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Home/Empire of Light/Similar Movies

Empire of Light

Movies Like Empire of Light (2022)

Empire of Light is a 2022 drama, romance film from Sam Mendes with a MovieMagicScore of 6.6/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Do the Right Thing and Cigarette Burns.

Do the Right Thing poster

Do the Right Thing

1989

Salvatore "Sal" Fragione is the Italian owner of a pizzeria in Brooklyn. A neighborhood local, Buggin' Out, becomes upset when he sees that the pizzeria's Wall of Fame exhibits only Italian actors. Buggin' Out believes a pizzeria in a black neighborhood should showcase black actors, but Sal disagrees. The wall becomes a symbol of racism and hate to Buggin' Out and to other people in the neighborhood, and tensions rise.

Cigarette Burns poster

Cigarette Burns

2005

With a torrid past that haunts him, a movie theatre owner is hired to search for the only existing print of a film so notorious that its single screening caused the viewers to become homicidally insane.

Coming Soon poster

Coming Soon

2008

Two projectionists discover a disturbing film featuring the lynching of a woman. Not only are they troubled by the content of the movie, but strange events befall them following the viewing.

Shortcomings poster

Shortcomings

2023

When his girlfriend leaves for New York City on a 3-month-long internship, a strongly opinionated Berkeley arthouse movie theater manager begins exploring life as a bachelor.

The Color Purple poster

The Color Purple

2023

A decades-spanning tale of love and resilience and of one woman's journey to independence. Celie faces many hardships in her life, but ultimately finds extraordinary strength and hope in the unbreakable bonds of sisterhood.

Pearl poster

Pearl

2022

Trapped on her family’s isolated farm, Pearl must tend to her ailing father under the bitter and overbearing watch of her devout mother. Lusting for a glamorous life like she’s seen in the movies, Pearl’s ambitions, temptations, and repressions collide.

In Another Country poster

In Another Country

2012

A young woman and her mother run away to the seaside town of Mohang to escape their mounting debt. The young woman begins writing a script for a short film in order to calm her nerves: There are three women named Anne, and each woman consecutively visits the seaside town of Mohang. A young woman tends to the small hotel by the Mohang foreshore owned by her parents. A certain lifeguard can be seen restlessly wandering up and down the beach that lies nearby. Each Anne stays at this small hotel, receives some assistance from the owner’s daughter, and ventures onto the beach where they meet the lifeguard.

Summer of 85 poster

Summer of 85

2020

What do you dream of when you're 16-years-old and in a seaside resort in Normandy in the 1980s? A best friend? A lifelong teen pact? Scooting off on adventures on a boat or a motorbike? Living life at breakneck speed? No. You dream of death. Because you can't get a bigger kick than dying. And that's why you save it till the very end. The summer holidays are just beginning, and this story recounts how Alexis grew into himself.

The Lost Boys poster

The Lost Boys

1987

When an unsuspecting town newcomer is drawn to local blood fiends, the Frog brothers and other unlikely heroes gear up to rescue him.

West Side Story poster

West Side Story

2021

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

Mississippi Masala poster

Mississippi Masala

1991

Years after her Indian family was forced to flee their home in Uganda, twentysomething Mina finds herself helping to run a motel in the faraway land of Mississippi. It's there that a passionate romance with the charming Black carpet cleaner Demetrius challenges the prejudices of their conservative families and exposes the rifts between the region's Indian and African American communities.

Love Field poster

Love Field

1992

Dallas housewife Lurene Hallett's life revolves around the doings of Jacqueline Kennedy. She is devastated when President Kennedy is shot a few hours after she sees him arrive in Dallas. Despite her husband Ray's prohibition, she decides to attend the funeral in Washington, D.C. Forced to travel by bus, she befriends Jonell, the young black daughter of Paul Couter. Sensing something wrong, her good intentioned interference leads the mixed race threesome on an increasingly difficult journey to Washington with both the police and Ray looking for them.

China Girl poster

China Girl

1987

Teenage lovers Tony (Richard Panebianco) and Tyan-Hwa (Sari Chang) tip the balance of power in New York's Little Italy and Chinatown.

Freaky Tales poster

Freaky Tales

2025

In 1987 Oakland, a mysterious force guides The Town's underdogs in four interconnected tales: teen punks defend their turf against Nazi skinheads, a rap duo battles for hip-hop immortality, a weary henchman gets a shot at redemption, and an NBA All-Star settles the score.

Earthquake Bird poster

Earthquake Bird

2019

Tokyo, Japan, 1989. Lucy Fly, a foreigner who works as a translator, begins a passionate relationship with Teiji, a mysterious man obsessed with photography.

Hairspray poster

Hairspray

1988

'Pleasantly plump' teenager Tracy Turnblad achieves her dream of becoming a regular on the Corny Collins Dance Show. Now a teen hero, she starts using her fame to speak out for the causes she believes in, most of all integration. In doing so, she earns the wrath of the show's former star, Amber Von Tussle, as well as Amber's manipulative, pro-segregation parents. The rivalry comes to a head as Amber and Tracy vie for the title of Miss Auto Show 1963.

Liberty Heights poster

Liberty Heights

1999

This semi-autobiographical film by Barry Levinson follows various members of the Kurtzman clan, a Jewish family living in suburban Baltimore during the 1950s. As teenaged Ben completes high school, he falls for Sylvia, a black classmate, creating inevitable tensions. Meanwhile, Ben's brother, Van, attends college and becomes smitten with a mysterious woman while their father tries to maintain his burlesque business.

The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman poster

The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman

1974

In February, 1962, as the civil rights movement reaches Bayonne, Louisiana, a New York journalist arrives to interview Jane Pittman, who has just turned 110. She tells him her story dating back to her earliest memories before slavery ended. In between the chapters of her life, the present-day struggles of Blacks in Bayonne, urged on by Jimmy, are dramatized.

Beauty Shop poster

Beauty Shop

2005

Far from Chicago, hairdresser Gina Norris has relocated to Atlanta with her daughter and has quickly established herself as a rare talent in her profession. But after repeatedly butting heads with her shady, over-the-top boss, Jorge, Norris sets out to create her own salon -- even snagging a few of Jorge's employees and clients. Now, Jorge will do anything to shut her down.

Passing poster

Passing

2021

In 1920s New York City, a Black woman finds her world upended when her life becomes intertwined with a former childhood friend who's passing as white.

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Empire of Light?

The top films similar to Empire of Light by MovieMagicScore are Do the Right Thing (7.8), Cigarette Burns (7.3), Coming Soon (6.3). Each shares drama/romance themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Empire of Light worth watching?

Empire of Light holds a MovieMagicScore of 6.6/10 from 592 viewer ratings.

What kind of movie is Empire of Light?

Empire of Light (2022) is a drama, romance film directed by Sam Mendes, starring Olivia Colman, Micheal Ward, Toby Jones.

Where can I find more recommendations like Empire of Light?

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

Keep exploring

Movies like Do the Right Thing Movies like Cigarette Burns Movies like Coming Soon Movies like Shortcomings Movies like The Color Purple Movies like Pearl

About movies like Empire of Light

This ranked list pairs Empire of Light (2022), a drama and romance film from Sam Mendes, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Olivia Colman 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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