Movies Like Lay the Favorite

If you liked Lay the Favorite (2012), a drama and comedy movie directed by Stephen Frears, 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
Hard Eight (1997)
★ 6.8/10Also drama
A stranger mentors a young Reno gambler who weds a hooker and befriends a vulgar casino regular.
2
Two for the Money (2005)
★ 6.1/10Also comedy and drama
A former college athlete joins forces with a sports consultant to handicap football games for high-rolling gamblers.
3
Ballad of a Small Player (2025)
★ 5.8/10Also drama
Amid the glittering casinos of Macau, a gambler running from his past—and his debts—becomes fascinated by an enigmatic woman at the baccarat table.
4
Casino (1995)
★ 8/10Also drama
In Las Vegas, two best friends-a casino executive and a Mafia enforcer--compete for a gambling empire and a fast-living, fast-loving socialite.
5
Molly's Game (2017)
★ 7.2/10Also drama
Molly Bloom, a young skier and former Olympic hopeful becomes a successful entrepreneur (and a target of an FBI investigation) when she establishes a high-stakes, international poker game.
6
Rounders (1998)
★ 7/10Also drama
Poker addict Mike McDermott knows the game inside out, but loses his money one night in a game to Russian-American gangster Teddy KGB. Promising his partner Jo he'll give up, he meets up with best friend Lester 'Worm'…
7
California Split (1974)
★ 6.6/10Also comedy and drama
Carefree single guy Charlie Waters rooms with two lovely prostitutes, Barbara Miller and Susan Peters, and lives to gamble. Along with his glum betting buddy, Bill Denny, Charlie sets out on a gambling streak in search…
8
Babylon (2022)
★ 7.3/10Also drama and comedy
A tale of outsized ambition and outrageous excess, tracing the rise and fall of multiple characters in an era of unbridled decadence and depravity during Hollywood's transition from silent films to sound films in the…
9
Bugsy (1991)
★ 6.3/10Also drama
New York gangster Ben 'Bugsy' Siegel takes a brief business trip to Los Angeles. A sharp-dressing womanizer with a foul temper, Siegel doesn't hesitate to kill or maim anyone crossing him. In L.A. the life, the movies…
10
The Hangover Part III (2013)
★ 6.2/10Also comedy
This time, there's no wedding. No bachelor party. What could go wrong, right? But when the Wolfpack hits the road, all bets are off.
11
Croupier (1998)
★ 6.7/10Also drama
Jack Manfred is an aspiring writer who to make ends meet, takes a job as a croupier. Jack remains an observer, knowing that everything in life is a gamble and that gamblers are born to lose. Inevitably, he gets sucked…
12
Celebrity (1998)
★ 6/10Also drama and comedy
The career and personal life of writer Lee are at a standstill, so he divorces his bashful wife, Robin, and dives into a new job as an entertainment journalist. His assignments take him to the swankiest corners of…
13
The Cincinnati Kid (1965)
★ 7/10Also drama
An up-and-coming poker player tries to prove himself in a high-stakes match against a long-time master of the game.
14
McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971)
★ 7.2/10Also drama
A gambler and a prostitute become thriving business partners in a remote Old West mining town until a large corporation arrives on the scene.
15
Factotum (2005)
★ 6.2/10Also drama
This drama centers on Hank Chinaski, the fictional alter-ego of "Factotum" author Charles Bukowski, who wanders around Los Angeles, CA trying to live off jobs which don't interfere with his primary interest, which is…
16
The Last Showgirl (2024)
★ 6.4/10Also drama
When the glittering Las Vegas revue she has headlined for decades announces it will soon close, a glamorous showgirl must reconcile with the decisions she’s made and the community she has built as she plans her next act.
17
Owning Mahowny (2003)
★ 6.8/10Also drama
Dan Mahowny was a rising star at the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. At twenty-four he was assistant manager of a major branch in the heart of Toronto's financial district. To his colleagues he was a workaholic. To…
18
Entourage (2015)
★ 6.2/10Also comedy and drama
Movie star Vincent Chase, together with his boys, Eric, Turtle and Johnny, are back…and back in business with super agent-turned-studio head Ari Gold. Some of their ambitions have changed, but the bond between them…
19
The Killing (1956)
★ 7.6/10Also drama
Career criminal Johnny Clay recruits a sharpshooter, a crooked police officer, a bartender and a betting teller named George, among others, for one last job before he goes straight and gets married. But when George…
20
Boiler Room (2000)
★ 6.7/10Also drama
A college dropout gets a job as a broker for a suburban investment firm and is on the fast track to success—but the job might not be as legitimate as it sounds.