Movies like Paula (2022)
The best movies like Paula (2022) are Starving in Suburbia (2014), Into the Wild (2007) and Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere (2025). If Paula hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedInto the Wild (2007)7.8/10 from 10,468 votes
- NewestSpringsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere (2025)Released 2025
- In SpanishThe Golden Dream (2013)Also in Spanish
Starving in Suburbia (2014)
A 17-year-old dancer joins a "thinspiration" website and devotes herself to the almost religious glorification of "thin", until she becomes completely possessed by the dark world of anorexia.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInto the Wild (2007)
After graduating from Emory University in 1992, top student and athlete Christopher McCandless abandons his possessions, gives his entire $24,000 savings account to charity, and hitchhikes to Alaska to live in the wilderness.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSpringsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere (2025)
Bruce Springsteen, a young musician on the cusp of global superstardom, struggles to reconcile the pressures of success with the ghosts of his past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAlmost Famous (2000)
In 1973, a precocious 15-year-old aspiring rock journalist lands a dream assignment from Rolling Stone to tour with a rising rock band, embarking on a coming-of-age journey as he discovers the exhilarating and heartbreaking realities behind rock stardom.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBefore I Fall (2017)
Samantha Kingston has everything. Then, everything changes. After one fateful night, she wakes up with no future at all. Trapped into reliving the same day over and over, she begins to question just how perfect her life really was.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAll Together Now (2020)
An optimistic, talented teen clings to a huge secret: she's homeless and living on a school bus. When tragedy strikes, can she learn to accept a helping hand?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDear Evan Hansen (2021)
Evan Hansen, a high schooler with social anxiety, unintentionally gets caught up in a lie after the family of a classmate who committed suicide mistakes one of Hansen’s letters for their son’s suicide note.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Golden Dream (2013)
A group of Central-American teen-agers depart from the slums of Guatemala City escaping poverty and violence, towards the promised land of California.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe True Adventures of Wolfboy (2019)
Follows a young boy who runs away from home in the search of his estranged mother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisTigertail (2020)
A man reflects on the lost love of his youth and his long-ago journey from Taiwan to America as he begins to reconnect with his estranged daughter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Girl in the Book (2015)
The story of a young writer's transformation when her past invades her present.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Sense of an Ending (2017)
A man becomes haunted by his past and is presented with a mysterious legacy that causes him to re-think his current situation in life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOut of My Mind (2024)
Melody Brooks, a sixth grader with cerebral palsy, has a quick wit and a sharp mind, but because she is non-verbal and uses a wheelchair, she is not given the same opportunities as her classmates. When a young educator notices her student's untapped potential and Melody starts to participate in mainstream education, Melody shows that what she has to say is more important than how she says it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNo One Would Tell (1996)
Shy sixteen-year-old Stacy Collins can't believe that the most popular guy in school, an attractive athlete named Bobby Tennison, is interested in her. At first she is flattered by his constant attention, but then he becomes possessive and jealous-telling her who she can speak to and what she can wear. Threats escalate into violence when Bobby thinks Stacy has stepped out of line. Soon she is walking on egg shells and living in fear. Having seen the tell-tale bruises, Stacy's best friend convinces her to break things off with Bobby-but in a moment of weakness, Stacy goes to meet him. It will be the last time she is seen alive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thisPriscilla (2023)
When teenage Priscilla Beaulieu meets Elvis Presley at a party, the man who is already a meteoric rock-and-roll superstar becomes someone entirely unexpected in private moments: a thrilling crush, an ally in loneliness, a vulnerable best friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTetro (2009)
In Buenos Aires, 17-year-old Bennie seeks out his estranged brother Tetro, a once-promising writer haunted by their family’s past. As Bennie uncovers Tetro’s hidden manuscript, old secrets and rivalries resurface, forcing both men to confront the truth about their father and the tangled legacy that tore their family apart.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAnthem of a Teenage Prophet (2019)
A small town-teen predicts his friend’s death with startling accuracy and is labelled the “Prophet of Death.” One thing he didn’t see coming? Falling in love - with his best friend’s girl.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWildlike (2015)
Fourteen-year-old Mackenzie is sent to live with her uncle in Juneau when her mother can’t care for her anymore. The living situation quickly takes a turn for the worse, and she runs away to rejoin her mother in Seattle. While on her dangerous journey of sleeping in cars and breaking into hotel rooms, she’s drawn to Rene, a lonesome backpacker looking for tranquility in the wilderness.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHome (2021)
An ex-felon returns home from prison and must confront the demons of his past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Joke (2010)
A bunch of friends are celebrating the birthday of one of them when they decide to play a joke on him. None of them could imagine the consequences that would befall them.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Empire of the Sun (1987)
Jamie Graham, a privileged English boy, is living in Shanghai when the Japanese invade and force all foreigners into prison camps. Jamie is captured with an American sailor, who looks out for him while they are in the camp together. Even though he is separated from his parents and in a hostile environment, Jamie maintains his dignity and youthful spirit, providing a beacon of hope for the others held captive with him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Girl (TBA)
Revisit one of Hollywood’s most notorious scandals through the eyes of the person most misrepresented by it. In 1977 California, 13-year-old Samantha is navigating adolescence and dreams of becoming an actress when she is drawn into the orbit of celebrated filmmaker Roman Polanski. What follows alters her life forever. As the case erupts across headlines, Samantha and her mother are thrust into a relentless media storm — she’s hounded by paparazzi and stripped of privacy at the moment where she most needs protection. Together, mother and daughter must fight to reclaim Samantha’s voice and preserve what remains of her childhood.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Breaking Pencils (2021)
Sep learns how to navigate high-school life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
A Walk to Remember (2002)
When the popular, restless Landon Carter is forced to participate in the school drama production, he falls in love with Jamie Sullivan, the daughter of the town's minister. Jamie has a "to-do" list for her life, as well as a very big secret she must keep from Landon.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWasteland (2021)
Follows the quiet day of a lonely young girl who tries to survive in a post-apocalyptic world.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Quadrophenia (1979)
Based on the 1973 rock opera album of the same name by The Who, this is the story of 60s teenager Jimmy. At work he slaves in a dead-end job. While after, he shops for tailored suits and rides his scooter as part of the London Mod scene.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJellyfish (2019)
In Margate, England, life is not easy for teenager Sarah Taylor, between being bullied at school, being exploited by a dominant boss and having to take care of her depressive mother and her two siblings. But Sarah finds a way to channel her growing despair and fight adversity when her drama teacher gives her a new purpose.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Fairyocious (2019)
Alma, petrified, does not know how to react when her son, age 8, wants to dress as a fairy and go to school. She asks advice from her neighbor, and eventually the entire building debates his right to behave cross-gender.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
B-Happy (2004)
A determined teenager must rely on her own wits when her fractured family abandons her.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Paula?
The closest matches to Paula are Starving in Suburbia (2014), Into the Wild (2007) and Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere (2025). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Paula?
Start with Starving in Suburbia (2014), the closest match to Paula.
What is the highest-rated movie like Paula?
Into the Wild (2007), rated 7.8/10 by 10,468 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Paula?
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Spanish movies like Paula?
Yes: The Golden Dream (2013), The Joke (2010) and B-Happy (2004).
How are movies similar to Paula chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Paula, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.