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Movies like Rent

Key Features:
Musical, Ensemble cast, Bohemian lifestyle, AIDS epidemic, Poverty, Friendship, Struggling artist, New York City, Social commentary, LGBTQ+, Found family, Romance, Mortality, Performance art, Counter-culture, Nudity-moderate
Tone:
serious, dramatic, earnest
Target Audience:
Musical theatre enthusiasts, Socially conscious viewers, Urban audiences, Fans of ensemble dramas
Emotional Arc:
Hope → Loss → Acceptance

Rent

2019-01-27
Rent Poster - Find Similar Movies

The story of several friends in New York City facing financial poverty, homophobia, AIDS, and, of course, rent.

Genres
Music, TV Movie, Drama
Cast
Jordan Fisher, Brennin Hunt, Vanessa Hudgens, Kiersey Clemons, Brandon Victor Dixon, Valentina, Mario, Tinashe, Keala Settle, Jennifer Leigh Warren
Crew
Jonathan Larson, Alex Rudzinski
Rating
6.7(83 votes)
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Rent: Filmed Live on Broadway

Set in New York City's gritty East Village, the revolutionary rock opera RENT tells the story of a group of bohemians struggling to live and pay their rent. "Measuring their lives in love," these starving artists strive for success and acceptance while enduring the obstacles of poverty, illness and the AIDS epidemic.



Rent
Rent(2005)
6.852

This rock opera tells the story of one year in the life of a group of bohemians struggling in late 1980s East Village, New York, USA. The film centers around Mark and Roger, two roommates. While a tragedy has made Roger numb to new experiences, Mark begins capturing their world through his attempts to make a personal movie. In the year that follows, they and their friends deal with love, loss, and working together.



tick, tick... BOOM!
7.609

On the brink of turning 30, a promising theater composer navigates love, friendship and the pressure to create something great before time runs out.



A Chorus Line
6.2

A group of dancers congregate on the stage of a Broadway theatre to audition for a new musical production directed by Zach. After the initial eliminations, seventeen hopefuls remain, among them Cassie, who once had a tempestuous romantic relationship with Zach. She is desperate enough for work to humble herself and audition for him; whether he's willing to let professionalism overcome his personal feelings about their past remains to be seen.



Where the Day Takes You

King is a young man, but he's already a veteran of life on the streets of Los Angeles. The de facto leader of a group of teenage runaways, King acts as a mentor to troubled kids such as gay hustler Little J and junkie Greg. When Heather, a beautiful girl from Chicago, starts hanging out with King and his crew, it changes the dynamic of the gang. However, it seems as though nothing will alter their dangerous lifestyle.



High School Musical

A popular high school athlete and an academically gifted girl get roles in the school musical and develop a friendship that threatens East High's social order.



West Side Story
7

Two youngsters from rival New York City gangs fall in love, but tensions between their respective friends build toward tragedy.



Grease Live
7.033

After enjoying a holiday romance, high school students Danny and Sandy are unexpectedly reunited when she transfers to Rydell High, where she must contend with cynical Rizzo and the Pink Ladies.



Camp
Camp(2003)
5.477

Misfits in their lives back home, a group of young people live it up at musical-theater camp. While the sports counselor is completely ignored, the kids' spend all their time in rehearsal for a grueling schedule that involves a new show every two weeks. Several personal stories come to the fore.



Fame
Fame(1980)
6.4

A chronicle of the lives of several teenagers who attend a New York high school for students gifted in the performing arts.



One of Them Days
6.654

Best friends and roommates Dreux and Alyssa are about to have One of Them Days. When they discover Alyssa’s boyfriend has blown their rent money, the duo finds themselves going to extremes in a comical race against the clock to avoid eviction and keep their friendship intact.



The Prom
The Prom(2020)
6.1

After the PTA of a conservative high school in Indiana bans same-sex couples from attending the annual prom, a gang of flamboyant Broadway stars try to boost their image by showing up to support two lesbian students.



EMO The Musical
6

Ethan, a sullen high-school student whose life is defined by what he hates, finds love with a blindly optimistic Christian girl Trinity, much to the annoyance of his angst-filled band mates and her evangelistic brethren.



