Movies Like Paris Is Burning (1991)

Paris Is Burning is a 1991 documentary film from Jennie Livingston with a MovieMagicScore of 8.0/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar and Kiki.

Documentary

To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar

1995

Manhattan drag queens Vida Boheme and Noxeema Jackson impress regional judges in competition, securing berths in the Nationals in Los Angeles. When the two meet pathetic drag novice Chi-Chi Rodriguez — one of the losers that evening — the charmed Vida and Noxeema agree to take the hopeless youngster under their joined wing. Soon the three set off on a madcap road trip across America and struggle to make it to Los Angeles in time.

7.4

MagicScore

Kiki

2016

25 years after Paris is Burning, we dive back into the fierce world of voguing battles in the Kiki scene of New York City, where competition between Houses demands leadership, painstaking practice, and performances on point. A film collaboration between Kiki gatekeeper, Twiggy Pucci Garçon, and Swedish filmmaker Sara Jordenö, we’re granted exclusive access into this high stakes world, where tough competitions act as a gateway into the daily lives of LGBTQ youth of color in NYC. The new generation of ballroom youth use the motto, “Not About us Without Us”. Twiggy and Sara’s insider-outsider approach to their stories breathes fresh life into the representation of a marginalized community who demand visibility and real political power.

5.6

MagicScore

Torch Song Trilogy

1988

Arnold is a gay man working as a drag queen in 1971 NYC. He meets a handsome bisexual man.

7.3

MagicScore

The Normal Heart

2014

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.

7.7

MagicScore

The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

1994

Two drag performers and a transgender woman travel across the desert to perform their unique style of cabaret.

7.3

MagicScore

The Curiosity of Chance

2006

It’s the ‘80s once again, new wave angst and genderbending fashion are all the rage, but new kid at school, Chance Marquis, is trying to find new ways to stand out. Being an odd and somewhat awkward teenager makes him the target of the school bully. To deal with this dilemma, Chance turns to the opposite ends of the high school spectrum for help. On one side is the flamboyant drag queen and at the other, the varsity jock, Levi Sparks with whom Chance develops a unique friendship.

5.8

MagicScore

Moonlight

2016

The tender, heartbreaking story of a young man’s struggle to find himself, told across three defining chapters in his life as he experiences the ecstasy, pain, and beauty of falling in love, while grappling with his own sexuality.

7.4

MagicScore

Kinky Boots

2005

Charles Price may have grown up with his father in the family shoe business in Northampton, central England, but he never thought that he would take his father's place. Charles has a chance encounter with the flamboyant drag queen cabaret singer Lola and everything changes.

6.7

MagicScore

Dallas Buyers Club

2013

Loosely based on the true-life tale of Ron Woodroof, a drug-taking, women-loving, homophobic man who in 1986 was diagnosed with HIV/AIDS and given thirty days to live.

7.9

MagicScore

#10

Philadelphia

1993

Two competing lawyers join forces to sue a prestigious law firm for AIDS discrimination. As their unlikely friendship develops their courage overcomes the prejudice and corruption of their powerful adversaries.

7.7

MagicScore

#11

Longtime Companion

1989

During the summer of 1981, a group of friends in New York are completely unprepared for the onslaught of AIDS. What starts as a rumor about a mysterious "gay cancer" soon turns into a major crisis as, one by one, some of the friends begin to fall ill, leaving the others to panic about who will be next. As death takes its toll, the lives of these friends are forever redefined by an unconditional display of love, hope and courage.

6.7

MagicScore

#12

1985

2018

Having been gone for three years, closeted advertising executive Adrian returns to his Texas hometown and struggles to reveal his dire circumstances to his conservative family.

6.2

MagicScore

#13

Bohemian Rhapsody

2018

Singer Freddie Mercury, guitarist Brian May, drummer Roger Taylor and bass guitarist John Deacon take the music world by storm when they form the rock 'n' roll band Queen in 1970. Hit songs become instant classics. When Mercury's increasingly wild lifestyle starts to spiral out of control, Queen soon faces its greatest challenge yet – finding a way to keep the band together amid the success and excess.

8.0

MagicScore

#14

House of Boys

2009

It is 1984. Frank is a determined English teenager who runs away from high school to find an alternative gay lifestyle in Amsterdam. He finds a home and a job at the "House of Boys", a bar-cum-brothel run by a strict Madame who has an eye for what his punters crave. Frank works his way up from barman to on-stage dancer and falls in love with some of his housemates, Jake. The first intimations of what is described as 'the gay cancer', casts a long shadow over Frank's tight-knit group of friends. Yet despite the troubles that cloud the hopes and dreams of young Frank, his perseverance, along with support from a willing doctor, will carry him through.

6.1

MagicScore

#15

It's in the Water

1997

When hordes of gays and lesbians come out "of the closet" in the fictional town of Azalea Springs, Texas, intolerant residents go into a panic about the water supply.

5.7

MagicScore

#16

Stonewall

1995

A group of gay friends try to live with dignity and self-respect while events build to the opening battle in the major gay rights movement.

5.7

MagicScore

#17

Kanarie

2018

Kanarie (Afrikaans for 'Canary') is a coming-of-age musical war drama. Drafted into the South African army during apartheid, a young soldier joins the military's traveling choir, and romance on the battlefield causes him to deal with his long-repressed sexual identity through hardship, camaraderie, first love, and the liberating freedom of music, the true self can be discovered.

6.4

MagicScore

#18

Kiss of the Spider Woman

2025

Valentín, a political prisoner, shares a cell with Molina, a window dresser convicted of public indecency. The two form an unlikely bond as Molina recounts the plot of a Hollywood musical starring his favorite silver screen diva, Ingrid Luna.

6.1

MagicScore

#19

Falsettos

2017

Jewish family man Marvin leaves his wife and son for a male lover during the height of the AIDS crisis in 1980s New York City.

8.2

MagicScore

#20

Before Night Falls

2000

Spanning several decades, this powerful biopic offers a glimpse into the life of famed Cuban poet and novelist Reinaldo Arenas, an artist who was vilified for his homosexuality in Fidel Castro's Cuba.

6.6

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Paris Is Burning?

The top films similar to Paris Is Burning by MovieMagicScore are To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (7.4), Kiki (5.6), Torch Song Trilogy (7.3). Each shares documentary themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Paris Is Burning worth watching?

Paris Is Burning holds a MovieMagicScore of 8.0/10 from 518 viewer ratings, putting it among the better-reviewed titles in its genre.

What kind of movie is Paris Is Burning?

Paris Is Burning (1991) is a documentary film directed by Jennie Livingston, starring Pepper LaBeija, Octavia St. Laurent, Venus Xtravaganza.

Where can I find more recommendations like Paris Is Burning?

Browse the full ranked list above, or explore more documentary recommendations on MovieMagicScore, where every list is ordered by genuine viewer ratings.

Keep exploring

Movies like To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar Movies like Kiki Movies like Torch Song Trilogy Movies like The Normal Heart Movies like The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert Movies like The Curiosity of Chance

About movies like Paris Is Burning

This ranked list pairs Paris Is Burning (1991), a documentary film from Jennie Livingston, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Pepper LaBeija take note). Unlike critic-driven sites, every position here is ordered by MovieMagicScore — a rating built only from real viewers, with no studio marketing or paid placement. Scores update as more people rate, so the list stays current.

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