Movies like Studio Time
The best movies like Studio Time are Whiplash (2014), Whiplash (2013) and Too Late Blues (1961). If Studio Time 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 ratedWhiplash (2014)8.4/10 from 17,385 votes
- NewestMexicali (2026)Released 2026
Whiplash (2014)
Under the direction of a ruthless instructor, a talented young drummer begins to pursue perfection at any cost, even his humanity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisWhiplash (2013)
A ferocious, bullying music teacher teaches a dedicated student.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thisFoxtrot Six (2019)
Escalating climate change is turning the world economy upside down. With crops dying and food price spiking, FOOD has replaced oil as the world's most valuable commodity. Among the very few lands still left fertile, Indonesia is quickly rising as the next economic superpower, when its government is suddenly and ruthlessly overtaken by a popular rogue political party. In just three days, six former Marines must work together, find their long-lost brotherhood, stop a nationwide government- sanctioned genocide, and save millions of lives, for one last shot at redemption. Or die trying.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTaurus (2022)
A rising but troubled musician searches for the inspiration to record one last song, pushing himself deep into the void.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music
SnoozefestMovies like thisKing Creole (1958)
Delinquent Danny Fisher flunks out of high school, quits his job as a nightclub busboy, and one night gets the chance to perform. Success is imminent and local crime boss Maxie Fields wants to hire him to perform at The Blue Shade. Danny declines, but Fields won't take no for an answer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Five Heartbeats (1991)
In the early 1960s, a quintet of hopeful, young African-American men form an amateur vocal group called The Five Heartbeats. After an initially rocky start, the group improves, turns pro, and rises to become a top flight music sensation. Along the way, however, the guys learn many hard lessons about the reality of the music industry.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSilverton Siege (2022)
After a failed sabotage mission, a trio of anti-apartheid freedom fighters ends up in a tense bank hostage situation. Based on a true story.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMexicali (2026)
A former special forces contractor is forced out of retirement as an avocado farmer in Mexico when local gangsters try to force him and his family off their farm.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Worth the HypeMovies 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 this40 Acres (2025)
Hailey Freeman and her family are the last descendants of African American farmers who settled in rural Canada after the Civil War. In a famine-decimated near future, they now struggle to safeguard their farm, as they make one last stand against a vicious militia hell-bent on taking their 40 Acres.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBeats (2019)
An agoraphobic hip-hop prodigy and a disgraced former music manager cross paths in Chicago’s South Side and help each other face demons of their pasts.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHoney: Rise Up and Dance (2018)
Street dancer Skyler comes out of the shadow of her trained dancer sister, Tosha, & joins a dance competition with the Honey dance studio; the prize is a college scholarship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Perfect Weapon (1991)
Jeff, a young delinquent, is enrolled by his father in a kenpo school, in the hopes of teaching the boy some self-discipline. Years later, Jeff's mentor, Kim, is being threatened by one of the Korean mafia families. Jeff tries to help his old friend, but is too late to prevent Kim's death at the hands of an unknown hitman. Vowing revenge, Jeff takes on all of the families, using his martial arts skills to find the man who killed his friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWelcome to Sudden Death (2020)
Jesse Freeman is a former special forces officer and explosives expert now working a regular job as a security guard in a state-of-the-art basketball arena. Trouble erupts when a tech-savvy cadre of terrorists kidnap the team's owner and Jesse's daughter during opening night. Facing a ticking clock and impossible odds, it's up to Jesse to not only save them but also a full house of fans in this highly charged action thriller.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI Can Only Imagine 2 (2026)
Following the breakout success of the song 'I Can Only Imagine', MercyMe's Bart Millard is living the dream—sold-out arenas, a devoted fanbase, and a thriving career. But behind the spotlight, Bart's past threatens the family he's built, especially the fragile bond with his son Sam. When hopeful newcomer Tim Timmons joins the band for their biggest tour yet, he unknowingly brings a renewed gratitude to Bart's life through their unlikely friendship. Bart soon discovers that Tim carries hardships—and secrets—of his own, forcing him to face his past and repair his relationships with Sam and his wife Shannon before fame costs him what matters most.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisField of Lost Shoes (2015)
