Movies Like Drugstore Cowboy (1989)

Drugstore Cowboy is a 1989 crime, drama film from Gus Van Sant with a MovieMagicScore of 7.1/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Requiem for a Dream and Eternity.

Crime Drama

Requiem for a Dream

2000

The drug-induced utopias of four Coney Island residents are shattered when their addictions run deep.

8.0

MagicScore

Eternity

2025

In an afterlife where souls have one week to decide where to spend eternity, Joan is faced with the impossible choice between the man she spent her life with and her first love, who died young and has waited decades for her to arrive.

7.0

MagicScore

Bad Samaritan

2018

A thief makes a disturbing discovery in the house where he breaks in. Later, when he returns to the same house with his partner in crime, things are no longer how he expected.

6.7

MagicScore

The Da Vinci Code

2006

A murder in Paris’ Louvre Museum and cryptic clues in some of Leonardo da Vinci’s most famous paintings lead to the discovery of a religious mystery. For 2,000 years a secret society closely guards information that — should it come to light — could rock the very foundations of Christianity.

6.7

MagicScore

Boogie Nights

1997

In 1977, an idealistic porn producer and his promising protege try to catch up with the end of an era before their never-ending party collides with cold, hard reality.

7.6

MagicScore

The Hurricane

1999

The story of Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, a boxer wrongly imprisoned for murder, and the people who aided in his fight to prove his innocence.

7.4

MagicScore

Joe

1970

After murdering his daughter's drug-dealing boyfriend, a wealthy ad executive stumbles into a bar and strikes up an uneasy alliance with Joe Curran, a drunken bigot with a bloodlust who works at a local factory.

6.4

MagicScore

Killing Zoe

1993

Zed is an American vault-cracker who travels to Paris to meet up with his old friend Eric. Eric and his gang have planned to raid the only bank in the city which is open on Bastille day. After offering his services, Zed soon finds himself trapped in a situation beyond his control when heroin abuse, poor planning and a call-girl named Zoe all conspire to turn the robbery into a very bloody siege.

6.2

MagicScore

The Falls

2012

The Falls is a feature film about two missionaries that fall in love while on their mission. RJ travels to a small town in Oregon with Elder Merrill to serve their mission and teach the words of Joseph Smith. Living together and sharing the challenge of leaving home, the two men help each other discover their strengths. They share a passion for their faith and learn to express their feelings, risking the only community they have for a forbidden intimacy.

5.9

MagicScore

#10

Trainspotting

1996

Heroin addict Mark Renton stumbles through bad ideas and sobriety attempts with his unreliable friends --Sick Boy, Begbie, Spud and Tommy. He also has an underage girlfriend, Diane, along for the ride. After cleaning up and moving from Edinburgh to London, Mark finds he can't escape the life he left behind as Begbie and Sick Boy come knocking.

8.0

MagicScore

#11

Assault on Precinct 13

2005

On New Year's Eve, inside a police station that's about to be closed for good, officer Jake Roenick must cobble together a force made up cops and criminals to save themselves from a mob looking to kill mobster Marion Bishop.

6.2

MagicScore

#12

T2 Trainspotting

2017

After 20 years abroad, Mark Renton returns to Scotland and reunites with his old friends Sick Boy, Spud and Begbie.

6.9

MagicScore

#13

Broken

2007

A waitress confronts all the wrong turns she has made in her short life and ultimately ends up facing the biggest wrong turn of all: her dangerous ex-boyfriend who's determined to win back her love or die trying.

5.4

MagicScore

#14

Things We Lost in the Fire

2007

A recent widow invites her husband's troubled best friend to live with her and her two children. As he gradually turns his life around, he helps the family cope and confront their loss.

6.6

MagicScore

#15

Burroughs: The Movie

1984

An exploration of Burroughs’ life story, as told by Burroughs himself along with many of his contemporaries, including Allen Ginsberg, Brion Gysin, Francis Bacon, Herbert Huncke, Patti Smith, Terry Southern, and William Burroughs Jr.

7.1

MagicScore

#16

Shaitan

2011

Five substance-abusing friends decide to fake a kidnapping in order to bribe a police constable for covering-up a hit-and-run accident.

6.2

MagicScore

#17

Elite Squad: The Enemy Within

2010

After a bloody invasion of the BOPE in the High-Security Penitentiary Bangu 1 in Rio de Janeiro to control a rebellion of interns, the Lieutenant-Colonel Roberto Nascimento and the second in command Captain André Matias are accused by the Human Right Aids member Diogo Fraga of execution of prisoners. Matias is transferred to the corrupted Military Police and Nascimento is exonerated from the BOPE by the Governor.

7.8

MagicScore

#18

Speedway Junky

1999

A naive drifter runs away from his army father in hopes of making it on the car racing circuit. In Las Vegas, he meets a young scam artist, who develops a crush on him. He is then introduced to a whole gang led by a young hustler. The racer-to-be then gets a lesson in the wild side, getting involved in one situation after another.

5.2

MagicScore

#19

Less Than Zero

1987

A college freshman returns to Los Angeles for Christmas at his ex-girlfriend's request, but discovers that his former best friend has an out-of-control drug habit.

6.4

MagicScore

#20

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

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Drugstore Cowboy?

The top films similar to Drugstore Cowboy by MovieMagicScore are Requiem for a Dream (8.0), Eternity (7.0), Bad Samaritan (6.7). Each shares crime/drama themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Drugstore Cowboy worth watching?

Drugstore Cowboy holds a MovieMagicScore of 7.1/10 from 589 viewer ratings, putting it among the better-reviewed titles in its genre.

What kind of movie is Drugstore Cowboy?

Drugstore Cowboy (1989) is a crime, drama film directed by Gus Van Sant, starring Matt Dillon, Kelly Lynch, James Remar.

Where can I find more recommendations like Drugstore Cowboy?

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

Keep exploring

Movies like Requiem for a Dream Movies like Eternity Movies like Bad Samaritan Movies like The Da Vinci Code Movies like Boogie Nights Movies like The Hurricane

About movies like Drugstore Cowboy

This ranked list pairs Drugstore Cowboy (1989), a crime and drama film from Gus Van Sant, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Matt Dillon 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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