Movies like The Za-Bum Circus (1949)
The best movies like The Za-Bum Circus (1949) are A Song Is Born (1948), A Mighty Wind (2003) and The After Party (2018). If The Za-Bum Circus hooked you with its comedy and music, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
The Za-Bum Circus
Quick picks
- Highest ratedBo Burnham: Make Happy (2016)8.0/10 from 459 votes
- NewestBiz (2026)Released 2026
- In ItalianGoodnight, Ladies and Gentlemen (1976)Also in Italian
A Song Is Born (1948)
The story of seven scholars in search of an expert to teach them about swing music. They seem to have found the perfect candidate in winsome nightclub singer Honey Swanson. But Honey's gangster boyfriend doesn't want to give her up.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Mighty Wind (2003)
Three eclectic, never-quite-famous folk bands come together for the first time in decades following the death of their manager to put on an reunion concert in his honor, at the request of his son.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe After Party (2018)
When an aspiring rapper goes viral for the wrong reasons, he thinks his career is sunk. But a wild party gives him one more chance to make it right.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBo Burnham: What. (2013)
Left brain and right brain duke it out and then belt out a tune in comedian Bo Burnham's quick and clever one-man show. As intelligent as he is lanky, Burnham cynically pokes at pop entertainment while offering unadulterated showmanship of his own.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBo Burnham: Make Happy (2016)
Combining his trademark wit and self-deprecating humor with original music, Bo Burnham offers up his unique twist on life in this stand-up special about life, death, sexuality, hypocrisy, mental illness and Pringles cans.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & music
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisAdam Sandler: 100% Fresh (2018)
Adam Sandler takes his comical musical musings back out on the road, from comedy clubs to concert halls to one very unsuspecting subway station.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Day at the Races (1937)
Doctor Hugo Hackenbush, Tony, and Stuffy try and save Judy's sanitarium by winning a big race with a finicky horse owned by Judy's boyfriend Gil. There are a few problems. Hackenbush, who was recently put in charge of the sanitarium, isn't really a doctor, he's a veterinarian.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBack to the Beach (1987)
A former beach boy and his wife go to California to visit their daughter and become part of the new beach scene.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & music
SnoozefestMovies like thisA Very Jonas Christmas Movie (2025)
Kevin, Nick, and Joe Jonas face a series of escalating obstacles as they struggle to make it from London to New York in time to spend Christmas with their families.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSoul Men (2008)
Two former backup soul singers, Louis and Floyd, have not spoken to each other in 20 years, and reluctantly agree to travel across the country together to a reunion concert to honor their recently-deceased lead singer. Cleo, a beautiful young woman who is believed to be Floyd's daughter, accompanies them as a new singer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGet Crazy (1983)
Mega-promoter Colin Beverly plans to sabotage the New Year's 1983 concert of small-time operator Max Wolfe. Wolfe's assistants Neil Allen and Willie Loman find romance while trying to save the drugs, violence, and rock and roll from Beverly's schemes.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFootlight Parade (1933)
A fledgling producer finds himself at odds with his workers, financiers and his greedy ex-wife when he tries to produce live musicals for movie-going audiences.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBo Burnham: Words, Words, Words (2010)
Bo Burnham is back with a new one-man show full of his patented songs and wordplay, as well as haikus, dramatic readings, blasphemy, and so much more in his first hour-long special, shot live in his home town of Boston.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBo Burnham: The Inside Outtakes (2022)
Exactly one year after the release of the one man show, "Bo Burnham: Inside" (made in one room, by one person, throughout the pandemic,) comes a series of unseen outtakes, deleted scenes, alternative versions of songs, and new songs unused from the special.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & music
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisRock 'n' Roll High School (1979)
A group of rock-music-loving students, with the help of the Ramones, take over their school to combat its newly installed oppressive administration.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGoodnight, Ladies and Gentlemen (1976)
An episodic satire of the political and social status of Italy in the seventies, through the shows of one day of a television channel.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOcchio, malocchio, prezzemolo e finocchio (1983)
The film is divided into two episodes, The Hair of Disgrace and The Magician, both focusing on the theme of the occult and beliefs. The title translates as "Eye, Evil Eye, Parsley and Fennel".
