Movies like A Magician's Misfortunes (2025)
The best movies like A Magician's Misfortunes (2025) are City Lights (1931), The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum (1939) and Knightriders (1981). If A Magician's Misfortunes hooked you, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedCity Lights (1931)8.3/10 from 2,593 votes
- NewestBalhae Blurred in Rain (2026)Released 2026
- In JapaneseThe Story of the Last Chrysanthemum (1939)Also in Japanese
City Lights (1931)
A tramp falls in love with a beautiful blind flower girl. His on-and-off friendship with a wealthy man allows him to be the girl's benefactor and suitor.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Story of the Last Chrysanthemum (1939)
In late 19th-century Tokyo, Kikunosuke Onoue, the adopted son of a legendary actor, himself an actor specializing in female roles, discovers that the praise he receives is only due to his status as his father's heir. Devastated, he turns to Otoku, a servant of his family, for comfort, and they fall in love. Kikunosuke becomes determined to leave home and develop as an actor on his own merits, and Otoku faithfully joins him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKnightriders (1981)
A medieval reenactment troupe struggles to maintain its family-like dynamic amid pressure from local authorities, interest from talent agents, and their so-called king's delusions of grandeur.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Court Jester (1955)
A hapless carnival performer masquerades as the court jester as part of a plot against a usurper who has overthrown the rightful king of England.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Colors Within (2024)
Totsuko is a high school student with the ability to see the 'colors' of others. Colors of bliss, excitement, and serenity, plus a color she treasures as her favorite. Kimi, a classmate at her school, gives off the most beautiful color of all. Although she doesn't play an instrument, Totsuko forms a band with Kimi and Rui, a quiet music enthusiast they meet at a used bookstore in a far corner of town. As they practice at an old church on a remote island, music brings them together, forming friendships and stirring affections.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFreaks (1932)
A circus' beautiful trapeze artist agrees to marry the leader of side-show performers, but his deformed friends discover she is only marrying him for his inheritance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMagic in the Moonlight (2014)
Set in the 1920s French Riviera, a master magician is commissioned to try and expose a psychic as a fraud.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMrs. Henderson Presents (2005)
Recently widowed well-to-do Laura Henderson purchases the Windmill Theatre in London as a post-widowhood hobby. After starting an innovative continuous variety review, which is copied by other theaters, they begin to lose money. Mrs Henderson suggests they add risqué burlesque acts similar to the Moulin Rouge in Paris.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Fair Lady (1964)
A snobbish phonetics professor agrees to a wager that he can take a flower girl and make her presentable in high society.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Cinderella Story: If the Shoe Fits (2016)
A contemporary musical version of the classic Cinderella story in which the servant step daughter hope to compete in a musical competition for a famous pop star.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLili (1953)
Members of a circus troupe "adopt" Lili Daurier when she finds herself stranded in a strange town. The magician who first comes to her rescue already has romantic entanglements and thinks of her as a little girl. Who can she turn to but the puppets, singing to them her troubles, forgetting that there are puppeteers? A crowd gathers around Lili as she sings. The circus has a new act. She now has a job. Will she get her heart's desire?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSomewhere in Time (1980)
Young writer Richard Collier is met on the opening night of his first play by an old lady who begs him to "Come back to me". Mystified, he tries to find out about her, and learns that she is a famous stage actress from the early twentieth century. Becoming more and more obsessed with her, by self-hypnosis he manages to travel back in time—where he meets her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Greatest Show on Earth (1952)
To ensure a full profitable season, circus manager Brad Braden engages The Great Sebastian, though this moves his girlfriend Holly from her hard-won center trapeze spot. Holly and Sebastian begin a dangerous one-upmanship duel in the ring, while he pursues her on the ground.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisArlo the Alligator Boy (2021)
Upon learning that he is from New York City, a wide-eyed boy, who is half human and half alligator, decides to leave his sheltered life in the swamp and search for his long lost father. A musical adventure.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlue Giant (2023)
High school student Dai Miyamoto has his life is turned upside down the day he discovers jazz. Picking up a saxophone and leaving his sleepy hometown for the bustling nightclubs of Tokyo, Dai will find that the life of a professional musician isn’t for the faint of heart, as he must confront what it truly means to be great.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAvanti! (1972)
A successful businessman travels to Italy to arrange for the return of his tycoon father's body, only to learn that dear old dad died with his longtime mistress.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAnother Cinderella Story (2008)
A guy who danced with what could be the girl of his dreams at a costume ball only has one hint at her identity: the Zune she left behind as she rushed home in order to make her curfew. And with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in front of him, he sets out to find his masked beauty.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisI Was Born, But... (1932)
