Movies like Eighteen (1996)
The best movies like Eighteen (1996) are The Boys in the Band (2020), Pimp (2018) and My Brother the Devil (2012). If Eighteen hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedEvangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo (2012)7.2/10 from 984 votes
- NewestGoodbye June (2025)Released 2025
- In JapaneseTaboo (1999)Also in Japanese
The Boys in the Band (2020)
At a birthday party in 1968 New York, a surprise guest and a drunken game leave seven gay friends reckoning with unspoken feelings and buried truths.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPimp (2018)
An urban love story set on the hard streets of the Bronx. A struggling female pimp, named Wednesday, grows up learning the game from her dad. Once he's gone she's left to look out for her prostitute mother and girlfriend Nikki.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Brother the Devil (2012)
Fourteen-year-old Mo is a lonely, sensitive boy whose hunger for the rant and banter of buddies makes him prone to tread dangerous territories. He idolizes his handsome older brother, Rashid, a charismatic, well-respected member of a local gang, whose drug dealing enables “Rash” to provide for his family. Aching to be seen as a tough guy himself, Mo takes a job that unlocks a fateful turn of events and forces the brothers to confront their inner demons. It turns out that hate is easy. It is love and understanding that take real courage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCome Sunday (2018)
Evangelist Carlton Pearson is ostracized by his church for preaching that there is no Hell.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisHands of Stone (2016)
The legendary Roberto Duran and his equally legendary trainer Ray Arcel change each other's lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisScarecrow (1973)
Two drifters bum around, visit earthy women and discuss opening a car wash in Pittsburgh.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Encounter (2010)
When five strangers with nothing in common come together at a remote roadside eatery, they place their orders with the diner's omniscient owner, who seems to know everything about them ... and is eerily reminiscent of Jesus Christ.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTaboo (1999)
Set during Japan's Shogun era, this film looks at life in a samurai compound where young warriors are trained in swordfighting. A number of interpersonal conflicts are brewing in the training room, all centering on a handsome young samurai named Sozaburo Kano. The school's stern master can choose to intervene, or to let Kano decide his own path.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEvangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo (2012)
Fourteen years after Third Impact, Shinji Ikari awakens to a world he does not remember. He hasn't aged. Much of Earth is laid in ruins, NERV has been dismantled, and people who he once protected have turned against him. Befriending the enigmatic Kaworu Nagisa, Shinji continues the fight against the angels and realizes the fighting is far from over, even when it could be against his former allies. The characters' struggles continue amidst the battles against the angels and each other, spiraling down to what could inevitably be the end of the world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies 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: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAll Day and a Night (2020)
While serving life in prison, a young man looks back at the people, the circumstances and the system that set him on the path toward his crime.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOne Million Yen Girl (2008)
A 21-year-old girl is released from prison, only to deal with the neighborhood gossip about her and family conflicts. She decides to save one million yen, move to where no one knows her and keep repeating the process.
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 thisMai Mai Miracle (2009)
Inspired by her grandfather's stories, young Shinko embarks on wild flights of fancy about the history of the little town she lives in. But dreams can't fend off the realities of growing up.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHardball (2001)
An aimless young man who is scalping tickets, gambling and drinking, agrees to coach a Little League team from the Cabrini Green housing project in Chicago as a condition of getting a loan from a friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJungleland (2020)
Stanley manages his boxer brother Lion but when a devastating loss in the ring leaves the pair in debt, an opportunity to recoup the cash leads to a series of misadventures that threaten to break the bond between them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisGoodbye June (2025)
Four siblings' lives change drastically when their ailing mother takes a turn for the worse over the holiday season.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDear Zoe (2022)
Tess enlists her biological father – a lovable slacker from the wrong side of the tracks – and the charming juvenile delinquent next door to help her come to grips with the death of her little sister.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Carpetbaggers (1964)
Jonas Cord is a disagreeable young tycoon who's building planes, directing films, and catting around on the corporate make in 1930s Hollywood.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisYôen: Niku shibari (1987)
A woman accidentally kills her husband during S&M play.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Kandagawa Pervert Wars (1983)
Two sexually energized young women who live in a high-rise apartment building happen one day to spy from their window a mother and son making love in the apartment across from theirs. They decide to stage a rescue attempt to free him and in the process one of the young women ends up falling in love with the son despite having a boyfriend and enjoying sex with her female companion. Of course, the mother they are warring against has her own plans when she feels her privacy invaded.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Neighborhood Lady: Man Clam (1994)
Pinku distributed by Xces.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Monochrome (1996)
A rape incident occurs at a famous park in Hattenba. The victims are Yoshio (Ken Masuda) and Kurita (Tatsuya Koizumi). A man approached them claiming to be a photographer, tied their arms and legs, robbed them of their freedom with a metal rod, raped them, and then took photos of them and scattered them around. Yoshio consults his lover, barman Satoshi (Tetsuo Uta), and decides to catch the rapist.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Sex Zone (1968)
Inspired by the true story of a Geisha murdered in a city famous for its baths, Adachi forged here his favorite style, a kind of conceptual documentary recounting the incident in monotone. The same event that at the beginning of Violated Angels escaped every principle of causality, is portrayed here as a singular anti-spectacle.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Lustful Wife (1999)
A disappointed married woman who was told by a doctor that she could not have children. Her husband drowned in affair with a young woman while treating her gently. She felt uneasy about unfortunate circumstances and aging, but she was confused about her husband's affair.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
True Sky Blue (1992)
A middle-aged man and an elderly woman are standing in front of a large mansion. The man's name is Hiro and he is an office worker who lives with his elderly mother. Then, a truck arrives with the painter Rin in it. Hiro and Rin end up sleeping together. With his first solo exhibition approaching, Rin plans to complete his new work at Hiro's house. But one day Rin's art dealer asks whether he would like to go to New York to study if this solo exhibition becomes successful. He has an important decision to make.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Eat the Young Fruit! (1984)
A comedy set in an entertainment production company on the outskirts of the world. This is a place for men who aspire to be in the entertainment industry and have a chance to make their debut, even if it's just a production company. Waiting for them are some lewd men during a strange festival that has been passed down in Kurume, Kyushu.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
A Rose for You (1984)
A dull middle-aged gay man who sells condoms. During the day, he approaches young men in parks and toilets, and at night in public baths and gay bars, but he always gets dumped. Eventually, it became a matter of police involvement... He meets the beautiful boy of his dreams and has sex with him. The film depicts the loneliness of life's journey from beautiful youth to old age through the image of a man who wants to make that dream come true.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
There is a Demon in the Man's House (1984)
A wealthy old man who has a dull complexion and has to hug a young man every night. The men continue to donate their bodies to the old man's legacy. This abnormally frenzied party eventually heads in an unexpected direction...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like Eighteen and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Eighteen?
The closest matches to Eighteen are The Boys in the Band (2020), Pimp (2018) and My Brother the Devil (2012). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Eighteen?
Start with The Boys in the Band (2020), the closest match to Eighteen.
What is the highest-rated movie like Eighteen?
Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo (2012), rated 7.2/10 by 984 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Eighteen?
Goodbye June (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like Eighteen?
Yes: Taboo (1999), Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo (2012) and One Million Yen Girl (2008).
How are movies similar to Eighteen chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Eighteen, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.