Movies like On the Bus (2002)
The best movies like On the Bus (2002) are The Last Repair Shop (2024), Welcome to Chechnya (2020) and Drew: The Man Behind the Poster (2013). If On the Bus hooked you with its documentary, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- NewestThe Last Guest of the Holloway Motel (2026)Released 2026
The Last Repair Shop (2024)
In a warehouse in the heart of Los Angeles, a dwindling handful of devoted craftspeople maintain more than 80,000 student musical instruments, the largest remaining workshop in America of its kind. Meet four unforgettable characters whose broken-and-repaired lives have been dedicated to bringing so much more than music to the schoolchildren of this city.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWelcome to Chechnya (2020)
This searing investigative work shadows a group of activists risking unimaginable peril to confront the ongoing anti-LGBTQ program raging in the repressive and closed Russian republic. Unfettered access and a remarkable approach to protecting anonymity exposes this under-reported atrocity–and an extraordinary group of people confronting evil.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDrew: The Man Behind the Poster (2013)
A documentary on legendary movie-poster artist Drew Struzan.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEx Libris: The New York Public Library (2017)
A documentary about how a dominant cultural and demographic institution both sustains their traditional activities and adapts to the digital revolution.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like this28 Up (1985)
Just two years away from turning 30, participants in Michael Apted's documentary series are facing serious questions of identity and purpose, wondering whether they've found their place in the world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Show Must Go On: The Queen + Adam Lambert Story (2019)
A documentary chronicling Queen and Lambert's incredible journey since they first shared the stage together on "American Idol" in 2009.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDavid Byrne's American Utopia (2020)
A filmed version of David Byrne's Broadway show, a unifying musical celebration that inspires audiences to connect to each other and to the global community.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTongues Untied (1990)
Marlon Riggs, with assistance from other gay Black men, especially poet Essex Hemphill, celebrates Black men loving Black men as a revolutionary act. The film intercuts footage of Hemphill reciting his poetry, Riggs telling the story of his growing up, scenes of men in social intercourse and dance, and various comic riffs, including a visit to the "Institute of Snap!thology," where men take lessons in how to snap their fingers: the sling snap, the point snap, the diva snap.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Beach Boys (2024)
A celebration of the legendary band that revolutionized pop music, and the iconic, harmonious sound they created that personified the California dream, captivating fans for generations and generations to come.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisScotty and the Secret History of Hollywood (2018)
A deliciously scandalous portrait of unsung Hollywood legend Scotty Bowers, whose bestselling memoir chronicled his decades spent as sexual procurer to the stars.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFuck (2006)
A documentary on the expletive's origin, why it offends some people so deeply, and what can be gained from its use.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Class of ‘92 (2013)
A detailing of the rise to prominence and global sporting superstardom of six supremely talented young Manchester United football players (David Beckham, Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Phil and Gary Neville). The film covers the period 1992-1999, culminating in Manchester United's European Cup triumph.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like this21 Up (1977)
After another 7 year wait, director Michael Apted revisits the same group of British-born children from Seven Up! and 7 Plus Seven. The subjects are interviewed as to the changes that have occurred in their lives during the last seven years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHarmontown (2014)
A comedic, brutally honest documentary following self-destructive TV writer Dan Harmon as he takes his live podcast on a national tour.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like this35 Up (1991)
Director Michael Apted revisits the same group of British-born adults after a 7 year wait. The subjects are interviewed as to the changes that have occurred in their lives during the last seven years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCome See Me in the Good Light (2025)
In an intimate and joyful story of love in the face of loss, celebrated poets Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley find strength—and unexpected hilarity—in what might be their final year together.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDavid Bowie: Five Years (2013)
Featuring a wealth of previously unseen archive, this film looks at how Bowie continually evolved: from Ziggy Stardust to the Soul Star of Young Americans, to the ‘Thin White Duke’. It explores his regeneration in Berlin with the critically acclaimed album Heroes, his triumph with Scary Monsters and his global success with Let’s Dance. With interviews with all his closest collaborators, David Bowie - Five Years presents a unique account of why Bowie has become an ‘icon of our times’.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWestern Stars (2019)
