Movies like Running on Empty (2010)
The best movies like Running on Empty (2010) are What Maisie Knew (2013), Charm City Kings (2020) and Hardball (2001). If Running on Empty hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedSamurai Rebellion (1967)8.2/10 from 283 votes
- NewestPluto (2025)Released 2025
- In JapaneseThe Ballad of Narayama (1983)Also in Japanese
What Maisie Knew (2013)
In New York City, six-year-old Maisie is caught in the middle of a bitter custody battle between her self-absorbed parents—an aging rock singer mother and a distracted art dealer father. As both quickly marry new partners to strengthen their legal standing, Maisie is shuttled back and forth in an endless game of emotional point-scoring. Yet amid the chaos and upheaval, Maisie begins to find true comfort and affection in her new step-parents.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCharm City Kings (2020)
Mouse desperately wants to join The Midnight Clique, the infamous Baltimore dirt bike riders who rule the summertime streets. When Midnight’s leader, Blax, takes 14-year-old Mouse under his wing, Mouse soon finds himself torn between the straight-and-narrow and a road filled with fast money and violence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHardball (2001)
An aimless young man who is scalping tickets, gambling and drinking, agrees to coach a Little League team from the Cabrini Green housing project in Chicago as a condition of getting a loan from a friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSiberian Education (2013)
The story of a gang of children growing up in a community of banished criminals, in a forgotten corner of the former Soviet Union. This community rejects the world outside. The only law it obeys… is its own. Against this backdrop two best friends, Kolyma and Gagarin, gradually become fierce enemies as they find themselves on opposite sides of the strict code of honour of the ‘honest criminal’ brotherhood.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Ballad of Narayama (1983)
In a small village in a valley everyone who reaches the age of 70 must leave the village and go to a certain mountain top to die. If anyone should refuse they would disgrace their family. Old Orin is 69. This winter it is her turn to go to the mountain. But first she must make sure that her eldest son Tatsuhei finds a wife.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisInside I'm Dancing (2004)
Michael is a 24-year-old who has cerebral palsy and long-term resident of the Carrigmore Residential Home for the Disabled, run by the formidable Eileen. His life is transformed when the maverick Rory O'Shea moves in.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNo One Would Tell (1996)
Shy sixteen-year-old Stacy Collins can't believe that the most popular guy in school, an attractive athlete named Bobby Tennison, is interested in her. At first she is flattered by his constant attention, but then he becomes possessive and jealous-telling her who she can speak to and what she can wear. Threats escalate into violence when Bobby thinks Stacy has stepped out of line. Soon she is walking on egg shells and living in fear. Having seen the tell-tale bruises, Stacy's best friend convinces her to break things off with Bobby-but in a moment of weakness, Stacy goes to meet him. It will be the last time she is seen alive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFemale Prisoner Scorpion: #701's Grudge Song (1973)
Nami is once again on the run from the law but is saved by an old classmate who works at a strip club. Through a subsequent conversation they discover they both have a score to settle with a particular crooked cop. However, Nami has doubts about ever trusting a man.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGirl in the Box (2016)
The true story of 20-year-old Colleen Stan, a hitchhiking woman abducted by a young couple and held captive for seven years, during which time she's tortured and forced to live as a slave to her captors.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisF.I.S.T. (1978)
Johnny Kovak joins the Teamsters trade-union in a local chapter in the 1930s and works his way up in the organization. As he climbs higher and higher his methods become more ruthless and finally senator Madison starts a campaign to find the truth about the alleged connections with the Mob.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAll Day and a Night (2020)
While serving life in prison, a young man looks back at the people, the circumstances and the system that set him on the path toward his crime.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHungry Hearts (2015)
The relationship of a couple who meet by chance in New York City is put to the test when they encounter a life or death circumstance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFast Girls (2012)
A street smart runner develops an intense rivalry with an equally ambitious wealthy young athlete.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Nest (2020)
Rory is an ambitious entrepreneur who brings his American wife and kids to his native country, England, to explore new business opportunities. After abandoning the sanctuary of their safe American suburban surroundings, the family is plunged into the despair of an archaic '80s Britain and their unaffordable new life in an English manor house threatens to destroy the family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Rookie (1990)
Veteran cop Nick Pulovski is used to playing musical partners; many of the partners he's had in the past have died on the job, and often as a result of Nick's risky tactics. But the rookie who's been assigned to help Nick bust a carjacking ring is almost as hotheaded as he is … and when Nick gets kidnapped, his newbie partner is his only hope.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Parts You Lose (2019)
