Movies like It Came from Detroit (2009)
The best movies like It Came from Detroit (2009) are Gimme Danger (2016), Detroit Rock City (1999) and 8 Mile (2002). If It Came from Detroit hooked you, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedSearching for Sugar Man (2012)7.9/10 from 1,087 votes
- NewestMotor City (2026)Released 2026
Gimme Danger (2016)
No other band in rock'n'roll history has rivaled The Stooges' combination of heavy primal throb, spiked psychedelia, blues-a-billy grind, complete with succinct angst-ridden lyrics, and a snarling, preening leopard of a frontman who somehow embodies Nijinsky, Bruce Lee, Harpo Marx, and Arthur Rimbaud all rolled into one. There is no precedent for The Stooges, while those inspired by them are now legion. The film will present the context of their emergence musically, culturally, politically, historically, and relate their adventures and misadventures while charting their inspirations and the reasons behind their initial commercial challenges, as well as their long-lasting legacy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDetroit Rock City (1999)
In 1978, a Kiss concert was an epoch-making event. For the four teen fans in Detroit Rock City getting tickets to the sold-out show becomes the focal point of their existence. They'll do anything for tickets -- compete in a strip club's amateur-night contest, take on religious protesters, even rob a convenience store!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this8 Mile (2002)
For Jimmy Smith, Jr., life is a daily fight just to keep hope alive. Feeding his dreams in Detroit's vibrant music scene, Jimmy wages an extraordinary personal struggle to find his own voice - and earn a place in a world where rhymes rule, legends are born and every moment… is another chance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSearching for Sugar Man (2012)
Two South Africans set out to discover what happened to their unlikely musical hero, the mysterious 1970s rock 'n' roller, Rodriguez.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisKathleen Madigan: Madigan Again (2013)
Kathleen Madigan drops in on Detroit to deliver material derived from time spent with her Irish Catholic Midwest family, eating random pills out of her mother's purse, touring Afghanistan, and her love of John Denver and the Lunesta butterfly.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMotor City (2026)
In 1970s Detroit, John Miller falls for a local gangster's girl and lands in prison for a crime he didn't commit. With his life ruined, Miller plots revenge against the man who took his girl away.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDreamgirls (2006)
A trio of female soul singers cross over to the pop charts in the early 1960s, facing their own personal struggles along the way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRoboCop (2014)
In RoboCop, the year is 2028 and multinational conglomerate OmniCorp is at the center of robot technology. Overseas, their drones have been used by the military for years, but have been forbidden for law enforcement in America. Now OmniCorp wants to bring their controversial technology to the home front, and they see a golden opportunity to do it. When Alex Murphy – a loving husband, father and good cop doing his best to stem the tide of crime and corruption in Detroit – is critically injured, OmniCorp sees their chance to build a part-man, part-robot police officer. OmniCorp envisions a RoboCop in every city and even more billions for their shareholders, but they never counted on one thing: there is still a man inside the machine.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisCadillac Records (2008)
The story of sex, violence, race and rock and roll in 1950s Chicago, and the exciting but turbulent lives of some of America's musical legends, including Muddy Waters, Leonard Chess, Little Walter, Howlin' Wolf, Etta James and Chuck Berry.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStanding in the Shadows of Motown (2002)
In 1959, Berry Gordy Jr. gathered the best musicians from Detroit's thriving jazz and blues scene to begin cutting songs for his new record company. Over a fourteen year period they were the heartbeat on every hit from Motown's Detroit era. By the end of their phenomenal run, this unheralded group of musicians had played on more number ones hits than the Beach Boys, the Rolling Stones, Elvis and the Beatles combined - which makes them the greatest hit machine in the history of popular music. They called themselves the Funk Brothers. Forty-one years after they played their first note on a Motown record and three decades since they were all together, the Funk Brothers reunited back in Detroit to play their music and tell their unforgettable story, with the help of archival footage, still photos, narration, interviews, re-creation scenes, 20 Motown master tracks, and twelve new live performances of Motown classics with the Brothers backing up contemporary performers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAirheads (1994)
The Lone Rangers have heavy-metal dreams and a single demo tape they can't get anyone to play. The solution: Hijack an FM rock radio station and hold the deejays hostage until they agree to broadcast the band's tape.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNo Sudden Move (2021)
A group of criminals are brought together under mysterious circumstances and have to work together to uncover what's really going on when their simple job goes completely sideways.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAll Things Must Pass (2015)
The explosive trajectory and tragic demise of iconic music retailer Tower Records, and the legacy of its rebellious founder Russ Solomon. Two hundred stores in thirty countries on five continents. In 1999 it made $1 billion. In 2006 it filed for bankruptcy. What went wrong?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMetallica: Through the Never (2013)
Trip, a young roadie for Metallica, is sent on an urgent mission during the band's show. But what seems like a simple assignment turns into a surreal adventure.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKin (2018)
