Movies like Sex First, Love Second (2017)
The best movies like Sex First, Love Second (2017) are Sweet Sex and Love (2003), Newness (2017) and Fire with Fire (1986). If Sex First, Love Second hooked you with its romance and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedGabriel's Inferno: Part II (2020)8.3/10 from 1,569 votes
- NewestMarked Men: Rule + Shaw (2025)Released 2025
- In KoreanSweet Sex and Love (2003)Also in Korean
Sweet Sex and Love (2003)
Shin-ah, a free spirit, has an unexpected encounter with Dong-gi, who seeks excitement. After a passionate night, she breaks up with her boyfriend and reunites with Dong-gi when he calls. The two fall madly in love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisNewness (2017)
In contemporary Los Angeles, two millennials navigating a social media–driven hookup culture begin a relationship that pushes both emotional and physical boundaries.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
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 thisSylvie's Love (2020)
When a young woman meets an aspiring saxophonist in her father’s record shop in 1950s Harlem, their love ignites a sweeping romance that transcends changing times, geography, and professional success.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWander Darkly (2020)
New parents Adrienne and Matteo are forced to reckon with trauma amidst their troubled relationship. They must revisit the memories of their past and unravel haunting truths in order to face their uncertain future.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPortrait of a Beauty (2008)
Yun-jeong, a skilled painter, disguises herself as a man in court to continue her family's legacy. Circumstances become difficult when her relationship with Kang-mu draws jealousy from the others.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMarked Men: Rule + Shaw (2025)
Shaw Landon has loved Rule Archer from the moment she laid eyes on him. Rule, a fiery-tempered rebel tattoo artist, doesn’t have time for a good girl pre-med student like Shaw — even if she’s the only one who can see the person he truly is. She lives by other people’s rules; he makes his own. But a short skirt, too many birthday cocktails, and spilled secrets lead to a night neither can forget. Now, Shaw and Rule must figure out how a girl like her and a guy like him are supposed to be together without destroying their love…or each other.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTime Is Up (2021)
Vivien, an accomplished student with a passion for physics, and Roy, a troubled young man, are involved in an accident that forces them to reclaim their lives one minute at the time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWoman Is the Future of Man (2004)
As the first snow falls in Seoul, two old friends reunite; one is a successful college professor, and the other, a struggling filmmaker recently returned from the United States. After their reminiscences, they finally decide to go in search of the young woman each had romanced years earlier.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGame of Love (2022)
Follows Vivien and Roy as their love story continues and leads them to Roy’s childhood home in Sicily to prepare for the sale of the family estate. During the visit, a mysterious woman arrives and befriends Vivien, much to Roy’s displeasure. Tensions build and lines are crossed as secrets from Roy’s past force the couple to face aspects of their relationship they did not know existed.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Fugitive Kind (1960)
Val Xavier, a drifter of obscure origins, arrives at a small town and gets a job in a store run by Lady Torrence. Her husband, Jabe M. Torrance, is dying of cancer. Val is pursued by Carol Cutere, the enigmatic local tramp-of-good-family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSee You Soon (2019)
A U.S. soccer star suffers a career-threatening injury in the run-up to the World Cup, and during his recovery, embarks on an epic romance with a Russian single mom.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisGabriel's Inferno: Part II (2020)
Professor Gabriel Emerson finally learns the truth about Julia Mitchell's identity, but his realization comes a moment too late. Julia is done waiting for the well-respected Dante specialist to remember her and wants nothing more to do with him. Can Gabriel win back her heart before she finds love in another's arms?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisTwo for the Seesaw (1962)
After leaving his wife, lawyer Jerry Ryan moves from Omaha, Nebraska to New York City to start a new life. While studying for the New York Bar Examination and working to finalize his divorce, Ryan meets dancer Gittel Mosca, and the two begin a cautious courtship. However, Ryan feels that he must come to terms with his failed marriage and overcome his lingering attachment to his ex-wife before he can redefine himself and embrace his budding romance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDirt Music (2020)
Georgie is slowly suffocating in a loveless marriage to fishing tycoon Jim Buckridge. Handsome poacher Lu is an irresistible symbol of the excitement she craves. A passionate affair follows that reveals the dark secrets in Lu’s past and forces him to take flight into the blistering heat of the outback. Georgie follows, determined to find him and bring him back.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisApril Snow (2005)
A man and a woman are brought together after their spouses, who were having an affair, are hospitalized after a car crash.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
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 · both romance & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEmpire of Lust (2015)
In the turbulent Joseon dynasty, army commander Min-jae watches ambitious Prince Yi Bang-won while becoming entwined with Ga-hee, a vengeful gisaeng. Fate collides as power shifts.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCheese in the Trap (2018)
Hong Seol, a student from a poor family, meets a rich Yoo Jung, who is her senior at her university. They both develop a rather inconvenient relationship after knowing each other.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOn Your Wedding Day (2018)
Through the course of their lives, a man and his first love are repeatedly separated from each other because of circumstances out of their control.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBikini Bar: Delicious Service (2020)
Minzhu ran a bar, but the business was so bad that she lost all her store deposit, and the landlord kept pressing for rent. Seeing this, Meizhen decided to develop an innovative spirit and began to provide special services in a bikini. Soon, the bar's Business is booming….