Test
Test(2013)
6.742

San Francisco, 1985. Two opposites attract at a modern dance company. Together, their courage and resilience are tested as they navigate a world full of risks and promise, against the backdrop of a disease no one seems to know anything about.



All Together Now
6.7

An optimistic, talented teen clings to a huge secret: she's homeless and living on a school bus. When tragedy strikes, can she learn to accept a helping hand?



Hello Again
5.859

Ten lost souls slip in and out of one another's arms in a daisy-chained musical exploration of love's bittersweet embrace. A film adaptation of Michael John LaChiusa's celebrated musical, originally based on Arthur Schnitzler's play, La Ronde.



Dear Evan Hansen
6.279

Evan Hansen, a high schooler with social anxiety, unintentionally gets caught up in a lie after the family of a classmate who committed suicide mistakes one of Hansen’s letters for their son’s suicide note.



The Wiz Live!
7

Winner of 7 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, The Wiz was a massive Broadway hit which spawned a dismal feature film starring Diana Ross and Michael Jackson. Executive Producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron have assembled a Tony-winning creative team, the imaginative Cirque du Soleil Theatrical and a diverse cast of showstoppers designed to create an eye-popping new take on the musical unlike anything ever seen.



Christmas Encore
5.9

A struggling actress is cast in her last off (off) Broadway show - a modern take on “A Christmas Carol” - before giving up her dream and moving home. Instead, she finds romance with her director and a renewed passion for her craft and the city. But when the historic theater loses its lease and the show is set to fold, she and her cast mates are need of a Christmas miracle.



Kinky Boots: The Musical

Charlie is a factory owner struggling to save his family business, and Lola is a fabulous entertainer with a wildly exciting idea. With a little compassion and a lot of understanding, this unexpected pair learn to embrace their differences and create a line of sturdy stilettos unlike any the world has ever seen!



Trick
Trick(1999)
6.937

Gabriel is a young, aspiring musical composer whose life seems stuck in the First Act. When his new musical number gets a critical reception, a theatre colleague, Perry, tells Gabriel that he needs to get a life before he can write about one – so he heads straight for his local gay bar.



Room for Rent
6.3

Lonely widow Joyce rents out a room in her house and becomes dangerously obsessed with one of her guests.



Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert

The award-winning show is re-imagined as a live concert event, featuring an all-star cast of recording artists, set during the last week of Jesus' life as he deals with betrayal, love and jealousy, and told from the perspective of Judas.



Save the Last Dance

After the death of her mother, Sara moves to the South Side of Chicago to live with her father and gets transferred to a majority-black school. Her life takes a turn for the better when befriends Chenille and her brother Derek, who helps her with her dancing skills.



West Side Story
7.235

In the slums of the upper West Side of Manhattan, tensions are high as a gang of Polish-Americans compete against a gang of recently immigrated Puerto Ricans, but this doesn't stop two romantics from each gang falling in love.



K-12
K-12(2019)
7.739

Cry Baby, a strong and sensitive girl, is sent off to a disturbing sleepaway school that’s hidden underneath a grandiose façade. Luckily, she has a sweet and unapologetic best friend who sticks up for her when she gets bullied by the other students whose brains are under control by the Principal and his wicked staff. With the help of the magical friends they meet along the way, as well as an Angelic Spirit Guide, they are able to gain the strength they need to fight off the school’s belligerent patriarchal conditioning.



Stage Fright
5.3

A high-end musical theater camp is terrorized by a bloodthirsty killer who hates musical theater.



Fame
Fame(2009)
5.7

At New York's High School of Performing Arts, students from all walks of life get the chance to hone their skills as singers, actors, dancers, and more. Over four years, these young men and women will see if they truly have the dedication and talent to achieve success, while still juggling regular schoolwork, feelings of self-doubt, and budding romances.