A group of teenage cadets sheltered from war at the Virginia Military Institute must confront the horrors of an adult world when they are called upon to defend the Shenandoah Valley.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCivic Duty (2006)
An American accountant bombarded with cable news and the media's obsession with terrorist plots in the post 9-11 world, receives a jolt when an unattached Islamic graduate student moves in next door.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisClubbed (2008)
An underworld drama set in the early 1980s, about a lonely factory worker whose life is transformed when he becomes a nightclub doorman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like this2048: Nowhere to Run (2017)
“2048: Nowhere to Run” takes place one year before the events of Blade Runner 2049. The short film focuses on Sapper, a man who is trying to make it through life day-by-day without turning back to his old ways. We’re introduced to both the gentle nature of Sapper and the violence he’s capable of when set off.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRiver Road (2021)
A rock musician and a free-spirited woman start an intense relationship which soon spirals into a world of drug addiction and crime.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & music
Amadeus (1984)
Disciplined Italian composer Antonio Salieri becomes consumed by jealousy and resentment towards the hedonistic and remarkably talented young Salzburger composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & music
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisOperette (1940)
A musician is offered a job in Vienna as stage director, but his disagreements with the aristocratic opera manager end in abrupt firing in spite of a mutual attraction. He's quickly engaged by another theatre and becomes famous for his lavish stage productions and fine acting, which begins their golden age with Suppé and Strauss.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music & drama
I Can Only Imagine (2018)
Growing up in Greenville, Texas, Bart Millard suffers physical and emotional abuse at the hands of his father, Arthur. When Arthur becomes terminally ill, he finds redemption by embracing his faith and rediscovering his love for his son. Years later, Bart's troubled childhood and mended relationship with his dad inspires him to write the hit song "I Can Only Imagine" as singer of the Christian band MercyMe.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisScar Tissue (TBA)
The life of Anthony Kiedis, famed frontman of The Red Hot Chili Peppers, artist, addict, and ringleader, contains a deeply unconventional father and son story set against a substance-fueled 70s & 80s LA punk scene. This story examines, without judgement, how all of his experiences shaped the music that was eventually embraced by millions.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music & drama
Magnifica (2022)
1907. Magnifica, young Costa Rican harpist, is preparing for her concert at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels where she studies with her fiancé. Inspired by the life of Pacifica Zelaya.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & music
The King of Comedy (1982)
Aspiring comic Rupert Pupkin attempts to achieve success in show business by stalking his idol, a late night talk-show host who craves his own privacy.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHate to See You Go (TBA)
The story of Sonny Bell, an aging Chicago Blues musician, who refuses to retire and defiantly hits the road with his band for one last long-shot to keep doing the only thing that makes them all feel truly alive--play Blues. The story is inspired by Stone's experiences touring and playing harmonica with many of blues music's most revered artists.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
Limbo (2025)
Trapped in a recurring cycle of sleep paralysis, a man desperately searches for a way to break free.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
A Dream of Warsaw (2014)
Czeslaw Niemen, who died ten years ago, was an icon for several generations of Poles. In Poland under communism he managed to raise popular music to the rank of true art; he also won renown abroad. He was born in 1939 in Stare Wasiliszki (today's Belarus) and his biography was largely shaped by the tempestuous history of this part of Europe. The film is a portrayal of the charismatic musician, made up of unique archive materials and reminiscences of his family and friends.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
Like Studio Time and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Studio Time?
The closest matches to Studio Time are Whiplash (2014), Whiplash (2013) and Too Late Blues (1961). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Studio Time?
Start with Whiplash (2014), the closest match to Studio Time.
What is the highest-rated movie like Studio Time?
Whiplash (2014), rated 8.4/10 by 17,385 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Studio Time?
Mexicali (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Studio Time?
Yes: Whiplash (2014), Whiplash (2013) and Too Late Blues (1961).
How are movies similar to Studio Time chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Studio Time, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.