Movies like Porgy and Bess (2002)
The best movies like Porgy and Bess (2002) are Annie (1999), Sarafina! (1992) and Newsies (2017). If Porgy and Bess hooked you with its music, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Porgy and Bess
Quick picks
- Highest ratedInterstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem (2003)7.8/10 from 548 votes
- NewestBack to Black (2024)Released 2024
Annie (1999)
Things seem pretty bad for a young girl living a "hard-knock life" in an orphanage. Fed up with the dastardly Miss Hannigan, Annie escapes the run-down orphanage determined to find her mom and dad. It's an adventure that takes her from the cold, mean streets of New York to the warm, comforting arms of bighearted billionaire Oliver Warbucks - with plenty of mischief and music in between.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSarafina! (1992)
A Soweto schoolgirl named Sarafina is galvanized to protest apartheid after her teacher is arrested for her activism, leading her to join the student resistance movement.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNewsies (2017)
A week in the life of the exploited, child newspaper sellers in turn-of-the-century New York. When their publisher, Joseph Pulitzer, tries to squeeze a little more profit out of their labours, they organize a strike, only to be confronted with the Pulitzer's hard-ball tactics.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisTom Sawyer (1973)
Tom Sawyer and his pal Huckleberry Finn have great adventures on the Mississippi River, pretending to be pirates, attending their own funeral, and witnessing a murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTender Mercies (1983)
Alcoholic former country singer Mac Sledge makes friends with a young widow and her son. The friendship enables him to find inspiration to resume his career.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHonkytonk Man (1982)
During the Great Depression, a young boy leaves his family's Oklahoma farm to travel with his country musician uncle who is trying out for the Grand Ole Opry.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisReefer Madness: The Movie Musical (2006)
From an ominous Lecturer, a small 1930s middle American community learns of the Harper Affair, in which young Jimmy Harper finds his life of promise turn into a life of debauchery and murder thanks to the new drug menace marijuana. Along the way, he receives help from his girlfriend Mary and Jesus Himself, but always finds himself in the arms of the Reefer Man and the rest of the denizens of the Reefer Den.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBack to Black (2024)
The extraordinary story of Amy Winehouse’s early rise to fame from her early days in Camden through the making of her groundbreaking album, Back to Black that catapulted Winehouse to global fame. Told through Amy’s eyes and inspired by her deeply personal lyrics, the film explores and embraces the many layers of the iconic artist and the tumultuous love story at the center of one of the most legendary albums of all time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSummer Magic (1963)
Mother Carey, a Bostonian widow, and her three children move to Maine. Postmaster Osh Popham helps them move into a run-down old house and fixes it up for them. It's not entirely uninhabited, though; the owner, Mr. Hamilton, is a mysterious character away in Europe, but Osh assures them he won't mind their living there, since he won't be coming home for a long time yet. The children and a cousin who comes to live with them have various adventures before an unexpected visitor shows up
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAnimal Crackers (1930)
The well-known explorer and hunter Captain Spaulding has just returned from Africa, and is being welcomed home with a lavish party at the estate of influential society matron Mrs. Rittenhouse when a valuable painting goes missing. The intrepid Captain Spaulding attempts to solve the crime with the help of his silly secretary Horatio Jamison, while sparring with the anarchic Signor Emanuel Ravelli and his nutty sidekick The Professor.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRock of Ages (2012)
A small town girl and a city boy meet on the Sunset Strip, while pursuing their Hollywood dreams.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBeyond the Sea (2004)
Based on the life and career of legendary entertainer, Bobby Darin, the biopic moves back and forth between his childhood and adulthood, to tell the tale of his life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJudy (2019)
Thirty years after starring in 'The Wizard of Oz', beloved actress and singer Judy Garland arrives in London to perform sold-out shows at the Talk of the Town nightclub. While there, she reminisces with friends and fans and begins a whirlwind romance with musician Mickey Deans, her soon-to-be fifth husband.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSouth Pacific (1958)
Can a girl from Little Rock find happiness with a mature French planter she got to know one enchanted evening away from the military hospital where she is a nurse? Or should she just wash that man out of her hair? Bloody Mary is the philosopher of the island and it's hard to believe she could be the mother of Liat who has captured the heart of Lt. Joseph Cable USMC. While waiting for action in the war in the South Pacific, sailors and nurses put on a musical comedy show. The war gets closer and the saga of Nellie Forbush and Emile de Becque becomes serious drama.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBetter Nate Than Ever (2022)
