Movies Like Sparkle (2012)

Sparkle is a 2012 drama, music, romance film from Salim Akil with a MovieMagicScore of 6.2/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Sparkle and KPop Demon Hunters.

Drama Music Romance

Sparkle

1976

Three sisters start out singing in their church choir in Harlem in the late 1950s and become a successful girl group in the 1960s.

7.4

MagicScore

KPop Demon Hunters

2025

When K-pop superstars Rumi, Mira and Zoey aren't selling out stadiums, they're using their secret powers to protect their fans from supernatural threats.

8.0

MagicScore

Lady Sings the Blues

1972

Chronicles the rise and fall of legendary blues singer Billie Holiday, beginning with her traumatic youth. The story depicts her early attempts at a singing career and her eventual rise to stardom, as well as her difficult relationship with Louis McKay, her boyfriend and manager. Casting a shadow over even Holiday's brightest moments is the vocalist's severe drug addiction, which threatens to end both her career and her life.

6.9

MagicScore

Dreamgirls

2006

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

6.7

MagicScore

Hitsville: The Making of Motown

2019

The remarkable story of the legendary Motown Records is told through exclusive interviews with the label’s visionary founder, Berry Gordy, and many of its superstar artists and creative figures, as well as rare performances and behind-the-scenes footage unearthed from Motown’s vaults and Gordy’s personal archives.

7.6

MagicScore

Standing in the Shadows of Motown

2002

In 1959, Berry Gordy Jr. gathered the best musicians from Detroit's thriving jazz and blues scene to begin cutting songs for his new record company. Over a fourteen year period they were the heartbeat on every hit from Motown's Detroit era. By the end of their phenomenal run, this unheralded group of musicians had played on more number ones hits than the Beach Boys, the Rolling Stones, Elvis and the Beatles combined - which makes them the greatest hit machine in the history of popular music. They called themselves the Funk Brothers. Forty-one years after they played their first note on a Motown record and three decades since they were all together, the Funk Brothers reunited back in Detroit to play their music and tell their unforgettable story, with the help of archival footage, still photos, narration, interviews, re-creation scenes, 20 Motown master tracks, and twelve new live performances of Motown classics with the Brothers backing up contemporary performers.

6.9

MagicScore

Fame

2009

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.

5.7

MagicScore

The Cheetah Girls 2

2006

Best friends Galleria, Chanel, Dorinda, and Aqua, A.K.A. the girl band "The Cheetahs," get the opportunity of a lifetime when they strut their way to Barcelona, Spain, to perform in an international music festival. Along the way, the "amigas Cheetahs" learn that, although their paths are not the same, they are lucky to have one another for the journey.

6.3

MagicScore

The Cheetah Girls: One World

2008

Chanel, Dorinda, and Aqua are off to India to star in a Bollywood movie. But when they discover that they will have to compete against each other to get the role in the movie, will the Cheetahs break up again?

6.1

MagicScore

#10

The Cheetah Girls

2003

A four-member teen girl group named the Cheetah Girls go to a Manhattan High School for the Performing Arts and try to become the first freshmen to win the talent show in the school's history. During the talent show auditions, they meet a big-time producer named Jackal Johnson, who tries to make the group into superstars, but the girls run into many problems.

6.0

MagicScore

#11

Soul

2020

Joe Gardner is a middle school teacher with a love for jazz music. After a successful audition at the Half Note Club, he suddenly gets into an accident that separates his soul from his body and is transported to the You Seminar, a center in which souls develop and gain passions before being transported to a newborn child. Joe must enlist help from the other souls-in-training, like 22, a soul who has spent eons in the You Seminar, in order to get back to Earth.

8.1

MagicScore

#12

The Proposal

2009

When she learns she's in danger of losing her visa status and being deported, overbearing book editor Margaret Tate forces her put-upon assistant, Andrew Paxton, to marry her.

7.2

MagicScore

#13

Pinball: The Man Who Saved the Game

2023

The dramatic comedy is based on the true story of writer and pinball wizard Roger Sharpe, chronicling his journey to overturn New York City’s 35-year ban on pinball.

7.0

MagicScore

#14

Love Again

2023

Mira Ray, dealing with the loss of her fiancé, John, sends a series of romantic texts to his old cell phone number… not realizing the number was reassigned to Rob Burns' new work phone. Rob, a journalist, is captivated by the honesty in the beautifully confessional texts. When he’s assigned to write a profile of megastar Céline Dion, he enlists her help in figuring out how to meet Mira in person and win her heart.

6.7

MagicScore

#15

Something Borrowed

2011

Though Rachel is a successful attorney and a loyal, generous friend, she is still single. After one drink too many at her 30th-birthday celebration, Rachel unexpectedly falls into bed with her longtime crush, Dex -- who happens to be engaged to her best friend, Darcy. Ramifications of the liaison threaten to destroy the women's lifelong friendship, while Ethan, Rachel's confidant, harbors a potentially explosive secret of his own.

6.2

MagicScore

#16

Top Five

2014

Though he began in stand-up comedy, Andre Allen hit the big-time as the star of a trilogy of action-comedies about a talking bear but now he wants to be taken seriously. His passion project about the Haitian Revolution, a movie called Uprize, was panned by the NY Times film critic. A couple days before the wedding to his reality star fiancée, he's forced to spend the day with Chelsea Brown, a profile writer for the New York Times. Unexpectedly, he opens up to her, and as they wind their way across New York, he tries to get back in touch with his comedic roots.

6.1

MagicScore

#17

Michael

2026

The story of Michael Jackson, one of the most influential artists the world has ever known, and his life beyond the music. His journey from the discovery of his extraordinary talent as the lead of the Jackson Five, to the visionary artist whose creative ambition fueled a relentless pursuit to become the biggest entertainer in the world, highlighting both his life off-stage and some of the most iconic performances from his early solo career.

8.6

MagicScore

#18

Did You Hear About the Morgans?

2009

New Yorkers Paul and Meryl Morgan seem to have it all -- except that their marriage is crumbling around them. But their romantic woes are small compared to the trouble they find themselves in after witnessing a murder. To protect them from an assassin, federal agents whisk away Paul and Meryl to a small town in Wyoming, where their marriage will crash and burn, or their passion will reignite.

5.4

MagicScore

#19

Rocketman

2019

The story of Elton John's life, from his years as a prodigy at the Royal Academy of Music through his influential and enduring musical partnership with Bernie Taupin.

7.3

MagicScore

#20

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains

1982

Corrine Burns retreats far into plans for her band, The Fabulous Stains, after her mother's death.

6.2

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Sparkle?

The top films similar to Sparkle by MovieMagicScore are Sparkle (7.4), KPop Demon Hunters (8.0), Lady Sings the Blues (6.9). Each shares drama/music/romance themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Sparkle worth watching?

Sparkle holds a MovieMagicScore of 6.2/10 from 119 viewer ratings.

What kind of movie is Sparkle?

Sparkle (2012) is a drama, music, romance film directed by Salim Akil, starring Jordin Sparks, Whitney Houston, Derek Luke.

Where can I find more recommendations like Sparkle?

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 Sparkle Movies like KPop Demon Hunters Movies like Lady Sings the Blues Movies like Dreamgirls Movies like Hitsville: The Making of Motown Movies like Standing in the Shadows of Motown

About movies like Sparkle

This ranked list pairs Sparkle (2012), a drama and music and romance film from Salim Akil, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Jordin Sparks 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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