Movies like Zanuba (1956)
The best movies like Zanuba (1956) are Too Late Blues (1961), A (2017) and Taurus (2022). If Zanuba 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 ratedThe Longest Day (1962)7.6/10 from 1,070 votes
- NewestBeast (2026)Released 2026
Too 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 thisA (2017)
A young alcoholic ambient musician locks himself in his apartment on a dangerous seven day bender as he attempts to finish his upcoming album.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTaurus (2022)
A rising but troubled musician searches for the inspiration to record one last song, pushing himself deep into the void.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music
SnoozefestMovies 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 thisThe 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 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 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 thisHoneydripper (2007)
In 1950s Alabama, the owner of the Honeydripper juke joint finds his business dropping off and against his better judgment, hires a young electric guitarist in a last ditch effort to draw crowds during harvest time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music
SnoozefestMovies like thisClika (2026)
Aspiring small-town musician Chito is determined to make it big. When a clip of him performing one of his songs goes viral, he seizes the opportunity and pushes to carve out a place for himself in the new wave of Mexican-American music... and ultimately gets caught in a game more dangerous than anticipated.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisHoney: Rise Up and Dance (2018)
Street dancer Skyler comes out of the shadow of her trained dancer sister, Tosha, & joins a dance competition with the Honey dance studio; the prize is a college scholarship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Three Friends (1966)
Three friends are arrested after committing an accident with their car. After finishing their sentence, they become partners with the owner of a decoration workshop. But he deceives them and spends the money in gambling. They force him to sign a waiver of his workshop but he wants to get it back.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCairo Station (1958)
Qinawi, a physically challenged peddler who makes his living selling newspapers in the central Cairo train station, is obsessed with Hanuma, an attractive young woman who sells drinks. While she jokes with him about a possible relationship, she is actually in love with Abu Siri, a strong and respected porter at the station who is struggling to unionize his fellow workers to combat their boss' exploitative and abusive treatment.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe One That Got Away (1957)
Based on the true story of Oberleutnant Franz von Werra, the only German prisoner of war captured in Britain to escape back to Germany during the Second World War.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Good Neighbor (2022)
A nightmarish evening unfolds for neighbors David and Robert when they accidentally hit a woman on her bike and flee the scene. While David is increasingly plagued by feelings of guilt, Robert shows no remorse and becomes overbearing and possessive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Dinner with Hervé (2018)
An unlikely friendship evolves over one wild night in LA between a struggling journalist and actor Hervé Villechaize, the world's most famous gun-toting dwarf, resulting in life-changing consequences for both.
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 thisHouse of Bamboo (1955)
Eddie Kenner is given a special assignment by the Army to get the inside story on Sandy Dawson, a former GI who has formed a gang of fellow servicemen and Japanese locals.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRogue Agent (2022)
Conman Robert Freegard poses as an undercover MI5 agent and kidnaps countless victims amidst a high-stakes manhunt, until the woman who fell for him brings him to justice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBeast (2026)
MMA legend Patton James, now a commercial fisherman, is pulled back into the cage when his brother is in danger. Reuniting with his old coach Sammy, he commits to one final fight in one championship against the brutal champion Xavier Grau.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFast Girls (2012)
A street smart runner develops an intense rivalry with an equally ambitious wealthy young athlete.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Track (1970)
A successful doctor comes into conflict with his friends and family and is slowly driven towards suicide.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Cairo 30 (1966)
Mahgoub is a villager who moves to Cairo in search of a better life. When he enlists friend Salem's help to find him a job, Salem not only gets him a job at the ministry where he works but he finds him a bride as well. But the bride is the mistress of Qasem Bek, who will be visiting her once a week.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Re Fu Ge (TBA)
A story about immigrants being moved around, one leaves and one gets left behind.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Longest Day (1962)
The retelling of June 6, 1944, from the perspectives of the Germans, US, British, Canadians, and the Free French. Marshall Erwin Rommel, touring the defenses being established as part of the Reich's Atlantic Wall, notes to his officers that when the Allied invasion comes they must be stopped on the beach. "For the Allies as well as the Germans, it will be the longest day"
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlind Rain (1969)
A poetic story about the first love of boy Sanya to girl Lena.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Beginning and the End (1960)
Set in the suburbs of Cairo in the late 1930s, the story follows a middle-class Egyptian family grappling with the hardships of life after the death of their father, their sole breadwinner. The mother and her four children—three brothers and their sister, Nefisah—struggle to avoid slipping into poverty. They all go in different directions which aren't exactly good.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Eighteen Darts (Part 1) (1966)
The Eighteen Darts (Part 1) is a Chinese Opera Musical starring Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao in child roles.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Eighteen Darts (Part 2) (1966)
The Eighteen Darts (Part 2) is a Chinese Opera Musical starring Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao in child roles.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Stationed At Home (2025)
On a clear and frigid Christmas Eve in 1998, in a small, forgotten city, a solitary taxi driver on the graveyard shift breathlessly awaits the sight of the International Space Station. As the hours count down, a parade of offbeat misfits derail his plans, propelling the story to its exhilarating climax. In this poetic, hilarious and often absurd tale, complete strangers discover unexpected unity and a newfound understanding of their place among the stars.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
"Push and Pull" (2026)
An adaptation of Denzel Howard's 2025 classic, "Push and Pull". Follows 2 men having an in-depth conversation, leading to an argument that tears not just feelings apart, but also friends.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Zanuba?
The closest matches to Zanuba are Too Late Blues (1961), A (2017) and Taurus (2022). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Zanuba?
Start with Too Late Blues (1961), the closest match to Zanuba.
What is the highest-rated movie like Zanuba?
The Longest Day (1962), rated 7.6/10 by 1,070 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Zanuba?
Beast (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to Zanuba chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Zanuba, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.