Movies like The Sapphires (2012)
The best movies like The Sapphires (2012) are The Dressmaker (2015), Hair (1979) and Red Dog (2011). If The Sapphires hooked you with its comedy and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedLion (2016)8.0/10 from 7,127 votes
- NewestUnsung Hero (2024)Released 2024
The Dressmaker (2015)
In 1950s Australia, beautiful, talented dressmaker Tilly returns to her tiny hometown to right wrongs from her past. As she tries to reconcile with her mother, she starts to fall in love while transforming the fashion of the town.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHair (1979)
Upon receiving his draft notice and leaving his family ranch in Oklahoma, Claude heads to New York and befriends a tribe of long-haired hippies on his way to boot camp.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRed Dog (2011)
The legendary true story of the Red Dog who united a disparate local community while roaming the Australian outback in search of his long lost master.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBig Wednesday (1978)
Three 1960s California surfers fool around, drift apart and reunite years later to ride epic waves.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRed Dog: True Blue (2016)
When eleven-year-old Mick is shipped off to his grandfather's cattle station in Western Australia, he befriends a scrappy, one-of-a-kind dog that will change his life forever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCoupe de Ville (1990)
Meet the Libner brothers: Marvin, the oldest, is a sergeant in the U.S. Air Force. Buddy, the middle child, is a timid dreamer. Bobby, the youngest, is a handsome rebel in reform school. As kids, they fought a lot and as adults, they barely speak. In the summer of 1963, their tough and eccentric father, Fred, gives them a task: to bring a 1954 Cadillac, bought for their mother, Betty, from Detroit to Miami. As the trip goes on, the three brothers fight and begin to reconnect with each other, while trying to keep the Caddy in mint condition.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLadies in Black (2018)
Adapted from the bestselling novel by Madeleine St John, Ladies in Black is an alluring and tender-hearted comedy drama about the lives of a group of department store employees in 1959 Sydney.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLemonade Mouth (2011)
When five ragtag freshman first meet in detention, it seems they have nothing in common. But, through music, they form an unbreakable bond and discover they have the makings of the greatest high school garage band in history! In the face of incredible odds, Olivia, Stella, Wen, Mohini and Charlie find they can make a real difference when they learn to lean on each other and let go of everything holding back their dreams.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHousekeeping (1987)
In the Pacific Northwest during the 1950s, two young sisters whose mother has abandoned them wind up living with their Aunt Sylvie, whose views of the world and its conventions don't quite live up to most people's expectations.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPatch Adams (1998)
The true story of Dr. Hunter "Patch" Adams, who in the 1970s found that humor is the best medicine, and was willing to do just anything to make his patients laugh—even if it meant risking his own career.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Great Gilly Hopkins (2015)
Young and feisty Gilly Hopkins devises a scheme to escape from her new foster home and reunite with her birth mother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI Am Woman (2020)
In 1966, Helen Reddy landed in New York with her three year old daughter, a suitcase, and $230 in her pocket. Within weeks, she was broke. Within months, she was in love. Within five years, she was one of the biggest superstars of her time and an icon of the 1970s feminist movement who wrote a song which galvanized a generation of women to fight for change.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRabbit-Proof Fence (2002)
In 1931, three Aboriginal girls escape after being plucked from their homes to be trained as domestic staff, and set off on a trek across the Outback.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBound for Glory (1976)
A biography of Woody Guthrie, one of America's greatest folk singers. He left his dust-devastated Texas home in the 1930s to find work, discovering the suffering and strength of America's working class.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLast Ride (2009)
A young boy travels across Australia with his father, who's wanted by the law.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLion (2016)
A five-year-old Indian boy gets lost on the streets of Calcutta, thousands of kilometers from home. He survives many challenges before being adopted by a couple in Australia; 25 years later, he sets out to find his lost family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisIn My Father's Den (2004)
War journalist Paul Prior returns to his New Zealand hometown after his father’s death, rekindling strained relationships with his brother and memories of a troubled past. He befriends Celia, a curious and aspiring writer, who shares a fascination with his world. When Celia mysteriously disappears, Paul becomes the prime suspect, forcing him to confront buried secrets and uncover the dark truths of his family and community.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUnsung Hero (2024)
