Movies like Hanging on a Star (1978)
The best movies like Hanging on a Star (1978) are The Big Store (1941), A Song Is Born (1948) and Footlight Parade (1933). If Hanging on a Star hooked you with its music and comedy, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThis Is Spinal Tap (1984)7.4/10 from 1,734 votes
- NewestLess of a Stranger (2026)Released 2026
The Big Store (1941)
A detective is hired to protect the life of a singer, who has recently inherited a department store, from the store's crooked manager.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Song Is Born (1948)
The story of seven scholars in search of an expert to teach them about swing music. They seem to have found the perfect candidate in winsome nightclub singer Honey Swanson. But Honey's gangster boyfriend doesn't want to give her up.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFootlight Parade (1933)
A fledgling producer finds himself at odds with his workers, financiers and his greedy ex-wife when he tries to produce live musicals for movie-going audiences.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSneakerella (2022)
When El, an aspiring sneaker designer from Queens, meets Kira King, the fiercely independent daughter of legendary basketball star and sneaker tycoon Darius King, sparks fly as the two bond over their mutual affinity for sneakers. With a little nudge from his best friend and a sprinkle of Fairy Godfather magic, El finds the courage to use his talent to pursue his dream of becoming a ‘legit’ sneaker designer in the industry.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music & comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisAnimal Crackers (1930)
The well-known explorer and hunter Captain Spaulding has just returned from Africa, and is being welcomed home with a lavish party at the estate of influential society matron Mrs. Rittenhouse when a valuable painting goes missing. The intrepid Captain Spaulding attempts to solve the crime with the help of his silly secretary Horatio Jamison, while sparring with the anarchic Signor Emanuel Ravelli and his nutty sidekick The Professor.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHelp! (1965)
An obscure Eastern cult that practices human sacrifice pursues Ringo after he unknowingly puts on a ceremonial ring (that, of course, won't come off). On top of that, a pair of mad scientists, members of Scotland Yard, and a beautiful but dead-eyed assassin all have their own plans for the Fab Four.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Rutles: All You Need Is Cash (1978)
The story of the rise and fall of the Pre-Fab Four.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLove Happy (1949)
The Marx Brothers help young Broadway hopefuls when they get mixed up with gangsters due to a tin of sardines containing Romanoff diamonds.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & music
SnoozefestMovies like thisZiegfeld Follies (1945)
The late, great impresario Florenz Ziegfeld looks down from heaven and ordains a new revue in his grand old style.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFun with Dick and Jane (1977)
When an upwardly mobile couple find themselves unemployed and in debt, they turn to armed robbery in desperation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMuch Ado About Nothing (2013)
A modern retelling of Shakespeare's classic comedy about two pairs of lovers with different takes on romance and a way with words.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTaking Care of Business (1990)
An uptight advertising exec has his entire life in a filofax organizer which mistakenly ends up in the hands of a friendly convict who poses as him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMalibu Rescue: The Next Wave (2020)
It’s summer again, and everyone’s favorite Junior Rescuers, The Flounders, are back at Tower 2. With the International Junior Rescue Championships headed to Southern California, the eyes of the entire planet are on Malibu Beach. But when Team USA falls victim to a bout of food poisoning, it’s up to Tyler, Dylan, Eric, Lizzie and Gina to represent their country in the world's most extreme lifeguard challenge!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNo Time for Sergeants (1958)
Georgia farm boy Will Stockdale is about to bust with pride. He’s been drafted. Will’s ready. But is Uncle Sam ready for Will?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCadet Kelly (2002)
Hyperactive teenager Kelly is enrolled into a military school when her new stepfather becomes the Commandant. At first she has problems fitting in and taking orders until she tries out for the drill team.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJerry Seinfeld: 23 Hours to Kill (2020)
Jerry Seinfeld takes the stage in New York and tackles talking vs. texting, bad buffets vs. so-called "great" restaurants and the magic of Pop Tarts.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Happiest Days of Your Life (1950)
Nutbourne College, an old established, all-boys, boarding school is told that another school is to be billeted with due to wartime restrictions. The shock is that it's an all-girls school that has been sent. The two head teachers are soon battling for the upper hand with each other and the Ministry. But a crisis (or two) forces them to work together.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGreat Guns (1941)
