Movies like Butterfly Kiss (1995)
The best movies like Butterfly Kiss (1995) are The Dancer Upstairs (2002), In Secret (2014) and Carolina Caroline (2026). If Butterfly Kiss hooked you with its crime and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedMy Policeman (2022)7.5/10 from 799 votes
- NewestCarolina Caroline (2026)Released 2026
The Dancer Upstairs (2002)
A police detective in a South American country is dedicated to hunting down a revolutionary guerilla leader.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIn Secret (2014)
In 1860s Paris, a young woman, Therese, is trapped in a loveless marriage to the sickly Camille by her domineering aunt, Madame Raquin. She spends her days behind the counter of a small shop and her evenings watching Madame play dominos with an eclectic group. After she meets her husband’s alluring friend, Laurent, she embarks on an illicit affair that leads to tragic consequences. Based on Emile Zola’s novel, Thérèse Raquin.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCarolina Caroline (2026)
A young woman, desperate to leave her small town, runs away with a charming con man, embarking on a crime and passion-filled journey through the Southeast to find her estranged mother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMona Lisa (1986)
George is a small-time crook just out of prison who discovers his tough-guy image is out of date. Reduced to working as a minder/driver for high class call girl Simone, he has to agree when she asks him to find a young colleague from her King's Cross days. That's when George's troubles just start.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLonely Hearts (2006)
In the late 1940s, a murderous couple known as the 'The Lonely Hearts Killers' kills close to a dozen people. Two detectives try to nab the duo who find their targets via the personals in the paper.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKiller Heat (2024)
An expat PI is hired to investigate a suspicious death in Crete, Greece, where jealousies run deep amongst the victim's powerful family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisBlue Story (2019)
Blue Story is a tragic tale of a friendship between Timmy and Marco, two young boys from opposing postcodes. Timmy, a shy, smart, naive and timid young boy from Deptford, goes to school in Peckham where he strikes up a friendship with Marco, a charismatic, streetwise kid from the local area. Although from warring postcodes, the two quickly form a firm friendship until it is tested and they wind up on rival sides of a street war. Blue Story depicts elements of Rapman's own personal experiences and aspects of his childhood.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisI Am All Girls (2021)
A special crimes investigator forms an unlikely bond with a serial killer to bring down a global child sex trafficking syndicate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAbove the Rim (1994)
Story of a promising high school basketball star and his relationships with two brothers, one a drug dealer and the other a former basketball star fallen on hard times and now employed as a security guard.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSplit (2016)
The story of a young woman who takes an epic journey to claim her own darkness and sexuality so she can stop putting it into the hands of her abusive lover. When Inanna, a young actress, working as a stripper, becomes obsessed with a mask maker, she sacrifices parts of herself and her life, piece by piece, in order to win his love. At the same time she enters a mythic journey in the theater. One that forces her to face the many abuses endured by women around that world and that blurs her performance, her dreams and her real life and results in a provocative and powerful confrontation that frees her. -- from official website
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisSuburbicon (2017)
In the quiet family town of Suburbicon during the 1950s, the best and worst of humanity is hilariously reflected through the deeds of seemingly ordinary people. When a home invasion turns deadly, a picture-perfect family turns to blackmail, revenge and murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Crew (2008)
Hoping to raise enough capital to finance a legitimate business and leave behind his life of crime, Liverpool underworld boss Ged Brennan sends his brother Ratter and a crew to pull a daring final heist. But when Ratter kills a drug kingpin during the job, Brennan must turn to rival crook Franner to avert an all-out gangland war.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Devil You Know (2022)
Once-incarcerated Marcus Cowans is trying to turn over a new leaf with the support of his loving family. Upon discovering that one of his brothers may have been involved in a horrific crime, Marcus grapples with the limits of brotherhood and loyalty. He and his family, increasingly weary of the justice system’s failings, end up in the crosshairs of a seasoned but jaded detective.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAffinity (2008)
A grieving upper class woman becomes a "Lady Visitor" at Millbank prison, hoping to escape her troubles and be a guiding figure in the lives of the female prisoners. Of all her friendships with prisoners, she is most fascinated by Selina - a medium.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Rookie (1990)
Veteran cop Nick Pulovski is used to playing musical partners; many of the partners he's had in the past have died on the job, and often as a result of Nick's risky tactics. But the rookie who's been assigned to help Nick bust a carjacking ring is almost as hotheaded as he is … and when Nick gets kidnapped, his newbie partner is his only hope.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Locksmith (2023)
