33 Emotional Movies Like ‘Five Feet Apart’ To Watch

There is nothing like a good romance movie about true love and the incredibly high stakes teenagers put on it. Nothing encapsulates this genre more than the 2019 movie Five Feet Apart about Stella and Will (played by Haley Lu Richardson and Cole Sprouse, respectively), two teens with cystic fibrosis who find themselves in the same hospital undergoing the same drug trial. Although they don’t get along at first, they start to fall for each other — but the risk of cross-infection keeps them six feet apart from each other at all times. Eventually, they agree that five feet apart is enough and go to great lengths to see and spend time together. If you’ve already sniffled your way through it and Facebook-messaged your high school ex (hey, it happens!), you’re surely on the hunt for other movies like Five Feet Apart that’ll give you even more predictably cheesy and romantic feels.

Need even more incentive to watch Five Feet Apart and follow up with films like it? The New York Times wrote of the movie’s Grey’s Anatomy-esque tendencies, “You can set your watch to what happens to Stella’s best friend (Moises Arias), also a patient, and the last act is a supernova of shamelessness. But even then, this weepie is tough to resist.”

Basically, you’re going to need a box of tissues for every movie on this list. So, grab the Puffs, carve out an afternoon, and indulge your emotions with the following picks.

Emotional, Life-Affirming Movies Like Five Feet Apart

1. The Fault in Our Stars (2014)

Based on a YA novel of the same name, Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort play Hazel and Gus, two teenage patients with cancer from the same support group. They click immediately, and when it turns out that Hazel’s favorite author is making an appearance states away, the two head out on a road trip to see him. If the plot doesn’t do it for you, prepare to be emotional when Ed Sheeran’s “All Of Our Stars” cues up.

2. A Walk to Remember (2002)

Older millennials will recall A Walk to Remember as Mandy Moore’s dramatic acting breakthrough playing Jamie, a reclusive teen who has never been asked out and is sort of an outcast. Then she meets Landon, played by Shane West, a wealthy guy from her school who used to taunt her (of course). The two have a sweet, whirlwind romance, culminating in Jamie revealing that she’s terminally ill. If you think Five Feet Apart or The Fault in Our Stars was Kleenex-worthy, this one will rip you apart — as any good Nicholas Sparks movie should.

3. Everything, Everything (2017)

In this movie, Amandla Stenberg plays a teen named Maddy who has to stay inside her house because she has severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID). The boy next door, Olly (played by Nick Robinson), won’t have any of it, though, and forms a bond with her anyway via text and some chats at the window. Together, they decide to test the limits of Maddy’s illness to be together… with a major twist at the end.

4. The Sun Is Also a Star (2019)

Based on a book of the same name, this movie stars Black-ish‘s Yara Shahidi as Natasha, the daughter of Jamaican immigrants whose family is about to be deported. Charles Melton stars as Daniel, who sees her at Grand Central Terminal before they have a meet-cute on the sidewalk. They couldn’t be more different, but they end up spending the day together in New York City — each on their own secret missions for later in the day. The movie has a sort of Before Sunrise feel to it as they get to know each other and sparks fly.

5. Clouds (2020)

In full disclosure, this may be one of the saddest movies you’ll ever watch. The based-on-a-true-story film follows a teen named Zach who has osteosarcoma, a lung disease for which he has been receiving treatments. One day, he learns that they no longer are working and that his condition is terminal. With limited time left, Zach ends up writing a song called “Clouds” that becomes a huge hit — so much so that when he has trouble breathing on stage, the crowd ends up carrying the tune for him. You’ll root for him, but prepare yourself for a very, very sad ending.

6. The Best of Me (2014)

Yep, it’s another movie based on a Nicholas Sparks novel, so you know it’s going to be sappy. Michelle Monaghan and James Marsden star as Amanda and Dawson, two high school sweethearts who see each other again as adults at a memorial for one of their friends. They get back together but realize that their break-up all the way back in high school wasn’t really all it seemed.

More Movies Like Five Feet Apart to Watch Next

1. 2 Hearts (2020)
2. Every Day (2018)
3. Me Before You (2016)
4. The Choice (2016)
5. All the Bright Places (2020)
6. Words on Bathroom Walls (2020)
7. Chemical Hearts (2020)
8. My Sister’s Keeper (2009)
9. Now Is Good (2012)
10. Dear John (2010)
11. Safe Haven (2013)
12. I Still Believe (2020)
13. The Vow (2012)
14. Before I Fall (2017)
15. The Last Song (2010)
16. Remember Me (2010)
17. Then Came You (2018)
18. Midnight Sun (2018)
19. After (2019)
20. The Notebook (2004)
21. Romeo + Juliet (1996)
22. Before Midnight (2013)
23. Autumn in New York (2000)
24. All My Life (2020)
25. Dying Young (1991)
26. Love Story (1970)
27. Sweet November (2001)