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & drama
Sister Swapping (2023)
Sisters Ji-soo and Ji-yeong decided to sell their used underwear due to financial difficulties. Perverted men offer to buy them at a higher price by asking these two sisters for shots of them wearing the underwear. Other men offer to pay even higher prices by demanding sex out of greater desire. As the sisters earn more money than expected, their service becomes more and more popular.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & drama
Purpose of Tutoring (2023)
Yeong-tak and Ha-na are stepsiblings who live with the support of their divorced adoptive parents. The two begin taking individual private lessons for their respective careers. Yeong-tak secretly gives his acting teacher Na-ri sleeping pills to covet her body, while Ha-na is busy seducing her physical education teacher Han-cheol. Meanwhile, Na-ri and Han-cheol run into each other at the stepsiblings' house, fall in love at first sight, and seek revenge on the two who offended them.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & drama
My Young Master (2019)
Seon-yeong's husband cheats on her, which she endures until her younger brother-in-law comes to stay. After a series of events, she seduces him and decides to divorce her cheating husband and runaway with his brother.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & drama
Exchange Wife 2 (2023)
Kyeong-soo, an art dealer who specializes in painting, goes to evaluate the requested painting and accidentally damages it. Chang-in, the owner of the painting, suggests one thing from Kyung-soo, who was at a loss.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & drama
Good Housewives (2020)
An erotic film about the affairs of three married women. So-jeong, Hyeon-joo, and Da-eun, who are college classmates, are each dissatisfied with their husbands. So-jeong, an extrovert, enjoys sexual affair with her photographer while working as model, and Hyeon-joo enjoys sexual affair with her male client while working in real estate. Da-eun, a full-time housewife, happens to meet an attractive pizza delivery man. A few days later, Da-eun calls her friends to her house and orders them pizza, and the three friends seduce the delivery man.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
Honeymoon (1983)
The first soft core porn flick made in former Yugoslavia (today Croatia). It was a huge cause celebre for the participants and equally infamous for its innumerable shortcomings ranging from the lack of coherent plot-line to the most basic elements of film making. However, in time, it has gained a somewhat cult reputation. A priceless insight into an odd culture and its lax sexual mores and follies!
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Isla: The Young Version (1996)
A story of an innocent young lass desperate to leave her homeland to escape her adoptive father's lustful desires.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Sex Files: Digital Sex (1998)
A pair of thieves break into an FBI warehouse and steal a virtual reality device that can record and replay sexual experiences.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Boarder: Dangerous Cohabitation (2024)
Mi-hyeon's newlywed life was normal until her husband, Ki-hyeon, got into an accident. Her body and mind are ruined as she takes care of her crippled husband. While struggling with the hardships of her life, Mi-hyeon takes in a young man as a boarder with the introduction of her friend, and a deviation that Mi-hyeon never had before begins.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
Like Sex First, Love Second and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Sex First, Love Second?
The closest matches to Sex First, Love Second are Sweet Sex and Love (2003), Newness (2017) and Fire with Fire (1986). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Sex First, Love Second?
Start with Sweet Sex and Love (2003), the closest match to Sex First, Love Second.
What is the highest-rated movie like Sex First, Love Second?
Gabriel's Inferno: Part II (2020), rated 8.3/10 by 1,569 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Sex First, Love Second?
Marked Men: Rule + Shaw (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Korean movies like Sex First, Love Second?
Yes: Sweet Sex and Love (2003), Portrait of a Beauty (2008) and Woman Is the Future of Man (2004).
How are movies similar to Sex First, Love Second chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Sex First, Love Second, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.