Movies like Wish You Were Here (2005)
The best movies like Wish You Were Here (2005) are The Girl from the Song (2017), Lava (2015) and Purgatory (1999). If Wish You Were Here hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Wish You Were Here
Quick picks
- Highest ratedWhen Marnie Was There (2014)7.9/10 from 2,049 votes
- NewestBillie Eilish - Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D) (2026)Released 2026
- In JapaneseWhen Marnie Was There (2014)Also in Japanese
The Girl from the Song (2017)
A young musician travels to Burning Man, a psychedelic festival in the middle of the Nevada desert, in an attempt to get the impetuous girl he has fallen in love with.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLava (2015)
Inspired by the isolated beauty of tropical islands and the explosive allure of ocean volcanoes, Lava is a musical love story that takes place over millions of years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPurgatory (1999)
An outlaw band flees a posse and rides into Refuge, a small town where no one carries a gun, drinks, or swears. The town is actually Purgatory, and the peaceful inhabitants are all famous dead outlaws and criminals such as Doc Holiday and Wild Bill Hickok who must redeem themselves before gaining admittance to Heaven... or screw up and go to Hell.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAdoration (2013)
Lil and Roz are two lifelong friends, having grown up together as neighbors in an idyllic beach town. As adults, their sons have developed a friendship as strong as that which binds their mothers. One summer, all four are confronted by simmering emotions that have been mounting between them, and each find unexpected happiness in relationships that cross the bounds of convention.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFireheart (2022)
The film explores the world of firefighters in 1920s New York City and tells the story of a 16-year-old girl who will have to become a hero in order to save her city.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Fog (1980)
Strange things begin to occur as a tiny California coastal town prepares to commemorate its centenary. Inanimate objects spring eerily to life; Rev. Malone stumbles upon a dark secret about the town's founding; radio announcer Stevie witnesses a mystical fire; and hitchhiker Elizabeth discovers the mutilated corpse of a fisherman. Then a mysterious iridescent fog descends upon the village, and more people start to die.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Hot Spot (1990)
Upon arriving to a small town, a drifter quickly gets into trouble with the local authorities — and the local women — after he robs a bank.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAnima (2019)
In a short musical film directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, Thom Yorke of Radiohead stars in a mind-bending visual piece. Best played loud.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWhen Marnie Was There (2014)
Upon being sent to live with relatives in the countryside due to an illness, an emotionally distant adolescent girl becomes obsessed with an abandoned mansion and infatuated with a girl who lives there - a girl who may or may not be real.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisElemental (2023)
In a city where fire, water, land and air residents live together, a fiery young woman and a go-with-the-flow guy will discover something elemental: how much they have in common.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBeasts of the Southern Wild (2012)
Hushpuppy, an intrepid six-year-old girl, lives with her father, Wink, in 'the Bathtub', a southern Delta community at the edge of the world. Wink’s tough love prepares her for the unraveling of the universe—for a time when he’s no longer there to protect her. When Wink contracts a mysterious illness, nature flies out of whack—temperatures rise and the ice caps melt, unleashing an army of prehistoric creatures called aurochs. With the waters rising, the aurochs coming, and Wink’s health fading, Hushpuppy goes in search of her lost mother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOn Fire (2023)
Inspired by true and harrowing events, an ordinary man finds his world suddenly torn apart as devastating wildfires rip through the surrounding countryside. With precious moments ticking by, he must flee with his son and pregnant wife if they have any hope of surviving the rapid forces of mother nature.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShag (1989)
Summer of 1963. Carson is getting married to her boyfriend so her friends Melaina, Pudge and Luanne take her to Myrtle Beach for one last irresponsible weekend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBillie Eilish - Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D) (2026)
Captured during Billie Eilish's sold-out world tour, a concert experience from one of the most celebrated and successful artists of her generation, presented in immersive 3D.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisDance with Me (1998)
Young Cuban Rafael just buried his mother, and comes to Houston to meet his father John for the first time. The difficult part is that John doesn't know he is Rafael's father. John runs a dance studio, and everyone prepares for the World Open Dance championship in Las Vegas. It soon becomes clear Rafael is a very good dancer, and Ruby is the biggest hope for the studio at the championship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHow High (2001)
Jamal and Silas, two ordinary guys who smoke something magical, pass their college entrance exams with flying colors and end up at Harvard. Ivy League ways are strange but Silas and Jamal take it in a stride -- until their supply of supernatural smoke runs dry. That's when they have to start living by their wits and rely on their natural resources to make the grade.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThird Star (2010)
James and his three closest lifelong friends go on an ill-advised trip to the stunning coastal area of Barafundle Bay in West Wales. What follows is a touching and comical adventure dealing with friendship, heroism and love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisShrek's Yule Log (2010)
Inside the Shrek home, a fire blazes in the fireplace during a Christmas party. Christmas music plays in the background as Shrek, his family, and his friends, come and go while tending the fire and engaging in various Christmas activities.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMoonrise Kingdom (2012)
Set on an island off the coast of New England in the summer of 1965, Moonrise Kingdom tells the story of two twelve-year-olds who fall in love, make a secret pact, and run away together into the wilderness. As various authorities try to hunt them down, a violent storm is brewing off-shore – and the peaceful island community is turned upside down in more ways than anyone can handle.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like this
Like Wish You Were Here and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Wish You Were Here?
The closest matches to Wish You Were Here are The Girl from the Song (2017), Lava (2015) and Purgatory (1999). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Wish You Were Here?
Start with The Girl from the Song (2017), the closest match to Wish You Were Here.
What is the highest-rated movie like Wish You Were Here?
When Marnie Was There (2014), rated 7.9/10 by 2,049 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Wish You Were Here?
Billie Eilish - Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D) (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like Wish You Were Here?
Yes: When Marnie Was There (2014).
How are movies similar to Wish You Were Here chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Wish You Were Here, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.