Movies like Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story (1987)
The best movies like Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story (1987) are The Tales of Hoffmann (1951), Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) and Beyond the Sea (2004). If Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story 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 ratedMichael (2026)8.6/10 from 4,724 votes
- NewestMichael (2026)Released 2026
The Tales of Hoffmann (1951)
A melancholy poet reflects on three women he loved and lost in the past: a mechanical performing doll, a Venetian courtesan, and the consumptive daughter of a celebrated composer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisYankee Doodle Dandy (1942)
A film of the life of the renowned musical composer, playwright, actor, dancer and singer George M. Cohan.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music
Worth the HypeMovies 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 drama & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLes Misérables: 25th Anniversary in Concert (2010)
This concert, recorded to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the landmark musical Les Miserables, gathers the casts of the show's 2010 original production at the Queen's Theatre, the 1985 original production by the London company, and the 2010 production at the Barbican together for one performance. Together with talents like Michael Ball, Hadley Fraser, and John Owen-Jones, the performers present the play's musical numbers in a semi-theatrical style, fully costumed and with all the emotion of the musical's heyday.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both history & music
Absolute CinemaMovies 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 & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDreamgirls (2006)
A trio of female soul singers cross over to the pop charts in the early 1960s, facing their own personal struggles along the way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Sound of Music Live! (2013)
The Sound of Music Live! is a television special that was originally broadcast by NBC on December 5, 2013. Produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, the special was an adaptation of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Broadway musical The Sound of Music, starring country singer Carrie Underwood as Maria von Trapp, performed and televised live from Grumman Studios in Bethpage, New York. Meron felt that if the telecast were successful, the concept could become "another kind of entertainment that can exist on TV." By her request, Underwood's casting as Maria was personally endorsed by Julie Andrews, who starred in the 1965 film.
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 thisTaking Sides (2002)
One of the most spectacular and renowned conductors of the 1930s, Wilhelm Furtwangler's reputation rivaled that of Toscanini's. After the war, he was investigated as part of the Allies' de-Nazification programme. In the bombed-out Berlin of the immediate post-war period, the Allies slowly bring law and order to bear on an occupied Germany. An American major is given the Furtwangler file, and is told to find everything he can and to prosecute the man ruthlessly. Tough and hard-nosed, Major Steve Arnold sets out to investigate a world of which he knows nothing.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Elephant Man (1980)
A Victorian surgeon rescues a heavily disfigured man being mistreated by his "owner" as a side-show freak. Behind his monstrous façade, there is revealed a person of great intelligence and sensitivity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisJulia (1977)
At the behest of an old and dear friend, playwright Lillian Hellman undertakes a dangerous mission to smuggle funds into Nazi Germany.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisQuiz Show (1994)
Herbert Stempel's transformation into an unexpected television personality unfolds as he secures victory on the cherished American game show, 'Twenty-One.' However, when the show introduces the highly skilled contestant Charles Van Doren to replace Stempel, it compels Stempel to let out his frustrations and call out the show as rigged. Lawyer Richard Goodwin steps in and attempts to uncover the orchestrated deception behind the scenes.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both history & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBoychoir (2015)
A troubled and angry 11-year-old orphan from a small Texas town, ends up at a Boy Choir school after the death of his single mother. Completely out of his element, he finds himself in a battle of wills with a demanding Choir Master who recognises a unique talent in this young boy as he pushes him to discover his creative heart and soul in music.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisClouds (2020)
Young musician Zach Sobiech discovers his cancer has spread, leaving him just a few months to live. With limited time, he follows his dream and makes an album, unaware that it will soon be a viral music phenomenon.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies 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 thisBarbie: Princess Adventure (2020)
With new friends in a new kingdom, Barbie learns what it means to be herself when she trades places with a royal lookalike in this musical adventure.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Current War (2018)
