Movies like Holding the Man (2015)
The best movies like Holding the Man (2015) are Bohemian Rhapsody (2018), I Am Woman (2020) and Priscilla (2023). If Holding the Man hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedDial M for Murder (1954)8.0/10 from 2,997 votes
- NewestIn the Blink of an Eye (2026)Released 2026
Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)
Singer Freddie Mercury, guitarist Brian May, drummer Roger Taylor and bass guitarist John Deacon take the music world by storm when they form the rock 'n' roll band Queen in 1970. Hit songs become instant classics. When Mercury's increasingly wild lifestyle starts to spiral out of control, Queen soon faces its greatest challenge yet – finding a way to keep the band together amid the success and excess.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisI Am Woman (2020)
In 1966, Helen Reddy landed in New York with her three year old daughter, a suitcase, and $230 in her pocket. Within weeks, she was broke. Within months, she was in love. Within five years, she was one of the biggest superstars of her time and an icon of the 1970s feminist movement who wrote a song which galvanized a generation of women to fight for change.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPriscilla (2023)
When teenage Priscilla Beaulieu meets Elvis Presley at a party, the man who is already a meteoric rock-and-roll superstar becomes someone entirely unexpected in private moments: a thrilling crush, an ally in loneliness, a vulnerable best friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJOY (2024)
A young nurse, a visionary scientist and an innovative surgeon face opposition from the church, state, media and medical establishment, in their pursuit of the world’s first ‘test tube baby’, Louise Joy Brown.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWoodlawn (2015)
Love and unity in a school torn by racism and hate in the 1970s. A gifted high school football player must learn to embrace his talent and his faith as he battles racial tensions on and off the field.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thistick, tick... BOOM! (2021)
On the brink of turning 30, a promising theater composer navigates love, friendship and the pressure to create something great before time runs out.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAnd the Band Played On (1993)
The story of the discovery of the AIDS epidemic and the political infighting of the scientific community hampering the early fight with it.
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 thisThe Cure (1995)
Erik, a loner, finds a friend in Dexter, an eleven-year-old boy with AIDS. They vow to find a cure for AIDS together and save Dexter's life in an eventful summer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisBoy Erased (2018)
Jared, the son of a Baptist pastor in a small American town, is outed to his parents at age 19. Jared is faced with an ultimatum: attend a gay conversion therapy program – or be permanently exiled and shunned by his family, friends, and faith.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Long Day Closes (1992)
Bud is a lonely and quiet boy whose moments of solace occur when he sits in rapture at the local cinema, watching towering and iconic figures on the movie screen. The movies give Bud the strength to get through another day as he deals with his oppressive school environment and his burgeoning homosexuality.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCry Freedom (1987)
A dramatic story, based on actual events, about the friendship between two men struggling against apartheid in South Africa in the 1970s. Donald Woods is a white liberal journalist in South Africa who begins to follow the activities of Stephen Biko, a courageous and outspoken black anti-apartheid activist.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWe Are Marshall (2006)
When a plane crash claims the lives of members of the Marshall University football team and some of its fans, the team's new coach and his surviving players try to keep the football program alive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Happy Prince (2018)
In 1895, Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) was the most famous writer in London, and Bosie Douglas, son of the notorious Marquess of Queensberry, was his lover. Accused and convicted of gross indecency, he was imprisoned for two years and subjected to hard labor. Once free, he abandons England to live in France, where he will spend his last years, haunted by memories of the past, poverty and immense sadness.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIn the Blink of an Eye (2026)
Three storylines, spanning thousands of years, intersect and reflect on hope, connection, and the circle of life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Zone of Interest (2023)
The commandant of Auschwitz, Rudolf Höss, and his wife Hedwig, strive to build a dream life for their family in a house and garden next to the camp.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSarah's Oil (2025)
Sarah Rector, a Black girl born in early 20th-century Oklahoma Indian Territory, believes there is oil beneath the barren land she’s allotted, and her faith proves right. As greedy oil sharks close in, Sarah turns to family, friends, and some Texas wildcatters to maintain control of her oil-rich land, eventually becoming among the nation's first Black female millionaires—at eleven years old.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisIndian Horse (2018)