An unlikely friendship unfolds between a young deaf boy, Wesley, and a fugitive criminal who takes refuge in an abandoned barn on the family’s rural North Dakota farm.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSamurai Rebellion (1967)
The mother of a feudal lord's only heir is kidnapped by the lord. Her husband and his samurai father must decide whether to accept the unjust decision, or risk death to rescue her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisI Am Elizabeth Smart (2017)
The story of Elizabeth Smart's kidnapping and captivity, as told from her perspective.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWinged Creatures (2009)
A psychotic man opens fire in a diner, murdering numerous people before killing himself. The survivors struggle in different ways following this horrendous event: a doctor doubts his own instincts and elects to use an experimental medical procedure on his wife, while a gambler believes he's on a lucky streak. A waitress begins engaging in promiscuous sex, and a young girl whose father is among the dead gains unexpected fame.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisLorelei (2020)
A man is released from prison after 15 years. He reunites with his high school girlfriend, now a single mother of three. What follows is a lyrical take on love, regret and second chances.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisScenes from the Life of an Actress (2020)
Maria-Eleonora is an actress. During a film premiere she leaves the screening hall and crashes her car into the concrete wall of a parking lot, killing herself. Her longtime friend and aspiring film director Peter try to find out the reasons behind this dramatic act and interviews her relatives, colleagues, closest friends. He adds to the interviews video footage that he himself shot during their life together and some film scenes in which Maria-Eleonora took small supporting parts. Thus, Peter creates the film "Scenes from the life of an actress". Peter learns that everyone has a story about what happened, but no one really knew the deceased actress. Peter didn't knew her too.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Pluto (2025)
In an era when humans coexist with AI, Pluto is a human-like AI psychiatrist who has a stronger brain power. He can detect human emotions which bring positive emotions to his clients. However, he is confused about what real emotion is. When he develops feelings for his free-spirited client, he loses his ability and is expelled from the AI community while being on a road that leads to a new humanity...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Story of Minna Claessens (1912)
Found recently and restored in 2019 this short silent film tells the story of an artist and his model. One day she's getting seriously ill ... .
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Drop of Blood (1913)
Found recently and restored in 2019, this silent short films follows a young man who is wounded and hides with his girlfriend... .
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
An Irrepressible Woman (2020)
1940, Jeanne Reichenbach turns her back on a peaceful life to link her destiny to Léon Blum. She's been loving him since her teenage years, and is ready to sacrifice her freedom to mary him at Buchenwald, where he's held prisoner. They will survive together.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Lazzaro (2018)
Lazzaro spends his nights cleaning up and managing pest control inside old and dirty industrial plants, and often making dead bodies disappear on behalf of unsuspected local criminals. During the day, he doesn't sleep, and likes to follow people around instead. Most of all, a lady for whom he has deep and tangled feelings. He doesn't suspect anything about her, but she's somehow connected to the same criminals Lazzaro works for.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Il viaggio (2017)
On board a train on its last trip, five people know each other, collide, make friends and solve their personal issues finding out what's really important in life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Father's Son (1975)
The transition of a factory worker to the mafia boss.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Fatal Exposure (TBA)
A woman struggling with the need to perform in her personal and professional lives suffers a mental break that leads to her demise.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Twin Flames Part 2 (2025)
Aman and Naina's fateful meeting in the park has ripple effects, their personal lives go for a toss and now they must learn how to navigate through the mess.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like Running on Empty and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Running on Empty?
The closest matches to Running on Empty are What Maisie Knew (2013), Charm City Kings (2020) and Hardball (2001). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Running on Empty?
Start with What Maisie Knew (2013), the closest match to Running on Empty.
What is the highest-rated movie like Running on Empty?
Samurai Rebellion (1967), rated 8.2/10 by 283 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Running on Empty?
Pluto (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like Running on Empty?
Yes: The Ballad of Narayama (1983), Female Prisoner Scorpion: #701's Grudge Song (1973) and Samurai Rebellion (1967).
How are movies similar to Running on Empty chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Running on Empty, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.