Movies like A Summer Story (2026)
The best movies like A Summer Story (2026) are The Map of Tiny Perfect Things (2021), June and John (2025) and Paradise (1982). If A Summer Story hooked you with its romance, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedGabriel's Rapture: Part I (2021)7.8/10 from 200 votes
- NewestBaby Udon (2026)Released 2026
The Map of Tiny Perfect Things (2021)
Two teenagers trapped in an endless time loop set out to find all the tiny things that make that one day perfect.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJune and John (2025)
John leads an ordinary life with a monotonous routine. One day John runs into a woman on the subway who is as beautiful as she is mysterious named June. His encounter with her finally leads him to have a goal in his bumptious life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisParadise (1982)
After their caravan is attacked and their respective families butchered by Arab marauders, teenagers David and Sarah flee across the desert. But the desert is filled with danger from the elements, animals and the unwholesome appetite of the Jackal, a sheik who wants Sarah for himself. However, the desert also holds temptation and love. David and Sarah hide out in an oasis and build a life for themselves, discovering each other in new ways.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAttraction (2001)
A writer/radio advice show host fails to heed his own advice as he stalks his ex-girlfriend and then becomes involved with an actress friend of hers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGabriel's Rapture: Part III (2022)
In the sixth installment of the Gabriel's Inferno series, Julia deals with the aftermath of Gabriel's departure, while Gabriel goes on a journey of self-discovery. Will they reunite and be able to repair what is broken?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisTurkey Drop (2019)
Lucy Jacobs, a freshman university student, returns home to her small town for Thanksgiving break and suspects she's about to get turkey dropped— aka dumped by her high school sweetheart. To avoid a Turkey Day travesty, Lucy gets out of her comfort zone, proving she's not the same play-it-safe girl she once was.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance
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 · both romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTrue Romance (1993)
Clarence marries hooker Alabama, steals cocaine from her pimp, and tries to sell it in Hollywood, while the owners of the coke try to reclaim it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisX (2011)
A veteran call girl and a runaway prostitute witness a murder which sends them on an out-of-control roller coaster ride through the twilight zone of sex-for-sale.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFrequencies (2013)
The story of the forbidden relationship between a 'low born' boy and a 'high born' girl in an alternate reality where every person's relationships and life worth are determined by their innate 'frequencies'.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEscobar: Paradise Lost (2014)
For Pablo Escobar family is everything. When young surfer Nick falls for Escobar's niece, Maria, he finds his life on the line when he's pulled into the dangerous world of the family business.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOut of the Blue (2022)
After spending time in prison following an assault charge, Connor Bates now works in a library and spends his free time running, swimming, and trying to piece his world back together. When he meets Marilyn Chambers, the wife of a wealthy businessman, they collide into an intense physical and emotional relationship that quickly escalates into idle talk about her husband’s murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance
SnoozefestMovies like thisWild at Heart (1990)
Young lovers Sailor and Lula hit the road to start a new life together away from the wrath of Lula’s deranged, disapproving mother, who has hired a team of hitmen to cut the lovers’ surreal honeymoon short.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGabriel's Rapture: Part I (2021)
In the fourth instalment of the Gabriel's Inferno series, Professor Gabriel Emerson has embarked on a passionate, yet clandestine affair with his former student Julia Mitchell, but when they return from their romantic holiday in Italy, their happiness is threatened. Will Gabriel succumb to Dante's fate?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDead Again (1991)
In 1949, composer Roman Strauss is executed for the murder of his wife. In 1990s Los Angeles, a detective comes across a mute amnesiac woman who is somehow linked to the Strauss murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHarmony (2018)
Born with an energetic power to absorb fear from others, a young woman must find love to balance the fears of her own and fight an ever growing storm of negative energy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like this5lbs of Pressure (2024)
Fresh out of prison after serving time for murder, Adam returns to his old stomping grounds to seek out a son who doesn't know him. Eli, the brother of the man he killed is looking for revenge. Mike, is trying to escape a life of crime living under the thumb of his gangster Uncle.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShuffle (2012)
Lovell Milo is a man who begins experiencing his life out of order; every day he wakes up at a different age, on a different day of his life, never knowing where or when he’s going to be once he falls asleep. He’s terrified and wants it to stop - until he notices a pattern in his experience, and works to uncover why this is happening to him - and what or who is behind it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Rainmaker (1956)