Follows the life of Native Canadian Saul Indian Horse as he survives residential school and life amongst the racism of the 1970s. A talented hockey player, Saul must find his own path as he battles stereotypes and alcoholism.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSame Kind of Different as Me (2017)
International art dealer Ron Hall must befriend a dangerous homeless man in order to save his struggling marriage to his wife, a woman whose dreams will lead all three of them on the journey of their lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Hurricane (1999)
The story of Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, a boxer wrongly imprisoned for murder, and the people who aided in his fight to prove his innocence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEverything Is Illuminated (2005)
A young Jewish American man endeavors—with the help of eccentric, distant relatives—to find the woman who saved his grandfather during World War II—in a Ukrainian village which was ultimately razed by the Nazis.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSummer Storm (2004)
Tobi and Achim, the pride of the local crew club, have been the best of friends for years and are convinced that nothing will ever stand in the way of their friendship. They look forward to the upcoming summer camp and the crew competition. Then the gay team from Berlin arrives and Tobi is totally confused. The evening before the races begin, the storm that breaks out is more than meteorological.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNational Theatre Live: The Effect (2024)
Hearts and minds racing, Connie and Tristan are falling for each other fast. But is their sudden and intoxicating chemistry real, or a side effect of a new antidepressant? As two young volunteers in a clinical drug trial, their illicit romance poses startling dilemmas for the supervising doctors.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Drugstore Cowboy (1989)
Portland, Oregon, 1971. Bob Hughes is the charismatic leader of a peculiar quartet, formed by his wife, Dianne, and another couple, Rick and Nadine, who skillfully steal from drugstores and hospital medicine cabinets in order to appease their insatiable need for drugs. But neither fun nor luck last forever.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like this7 Virgins (2005)
It is summertime in a blue-collar, marginal district of a city in the South of Spain. Tano, a teenager currently serving a sentence in a juvenile reform center, is given a 48-hour leave to attend his brother’s wedding.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPopular Music (2004)
Matti and Niila, growing up in the mid-sixties in the harsh and conservative environment of a Finnish-speaking part of Tornedalen in Swedish Laponia, close to the Finnish border. Their big dream is to become rock stars. In the present the now grown-up Matti feels guilt for the death of his drug-addicted rock star friend Niila.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBend It Like Beckham (2002)
Jess Bhamra, the daughter of a strict Indian couple in London, is not permitted to play organized soccer, even though she is 18. When Jess is playing for fun one day, her impressive skills are seen by Jules Paxton, who then convinces Jess to play for her semi-pro team. Jess uses elaborate excuses to hide her matches from her family while also dealing with her romantic feelings for her coach, Joe.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKilling Zoe (1993)
Zed is an American vault-cracker who travels to Paris to meet up with his old friend Eric. Eric and his gang have planned to raid the only bank in the city which is open on Bastille day. After offering his services, Zed soon finds himself trapped in a situation beyond his control when heroin abuse, poor planning and a call-girl named Zoe all conspire to turn the robbery into a very bloody siege.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDial M for Murder (1954)
When her American lover visits London, a wealthy woman’s jealous husband hatches a plan to murder her and inherit her fortune.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisCasino (1995)
In Las Vegas, two best friends-a casino executive and a Mafia enforcer--compete for a gambling empire and a fast-living, fast-loving socialite.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Holding the Man?
The closest matches to Holding the Man are Bohemian Rhapsody (2018), I Am Woman (2020) and Priscilla (2023). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Holding the Man?
Start with Bohemian Rhapsody (2018), the closest match to Holding the Man.
What is the highest-rated movie like Holding the Man?
Dial M for Murder (1954), rated 8.0/10 by 2,997 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Holding the Man?
In the Blink of an Eye (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Holding the Man?
Yes: Bohemian Rhapsody (2018), I Am Woman (2020) and Priscilla (2023).
How are movies similar to Holding the Man chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Holding the Man, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.