A thief fresh out of prison, tries to work his way back into the life of his daughter and ex-fiancé. Determined, he is forced to use the skills he has as a gifted locksmith. Things take a tumultuous turn after an unexpected disappearance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisMy Policeman (2022)
In the late 1990s, the arrival of elderly invalid Patrick into Marion and Tom’s home triggers the exploration of seismic events from 40 years previous: the passionate relationship between Tom and Patrick at a time when homosexuality was illegal.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAbsolution (2024)
An aging ex-boxer gangster working as muscle for a Boston crime boss receives an upsetting diagnosis. Despite a faltering memory, he attempts to rectify the sins of his past and reconnect with his estranged children. He is determined to leave a positive legacy for his grandson, but the criminal underworld isn’t done with him and won’t loosen their grip willingly.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisConvict (2014)
Set in the dark and old Parramatta prison built by the original convicts our lead character Ray a war veteran finds himself serving 18 months for manslaughter after defending his fiance. He soon realizes that the prison boss has it in for him and does everything possible to break Ray even going after his fiance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Enforcer (2022)
A noir thriller set in Miami, the film follows an enforcer who discovers his femme fatale boss has branched out into cyber sex trafficking, putting a young runaway he’s befriended at risk. He sacrifices everything to save the young girl from the deadly organization he’s spent his life building.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDesert Hearts (1985)
While waiting for her divorce papers, a repressed literature professor finds herself unexpectedly attracted by a carefree, spirited young woman named Cay.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBenedetta (2021)
A 17th-century nun becomes entangled in a forbidden lesbian affair with a novice. But it is Benedetta's shocking religious visions that threaten to shake the Church to its core.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFire (1997)
In a barren, arranged marriage to an amateur swami who seeks enlightenment through celibacy, Radha's life takes an irresistible turn when her beautiful young sister-in-law seeks to free herself from the confines of her own loveless marriage.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Secrets (2007)
Noemi, the studious, devoutly religious daughter of a prominent rabbi, convinces her father to postpone her marriage for a year so that she might study at a Jewish seminary for women in the ancient Kabalistic seat of Safe.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Topless (2008)
The ever-lively and upbeat Natsuko tries to mend a broken heart by carrying on with a string of short-lived affairs after her break-up with Tomomi. But when Tomomi announces her plans to marry - a man - Natsuko becomes inconsolable.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
It's Just a Story (2019)
You are in the countryside. Just you and your girlfriend. You hope that with the silence of an isolated house in the woods you will find inspiration to write your next book. There is something wrong. You don't like this place. It tortures you. It's not just in your head.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & thriller
Delicious Ambiguity (2009)
Daria's uber-religious aunt has died and, out of spite, she's put liberal, lesbian Daria in charge of the funeral.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & drama
Amazon Garden: Uniform Lesbians (1992)
A lesbian teacher (Kanako Kishi) comes to Tokyo in search of her student (Ichiko Kamata), who has dropped out of high school and started living with a bomb-making terrorist (Takeshi Ito).
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Secret Journey (2004)
I (Ken MItsuishi), documentary video maker, saw a guy named YUDA (Kazuma Honda) in middle of Tokyo. I was curious about Yuda and begun following him around, but one day he disappeared with my video camera. A couple months later, a lady name Michi Nakamura (Yukiko Okamoto) came to my office. She had the strap of my video camera that Yuda stole from me, and said she saw the address that was on the strap, so she came here. I asked her about Yuda, and she told me that he was dead. Right after she left my office, she was hit by a car, I visited her in hospital and she begins to tell me about the mysterious story of her and Yuda.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Pepper (2014)
The painful awakening of a couple after an evening of fantasies ...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like Butterfly Kiss and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Butterfly Kiss?
The closest matches to Butterfly Kiss are The Dancer Upstairs (2002), In Secret (2014) and Carolina Caroline (2026). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Butterfly Kiss?
Start with The Dancer Upstairs (2002), the closest match to Butterfly Kiss.
What is the highest-rated movie like Butterfly Kiss?
My Policeman (2022), rated 7.5/10 by 799 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Butterfly Kiss?
Carolina Caroline (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Butterfly Kiss?
Yes: The Dancer Upstairs (2002), In Secret (2014) and Carolina Caroline (2026).
How are movies similar to Butterfly Kiss chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Butterfly Kiss, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.