Movies like Paula Takes the Stage
The best movies like Paula Takes the Stage are Opening Night (1977), The Band Wagon (1953) and Black Widow (1954). If Paula Takes the Stage hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Paula Takes the Stage
Quick picks
- Highest ratedAll About Eve (1950)8.1/10 from 1,805 votes
- NewestMaria (2024)Released 2024
Opening Night (1977)
Actress Myrtle Gordon is a functioning alcoholic who is a few days from the opening night of her latest play, concerning a woman distraught about aging. One night a car kills one of Myrtle's fans who is chasing her limousine in an attempt to get the star's attention. Myrtle internalizes the accident and goes on a spiritual quest, but fails to finds the answers she is after. As opening night inches closer and closer, fragile Myrtle must find a way to make the show go on.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Band Wagon (1953)
A Broadway artiste turns a faded film star's comeback vehicle into an artsy flop.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlack Widow (1954)
When a young stage hopeful is found dead, suspicion falls on her mentor, a successful Broadway producer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBullets Over Broadway (1994)
After young playwright, David Shayne obtains funding for his play from gangster Nick Valenti, Nick's girlfriend Olive miraculously lands the role of a psychiatrist—but not only is she a bimbo who could never pass for a psychiatrist—she's a dreadful actress. David puts up with the leading man who is a compulsive eater, the grand dame who wants her part jazzed up, and Olive's interfering hitman/bodyguard—but, eventually he must decide whether art or life is more important.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTwentieth Century (1934)
A temperamental Broadway producer trains an untutored actress, but when she becomes a star, she proves a match for him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBirdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014)
A fading actor best known for his portrayal of a popular superhero attempts to mount a comeback by appearing in a Broadway play. As opening night approaches, his attempts to become more altruistic, rebuild his career, and reconnect with friends and family prove more difficult than expected.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAll About Eve (1950)
From the moment she glimpses her idol at the stage door, Eve Harrington is determined to take the reins of power away from the great actress Margo Channing. Eve maneuvers her way into Margo's Broadway role, becomes a sensation and even causes turmoil in the lives of Margo's director boyfriend, her playwright and his wife. Only the cynical drama critic sees through Eve, admiring her audacity and perfect pattern of deceit.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies 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 thisCigarette Burns (2005)
With a torrid past that haunts him, a movie theatre owner is hired to search for the only existing print of a film so notorious that its single screening caused the viewers to become homicidally insane.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIndiscreet (1958)
Anna Kalman is an accomplished actress who has given up hope of finding the man of her dreams. While talking about this subject with her sister, in walks Philip Adams and she realizes that this is the charming, smart, and handsome man she has been waiting for.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Professor (2019)
A world-weary college professor is given a life-changing diagnosis and decides to throw all pretense and conventions to the wind and live his life as boldly and freely as possible with a biting sense of humor, a reckless streak and a touch of madness.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInfinitely Polar Bear (2014)
A manic-depressive mess of a father tries to win back his wife by attempting to take full responsibility of their two young, spirited daughters, who don't make the overwhelming task any easier.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFlorence Foster Jenkins (2016)
The story of Florence Foster Jenkins, a New York heiress, who dreamed of becoming an opera singer, despite having a terrible singing voice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNoises Off... (1992)
Hired to helm an Americanized take on a British play, director Lloyd Fellowes does his best to control an eccentric group of stage actors. With a star actress quickly passing her prime, a male lead with no confidence, and a bit actor that's rarely sober, chaos ensues in the lead up to a Broadway premiere.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGypsy (1962)
Gypsy's mother Rose dreams of a life in show business for her daughters, but Louise becomes a huge burlesque star. Stage musical loosely based on the memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGold Diggers of 1933 (1933)
When all Broadway shows are shut down during the Depression, a trio of desperate showgirls scheme to bilk a repugnant high society man of his money to keep their show going.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMorning Glory (1933)
Wildly optimistic chatterbox Eva Lovelace is a would-be actress trying to crash the New York stage. She attracts the interest of a paternal actor, a philandering producer, and an earnest playwright. Is she destined for stardom, or will she fade like a morning glory after its brief blooming?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI Feel Pretty (2018)
A head injury causes a woman to develop an extraordinary amount of confidence and believe she's drop dead gorgeous.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHamlet (1996)
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, returns home to find his father murdered and his mother now marrying the murderer... his uncle. Meanwhile, war is brewing.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMaria (2024)
Maria Callas, the world's greatest opera singer, lives the last days of her life in 1970s Paris, as she confronts her identity and life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Paula Takes the Stage?
The closest matches to Paula Takes the Stage are Opening Night (1977), The Band Wagon (1953) and Black Widow (1954). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Paula Takes the Stage?
Start with Opening Night (1977), the closest match to Paula Takes the Stage.
What is the highest-rated movie like Paula Takes the Stage?
All About Eve (1950), rated 8.1/10 by 1,805 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Paula Takes the Stage?
Maria (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Paula Takes the Stage?
Yes: Opening Night (1977), The Band Wagon (1953) and Black Widow (1954).
How are movies similar to Paula Takes the Stage chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Paula Takes the Stage, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.