Movies like Chicago, the Beautiful (1948)
The best movies like Chicago, the Beautiful (1948) are Avatar: The Deep Dive - A Special Edition of 20/20 (2022), No Half Measures: Creating the Final Season of Breaking Bad (2013) and My Mom Jayne (2025). If Chicago, the Beautiful hooked you with its documentary, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedSelena Gomez: My Mind & Me (2022)8.4/10 from 623 votes
- NewestOasis: Don't Look Back in Anger (2026)Released 2026
Avatar: The Deep Dive - A Special Edition of 20/20 (2022)
An inside look at one of the most anticipated movie sequels ever with James Cameron and cast.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNo Half Measures: Creating the Final Season of Breaking Bad (2013)
A documentary about the making of season five of the acclaimed AMC series Breaking Bad.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisMy Mom Jayne (2025)
Through deeply personal interviews with her siblings and an examination of the photographs, letters, and belongings left behind, Mariska assembles a new portrait of her mother Jayne Mansfield, an extraordinary and complex woman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisMarvel Studios Assembled: The Making of Hawkeye (2022)
Join the likes of Jeremy Renner, Hailee Steinfeld, Florence Pugh, and Vincent D’Onofrio as they reveal how Marvel Studios’ “Hawkeye” was conceived and created. Witness firsthand what it took to pull off the show’s pulse-pounding action set pieces, and discover how iconic characters from the pages of Marvel Comics such as Kate Bishop were adapted and brought to life for the six-episode series.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJennifer Lopez: Dance Again (2014)
A documentary that chronicles Jennifer Lopez's life on and off-stage during her first ever world tour. Throughout the majority of her music career, beginning in 1999, a world tour by Lopez was anticipated, though it never materialized. Following the release of her seventh studio album Love? (2011), she was more intent on touring than ever. However, it was not until March 2012 when the tour came into the works. As rumors began to circulate, Lopez later confirmed that April that she would be embarking on her first world tour. It commenced on June 14, 2012, in Panama City, Panama, and concluded on December 22, 2012, in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisShawn Mendes: In Wonder (2020)
A portrait of singer-songwriter Shawn Mendes' life, chronicling the past few years of his rise and journey.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Crystal Calls - Making The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (2019)
Go behind the scenes with stars, puppeteers and creators as they bring Jim Henson's magical world of Thra back to life in a sweeping fantasy series.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDavid Bowie: Five Years (2013)
Featuring a wealth of previously unseen archive, this film looks at how Bowie continually evolved: from Ziggy Stardust to the Soul Star of Young Americans, to the ‘Thin White Duke’. It explores his regeneration in Berlin with the critically acclaimed album Heroes, his triumph with Scary Monsters and his global success with Let’s Dance. With interviews with all his closest collaborators, David Bowie - Five Years presents a unique account of why Bowie has become an ‘icon of our times’.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Show Must Go On: The Queen + Adam Lambert Story (2019)
A documentary chronicling Queen and Lambert's incredible journey since they first shared the stage together on "American Idol" in 2009.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCome See Me in the Good Light (2025)
In an intimate and joyful story of love in the face of loss, celebrated poets Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley find strength—and unexpected hilarity—in what might be their final year together.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisI Am Heath Ledger (2017)
The life and career of an actor, artist, and icon. His own journey through his own camera.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStruggle: The Life and Lost Art of Szukalski (2018)
Artists in LA discover the work of forgotten Polish sculptor Stanislav Szukalski, a mad genius whose true story unfolds chapter by astounding chapter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAvatar: Creating the World of Pandora (2010)
The Making-of James Cameron's Avatar. It shows interesting parts of the work on the set.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Toxic Love Story (2026)
A string of threatening emails escalates into a revenge plot involving a newly married US marshal and his ex-girlfriend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOasis: Don't Look Back in Anger (2026)
Experience the meteoric rise of Oasis through rare footage and untold stories as the band reunites for Oasis Live '25, chronicling their journey from Manchester streets to global rock stardom.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAs I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty (2000)
A compilation of over 30 years of private home movie footage shot by Lithuanian-American avant-garde director Jonas Mekas, assembled by Mekas "purely by chance", without concern for chronological order.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSelena Gomez: My Mind & Me (2022)
After years in the limelight, Selena Gomez achieves unimaginable stardom. But just as she reaches a new peak, an unexpected turn pulls her into darkness. This uniquely raw and intimate documentary spans her six-year journey into a new light.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisSherman's March (1986)
