Movies like Smile
The best movies like Smile are The Mambo Kings (1992), Battle of the Year (2013) and Mo' Better Blues (1990). If Smile hooked you with its drama and music, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedBattle of the Year (2013)6.8/10 from 369 votes
- NewestNot Without Hope (2025)Released 2025
The Mambo Kings (1992)
The Mambo Kings tells the story of César and Nestor Castillo, brothers and aspiring musicians who flee from Cuba to America in search of the American Dream.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBattle of the Year (2013)
A down-on-his-luck coach is hired to prepare a team of the best American dancers for an international tournament that attracts all the best crews from around the world, but the Americans haven't won in fifteen years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMo' Better Blues (1990)
Talented but self-centered trumpeter Bleek Gilliam is obsessed with his music and indecisiveness about his girlfriends Indigo and Clarke. But when he is forced to come to the aid of his manager and childhood friend, Bleek finds his world more fragile than he ever imagined.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Time for Dancing (2002)
Their love of dance, and their friendship, is challenged for two high school girls when one is diagnosed with cancer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGrace Unplugged (2013)
A talented young singer and aspiring songwriter’s Christian faith and family ties are tested when she defies her worship-pastor father and pursues pop-music stardom in GRACE UNPLUGGED, a moving and inspiring new film that explores the true meaning of success.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIron Jawed Angels (2004)
Defiant young activists take the women's suffrage movement by storm, putting their lives at risk to help American women win the right to vote.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSalt of the Earth (1954)
At New Mexico's Empire Zinc mine, Mexican-American workers protest the unsafe work conditions and unequal wages compared to their Anglo counterparts. Ramon Quintero helps organize the strike, but he is shown to be a hypocrite by treating his pregnant wife, Esperanza, with a similar unfairness. When an injunction stops the men from protesting, however, the gender roles are reversed, and women find themselves on the picket lines while the men stay at home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Mouthful of Air (2021)
Julie is a new mom and children's book author, who escapes into the bright Crayola-colored world of her creation in order to leave behind the darkness caused by her post-partum depression.
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 thisHelen (2009)
On the outside, Helen has it all – a loving family and a successful career – but when her suppressed mental illness resurfaces, the world crumbles around her. Crippled by depression, Helen finds solace through her friendship with Mathilda, a kindred spirit struggling with bipolar disorder.
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 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 thisRadium Girls (2020)
Young women toiling in a factory are exposed to hazardous material which takes a disastrous toll on their health.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVesper (2022)
After the collapse of Earth's ecosystem, Vesper, a 13-year-old girl struggling to survive with her paralyzed Father, meets a mysterious Woman with a secret that forces Vesper to use her wits, strength and bio-hacking abilities to fight for the possibility of a future.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThirteen Conversations About One Thing (2001)
In New York City, the lives of a lawyer, an actuary, a house-cleaner, a professor, and the people around them intersect as they ponder order and happiness in the face of life's cold unpredictability.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAwake (2021)
After a sudden global event wipes out all electronics and takes away humankind’s ability to sleep, chaos quickly begins to consume the world. Only Jill, an ex-soldier with a troubled past, may hold the key to a cure in the form of her own daughter. The question is, can Jill safely deliver her daughter and save the world before she herself loses her mind.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisNot Without Hope (2025)
A group of friends' fishing boat capsizes off the coast of Mexico and they're left alone stranded at sea and struggling for survival.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (2017)
An African-American woman becomes an unwitting pioneer for medical breakthroughs when her cells are used to create the first immortal human cell line in the early 1950s.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLucky Them (2013)
More interested in partying and flirting with young musicians than work, veteran rock journalist Ellie Klug has one last chance to prove her value to her magazine’s editor: a no-stone-unturned search to discover what really happened to long lost rock god, Matt Smith, who also happens to be her ex-boyfriend. Teaming up with an eccentric amateur documentary filmmaker, Ellie hits the road in search of answers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Most Hated Woman in America (2017)
The true story of Madalyn Murray O'Hair -- iconoclast, opportunist, and outspoken atheist -- from her controversial rise to her untimely demise.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Dance for Heroes (1989)
Two women rebel against the traditions of a village society.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Bloom (2021)
Can 3 young girls grow closely through the bittersweet journey of womanhood?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Young People of Ireland (2024)
A playful exploration of underground responses to social mores in 1970s Ireland, told through a day in the life of two young women.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Thy Will Be Done (2018)
Loviisa questions her place as a subordinate to her husband.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Rompe el Pasado (2024)
A young woman shares her journey of overcoming adversity after being bullied at school, recounting how she found a way to heal her emotional wounds, as well as a path to self-confidence and resilience, especially through taekwondo.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti (2025)
Many have heard of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, the legendary artist from the 70s and 80s. But some may not know that his mother Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti was also a legend in her own right, as a women's rights activist unabashedly pushing for equality in Nigeria at a time when people weren't having those conversations. "Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti" the film emerges as a new vivid exploration of Ransome-Kuti's journey. From growing up and learning about the importance of education, to her groundbreaking step in becoming the first girl to attend Abeokuta Grammar School at just 13, going to London and then becoming emboldened to return to Nigeria to step into her role as an educator and organizer.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Le Syndrome des cœurs brisés – Takotsubo (2023)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Fitting Descriptions (2024)
Stage actor Dina attempts to jump-start her failing on-camera career by standing outside a coffeehouse, asking passersby for first impressions. Humiliated, reduced to IRL comments, likes and indifference, Dina's authorial voice awakens.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Women's Things (1979)
A young sociology student has an unintended pregnancy and is subjected to the terrible humiliation of an incompetent doctor. The girl falls ill from the poorly performed abortion and is taken by a friend to the General Hospital. Film that reports clandestine abortion in Mexico, with interviews with women who have had abortions in that hospital and shocking maternal death statistics from procedures carried out under unsafe conditions.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Carnal Cravings (2006)
A sex therapist shows women how to please their mates and how to get more pleasure in return. Their male counterparts aren't quite sure about the transformations, they are unsure about the fantasies their women are bringing home. Putting lust back into the relationship becomes the priority for these beautiful couples. Along the way, they learn more about each other.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Smile?
The closest matches to Smile are The Mambo Kings (1992), Battle of the Year (2013) and Mo' Better Blues (1990). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Smile?
Start with The Mambo Kings (1992), the closest match to Smile.
What is the highest-rated movie like Smile?
Battle of the Year (2013), rated 6.8/10 by 369 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Smile?
Not Without Hope (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Smile?
Yes: The Mambo Kings (1992), Battle of the Year (2013) and Mo' Better Blues (1990).
How are movies similar to Smile chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Smile, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.