Movies like Closing Numbers (1993)
The best movies like Closing Numbers (1993) are And the Band Played On (1993), Rent (2019) and Stuart: A Life Backwards (2007). If Closing Numbers hooked you with its drama and tv movie, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.

Quick picks
- Highest ratedAmerican Beauty (1999)8.0/10 from 13,537 votes
- NewestThe Teacher (2019)Released 2019
And the Band Played On (1993)
The story of the discovery of the AIDS epidemic and the political infighting of the scientific community hampering the early fight with it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRent (2019)
The story of several friends in New York City facing financial poverty, homophobia, AIDS, and, of course, rent.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStuart: A Life Backwards (2007)
Story about the remarkable friendship between a reclusive writer and illustrator and a chaotic homeless man, whom he gets to know during a campaign to release two charity workers from prison.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFrom Straight A's to XXX (2017)
When a change of circumstances leaves Miriam unable to pay her college tuition, she makes a surprising decision: to start performing in adult films, using the pseudonym Belle Knox. Miriam lies to her family and her friends at school, keeping her double life a secret. But soon rumours spread and Miriam becomes the subject of vicious online attacks and unwanted attention. Miriam fights back: she talks to the media, saying her new line of work empowers her as a feminist. But her confident stand has unintended consequences. Miriam is shunned by her conservative family and her colleagues in the adult film world. One impulsive decision has quickly spiralled out of control - and Miriam's problems are just beginning.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Christmas Shoes (2002)
Two separate stories mesh - in the first, a young music teacher, Maggie Andrews, begins dying of a heart condition and her son Nathan tries to get a pair of Christmas shoes for her before she dies. In the second, lawyer Robert Layton and his wife Kate are slowly drifting apart and the matter comes to a head during Christmas when Kate takes over for Maggie for the school choir.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Dresser (2015)
One fateful night in a small English regional theatre during World War II a troupe of touring actors stage a production of Shakespeares King Lear. Bombs are falling, sirens are wailing, the curtain is up in an hour but the actor/manager Sir who is playing Lear is nowhere to be seen. His dresser Norman must scramble to keep the production alive but will Sir turn up in time and if he does will he be able to perform that night? The Dresser is a wickedly funny and deeply moving story of friendship and loyalty as Sir reflects on his lifelong accomplishments and seeks to reconcile his turbulent friendships with those in his employ before the final curtain.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBuddies (1985)
David, a naive graduate student, has volunteered to work as a 'buddy' for people dying of AIDS. Assigned to the intensely political Robert, a lifelong activist whose friends and family have abandoned him following his diagnosis, the two men, each with notably different world views, soon discover common bonds, as David's inner activist awakens and Robert's need for emotional release is fulfilled.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisAn Englishman in New York (2009)
Biographical drama based on the last 20 years of Crisp's life. The literary figure and gay iconoclast emigrated to New York in 1981 and lived there until his death. The film observes Crisp in both his public and private lives, from his seemingly cavalier response to the outbreak of AIDS to his tender relationship with his friend Patrick Angus and his own response to growing old.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLove! Valour! Compassion! (1997)
A group of gay friends spend summer weekends together at a lakeside house in upstate New York. As the season progresses and secrets begin to surface, the complex relationships within the group are sometimes strained and sometimes strengthened.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Normal Heart (2014)
The story of the onset of the HIV-AIDS crisis in New York City in the early 1980s, taking an unflinching look at the nation's sexual politics as gay activists and their allies in the medical community fight to expose the truth about the burgeoning epidemic to a city and nation in denial.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe 24th Day (2004)
Tom and Dan's one-night stand turns into an intense power-play between captor and captive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Cure (1995)
Erik, a loner, finds a friend in Dexter, an eleven-year-old boy with AIDS. They vow to find a cure for AIDS together and save Dexter's life in an eventful summer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisHolding the Man (2015)
Tim and John fell in love while teenagers at their all-boys high school. John was captain of the football team, Tim an aspiring actor playing a minor part in Romeo and Juliet. Their romance endured for 15 years in the face of everything life threw at it – the separations, the discrimination, the temptations, the jealousies and the losses – until the only problem that love can't solve tried to destroy them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAddicted (2014)
A gallerist risks her family and flourishing career when she enters into an affair with a talented painter and slowly loses control of her life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Ledge (2011)
A thriller in which a battle of philosophies between a fundamentalist Christian and an atheist who shares an apartment with a gay friend escalates into a lethal battle of wills.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIt's My Party (1996)
Nick, a gay, HIV-positive architect, begins to display severe symptoms of AIDS and makes preparations to kill himself before he is unable to function normally. He arranges a party to reconnect and say goodbye to his closest friends and his confused parents. But when his ex-partner, Brandon, a television director who left Nick when he was diagnosed with HIV, shows up, what was supposed to be a celebratory event becomes much more difficult for everyone.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like this1985 (2018)
