Movies like Chabuca (2024)
The best movies like Chabuca (2024) are I Can't Think Straight (2008), Green Butterflies (2017) and The Object of My Affection (1998). If Chabuca hooked you with its drama and romance, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedGabriel's Inferno (2020)8.4/10 from 2,485 votes
- NewestTell Me Softly (2025)Released 2025
- In SpanishGreen Butterflies (2017)Also in Spanish
I 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 thisGreen Butterflies (2017)
Mateo is an intelligent boy who falls in love with Daniel, but when everyone reveals that relationship, Mateo is at a crossroads, and he will have to decide between fighting his adversities or giving up everything, even his life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thisBehind the Candelabra (2013)
Based on the autobiographical novel, the tempestuous 6-year relationship between Liberace and his (much younger) lover, Scott Thorson, is recounted.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIn the Grayscale (2015)
Bruno is an architect who has a perfect life: A nice family and a good job. Anyway, Bruno has a deep sense of unease. He decides to leave his wife to be alone and have time to find him self. A business man offers him to build an iconic landmark in Santiago city. Motivated by this professional challenge, Bruno feels he can find a twist in his life by a vocational route. He start working with a young history teacher named Fer who is agile, energetic, captivating and gay. Starts between them an unexpected and intense romance. At this point he must decide his path. The biggest learning: simplicity is the best way to get up again.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Firefly (2013)
After her estranged brother's sudden death, young wife Lucia bonds with his fiancée through their shared grief and finds herself falling in love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Policeman (2022)
In the late 1990s, the arrival of elderly invalid Patrick into Marion and Tom’s home triggers the exploration of seismic events from 40 years previous: the passionate relationship between Tom and Patrick at a time when homosexuality was illegal.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCamp Belvidere (2014)
Camp Belvidere is a lesbian romance set in the 1950s about the coming of age of Camp Leader Rose and her forbidden encounter with Nurse Gin. It depicts the journey and evolution of a friendship into a romance between two women when their rapport would have been unlikely.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
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 thisThe Heart Knows (2025)
After a heart transplant, Manuel feels a personality shift and explores his donor's life, leading him to meet the widowed Vale and her community.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHigh Strung Free Dance (2018)
Zander Raines, a dazzling and tempestuous young choreographer, gives the break of a lifetime to two hopeful artists when he casts a stunning contemporary dancer, Barlow, and innovative pianist, Charlie, in New York’s most-anticipated new Broadway show: Free Dance. But the move throws off the show’s delicate creative balance when Charlie falls hard for Barlow, while Zander embraces her as his muse.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFemme (2023)
Jules is a drag artist in London who withdraws into himself and loses his career after a horrific attack. Months later, he recognizes one of his assailants in a gay sauna and quickly realizes he has the perfect opportunity to get revenge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCarmen & Lola (2018)
Carmen is a gypsy teenager, destined to live a life that is repeated every generation: getting married and raising as many children as possible. But one day she meets Lola, an uncommon gypsy who dreams about going to university, does graffiti and is very different. Carmen quickly develops a complicity with Lola and discovers a world that, inevitably, leads them to be rejected by their families.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDesire (2017)
Lucía and Ofelia, two sisters, finally meet after 7 years of cold relationships upon Lucia 's wedding. But when Juan, Lucia's husband, and Ofelia meet, they feel like a disruptive fantasy have enchanted their minds and bodies...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTell Me Softly (2025)
Kamila has everything under control: studies, social life, her image... Everything except the unexpected return of her neighbors, the Di Bianco brothers, after seven years of absence. Thiago stole her first kiss, and Taylor was her best friend, but now their return will turn Kami's world upside down. Can the three overcome the past that binds them? Or will everything explode into pieces once again?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisYou Can Live Forever (2023)
When Jaime, a gay teenager, is sent to live in a community of Jehovah's Witnesses in small-town Quebec, she falls madly in love with a devout Witness girl. The two embark on an intense affair with consequences that will reshape the rest of their lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGabriel's Inferno (2020)
An intriguing and sinful exploration of seduction, forbidden love, and redemption, Gabriel's Inferno is a captivating and wildly passionate tale of one man's escape from his own personal hell as he tries to earn the impossible--forgiveness and love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisMemories of a Teenager (2019)
After the suicide of his best friend and the fire of a local dance called Cromañón, including recitals, illegal parties in an abandoned warehouse and high school, a year passes by in the life of Zabo who writes everything he feels and lives in his blog, "Memories of a teenager".
