Movies like The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008)
The best movies like The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008) are The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) and Knowing (2009). If The Day the Earth Stood Still hooked you with its drama and science fiction, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Thing (1982)8.1/10 from 8,446 votes
- NewestDisclosure Day (2026)Released 2026
The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
An alien and a robot land on Earth after World War II and tell mankind to be peaceful or face destruction.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisClose Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
After an encounter with UFOs, an electricity linesman feels undeniably drawn to an isolated area in the wilderness where something spectacular is about to happen.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKnowing (2009)
A teacher opens a time capsule that has been dug up at his son's elementary school; in it are some chilling predictions -- some that have already occurred and others that are about to -- that lead him to believe his family plays a role in the events that are about to unfold.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHangar 18 (1980)
During a Space Shuttle mission a satellite rams a unidentified flying object. The UFO afterwards performs an emergency landing in the deserts of Arizona. However the White House denies its existence because of the near presidential elections. The UFO is brought to the secret Hangar 18 and the accident is blamed on the incompetence of the astronauts Bancroff and Price. But the two fight against this and try to hunt down the UFO.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisMonsters (2010)
Six years ago NASA discovered the possibility of alien life within our solar system. A probe was launched to collect samples, but crashed upon re-entry over Central America. Soon after, new life forms began to appear and half of Mexico was quarantined as an infected zone. Today, the American and Mexican military still struggle to contain "the creatures," while a journalist agrees to escort a shaken tourist through the infected zone in Mexico to the safety of the U.S. border.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisArrival (2016)
Taking place after alien crafts land around the world, an expert linguist is recruited by the military to determine whether they come in peace or are a threat.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCommunion (1989)
A novelist's wife and son see him changed by an apparent encounter with aliens in the mountains.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisWar of the Worlds (2005)
Ray Ferrier is a divorced dockworker and less-than-perfect father. Soon after his ex-wife and her new husband drop off his teenage son and young daughter for a rare weekend visit, a strange and powerful lightning storm touches down.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDisclosure Day (2026)
A cybersecurity expert becomes a whistleblower after uncovering secrets about aliens, putting him on the run from a corporation. Meanwhile, a meteorologist experiencing strange phenomena joins forces with him to prove there's life beyond our understanding.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFire in the Sky (1993)
After clearing brush for the government, a group of men return to town claiming their friend was abducted. Despite no apparent motive or evidence of foul play, no-one believes their story and his disappearance is treated as murder.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEnemy Mine (1985)
A soldier from Earth crashlands on an alien world after sustaining battle damage. Eventually he encounters another survivor, but from the enemy species he was fighting; they band together to survive on this hostile world. In the end the human finds himself caring for his enemy in a completely unexpected way.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSkyline (2010)
When strange lights descend on the city of Los Angeles, people are drawn outside like moths to a flame where an extraterrestrial force threatens to swallow the entire human population off the face of the Earth. Now the band of survivors must fight for their lives as the world unravels around them.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisIndependence Day (1996)
Strange phenomena surface around the globe. The skies ignite. Terror races through the world's major cities. As these extraordinary events unfold, it becomes increasingly clear that a force of incredible magnitude has arrived. Its mission: total annihilation over the Fourth of July weekend. The last hope to stop the destruction is an unlikely group of people united by fate and unimaginable circumstances.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDistrict 9 (2009)
Thirty years ago, aliens arrive on Earth. Not to conquer or give aid, but to find refuge from their dying planet. Separated from humans in a South African area called District 9, the aliens are managed by Multi-National United, which is unconcerned with the aliens' welfare but will do anything to master their advanced technology. When a company field agent contracts a mysterious virus that begins to alter his DNA, there is only one place he can hide: District 9.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Invasion (2007)
Washington, D.C. psychologist Carol Bennell and her colleague Dr. Ben Driscoll are the only two people on Earth who are aware of an epidemic running rampant through the city. They discover an alien virus aboard a crashed space shuttle that transforms anyone who comes into contact with it into unfeeling drones while they sleep. Carol realizes her son holds the key to stopping the spread of the plague and she races to find him before it is too late.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStar Trek: Insurrection (1998)
When an alien race and factions within Starfleet attempt to take over a planet that has "regenerative" properties, it falls upon Captain Picard and the crew of the Enterprise to defend the planet's people as well as the very ideals upon which the Federation itself was founded.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDreamcatcher (2003)
Four childhood friends reunite for a hunting trip in the Maine woods, bound by a psychic force born from a childhood friend's dreamcatcher. They find themselves caught in a grotesque alien invasion that twists memory, sanity and reality into something far more sinister.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe X-Files (1998)
Mulder and Scully, now taken off the FBI's X Files cases, must find a way to fight the shadowy elements of the government to find out the truth about a conspiracy that might mean the alien colonization of Earth.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Astronaut's Wife (1999)
When astronaut Spencer Armacost returns to Earth after a mission that nearly cost him his life, he decides to take a desk job in order to see his beautiful wife, Jillian, more often. Gradually, Jillian notices that Spencer's personality seems to have changed, but her concerns fade when she discovers that she's pregnant. As Jillian grows closer to becoming a mother, her suspicions about Spencer return. Why does it seem as if he's a different person?
