Movies like Rainbow Around the Sun (2008)
The best movies like Rainbow Around the Sun (2008) are High Strung Free Dance (2018), I Still Believe (2020) and Star! (1968). If Rainbow Around the Sun hooked you with its music and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Rainbow Around the Sun
Quick picks
- Highest ratedPink Floyd: The Wall (1982)8.0/10 from 1,734 votes
- NewestBat Out of Hell: The Musical (2025)Released 2025
High 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 music & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisI Still Believe (2020)
The true-life story of Christian music star Jeremy Camp and his journey of love and loss that looks to prove there is always hope.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStar! (1968)
Gertrude Lawrence rises to stage stardom at the cost of happiness.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHigh Strung (2016)
When a hip hop violinist busking in the New York subway encounters a classical dancer on scholarship at the Manhattan Conservatory of the Arts, sparks fly. With the help of a hip hop dance crew they must find a common ground while preparing for a competition that could change their lives forever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLoving You (1957)
Deliveryman Deke Rivers is discovered by publicist Glenda Markle and country-western musician Tex Warner who want to promote him to fame and fortune, giving him every break he deserves. Romantic complications arise as Susan, another singer in the group, offers him devoted admiration as Glenda leads him on with promises of a golden future.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHoney 3: Dare to Dance (2016)
While attending college in Cape Town, Melea Martin feels constrained by the school's strict policies, and decides to set out on her own. Searching for a way to use her talents as a dancer and inspire the community around her, Melea rents a failing theater in order to put on a Hip-Hop Romeo and Juliet performance. But much like the Capulets and Montagues, conflicts between cast members threaten to bring the whole performance to a halt...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHello Again (2017)
Ten lost souls slip in and out of one another's arms in a daisy-chained musical exploration of love's bittersweet embrace. A film adaptation of Michael John LaChiusa's celebrated musical, originally based on Arthur Schnitzler's play, La Ronde.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisStreetDance 2 (2012)
After suffering humiliation by the crew Invincible, street dancer Ash looks to gather the best dancers from around the world for a rematch.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLove Me or Leave Me (1955)
A fictionalized account of the career of jazz singer Ruth Etting and her tempestuous marriage to gangster Marty Snyder, who helped propel her to stardom.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIt's Christmas, Eve (2018)
Interim school superintendent Eve Morgan finds herself in a tough spot when she is assigned to shut down a school's failing music program and must come to terms with her musical past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisToo Late Blues (1961)
Ghost is an ideological musician and leader of a jazz band who would rather play his blues in the park to the birds than compromise himself. His peripatetic performances lead him to cross paths with a singer, while his masculinity is thrown into question following a violent brawl.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBrigadoon (1954)
Americans Jeff and Tommy, hunting in Scotland, stumble upon a village - Brigadoon. They soon learn that the town appears once every 100 years in order to preserve its peace and special beauty. The citizens go to bed at night and when they wake up, it's 100 years later. Tommy falls in love with a beautiful young woman, Fiona, and is torn between staying or going back to his hectic life in New York.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music & romance
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 thisThe Lost Husband (2020)
Trying to put her life back together after the death of her husband, Libby and her children move to her estranged Aunt's goat farm in central Texas.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAutumn Leaves (1956)
A woman falls for a younger man with severe mental problems.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSalome (1953)
In the reign of emperor Tiberius, Gallilean prophet John the Baptist preaches against King Herod and Queen Herodias. The latter wants John dead, but Herod fears to harm him due to a prophecy. Enter beautiful Princess Salome, Herod's long-absent stepdaughter. Herodias sees the king's dawning lust for Salome as her means of bending him to her will. But Salome and her lover Claudius are–contrary to Scripture–nearing conversion to the new religion.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
SnoozefestMovies 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 thisPeter Ibbetson (1935)
When his mother dies, young Peter Ibbetson leaves Paris and his best friend, Mary, behind to live with a severe uncle in England. Years later, Peter is an architect with little time for women, until he begins a project with the Duke and Duchess of Towers. When Peter and the duchess become great friends, she reveals that she is Mary — but the duke soon suspects his wife of infidelity and challenges Peter to a duel, threatening the pair's second chance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFlamingo Road (1949)
A stranded carnival dancer takes on a corrupt political boss when she marries into small-town society.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPress Play (2022)
Laura and Harrison have the picture-perfect romance built on the foundation of a shared love of music. After a deadly accident, Laura gets the chance to save the love of her life when she discovers that their mixtape can transport her back in time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music & romance
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: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRockstar (2011)
College student Janardhan is a simpleton who desperately seeks inspiration for the musician inside him. Although heartbreak helps him reach his goal, it also leads him to self-destruction.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRomeo & Julia (2006)
Romeo & Julia is a landmark Estonian rock musical that first captured the nation's heart at its 2006 premiere. Based on William Shakespeare’s timeless tragedy, this modern reimagining transports the "star-crossed lovers" to a contemporary setting, replacing ancient swords with a clash of modern values and social classes. The story follows Romeo (a working-class youth) and Julia (the daughter of a wealthy banker) as they navigate a forbidden romance amidst a decades-long feud between their families. It is a powerful exploration of the struggle between true emotion and a material world, where a tragic end brings reconciliation only after it is too late to save the young lovers.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Jailhouse Rock (1957)
Young convict Vince Everett, serving time for manslaughter, discovers his musical talent in prison and becomes a rock and roll star after his release, navigating fame and relationships.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPink Floyd: The Wall (1982)
A troubled rock star descends into madness in the midst of his physical and social isolation from everyone.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisBat Out of Hell: The Musical (2025)
Step into the dystopian city of Obsidian, where a rebellious gang called The Lost can never grow old. At the heart of this rock opera is a fiery romance between their leader, Strat, and Raven, the sheltered daughter of the city’s tyrannical ruler, Falco—a love story as defiant as the music itself.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music & romance
Honoring a Broadway Legacy: Behind the Scenes of tick, tick...Boom! (2022)
Go deep inside the film tick, tick...BOOM! with director Lin-Manuel Miranda, actor Andrew Garfield and the rest of the film's acclaimed ensemble. The award-winning biopic tells the story of the late Tony Award®-winning legend Jonathan Larson, an artist at a crossroads desperate to tell his story.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music & drama
Tommy (1975)
After a series of traumatic childhood events, a psychosomatically deaf, dumb and blind boy becomes a master pinball player and the object of a religious cult.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPhantom of the Paradise (1974)
Singer-songwriter Winslow Leach seeks revenge on the nefarious music producer Swan, who steals both Winslow's music and his favorite singer for the grand opening of Swan's new rock palace, the Paradise.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTenacious D in The Pick of Destiny (2006)
In Venice Beach, naive Midwesterner JB bonds with local slacker KG and they form the rock band Tenacious D. Setting out to become the world's greatest band is no easy feat, so they set out to steal what could be the answer to their prayers... a magical guitar pick housed in a rock-and-roll museum some 300 miles away.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Rainbow Around the Sun?
The closest matches to Rainbow Around the Sun are High Strung Free Dance (2018), I Still Believe (2020) and Star! (1968). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Rainbow Around the Sun?
Start with High Strung Free Dance (2018), the closest match to Rainbow Around the Sun.
What is the highest-rated movie like Rainbow Around the Sun?
Pink Floyd: The Wall (1982), rated 8.0/10 by 1,734 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Rainbow Around the Sun?
Bat Out of Hell: The Musical (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Rainbow Around the Sun?
Yes: High Strung Free Dance (2018), I Still Believe (2020) and Star! (1968).
How are movies similar to Rainbow Around the Sun chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Rainbow Around the Sun, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.