film, The Pursuit of Happyness. The movie, which was based on Chris Garder's memoir of the same name, shows the struggles facing a homeless single father as he works to turn his life around. Finding Nemo is a classic animated movie about a single dad. Love Actually is another good movie that features a single father storyline.

Dustin Hoffman won an Academy Award for his role as a single father fighting for custody in Kramer vs. Kramer. Other good films that appear on this top single dad movies list include Finding Nemo, Big Daddy, and The Descendants.

Do you have a favorite single father film? Vote the best movies to the top of this list and please add any good single dad films we may have missed.

1
69 16

The Pursuit of Happyness Will Smith, Thandie Newton, Jaden Smith The Pursuit of Happyness is a 2006 American biographical drama film based on Chris Gardner's nearly one-year struggle with homelessness. Directed by Gabriele Muccino, the film features Will ...more

2
64 16

Finding Nemo Ellen DeGeneres, Willem Dafoe, Eric Bana Finding Nemo is a 2003 American computer-animated comedy-drama adventure film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Written and directed by Andrew Stanton, it ...more

3
40 12

To Kill a Mockingbird Robert Duvall, Gregory Peck, William Windom To Kill a Mockingbird is a 1962 American drama film directed by Robert Mulligan. The screenplay by Horton Foote was based on the 1960 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name by Harper Lee. ...more

4
41 15

Big Daddy Adam Sandler, Jon Stewart, Steve Buscemi Big Daddy is a 1999 American comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan and starring Adam Sandler. The film was produced by Robert Simonds and released on June 25, 1999, by Columbia Pictures where it ...more

5
37 12

We Bought a Zoo Scarlett Johansson, Matt Damon, Elle Fanning We Bought a Zoo is a 2011 American family comedy-drama film loosely based on the 2008 memoir of the same name by Benjamin Mee. The film is directed by Cameron Crowe, and stars Matt Damon as ...more

6
34 12

Three Men and a Baby Tom Selleck, Ted Danson, Steve Guttenberg Three Men and a Baby is a 1987 comedy film directed by Leonard Nimoy, and starring Tom Selleck, Steve Guttenberg, Ted Danson and Nancy Travis. It follows the mishaps and adventures of three ...more

7
28 8

My Girl Jamie Lee Curtis, Macaulay Culkin, Dan Aykroyd My Girl is a 1991 American comedy-drama film directed by Howard Zieff and written by Laurice Elehwany. The film, starring Macaulay Culkin and Anna Chlumsky in her feature film debut, depicts the ...more

8
24 5

The Descendants George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Judy Greer The Descendants is a 2011 American drama film directed by Alexander Payne. The screenplay by Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash is based on the novel of the same name by Kaui Hart Hemmings. The film ...more

9
22 6

I Am Sam Michelle Pfeiffer, Sean Penn, Dakota Fanning I Am Sam is a 2001 American drama film written and directed by Jessie Nelson, and starring Sean Penn as a father with a developmental disability, Dakota Fanning as his inquisitive seven-year-old ...more

10
21 9

Definitely, Maybe Elizabeth Banks, Rachel Weisz, Isla Fisher Definitely, Maybe is a 2008 American romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Adam Brooks, and starring Ryan Reynolds, Isla Fisher, Rachel Weisz, Elizabeth Banks, Abigail Breslin and ...more

11
21 10

Sleepless in Seattle Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, Rosie O'Donnell Sleepless in Seattle is a 1993 American romantic comedy-drama film directed and co-written by Nora Ephron. Based on a story by Jeff Arch, it stars Tom Hanks as Sam Baldwin and Meg Ryan as Annie

12
19 10

Love Actually Keira Knightley, Elisha Cuthbert, Liam Neeson Love Actually is a 2003 British Christmas-themed romantic comedy film written and directed by Richard Curtis. The screenplay delves into different aspects of love as shown through ten separate ...more

