Pop Music Biopics
by vectormanp | created - 28 Dec 2018 | updated - 28 Jan 2020 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Great Balls of Fire! (1989)
PG-13 | 108 min | Biography, Drama, Music
The life and career of wildly controversial rock 'n' roll star Jerry Lee Lewis.
Director: Jim McBride | Stars: Dennis Quaid, Winona Ryder, John Doe, Stephen Tobolowsky
Votes: 18,880 | Gross: $13.74M
2. La Bamba (1987)
PG-13 | 108 min | Biography, Drama, Music
Biographical story of the rise from nowhere of early rock and roll singer Ritchie Valens who died at age 17 in a plane crash with Buddy Holly and The Big Bopper.
Director: Luis Valdez | Stars: Lou Diamond Phillips, Esai Morales, Rosanna DeSoto, Elizabeth Peña
Votes: 36,421 | Gross: $54.22M
3. The Buddy Holly Story (1978)
PG | 114 min | Biography, Drama, Music
The story of the life and career of the early rock and roll singer, from his meteoric rise to stardom, to his marriage and untimely death.
Director: Steve Rash | Stars: Gary Busey, Don Stroud, Charles Martin Smith, Conrad Janis
Votes: 9,976 | Gross: $14.36M
4. Coal Miner's Daughter (1980)
PG | 124 min | Biography, Drama, Music
The fictionalized life of singer Loretta Lynn, a girl who rose from humble beginnings to become a country music star in the 1960s/70s.
Director: Michael Apted | Stars: Sissy Spacek, Tommy Lee Jones, Levon Helm, Phyllis Boyens
Votes: 20,497 | Gross: $67.18M
5. Sid and Nancy (1986)
R | 112 min | Biography, Drama, Music
The relationship between Sid Vicious, bassist for British punk group Sex Pistols, and his girlfriend Nancy Spungen is portrayed.
Director: Alex Cox | Stars: Gary Oldman, Chloe Webb, David Hayman, Debby Bishop
Votes: 34,665 | Gross: $2.83M
6. Control (2007)
R | 122 min | Biography, Drama, Music
A profile of Ian Curtis, the enigmatic singer of Joy Division whose personal, professional, and romantic troubles led him to die by suicide at the age of 23.
Director: Anton Corbijn | Stars: Sam Riley, Samantha Morton, Craig Parkinson, Alexandra Maria Lara
Votes: 68,534 | Gross: $0.87M
7. The Doors (1991)
R | 140 min | Biography, Drama, Music
The story of the famous and influential 1960s rock band The Doors and its lead singer and composer, Jim Morrison, from his days as a UCLA film student in Los Angeles, to his untimely death in Paris, France at age 27 in 1971.
Director: Oliver Stone | Stars: Val Kilmer, Meg Ryan, Kyle MacLachlan, Frank Whaley
Votes: 99,026 | Gross: $35.18M
8. Ray (I) (2004)
PG-13 | 152 min | Biography, Drama, Music
The story of the life and career of the legendary rhythm and blues musician Ray Charles, from his humble beginnings in the South, where he went blind at age seven, to his meteoric rise to stardom during the 1950s and 1960s.
Director: Taylor Hackford | Stars: Jamie Foxx, Regina King, Kerry Washington, Clifton Powell
Votes: 157,355 | Gross: $75.33M
9. Dreamgirls (2006)
PG-13 | 130 min | Drama, Music, Musical
A trio of black female soul singers cross over to the pop charts in the early 1960s, facing their own personal struggles along the way.
Director: Bill Condon | Stars: Beyoncé, Jamie Foxx, Eddie Murphy, Danny Glover
Votes: 77,267 | Gross: $103.37M
10. La Vie En Rose (2007)
PG-13 | 140 min | Biography, Drama, Music
Biopic of the iconic French singer Édith Piaf. Raised by her grandmother in a brothel, she was discovered while singing on a street corner at the age of 19. Despite her success, Piaf's life was filled with tragedy.
Director: Olivier Dahan | Stars: Marion Cotillard, Sylvie Testud, Pascal Greggory, Emmanuelle Seigner
Votes: 90,721 | Gross: $10.30M
11. Walk the Line (2005)
PG-13 | 136 min | Biography, Drama, Music
A chronicle of country music legend Johnny Cash's life, from his early days on an Arkansas cotton farm to his rise to fame with Sun Records in Memphis, where he recorded alongside Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Carl Perkins.
Director: James Mangold | Stars: Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon, Ginnifer Goodwin, Robert Patrick
Votes: 265,757 | Gross: $119.52M
12. Almost Famous (2000)
R | 122 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
A high-school boy in the early 1970s is given the chance to write a story for Rolling Stone magazine about an up-and-coming rock band as he accompanies them on their concert tour.