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisMidnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997)
A visiting city reporter's assignment suddenly revolves around the murder trial of a local millionaire, whom he befriends.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisViva (2015)
When his estranged father returns, a hairdresser is forced to quit performing at the local drag club.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBoys On Film 16: Possession (2017)
Golden boys, teen lust, self-conscious dolls, chance encounters, a vengeful creature, holiday romance, hidden sexuality — Boys On Film celebrates it's (not so) sweet sixteen with an astonishing selection of the latest international gay short films. Volume 16: Possession features ten complete films: Kai Stänicke's "Golden" with Christian Tesch and Maximilian Gehrlinger; Christopher Manning's "Jamie" starring Sebastian Christophers and Raphael Verrion; Kai Stänicke's "B." starring Susanne Bormann and Andreas Jähnert; Blake Mawson's "PYOTR495" starring Alex Ozerov; Charlie Francis's "When A Man Loves A Woman" starring Tommy Jay Brennan, Jemima Spence, and Diane Brooks Webster; Anthony Schatteman's "Follow Me" starring Ezra Fieremans and Maarten Ketels; Jake Graf's "Chance" starring 'ABS' and Clifford Hume; Andrew Keenan-Bolger's "Sign" starring John McGinty and Preston Sadleir; Oliver Mason's "Away With Me" starring Chris Polick and Lee Knight; and "We Could Be Parents" by Björn Elgerd.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & drama
Like Love (2014)
An offbeat love story about campus life around the An Zi Yan and Mai Ding who start military training as college acquaintances, Mai Ding was the one who made the first move to An Zi Yan, they have a good relationship and gradually felt sparks. After their relationship strengthens, their relationship is obstructed by their family and friends, like An Zi Yan’s sister Ansul who has a difficult attitude. An Zi Yan secretly asks help from his ex-girlfriend Bai Xiao Si. Based off the best-selling novel of the same name by Angelina.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Adiós, Roberto (1985)
Roberto separates from his wife and needs a place to stay. When he moves in with gay Marcelo, he is clueless about Marcello's sexuality and the two become close friends. One night after many drinks Roberto has sex with Marcelo and must confront his feelings and the potential ridicule of his family.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & drama
Drifting (1981)
Guttman's best short film, Afflicted tells the story of a young, closeted Israeli man who visits a drag bar one night in search of sexual expression.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
The Teacher (2019)
When the 26-year-old Civics teacher, Kevin, openly voices his stance on marriage equality at school, he stirs up a storm. His being madly in love with an HIV positive man doesn't sit well with all the people around him. When a rumour breaks out about his HIV status, he is forced to make choices no one should have to.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Savage Fire (2017)
In the city of Cajamar, in the middle of ruined nature, lonely characters deal with the police, rodeos and mysterious fires.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Parmanu: The Story of Pokhran (2018)
A look at India's second confidential nuclear test series at Pokhran lead by Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, during the time of PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee's tenure.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Dark Horse (2014)
One-time Maori speed-chess champ, Genesis Potini, lives with a bi-polar disorder and must overcome prejudice and violence in the battle to save his struggling chess club, his family and ultimately, himself.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLilya 4-ever (2002)
In a struggling post-Soviet community, Lilya a teenage girl is abandoned when her mother moves to the United States with her boyfriend. Facing neglect and poverty, she meets Andrei, who offers her a job in Sweden, giving her hope for a better life — and a journey that will change everything.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOi! Warning (1999)
A young man gets caught up in a conflict between his friends, a skinhead and a gay anarchist.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Chabuca?
The closest matches to Chabuca are I Can't Think Straight (2008), Green Butterflies (2017) and The Object of My Affection (1998). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Chabuca?
Start with I Can't Think Straight (2008), the closest match to Chabuca.
What is the highest-rated movie like Chabuca?
Gabriel's Inferno (2020), rated 8.4/10 by 2,485 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Chabuca?
Tell Me Softly (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Spanish movies like Chabuca?
Yes: Green Butterflies (2017), In the Grayscale (2015) and The Firefly (2013).
How are movies similar to Chabuca chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Chabuca, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.