13
20 11

Signs Mel Gibson, Joaquin Phoenix, Abigail Breslin Signs is a 2002 American science fiction thriller film written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. Executive producers for the film comprised Shyamalan, Frank Marshall, Kathleen Kennedy and Sam ...more

14
12 6

Jersey Girl Jennifer Lopez, Will Smith, Ben Affleck Jersey Girl is a 2004 American comedy-drama film written, co-edited, and directed by Kevin Smith. It stars Ben Affleck, Liv Tyler, Raquel Castro, George Carlin, Jason Biggs, Jennifer Lopez and ...more

15
8 6

Instructions Not Included Karla Souza, Eugenio Derbez, Jesús Ochoa Instructions Not Included is a 2013 Mexican comedy-drama film co-written, directed by, and starring Eugenio Derbez.

16
10 10

That's My Boy Adam Sandler, Leighton Meester, Susan Sarandon That's My Boy is a 2012 American comedy film starring Adam Sandler and Andy Samberg. The script was written by David Caspe and directed by Sean Anders. The film is about an alcoholic slacker ...more

17
9 9

Kramer vs. Kramer Meryl Streep, Dustin Hoffman, JoBeth Williams Kramer vs. Kramer is a 1979 American drama film adapted by Robert Benton from the novel by Avery Corman, and directed by Benton. The film tells the story of a married couple's divorce and its ...more

18
1 1

PietraChandlerRadcliff added Infinitely Polar Bear Zoe Saldana, Mark Ruffalo, Keir Dullea Infinitely Polar Bear is a 2014 American comedy film written and directed by Maya Forbes, and starring Mark Ruffalo, Zoe Saldana, Imogene Wolodarsky, and Ashley Aufderheide. The film premiered ...more

19
13 15

War of the Worlds Tom Cruise, Morgan Freeman, Channing Tatum War of the Worlds is a 2005 American epic science fiction disaster film and a loose adaptation of H. G. Wells's novel The War of the Worlds, directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Josh ...more

20
2 5

Second Best John Hurt, Alan Cumming, William Hurt Second Best is a 1994 film produced by Sarah Radclyffe and directed by Chris Menges. It closely follows the 1991 novel of the same name by David Cook, who also wrote the screenplay.

1 69 16 The Pursuit of Happyness Will Smith, Thandie Newton, Jaden Smith The Pursuit of Happyness is a 2006 American biographical drama film based on Chris Gardner's nearly one-year struggle with homelessness. Directed by Gabriele Muccino, the film features Will ...more

2 64 16 Finding Nemo Ellen DeGeneres, Willem Dafoe, Eric Bana Finding Nemo is a 2003 American computer-animated comedy-drama adventure film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Written and directed by Andrew Stanton, it ...more

3 40 12 To Kill a Mockingbird Robert Duvall, Gregory Peck, William Windom To Kill a Mockingbird is a 1962 American drama film directed by Robert Mulligan. The screenplay by Horton Foote was based on the 1960 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name by Harper Lee. ...more

4 41 15 Big Daddy Adam Sandler, Jon Stewart, Steve Buscemi Big Daddy is a 1999 American comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan and starring Adam Sandler. The film was produced by Robert Simonds and released on June 25, 1999, by Columbia Pictures where it ...more

5 37 12 We Bought a Zoo Scarlett Johansson, Matt Damon, Elle Fanning We Bought a Zoo is a 2011 American family comedy-drama film loosely based on the 2008 memoir of the same name by Benjamin Mee. The film is directed by Cameron Crowe, and stars Matt Damon as ...more

6 34 12 Three Men and a Baby Tom Selleck, Ted Danson, Steve Guttenberg Three Men and a Baby is a 1987 comedy film directed by Leonard Nimoy, and starring Tom Selleck, Steve Guttenberg, Ted Danson and Nancy Travis. It follows the mishaps and adventures of three ...more