Having been gone for three years, closeted advertising executive Adrian returns to his Texas hometown and struggles to reveal his dire circumstances to his conservative family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPhiladelphia (1993)
Two lawyers join forces to sue a prestigious law firm for AIDS discrimination. As their unlikely friendship develops, their courage overcomes the prejudice and corruption of their powerful adversaries.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKiss of the Spider Woman (1985)
The story of two radically different men thrown together in a Latin American prison cell. One is Valentin, a journalist being tortured for his political beliefs. The other is Molina, a gay window-dresser who fills their lonely nights by spinning romantic fantasies drawn from memories of old movies.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAmerican Beauty (1999)
Lester Burnham, a depressed suburban father in a mid-life crisis, decides to turn his hectic life around after developing an infatuation with his daughter's attractive friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisSavage Fire (2017)
In the city of Cajamar, in the middle of ruined nature, lonely characters deal with the police, rodeos and mysterious fires.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Boys On Film 16: Possession (2017)
Golden boys, teen lust, self-conscious dolls, chance encounters, a vengeful creature, holiday romance, hidden sexuality — Boys On Film celebrates it's (not so) sweet sixteen with an astonishing selection of the latest international gay short films. Volume 16: Possession features ten complete films: Kai Stänicke's "Golden" with Christian Tesch and Maximilian Gehrlinger; Christopher Manning's "Jamie" starring Sebastian Christophers and Raphael Verrion; Kai Stänicke's "B." starring Susanne Bormann and Andreas Jähnert; Blake Mawson's "PYOTR495" starring Alex Ozerov; Charlie Francis's "When A Man Loves A Woman" starring Tommy Jay Brennan, Jemima Spence, and Diane Brooks Webster; Anthony Schatteman's "Follow Me" starring Ezra Fieremans and Maarten Ketels; Jake Graf's "Chance" starring 'ABS' and Clifford Hume; Andrew Keenan-Bolger's "Sign" starring John McGinty and Preston Sadleir; Oliver Mason's "Away With Me" starring Chris Polick and Lee Knight; and "We Could Be Parents" by Björn Elgerd.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like Love (2014)
An offbeat love story about campus life around the An Zi Yan and Mai Ding who start military training as college acquaintances, Mai Ding was the one who made the first move to An Zi Yan, they have a good relationship and gradually felt sparks. After their relationship strengthens, their relationship is obstructed by their family and friends, like An Zi Yan’s sister Ansul who has a difficult attitude. An Zi Yan secretly asks help from his ex-girlfriend Bai Xiao Si. Based off the best-selling novel of the same name by Angelina.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Adiós, Roberto (1985)
Roberto separates from his wife and needs a place to stay. When he moves in with gay Marcelo, he is clueless about Marcello's sexuality and the two become close friends. One night after many drinks Roberto has sex with Marcelo and must confront his feelings and the potential ridicule of his family.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Drifting (1981)
Guttman's best short film, Afflicted tells the story of a young, closeted Israeli man who visits a drag bar one night in search of sexual expression.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Teacher (2019)
When the 26-year-old Civics teacher, Kevin, openly voices his stance on marriage equality at school, he stirs up a storm. His being madly in love with an HIV positive man doesn't sit well with all the people around him. When a rumour breaks out about his HIV status, he is forced to make choices no one should have to.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Oi! Warning (1999)
A young man gets caught up in a conflict between his friends, a skinhead and a gay anarchist.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Love in the Afternoon (1972)
Successful Parisian lawyer Frédéric is happily married to schoolteacher Hélène. Though he daydreams of affairs with other women, he doesn't come close to acting on such thoughts until he runs into Chloé, a beautiful old acquaintance. Tempted by the vibrant Chloé, Frédéric is torn between impulsive lust and his love for Hélène.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDo Fish Do It? (2002)
16-year old Jan is absent-mindedly strolling through the streets when he's run over by roller-skating Nina. As fast as she has stormed into his life, however, she rushes off again. Nina is 15 years old and full of crazy ideas. She lives together with her brother, her father and his new girlfriend. Her mother isn't in touch much. That's why there is the unconventional Angel whose own daughter disappeared years ago and who is Nina's best friend and substitute mother.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like Closing Numbers and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Closing Numbers?
The closest matches to Closing Numbers are And the Band Played On (1993), Rent (2019) and Stuart: A Life Backwards (2007). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Closing Numbers?
Start with And the Band Played On (1993), the closest match to Closing Numbers.
What is the highest-rated movie like Closing Numbers?
American Beauty (1999), rated 8.0/10 by 13,537 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Closing Numbers?
The Teacher (2019) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Closing Numbers?
Yes: And the Band Played On (1993), Rent (2019) and Stuart: A Life Backwards (2007).
How are movies similar to Closing Numbers chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Closing Numbers, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.





