Brothers Keiji and Ryoichi move to a new neighborhood in the Tokyo suburbs after their father, an office clerk, is promoted. The boys join the local gang as lowly new kids and emerge as natural leaders after defeating a bully. While visiting the home of their father's boss, the brothers witness the ridicule their father endures to please his superior. Angry and embarrassed, the boys find their naive ideas about power being challenged.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEnter the Void (2010)
This psychedelic tour of life after death is seen entirely from the point of view of Oscar, a young American drug dealer and addict living in Tokyo with his prostitute sister, Linda. When Oscar is killed by police during a bust gone bad, his spirit journeys from the past -- where he sees his parents before their deaths -- to the present -- where he witnesses his own autopsy -- and then to the future, where he looks out for his sister from beyond the grave.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLove Like the Falling Petals (2022)
Haruto Asakura falls in love with hairdresser Misaki Ariake and asks her out. Watching Misaki Ariake work hard to achieve what she wants, Haruto Asakura, who almost gave up his dream to become a photographer, begins to pursue his dream again, but Misaki Ariake is diagnosed with a disease that ages her 10x faster than normal.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisOath of the Midnight Sun - Gustav III: A Battle by a Proud King (2015)
In the midst of Sweden's rise to power, King Gustav III was the "darling of the rococo" who brought to flower the gorgeous Nordic culture. Set in the turbulent 18th century Europe, where power and intrigue swirled around him, this musical depicts his love, friendship, and courageous battle for his beliefs on a grand scale, involving a variety of characters.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Embraced by the Seas of Calista (2015)
Set on the fictional Mediterranean island of Callista on the eve of the outbreak of the French Revolution, the play depicts the struggles of a young officer who is torn between love, friendship, and his love for his homeland.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
The Rose of Versailles -Fersen and Marie Antoinette- (2014)
Based on the manga The Rose of Versailles by Ikeda Riyoko.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Lupin the Third: Search for the Queen's Necklace! (2015)
Musical by the Takarazuka Revue. In modern day France, an exhibition is being held at the Palace of Versailles of the "Necklace of Marie Antoinette". The necklace had been used in a fraud case that marked a chapter in French history and later went missing. It has been reproduced using real diamonds. Fujiko has sneaked into Versailles, as has the gang of Lupin, Goemon, and Jigen - all with the intention of getting their hands on the necklace, which is valued at over 3 billion yen in today's money. But they bump into Inspector Zenigata. Lupin is the one who manages to foil Zenigata and grab the necklace. Yet the instant he lays hands on it, everyone is enveloped in a mysterious light. When they regain consciousness, they notice they have gone through a time slip to 1785, before the French Revolution when Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were around.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Balhae Blurred in Rain (2026)
Based on the life of Dae Inseon, the last king of Balhae.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Phoenix Wright 2 -The Truth Reborn, Again… (2009)
A continuation of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, which ran from February to March of this year at Bow Hall and Nippon Seinenkan. Based on the game "Phoenix Wright" which is highly popular with women — the story of a passionate lawyer who solves difficult cases, set in America. Phoenix Wright has proved the innocence of his lover, who was suspected of murdering a senator, and won back her love. As he must wait for her return, he goes back to his hometown in California. One day, a young girl comes to see him. She wants him to represent her mother, who is suspected of being involved in a certain incident. In California, a new turnabout drama for Phoenix Wright begins...
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Elisabeth (1997)
Takarazuka Revue Star Troupe 1996-1997 production of the Viennese musical 'Elisabeth'
Why it matches: Similar story and style
The Scarlet Pimpernel (2010)
Takarazuka Revue Moon Troupe 2010 production based on Baroness Orczy's novel 'The Scarlet Pimpernel'
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Phantom (2004)
Takarazuka Revue's Phantom based on the play by Maury Yeston and Arthur Kopit.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
The Yagyu Ninja Scrolls (2021)
Futaro Yamada’s novel “The Yagyu Ninja Scrolls” is a historical epic that masterfully weaves fiction into fact: Takarazuka will take on the challenge of adapting this work for the stage for the very first time.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like A Magician's Misfortunes?
The closest matches to A Magician's Misfortunes are City Lights (1931), The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum (1939) and Knightriders (1981). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after A Magician's Misfortunes?
Start with City Lights (1931), the closest match to A Magician's Misfortunes.
What is the highest-rated movie like A Magician's Misfortunes?
City Lights (1931), rated 8.3/10 by 2,593 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like A Magician's Misfortunes?
Balhae Blurred in Rain (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like A Magician's Misfortunes?
Yes: The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum (1939), The Colors Within (2024) and Blue Giant (2023).
How are movies similar to A Magician's Misfortunes chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside A Magician's Misfortunes, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.