Movies like The Closet (2008)
The best movies like The Closet (2008) are Giant Little Ones (2019), Happythankyoumoreplease (2011) and Palmer (2021). If The Closet hooked you, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedPalmer (2021)8.1/10 from 2,028 votes
- NewestSpogliati (2026)Released 2026
Giant Little Ones (2019)
Two popular teen boys, best friends since childhood, discover their lives, families, and girlfriends dramatically upended after an unexpected incident occurs on the night of a 17th birthday party.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHappythankyoumoreplease (2011)
Six New Yorkers navigate love, commitment, and adulthood. When struggling novelist Sam takes in an abandoned boy he meets on the subway, his life begins to intertwine with a talented singer who challenges his bachelor ways. Meanwhile, his best friend Annie battles alopecia while torn between two drastically different men, and a long-term couple faces a crossroads that could alter their future together.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPalmer (2021)
After 12 years in prison, former high school football star Eddie Palmer returns home to put his life back together—and forms an unlikely bond with Sam, an outcast boy from a troubled home. But Eddie's past threatens to ruin his new life and family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisA Guide to Recognizing Your Saints (2006)
Dito Montiel, a successful author, receives a call from his long-suffering mother, asking him to return home and visit his ailing father. Dito recalls his childhood growing up in a violent neighborhood in Queens, N.Y., with friends Antonio, Giuseppe, Nerf and Mike.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWinter Spring Summer or Fall (2024)
Remi and Barnes, two very different teenagers, meet by chance in the winter of their senior year, then spend four days together over the course of a year that will change their lives forever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMy Own Private Idaho (1991)
Mike Waters is a hustler afflicted with narcolepsy. Scott Favor is the rebellious son of a mayor. Together, the two travel from Portland, Oregon to Idaho and finally to the coast of Italy in a quest to find Mike's estranged mother. Along the way they turn tricks for money and drugs, eventually attracting the attention of a wealthy benefactor and sexual deviant.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThree O'Clock High (1987)
Nerdy high schooler Jerry Mitchell is assigned to write an article for the school paper about the infamous new delinquent transfer student, Buddy Revell. When Jerry accidentally invades Buddy's personal space and touches him, Buddy challenges Jerry to an afterschool fight in the parking lot, which Jerry tries to avoid at all costs.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Score to Settle (2019)
A former mob enforcer who is released from prison after serving 22 years for a crime he didn't commit sets out on a path for revenge against the people who wronged him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Art of Getting By (2011)
George, a lonely and fatalistic teen who's made it all the way to his senior year without ever having done a real day of work, is befriended by Sally, a popular but complicated girl who recognizes in him a kindred spirit.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMe and You and Everyone We Know (2005)
Single dad Richard meets Christine, a starving artist who moonlights as a cabbie. They awkwardly attempt to start a romance, but Richard’s divorce has left him emotionally damaged. Meanwhile, Richard’s sons—one a teenager, the other 6-years-old—take part in clumsy experiments with the opposite sex.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMean Streets (1973)
A small-time hood must choose from among love, friendship and the chance to rise within the mob.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like this180 (2026)
When an unexpected road rage incident puts his son in critical condition, an enraged father spirals down a dark path of emotional turmoil and vengeance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisMy Dinner with Hervé (2018)
An unlikely friendship evolves over one wild night in LA between a struggling journalist and actor Hervé Villechaize, the world's most famous gun-toting dwarf, resulting in life-changing consequences for both.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPretty Persuasion (2005)
A 15-year-old girl incites chaos among her friends and a media frenzy when she accuses her drama teacher of sexual harassment.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like this4th Man Out (2015)
After a night of drinking, Adam Hutcherson stumbles out of the closet to his three straight buddies. A disruption to their dynamic which they now must try and overcome through alcohol, Tinder dates and forgiveness.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMoonlight (2016)
The tender, heartbreaking story of a young man’s struggle to find himself, told across three defining chapters in his life as he experiences the ecstasy, pain, and beauty of falling in love, while grappling with his own sexuality.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHouse of D (2004)
In the present, artist Tom Warshaw recalls his traumatic coming of age. As a 13-year-old growing up in New York City in 1973, Tom hangs out with Pappass, a mentally disabled man. With Tom's mother battling depression after the death of her husband, the young boy is left to his own devices. When Tom develops a crush on schoolmate Melissa, Pappass feels abandoned and begins behaving erratically.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCircle of Friends (1995)