Annie
Annie(2014)
6.2

Annie is a young, happy foster kid who's also tough enough to make her way on the streets of New York in 2014. Originally left by her parents as a baby with the promise that they'd be back for her someday, it's been a hard knock life ever since with her mean foster mom Miss Hannigan. But everything's about to change when the hard-nosed tycoon and New York mayoral candidate Will Stacks—advised by his brilliant VP and his shrewd and scheming campaign advisor—makes a thinly-veiled campaign move and takes her in. Stacks believes he's her guardian angel, but Annie's self-assured nature and bright, sun-will-come-out-tomorrow outlook on life just might mean it's the other way around.



Step Up 3D
6.8

A tight-knit group of New York City street dancers, including Luke and Natalie, team up with NYU freshman Moose, and find themselves pitted against the world's best hip hop dancers in a high-stakes showdown that will change their lives forever.



Better Nate Than Ever
6.417

13-year-old Nate Foster has big Broadway dreams but there’s only one problem — he can’t even land a part in the school play. When his parents leave town, Nate and his best friend Libby sneak off to the Big Apple for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to prove everyone wrong. A chance encounter with Nate’s long-lost Aunt Heidi turns his journey upside-down, and together they must learn that life’s greatest adventures are only as big as your dreams.



The Cure
The Cure(1995)
7.9

Erik, a loner, finds a friend in Dexter, an eleven-year-old boy with AIDS. They vow to find a cure for AIDS together and save Dexter's life in an eventful summer.



Shelter
Shelter(2014)
5.9

Hannah and Tahir fall in love while homeless on the streets of New York. Shelter explores how they got there, and as we learn about their pasts we realize they need each other to build a future.



Annie
Annie(1999)
6.437

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 that takes her from the cold, mean streets of New York to the warm, comforting arms of bighearted billionaire Oliver Warbucks - with plenty of mischief and music in between.



Dancer in the Dark
7.9

Selma, a Czech immigrant on the verge of blindness, struggles to make ends meet for herself and her son, who has inherited the same genetic disorder and will suffer the same fate without an expensive operation. When life gets too difficult, Selma learns to cope through her love of musicals, dreaming up little numbers to the rhythmic beats of her surroundings.



Strapped
Strapped(2010)
6.02

A routine trick propels a tall, dark, cynical hustler into a series of life-changing encounters in this drama. But this amicable and sexually efficient rent boy begins to look at himself differently when he finds himself lost in a maze-like apartment building. As he wanders through the building, he tricks with a variety of johns; sex is the commonality, but out of that commodity comes raw, unguarded emotions for all.



Hairspray Live!
7.32

A teenage girl living in Baltimore in the early 1960s dreams of appearing on a popular TV dance show.



The Normal Heart
7.738

The story of the onset of the HIV-AIDS crisis in New York City in the early 1980s, taking an unflinching look at the nation's sexual politics as gay activists and their allies in the medical community fight to expose the truth about the burgeoning epidemic to a city and nation in denial.



Kids
Kids(1995)
6.9

A day in the life of a group of teens as they travel around New York City skating, drinking, smoking and deflowering virgins.



Wicked
Wicked(2024)
6.915

In the land of Oz, ostracized and misunderstood green-skinned Elphaba is forced to share a room with the popular aristocrat Glinda at Shiz University, and the two's unlikely friendship is tested as they begin to fulfill their respective destinies as Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West.



Opening Night
5.663

A failed Broadway singer who now works as a production manager must save opening night on his new production by wrangling his eccentric cast and crew.



Rock of Ages
6.196

A small town girl and a city boy meet on the Sunset Strip, while pursuing their Hollywood dreams.



David Byrne's American Utopia

A filmed version of David Byrne's Broadway show, a unifying musical celebration that inspires audiences to connect to each other and to the global community.



Boy Culture
6.3

A successful gay male escort describes in a series of confessions his tangled romantic relationships with his two roommates and an older, enigmatic male client.



Hairspray
Hairspray(2007)
6.7

Pleasantly plump teenager Tracy Turnblad auditions to be on Baltimore's most popular dance show - The Corny Collins Show - and lands a prime spot. Through her newfound fame, she becomes determined to help her friends and end the racial segregation that has been a staple of the show.



