Movies like The Sun Is Also a Star (2019)
The best movies like The Sun Is Also a Star (2019) are West Side Story (2021), Rebel in the Rye (2017) and The Object of My Affection (1998). If The Sun Is Also a Star 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 ratedThe Bridges of Madison County (1995)7.7/10 from 2,475 votes
- NewestBaby Udon (2026)Released 2026
West Side Story (2021)
Two youngsters from rival New York City gangs fall in love, but tensions between their respective friends build toward tragedy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRebel in the Rye (2017)
The life of celebrated but reclusive author J.D. Salinger, who gained worldwide fame with the publication of his novel The Catcher in the Rye.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Object of My Affection (1998)
A pregnant New York social worker begins to develop romantic feelings for her gay best friend, and decides she'd rather raise her child with him, much to the dismay of her overbearing boyfriend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
SnoozefestMovies like thisNot Easily Broken (2009)
A car accident and shifting affections test the bond between a married couple.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between (2022)
Clare and Aidan make a pact to break up before college — no regrets, no broken hearts. But will one epic goodbye date offer them a last chance at love?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEndless Love (2014)
A privileged girl and a charismatic boy's instant desire sparks a love affair made only more reckless by parents trying to keep them apart.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMoonlight Mile (2002)
As he copes with the death of his fiancee along with her parents, a young man must figure out what he wants out of life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Her (2014)
Told from the woman's perspective, the story of a couple trying to reclaim the life and love they once knew and pick up the pieces of a past that may be too far gone.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLabor Day (2013)
Two strangers are drawn together under incredible circumstances. What starts as an unforeseen encounter over a long holiday weekend soon becomes a second chance love story.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTurtles All the Way Down (2024)
17-year-old Aza Holmes tries be a good daughter, a good friend, and a good student, all while navigating an endless barrage of invasive, obsessive thoughts that she cannot control. When she reconnects with Davis, her childhood crush, Aza is confronted with fundamental questions about her potential for love, happiness, friendship, and hope.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRemember Me (2010)
Still reeling from a heartbreaking family event and his parents' subsequent divorce, Tyler Hawkins discovers a fresh lease on life when he meets Ally Craig, a gregarious beauty who witnessed her mother's death. But as the couple draws closer, the fallout from their separate tragedies jeopardizes their love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWhere the Crawdads Sing (2022)
Abandoned by her family, Kya raises herself all alone in the marshes outside of her small town. When her former boyfriend is found dead, Kya is instantly branded by the local townspeople and law enforcement as the prime suspect for his murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLove Everlasting (2016)
Bridger is a young outsider who's always wanted more. He and his mother flee an abusive home, eventually finding a small town in the middle of nowhere. Once there, Bridger finds true acceptance with another misfit.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOne Day (2011)
After spending the night together on the eve of their college graduation, Dexter and Emma are shown each year on the same date to see where they are in their lives. They are sometimes together, and sometimes not.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Big Bold Beautiful Journey (2025)
Sarah and David are single strangers who meet at a mutual friend’s wedding and soon, through a surprising twist of fate, find themselves on a funny, fantastical, sweeping adventure together where they get to re-live important moments from their respective pasts, illuminating how they got to where they are in the present... and possibly getting a chance to alter their futures.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Bridges of Madison County (1995)
Photographer Robert Kincaid wanders into the life of housewife Francesca Johnson for four days in the 1960s.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLove and Death on Long Island (1998)
Curmudgeonly author Giles De'Ath, a widower with a marked distaste for modern popular culture, attempts to buy a ticket for a film adaptation of an E.M. Forster novel, but instead finds himself watching a tacky teen sex comedy. Yet when the beautiful Ronnie Bostock appears on the movie screen, Giles finds himself caught in a whirlwind of unanswered questions about both his own sexuality and his place in late 20th-century society.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLove at First Sight (2023)
Hadley and Oliver begin falling in love on a flight from New York to London, but when they lose each other at customs, can they defy all odds to reunite?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBreathe (2017)
Based on the true story of Robin, a handsome, brilliant and adventurous man whose life takes a dramatic turn when polio leaves him paralyzed.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Great Gatsby (2013)
Nick Carraway arrives in New York in 1922, an era of loose morals, glittering jazz and bootleg kings. Chasing his own American Dream, Nick encounters the mysterious millionaire Gatsby and his bewitching cousin Daisy. Soon, Nick is drawn into the captivating world of the super-rich, their illusions, loves and deceits. Bearing witness to this new world, Nick pens a tale of impossible love, incorruptible dreams and unforgettable tragedy -- mirroring our own times and struggles.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBack for Good (2017)
An actress confronts her quarter-life crisis by breaking up with New York City and returning home to win back the love of her life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Baby Udon (2026)
Fanny Kondoh, a young Indonesian woman, falls in love with Hajime Kondoh, a Japanese man who comes to Indonesia for work. After getting married, Fanny and Hajime begin building a life together, embracing both its joys and challenges. As they struggle to fulfill their dream of having a child, they are faced with one heartbreaking trial after another, testing the strength of their love, especially when Hajime is diagnosed with cancer.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Ellipsis (2018)
In the middle of a crowded city the paths of two strangers, a man and a woman, collide. This accidental, chance occurrence sets in motion a chain of events that sees the two strangers embark on a night of adventure and connection that challenges their separate lives.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & drama
Reflections in a Golden Eye (1967)
Bizarre tale of sex, betrayal, and perversion at a military post.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFriends (1971)
Paul, a rich English boy, and Michelle, an orphaned French girl, run away from home to a remote beach. Living on their own, their friendship grows into love.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
The Quiet Man (1952)
An American man returns to the village of his birth in Ireland, where he finds love and conflict.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWorking Girl (1988)
When a secretary's idea is stolen by her boss, she takes a risky chance to reclaim it by impersonating him and running the project from his position.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFrankie and Johnny (1991)
When Johnny is released from prison following a forgery charge, he quickly lands a job as a short-order cook at a New York diner. Following a brief fling with waitress Cora, he develops an attraction for Cora's friend and fellow waitress Frankie. While Frankie resists Johnny's charms initially, she eventually relents when her best friend, Tim, persuades her to give Johnny a chance.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like this54 (1998)
When the mastermind behind New York's infamous Studio 54 disco plucks young Shane from the sea of faces clamoring to get inside his club, he not only gets his foot in the door, but lands a coveted job behind the bar — and a front-row ticket to the most legendary party on the planet!
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
SnoozefestMovies like thisWings of Christmas (2013)
The film's protagonists get an opportunity to make a wish. Consequently, their lives take the path they themselves ordained. Several "coincidences" bring them everything they wanted and they have the chance to experience their wishes. We are not only responsible in our lives for everything that we do, but also for everything we say, we think and desire.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Sun Is Also a Star?
The closest matches to The Sun Is Also a Star are West Side Story (2021), Rebel in the Rye (2017) and The Object of My Affection (1998). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Sun Is Also a Star?
Start with West Side Story (2021), the closest match to The Sun Is Also a Star.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Sun Is Also a Star?
The Bridges of Madison County (1995), rated 7.7/10 by 2,475 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Sun Is Also a Star?
Baby Udon (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Sun Is Also a Star?
Yes: West Side Story (2021), Rebel in the Rye (2017) and The Object of My Affection (1998).
How are movies similar to The Sun Is Also a Star chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Sun Is Also a Star, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.