Movies Like Schoolyard Blues

If you liked Schoolyard Blues (2017), a movie directed by Maria Eriksson-Hecht, 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
Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life (2016)
★ 6.9/10
A quiet teenage artist Rafe Katchadorian has a wild imagination and is sick of middle school and the rules that have been put before him. Rafe and his best friend Leo have come up with a plan: break every rule in the…
2
Bridge to Terabithia (2007)
★ 7.4/10
Jesse Aarons trained all summer to become the fastest runner in school. So he's very upset when newcomer Leslie Burke outruns him and everyone else. Despite this and other differences including that she's rich, he's…
3
Across the Tracks (1991)
★ 5.9/10
When Billy returns from reform school he has to attend a different high school at the other side of town. He tries to start with a clean slate but his old rival doesn't make it easy on him and his buddy Louie tries to…
4
Three O'Clock High (1987)
★ 6.8/10
Nerdy high schooler Jerry Mitchell is assigned to write an article for the school paper about the infamous new delinquent transfer student, Buddy Revell. When Jerry accidentally invades Buddy's personal space and…
5
Coach Carter (2005)
★ 7.6/10
Based on a true story, in which Richmond High School head basketball coach Ken Carter made headlines in 1999 for benching his undefeated team due to poor academic results.
6
Bad Apples (2026)
★ 6.9/10
A struggling primary school teacher is forced to take drastic action because of a foul-mouthed, violent student, and uncovers how her community will turn a blind eye to the most outrageous events to preserve harmony…
7
Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2010)
★ 6.3/10
Greg Heffley is headed for big things, but first he has to survive the scariest, most humiliating experience of any kid’s life – middle school! That won’t be easy, considering he’s surrounded by hairy-freckled morons…
8
Old Boys (2018)
★ 6.6/10
In the school-set re-working of Cyrano, an awkward but imaginative pupil helps the handsome but spectacularly dim school-hero pursue the fiery daughter of a visiting French teacher.
9
How to Eat Fried Worms (2006)
★ 6.2/10
During the first day of his new school year, a fifth grade boy squares off against a bully and winds up accepting a dare that could change the balance of power within the class.
10
The Giver (2014)
★ 6.6/10
In a seemingly perfect community, without war, pain, suffering, differences or choice, a young boy is chosen to learn from an elderly man about the true pain and pleasure of the "real" world.
11
A Little Princess (1995)
★ 7.6/10
When her father enlists to fight for the British in WWI, young Sara Crewe goes to New York to attend the same boarding school her late mother attended. She soon clashes with the severe headmistress, Miss Minchin, who…
12
F.I.S.T. (1978)
★ 6.5/10
Johnny Kovak joins the Teamsters trade-union in a local chapter in the 1930s and works his way up in the organization. As he climbs higher and higher his methods become more ruthless and finally senator Madison starts…
13
Evil (2003)
★ 7.3/10
Stockholm, in the 1950s. Erik is expelled from the local school for getting into one brawl too many. To protect Erik from his violent stepfather’s reaction to his expulsion, Erik's mother arranges for Erik to spend a…
14
She's All That (1999)
★ 6.4/10
High school hotshot Zach Siler is the envy of his peers. But his popularity declines sharply when his cheerleader girlfriend, Taylor, leaves him for sleazy reality-television star Brock Hudson. Desperate to revive his…
15
Steve (2025)
★ 6.3/10
Over one intense day, the devoted head teacher of a last-chance reform school strives to keep his students in line while facing pressures of his own.
16
Level 16 (2018)
★ 6.7/10
The teenage girls of Vestalis Academy are meticulously trained in the art of being “clean girls,” practicing the virtues of perfect femininity. But what exactly are they being trained for? Vivien intends to find out.
17
The Art of Getting By (2011)
★ 6.6/10
George, a lonely and fatalistic teen who's made it all the way to his senior year without ever having done a real day of work, is befriended by Sally, a popular but complicated girl who recognizes in him a kindred…
18
Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2021)
★ 6.2/10
Greg Heffley is a scrawny but ambitious kid with an active imagination and big plans to be rich and famous – he just has to survive middle school first.
19
Wonder (2017)
★ 8.1/10
The story of August Pullman – a boy with facial differences – who enters fifth grade, attending a mainstream elementary school for the first time.
20
The Bad Seed Returns (2022)
★ 7/10
Several years after the murderous events of the first movie left her father dead, Emma is now living with her aunt Angela and navigating high school. Angela’s husband begins to suspect that Emma may not be as innocent…