Movies like Moulin Rouge (1928)
The best movies like Moulin Rouge (1928) are Coda (2020), Teen Spirit (2019) and Honey: Rise Up and Dance (2018). If Moulin Rouge hooked you with its music and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedMoulin Rouge! (2001)7.5/10 from 5,002 votes
- NewestClika (2026)Released 2026
Coda (2020)
A famous pianist at the twilight of his career meets a free-spirited music critic who soon becomes his rock as his mental state deteriorates.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTeen Spirit (2019)
A shy teenager living on the Isle of Wight dreams of pop stardom. With the help of an unlikely mentor, she enters a singing competition that will test her integrity, talent, and ambition.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music & drama
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 thisClika (2026)
Aspiring small-town musician Chito is determined to make it big. When a clip of him performing one of his songs goes viral, he seizes the opportunity and pushes to carve out a place for himself in the new wave of Mexican-American music... and ultimately gets caught in a game more dangerous than anticipated.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies 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 thisSuburbia (1984)
When household tensions and a sense of worthlessness overcome Evan, he finds escape when he clings with the orphans of a throw-away society. The runaways hold on to each other like a family until a tragedy tears them apart.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisXOXO (2016)
XOXO follows six strangers whose lives collide in one frenetic, dream-chasing, hopelessly romantic night.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisMo' Better Blues (1990)
Talented but self-centered trumpeter Bleek Gilliam is obsessed with his music and indecisiveness about his girlfriends Indigo and Clarke. But when he is forced to come to the aid of his manager and childhood friend, Bleek finds his world more fragile than he ever imagined.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Mambo Kings (1992)
The Mambo Kings tells the story of César and Nestor Castillo, brothers and aspiring musicians who flee from Cuba to America in search of the American Dream.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBattle of the Year (2013)
A down-on-his-luck coach is hired to prepare a team of the best American dancers for an international tournament that attracts all the best crews from around the world, but the Americans haven't won in fifteen years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould (1993)
A collection of vignettes highlighting different aspects of the life, work, and character of the acclaimed Canadian classical pianist.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGrace Unplugged (2013)
A talented young singer and aspiring songwriter’s Christian faith and family ties are tested when she defies her worship-pastor father and pursues pop-music stardom in GRACE UNPLUGGED, a moving and inspiring new film that explores the true meaning of success.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGood Vibrations (2012)
The story of music legend Terri Hooley, a key figure in Belfast's punk rock scene. Hooley founded the Good Vibrations store from which a record label sprung, representing bands such as The Undertones, Rudi and The Outcasts.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMoulin Rouge (1952)
In 1890 Paris, Moulin Rouge is a nightclub where crippled artist Toulouse-Lautrec feels like he fits in. In the following years, he meets two women who provide an opportunity for him to find true love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Caveman's Valentine (2001)
Romulus, a misunderstood musician turned recluse hiding from personal demons in a New York City cave, finds the frozen body of a young drifter in a tree. The authorities, including his police officer daughter, claim the death is accidental. Romulus is convinced the man was murdered by a prominent art photographer but how can he prove he's right when everyone thinks he's insane?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisA Dry White Season (1989)
During the 1976 Soweto uprising, a white school teacher's life and values are threatened when he asks questions about the death of a young black boy who died in police custody.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLady Driver (2020)
When a rebellious teen embarks on a solo summer journey to connect with her roots, she finds herself in a new world, geared up for the ride of her life, and discovers she had the drive in her all along.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTigertail (2020)
A man reflects on the lost love of his youth and his long-ago journey from Taiwan to America as he begins to reconnect with his estranged daughter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMoulin Rouge! (2001)
A celebration of love and creative inspiration takes place in the infamous, gaudy and glamorous Parisian nightclub, at the cusp of the 20th century. A young poet, who is plunged into the heady world of Moulin Rouge, begins a passionate affair with the club's most notorious and beautiful star.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFrench Cancan (1955)
Nineteenth-century Paris comes vibrantly alive in Jean Renoir’s exhilarating tale of the opening of the world-renowned Moulin Rouge. Jean Gabin plays the wily impresario Danglard, who makes the cancan all the rage while juggling the love of two beautiful women—an Egyptian belly-dancer and a naive working girl turned cancan star.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThais (1917)
The wanton dancer Thais, tries to entice Paphnutius from becoming a monk but fails. He later returns to reclaim her soul and follow in his footsteps. They attempt to live lives of simplicity, but the pull of worldliness is too strong.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Smooth The Edges (TBA)
A young woman, soon to be Gypsy bride, decides to take a stance against traditional norms and find herself a job much against the liking of her fiance. When her background becomes a burden she can’t shake, she enters her latest job interview and calls them out for their prejudice.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Cardinal Wolsey (1912)
King Henry VIII smitten with Anne Boleyn wishes to displace his estimable Queen Catherine for her. He appeals to Cardinal Wolsey to set aside the tenets of the Church and consent to his divorce from the Queen. The cardinal absolutely refuses to do anything so inimical to his office, as representative of the Holy See. Angered King Henry induces the Archbishop of Canterbury to call a special council through which he divorces himself from Queen Catherine. In punishment for his refusal to accede to the king's wishes, the cardinal is exiled to Leicester Abbey where he dies three days afterward, conscious that he had sustained the sacredness of his office, a martyr to his faith and of service to his king.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Warning (1915)
Robert Denman, a manager at a construction company, loses everything he has to the throws of alcoholism.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Macushla (1937)
Released in the US in 1940 while a drive was being staged in Ireland to stop the smuggling of munitions across the Ulster border. The story involves a family, the Muldoons, living in a village on the Ulster border. Pamela Wood, the daughter, is being romanced (and romancing back) border-guard Lian Gaffney. A damper is dumped on the romance when her brother, Max Adrian, is recognized as one of the rebels. He is caught by the guards, but manages to escape after saving the life of Gaffney.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Briggs Family (1940)
During the Second World War, a special constable and former solicitor is called upon to defend his son who is accused of the theft of a car
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Water Lily (1919)
Genevieve Connors, a young woman from the slums who is given a chance at a better life through the help of a wealthy family, but faces class prejudice and is later involved in a criminal plot.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Tin Gods (1932)
A concert pianist loses his hearing but finds a new sense of purpose by helping others. A British drama film directed by F.W. Kraemer.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like Moulin Rouge and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Moulin Rouge?
The closest matches to Moulin Rouge are Coda (2020), Teen Spirit (2019) and Honey: Rise Up and Dance (2018). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Moulin Rouge?
Start with Coda (2020), the closest match to Moulin Rouge.
What is the highest-rated movie like Moulin Rouge?
Moulin Rouge! (2001), rated 7.5/10 by 5,002 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Moulin Rouge?
Clika (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Moulin Rouge?
Yes: Coda (2020), Teen Spirit (2019) and Honey: Rise Up and Dance (2018).
How are movies similar to Moulin Rouge chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Moulin Rouge, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.