Praise This
7.1

When aspiring musical superstar Sam is forced to join her cousin's struggling, underdog praise team in the lead-up to a national championship competition, she sees an opportunity to finally make her dreams come true.



Joe's Apartment
5.8

A nice guy has just moved to New York and discovers that he must share his run-down apartment with a couple thousand singing, dancing cockroaches.



Step Up All In
6.8

All-stars from the previous Step Up installments come together in glittering Las Vegas, battling for a victory that could define their dreams and their careers.



Steven Universe: The Movie

Two years after bringing peace to the galaxy, Steven Universe sees his past come back to haunt him in the form of a deranged Gem who wants to destroy the Earth.



Hustlers
Hustlers(2019)
6.475

A crew of savvy former strip club employees band together to turn the tables on their Wall Street clients.



Stage Fright
6.5

While a group of young actors rehearse a new musical about a mass murderer, a notorious psychopath escapes from a nearby insane asylum.



Cats
Cats(2019)
4.1

A tribe of cats called the Jellicles must decide yearly which one will ascend to the Heaviside Layer and come back to a new Jellicle life.



Les Misérables
7.215

In 19th century France, Jean Valjean, a man imprisoned for stealing bread, must flee a relentless policeman named Javert. The pursuit consumes both men's lives, and soon Valjean finds himself in the midst of the student revolutions in France.



Newsies
Newsies(2017)
8.011

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, only to be confronted with the Pulitzer's hard-ball tactics.



Feel the Beat
7.566

After failing to make it on Broadway, April returns to her hometown and reluctantly begins training a misfit group of young dancers for a competition.



Reprise
Reprise(2006)
7.115

Two competitive friends, fueled by literary aspirations and youthful exuberance, endure the pangs of love, depression and burgeoning careers.



Annie
Annie(1982)
6.544

An orphan in a facility run by the mean Miss Hannigan, Annie believes that her parents left her there by mistake. When a rich man named Oliver "Daddy" Warbucks decides to let an orphan live at his home to promote his image, Annie is selected. While Annie gets accustomed to living in Warbucks' mansion, she still longs to meet her parents. So Warbucks announces a search for them and a reward, which brings out many frauds.



Elle: A Modern Cinderella Tale

Elle wants to be a singer/songwriter, but her dreams are cut short by the sudden death of her parents. She moves in with her adoptive uncle, who runs a small independent record label whose biggest act, Sensation, is also Elle's biggest pain.



Jeffrey
Jeffrey(1995)
6.201

Jeffrey, a gay man living in New York City with an overwhelming fear of contracting AIDS, concludes that being celibate is the only option to protect himself. As fate would have it, shortly after his declaration of a sex-free existence, he meets the handsome Steve Howard, his dream man -- except for his HIV-positive status. Facing this dilemma, Jeffrey turns to his best friend and an outrageous priest for guidance.



Into the Woods
8.1

In a woods filled with magic and fairy tale characters, a baker and his wife set out to end the curse put on them by their neighbor, a spiteful witch.



Don't Think Twice
6.4

An improv group deals with several crises, including the loss of their lease and one member hitting the big time.



Repo! The Genetic Opera

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 who can’t fulfill their plans have their organs repossessed. In the midst of this, a sickly teenager discovers a shocking secret about herself, her father, and their connection to GeneCo.



The Last Five Years
5.852

In New York, a struggling actress and a successful writer sing about their failed marriage from two perspectives.



Bratz
Bratz(2007)
5.7

The popular Bratz dolls come to life in their first live-action feature film. Finding themselves being pulled further and further apart, the fashionable four band together to fight peer pressure, learn what it means to stand up for your friends, be true to oneself and live out your dreams.



Dreamgirls
6.714

A trio of female soul singers cross over to the pop charts in the early 1960s, facing their own personal struggles along the way.



Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure

After a talent scout spots her performing with her dog Boi at a charity gala, Sharpay Evans sets off for the bright lights of NYC, convinced instant fame and fortune are in the bag. But theatre's a dog-eat-dog world. Fortunately, Sharpay also meets Peyton, a handsome student filmmaker who finds Sharpay nearly as fascinating as she finds herself.



