Movies like Maïa (2000)
The best movies like Maïa (2000) are The American (2023), The Turning Point (1977) and Pretty Lethal (2026). If Maïa hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Red Shoes (1948)8.0/10 from 787 votes
- NewestPretty Lethal (2026)Released 2026
- In FrenchPolina (2016)Also in French
The American (2023)
American ballet dancer Joy Womack is accepted into Moscow's infamously tough Bolshoi Ballet Academy, with the dream of becoming a great ballerina.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Turning Point (1977)
As young dancers, they were best friends and fierce rivals. Deedee left the stage for marriage and motherhood, while Emma would become an international ballet icon. But when Deedee's teenage daughter is invited to join Emma's dance company and begins an affair with a young Russian star, the two women are forced to confront the choices they've made, the resentments they've hidden and the emotional truths they must face at the turning point.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPretty Lethal (2026)
A troupe of ballerinas find themselves fighting for survival as they attempt to escape from a remote inn after their bus breaks down on the way to a dance competition.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlack Swan (2010)
A committed dancer struggles to maintain her sanity after winning the lead role in a production of Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake."
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe White Crow (2018)
The story of Rudolf Nureyev, whose escape to the West stunned the world at the height of the Cold War. With his magnetic presence, Nureyev emerged as ballet’s most famous star, a wild and beautiful dancer limited by the world of 1950s Leningrad. His flirtation with Western artists and ideas led him into a high-stakes game of cat and mouse with the KGB.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStep Up (2006)
Delinquent Tyler Gage receives the opportunity of a lifetime after vandalizing a performing arts school, gaining him the chance to earn a scholarship and dance with up-and-coming dancer Nora.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Band Wagon (1953)
A Broadway artiste turns a faded film star's comeback vehicle into an artsy flop.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTake the Lead (2006)
A former professional dancer volunteers to teach dance in the New York public school system and, while his background first clashes with his students' tastes, together they create a completely new style of dance. Based on the story of ballroom dancer, Pierre Dulane.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWest Side Story (2021)
Two youngsters from rival New York City gangs fall in love, but tensions between their respective friends build toward tragedy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDance with Me (1998)
Young Cuban Rafael just buried his mother, and comes to Houston to meet his father John for the first time. The difficult part is that John doesn't know he is Rafael's father. John runs a dance studio, and everyone prepares for the World Open Dance championship in Las Vegas. It soon becomes clear Rafael is a very good dancer, and Ruby is the biggest hope for the studio at the championship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMarina Abramović: The Artist Is Present (2012)
Performance artist Marina Abramovic prepares for a major retrospective of her work at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Man Who Cried (2000)
A young refugee travels from Russia to America in search of her lost father and falls in love with a gypsy horseman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPolina (2016)
Polina is a young dancer from a modest family. After years of ballet academy, she is accepted by the Bolshoi; still, she decides to try and audition of a modern dance company in France. She makes it, but her journey will not end there...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisYankee Doodle Dandy (1942)
A film of the life of the renowned musical composer, playwright, actor, dancer and singer George M. Cohan.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHigh Strung (2016)
When a hip hop violinist busking in the New York subway encounters a classical dancer on scholarship at the Manhattan Conservatory of the Arts, sparks fly. With the help of a hip hop dance crew they must find a common ground while preparing for a competition that could change their lives forever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMake Your Move (2013)
A pair of star-crossed dancers in New York find themselves at the center of a bitter rivalry between their brothers' underground dance clubs.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisSwing Time (1936)
Lucky is tricked into missing his own wedding to Margaret and has to make $25,000 so her father will allow him to marry her. He and business partner Pop go to New York where they run into dancing instructor Penny. She and Lucky form a successful dance partnership, but romance is blighted by his old attachment to Margaret and hers for Ricky.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Red Shoes (1948)
A fledgling ballerina falls in love with a brilliant composer, but the jealous head of the ballet company plots to drive them apart.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisSenior Year (2022)
A 37-year-old woman wakes up from a 22-year coma, and returns to the high school where she was once a popular cheerleader to finish her senior year and become prom queen.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisScandal (1989)
An English bon-vivant osteopath is enchanted with a young exotic dancer and invites her to live with him. He serves as friend and mentor, and through his contacts and parties she and her friend meet and date members of the Conservative Party. Eventually a scandal occurs when her affair with the Minister of War goes public, threatening their lifestyles and their freedom.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Maïa?
The closest matches to Maïa are The American (2023), The Turning Point (1977) and Pretty Lethal (2026). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Maïa?
Start with The American (2023), the closest match to Maïa.
What is the highest-rated movie like Maïa?
The Red Shoes (1948), rated 8.0/10 by 787 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Maïa?
Pretty Lethal (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there French movies like Maïa?
Yes: Polina (2016).
How are movies similar to Maïa chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Maïa, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.