Movies like Rough Book (2016)
The best movies like Rough Book (2016) are Pimp (2018), Suburbia (1984) and Cheaters (2000). If Rough Book hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedStraw Dogs (1971)7.1/10 from 1,140 votes
- NewestMexicali (2026)Released 2026
- In HindiDhobi Ghat (2010)Also in Hindi
Pimp (2018)
An urban love story set on the hard streets of the Bronx. A struggling female pimp, named Wednesday, grows up learning the game from her dad. Once he's gone she's left to look out for her prostitute mother and girlfriend Nikki.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies 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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCheaters (2000)
In the fall of 1994, a teacher at Chicago's run-down Steinmetz High conspires with the school's academic decathlon team to cheat on an academic competition.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDhobi Ghat (2010)
Arun is a reclusive and lonely modern art painter. Shai is an American banker who is on a visit to Mumbai. Munna is a washerboy also living near Arun and Yasmin. The movie is about these four characters from different class of society and how the lives of four characters are intertwined.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMammal (2016)
After Margaret, a divorcée living in Dublin, loses her teenage son, she develops an unorthodox relationship with Joe, a homeless youth. Their tentative trust is threatened by his involvement with a violent gang and the escalation of her ex-husband's grieving rage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUnthinkable (2010)
The government gets wind of a plot to destroy America involving a trio of nuclear weapons for which the whereabouts are unknown. It's up to a seasoned interrogator and an FBI agent to find out exactly where the nukes are.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSarfarosh (1999)
When terrorists kill a cop's brother and disable his father, he fights back against the smuggling of guns and drugs which plagues his country.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMexicali (2026)
A former special forces contractor is forced out of retirement as an avocado farmer in Mexico when local gangsters try to force him and his family off their farm.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDear Mr. Gacy (2010)
A chronicle of the interaction between college student Jason Moss and the object of his obsession, serial killer John Wayne Gacy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisBlindfire (2020)
A police officer who while responding to a violent hostage call, kills the African American suspect only to later learn of his innocence. Sensing this was a set-up, and facing repercussions, he must track down the person responsible while examining his own accountability and the ingrained racism which brought him to this point.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisClass of 1984 (1982)
Andy is a new teacher at an inner city high school that is unlike any he has seen before. There are metal detectors at the front door and the place is basically run by a tough kid named Peter Stegman. Soon, Andy and Stegman become enemies and Stegman will stop at nothing to protect his turf and drug dealing business.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFoxfire (1996)
The story of five teenage girls who form an unlikely bond after beating up a teacher who has sexually harassed them. They build a solid friendship but their wild ways begin to get out of control.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJawbone (2017)
A former youth boxing champion, Jimmy McCabe is a man in search of hope but looking in all the wrong places. When he hits rock bottom he turns to his childhood boxing club and the only family he has left: gym owner Bill corner man Eddie and promoter Joe. Back in training, years after anyone thought he was a contender, he risks his life, as he tries to stand tall and regain his place in the world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJesse Stone: Sea Change (2007)
Police Chief Jesse Stone's relationship with his ex-wife worsens, and he fears he's relapsing into alcoholism. To get his mind off his problems, Jesse begins working on the unsolved murder of a bank teller shot during a robbery. Also, his investigation of an alleged rape draws him into conflict with the town council — which hopes to preserve Paradise's reputation as an ideal seaside resort.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLockdown (2000)
Avery (Jones) returns to college as a competitive swimmer after getting his life back on track. But his life takes another unexpected turn when he and his two friends (Bonds, Casseus) are wrongly accused of murder and end up in prison.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisExtremities (1986)
A woman escapes from the man who is about to rape her, but leaves her purse behind. Afraid that her attacker might come after her, she goes to the police, but with no proof of the incident, they can do nothing. In fact, the man does use the information in her bag and comes to her apartment with the intent of rape, but she sprays him in the face with insect repellent, and then holds him captive. She is then faced with deciding whether to go to the police who might not believe her and release him, or to kill him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStarlet (2012)
An unlikely friendship forms between 21 year-old Jane and the elderly Sadie after Jane discovers a hidden stash of money inside an object at Sadie's yard sale.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStraw Dogs (1971)
David Sumner, a mild-mannered academic from the United States, marries Amy, an Englishwoman. In order to escape a hectic stateside lifestyle, David and his wife relocate to the small town in rural Cornwall where Amy was raised. There, David is ostracized by the brutish men of the village, including Amy's old flame, Charlie. Eventually the taunts escalate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Gabby Douglas Story (2014)
The true story of Gabby Douglas who becomes the first African American to be named Individual All-Around Champion in artistic gymnastics at the Olympic Games.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFanny Lye Deliver'd (2019)
On an isolated English farm in 1657, Fanny lives a quiet life with her oppressive husband John and their young son. One day their life is rocked with the arrival of young couple Thomas and Rebecca who claim to have been robbed and need a place to stay. But are these strangers really who they say they are?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMaya (1961)
Disillusioned with his wealthy friends, a man pretends to be poor and goes to live in the slums where he falls in love with a burglar's sister.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Gunahon Ka Devta (1967)
A drunkard falls in love with a girl, who takes on the responsibility of making him better.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Dange (2024)
Former friends Xavier and Yuva meet again in college as adversaries when their respective cohorts come to blows during their annual cultural festival.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Black Bud (2021)
Sanya, a rebellious contemporary girl but a poet at heart, escapes her strict orthodox father's house in search of a new life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Cheers (2015)
10 years ago, a boy abandoned his alcoholic mother. Now a man, he returns to meet her.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Afternoon Clouds (2017)
Kaki is a 60-year-old widow who lives with her Nepali maid, Malti. The film takes place on one afternoon in their house where a flower blossoms in the balcony. Malti meets a boy (a sailor) from her hometown unexpectedly.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Daava (1997)
Arjun is police officer and he has two stepbrothers, Bhishma and Suraj. Dhaman takes full advantage of this situation, and watches as the brothers go against each other.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Ek Second... Jo Zindagi Badal De... (2010)
From the moment Rashi (Manisha Koirala) decides not to get on a train home from her job, her life turns in a new direction. But what about what could have been if she did board that train? This drama about destiny and life's turns traces Rashi's parallel lives. Her current beau (Moammar Rana) may not be her true love, as she's about to find out -- or &NFi;not&NFi_; find out. Partho Ghosh (Mr. Hot Mr. Kool) directs.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Aag (1994)
Birju is the mysterious guardian of a remote village. One day, a beautiful young woman arrives and disrupts the order. This disruption forces Birju into conflict with the village aristocracy and reveals his shocking past.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Bahurani (1989)
Amit wants to marry a modern woman but his parents get him married to a village girl, Madhuri. When Amit refuses to accept her as his wife, Madhuri reinvents herself as Malathi and re-enters his life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like Rough Book and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Rough Book?
The closest matches to Rough Book are Pimp (2018), Suburbia (1984) and Cheaters (2000). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Rough Book?
Start with Pimp (2018), the closest match to Rough Book.
What is the highest-rated movie like Rough Book?
Straw Dogs (1971), rated 7.1/10 by 1,140 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Rough Book?
Mexicali (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Hindi movies like Rough Book?
Yes: Dhobi Ghat (2010), Sarfarosh (1999) and Maya (1961).
How are movies similar to Rough Book chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Rough Book, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.