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisHard to Die (1990)
While doing the inventory for a lingerie outlet in a high rise office building, five attractive women are terrorized by a series of bizarre killings. They suspect that the strange janitor, who witnessed another series of killings six months previously, is at the bottom of the whole thing. Little do they know the real horror that they face in the end.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Birds, the Bees and the Italians (1966)
An anthology presents three storylines, all set in the Italian town of Treviso: A husband pretends to be impotent as a cover for having an affair; a bank clerk abandons his wife for his mistress, but the rest of the town's husbands become jealous and unite to conspire against them; and local men all seduce a promiscuous young woman, but when her father eventually reveals that she is underage, they all face prosecution for statutory rape.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisShane Gillis: Beautiful Dogs (2023)
In a rowdy stand-up set, Shane Gillis riffs on his girlfriend's Navy SEAL ex, touring George Washington's house and being bullied by an Australian Goth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHere And Now Cucumbers!!! How Much Did You Eat Today? (1982)
To have a clear picture of the Greek public opinion after the recent victory of the current government, the editor-in-chief of a famous newspaper organisation enlists the help of two of his best reporters. What will the survey show?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Shake, Rattle & Roll II (1990)
Three terrifying tales follow a young groom in Baguio for his honeymoon is possessed by a homicidal spirit when he discovers a cursed ring and decides to wear it; in the eerie halls of a mysterious hospital, a doctor practices voodoo and dead bodies wander in the night; and a student who learns, while a guest at a town fiesta in a remote province, that the locals' hospitable ways leave her clueless about a mysterious nightly ritual.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Shake, Rattle & Roll III (1991)
In three tales of extreme horror, a young couple hires a mysterious nanny for their baby; a young woman discovers that her sister has been dead and been made alive again; and a student unwittingly brings home from a beach field trip the egg of an alien monster.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Shake, Rattle & Roll IV (1992)
Three unrelated stories of horror include a substitute teacher who preys on a small school; neighborhood children being abducted by a tree-dwelling monster; and a group of Manila residents plagued by attacks from a Manananggal.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
30/30 Vision: Three Decades of Strand Releasing (2019)
Over 30 filmmakers and friends of Strand Releasing have come together to honor the company’s indelible contribution to independent cinema over the past thirty years. The participating filmmakers have each created a short film for the project, all shot on iPhones.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Shake, Rattle & Roll V (1994)
Three tales of unbridled terror follow a couple vacation on a secluded island where strange forces are at work to keep them there; a young woman whose boyfriend is ill meets a handsome young man in the woods who seems to exhibit magical powers that can cure her sick friend, on the condition that she stay with him forever; and a family who move into a new apartment, unaware of a supernatural tragedy that occurred there.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
The Flow (2024)
Amid an identity crisis, Fábio, 22 years old, a young black man from Cidade Tiradentes, reconnects with his past through a funk party with friends. On their way to the Fluxo, as these parties are called, he faces internal and external challenges that make him confront his feelings after his recent breakup. The film investigates the experiences of young people who live in the extreme east of São Paulo, the biggest city in Brazil and considered one of the main pillars of funk history.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
Potulné pohádkové divadlo I. (1975)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Tokyo! (2008)
Three distinct tales unfold in the bustling city of Tokyo. Merde, a bizarre sewer-dweller, emerges from a manhole and begins terrorizing pedestrians. After his arrest, he stands trial and lashes out at a hostile courtroom. A man who has resigned himself to a life of solitude reconsiders after meeting a charming pizza delivery woman. And finally, a happy young couple find themselves undergoing a series of frightening metamorphoses.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
Like The Za-Bum Circus and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Za-Bum Circus?
The closest matches to The Za-Bum Circus are A Song Is Born (1948), A Mighty Wind (2003) and The After Party (2018). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Za-Bum Circus?
Start with A Song Is Born (1948), the closest match to The Za-Bum Circus.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Za-Bum Circus?
Bo Burnham: Make Happy (2016), rated 8.0/10 by 459 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Za-Bum Circus?
Biz (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Italian movies like The Za-Bum Circus?
Yes: Goodnight, Ladies and Gentlemen (1976), Occhio, malocchio, prezzemolo e finocchio (1983) and The Birds, the Bees and the Italians (1966).
How are movies similar to The Za-Bum Circus chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Za-Bum Circus, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.