Electricity titans Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse compete to create a sustainable system and market it to the American people.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDavid (2025)
From the songs of his mother’s heart to the whispers of a faithful God, David’s story begins in quiet devotion. When the giant Goliath rises to terrorize a nation, a young shepherd armed with only a sling, a few stones, and unshakable faith steps forward. Pursued by power and driven by purpose, his journey tests the limits of loyalty, love, and courage—culminating in a battle not just for a crown, but for the soul of a kingdom.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisMichael (2026)
The story of Michael Jackson, one of the most influential artists the world has ever known, and his life beyond the music. His journey from the discovery of his extraordinary talent as the lead of the Jackson Five, to the visionary artist whose creative ambition fueled a relentless pursuit to become the biggest entertainer in the world, highlighting both his life off-stage and some of the most iconic performances from his early solo career.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisAugust Rush (2007)
Evan, a musically gifted orphan, runs away from his orphanage and searches New York City for his birth parents. On his journey, he's taken under the wing of the Wizard, a homeless man who lives in an abandoned theater. After discovering his talent, the Wizard gives Evan the name "August Rush" and devises a plan to profit from his talent. Little does Evan know that his parents, Lyla and Louis, are searching for him too.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHedwig and the Angry Inch (2001)
Raised a boy in East Berlin, Hedwig undergoes a personal transformation in order to emigrate to the U.S., where she reinvents herself as an 'internationally ignored' but divinely talented rock diva, inhabiting a 'beautiful gender of one'.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Adventures of Timmy the Tooth: Molar Island (1995)
Timmy dreams that he and Brushbrush win a dream vacation to Molar Island. Timmy ends up helping the locals when the ancient crown of King Cuspid has been stolen by the Gingivitis Tribe and the island will sink if the ancient crown of King Cuspid is not returned to the hole it was placed over.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
Space in the Brain (1969)
Image analysis in slow motion. Distortion and reversed reality perspective.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Eva Maria (2013)
At the beaches of Aracaju(Brazil), popsicle sellers believe in the myth of a girl dressed in white called Eva Maria.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Adventures of Timmy the Tooth: Malibu Timmy (1995)
Timmy and his friends go to the beach, but there is just one problem: Timmy cannot swim, and neither can Waxie! Timmy then imagines himself as a lifeguard, and his friends are competing in a surfing competition against the notorious cheater Goon Doggy.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
The Adventures of Timmy the Tooth: Lost My Brush (1995)
The Cavity Goon and Miss Sweety plot to capture Brushbrush in order to bait Timmy and hand him over to the Tooth Fairy.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
The Adventures of Timmy the Tooth: The Brush in the Stone (1996)
Timmy gets a case of the itchy polka dots on the day of the Flossmore Valley Fair. It's up to Mr. Wisdom to read Timmy a medieval story about the origins of the childhood disease.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
The Adventures of Timmy the Tooth: An Eye for a Tooth (1995)
Young Sidney Cyclops wants nothing more than to be the greatest paperboy in the world. Unfortunately, he cannot see. It's up to Timmy, Brushbrush and Bubbles to help Sidney.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
The Adventures of Timmy the Tooth: Rainy Day Adventure (1995)
During a rainy day, Timmy imagines that he is Captain Good Guy, and Brushbrush is his first mate. They work to save Sunny the Sun from The Cavity Goon and Miss Sweety.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
The Adventures of Timmy the Tooth: Big Mouth Gulch (1995)
Timmy reads to his friends a western story, where Sheriff Timmy deals with outlaws Goony the Kid and Miss Sweety when they come to Big Mouth Gulch.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
Like Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story?
The closest matches to Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story are The Tales of Hoffmann (1951), Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) and Beyond the Sea (2004). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story?
Start with The Tales of Hoffmann (1951), the closest match to Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story.
What is the highest-rated movie like Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story?
Michael (2026), rated 8.6/10 by 4,724 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story?
Michael (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story?
Yes: The Tales of Hoffmann (1951), Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) and Beyond the Sea (2004).
How are movies similar to Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.