Movies like Changing Emma (2014)
The best movies like Changing Emma (2014) are Love Don't Co$t a Thing (2003), Stargirl (2020) and A Cinderella Story: Once Upon a Song (2011). If Changing Emma hooked you with its comedy and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedDrawing Closer (2024)8.4/10 from 240 votes
- NewestCaptain Zero: Into the Abyss Part II (2025)Released 2025
Love Don't Co$t a Thing (2003)
A high school outcast pays a cheerleader to pose as his girlfriend so he can be considered cool.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStargirl (2020)
An unassuming high schooler finds himself inexplicably drawn to the free-spirited new girl, whose unconventional ways change how they see themselves…and their world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Cinderella Story: Once Upon a Song (2011)
In this modern telling of the classic tale, aspiring singer Katie Gibbs falls for the new boy at her performing arts high school. But Katie's wicked stepmother and stepsister are scheming to crush her dream before she can sing her way into his heart.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRoll Bounce (2005)
In the summer of 1978, a teenager and his group of friends face new challenges when their neighborhood roller-skating rink closes, forcing them to visit a different rink.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Other Sister (1999)
A mentally challenged girl proves herself to be every bit as capable as her "perfect" sister when she moves into an apartment and begins going to college.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChang Can Dunk (2023)
Chang, a 16-year-old, Asian American, bets the high school basketball star that he can dunk by Homecoming. The bet leads 5' 8" Chang on a quest to learn to dunk—not only to impress his crush, Kristy, but to gain the respect of his high school peers too. But before he can rise up and truly throw one down, he'll have to reexamine everything he knows about himself, his friendships and his family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Clique (2008)
A young girl tries to fit in with a clique of popular middle school girls after moving into the guest house of one of their homes.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisA Simple Twist of Fate (1994)
When Michael McCann is thrown over by the woman he loves, he becomes something of a misanthrope and a miser, spending all of his spare money on collectible gold coins. Living in the same town is an affluent family with two sons: John and Tanny. Tanny's a wild boy, whom John cannot control, and one night he breaks into McCann's house, and steals the gold and disappears, which nearly confirms McCann's distrust of mankind. But then, a mysterious young woman dies in the snow outside McCann's house, and her small daughter makes her way to McCann's house and into McCann's life and heart.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWelcome Home Roscoe Jenkins (2008)
When a celebrated TV show host returns to his hometown in the South, his family is there to remind him that going home is no vacation!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFree Rein: The Twelve Neighs of Christmas (2018)
As Bright Fields preps for its Mistletoe Ball, a broken ornament leads Zoe to a family secret, while Gaby finds herself at the mercy of new boss Mia.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSave the Last Dance (2001)
After the death of her mother, Sara moves to the South Side of Chicago to live with her father and gets transferred to a majority-black school. Her life takes a turn for the better when befriends Chenille and her brother Derek, who helps her with her dancing skills.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCyrus (2010)
With John's social life at a standstill and his ex-wife about to get remarried, a down on his luck divorcée finally meets the woman of his dreams, only to discover she has another man in her life - her son. Before long, the two are locked in a battle of wits for the woman they both love-and it appears only one man can be left standing when it's over.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisPeace, Love & Misunderstanding (2011)
A conservative lawyer named Diane takes her two teenage children Jake and Zoe to meet their estranged, hippie grandmother in Woodstock after her husband asks for a divorce.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisFoster (2011)
Looking to adopt a child and unable to conceive a child of their own, the Morrisons' lives are turned upside down when a seven-year-old boy unexpectedly shows up on their doorstep.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIrreplaceable You (2018)
A stunning cancer diagnosis spurs Abbie to seek a future girlfriend for fiancé and childhood sweetheart Sam, who's clueless when it comes to dating.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Loud House Movie (2021)
The Loud family travel to Scotland and discover they are descendants of Scottish royalty as they move into their giant ancestral castle.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThunderstruck (2012)