13-year-old Nate Foster has big Broadway dreams but there’s only one problem — he can’t even land a part in the school play. When his parents leave town, Nate and his best friend Libby sneak off to the Big Apple for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to prove everyone wrong. A chance encounter with Nate’s long-lost Aunt Heidi turns his journey upside-down, and together they must learn that life’s greatest adventures are only as big as your dreams.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKiss Me Kate (1953)
A pair of divorced actors are brought together to participate in a musical version of The Taming of the Shrew. Of course, the couple seem to act a great deal like the characters they play, and they must work together when mistaken identities get them mixed up with the mafia.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCamelot (1967)
The plot of his illegitimate son Mordred to gain the throne, and Guinevere's growing attachment to Sir Lancelot, threatens to topple King Arthur and destroy his "round table" of knights.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Doors (1991)
The story of the famous and influential 1960s rock band and its lead singer and composer, Jim Morrison.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisI Saw the Light (2016)
Singer and songwriter Hank Williams rises to fame in the 1940s, but alcohol abuse and infidelity take a toll on his career and marriage to fellow musician Audrey Mae Williams.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
A retelling of the classic Dickens tale of Ebenezer Scrooge, miser extraordinaire. He is held accountable for his dastardly ways during nighttime visitations by the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Light in the Piazza: Live from Lincoln Center (2006)
In the summer of 1953, Margaret Johnson, the wife of an American businessman, is touring Italy with her daughter, Clara. While sightseeing, Clara—a beautiful, surprisingly childish young woman—loses her hat in a sudden gust. As if guided by an unseen hand, the hat lands at the feet of Fabrizio Naccarelli, a handsome Florentine, who returns it to Clara. This brief episode, charged with coincidence and fate, sparks an immediate and intense romance between Clara and Fabrizio. Margaret, extremely protective of her daughter, attempts to keep Clara and Fabrizio apart.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
Disney Hall of Villains (2019)
Superstar host Meg Donnelly takes you on a journey down a haunted hallway where behind every door awaits a villain-tastic surprise!
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
Madonna: Truth or Dare (1991)
From the rains of Japan, through threats of arrest for 'public indecency' in Canada, and a birthday tribute to her father in Detroit, this documentary follows Madonna on her 1990 'Blond Ambition' concert tour. Filmed in black and white, with the concert pieces in glittering MTV color, it is an intimate look at the work of the icon, from a prayer circle before each performance to bed games with the dance troupe afterwards.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies 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: Similar story and style · both music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Harmonists (1997)
Comedian Harmonists tells the story of a famous, German male sextet, five vocals and piano, the "Comedian Harmonists", from the day they meet first in 1927 to the day in 1934, when they become banned by the upcoming Nazis, because three of them are Jewish.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBrian Wilson - Live at Baloise Session (2016)
50 years after the release of the Pet Sounds album with the Beach Boys, this is Brian Wilson at la Baloise Session.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
Bulimia: The Musical (2014)
BULIMIA: THE MUSICAL follows a young girl's journey from first vomit to last breath, in fifteen minutes of laugh-out-loud, puke-your-guts-out song and dance, all wrapped up with a positive message.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
Musical Session (1987)
A story about how children from the different countries can be united with the help of music.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem (2003)
Four talented alien musicians are kidnapped by a record producer who disguises them as humans. Shep, a space pilot in love with bass player Stella, follows them to Earth. Reprogrammed to forget their real identities and renamed The Crescendolls, the group quickly becomes a huge success playing soulless corporate pop. At a concert, Shep manages to free all the musicians except Stella, and the band sets out to rediscover who they really are — and to rescue Stella.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKAJ: Pjäs eller Pjas (2014)
The Ostrobothnian humour group KAJ's music and humour have been very popular in recent years. Here we go back to the spring of 2014 when their performance "Pjäs eller Pjas" drew full houses at Wasa Teater.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
Like Porgy and Bess and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Porgy and Bess?
The closest matches to Porgy and Bess are Annie (1999), Sarafina! (1992) and Newsies (2017). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Porgy and Bess?
Start with Annie (1999), the closest match to Porgy and Bess.
What is the highest-rated movie like Porgy and Bess?
Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem (2003), rated 7.8/10 by 548 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Porgy and Bess?
Back to Black (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Porgy and Bess?
Yes: Annie (1999), Sarafina! (1992) and Newsies (2017).
How are movies similar to Porgy and Bess chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Porgy and Bess, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.