Movies Like The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess

If you liked The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess (2009), a music movie directed by Francesca Zambello, 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
Annie (1999)
★ 6.5/10Also music
Things seem pretty bad for a young girl living a "hard-knock life" in an orphanage. Fed up with the dastardly Miss Hannigan, Annie escapes the run-down orphanage determined to find her mom and dad. It's an adventure…
2
Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical (2006)
★ 6.6/10Also music
From an ominous Lecturer, a small 1930s middle American community learns of the Harper Affair, in which young Jimmy Harper finds his life of promise turn into a life of debauchery and murder thanks to the new drug…
3
Tom Sawyer (1973)
★ 6.5/10Also music
Tom Sawyer and his pal Huckleberry Finn have great adventures on the Mississippi River, pretending to be pirates, attending their own funeral, and witnessing a murder.
4
Honkytonk Man (1982)
★ 6.3/10Also music
During the Great Depression, a young boy leaves his family's Oklahoma farm to travel with his country musician uncle who is trying out for the Grand Ole Opry.
5
Newsies (2017)
★ 8/10Also music
A week in the life of the exploited, child newspaper sellers in turn-of-the-century New York. When their publisher, Joseph Pulitzer, tries to squeeze a little more profit out of their labours, they organize a strike…
6
Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008)
★ 6.3/10Also music
By the year 2056, an epidemic of organ failures has devastated the planet. The megacorporation GeneCo provides organ transplants on a payment plan — and those unable to fulfill their plans have their organs…
7
Hounddog (2008)
★ 6.5/10Also 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.
8
The Doors (1991)
★ 7.1/10Also music
The story of the famous and influential 1960s rock band and its lead singer and composer, Jim Morrison.
9
Song for Marion (2012)
★ 6.8/10Also music
Arthur is a grumpy pensioner who can't understand why his wife Marion would want to embarrass herself singing silly songs with her unconventional local choir. But choir director Elizabeth sees something special in the…
10
The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
★ 7.5/10Also music
A retelling of the classic Dickens tale of Ebenezer Scrooge, miser extraordinaire. He is held accountable for his dastardly ways during nighttime visitations by the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future.
11
The Testament of Ann Lee (2025)
★ 6.3/10Also music
The extraordinary true legend of Ann Lee, founder of the devotional sect known as the Shakers, who preached gender and social equality and was revered by her followers as the female Christ.
12
Carmen: A Hip Hopera (2001)
★ 6.5/10Also music
An engaged Philadelphia policeman falls in love with a beautiful woman while dealing with a corrupt superior.
13
The Sound of Music (1965)
★ 7.7/10Also music
In the years before World War II, a tomboyish postulant at an Austrian abbey is hired as a governess in the home of a widowed naval captain with seven children and brings a new love of life and music into the home.
14
Tender Mercies (1983)
★ 6.8/10Also music
Alcoholic former country singer Mac Sledge makes friends with a young widow and her son. The friendship enables him to find inspiration to resume his career.
15
Judy (2019)
★ 6.7/10Also music
Thirty years after starring in 'The Wizard of Oz', beloved actress and singer Judy Garland arrives in London to perform sold-out shows at the Talk of the Town nightclub. While there, she reminisces with friends and…
16
Back to Black (2024)
★ 6.7/10Also music
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…
17
Bugsy Malone (1976)
★ 6.6/10Also music
New York, 1929, a war rages between two rival gangsters, Fat Sam and Dandy Dan. Dan is in possession of a new and deadly weapon, the dreaded "splurge gun". As the custard pies fly, Bugsy Malone, an all-round nice guy…
18
Babes in Toyland (1961)
★ 5.9/10Also music
All roads lead to magical, merry Toyland as Mary Contrary and Tom Piper prepare for their wedding! But villainous Barnaby wants Mary for himself, so he kidnaps Tom, setting off a series of comic chases, searches, and…
19
Godspell (1973)
★ 6.7/10Also music
In modern-day New York City, John the Baptist calls out to a group of young men and women to learn from the teachings of Jesus. Through song and dance, they relive Christ's crucifixion.
20
Tommy (1975)
★ 6.5/10Also music
After a series of traumatic childhood events, a psychosomatically deaf, dumb and blind boy becomes a master pinball player and the object of a religious cult.