One Last Dance
5.561

In the wake of tragedy, a renowed New York dance company is on the brink of collapse. After leaving the dance world for good, Travis, Chrissa, and Max are pulled in to resurrect the dance that shattered their careers. They have one last chance to save the company, re-connect with the passion and magic, and prove that miracles really can happen.



Entergalactic
7.67

Ambitious artist Jabari attempts to balance success and love when he moves into his dream Manhattan apartment and falls for his next-door neighbor.



Lemonade
Lemonade(2016)
8.4

The second "visual album" (a collection of short films) by Beyoncé, this time around she takes a piercing look at racial issues and feminist concepts through a sexualized, satirical, and solemn tone.



Sister Act
6.828

A Reno singer witnesses a mob murder and the cops stash her in a nunnery to protect her from the mob's hitmen. The mother superior does not trust her, and takes steps to limit her influence on the other nuns. Eventually the singer rescues the failing choir and begins helping with community projects, which gets her an interview on TV—and identification by the mob.



Songbird
Songbird(2020)
6.186

During a pandemic lockdown, Nico, a young man with rare immunity, must overcome martial law, murderous vigilantes and a powerful family to reunite with his love, Sara.



Rags
Rags(2012)
7.302

Rags follows the story of Charlie Prince, an orphan living with his acerbic and unloving stepfather and spoiled, simple-minded stepbrothers. Charlie's dream is to be a singer, and while he is vocally talented and can write music, he can't seem to catch a break. Kadee Worth, on the other hand, is the daughter of music mogul Reginald Worth and is an international pop phenomenon. While the world knows her as a glamorous superstar, she is secretly frustrated with singing other people's songs and wearing clothes other people choose for her. Kadee wants the world to hear and see her true talent. Despite every obstacle that gets thrown in their way, once Charlie and Kadee find one another, they each finally get what they have been looking for – a voice, a stage, an audience and each other.



Vanya on 42nd Street
6.523

An uninterrupted rehearsal of Chekhov's 'Uncle Vanya' plays out by a company of actors. The setting: their run-down theater with an unusable stage and crumbling ceiling. The play is shown act by act with the briefest of breaks to move props or for refreshments. The lack of costumes, real props and scenery is soon forgotten.



Catarina and the others

Outside, the first sun rays break the dawn. Sixteen years old Catarina can't fall asleep. Inconsequently, in the big city adults are moved by desire... Catarina found she is HIV positive. She wants to drag everyone else along.



Lovestruck: The Musical

Harper was one of the best dancers to hit Broadway, but an injury caused her to leave the spotlight, become a choreographer, and raise her daughter Mirabella. When Mirabella decides to quit the show to get married, her mother is determined to put a stop to the wedding and show Mirabella that she cannot give up her career for love.



Cats
Cats(1998)
7.3

"Jellicle" cats join for a Jellicle ball where they rejoice with their leader, Old Deuteronomy. One cat will be chosen to go to the "Heavyside Layer" and be reborn.



Theater Camp
6.507

After the indomitable and beloved founder of a scrappy theater camp in upstate New York falls into a coma, the eccentric staff must band together with her clueless "crypto-bro" son to keep the thespian paradise afloat.



La Vie de Bohème
7.486

Three penniless artists become friends in modern-day Paris: Rodolfo, an Albanian painter with no visa, Marcel, a playwright and magazine editor with no publisher, and Schaunard, a post-modernist composer of execrable noise.



Sex and the City
6.6

A New York writer on sex and love is finally getting married to her Mr. Big. But her three best girlfriends must console her after one of them inadvertently leads Mr. Big to jilt her.



Come from Away
7.578

Filmed live on Broadway, the Tony Award-winning musical tells the remarkable true story of 38 flights grounded in a small Canadian town on September 11, 2001. As the locals host these “come from aways,” they come together and find hope.



The Rules of Attraction

The incredibly spoiled and overprivileged students of Camden College are a backdrop for an unusual love triangle between a drug dealer, a virgin and a bisexual classmate.