When David Smallbone's successful music company collapses, he moves his family from Australia to the United States in search of a brighter future. With nothing more than their six children, their suitcases, and their love of music, David and his pregnant wife Helen set out to rebuild their lives from the ground up. Based on a remarkable true story, a mum's faith stands against all odds; and inspires her husband and children to hold onto theirs.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe War (1994)
The son of a Vietnam War Veteran must deal with neighborhood bullies as well as his dad's post-traumatic stress disorder while growing up in the deep south in the 1970's.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Color Purple (2023)
A decades-spanning tale of love and resilience and of one woman's journey to independence. Celie faces many hardships in her life, but ultimately finds extraordinary strength and hope in the unbreakable bonds of sisterhood.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRiding in Cars with Boys (2001)
In 1965, a young woman with dreams of becoming a writer has a son at the age of 15 and struggles to make things work with the drug-addicted father.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Commitments (1991)
Jimmy Rabbitte, just a thick-ya out of school, gets a brilliant idea: to put a soul band together in Barrytown, his slum home in north Dublin. First he needs musicians and singers: things slowly start to click when he finds three fine-voiced females virtually in his back yard, a lead singer (Deco) at a wedding, and, responding to his ad, an aging trumpet player, Joey "The Lips" Fagan.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Muppet Movie (1979)
The Muppets gather to watch their newly-finished big-budget rich-and-famous feature film: a talent agent persuades Kermit the Frog to leave the swamp to pursue a career in Hollywood. On his way there, he meets a bear, a pig, a whatever (his future Muppet crew), and some special celebrity guest stars, while being chased by the desperate owner of a frog-leg restaurant!
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKinsey (2004)
Kinsey is a portrait of researcher Alfred Kinsey, driven to uncover the most private secrets of a nation. What begins for Kinsey as a scientific endeavor soon takes on an intensely personal relevance, ultimately becoming an unexpected journey into the mystery of human behavior.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTouching the Void (2003)
The true story of Joe Simpson and Simon Yates' disastrous and nearly-fatal mountain climb of 6,344m Siula Grande in the Cordillera Huayhuash in the Peruvian Andes in 1985.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Ninth Day (2004)
During WWII, head priest Henri Kremer is mysteriously freed from Dachau. He learns that he can return home to Luxembourg, for only nine days, during which he'll have to face a persuasive Gestapo chief who will put his faith to the test.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Del otro lado del puente (1980)
Among Chicanos in Los Angeles, young Alberto lives with the family of Dany, his older brother. Alberto studies at UCLA with the support of Professor Bob. Another young man, Jimy Joe, who lives with his sister Estela, is encouraged to quit drugs at a youth rehabilitation center coordinated by Many. Estela sees Jimy Joe being beaten up by gang members. Disillusioned with a gringa, Alberto meets Estela at a nightclub and becomes her boyfriend. Jimy Joe and his friends are surprised by a gang, and he is the only one left alive after a fierce fight, but with a fractured skull. The operation is very expensive, so Alberto and Many decide to raise funds with a show at the Convention Center. Alberto triumphs there as a composer and singer. Now saved, Jimy Joe dances in the street to one of Alberto's songs with Alberto, Estela, and others.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Blazing Saddles (1974)
Crafty railroad worker Bart becomes the first Black sheriff of Rock Ridge, a frontier town about to be destroyed in order to make way for a new railroad. Initially, the citizens of Rock Ridge harbor a racial bias toward their new protector. However, they warm to him after realizing that Bart and his perpetually drunk gunfighter friend Jim are their only defense against a wave of thugs sent to rid the town of its population.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBirdy (1984)
Two young men are seriously affected by the Vietnam War. One of them has always been obsessed with birds - but now believes he really is a bird, and has been sent to a mental hospital. Can his friend help him pull through?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPopeye (1980)
Popeye is a super-strong, spinach-scarfing sailor man who's searching for his father. During a storm that wrecks his ship, Popeye washes ashore and winds up rooming at the Oyl household, where he meets Olive. Before he can win her heart, he must first contend with Olive's fiancé, Bluto.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Sapphires?
The closest matches to The Sapphires are The Dressmaker (2015), Hair (1979) and Red Dog (2011). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Sapphires?
Start with The Dressmaker (2015), the closest match to The Sapphires.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Sapphires?
Lion (2016), rated 8.0/10 by 7,127 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Sapphires?
Unsung Hero (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Sapphires?
Yes: The Dressmaker (2015), Hair (1979) and Red Dog (2011).
How are movies similar to The Sapphires chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Sapphires, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.