Movies Like Things That Happen

If you liked Things That Happen (2019), a movie directed by Bobby McCoy, 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
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere (2025)
★ 6.6/10
Bruce Springsteen, a young musician on the cusp of global superstardom, struggles to reconcile the pressures of success with the ghosts of his past.
2
It's Kind of a Funny Story (2010)
★ 6.9/10
A clinically depressed teenager gets a new start after he checks himself into an adult psychiatric ward.
3
Mainstream (2021)
★ 6.3/10
A young woman thinks she’s found a path to internet stardom when she starts making YouTube videos with a charismatic stranger – until the dark side of viral celebrity threatens to ruin them both.
4
One Chance (2013)
★ 6.7/10
This film follows the remarkable and inspirational true story of Paul Potts, a shy, bullied shop assistant by day and an amateur opera singer by night.
5
Better Man (2024)
★ 7.6/10
Follow Robbie Williams' journey from childhood, to being the youngest member of chart-topping boyband Take That, through to his unparalleled achievements as a record-breaking solo artist – all the while confronting the…
6
Downfalls High (2021)
★ 6.1/10
When reserved and lonely teenager Fenix meets popular high school girl Scarlett, the two form a bond that shapes the rest of his life.
7
A Star Is Born (2018)
★ 7.5/10
Seasoned musician Jackson Maine discovers — and falls in love with — struggling artist Ally. She has just about given up on her dream to make it big as a singer — until Jack coaxes her into the spotlight. But even as…
8
Clouds (2020)
★ 8.2/10
Young musician Zach Sobiech discovers his cancer has spread, leaving him just a few months to live. With limited time, he follows his dream and makes an album, unaware that it will soon be a viral music phenomenon.
9
Ingrid Goes West (2017)
★ 6.4/10
Ingrid becomes obsessed with a social network star named Taylor Sloane who seemingly has a perfect life. But when Ingrid decides to drop everything and move west to be Taylor's friend, her behaviour turns unsettling…
10
Eighth Grade (2018)
★ 7.1/10
Thirteen-year-old Kayla endures the tidal wave of contemporary suburban adolescence as she makes her way through the last week of middle school — the end of her thus far disastrous eighth grade year — before she begins…
11
Frank (2014)
★ 6.8/10
A young wannabe musician discovers he has bitten off more than he can chew when he joins an eccentric pop band led by the mysterious and enigmatic Frank.
12
Great Expectations (1998)
★ 6.7/10
Loosely based on the Charles Dickens' classic novel, "Great Expectations" is a sensual tale of a young man's unforgettable passage into manhood, and the three individuals who will undeniably change his life forever…
13
Teen Spirit (2019)
★ 6/10
A shy teenager living on the Isle of Wight dreams of pop stardom. With the help of an unlikely mentor, she enters a singing competition that will test her integrity, talent, and ambition.
14
A Long Way Down (2014)
★ 6.2/10
Four lost souls—a disgraced TV presenter, a foul-mouthed teen, an isolated single mother, and a failed musician—decide to end their lives on the same night, New Year's Eve. When this disillusioned quartet of strangers…
15
Fight Club (1999)
★ 8.4/10
A ticking-time-bomb insomniac and a slippery soap salesman channel primal male aggression into a shocking new form of therapy. Their concept catches on, with underground "fight clubs" forming in every town, until an…
16
Coyote Ugly (2000)
★ 6.3/10
Graced with a velvet voice, 21-year-old Violet Sanford heads to New York to pursue her dream of becoming a songwriter only to find her aspirations sidelined by the accolades and notoriety she receives at her "day" job…
17
God Help the Girl (2014)
★ 6.5/10
Eve is a catastrophe—low on self-esteem but high on fantasy, especially when it comes to music. Over the course of one Glasgow summer, she meets two similarly rootless souls: posh Cass and fastidious James, and…
18
Robin's Wish (2020)
★ 7/10
The final word in the story of what really happened to Robin Williams at the end of his life, focusing on his fight against a deadly neurodegenerative disorder known as Lewy body dementia.
19
Requiem for a Dream (2000)
★ 8/10
The drug-induced utopias of four Coney Island residents are shattered when their addictions run deep.
20
Sometimes I Think About Dying (2024)
★ 6.8/10
Fran likes to think about dying. It brings sensation to her quiet life. When she makes the new guy at work laugh, it leads to more: a date, a slice of pie, a conversation, a spark. The only thing standing in their way…