Lizzie Curry is on the verge of becoming a hopeless old maid. Her wit and intelligence and skills as a homemaker can't make up for the fact that she's just plain plain! Even the town sheriff, File, for whom she harbors a secrect yen, won't take a chance --- until the town suffers a drought and into the lives of Lizzie and her brothers and father comes one Bill Starbuck ... profession: Rainmaker!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCold Mountain (2003)
In this classic story of love and devotion set against the backdrop of the American Civil War, a wounded Confederate soldier named W.P. Inman deserts his unit and travels across the South, aiming to return to his young wife, Ada, who he left behind to tend their farm. As Inman makes his perilous journey home, Ada struggles to keep their home intact with the assistance of Ruby, a mysterious drifter sent to help her by a kindly neighbor.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAs It Is in Heaven (2004)
A musical romantic tragedy about a famous composer who moves back to his small hometown after having had heart troubles. His search for a simple everyday life leads him into teaching the local church choir, which is not easily accepted by the town yet the choir builds a great love for their teacher.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHead-On (2004)
With the intention to break free from the strict familial restrictions, a suicidal young woman sets up a marriage of convenience with a forty-year-old addict, an act that will lead to an outburst of envious love.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTabu: A Story of the South Seas (1931)
On the South Pacific island of Bora Bora, a young couple's love is threatened when the tribal chief declares the girl a sacred virgin.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
Worth the HypeMovies like this50 First Dates (2004)
Henry is a player skilled at seducing women. But when this veterinarian meets Lucy, a girl with a quirky problem when it comes to total recall, he realizes it's possible to fall in love all over again…and again, and again. That's because the delightful Lucy has no short-term memory, so Henry must woo her day after day until he finally sweeps her off her feet.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVanilla Sky (2001)
David Aames has it all: wealth, good looks and gorgeous women on his arm. But just as he begins falling for the warmhearted Sofia, his face is horribly disfigured in a car accident. That's just the beginning of his troubles as the lines between illusion and reality, between life and death, are blurred.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDon Juan DeMarco (1994)
John Arnold DeMarco is a man who believes he is Don Juan, the greatest lover in the world. Clad in a cape and mask, DeMarco undergoes psychiatric treatment with Dr. Jack Mickler to cure him of his apparent delusion. But the psychiatric sessions have an unexpected effect on the psychiatric staff and, most profoundly, Dr Mickler, who rekindles the romance in his complacent marriage.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAsk the Dust (2006)
Mexican beauty Camilla hopes to rise above her station by marrying a wealthy American. That is complicated by meeting Arturo Bandini, a first-generation Italian hoping to land a writing career and a blue-eyed blonde on his arm.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
SnoozefestMovies like thisBaby Udon (2026)
Fanny Kondoh, a young Indonesian woman, falls in love with Hajime Kondoh, a Japanese man who comes to Indonesia for work. After getting married, Fanny and Hajime begin building a life together, embracing both its joys and challenges. As they struggle to fulfill their dream of having a child, they are faced with one heartbreaking trial after another, testing the strength of their love, especially when Hajime is diagnosed with cancer.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
Say Anything... (1989)
Average student and eternal optimist Lloyd Dobler seeks to capture the heart of Diane Court, a beautiful but unattainable valedictorian classmate. He surprises just about everyone - including himself - when she returns the sentiment. However, Diane's divorced, over-protective father soon begins to disapprove of the match, and Lloyd realises that it's going to take more than just the power of love to conquer all.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLucid Love (2024)
Juno, an ordinary man, always feels insecure because he has a beautiful girlfriend, while Trish, a beautiful woman, is always played by men. They never expected to meet in a place full of wonders, a place that would determine their love lives, in a lucid dream.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like A Summer Story?
The closest matches to A Summer Story are The Map of Tiny Perfect Things (2021), June and John (2025) and Paradise (1982). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after A Summer Story?
Start with The Map of Tiny Perfect Things (2021), the closest match to A Summer Story.
What is the highest-rated movie like A Summer Story?
Gabriel's Rapture: Part I (2021), rated 7.8/10 by 200 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like A Summer Story?
Baby Udon (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to A Summer Story chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside A Summer Story, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.