Movies like Son (2017)
The best movies like Son (2017) are The Tomorrow War (2021), Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984) and Ad Astra (2019). If Son hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedAvatar: The Way of Water (2022)7.6/10 from 14,870 votes
- NewestMasters of the Universe (2026)Released 2026
The Tomorrow War (2021)
The world is stunned when a group of time travelers arrive from the year 2051 to deliver an urgent message: Thirty years in the future, mankind is losing a global war against a deadly alien species. The only hope for survival is for soldiers and civilians from the present to be transported to the future and join the fight. Among those recruited is high school teacher and family man Dan Forester. Determined to save the world for his young daughter, Dan teams up with a brilliant scientist and his estranged father in a desperate quest to rewrite the fate of the planet.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStar Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)
A surprise visit from Spock's father provides a startling revelation: McCoy is harboring Spock's living essence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAd Astra (2019)
The near future, a time when both hope and hardships drive humanity to look to the stars and beyond. While a mysterious phenomenon menaces to destroy life on planet Earth, astronaut Roy McBride undertakes a mission across the immensity of space and its many perils to uncover the truth about a lost expedition that decades before boldly faced emptiness and silence in search of the unknown.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStar Trek: Generations (1994)
Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the Enterprise-D find themselves at odds with the renegade scientist Soran who is destroying entire star systems. Only one man can help Picard stop Soran's scheme...and he's been dead for seventy-eight years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAvatar: The Way of Water (2022)
Set more than a decade after the events of the first film, learn the story of the Sully family (Jake, Neytiri, and their kids), the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive, and the tragedies they endure.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNope (2022)
Residents in a lonely gulch of inland California bear witness to an uncanny, chilling discovery.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI Love My Dad (2022)
A hopelessly estranged father catfishes his son in an attempt to reconnect.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Space Between Us (2017)
A young man raised by scientists on Mars returns to Earth to find his father.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004)
Renowned oceanographer Steve Zissou has sworn vengeance upon the rare shark that devoured a member of his crew. In addition to his regular team, he is joined on his boat by Ned, a man who believes Zissou to be his father, and Jane, a journalist pregnant by a married man. They travel the sea, all too often running into pirates and, perhaps more traumatically, various figures from Zissou's past, including his estranged wife, Eleanor.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMy Stepmother Is an Alien (1988)
Trying to rescue her home planet from destruction, a gorgeous extraterrestrial named Celeste arrives on Earth and begins her scientific research. She woos quirky scientist Dr. Steve Mills, a widower with a young daughter. Before long, Celeste finds herself in love with Steve and her new life on Earth, where she experiences true intimacy for the first time. But when she loses sight of her mission, she begins to question where she belongs.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisMasters of the Universe (2026)
After being separated for 15 years, the Sword of Power leads Prince Adam back to Eternia, where he discovers his home shattered under the fiendish rule of Skeletor. To save his family and his world, Adam must join forces with his closest allies, Teela and Duncan/Man-At-Arms, and embrace his true destiny as He-Man — the most powerful man in the universe.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAnd When Did You Last See Your Father? (2007)
The story of a son's conflicting memories of his dying father.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDaddy Longlegs (2010)
After months of living a solitary existence, Lenny, 34, picks up his kids from school. Every year he spends a couple of weeks with his sons Sage, 9, and Frey, 7. Lenny hosts his kids within a midtown studio apartment in New York. During these two weeks, he must figure out if he wants to act as their father or be their friend. Ultimately, their trip upstate results in complete lawlessness taking over their lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRiddick (2013)
Betrayed by his own kind and left for dead on a desolate planet, Riddick fights for survival against alien predators and becomes more powerful and dangerous than ever before. Soon bounty hunters from throughout the galaxy descend on Riddick only to find themselves pawns in his greater scheme for revenge. With his enemies right where he wants them, Riddick unleashes a vicious attack of vengeance before returning to his home planet of Furya to save it from destruction.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBob Trevino Likes It (2025)
Lily Trevino unexpectedly befriends an online stranger who shares her self-centered father’s name. This new Bob Trevino’s support could transform her life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKnox Goes Away (2024)
A contract killer, after being diagnosed with a fast-moving form of dementia, is presented with the opportunity to redeem himself by saving the life of his estranged adult son. But to do so, he must race against the police closing in on him as well as the ticking clock of his own rapidly deteriorating mind.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)
The Guardians must fight to keep their newfound family together as they unravel the mysteries of Peter Quill's true parentage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCome to Daddy (2019)
After receiving a cryptic letter from his estranged father, Norval travels to his dad’s oceanfront home for what he hopes will be a positive experience. If only he’d known the dark truth about his old man beforehand.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisI'll Be Home for Christmas (2016)
Jackie Foster, a dynamic Assistant District Attorney and single mom, is looking forward to wrapping up her latest case and spending Christmas with Gracie, her adorable and precocious, eight-year old daughter. But when Jackie’s estranged dad, Jack , a gruff retired police officer, unexpectedly shows up at her door, they will be forced to confront old wounds.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStar Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
The starship Enterprise and its crew is pulled back into action when old nemesis, Khan, steals a top secret device called Project Genesis.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Son?
The closest matches to Son are The Tomorrow War (2021), Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984) and Ad Astra (2019). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Son?
Start with The Tomorrow War (2021), the closest match to Son.
What is the highest-rated movie like Son?
Avatar: The Way of Water (2022), rated 7.6/10 by 14,870 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Son?
Masters of the Universe (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Son?
Yes: The Tomorrow War (2021), Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984) and Ad Astra (2019).
How are movies similar to Son chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Son, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.