- Primary Subject: Romantic dramas similar to La La Land
- Key Update: In 2026, the acclaimed 2024 romance We Live in Time, starring Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh, officially moved to its permanent streaming home on Max.
- Status: Confirmed
- Last Verified: February 13, 2026
- Quick Answer: For fans of La La Land, stream We Live in Time, 500 Days of Summer, or Tick, Tick... Boom! for poignant, music-infused, or realistic love stories.
Looking for more romantic dramas like La La Land? Gone are the days of hopeless romantics yearning for the filtered romcoms; this Valentine's, fans of realistic yet dramatic love stories pave the way for this list of 9 films that told La La Land in a similar vein, and where to watch them online.
Lost in Translation (2003)
In La La Land, it would seem that only Mia and Sebastian knew each other in their own strange world. An aspiring actress and a struggling jazz pianist meet and fall in love while pursuing their dreams in Los Angeles.
Coincidentally, a similar premise unfolds in Lost in Translation, where two lonely Americans, Bob Harris (Bill Murray) and the newlywed Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson), connect while staying at a luxury hotel in Tokyo. One of those connections was literally the only two Americans who could speak the same language.
Purchase or Rent: Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video
The Fountain (2006)
One of the subtle plot points of La La Land is the theme of acceptance. The Fountain exhibits a similar story, where Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz connected across different time periods—the 16th-century Spain, the present day, and the 26th century—all because of their struggle with the inevitability and their inability to accept death as a part of their life.
Purchase or Rent: Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video
About Time (2013)
About Time finds Tim (Domhnall Gleeson), who discovers that the men in his family can travel through time. Tim uses this ability to improve his life and eventually win the heart of Mary (Rachel McAdams), ultimately learning, through his traveling, to appreciate the ordinary moments of life. Similar to how La La Land led to a bittersweet separation between Mia and Seb.
Streaming Platform: Peacock, Amazon Prime Video
500 Days of Summer (2009)
The anti-romcom of anti-romcoms: (500) Days of Summer follows Tom Hansen through his rose-colored-glassed journey with Summer, the girl he believed to be his soulmate. But in truth, just like La La Land, these films break the barrier of what love truly is, and it's not all rainbows and happily ever afters.
Where You Can Stream: Hulu
The Greatest Showman (2017)
There is nothing wrong with dreaming, but that's how things went down in P.T. Barnum and Sebastian's relationships, when they ended up sacrificing their love for their wife and girlfriends in pursuit of their careers. The Greatest Showman is for fans of musicals and romantic dramas. The only difference is how Barnum and Seb worked through balancing their life in the end.
Streaming Platform: Disney+
Song to Song (2017)
Song to Song is set in Austin, Texas, a music scene that follows four interconnected people—struggling songwriters Faye (Rooney Mara) and BV (Ryan Gosling), and ruthless mogul Cook (Michael Fassbender) with a waitress (Natalie Portman)—as they navigate love, betrayal, and the corrupting nature of fame. Ryan Gosling plays a musician here, too.
Streaming Platform: Amazon Prime Video, Netflix
A Star is Born (2018)
Just like Mia and Sebastian's wish to pursue their career, A Star is Born sees Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga in a musical romantic drama where a seasoned musician struggles with addiction while falling in love with a young singer-songwriter.
Purchase or Rent: Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video
Tick, Tick... Boom! (2021)
One of the closest plots for La La Land is Tick, Tick... Boom! where the Netflix musical drama is based on the autobiographical stage show by Jonathan Larson, who is best known for the landmark musical, Rent, and how his countless pursuits for his music led to self-sabotage and the ending of his relationships in ruins.
Streaming Platform: Netflix
We Live in Time (2024)
Tobias (Andrew Garfield) and Almut (Florence Pugh) navigate their decade-long relationship, from the meet-cute when Almut hit Tobias's car to their journey becoming parents, and eventually, their struggle against a devastating cancer diagnosis. We Live in Time sheds light on the sacrifices made in the name of love while balancing their time and personal ambitions and challenges, despite the inevitability of what the future has in store for them.
Streaming Platform: HBO Max, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video
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