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisAttraction (2017)
After an alien ship crash lands in a Russian city, many who see the inside and the occupants start to question their own existence while others demand the aliens leave Earth.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Abyss (1989)
A civilian oil rig crew is recruited to conduct a search and rescue effort when a nuclear submarine mysteriously sinks. One diver soon finds himself on a spectacular odyssey 25,000 feet below the ocean's surface where he confronts a mysterious force that has the power to change the world or destroy it.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Andromeda Strain (1971)
When virtually all of the residents of Piedmont, New Mexico are found dead after the return to Earth of a space satellite, the head of the US Air Force's Project Scoop declares an emergency. A group of eminent scientists led by Dr. Jeremy Stone scrambles to a secure laboratory and tries first to isolate the life form while determining why two people from Piedmont - an old alcoholic and a six-month-old baby - survived. The scientists methodically study the alien life form, unaware that it has already mutated and presents a far greater danger in the lab, which is equipped with a nuclear self-destruct device designed to prevent the escape of dangerous biological agents.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Thing (1982)
A research team in Antarctica is hunted by a shape-shifting alien that assumes the appearance of its victims.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisSphere (1998)
A spacecraft is discovered at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, presumed to be at least 300 years old and of alien origin. A crack team of scientists and experts is assembled and taken to the ocean floor to investigate. However, the ship is not as it seems and when a giant perfect sphere is discovered in the cargo bay, things begin to fall apart.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStarman (1984)
When an alien takes the form of a young widow's husband and asks her to drive him from Wisconsin to Arizona, the government tries to stop them.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Fourth Kind (2009)
Since the 1960s, a disproportionate number of the population in and around Nome, Alaska, have gone missing. Despite FBI investigations, the disappearances remain a mystery. Dr. Abigail Tyler, a psychologist, may be on the verge of blowing the unsolved cases wide open when, during the course of treating her patients, she finds evidence of alien abductions.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisExtinction (2018)
A chief mechanic at a factory, haunted by apocalyptic nightmares, becomes a hero when Earth is invaded by a mysterious army bent on destruction.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Vast of Night (2019)
At the dawn of the space-race, two radio-obsessed teens discover a strange frequency over the airwaves in what becomes the most important night of their lives and in the history of their small town.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisH.G. Wells' War of the Worlds (2005)
In this modern retelling of H.G. Wells' classic sci-fi horror, civilization is laid to ruin when a super race of aliens invades Earth. In a blink of an eye, massive "walkers" cover the planet, annihilating all in their path. As cities crumble and human flesh is ripped from the bone, one man struggles to find the one weapon that will turn the tide for mankind.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisI Am Legend (2007)
Robert Neville is a scientist who was unable to stop the spread of the terrible virus that was incurable and man-made. Immune, Neville is now the last human survivor in what is left of New York City and perhaps the world. For three years, Neville has faithfully sent out daily radio messages, desperate to find any other survivors who might be out there. But he is not alone.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Day the Earth Stood Still?
The closest matches to The Day the Earth Stood Still are The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) and Knowing (2009). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Day the Earth Stood Still?
People who watched The Day the Earth Stood Still most often go on to The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) and Knowing (2009).
What is the highest-rated movie like The Day the Earth Stood Still?
The Thing (1982), rated 8.1/10 by 8,446 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Day the Earth Stood Still?
Disclosure Day (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Day the Earth Stood Still?
Yes: The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) and Knowing (2009).
How are movies similar to The Day the Earth Stood Still chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Day the Earth Stood Still, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.