Movies like Rent (2019)
The best movies like Rent (2019) are The Sound of Music Live! (2013), Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B (2014) and tick, tick... BOOM! (2021). If Rent hooked you with its music and tv movie, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedClouds (2020)8.2/10 from 1,072 votes
- NewestClika (2026)Released 2026
The Sound of Music Live! (2013)
The Sound of Music Live! is a television special that was originally broadcast by NBC on December 5, 2013. Produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, the special was an adaptation of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Broadway musical The Sound of Music, starring country singer Carrie Underwood as Maria von Trapp, performed and televised live from Grumman Studios in Bethpage, New York. Meron felt that if the telecast were successful, the concept could become "another kind of entertainment that can exist on TV." By her request, Underwood's casting as Maria was personally endorsed by Julie Andrews, who starred in the 1965 film.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAaliyah: The Princess of R&B (2014)
The story of R&B singer and actress Aaliyah; namely, the highs and lows of her career, her romantic pursuits, and the events leading up to her death in 2001 at the age of 22.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thistick, tick... BOOM! (2021)
On the brink of turning 30, a promising theater composer navigates love, friendship and the pressure to create something great before time runs out.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFame (1980)
A chronicle of the lives of several teenagers who attend a New York high school for students gifted in the performing arts.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBattle of the Year (2013)
A down-on-his-luck coach is hired to prepare a team of the best American dancers for an international tournament that attracts all the best crews from around the world, but the Americans haven't won in fifteen years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAnd 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 thisAmerican Son (2019)
Time passes and tension mounts in a Florida police station as an estranged interracial couple awaits news of their missing teenage son.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Chorus Line (1985)
A group of dancers congregate on the stage of a Broadway theatre to audition for a new musical production directed by Zach. After the initial eliminations, seventeen hopefuls remain, among them Cassie, who once had a tempestuous romantic relationship with Zach. She is desperate enough for work to humble herself and audition for him; whether he's willing to let professionalism overcome his personal feelings about their past remains to be seen.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBohemian Rhapsody (2018)
Singer Freddie Mercury, guitarist Brian May, drummer Roger Taylor and bass guitarist John Deacon take the music world by storm when they form the rock 'n' roll band Queen in 1970. Hit songs become instant classics. When Mercury's increasingly wild lifestyle starts to spiral out of control, Queen soon faces its greatest challenge yet – finding a way to keep the band together amid the success and excess.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisHomeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story (2003)
Based on a true story. Liz Murray is a young girl who is taken care of by her loving, but drug-addicted parents. Liz becomes homeless at 15 and after a tragedy comes upon her, she begins her work to finish high school.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSarafina! (1992)
A Soweto schoolgirl named Sarafina is galvanized to protest apartheid after her teacher is arrested for her activism, leading her to join the student resistance movement.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGrease Live (2016)
After enjoying a holiday romance, high school students Danny and Sandy are unexpectedly reunited when she transfers to Rydell High, where she must contend with cynical Rizzo and the Pink Ladies.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRebound: The Legend of Earl 'The Goat' Manigault (1996)
A dramatization of the life of Earl 'The Goat' Manigault (Don Cheadle), with a lot of factual based occurrences. A reformed junkie returns from prison to clean up his act and devote the rest of his life to the young kids of Harlem. 1996 was the 25th anniversary of the first tournament named after him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOslo (2021)
The true story of negotiations between implacable enemies — the secret back-channel talks, unlikely friendships and quiet heroics of a small but committed group of Israelis, Palestinians and one Norwegian couple that led to the 1993 Oslo Peace Accords.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAugust Rush (2007)
Evan, a musically gifted orphan, runs away from his orphanage and searches New York City for his birth parents. On his journey, he's taken under the wing of the Wizard, a homeless man who lives in an abandoned theater. After discovering his talent, the Wizard gives Evan the name "August Rush" and devises a plan to profit from his talent. Little does Evan know that his parents, Lyla and Louis, are searching for him too.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGirl in the Box (2016)
