Movies like Swing Girls (2004)
The best movies like Swing Girls (2004) are Linda Linda Linda (2005), On-Gaku: Our Sound (2020) and Drumline: A New Beat (2014). If Swing Girls hooked you with its comedy and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe First Slam Dunk (2022)7.8/10 from 581 votes
- NewestCamp Rock 3 (2026)Released 2026
- In JapaneseLinda Linda Linda (2005)Also in Japanese
Linda Linda Linda (2005)
Only three days before the school festival, a newly formed high school band rushes to put together a set for their big show — including a hit single by '80s by the Japanese punk rock band The Blue Hearts.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOn-Gaku: Our Sound (2020)
A bored trio of high school delinquents start a rock 'n' roll band together. They have no skill, money, or even a full set of drums, but are determined to jam out and impress their only friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDrumline: A New Beat (2014)
A girl from New York attends a college in Atlanta to join their once-famous marching band.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCamp Rock 3 (2026)
When pop group Connect 3 returns to Camp Rock to search for an opening act for their reunion tour, rising tensions and fierce competition among campers test old friendships and spark unexpected romances.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDon't Say Good Luck (2026)
Sophie Birenbaum is ready for the spotlight as the lead in her high school musical—until she's suddenly facing more drama at home than on the stage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLemonade Mouth (2011)
When five ragtag freshman first meet in detention, it seems they have nothing in common. But, through music, they form an unbreakable bond and discover they have the makings of the greatest high school garage band in history! In the face of incredible odds, Olivia, Stella, Wen, Mohini and Charlie find they can make a real difference when they learn to lean on each other and let go of everything holding back their dreams.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Cheetah Girls (2003)
A four-member teen girl group named the Cheetah Girls go to a Manhattan High School for the Performing Arts and try to become the first freshmen to win the talent show in the school's history. During the talent show auditions, they meet a big-time producer named Jackal Johnson, who tries to make the group into superstars, but the girls run into many problems.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Cheetah Girls 2 (2006)
Best friends Galleria, Chanel, Dorinda, and Aqua, A.K.A. the girl band "The Cheetahs," get the opportunity of a lifetime when they strut their way to Barcelona, Spain, to perform in an international music festival. Along the way, the "amigas Cheetahs" learn that, although their paths are not the same, they are lucky to have one another for the journey.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLiz and the Blue Bird (2018)
In their last year of high school, two girls in the brass band club perform a song inspired by a fairy tale that parallels their friendship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Colors Within (2024)
Totsuko is a high school student with the ability to see the 'colors' of others. Colors of bliss, excitement, and serenity, plus a color she treasures as her favorite. Kimi, a classmate at her school, gives off the most beautiful color of all. Although she doesn't play an instrument, Totsuko forms a band with Kimi and Rui, a quiet music enthusiast they meet at a used bookstore in a far corner of town. As they practice at an old church on a remote island, music brings them together, forming friendships and stirring affections.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisK-ON! The Movie (2011)
With graduation right around the corner, every member of the Light Music Club except for Azusa will be leaving for good. But the girls aren’t going to let something as silly as graduation tear them apart! For their final hurrah, the girls are going on the ultimate vacation tour— all the way to London! Their overseas journey will lead them on a trip of discovery and friendship as they take the stage one last time for their final encore together.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & music
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisBECK (2010)
Yukio is your average high school student who spends his days going to class and avoiding bullies. That is until he meets Ryusuke, a guitar prodigy. Together with Taira, Chiba, and Saku they form the rock band BECK. As their popularity increases so does the danger as Ryusuke's past catches up with him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFlying Colors (2015)
A high school girl, Sayaka Kudō was the bottom of the class. After a year, she improved her deviation value from 30 to 70, then passed Keio University that is considered one of the most difficult to enter in Japan.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe First Slam Dunk (2022)
Shohoku's “speedster” and point guard, Ryota Miyagi, always plays with brains and lightning speed, running circles around his opponents while feigning composure. In his second year of high school, Ryota plays with the Shohoku High School basketball team along with Sakuragi, Rukawa, Akagi, and Mitsui as they take the stage at the Inter-High School National Championship. And now, they are on the brink of challenging the reigning champions, Sannoh Kogyo High School.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlue Giant (2023)
High school student Dai Miyamoto has his life is turned upside down the day he discovers jazz. Picking up a saxophone and leaving his sleepy hometown for the bustling nightclubs of Tokyo, Dai will find that the life of a professional musician isn’t for the faint of heart, as he must confront what it truly means to be great.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thisRock 'n' Roll High School (1979)
A group of rock-music-loving students, with the help of the Ramones, take over their school to combat its newly installed oppressive administration.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisArlo the Alligator Boy (2021)
Upon learning that he is from New York City, a wide-eyed boy, who is half human and half alligator, decides to leave his sheltered life in the swamp and search for his long lost father. A musical adventure.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe School of Rock (2003)
