Movies like Making It Big (1984)
The best movies like Making It Big (1984) are Fired Up! (2009), She's the Man (2006) and Making Squid Game: The Challenge (2023). If Making It Big hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedMaking Squid Game: The Challenge (2023)8.0/10 from 241 votes
- NewestLadies First (2026)Released 2026
Fired Up! (2009)
Popular high schoolers and best friends Shawn and Nick decide to ditch football camp for cheerleader camp. For the girls and for the glory.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShe's the Man (2006)
Viola Hastings is in a real jam. Complications threaten her scheme to pose as her twin brother, Sebastian, and take his place at a new boarding school. She falls in love with her handsome roommate, Duke, who loves beautiful Olivia, who has fallen for Sebastian! As if that were not enough, Viola's twin returns from London ahead of schedule but has no idea that his sister has already replaced him on campus.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMaking Squid Game: The Challenge (2023)
Go behind the scenes and witness how the "Squid Game"-inspired reality show transformed from a scripted drama to a cutthroat, nail-biting competition.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisClueless (1995)
Shallow, rich and socially successful Cher is at the top of her Beverly Hills high school's pecking scale. Seeing herself as a matchmaker, Cher first coaxes two teachers into dating each other. Emboldened by her success, she decides to give hopelessly klutzy new student Tai a makeover. When Tai becomes more popular than she is, Cher realizes that her disapproving ex-stepbrother was right about how misguided she was -- and falls for him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Nice Girl Like You (2020)
Lucy Neal is thrown for a loop when she is accused of being too inhibited by her ex-boyfriend. In an effort to prove him wrong, Lucy creates a rather wild to-do list that sends her on a whirlwind and surprising journey of self-discovery, friendship, and new love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisCrossing Delancey (1988)
Thirty-something Isabelle spends her time going from her tiny, solitary West Side apartment to that of her grandmother on the Lower East Side. While her grandmother plots to find her a romantic match, Isabelle is courted by a married, worldly author, Anton, yet can't seem to shake the down-to-earth appeal of Sam, a pickle vendor.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Trouble with Angels (1966)
Mary and her friend, Rachel, are new students at St. Francis Academy, a boarding school run by the iron fist of Mother Superior. The immature teens grow bored and begin playing pranks on both the unsuspecting nuns and their unpleasant classmates, becoming a constant thorn in Mother Superior's side. However, as the years pass, Mary and Rachel slowly mature and begin to see the nuns in a different light.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLike a Boss (2020)
Two female friends with very different ideals decide to start a beauty company together. One is more practical, while the other wants to earn her fortune and live a lavish lifestyle.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLa La Land (2016)
Mia, an aspiring actress, serves lattes to movie stars in between auditions and Sebastian, a jazz musician, scrapes by playing cocktail party gigs in dingy bars, but as success mounts they are faced with decisions that begin to fray the fragile fabric of their love affair, and the dreams they worked so hard to maintain in each other threaten to rip them apart.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisMagazine Dreams (2025)
Aspiring bodybuilder Killian Maddox struggles to find human connection in an exploration of celebrity and violence. Nothing deters him from his fiercely protected dream of superstardom, not even the doctors who warn him of the permanent damage he causes to himself with his quest.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Disaster Artist (2017)
An aspiring actor in Hollywood meets an enigmatic stranger by the name of Tommy Wiseau, the meeting leads the actor down a path nobody could have predicted; creating the worst movie ever made.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPalo Alto (2014)
A lack of parental guidance encourages teens in an affluent California town to rebel with substance abuse and casual sex.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSidelined: The QB and Me (2025)
Dallas, a burdened but headstrong dancer, is determined to get into the best dance school in the country—her late mother’s alma mater. However, that dream is suddenly derailed when the cheeky yet secretly grieving football star, Drayton, crashes into her life with a unique story of his own. Will the two of them be able to grow into their dreams together, or will their dreams be sidelined?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBoot Camp (2024)
Unathletic Whitney Carmichael signs up for an intense summer boot camp to reinvent herself and falls for her personal trainer. She then finds the strength to embrace her true self and ignore the others' expectations.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAll About Nina (2018)
Nina Geld's passion and talent have made her a rising star in the comedy scene, but she's an emotional mess offstage. When a new professional opportunity coincides with a romantic one, she is forced to confront her own deeply troubled past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisPride (2007)
Coach Jim Ellis shocks the community and changes lives when, aided by a local janitor, he sets out to form Philadelphia's first black swim team. But the odds are against them as they battle rigid rules, racism and more.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSwiped (2025)
Whitney Wolfe uses extraordinary grit and ingenuity to break into the male-dominated tech industry.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBelow Her Mouth (2017)
An unexpected affair quickly escalates into a heart-stopping reality for two women whose passionate connection changes their lives forever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJust One of the Guys (1985)
When Terry Griffith loses her high school's writing competition, she's convinced that it's because she's a girl. So Terry decides to change high schools and pose as a boy to prove her point. Her brother, Buddy, helps her pass as a guy so well that she is soon making friends with the boys at school, including the attractive Rick, who becomes her new best friend. But her gender-swapping makes things difficult when she falls in love with him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLadies First (2026)
An arrogant but charismatic ladies' man finds his life of money, power and casual flings upended when he wakes up in a parallel world dominated by women.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Making It Big?
The closest matches to Making It Big are Fired Up! (2009), She's the Man (2006) and Making Squid Game: The Challenge (2023). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Making It Big?
Start with Fired Up! (2009), the closest match to Making It Big.
What is the highest-rated movie like Making It Big?
Making Squid Game: The Challenge (2023), rated 8.0/10 by 241 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Making It Big?
Ladies First (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Making It Big?
Yes: Fired Up! (2009), She's the Man (2006) and Making Squid Game: The Challenge (2023).
How are movies similar to Making It Big chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Making It Big, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.