Movies like Waiting Places
The best movies like Waiting Places are La La Land (2016), Carrie Fisher: Wishful Drinking (2010) and HOMECOMING: A film by Beyoncé (2019). If Waiting Places hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedHOMECOMING: A film by Beyoncé (2019)8.0/10 from 357 votes
- NewestBillie Eilish - Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D) (2026)Released 2026
La La Land (2016)
Mia, an aspiring actress, serves lattes to movie stars in between auditions and Sebastian, a jazz musician, scrapes by playing cocktail party gigs in dingy bars, but as success mounts they are faced with decisions that begin to fray the fragile fabric of their love affair, and the dreams they worked so hard to maintain in each other threaten to rip them apart.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisCarrie Fisher: Wishful Drinking (2010)
"Wishful Drinking" is based on Fisher's memoirs of the same title. The stage adaptation had its world premiere in 2006 at the Geffen Playhouse in L.A. It later played at Berkeley Repertory before opening on Broadway in October at Studio 54. The show takes audiences on a comic tour of Fisher's messy personal life and career. The actress-writer recounts stories about her work on the "Star Wars" series as well as her relationship with her parents Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds. She also discusses her much-publicized problems with alcohol and drugs.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHOMECOMING: A film by Beyoncé (2019)
This intimate, in-depth look at Beyoncé's celebrated 2018 Coachella performance reveals the emotional road from creative concept to cultural movement.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisBlue (1993)
Against a plain, unchanging blue screen, a densely interwoven soundtrack of voices, sound effects and music attempt to convey a portrait of Derek Jarman's experiences with AIDS, both literally and allegorically, together with an exploration of the meanings associated with the colour blue.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisI Believe in Unicorns (2015)
Feeling awkward and isolated, an imaginative and strong-willed teenage girl runs away from home with an older punk rock drifter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisShadows (1960)
The relationship between Lelia, a light-skinned black woman, and Tony, a white man is put in jeopardy when Tony meets Lelia’s darker-skinned jazz singer brother, Hugh, and discovers that her racial heritage is not what he thought it was.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMarina Abramović: The Artist Is Present (2012)
Performance artist Marina Abramovic prepares for a major retrospective of her work at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thisSynecdoche, New York (2008)
A theater director struggles with his work, and the women in his life, as he attempts to create a life-size replica of New York inside a warehouse as part of his new play.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thisBlue Heron (2026)
A family of six's fresh start on 1990s Vancouver Island unravels as their youngest child, Sasha, witnesses the increasingly dangerous behavior of her older brother, Jeremy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHeart of a Dog (2015)
Musician and performance artist Laurie Anderson reflects on the deaths of her husband Lou Reed, her mother and her beloved dog.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBurlesque (2010)
Ali leaves behind a troubled life and follows her dreams to Los Angeles, where she lands a job as a cocktail waitress at the Burlesque Lounge, a once-majestic theater that houses an inspired musical revue. Vowing to perform there, she makes the leap from bar to stage, helping restore the club's former glory.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIn the Realms of the Unreal (2004)
In the Realms of the Unreal is a documentary about the reclusive Chicago-based artist Henry Darger. Henry Darger was so reclusive that when he died his neighbors were surprised to find a 15,145-page manuscript along with hundreds of paintings depicting The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glodeco-Angelinnian War Storm, Cased by the Child Slave Rebellion.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Chorus Line (1985)
A group of dancers congregate on the stage of a Broadway theatre to audition for a new musical production directed by Zach. After the initial eliminations, seventeen hopefuls remain, among them Cassie, who once had a tempestuous romantic relationship with Zach. She is desperate enough for work to humble herself and audition for him; whether he's willing to let professionalism overcome his personal feelings about their past remains to be seen.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMaudie (2016)
Canadian folk artist Maud Lewis falls in love with a fishmonger while working for him as a live-in housekeeper.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlack Swan (2010)
A committed dancer struggles to maintain her sanity after winning the lead role in a production of Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake."
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies 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
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSaturday Night Fever (1977)
Tony spends his Saturdays at a disco where his stylish moves raise his popularity among the patrons. But his life outside the disco is not easy and things change when he gets attracted to Stephanie.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Waiting Places?
The closest matches to Waiting Places are La La Land (2016), Carrie Fisher: Wishful Drinking (2010) and HOMECOMING: A film by Beyoncé (2019). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Waiting Places?
Start with La La Land (2016), the closest match to Waiting Places.
What is the highest-rated movie like Waiting Places?
HOMECOMING: A film by Beyoncé (2019), rated 8.0/10 by 357 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Waiting Places?
Billie Eilish - Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D) (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Waiting Places?
Yes: La La Land (2016), Carrie Fisher: Wishful Drinking (2010) and HOMECOMING: A film by Beyoncé (2019).
How are movies similar to Waiting Places chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Waiting Places, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.