After NBA star Kevin Durant switches talent with 16 year old Brian, the teenager becomes the star of his high school team, but Durant starts struggling and eventually learns an important lesson.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFire with Fire (1986)
A tough, street-smart kid serving a sentence in a state youth reformatory meets a beautiful, innocent girl studying at a nearby convent. When forbidden love blossoms between them, they must fight the prison authorities, their parents and the law.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHenry Danger: The Movie (2025)
Henry Hart meets a superfan—eager to fight crime with Kid Danger—who comes into possession of a device that can open up alternate realities. Facing a wild ride, Henry will need his best friend Jasper and his new superfan sidekick to find his way out or be stuck in another dimension forever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHilda and the Mountain King (2021)
When Hilda wakes up in the body of a troll, she must use her wits and courage to get back home, become human again — and save the city of Trolberg.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMeet the Browns (2008)
A single mother living in inner city Chicago, Brenda has been struggling for years to make ends meet and keep her three kids off the street. When she's laid off with no warning, she starts losing hope for the first time - until a letter arrives announcing the death of a father she's never met. Desperate for any kind of help, Brenda takes her family to Georgia for the funeral, but nothing could have prepared her for the Browns, her father's fun-loving, crass Southern clan. In a small-town world full of long afternoons and country fairs, Brenda struggles to get to know the family she never knew existed... and finds a brand new romance that just might change her life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAlways Kabhi Kabhi (2011)
Four students come of age during a year at their school, St Marks with various encounters.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
Queen Sized (2008)
Maggie Baker has a weight problem, and her high school classmates won't let her forget it. They shamelessly ridicule her, and even go so far as to nominate her for Homecoming Queen as a joke. Maggie, however, decides to take the nomination seriously, collects the required signatures and starts campaigning. A number of students get behind her, threatening the chances of the popular clique -- who resolve to sabotage Maggie's campaign by any means necessary.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & family
Lucky Ball (2015)
High school student Yeon-ju and Eun-chae were rehearsing for a joint performance at the school after school ahead of the school festival performance. Then suddenly, a baseball that Hee-jun threw badly from the playground flies in through the window. Hee-jun comes into the classroom looking for the ball and the Yeon-ju tries to find Hee-jun's ball.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Jasmine Is a Star (2022)
A determined 16-year-old with albinism makes it her mission to become a professional model in her hometown of Minneapolis, while attempting to go unnoticed in every other aspect of her teenage life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & family
Drawing Closer (2024)
With only a year left to live, 17-year-old Akito finds new meaning in life by bringing joy to a terminally ill girl who has just six months remaining.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisDope (2015)
Malcolm is carefully surviving life in a tough neighborhood in Los Angeles while juggling college applications, academic interviews, and the SAT. A chance invitation to an underground party leads him into an adventure that could allow him to go from being a geek, to being dope, to ultimately being himself.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisL′Abri (2002)
A thirty-two year old man falls in love with a seventeen year-old highschool student whom he sees at the bus stop everyday.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & drama
Captain Zero: Into the Abyss Part II (2025)
Framed through his therapy sessions, high school senior Xerxes Hughes struggles to juggle his double life as a student and superhero, all while trying to confront his inner demon—literally.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & comedy
My Oni Girl (2024)
A shy teenage boy's inability to say no is tested when a headstrong girl drags him on a mystical journey amid summer snow to find her missing mom.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Changing Emma?
The closest matches to Changing Emma are Love Don't Co$t a Thing (2003), Stargirl (2020) and A Cinderella Story: Once Upon a Song (2011). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Changing Emma?
Start with Love Don't Co$t a Thing (2003), the closest match to Changing Emma.
What is the highest-rated movie like Changing Emma?
Drawing Closer (2024), rated 8.4/10 by 240 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Changing Emma?
Captain Zero: Into the Abyss Part II (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to Changing Emma chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Changing Emma, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.