Three girlhood friends now at college share first loves, first kisses and first betrayals. At the center of it all is the best-looking boy on campus. Can a self-conscious dreamer hook the biggest fish in the pond?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAdulthood (2008)
After serving six years for killing his schoolmate, a young man learns that someone is out for revenge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Bronx Tale (1993)
Set in the Bronx during the tumultuous 1960s, an adolescent boy is torn between his honest, working-class father and a violent yet charismatic crime boss. Complicating matters is the youngster's growing attraction - forbidden in his neighborhood - for a beautiful black girl.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Burning Boy (2001)
A closeted teenage gay boy shares a swim and an afternoon together with his straight best friend. When his looks and longing let his secret out, his friend pleasantly surprises him but an accident occurs and tragedy ensues.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Amizade Inesperada (2022)
Luiz is a high school student who, by neglecting his studies, gets a failing grade. To help him, the teacher gives Toni the mission to teach the student the unlearned material. However, Luiz has a history of school violence against Toni. Putting aside the past the two accept the challenge given by the teacher and end up living an unpretentious romance.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
I'm Not Afraid (2021)
Misha and Philip have been friends since childhood, but now Phillip has to move to another city with his parents. As their strong friendship suddenly begins to unravel, what seemed like innocent child's play before now turns into new, unfamiliar feelings.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros (2005)
Maxi, a boy on the cusp of his teens, is already comfortable with his homosexual feelings, with acceptance from his family. When Maxi is assaulted one evening, Victor, a police officer, comes to his aid. Maxi soon develops a crush on Victor, who shows a platonic affection for the young lad.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStimulants & Empathogens (2024)
Antek, a polite yet secretive teenager from a wealthy family, invites a drug dealer, Kuba, on whom he has a crush, to his villa under the pretext of another drug transaction. However, Kuba's father and brother suspect that Antek is reselling the drugs he buys from them and stealing their clients, so they give Kuba the task of investigating Antek, but the evening does not go as planned for either teenager.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Winter Boy (2022)
Lucas is a 17-year-old gay teenager coping with the sudden and unexpected death of his father in an accident that may or may not have been suicide. He views his life as a wild animal in need of taming. Between a brother settled in Paris and a mother with whom he now lives alone, Lucas will have to fight to rediscover hope and love.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe (2023)
Two teenage Mexican-American loners in 1987 El Paso explore a new, unusual friendship and the difficult road to self-discovery.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSpogliati (2026)
A documentary that explores the reality of the LGBTQIA+ community through the perspective of those who, excluded from their families of origin, have built new bonds and forms of belonging. At the center of the film is the House of Windowsen, an emerging presence in the Italian ballroom scene, made up of Gian, the overall father, Morgan Sasha, and Concetta. Following their lives between Milan, Rome, and Naples, the film weaves together personal experiences and shared journeys, offering a direct portrait of ballroom culture and the dynamics of a chosen family that is atypical and non-nuclear. It is a narrative that highlights identities, relationships, and the need to create a space in which to exist.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Pistachio (2021)
When Petra spends an evening with her best friend Sanna, Sanna asks how she knew she was bi. Petra tries in earnest to show her the truth.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Sleepless Nights (2021)
Joshua, a 20-something years old unemployed artist who's getting evicted, meets up with Gabriele, a boy who's new to the city and is apartment hunting. The two form a bond as Gabriele decides to move in after Joshua moves out, but expectations and unreadiness get in the way of a sparking romance.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Like The Closet and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Closet?
The closest matches to The Closet are Giant Little Ones (2019), Happythankyoumoreplease (2011) and Palmer (2021). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Closet?
Start with Giant Little Ones (2019), the closest match to The Closet.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Closet?
Palmer (2021), rated 8.1/10 by 2,028 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Closet?
Spogliati (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Closet?
Yes: Giant Little Ones (2019), Happythankyoumoreplease (2011) and Palmer (2021).
How are movies similar to The Closet chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Closet, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.