Movies Like Whitney

If you liked Whitney (2015), a romance and drama movie directed by Angela Bassett, 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
Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody (2022)
★ 7/10Also music and drama
The joyous, emotional, heartbreaking celebration of the life and music of Whitney Houston, the greatest female R&B pop vocalist of all time. Tracking her journey from obscurity to musical superstardom.
2
The Souvenir (2019)
★ 6.1/10Also drama and romance
A shy but ambitious film student falls into an intense, emotionally fraught relationship with a charismatic but untrustworthy older man.
3
Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B (2014)
★ 6.5/10Also drama and music
The story of R&B singer and actress Aaliyah; namely, the highs and lows of her career, her romantic pursuits, and the events leading up to her death in 2001 at the age of 22.
4
Bessie (2015)
★ 6.4/10Also drama and music
The story of legendary blues performer, Bessie Smith, who rose to fame during the 1920s and '30s.
5
Asylum (2005)
★ 6.1/10Also drama and romance
A woman becomes very curious about one of her psychiatrist husband's inmates, a man who was found guilty in the murder and disfigurement of his former wife.
6
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere (2025)
★ 6.6/10Also drama and music
Bruce Springsteen, a young musician on the cusp of global superstardom, struggles to reconcile the pressures of success with the ghosts of his past.
7
The Glenn Miller Story (1954)
★ 7/10Also drama and music
A vibrant tribute to one of America's legendary bandleaders, charting Glenn Miller's rise from obscurity and poverty to fame and wealth in the early 1940s.
8
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…
9
Elvis (1979)
★ 6.9/10Also tv movie and music
This biopic traces Elvis Presley’s life from his impoverished childhood to his meteoric rise to stardom to his triumphant conquering of Las Vegas.
10
The Doors (1991)
★ 7.1/10Also music and drama
The story of the famous and influential 1960s rock band and its lead singer and composer, Jim Morrison.
11
Purple Hearts (2022)
★ 8/10Also romance and drama
An aspiring musician agrees to a marriage of convenience with a soon-to-deploy Marine, but a tragedy soon turns their fake relationship all too real.
12
I Still Believe (2020)
★ 7.6/10Also music and drama
The true-life story of Christian music star Jeremy Camp and his journey of love and loss that looks to prove there is always hope.
13
TalhotBlond (2012)
★ 6.3/10Also drama and tv movie
Thomas Montgomery, a married father of two young daughters, gets seduced by the world of online gambling and chat rooms where a virtual romance and sexual obsession ultimately leads to the murder of an innocent man.
14
Time Is Up (2021)
★ 6.5/10Also romance and drama
Vivien, an accomplished student with a passion for physics, and Roy, a troubled young man, are involved in an accident that forces them to reclaim their lives one minute at the time.
15
La Bamba (1987)
★ 7.3/10Also drama and music
Los Angeles teenager Ritchie Valens becomes an overnight rock 'n' roll success in 1958, thanks to a love ballad called "Donna" that he wrote for his girlfriend. But as his star rises, Valens has conflicts with his…
16
Love Finds You in Valentine (2016)
★ 6.4/10Also drama and tv movie
Kennedy Blaine, a Californian girl, inherits a ranch in the small town of Valentine in Nebraska. Before she sells the property, she decides to spend the summer in her house and learn more about her family.
17
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.
18
Back to Black (2024)
★ 6.7/10Also music and drama
The extraordinary story of Amy Winehouse’s early rise to fame from her early days in Camden through the making of her groundbreaking album, Back to Black that catapulted Winehouse to global fame. Told through Amy’s…
19
Crossroads (1986)
★ 7.4/10Also drama and music
A wanna-be blues guitar virtuoso seeks a long-lost song by legendary musician, Robert Johnson.
20
To Write Love on Her Arms (2015)
★ 6.7/10Also drama and music
The story follows 19-year-old Renee who has always loved fairy tales: the idea of a princess, a hero and a happily ever after. But Renee’s life is that of a darker tale: she’s a young woman battling addiction…