The incomparable Bruce Springsteen performs his critically acclaimed latest album and muses on life, rock, and the American dream, in this intimate and personal concert film co-directed by Thom Zimny and Springsteen himself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNaqoyqatsi (2002)
A visual montage portrait of our contemporary world dominated by globalized technology and violence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSeduced and Abandoned (2013)
SEDUCED AND ABANDONED combines acting legend Alec Baldwin with director James Toback as they lead us on a troublesome and often hilarious journey of raising financing for their next feature film. Moving from director to financier to star actor, the two players provide us with a unique look behind the curtain at the world's biggest and most glamourous film festival, shining a light on the bitter-sweet relationship filmmakers have with Cannes and the film business. Featuring insights from directors Martin Scorsese, 'Bernando Bertolucci' and Roman Polanski; actors Ryan Gosling and Jessica Chastain and a host of film distribution luminaries.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGingers (2013)
Redheads. Fire crotches… This film collects samples of their testimonials and their body hair and skin. About being different genetically, about gay gingers, doubly in a minority, from Ireland to Israel to Brazil. A film made especially for ginger lovers.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Out in the Night (2014)
Under the neon lights in a gay-friendly neighborhood of New York City, four young African-American lesbians are violently and sexually threatened by a man on the street. They defend themselves against him and are charged and convicted in the courts and in the media as a 'Gang of Killer Lesbians'.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Little Potato (2017)
Wes Hurley's autobiographical tale of growing up gay in Soviet Union Russia, only to escape with his mother, a mail order bride, to Seattle to face a whole new oppression in his new Christian fundamentalist American dad.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
The Guys Next Door (2016)
An intimate portrait of a real Modern Family: Meet Erik and Sandro, a gay couple with daughters birthed by their friend Rachel who's married with three teenagers of her own.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
The Last Guest of the Holloway Motel (2026)
In 1970s Britain, Tony Powell was a star defender for Norwich City Football Club — until one day he disappeared from the public eye without a word to family or friends. Decades and seemingly a lifetime later, Tony now quietly resides at the Holloway Motel in the heart of West Hollywood as its manager and sole resident (apart from his dog Samantha). However, after he learns the motel is shuttering and he'll soon be evicted, Tony must finally reconcile his past and present in order to survive and come to terms with the multifaceted relationships of his life: those he's found, lost and abandoned.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Daddies (2014)
There is always the first time you are called a daddy. It’s more than just a question of age. Leather Daddies, Daddy Bears and Daddies that don’t fit into the usual categories. They talk about their Daddy identity, gay relationships, polyamory, and appetite for sex. Monogamy and open relationships co-exist in San Francisco as they do everywhere, but nowhere else has so many polyamorous men, men who embrace multiple love in their own personal way within the community. It is not just daddy/son, there are also guys in a number of relationships, or men in triads or foursomes.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
How Gay Is Pakistan? (2015)
A documentary which explores the lives of gay people and the challenges they face in Pakistan, a country whose laws explicitly outlaw homosexuality.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Unconfessions (2018)
Luiz Roberto Galizia died very young, but he left behind a wealth of personal archives. 30 years later, his niece Ana Galizia plunges into these archives to follow the traces of this uncle she never met.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Outrage (2009)
An indictment of closeted politicians who lobby for anti-gay legislation in the US.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Corpus Christi: Playing with Redemption (2013)
Terrence McNally’s Corpus Christi is a play retelling the Jesus story, with Jesus as a gay man living in the 1950s in Corpus Christi, Texas. This documentary follows the troupe, playwright, and audience around the world on a five-year journey of Terrence McNally’s passion play, where voices of protest and support collide on one of the central issues facing the LGBT community: religion.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Like On the Bus and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like On the Bus?
The closest matches to On the Bus are The Last Repair Shop (2024), Welcome to Chechnya (2020) and Drew: The Man Behind the Poster (2013). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after On the Bus?
Start with The Last Repair Shop (2024), the closest match to On the Bus.
What is the newest movie like On the Bus?
The Last Guest of the Holloway Motel (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like On the Bus?
Yes: The Last Repair Shop (2024), Welcome to Chechnya (2020) and Drew: The Man Behind the Poster (2013).
How are movies similar to On the Bus chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside On the Bus, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.