Movies Like The Contest

If you liked The Contest (1964), a music and drama movie directed by Bulat Mansurov, 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
Hounddog (2008)
★ 6.5/10Also drama and music
A drama set in the American South, where a precocious, troubled girl finds a safe haven in the music and movement of Elvis Presley.
2
Battle of the Year (2013)
★ 6.8/10Also music and drama
A down-on-his-luck coach is hired to prepare a team of the best American dancers for an international tournament that attracts all the best crews from around the world, but the Americans haven't won in fifteen years.
3
Too Late Blues (1961)
★ 6.4/10Also drama and music
Ghost is an ideological musician and leader of a jazz band who would rather play his blues in the park to the birds than compromise himself. His peripatetic performances lead him to cross paths with a singer, while his…
4
Oslo (2021)
★ 6.6/10Also drama and history
The true story of negotiations between implacable enemies — the secret back-channel talks, unlikely friendships and quiet heroics of a small but committed group of Israelis, Palestinians and one Norwegian couple that…
5
Honeydripper (2007)
★ 5.9/10Also drama and music
In 1950s Alabama, the owner of the Honeydripper juke joint finds his business dropping off and against his better judgment, hires a young electric guitarist in a last ditch effort to draw crowds during harvest time.
6
Clika (2026)
★ 8.3/10Also music and drama
Aspiring small-town musician Chito is determined to make it big. When a clip of him performing one of his songs goes viral, he seizes the opportunity and pushes to carve out a place for himself in the new wave of…
7
Grace Unplugged (2013)
★ 6/10Also drama and music
A talented young singer and aspiring songwriter’s Christian faith and family ties are tested when she defies her worship-pastor father and pursues pop-music stardom in GRACE UNPLUGGED, a moving and inspiring new film…
8
Cadillac Records (2008)
★ 7.1/10Also drama and history
The story of sex, violence, race and rock and roll in 1950s Chicago, and the exciting but turbulent lives of some of America's musical legends, including Muddy Waters, Leonard Chess, Little Walter, Howlin' Wolf, Etta…
9
Respect (2021)
★ 6.8/10Also drama and music
The rise of Aretha Franklin’s career from a child singing in her father’s church’s choir to her international superstardom.
10
Honey: Rise Up and Dance (2018)
★ 6.9/10Also music and drama
Street dancer Skyler comes out of the shadow of her trained dancer sister, Tosha, & joins a dance competition with the Honey dance studio; the prize is a college scholarship.
11
Oranges and Sunshine (2010)
★ 6.9/10Also drama and history
The story of Margaret Humphreys, a social worker from Nottingham, who uncovers one of the most significant social scandals in recent times – the forced migration of children from the United Kingdom to Australia and…
12
Blaze (2018)
★ 6.3/10Also drama and music
Inspired by the life of Blaze Foley, the unsung songwriting legend of the Texas outlaw country movement that spawned the likes of Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson. The film weaves together three periods in Blaze's life…
13
Taurus (2022)
★ 5.8/10Also drama and music
A rising but troubled musician searches for the inspiration to record one last song, pushing himself deep into the void.
14
Prizefighter: The Life of Jem Belcher (2022)
★ 6.2/10Also history and drama
At the turn of the 19th century, Pugilism was the sport of kings and a gifted young boxer fought his way to becoming champion of England.
15
Mo' Better Blues (1990)
★ 6.5/10Also drama and music
Talented but self-centered trumpeter Bleek Gilliam is obsessed with his music and indecisiveness about his girlfriends Indigo and Clarke. But when he is forced to come to the aid of his manager and childhood friend…
16
Radium Girls (2020)
★ 6.6/10Also drama and history
Young women toiling in a factory are exposed to hazardous material which takes a disastrous toll on their health.
17
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.
18
The Mambo Kings (1992)
★ 6.4/10Also drama and music
The Mambo Kings tells the story of César and Nestor Castillo, brothers and aspiring musicians who flee from Cuba to America in search of the American Dream.
19
A Late Quartet (2012)
★ 6.7/10Also music and drama
When the beloved cellist of a world-renowned string quartet is diagnosed with a life threatening illness, the group's future suddenly hangs in the balance as suppressed emotions, competing egos and uncontrollable…
20
All Eyez on Me (2017)
★ 6.7/10Also history and drama
All Eyez on Me chronicles the life and legacy of Tupac Shakur, including his rise to superstardom as a hip-hop artist, actor, poet and activist, as well as his imprisonment and prolific, controversial time at Death Row…