The true story of 20-year-old Colleen Stan, a hitchhiking woman abducted by a young couple and held captive for seven years, during which time she's tortured and forced to live as a slave to her captors.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Dinner with Hervé (2018)
An unlikely friendship evolves over one wild night in LA between a struggling journalist and actor Hervé Villechaize, the world's most famous gun-toting dwarf, resulting in life-changing consequences for both.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisClouds (2020)
Young musician Zach Sobiech discovers his cancer has spread, leaving him just a few months to live. With limited time, he follows his dream and makes an album, unaware that it will soon be a viral music phenomenon.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisClika (2026)
Aspiring small-town musician Chito is determined to make it big. When a clip of him performing one of his songs goes viral, he seizes the opportunity and pushes to carve out a place for himself in the new wave of Mexican-American music... and ultimately gets caught in a game more dangerous than anticipated.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisA Complete Unknown (2024)
New York, early 1960s. Against the backdrop of a vibrant music scene and tumultuous cultural upheaval, an enigmatic 19-year-old from Minnesota arrives in the West Village with his guitar and revolutionary talent, destined to change the course of American music.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Phone Call (1989)
A married man calls the wrong number for phone-sex and winds up being stalked by a psychotic man.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Prom Party Massacre (2025)
A gay high school student throws a swinging prom party in the hopes of finally wooing the football captain - but when popular kids start turning up dead, the partygoers discover a slasher killer amongst the student body!
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music & drama
Been So Long (2018)
A single mother in London's Camden Town hears music when she meets a handsome stranger with a past. But she's not sure she's ready to open her heart.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & music
SnoozefestMovies like thisNewsies (2017)
A week in the life of the exploited, child newspaper sellers in turn-of-the-century New York. When their publisher, Joseph Pulitzer, tries to squeeze a little more profit out of their labours, they organize a strike, only to be confronted with the Pulitzer's hard-ball tactics.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisLast Call for Istanbul (2023)
A chance meeting at the airport leads two married people to an unforgettable night full of excitement, desire, and temptation in New York City.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKiller's Kiss (1955)
Davey Gordon, a New York City boxer at the end of his career, falls for dancer Gloria Price. However, their budding relationship is interrupted by Gloria's violent boss, Vincent Rapallo, who has eyes for Gloria. The two decide to skip town, but before they can, Vincent and his thugs abduct Gloria, and Davey is forced to search for her among the most squalid corners of the city, with his enemy hiding in the shadows.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNine 1/2 Weeks (1986)
An erotic story about a woman, the assistant of an art gallery, who gets involved in an impersonal affair with a man. She barely knows about his life, only about the sex games they play, so the relationship begins to get complicated.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFists of Love (2018)
A cynical NYPD domestic violence officer ends up falling in love with a woman running away from her obsessive and abusive husband.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Angel Passing (1998)
An aging concert pianist in a nursing home, suffering from Alzheimers, revisits his past. When he comes back to his home, now occupied by an artist, a touching bond develops for a few moments between them. Two strangers, one asking for forgiveness about his past, the other with the ability to forgive in her own life. A touching short, with very few words but deeply portrayed feelings.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Nuovo Olimpo (2023)
In 1970s Rome, a casual encounter between Enea and Pietro at a movie theater turns into an unforgettable romance — until destiny pulls them apart.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
Like Rent and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Rent?
The closest matches to Rent are The Sound of Music Live! (2013), Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B (2014) and tick, tick... BOOM! (2021). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Rent?
Start with The Sound of Music Live! (2013), the closest match to Rent.
What is the highest-rated movie like Rent?
Clouds (2020), rated 8.2/10 by 1,072 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Rent?
Clika (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Rent?
Yes: The Sound of Music Live! (2013), Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B (2014) and tick, tick... BOOM! (2021).
How are movies similar to Rent chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Rent, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.