Movies like Ephemeral (2012)
The best movies like Ephemeral (2012) are Dancing on Glass (2022), The Goodbye Girl (1977) and Black Swan (2010). If Ephemeral hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedLimelight (1952)7.9/10 from 624 votes
- NewestLinda (2024)Released 2024
- In SpanishDancing on Glass (2022)Also in Spanish
Dancing on Glass (2022)
When immense pressure threatens a ballerina in a new lead role, she and another dancer escape into a friendship that isolates them from the real world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Goodbye Girl (1977)
After being dumped by her live-in boyfriend, an unemployed dancer and her 10-year-old daughter are reluctantly forced to live with a struggling off-Broadway actor.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thisBirds of Paradise (2021)
Two dancers at an elite ballet academy in Paris must compete for a contract to join the highly coveted Opéra National de Paris as they confront their competitive nature, sexual awakenings and how far they would go to win.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisYou Were Never Lovelier (1942)
An Argentine heiress thinks a penniless American dancer is her secret admirer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCenter Stage: On Pointe (2016)
Jonathan Reeves is tasked with infusing more contemporary styles and modernism into the American Ballet Academy, and enlists his top choreographers Charlie, Cooper and Tommy to recruit dancers to compete at a camp where the winners will be selected to join the Academy. Bella Parker, who has always lived in the shadow of her hugely successful sister Kate, finally gets her chance to step into the limelight as one of the dancers recruited for the camp.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHans Christian Andersen (1952)
A small-town shoemaker with a knack for spinning yarns, Hans encounters happiness and heartbreak on his road to becoming a full-fledged writer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe American (2023)
American ballet dancer Joy Womack is accepted into Moscow's infamously tough Bolshoi Ballet Academy, with the dream of becoming a great ballerina.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Turning Point (1977)
As young dancers, they were best friends and fierce rivals. Deedee left the stage for marriage and motherhood, while Emma would become an international ballet icon. But when Deedee's teenage daughter is invited to join Emma's dance company and begins an affair with a young Russian star, the two women are forced to confront the choices they've made, the resentments they've hidden and the emotional truths they must face at the turning point.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPeaceful Warrior (2006)
A chance encounter with a stranger changes the life of a college gymnast.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFrances Ha (2013)
An aspiring dancer moves to New York City and becomes caught up in a whirlwind of flighty fair-weather friends, diminishing fortunes and career setbacks.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIce Castles (2010)
Young, beautiful, talented Alexis Winston comes from nowhere to become a figure skating superstar. But her rise to stardom isn’t easy. She has to push herself, reinvent herself, and most painfully of all, leave her hometown boyfriend behind. When a tragic fall leaves her blind, she needs someone to believe in her, to love her; someone to convince her she has the strength to skate and dream again.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMao’s Last Dancer (2009)
At the age of 11, Li was plucked from a poor Chinese village by Madame Mao's cultural delegates and taken to Beijing to study ballet. In 1979, during a cultural exchange to Texas, he falls in love with an American woman. Two years later, he managed to defect and went on to perform as a principal dancer for the Houston Ballet and as a principal artist with the Australian Ballet.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this1 Chance 2 Dance (2014)
When a 17-year old aspiring dancer is uprooted in her high school senior year, she finds herself divided between two boys, and she will have one last shot at making her dream a reality.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLinda (2024)
Self-assured, mysterious, and captivating Linda agrees to work at an affluent home in Buenos Aires. Her charm sparks strong sexual attraction among all members of the family, exposing how fragile their externally happy veneer really is.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCenter Stage: Turn It Up (2008)
All self-taught dancer Kate Parker has ever wanted to do was perform with the American Academy of Ballet. But when she doesnt make it after auditioning, she learns that it takes more than precision and perfection to succeed in the dance world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShall We Dance? (2004)
A bored estate lawyer spots a beautiful woman in the window of a ballroom dance studio. He secretly starts taking dancing lessons to be near her, and then over time discovers how much he loves dancing. His wife, meanwhile, has hired a private detective to find out why he has started coming home late smelling of perfume.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLimelight (1952)
A fading music hall comedian tries to help a despondent ballet dancer learn to walk and to again feel confident about life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisA Nutcracker Christmas (2016)
When her niece is cast in The Philadelphia Ballet’s production of the Nutcracker, a jaded ex-ballerina is forced to come to terms with the life and love she left behind.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThey Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969)
In the midst of the Great Depression, manipulative emcee Rocky enlists contestants for a dance marathon offering a $1,500 cash prize. Among them are a failed actress, a middle-aged sailor, a delusional blonde and a pregnant girl.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Ephemeral?
The closest matches to Ephemeral are Dancing on Glass (2022), The Goodbye Girl (1977) and Black Swan (2010). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Ephemeral?
Start with Dancing on Glass (2022), the closest match to Ephemeral.
What is the highest-rated movie like Ephemeral?
Limelight (1952), rated 7.9/10 by 624 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Ephemeral?
Linda (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Spanish movies like Ephemeral?
Yes: Dancing on Glass (2022) and Linda (2024).
How are movies similar to Ephemeral chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Ephemeral, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.