High School Musical 3: Senior Year

As seniors in high school, Troy and Gabriella struggle with the idea of being separated from one another as college approaches. Along with the rest of the Wildcats, they stage a spring musical to address their experiences, hopes and fears about their future.



Everybody's Talking About Jamie

Jamie New is 16 and doesn’t quite fit in—instead of pursuing a "real" career he dreams of becoming a drag queen. Uncertain about his future, Jamie knows one thing for sure: he is going to be a sensation. Supported by his loving mom and his amazing friends, Jamie overcomes prejudice, beats the bullies and steps out of the darkness, into the spotlight.



Tramite amicizia
5.1

Lorenzo works for a rent-a-friend company. One day, his services are required for suicidial businessman Alberto.



Barbie: Big City, Big Dreams

Barbie swaps the sunny shores of Malibu for the bright lights of Broadway to attend an excusive summer performing arts program and meets…Barbie! Fast friends, the two discover they share more than a name as they explore New York City and all the amazing things they have in common. As they compete for the coveted once-in-a-lifetime Spotlight Solo from Times Square, the friends discover competition isn’t all about winning, it’s about striving to be your best, overcoming doubts, and sharing the spotlight.



High Strung Free Dance

Zander Raines, a dazzling and tempestuous young choreographer, gives the break of a lifetime to two hopeful artists when he casts a stunning contemporary dancer, Barlow, and innovative pianist, Charlie, in New York’s most-anticipated new Broadway show: Free Dance. But the move throws off the show’s delicate creative balance when Charlie falls hard for Barlow, while Zander embraces her as his muse.



Little Men
6.476

Jake is a quiet, sensitive middle schooler with dreams of being an artist. He meets the affably brash Tony at his grandfather's funeral, and the unlikely pair soon hit it off. The budding friendship is put at risk, however, when a rent dispute between Jake's father, Brian, and Tony's mother, Leonor, threatens to become contentious.



Those People
6.9

On Manhattan's gilded Upper East Side, a young gay painter is torn between an obsession with his infamous best friend and a promising new romance with an older foreign pianist.



August Rush
7.4

Lyla and Louis, a singer and a musician, fall in love, but are soon compelled to separate. Lyla is forced to give up her newborn but unknown to her, he grows up to become a musical genius.



Blindness
Blindness(2008)
6.5

When a sudden plague of blindness devastates a city, a small group of the afflicted band together to triumphantly overcome the horrific conditions of their imposed quarantine.



Collateral Beauty
7.219

Retreating from life after a tragedy, a man questions the universe by writing to Love, Time and Death. Receiving unexpected answers, he begins to see how these things interlock and how even loss can reveal moments of meaning and beauty.



Ama
Ama(2021)
6.343

A portrait of the myth of maternity around the story of Pepa and her daughter, who are evicted from their home and forced to wander for a place to live with no support network.



Thanks for Sharing
5.93

A romantic comedy that brings together three disparate characters who are learning to face a challenging and often confusing world as they struggle together against a common demon—sex addiction.



Oliver!
Oliver!(1968)
7

Musical adaptation of Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist, a classic tale of an orphan who runs away from the workhouse and joins up with a group of boys headed by the Artful Dodger and trained to be pickpockets by master thief Fagin.



How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying

A young but bright former window cleaner rises to the top of his company by following the advice of a book about ruthless advancement in business.



Stage Mother
6.2

A conservative church-choir director moves from Texas to San Francisco to run her deceased gay son's drag club.



The Bubble
6.2

The movie follows a group of young friends in the city of Tel Aviv and is as much a love song to the city as it is an exploration of the claim that people in Tel Aviv are isolated from the rest of the country and the turmoil it's going through. The movie looks at young people's lives in Tel Aviv through the POVs of gays and straights, Jews and Arabs, men and women.



Love Is Strange
6.3

After 39 years together, Ben and George finally tie the knot, but George loses his job as a result, and the newlyweds must sell their New York apartment and live apart, relying on friends and family to make ends meet.



Gimme Shelter
6.566

After running away from her abusive mother, a streetwise teen seeks refuge with her father, but he rejects her when he learns that she's pregnant.

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