Movies like Local Boys (2002)
The best movies like Local Boys (2002) are Lords of Dogtown (2005), Thrashin' (1986) and North Shore (1987). If Local Boys hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedCharm City Kings (2020)7.8/10 from 508 votes
- NewestBeast (2026)Released 2026
Lords of Dogtown (2005)
The radical true story behind three teenage surfers from Venice Beach, California, who took skateboarding to the extreme and changed the world of sports forever. Stacy Peralta, Tony Alva and Jay Adams are the Z-Boys, a bunch of nobodies until they create a new style of skateboarding that becomes a worldwide phenomenon. But when their hobby becomes a business, the success shreds their friendship.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThrashin' (1986)
Corey and his band of skater buddies sometimes make mischief, but they're more interested in girls and having fun on their boards than in getting into any real trouble. Notorious enemy crew the Daggers, led by Tommy Hook, get their kicks terrorizing the locals at Venice Beach. When Corey starts dating Tommy's kid sister Chrissy, the Daggers are furious. The boys then take their beef to the "L.A. Massacre," a deadly skate race down a canyon road.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNorth Shore (1987)
On a small stretch of coastline as powerful as a man's will, Rick Kane came to surf the big waves. He found a woman who would show him how to survive, and a challenge unlike any other.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisDrift (2013)
In the 70s two brothers battle killer waves, conservative society and ruthless bikers to kick-start the modern surf industry.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisBreath (2017)
A pair of teenagers in Western Australia looking to escape the monotony of life in a small town take up surfing lessons from a guy named Sando.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Visit (1964)
Carla Zachanassian had a child by Serge Miller as a teenager. When Serge refused to marry her, she was driven out of town. By her own wit and cunning, she has returned as a multi-millionaire for a visit. The town lays out the red carpet expecting big things from Carla, only to learn that her sole purpose is to see Serge Miller killed...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thisEmbattled (2020)
The eldest son of a ruthlessly tough MMA champion must fight his way out of the abusive cycle his father has continued.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHounddog (2008)
A drama set in the American South, where a precocious, troubled girl finds a safe haven in the music and movement of Elvis Presley.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCharm City Kings (2020)
Mouse desperately wants to join The Midnight Clique, the infamous Baltimore dirt bike riders who rule the summertime streets. When Midnight’s leader, Blax, takes 14-year-old Mouse under his wing, Mouse soon finds himself torn between the straight-and-narrow and a road filled with fast money and violence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Cut (2025)
A retired boxer intends to return to the ring for one last shot at the title, but first he must make the weight. Holed up in a room in Las Vegas with an unscrupulous trainer, he embarks on an intensive and illegal weight-cutting program.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisImperial Dreams (2014)
A 21-year-old reformed gangster's devotion to his family and his future is put to the test when he is released from prison and returns to his old stomping grounds in Watts, Los Angeles.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Road Dance (2022)
A young girl lives in the Outer Hebrides in a small village in the years just before WWI. Isolated and hard by the shore, her life takes a dramatic change when a terrible tragedy befalls her.
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 thisParked (2010)
Fred Daly returns to Ireland with nowhere to live but his car. Then dope-smoking 21-year-old Cathal parks beside him, and brightens up his lonely world. Encouraged by Cathal, Fred meets attractive music teacher Jules. Growing closer, these three outsiders are set on a course that will change their lives forever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCardboard Boxer (2016)
Gentle and broken, a homeless man fights others on video for money but soon finds comfort in an unlikely friend and the lost diary of a young girl.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBeast (2026)
MMA legend Patton James, now a commercial fisherman, is pulled back into the cage when his brother is in danger. Reuniting with his old coach Sammy, he commits to one final fight in one championship against the brutal champion Xavier Grau.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Young One (1960)
A jazz musician seeks refuge from a lynch mob on a remote island, where he meets a hostile game warden and the young object of his attentions.
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 thisJawbone (2017)
A former youth boxing champion, Jimmy McCabe is a man in search of hope but looking in all the wrong places. When he hits rock bottom he turns to his childhood boxing club and the only family he has left: gym owner Bill corner man Eddie and promoter Joe. Back in training, years after anyone thought he was a contender, he risks his life, as he tries to stand tall and regain his place in the world.
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 thisThe Lords of Discipline (1983)
Will arrives for his last year at Military Academy, in the Deep South USA, in the 1960's. A black student, Pearce, has been accepted, for the first time and Will is asked to keep an eye out for the inevitable racism. The racists come in the form of The Ten, a secret group of the elite students. They want Pearce to leave on his own free will, but are prepared to torture him to make it 'his free will'. Will is forced to help Pearce and he is prepared to risk his own career to do so.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAbove the Rim (1994)
Story of a promising high school basketball star and his relationships with two brothers, one a drug dealer and the other a former basketball star fallen on hard times and now employed as a security guard.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFlirting with Forty (2008)
A divorcee has a passionate affair with a much younger surfing instructor in Hawaii.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThicker Than Water (2000)
Chris Malloy, Emmett Malloy, and Jack Johnson got together to document the life and times of a pro surfer. Shot all on 16mm Film "Thicker Than Water" follows Rob Machado, Kelly Slater, Brad Gerlach, Shane Dorian, and others on a 18 month journey through the North Atlantic, South Pacific, and the Bay of Bengal.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Bosch & Rockit (2022)
As Rockit grapples to understand why his Mum’s not coming home, he embarks on a magical holiday with his father, Bosch, only to discover they’re actually running from the law. Rockit finds a soulmate and then teenage love with Ash Ash, but it’s the ocean that gives him the security and calm he yearns from his parents. Ultimately Rockit is a boy nurtured and held by nature.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Modern Collective (2009)
Modern Collective is a group of young individuals including Dane Reynolds, Jordy Smith, Yadin Nicol, Dion Agius and Mitch Coleborn. The collective seeks to set in motion the expectations of surfing with a voyage to five high performance locations around the galaxy. The first trip took the collective to France, discovering giant ramps to experiment new moves on.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
What's My Name Again? (2023)
In 1985, a seemingly quintessential Southern California teen's identity unravels as he's forced to choose one of his 3 fathers' last names before he comes of age.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
High Tide (1987)
A backup singer gets stranded in a small coastal town after losing her job in a band. She winds up in a caravan park only to encounter, by accident, the teenage daughter she deserted following her husband's death.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Shallows (2016)
While surfing on a secluded beach, Nancy finds herself in the feeding grounds of a great white shark. Though stranded only 200 yards from shore, survival proves to be the ultimate test of wills, requiring all of her ingenuity, resourcefulness, and fortitude.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Local Boys?
The closest matches to Local Boys are Lords of Dogtown (2005), Thrashin' (1986) and North Shore (1987). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Local Boys?
People who watched Local Boys most often go on to Lords of Dogtown (2005), Thrashin' (1986) and North Shore (1987).
What is the highest-rated movie like Local Boys?
Charm City Kings (2020), rated 7.8/10 by 508 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Local Boys?
Beast (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Local Boys?
Yes: Lords of Dogtown (2005), Thrashin' (1986) and North Shore (1987).
How are movies similar to Local Boys chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Local Boys, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.