Movies Like Required Reading

If you liked Required Reading (2023), a movie directed by Iniyavan Elumalai, here are 20 movies with a similar feel, based on TMDB's recommendations. Each one links to its cast, trailer and where it's streaming.

1
Heartstopper Forever (2026)
★ 7.2/10
It's a new school year for the Truham-Higgs gang. As Nick and Charlie's relationship deepens, their thoughts turn to life after the last bell rings.
2
Boys (2014)
★ 7.7/10
Two teen track stars discover first love as they train for the biggest relay race of their young lives.
3
Love, Simon (2018)
★ 8/10
Everyone deserves a great love story, but for 17-year-old Simon Spier, it's a little more complicated. He hasn't told his family or friends that he's gay, and he doesn't know the identity of the anonymous classmate…
4
The Object of My Affection (1998)
★ 5.8/10
A pregnant New York social worker begins to develop romantic feelings for her gay best friend, and decides she'd rather raise her child with him, much to the dismay of her overbearing boyfriend.
5
Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List (2015)
★ 5.9/10
The bonds between Naomi and Ely are tested when they fall for the same guy.
6
Young Hearts (2024)
★ 8.6/10
14-year-old Elias increasingly feels like an outsider in his village. When he meets his new neighbour of the same age, Alexander, Elias is confronted with his burgeoning sexuality.
7
After Ever Happy (2022)
★ 6.8/10
As a shocking truth about a couple's families emerges, the two lovers discover they are not so different from each other. Tessa is no longer the sweet, simple, good girl she was when she met Hardin — any more than he…
8
Endless Love (2014)
★ 6.9/10
A privileged girl and a charismatic boy's instant desire sparks a love affair made only more reckless by parents trying to keep them apart.
9
Maurice (1987)
★ 7.6/10
After his lover rejects him, Maurice attempts to come to terms with his sexuality within the restrictiveness of Edwardian society.
10
Just Friends (2019)
★ 7.1/10
Joris is trying to come to terms with his broken family relationships on the 10th anniversary of his father’s death when he meets the free-spirited, Yad. Also dealing with family issues, Yad has returned home to The…
11
Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss (1998)
★ 5.9/10
Billy Collier is a photographer working on a series of pictures featuring recreations of movie kisses, with drag queens playing the female roles. For his male model, he hires Gabriel, a young waiter on whom he has…
12
All of You (2025)
★ 6.3/10
Laura and Simon have been best friends since college. Over the years, they've realized their bond is more than platonic. Can they—and should they—risk everything to explore a love that has existed all along?
13
Only the Lonely (1991)
★ 6.2/10
Danny Muldoon, a Chicago policeman, still lives with his overbearing mother Rose. He meets and falls in love with Theresa Luna, whose father owns the local funeral parlour. Naturally, his mother objects to the…
14
Beauty and the Beast (1991)
★ 7.7/10
Follow the adventures of Belle, a bright young woman who finds herself in the castle of a prince who's been turned into a mysterious beast. With the help of the castle's enchanted staff, Belle soon learns the most…
15
My Policeman (2022)
★ 7.5/10
In the late 1990s, the arrival of elderly invalid Patrick into Marion and Tom’s home triggers the exploration of seismic events from 40 years previous: the passionate relationship between Tom and Patrick at a time when…
16
Get Real (1998)
★ 7/10
Sensitive rural town model student Steven Carter hides his gay feelings, except with his neighbor and best friend Linda. Suddenly his desperate search for partners leads to a blind date with golden boy John Dixon…
17
The Kissing Booth 3 (2021)
★ 6.8/10
It's the summer before Elle heads to college, and she has a secret decision to make. Elle has been accepted into Harvard, where boyfriend Noah is matriculating, and also Berkeley, where her BFF Lee is headed and has to…
18
Hands of Stone (2016)
★ 6.6/10
The legendary Roberto Duran and his equally legendary trainer Ray Arcel change each other's lives.
19
Boy Meets Girl (2014)
★ 6.6/10
In Kentucky, a transgender woman and her best male friend lament the lack of eligible partners and step across old boundaries of love and romance.
20
The Kissing Booth 2 (2020)
★ 7.6/10
With college decisions looming, Elle juggles her long-distance romance with Noah, changing relationship with bestie Lee and feelings for a new classmate.