Documentarian Ross McElwee originally set out to make a travelogue of sorts tracing General William T. Sherman's infamous scorched-earth march through the Confederacy in the latter stages of the Civil War. Instead, haunted by a recent breakup with a girlfriend, McElwee ends up documenting his progress -- or lack thereof -- in starting a new relationship. His journey then becomes one of self-reflection and self-discovery rather than a historical/sociological exploration.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEnd of the Century: The Story of the Ramones (2003)
A years-in-the-making documentary on the legendary punk band the Ramones. Through a mixture of archival footage, archival and new interviews with all members of the band's various lineups, and new interviews with a number of their contemporaries, the film traces the peaks and valleys the band experienced over the course of its 20-plus year career before disbanding in 1995.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCharlie: The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin (2003)
Brilliant, long in-the-works story of the life and art of the world's greatest comedian and the cinema's first genius, Charlie Chaplin. Produced, written and directed by renowned film critic Richard Schickel.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisResa med en vän (1992)
Resa med en vän [Travel With A Friend] is a poetic documentary where singer-songwriter Olle Adolphson and filmmaker Eric M. Nilsson travels to Southern France and Northern Spain, where the mountains meets the Atlantic Ocean in the West and the Mediterranean Sea in the East.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Sans Soleil (1983)
A woman narrates the thoughts of a world traveler, meditations on time and memory expressed in words and images from places as far-flung as Japan, Guinea-Bissau, Iceland, and San Francisco.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIrish Chicago (2009)
The colorful stories of Irish-American immigrants and their descendants who lived the history and exemplify the repeated cycle of the outsider becoming the ultimate Chicago citizen-insider.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Old St. Patrick's Church: Chicago Renaissance Story (2013)
Mike Leonard tells the inside story of how the west Loop’s St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church, known to residents as Old St. Pat's, transformed itself from an empty church in a declining neighborhood into a Chicago hub of worship, culture, social life, education, and service -- revitalizing a then-struggling West Loop.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
The Murder Ballad of James Jones (2014)
In 1993, Chicago bluesman and Howlin' Wolf protégé James "Tail Dragger" Jones murdered fellow musician "Boston Blackie" during an on-stage performance. Twenty years later, James engraved his confession onto an acetate record.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Mr. Smith Goes to Tokyo (2009)
When Tomoko finds some messages for a 'Mr Smith' on a lost mobile phone, she finds herself on an 'Alice in Wonderland' journey through Tokyo's boulevards and back alleys. From the tyranny of symmetry in soaring office blocks - to buildings that look like space-ships, this creative documentary shows us the city's soul.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Hoop Dreams (1994)
Every school day, African-American teenagers William Gates and Arthur Agee travel 90 minutes each way from inner-city Chicago to St. Joseph High School in Westchester, Illinois, a predominately white suburban school well-known for the excellence of its basketball program. Gates and Agee dream of NBA stardom, and with the support of their close-knit families, they battle the social and physical obstacles that stand in their way. This acclaimed documentary was shot over the course of five years.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSeeing Sights in London (1919)
We look first at Westminster Abbey and the Towers of Parliament. And the sight-seeing only starts there as it continues to all the famous buildings of London.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Chicago 10 (2008)
Archival footage, animation and music are used to look back at the eight anti-war protesters who were put on trial following the 1968 Democratic National Convention.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Dear Ike: Lost Letters to a Teen Idol (2021)
In this animated documentary, Los Angeles filmmaker Dion Labriola recounts his all-consuming childhood quest to contact his teen idol, Ike Eisenmann - and the magical turn of events that led him toward his goal (some 40 years later).
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Chicago, the Beautiful?
The closest matches to Chicago, the Beautiful are Avatar: The Deep Dive - A Special Edition of 20/20 (2022), No Half Measures: Creating the Final Season of Breaking Bad (2013) and My Mom Jayne (2025). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Chicago, the Beautiful?
Start with Avatar: The Deep Dive - A Special Edition of 20/20 (2022), the closest match to Chicago, the Beautiful.
What is the highest-rated movie like Chicago, the Beautiful?
Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me (2022), rated 8.4/10 by 623 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Chicago, the Beautiful?
Oasis: Don't Look Back in Anger (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Chicago, the Beautiful?
Yes: Avatar: The Deep Dive - A Special Edition of 20/20 (2022), No Half Measures: Creating the Final Season of Breaking Bad (2013) and My Mom Jayne (2025).
How are movies similar to Chicago, the Beautiful chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Chicago, the Beautiful, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.