7 28 8 My Girl Jamie Lee Curtis, Macaulay Culkin, Dan Aykroyd My Girl is a 1991 American comedy-drama film directed by Howard Zieff and written by Laurice Elehwany. The film, starring Macaulay Culkin and Anna Chlumsky in her feature film debut, depicts the ...more

8 24 5 The Descendants George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Judy Greer The Descendants is a 2011 American drama film directed by Alexander Payne. The screenplay by Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash is based on the novel of the same name by Kaui Hart Hemmings. The film ...more

9 22 6 I Am Sam Michelle Pfeiffer, Sean Penn, Dakota Fanning I Am Sam is a 2001 American drama film written and directed by Jessie Nelson, and starring Sean Penn as a father with a developmental disability, Dakota Fanning as his inquisitive seven-year-old ...more

10 21 9 Definitely, Maybe Elizabeth Banks, Rachel Weisz, Isla Fisher Definitely, Maybe is a 2008 American romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Adam Brooks, and starring Ryan Reynolds, Isla Fisher, Rachel Weisz, Elizabeth Banks, Abigail Breslin and ...more

11 21 10 Sleepless in Seattle Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, Rosie O'Donnell Sleepless in Seattle is a 1993 American romantic comedy-drama film directed and co-written by Nora Ephron. Based on a story by Jeff Arch, it stars Tom Hanks as Sam Baldwin and Meg Ryan as Annie

12 19 10 Love Actually Keira Knightley, Elisha Cuthbert, Liam Neeson Love Actually is a 2003 British Christmas-themed romantic comedy film written and directed by Richard Curtis. The screenplay delves into different aspects of love as shown through ten separate ...more

13 20 11 Signs Mel Gibson, Joaquin Phoenix, Abigail Breslin Signs is a 2002 American science fiction thriller film written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. Executive producers for the film comprised Shyamalan, Frank Marshall, Kathleen Kennedy and Sam ...more

14 12 6 Jersey Girl Jennifer Lopez, Will Smith, Ben Affleck Jersey Girl is a 2004 American comedy-drama film written, co-edited, and directed by Kevin Smith. It stars Ben Affleck, Liv Tyler, Raquel Castro, George Carlin, Jason Biggs, Jennifer Lopez and ...more

15 8 6 Instructions Not Included Karla Souza, Eugenio Derbez, Jesús Ochoa Instructions Not Included is a 2013 Mexican comedy-drama film co-written, directed by, and starring Eugenio Derbez.

16 10 10 That's My Boy Adam Sandler, Leighton Meester, Susan Sarandon That's My Boy is a 2012 American comedy film starring Adam Sandler and Andy Samberg. The script was written by David Caspe and directed by Sean Anders. The film is about an alcoholic slacker ...more

17 9 9 Kramer vs. Kramer Meryl Streep, Dustin Hoffman, JoBeth Williams Kramer vs. Kramer is a 1979 American drama film adapted by Robert Benton from the novel by Avery Corman, and directed by Benton. The film tells the story of a married couple's divorce and its ...more

18 1 1 PietraChandlerRadcliff added Infinitely Polar Bear Zoe Saldana, Mark Ruffalo, Keir Dullea Infinitely Polar Bear is a 2014 American comedy film written and directed by Maya Forbes, and starring Mark Ruffalo, Zoe Saldana, Imogene Wolodarsky, and Ashley Aufderheide. The film premiered ...more

19 13 15 War of the Worlds Tom Cruise, Morgan Freeman, Channing Tatum War of the Worlds is a 2005 American epic science fiction disaster film and a loose adaptation of H. G. Wells's novel The War of the Worlds, directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Josh ...more

20 2 5 Second Best John Hurt, Alan Cumming, William Hurt Second Best is a 1994 film produced by Sarah Radclyffe and directed by Chris Menges. It closely follows the 1991 novel of the same name by David Cook, who also wrote the screenplay.

21 0 0