Director: Cameron Crowe | Stars: Billy Crudup, Patrick Fugit, Kate Hudson, Frances McDormand
Votes: 293,251 | Gross: $32.53M
13. Cadillac Records (2008)
R | 109 min | Biography, Drama, Music
Chronicles the rise of Chess Records and its recording artists.
Director: Darnell Martin | Stars: Adrien Brody, Jeffrey Wright, Beyoncé, Columbus Short
Votes: 23,110 | Gross: $8.20M
14. Get on Up (2014)
PG-13 | 139 min | Biography, Drama, Music
A chronicle of James Brown's rise from extreme poverty to become one of the most influential musicians in history.
Director: Tate Taylor | Stars: Chadwick Boseman, Nelsan Ellis, Dan Aykroyd, Viola Davis
Votes: 26,135 | Gross: $30.51M
15. Miles Ahead (2015)
R | 100 min | Biography, Drama, Music
An exploration of the life and music of Miles Davis.
Director: Don Cheadle | Stars: Don Cheadle, Emayatzy Corinealdi, Ewan McGregor, Michael Stuhlbarg
Votes: 10,555 | Gross: $2.61M
16. Bird (1988)
R | 161 min | Biography, Drama, Music
The troubled life and career of jazz musician Charlie "Bird" Parker.
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Forest Whitaker, Diane Venora, Michael Zelniker, Samuel E. Wright
Votes: 13,475 | Gross: $2.18M
17. Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)
PG-13 | 134 min | Biography, Drama, Music
The story of the legendary British rock band Queen and lead singer Freddie Mercury, leading up to their famous performance at Live Aid (1985).
Director: Bryan Singer | Stars: Rami Malek, Lucy Boynton, Gwilym Lee, Ben Hardy
Votes: 592,393 | Gross: $216.43M
18. I Saw the Light (2015)
R | 123 min | Biography, Drama, Music
The story of the country-western singer Hank Williams, who in his brief life created one of the greatest bodies of work in American music. The film chronicles his rise to fame and its tragic effect on his health and personal life.
Director: Marc Abraham | Stars: Tom Hiddleston, Elizabeth Olsen, Maddie Hasson, Bradley Whitford
Votes: 8,259 | Gross: $1.65M
19. Jimi: All Is by My Side (2013)
R | 118 min | Biography, Drama, Music
A drama based on Jimi Hendrix's life as he left New York City for London, where his career took off.
Director: John Ridley | Stars: André 3000, Hayley Atwell, Imogen Poots, Ruth Negga
Votes: 7,004 | Gross: $0.32M
20. Backbeat (1994)
R | 100 min | Biography, Drama, Music
A dramatization of the Hamburg, Germany phase of The Beatles' early history.
Director: Iain Softley | Stars: Stephen Dorff, Sheryl Lee, Ian Hart, Gary Bakewell
Votes: 6,576 | Gross: $2.39M
21. What's Love Got to Do with It (1993)
R | 118 min | Biography, Drama, Music
The story of singer Tina Turner's rise to stardom and how she gained the courage to break free from her abusive husband, Ike Turner.
Director: Brian Gibson | Stars: Angela Bassett, Laurence Fishburne, RaéVen Kelly, Virginia Capers
Votes: 24,567 | Gross: $39.10M
22. Lady Sings the Blues (1972)
R | 144 min | Biography, Drama, Music
The story of the troubled life and career of the legendary Jazz singer, Billie Holiday.
Director: Sidney J. Furie | Stars: Diana Ross, Billy Dee Williams, Richard Pryor, James T. Callahan
Votes: 4,843 | Gross: $6.03M
23. 24 Hour Party People (2002)
R | 117 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
In 1976, Tony Wilson sets up Factory Records and brings Manchester's music to the world.
Director: Michael Winterbottom | Stars: Steve Coogan, Lennie James, John Thomson, Paul Popplewell
Votes: 39,676 | Gross: $1.13M
24. Rocketman (I) (2019)
R | 121 min | Biography, Drama, Music
A musical fantasy about the fantastical human story of Elton John's breakthrough years.
Director: Dexter Fletcher | Stars: Taron Egerton, Jamie Bell, Richard Madden, Bryce Dallas Howard
Votes: 194,473 | Gross: $96.37M
25. Straight Outta Compton (2015)
R | 147 min | Biography, Drama, History
The rap group NWA emerges from the mean streets of Compton in Los Angeles, California, in the mid-1980s and revolutionizes Hip Hop culture with their music and tales about life in the hood.
Director: F. Gary Gray | Stars: O'Shea Jackson Jr., Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchell, Neil Brown Jr.
Votes: 218,384 | Gross: $161.20M
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