Fired from his band and hard up for cash, guitarist and vocalist Dewey Finn finagles his way into a job as a fifth-grade substitute teacher at a private school, where he secretly begins teaching his straight-A students the finer points of rock 'n' roll and the power of sticking it to the man. But as the school’s stern principal closes in and the Battle of the Bands looms, Dewey must risk everything to prove that rock 'n' roll can change lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Rocker (2008)
In the 1980s, a drummer is abandoned by his band just before they become rock superstars. Twenty years later, the drummer sees his second chance at stardom arise when he is asked to perform with his teenage nephew's high school rock band.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMaria Watches Over Us (2010)
Yumi Fukuzawa is an ordinary first year student at Lillian Girls' Academy. By chance Yumi meets second year student Sachiko Ogasawara, who is a candidate to become a Red Rose. Sachiko later offers her rosary to Yumi Fukuzawa which signifies she will become an older sister to Yumi. Meanwhile, Yumi, who already looks up to popular Sachiko, is perplexed why she is picked. A festival named "Cinderella" then approaches, which is run by the Yamayuri Council. Conflicts between the older and younger sisters soon begins ...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
The Color of Milk (2004)
Selma's mother died giving birth to her, and Selma's step aunt is living proof that men only cause trouble. So the 11 year old girl makes a deal with her best friends that they will stay away from boys and dedicate their lives to science. And by the way, Selma was probably born on another planet and not meant to fall in love with anyone. But what happens when her friends break the pact, and she actually meets a boy who's not like the rest?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
Battle Royale (2000)
In the future, the Japanese government captures a class of ninth-grade students and forces them to kill each other under the revolutionary "Battle Royale" act.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWill You Marry My Wife? (2016)
Shuji Mimura works as a broadcast writer. He learns that he doesn't have much time left to live. He decides to concentrate on the future of his beloved family. Shuji Mimura's final plan is to find the best man to marry his wife Ayako.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Art Blakey: The Jazz Messenger (1988)
A portrait of inspirational jazz drummer and teacher Art Blakey with Dizzy Gillespie, many pupils including Wayne Shorter, the Marsalis brothers, and a surprising new generation of musicians and dancers.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
Black Rain (1989)
Two New York cops get involved in a gang war between members of the Yakuza, the Japanese Mafia. They arrest one of their killers and are ordered to escort him back to Japan. However, in Japan he manages to escape, and as they try to track him down, they get deeper and deeper into the Japanese Mafia scene and they have to learn that they can only win by playing the game—the Japanese way.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTrilok Gurtu Trio at Nord Sea Jazz Festival (2004)
The musical traditions of the eastern and western worlds are bridged through the improvisations of Bombay, India-born percussionist/vocalist Trilok Gurtu. Gurtu’s mastery of post-bop jazz has not gone unnoticed. Downbeat magazine named him “best percussionist” in three critic and popularity polls and proclaimed, “musically, the world is his stage”. Jazz magazine, Straight No Chaser took a similar view, writing, “this music has a transcendental quality and removes any obstacles that lie between western and eastern improvised music.” Gurtu’s eclectic approach has enabled him to collaborate with most of the world’s greatest musicians. Tracklist 01. Jhuleal 02. Peace of five elements 03. Africa con India 04. Pasana’s Love 05. Dance with my lover 06. God rhythm
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
Joe Zawinul & WDR Big Band - Leverkusener Jazztage (2005)
Zawinul is onstage with the WDR Big Band from Germany and a special international rhythm section. The music is a tribute to the pioneering 1970s fusion collective Weather Report, originally with Wayne Shorter on sax, Zawinul on keys, and later Jaco Pastorius on bass (among other personnel). Zawinul and the WDR play "Brown Street" and "Carnavalito." Arranger Vince Mendoza re-imagines this colorful, small-group music for Europe's longest-lived jazz orchestra. And they can play!
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
Al Jarreau at AVO Session Basel (2004)
Tracklist: 1. Route 66 2. Medley: - Save Me - My Old Friend - Trouble In Paradise 3. Distracted 4. Wait For The Magic 5. Mornin' 6. Take Five 7. Lost And Found 8. Midnight Sun 9. Medley: - Step By Step - Breakin' Away - I Will Be Here For You (Nitakungodea Milele) 10. Boogie Down
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
Jimmy McGary: The Best Jazz You Never Heard (2019)
Tenor saxophonist Jimmy McGary was a major presence in the Cincinnati music scene from the 1950s until his death in the early ’90s. With music rooted in Bebop with a progressive slant, the Jazz legend was a session player for King Records and released his first album as a bandleader — The First Time (with a quartet that included pianist Pat Kelly) — in 1979. McGary’s spirit and legacy have lived on well after his passing and well beyond Cincinnati, as evidenced in this new documentary film.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
Like Swing Girls and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Swing Girls?
The closest matches to Swing Girls are Linda Linda Linda (2005), On-Gaku: Our Sound (2020) and Drumline: A New Beat (2014). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Swing Girls?
Start with Linda Linda Linda (2005), the closest match to Swing Girls.
What is the highest-rated movie like Swing Girls?
The First Slam Dunk (2022), rated 7.8/10 by 581 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Swing Girls?
Camp Rock 3 (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like Swing Girls?
Yes: Linda Linda Linda (2005), On-Gaku: Our Sound (2020) and Liz and the Blue Bird (2018).
How are movies similar to Swing Girls chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Swing Girls, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.