SimilarScreen
Akeelah and the Bee

Akeelah and the Bee

Changing the world... one word at a time.

20067.01h 53m

Overview

11-year-old Akeelah Anderson has a way with words. After winning her schoolwide spelling bee, she decides to enter the competition, despite her classmates' derision and the antipathy of her mother Tanya. Thanks to the efforts of her teacher Dr. Larabee, she reaches the finals. As she gets to know her fellow competitors, Akeelah realizes that coming first isn't everything in life.

Directed by Doug Atchison
Written by Doug Atchison
Produced by Nancy Hult Ganis, Laurence Fishburne, Danny Llewelyn
Box OfficeBudget: $8.0MRevenue: $18.9M

Top Cast

Keke Palmer

Keke Palmer

Akeelah Anderson

Laurence Fishburne

Laurence Fishburne

Dr. Larabee

Angela Bassett

Angela Bassett

Tanya Anderson

Curtis Armstrong

Curtis Armstrong

Mr. Welch

J.R. Villarreal

J.R. Villarreal

Javier

Sean Michael Afable

Sean Michael Afable

Dylan Chiu

Sahara Garey

Sahara Garey

Georgia

Lee Thompson Young

Lee Thompson Young

Devon

Julito McCullum

Julito McCullum

Terrence

Erica Hubbard

Erica Hubbard

Kiana

Themes & Keywords

spellingspelling beefamily dramasingle mothercommunity spiritpre-teenparental abusesouth central los angelesblack communityindependent film

About Akeelah and the Bee

Akeelah and the Bee is a drama film released in 2006 exploring themes of spelling, spelling bee, family drama, single mother, community spirit, pre-teen. Directed by Doug Atchison, it stars Keke Palmer, Laurence Fishburne, Angela Bassett. 11-year-old Akeelah Anderson has a way with words. After winning her schoolwide spelling bee, she decides to enter the competition, despite her classmates' derision and the antipathy of her mother Tanya. Thanks to the efforts of her teacher Dr. Larabee, she reaches the finals. As she gets to know her fellow competitors, Akeelah realizes that coming first isn't everything in life.

Movies Similar to Akeelah and the Bee

Discover titles like Akeelah and the Bee — ranked by similarity and community votes

We found 15 movies similar to Akeelah and the Bee

If you enjoyed Akeelah and the Bee, you'll love these handpicked recommendations. Each title below shares similar themes, tone, and storytelling style. Our algorithm analyzes genres, keywords, director filmography, and cast connections to find the closest matches. Whether you're looking for the same emotional depth, narrative structure, or visual style, these picks are curated to deliver the best viewing experience for fans of Akeelah and the Bee.

Breakthrough
27% Match

Tragedy strikes when a woman named Joyce's son falls through the ice on a frozen lake and is trapped underwater for over 15 minutes. After being rushed to the hospital, the 14-year-old boy continues to fight for his life as Joyce, her husband and their pastor stay by his bedside and pray for a miracle.

Sarah's Oil
26% Match

Sarah Rector, a Black girl born in early 20th-century Oklahoma Indian Territory, believes there is oil beneath the barren land she’s allotted, and her faith proves right. As greedy oil sharks close in, Sarah turns to family, friends, and some Texas wildcatters to maintain control of her oil-rich land, eventually becoming among the nation's first Black female millionaires—at eleven years old.

Homestead
26% Match

Homestead(2024)

Movie6.6/10

A nuclear bomb is detonated in Los Angeles, and the nation devolves into unprecedented chaos. Ex-Green Beret Jeff Eriksson and his family escape to The Homestead, an eccentric prepper’s fortress nestled in the mountains. As violent threats and apocalyptic conditions creep toward their borders, the residents of The Homestead are left to wonder: how long can a group of people resist both the dangers of human nature and the bloodshed at their doorstep?

God's Not Dead
23% Match

After he refuses to disavow his faith, a devout Christian student must prove the existence of God or else his college philosophy professor will fail him.

Bee Season
22% Match

Bee Season(2005)

Movie5.1/10

Wife and mother Miriam begins a downward emotional spiral as her husband avoids their collapsing marriage by immersing himself in his 11-year-old daughter's quest to become a spelling-bee champion.

My Father and My Son
21% Match

A left-wing journalist whose wife died while giving birth to his son during a military coup returns to his family's farm. Estranged from his father for turning his back on the family and wasting his life with political activism instead, he tries to reconnect with him so that his son will have a place to live as his health is deteriorating due to the extensive torture he had to endure.

The Resurrection of Gavin Stone
20% Match

Gavin Stone, a washed-up former child star, is forced to do community service at a local megachurch and pretends to be Christian so he can land the part of Jesus in their annual Passion Play, only to discover that the most important role of his life is far from Hollywood.

Schoolgirls
20% Match

In early 1990s Spain, eleven-year-old Celia lives with her mother and studies at a convent school in Zaragoza. When Brisa, a confident new classmate from Barcelona, arrives, Celia is drawn into a world that challenges the strict religious teachings and sheltered life she has known. Their friendship pushes her to confront hidden truths at home and the uncertainties of adolescence, leading her to explore questions of identity, independence, and belonging.

Get on the Bus
20% Match

Fifteen Black men gather in South Central LA to take a cross-country bus trip to attend the Million Man March in Washington, DC in October 1995. Among the attendees are an eclectic set of characters, including a laid-off aircraft worker, a man whose at-risk son is handcuffed to him, a Black Republican, a former gangsta, a Hollywood actor, a cop of mixed racial background, and a white bus driver. All make the trek discussing issues surrounding the March, including manhood, religion, politics, sexuality, and race.

Pieces of April
19% Match

Quirky and rebellious April Burns lives with her boyfriend in a low-rent New York City apartment miles away from her emotionally distant family. But when she discovers that her mother has a fatal form of breast cancer, she invites the clan to her place for Thanksgiving. While her father struggles to drive her family into the city, April -- an inexperienced cook -- runs into kitchen trouble and must ask a neighbor for help.

Meet the Browns
19% Match

A single mother living in inner city Chicago, Brenda has been struggling for years to make ends meet and keep her three kids off the street. When she's laid off with no warning, she starts losing hope for the first time - until a letter arrives announcing the death of a father she's never met. Desperate for any kind of help, Brenda takes her family to Georgia for the funeral, but nothing could have prepared her for the Browns, her father's fun-loving, crass Southern clan. In a small-town world full of long afternoons and country fairs, Brenda struggles to get to know the family she never knew existed... and finds a brand new romance that just might change her life.

The Unbreakable Boy
19% Match

When Scott and Teresa LeRette learn that their son Austin is both autistic and has brittle bone disease, they initially worry for their son’s future. But with Scott’s growing faith and Austin’s incredible spirit, they become 'unbreakable', finding joy, gratitude, and courage even in the most trying times.

10 Things We Should Do Before We Break Up
19% Match

Sparks fly when self-sufficient single mother Abigail meets magnetic perennial bachelor Ben. On their first date, they collaborate -- in jest -- on the ultimate list: 10 things to do together before they break up. But when fate intervenes, they soon embark on the most challenging journey of all -- building a family together, and the chance to trade their cynicism for hope.