Movies Like Waiting Places

If you liked Waiting Places, a movie directed by Bobbi Jene Smith and Or Schraiber, 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
La La Land (2016)
★ 7.9/10
Mia, an aspiring actress, serves lattes to movie stars in between auditions and Sebastian, a jazz musician, scrapes by playing cocktail party gigs in dingy bars, but as success mounts they are faced with decisions that…
2
Carrie Fisher: Wishful Drinking (2010)
★ 7.3/10
"Wishful Drinking" is based on Fisher's memoirs of the same title. The stage adaptation had its world premiere in 2006 at the Geffen Playhouse in L.A. It later played at Berkeley Repertory before opening on Broadway in…
3
HOMECOMING: A film by Beyoncé (2019)
★ 8/10
This intimate, in-depth look at Beyoncé's celebrated 2018 Coachella performance reveals the emotional road from creative concept to cultural movement.
4
Synecdoche, New York (2008)
★ 7.5/10
A theater director struggles with his work, and the women in his life, as he attempts to create a life-size replica of New York inside a warehouse as part of his new play.
5
Billie Eilish - Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D) (2026)
★ 8.4/10
Captured during Billie Eilish's sold-out world tour, a concert experience from one of the most celebrated and successful artists of her generation, presented in immersive 3D.
6
I Believe in Unicorns (2015)
★ 6.7/10
Feeling awkward and isolated, an imaginative and strong-willed teenage girl runs away from home with an older punk rock drifter.
7
Dance with Me (1998)
★ 6.9/10
Young Cuban Rafael just buried his mother, and comes to Houston to meet his father John for the first time. The difficult part is that John doesn't know he is Rafael's father. John runs a dance studio, and everyone…
8
Burlesque (2010)
★ 7.2/10
Ali leaves behind a troubled life and follows her dreams to Los Angeles, where she lands a job as a cocktail waitress at the Burlesque Lounge, a once-majestic theater that houses an inspired musical revue. Vowing to…
9
Maudie (2016)
★ 7.8/10
Canadian folk artist Maud Lewis falls in love with a fishmonger while working for him as a live-in housekeeper.
10
Blue Heron (2026)
★ 6.6/10
A family of six's fresh start on 1990s Vancouver Island unravels as their youngest child, Sasha, witnesses the increasingly dangerous behavior of her older brother, Jeremy.
11
Wasp (2003)
★ 7.2/10
Zoë is a single mother who lives with her four children in Dartford. She is poor and can't afford to buy food. One day her old flame drives by and asks her to go on a date with him. Scared that he doesn't want to go…
12
Black Swan (2010)
★ 7.7/10
A committed dancer struggles to maintain her sanity after winning the lead role in a production of Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake."
13
August Rush (2007)
★ 7.4/10
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…
14
Step Up (2006)
★ 6.9/10
Delinquent Tyler Gage receives the opportunity of a lifetime after vandalizing a performing arts school, gaining him the chance to earn a scholarship and dance with up-and-coming dancer Nora.
15
Saturday Night Fever (1977)
★ 6.7/10
Tony spends his Saturdays at a disco where his stylish moves raise his popularity among the patrons. But his life outside the disco is not easy and things change when he gets attracted to Stephanie.
16
In the Realms of the Unreal (2004)
★ 7.2/10
In the Realms of the Unreal is a documentary about the reclusive Chicago-based artist Henry Darger. Henry Darger was so reclusive that when he died his neighbors were surprised to find a 15,145-page manuscript along…
17
A Chorus Line (1985)
★ 6.2/10
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…
18
They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969)
★ 7.6/10
In the midst of the Great Depression, manipulative emcee Rocky enlists contestants for a dance marathon offering a $1,500 cash prize. Among them are a failed actress, a middle-aged sailor, a delusional blonde and a…
19
All That Jazz (1979)
★ 7.5/10
Joe Gideon is at the top of the heap, one of the most successful directors and choreographers in musical theater. But he can feel his world slowly collapsing around him - his obsession with work has almost destroyed…
20
West Side Story (2021)
★ 6.9/10
Two youngsters from rival New York City gangs fall in love, but tensions between their respective friends build toward tragedy.