A young boy finds a powerful otherworldly weapon, which he uses to save his older adoptive brother from a crew of thugs. Before long, the two of them are also pursued by federal agents and mysterious mercenaries aiming to reclaim their asset.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMichael Jackson's This Is It (2009)
A compilation of interviews, rehearsals and backstage footage of Michael Jackson as he prepared for his series of sold-out shows in London.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDetroit (2017)
A police raid in Detroit in 1967 results in one of the largest citizens' uprisings in the history of the United States.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like this24 Hour Party People (2002)
Manchester, 1976. Tony Wilson is an ambitious but frustrated local TV news reporter looking for a way to make his mark. After witnessing a life-changing concert by a band known as the Sex Pistols, he persuades his station to televise one of their performances, and soon Manchester's punk groups are clamoring for him to manage them. Riding the wave of a musical revolution, Wilson and his friends create the legendary Factory Records label and The Hacienda club.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBrick Mansions (2014)
In a dystopian Detroit, grand houses that once housed the wealthy are now homes of the city's most-dangerous criminals. Surrounding the area is a giant wall to keep the rest of Detroit safe. For undercover cop Damien Collier, every day is a battle against corruption as he struggles to bring his father's killer, Tremaine, to justice. Meanwhile, Damien and an ex-con named Lino work together to save the city from a plot to destroy it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisSparkle (2012)
Musical prodigy, Sparkle struggles to become a star while overcoming issues that are tearing her family apart. From an affluent Detroit area and daughter to a single mother, she tries to balance a new romance with music manager Stix while dealing with the unexpected challenges her new life will bring as she and her two sisters strive to become a dynamic singing group during the Motown-era.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBeverly Hills Cop (1984)
Fast-talking, quick-thinking Detroit street cop Axel Foley has bent more than a few rules and regs in his time, but when his best friend is murdered, he heads to sunny Beverly Hills to work the case like only he can.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHigh Fidelity (2000)
After his long-time girlfriend dumps him, a thirty-year-old record store owner seeks to understand why he is unlucky in love while recounting his "top five breakups of all time".
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBeverly Hills Cop II (1987)
Axel Foley returns to the land of sunshine and palm trees to investigate the near-fatal shooting of police Captain Andrew Bogomil. With the help of Sgt. Taggart and Det. Rosewood, they soon uncover that the shooting is associated with a series of "alphabet" robberies masterminded by a heartless weapons kingpin—and the chase is on.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUnsound (2020)
A disillusioned musician's romantic spark is ignited by a young trans man as they work together to save his community nightclub for the deaf.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Beverly Hills Cop III (1994)
When his boss is killed, Detroit cop Axel Foley finds evidence that the murderer had ties to a California amusement park called Wonder World. Returning to sunny Beverly Hills once more, Foley reunites with Detective Billy Rosewood to solve the case. Along with Billy's new partner, Detective Jon Flint, they discover that Wonder World is being used as a front for a massive counterfeiting ring.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
SnoozefestMovies like thisPerdita (TBA)
Rootless loner and remote island park ranger, Pearl, walks out on her job and workplace lover after a strange encounter with an apparition throws her sanity into question. When she discovers she’ s been bequeathed a derelict house in Detroit, she becomes hellbent on solving this seemingly random mystery, only to find herself fighting for both her life and her grasp on reality, as she confronts forces who want her to see she’s not alone.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
True Romance (1993)
Clarence marries hooker Alabama, steals cocaine from her pimp, and tries to sell it in Hollywood, while the owners of the coke try to reclaim it.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHoffa (1992)
A portrait of union leader James R. Hoffa, as seen through the eyes of his friend, Bobby Ciaro. The film follows Hoffa through his countless battles with the RTA and President Roosevelt.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChristine (1983)
Nerdy high schooler Arnie Cunningham falls for Christine, a rusty 1958 Plymouth Fury, and becomes obsessed with restoring the classic automobile to her former glory. As the car changes, so does Arnie, whose newfound confidence turns to arrogance behind the wheel of his exotic beauty. Arnie's girlfriend Leigh and best friend Dennis reach out to him, only to be met by a Fury like no other.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBird on a Wire (1990)
An FBI informant has kept his new identity secret for 15 years. Now an old flame has recognised him, and the bad guys are back for revenge.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like It Came from Detroit?
The closest matches to It Came from Detroit are Gimme Danger (2016), Detroit Rock City (1999) and 8 Mile (2002). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after It Came from Detroit?
Start with Gimme Danger (2016), the closest match to It Came from Detroit.
What is the highest-rated movie like It Came from Detroit?
Searching for Sugar Man (2012), rated 7.9/10 by 1,087 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like It Came from Detroit?
Motor City (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like It Came from Detroit?
Yes: Gimme Danger (2016), Detroit Rock City (1999) and 8 Mile (2002).
How are movies similar to It Came from Detroit chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside It Came from Detroit, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.