Movies like The Summer (2023)
The best movies like The Summer (2023) are The Best of Me (2014), Girls Like Girls (2026) and I Can't Think Straight (2008). If The Summer hooked you with its animation and romance, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedEven If This Love Disappears Tonight (2025)8.5/10 from 244 votes
- NewestGirls Like Girls (2026)Released 2026
- In Korean20th Century Girl (2022)Also in Korean
The Best of Me (2014)
A pair of former high school sweethearts reunite after many years when they return to visit their small hometown.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGirls Like Girls (2026)
After her mother's passing, 17-year-old Coley navigates new feelings of intimacy with Sonya in rural Oregon, where both girls must overcome their mutual uncertainties and self-doubt to embrace their connection.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisI Can't Think Straight (2008)
Tala, a London-based Palestinian, is preparing for her elaborate Middle Eastern wedding when she meets Leyla, a young British Indian woman who is dating her best friend. Spirited Christian Tala and shy Muslim Leyla could not be more different from each other, but the attraction is immediate and goes deeper than friendship. But Tala is not ready to accept the implications of the choice her heart has made for her and escapes back to Jordan, while Leyla tries to move on with her new-found life, to the shock of her tradition-loving parents. As Tala's wedding day approaches, simmering tensions come to boiling point and the pressure mounts for Tala to be true to herself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAfter (2019)
Tessa Young is a dedicated student, dutiful daughter and loyal girlfriend to her high school sweetheart. Entering her first semester of college, Tessa's guarded world opens up when she meets Hardin Scott, a mysterious and brooding rebel who makes her question all she thought she knew about herself -- and what she wants out of life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEndless Love (2014)
A privileged girl and a charismatic boy's instant desire sparks a love affair made only more reckless by parents trying to keep them apart.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLove Everlasting (2016)
Bridger is a young outsider who's always wanted more. He and his mother flee an abusive home, eventually finding a small town in the middle of nowhere. Once there, Bridger finds true acceptance with another misfit.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between (2022)
Clare and Aidan make a pact to break up before college — no regrets, no broken hearts. But will one epic goodbye date offer them a last chance at love?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like this20th Century Girl (2022)
In 1999, a teen girl keeps close tabs on a boy in school on behalf of her deeply smitten best friend – then she gets swept up in a love story of her own.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisNot Easily Broken (2009)
A car accident and shifting affections test the bond between a married couple.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like this...ing (2003)
Follows the life of a young woman who has become reserved and indifferent to the world as a result of her chronic illness deformed hand and quietly portrays the unconventional, yet endearing relationship between mother and daughter as well as the development of Min-ah as she is befriended by the high spirited and carefree photographer Young-jae who moves into their apartment complex.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLove Finds You in Valentine (2016)
Kennedy Blaine, a Californian girl, inherits a ranch in the small town of Valentine in Nebraska. Before she sells the property, she decides to spend the summer in her house and learn more about her family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Object of My Affection (1998)
A pregnant New York social worker begins to develop romantic feelings for her gay best friend, and decides she'd rather raise her child with him, much to the dismay of her overbearing boyfriend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
SnoozefestMovies like thisEven If This Love Disappears Tonight (2025)
A high school girl wakes up each day with no memory of yesterday. When she agrees to date a shy classmate, can their love grow with every new beginning?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisOur Love Story (2016)
A fine arts student meets an attractive bartender, and the two women begin an intimate relationship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMan in Love (2014)
Tae-il lives a fast life as low level thug. He then learns that he has a terminal illness and not much time left to live. Then, for the first time in his life, he falls in love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Choice (2016)
Travis and Gabby first meet as neighbors in a small coastal town and wind up in a relationship that is tested by life's most defining events.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Last Song (2010)
A drama centered on a rebellious girl who is sent to a Southern beach town for the summer to stay with her father. Through their mutual love of music, the estranged duo learn to reconnect.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Secret: Dare to Dream (2020)
A widow with three children hires a handyman to fix her house during a major storm. When not doing home repairs, he shares his philosophy of believing in the power of the universe to deliver what we want.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRestless (2011)
Two outsiders, both shaped by the circumstances that have brought them together, forge a deep and lasting love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBeastly (2011)
A modern-day take on the "Beauty and the Beast" tale where a New York teen is transformed into a hideous monster in order to find true love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHappy-Go-Lucky Days (2020)
Love is love. Someday, the pain of being in love will be an endearing memory. No matter who the feelings are towards, no matter what form it takes, all love and lifestyles have the same value. An omnibus anime tells the stories of “The wedding of an ex”, “a student and a teacher at an all-boys’ school” and “childhood friends whose bodies and hearts change with adolescence.”
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation & drama
Revolutionary Girl Utena: The Movie (1999)
In a loose retelling of the Revolutionary Girl Utena TV series, Utena Tenjou arrives at Ohtori Academy, only to be immediately swept up in a series of duels for the hand of her classmate Anthy Himemiya and the power she supposedly holds. At the same time, Utena reunites with Touga Kiryuu, a friend from her childhood who seems to know the secrets behind the duels. Utena must discover those secrets for herself, before the power that rules Ohtori claims her and her friends, new and old.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIn a Heartbeat (2017)
A closeted boy runs the risk of being outed by his own heart after it pops out of his chest to chase down the boy of his dreams.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation & romance
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisDelicious Ambiguity (2009)
Daria's uber-religious aunt has died and, out of spite, she's put liberal, lesbian Daria in charge of the funeral.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & drama
Maria Watches Over Us (2010)
Yumi Fukuzawa is an ordinary first year student at Lillian Girls' Academy. By chance Yumi meets second year student Sachiko Ogasawara, who is a candidate to become a Red Rose. Sachiko later offers her rosary to Yumi Fukuzawa which signifies she will become an older sister to Yumi. Meanwhile, Yumi, who already looks up to popular Sachiko, is perplexed why she is picked. A festival named "Cinderella" then approaches, which is run by the Yamayuri Council. Conflicts between the older and younger sisters soon begins ...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Pragma (2018)
Yoo-Hee and Joo-Yeon fell in love in high school, but their school’s persecution of gays tore them apart. When meet again years later, sparks fly.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Albino (2016)
Yashima is a woman who works as a plumber. She is also uncomfortable with her own sexuality. One day she visits a home for a job and meets Kyu. Yashima senses Kyu's eyes watching her. They become intimate, but a dark secret is soon revealed.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & drama
Goodbye, Charley (2015)
A recently deceased gay teen roams his high school halls on the day of his memorial.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & drama
Saving Face (2004)
A Chinese-American lesbian and her traditionalist mother are reluctant to go public with secret loves that clash against cultural expectations.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like this
Like The Summer and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Summer?
The closest matches to The Summer are The Best of Me (2014), Girls Like Girls (2026) and I Can't Think Straight (2008). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Summer?
Start with The Best of Me (2014), the closest match to The Summer.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Summer?
Even If This Love Disappears Tonight (2025), rated 8.5/10 by 244 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Summer?
Girls Like Girls (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Korean movies like The Summer?
Yes: 20th Century Girl (2022), ...ing (2003) and Even If This Love Disappears Tonight (2025).
How are movies similar to The Summer chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Summer, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.