Laurel and Hardy join the army. They are hardly soldiers, but they believe their employer, (Dick Nelson) will need them now he's drafted.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLet It Shine (2012)
A teenage rapper must use his musical talent to help a friend and win the girl of his dreams while overcoming self-doubt and the expectations of his strict religious parents.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGo West (1940)
A con man heading west to search for gold teams up with a pair of scheming brothers along the way. The trio soon find themselves in the middle of a feud between two rival families and two underhanded land developers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStill Crazy (1998)
In the 1970s, Strange Fruit were it. They lived the rock lifestyle to the max, groupies, drugs, internal tension and an ex front man dead from an overdose. Even their demise was glamorous; when lightning struck the stage during an outdoor festival. Twenty years on, these former rock gods they have now sunk deep into obscurity when the idea of a reunion tour is lodged in the head of Tony, former keyboard player of the Fruits. Tony sets out to find his former bandmates with the help of former manager Karen to see if they can recapture the magic and give themselves a second chance.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe School of Rock (2003)
Fired from his band and hard up for cash, guitarist and vocalist Dewey Finn finagles his way into a job as a fifth-grade substitute teacher at a private school, where he secretly begins teaching his straight-A students the finer points of rock 'n' roll and the power of sticking it to the man. But as the school’s stern principal closes in and the Battle of the Bands looms, Dewey must risk everything to prove that rock 'n' roll can change lives.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThis Is Spinal Tap (1984)
"This Is Spinal Tap" shines a light on the self-contained universe of a metal band struggling to get back on the charts, including everything from its complicated history of ups and downs, gold albums, name changes and undersold concert dates, along with the full host of requisite groupies, promoters, hangers-on and historians, sessions, release events and those special behind-the-scenes moments that keep it all real.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLIVE SANKARAS IN YOUR AREA (2026)
What happens when you take childhood friends turned Z-List celebrities, and lock them in a recording studio in the middle of nowhere with nothing but their instruments and insatiable ego's? You get LIVE SANKARAS IN YOUR AREA.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & music
Brass Knuckle Boys (2009)
A record company office worker named Kanna discovers a punk rock band called Shonen Meriken Sakku 'Brass Knuckle Boys' through the internet and subsequently decides to represent them on behalf of her company. What Kanna did not know was that the Brass Knuckle Boys consists of all middle aged men.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & music
So What (1988)
In a small town, high school students in their final year try to balance their studies while also playing together in a rock band.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
Freddie Mercury: A Kind of Magic (2006)
Last week Freddie Mercury would have celebrated his 60th birthday. To mark the occasion, celebrity fans Robbie Williams, McFly and Mike Myers talk about what they think made him so special. Photographs, home video footage and rarely heard interviews with the man himself are featured and some of Freddie's close friends and family reveal the man behind the magic.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
Nazareth - Until We Drop (2013)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
Jem and the Holograms (2015)
As a small-town girl catapults from underground video sensation to global superstar, she and her three sisters begin a one-in-a-million journey of discovering that some talents are too special to keep hidden. Four aspiring musicians will take the world by storm when they see that the key to creating your own destiny lies in finding your own voice.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
SnoozefestMovies like thisLess of a Stranger (2026)
As the leader of Polish rock band Lady Pank, Jan Borysewicz shapes a generation with his music, while a string of family tragedies shapes him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
Like Hanging on a Star and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Hanging on a Star?
The closest matches to Hanging on a Star are The Big Store (1941), A Song Is Born (1948) and Footlight Parade (1933). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Hanging on a Star?
Start with The Big Store (1941), the closest match to Hanging on a Star.
What is the highest-rated movie like Hanging on a Star?
This Is Spinal Tap (1984), rated 7.4/10 by 1,734 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Hanging on a Star?
Less of a Stranger (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Hanging on a Star?
Yes: The Big Store (1941), A Song Is Born (1948) and Footlight Parade (1933).
How are movies similar to Hanging on a Star chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Hanging on a Star, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.