Movies like Sanaa (2022)
The best movies like Sanaa (2022) are The Girl in the Book (2015), Hounddog (2008) and Lady Driver (2020). If Sanaa hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedWhat Maisie Knew (2013)7.1/10 from 466 votes
- NewestEleanor the Great (2025)Released 2025
- In HindiMother India (1957)Also in Hindi
The Girl in the Book (2015)
The story of a young writer's transformation when her past invades her present.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisHounddog (2008)
A drama set in the American South, where a precocious, troubled girl finds a safe haven in the music and movement of Elvis Presley.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLady Driver (2020)
When a rebellious teen embarks on a solo summer journey to connect with her roots, she finds herself in a new world, geared up for the ride of her life, and discovers she had the drive in her all along.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGracie (2007)
A teenager faces an uphill battle when she fights to give women the opportunity to play competitive soccer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBastard Out of Carolina (1996)
A poor, struggling South Carolinian mother and daughter face painful choices with their resolve and pride. Bone, the eldest daughter, and Anney her tired mother, grow both closer and farther apart: Anney sees Glen as her last chance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisI Never Promised You a Rose Garden (1977)
A disturbed and institutionalized 16-year-old girl struggles between fantasy and reality.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisI Believe in Unicorns (2015)
Feeling awkward and isolated, an imaginative and strong-willed teenage girl runs away from home with an older punk rock drifter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Short History of the Long Road (2019)
Nola grew up living in a van with her father, Clint—two nomads against the world. When tragedy strikes, Nola must confront the reality of life on the road alone, learning to own her grief, her past, and her new destination.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAll Together Now (2020)
An optimistic, talented teen clings to a huge secret: she's homeless and living on a school bus. When tragedy strikes, can she learn to accept a helping hand?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhat Maisie Knew (2013)
In New York City, six-year-old Maisie is caught in the middle of a bitter custody battle between her self-absorbed parents—an aging rock singer mother and a distracted art dealer father. As both quickly marry new partners to strengthen their legal standing, Maisie is shuttled back and forth in an endless game of emotional point-scoring. Yet amid the chaos and upheaval, Maisie begins to find true comfort and affection in her new step-parents.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStrange Weather (2016)
Years after her son's suicide, a woman longs to confront both the past and a friend of his who took his business idea.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisSkin (2009)
Based on the true story of a black girl who was born to two white Afrikaner parents in South Africa during the apartheid era.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTigertail (2020)
A man reflects on the lost love of his youth and his long-ago journey from Taiwan to America as he begins to reconnect with his estranged daughter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Safety of Objects (2002)
In a suburban landscape, the lives of several families interlace with loss, despair and personal crisis. Esther Gold has lost focus on all but caring for her comatose son, Paul, and neglects her daughter and husband. Lawyer Jim Train is devoted to his career, not his family. Helen Christianson wants to find a new spark in life, while Annette Jennings tries to rebuild hers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like this1 Chance 2 Dance (2014)
When a 17-year old aspiring dancer is uprooted in her high school senior year, she finds herself divided between two boys, and she will have one last shot at making her dream a reality.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisImperial Dreams (2014)
A 21-year-old reformed gangster's devotion to his family and his future is put to the test when he is released from prison and returns to his old stomping grounds in Watts, Los Angeles.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHardball (2001)
An aimless young man who is scalping tickets, gambling and drinking, agrees to coach a Little League team from the Cabrini Green housing project in Chicago as a condition of getting a loan from a friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHerself (2020)
Struggling to provide her daughters with a safe, happy home, Sandra decides to build one - from scratch. Using all her ingenuity to make her ambitious dream a reality, Sandra draws together a community to lend a helping hand to build her house and ultimately recover her own sense of self.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEleanor the Great (2025)
94-year-old Eleanor Morgenstein tries to rebuild her life after the death of her best friend. As a result, she moves back to New York City after living in Florida for decades.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Truth About Emanuel (2013)
A troubled young woman becomes obsessed with her mysterious new neighbor, who bears a striking resemblance to the girl's dead mother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMother India (1957)
A poverty-stricken woman raises her sons through many trials and tribulations. But no matter the struggles, always sticks to her own moral code.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAazam (2023)
Aazam is a Hindi feature film, set in the underbelly of the Mumbai underworld, the story revolves around the succession battle of mafia don Nawab Khan, who is suffering from blood cancer and has only 10-15 days to live. Huh. Nawab Khan controls the syndicate of 5 partners in governing the city. Kadar - Nawab's son, is his legitimate heir in business, but on the advice of his colleague Javed, Kader plans to eliminate all his father's associates. Kadar's plan fails as other syndicate members have their own agenda for the gang war. DCP Joshi, who is trying to stop this gang war havoc, also gets caught in the conspiracy hatched by Javed. Who is the "Aazam" of this battle of defeat and victory?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Maatr (2017)
Shattered by the brutal murder of her daughter, A distraught mother takes justice into her own hands and seeks vengeance by fighting the system.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Zubaan (2016)
A young boy wants to become a big shot but after seeing the bad things involved he instead chooses to pursue his passion that is singing, similar to his father.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Kanpuriye (2019)
The story revolves around the story of three boys from the small town of Kanpur, who have big dreams, and even bigger challenges
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Meri Pyaari Bindu (2017)
Abhimanyu Roy is stuck with writer's block until he decides to re-live the memories of his childhood sweetheart Bindu who aspires to be a successful singer and struggles to give Abhi the one thing he craves - stability.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSanam (1997)
Gaurav lives a wealthy lifestyle, gets everything he wants except the love of his parents and family. Even though he lives with his parents, they love his elder brother Narendra more. After an unfortunate incident, Gaurav joins the army to prove himself to his father, where he discovers a terrorist plot that could put his family and his country at risk.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Ramprasad Ki Tehrvi (2021)
Ramprasad's entire family gathers under one roof for 13 days after his death, to perform and observe the Hindu traditions and rituals called the tehrvi. During the course, the family’s dynamics, politics, and insecurities come out, and then they realise that the importance of people and things are only evident in retrospect.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Hawaa Hawaai (2014)
Hawaa Hawaai is a story of the triumph of the human spirit; friendship and enjoying the journey of making ones dream come true. Arjun moves to the big city along with his mother and little sister. Out there he discovers a hidden world of in-line skating through coach Lucky, who mentors kids to become skating champions. While Arjun starts nursing the dream to learn skating under Lucky, his four friends get together to make this dream come true for him. In this endearing story of hope and aspirations, will Arjun's dreams take flight?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Good Newwz (2019)
Two couples with the same surnames pursue in-vitro fertilisation and wait for their upcoming babies. Trouble ensues when they find that the sperms of each couple have been mixed with each other.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Sanaa?
The closest matches to Sanaa are The Girl in the Book (2015), Hounddog (2008) and Lady Driver (2020). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Sanaa?
Start with The Girl in the Book (2015), the closest match to Sanaa.
What is the highest-rated movie like Sanaa?
What Maisie Knew (2013), rated 7.1/10 by 466 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Sanaa?
Eleanor the Great (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Hindi movies like Sanaa?
Yes: Mother India (1957), Aazam (2023) and Maatr (2017).
How are movies similar to Sanaa chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Sanaa, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.