Movies Like Mr. Holland's Opus

If you liked Mr. Holland's Opus (1995), a drama and music movie directed by Stephen Herek, 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
Dead Poets Society (1989)
★ 8.3/10Also drama
At an elite, old-fashioned boarding school in New England, a passionate English teacher inspires his students to rebel against convention and seize the potential of every day, courting the disdain of the stern…
2
Music of the Heart (1999)
★ 6.7/10Also drama and music
After Roberta Guaspari separates from her husband, she receives encouragement from her mother to take up a job of a music teacher at the Central Park East School in East Harlem.
3
In the Bedroom (2001)
★ 6.9/10Also drama
Summertime on the coast of Maine, "In the Bedroom" centers on the inner dynamics of a family in transition. Matt Fowler is a doctor practicing in his native Maine and is married to New York born Ruth Fowler, a music…
4
The Miracle Worker (2000)
★ 7.3/10Also drama
Devoted teacher Anne Sullivan leads deaf, blind and mute Helen Keller out of solitude and helps integrate her into the world.
5
The Soloist (2009)
★ 6.7/10Also drama and music
A Los Angeles journalist befriends a homeless Juilliard-trained musician, while looking for a new article for the paper.
6
TÁR (2022)
★ 7.1/10Also music and drama
As celebrated conductor Lydia Tár starts rehearsals for a career-defining symphony, the consequences of her past choices begin to echo in the present.
7
Hope Gap (2019)
★ 6.6/10Also drama
Grace lives an idyllic life in a British seaside town, but her world soon comes crashing down when her husband of 29 years tells her he's leaving her for another woman. Through stages of shock, disbelief and anger…
8
The River Wild (1994)
★ 6.5/10Also drama
Gail and Tom Hartman are struggling to stay together and decide to take a white-water rafting holiday adventure in Montana for their son Roarke's 10th birthday, only to meet up with a pair of mysterious men whose…
9
Rabbit Hole (2010)
★ 6.6/10Also drama
Life for a happy couple is turned upside down after their young son dies in an accident.
10
Coda (2020)
★ 6.1/10Also music and drama
A famous pianist at the twilight of his career meets a free-spirited music critic who soon becomes his rock as his mental state deteriorates.
11
Great Balls of Fire! (1989)
★ 6.3/10Also drama and music
The story of Jerry Lee Lewis, arguably the greatest and certainly one of the wildest musicians of the 1950s. His arrogance, remarkable talent, and unconventional lifestyle often brought him into conflict with others in…
12
August Rush (2007)
★ 7.4/10Also drama and music
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…
13
Fences (2016)
★ 6.9/10Also drama
In 1950s Pittsburgh, a frustrated African-American father struggles with the constraints of poverty, racism, and his own inner demons as he tries to raise a family.
14
tick, tick... BOOM! (2021)
★ 7.6/10Also drama and music
On the brink of turning 30, a promising theater composer navigates love, friendship and the pressure to create something great before time runs out.
15
Like Sunday, Like Rain (2014)
★ 7.4/10Also drama and music
A struggling musician becomes a 12-year-old musical prodigy's guardian for a summer.
16
I Never Sang for My Father (1970)
★ 6.7/10Also drama
A man living in the towering shadow of his aging father finds it difficult to start a new chapter in his life by marrying his girlfriend and moving to California.
17
Love & Mercy (2015)
★ 7.1/10Also drama and music
In the late 1960s, the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson stops touring, produces "Pet Sounds" and begins to lose his grip on reality. By the 1980s, under the sway of a controlling therapist, he finds a savior in Melinda…
18
The Fabelmans (2022)
★ 7.5/10Also drama
Growing up in post-World War II era Arizona, young Sammy Fabelman aspires to become a filmmaker as he reaches adolescence, but soon discovers a shattering family secret and explores how the power of films can help him…
19
Eddie and the Cruisers (1983)
★ 6.6/10Also drama and music
A television newswoman picks up the story of a 1960s rock band whose long-lost leader — Eddie Wilson — may still be alive, while searching for the missing tapes of the band's never-released album.
20
Train Dreams (2025)
★ 7.3/10Also drama
A logger leads a life of quiet grace as he experiences love and loss during an era of monumental change in early 20th-century America.