Movies like King Kong (1976)
The best movies like King Kong (1976) are King Kong (1933), Gigantis, the Fire Monster (1959) and Underwater (2020). If King Kong hooked you with its adventure and horror, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedKing Kong (1933)7.6/10 from 1,698 votes
- NewestTeenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma (2026)Released 2026
King Kong (1933)
Adventurous filmmaker Carl Denham sets out to produce a motion picture unlike anything the world has seen before. Alongside his leading lady Ann Darrow and his first mate Jack Driscoll, they arrive on an island and discover a legendary creature said to be neither beast nor man. Denham captures the monster to be displayed on Broadway as King Kong, the eighth wonder of the world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGigantis, the Fire Monster (1959)
A prehistoric monster called Gigantis emerges alongside another creature named Angurus.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUnderwater (2020)
After an earthquake destroys their underwater station, six researchers must navigate two miles along the dangerous, unknown depths of the ocean floor to make it to safety in a race against time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGodzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024)
Following their explosive showdown, Godzilla and Kong must reunite against a colossal undiscovered threat hidden within our world, challenging their very existence – and our own.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKong: Skull Island (2017)
Explore the mysterious and dangerous home of the king of the apes as a team of explorers ventures deep inside the treacherous, primordial island.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Jungle Book (2016)
After a threat from the tiger Shere Khan, Mowgli, a man-cub fostered by wolves, is forced to flee the jungle, and he embarks on a journey of self-discovery with the help of the panther, Bagheera, and the free-spirited bear, Baloo.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGodzilla vs. Kong (2021)
In a time when monsters walk the Earth, humanity’s fight for its future sets Godzilla and Kong on a collision course that will see the two most powerful forces of nature on the planet collide in a spectacular battle for the ages.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024)
Several generations following Caesar's reign, apes – now the dominant species – live harmoniously while humans have been reduced to living in the shadows. As a new tyrannical ape leader builds his empire, one young ape undertakes a harrowing journey that will cause him to question all he's known about the past and to make choices that will define a future for apes and humans alike.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGodzilla, King of the Monsters! (1956)
During an assignment, foreign correspondent Steve Martin spends a layover in Tokyo and is caught amid the rampage of an unstoppable prehistoric monster the Japanese call 'Godzilla'. The only hope for both Japan and the world lies on a secret weapon, which may prove more destructive than the monster itself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMighty Joe Young (1998)
As a child living in Africa, Jill Young saw her mother killed while protecting wild gorillas from poachers led by Andrei Strasser. Now an adult, Jill cares for an orphaned gorilla named Joe -- who, due to a genetic anomaly, is 15 feet tall. When Gregg O'Hara arrives from California and sees the animal, he convinces Jill that Joe would be safest at his wildlife refuge. But Strasser follows them to the U.S., intent on capturing Joe for himself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRampage (2018)
Primatologist Davis Okoye shares an unshakable bond with George, the extraordinarily intelligent, silverback gorilla who has been in his care since birth. But a rogue genetic experiment gone awry mutates this gentle ape into a raging creature of enormous size. To make matters worse, it’s soon discovered there are other similarly altered animals. As these newly created alpha predators tear across North America, destroying everything in their path, Okoye teams with a discredited genetic engineer to secure an antidote, fighting his way through an ever-changing battlefield, not only to halt a global catastrophe but to save the fearsome creature that was once his friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTarzan's New York Adventure (1942)
Circus owner Buck Rand kidnaps Boy to perform in his show. He forces a pilot to fly him, Boy and his animal trainer out of the jungle. Tarzan and Jane follow them to New York.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPacific Rim (2013)
Using massive piloted robots to combat the alien threat, Earth's survivors take the fight to the invading alien force lurking in the depths of the Pacific Ocean. Nearly defenseless in the face of the relentless enemy, the forces of mankind have no choice but to turn to two unlikely heroes who now stand as Earth's final hope against the mounting apocalypse.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAn American Tail: The Treasure of Manhattan Island (1998)
Fievel and his friend Tony Toponi find a map that they believe points to a treasure buried somewhere beneath Old New York, and the plucky rodent is determined to find it. However, what he discovers under the city is a tribe of Native American mice who were driven underground by prejudiced European immigrants.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMeg 2: The Trench (2023)
An exploratory dive into the deepest depths of the ocean of a daring research team spirals into chaos when a malevolent mining operation threatens their mission and forces them into a high-stakes battle for survival.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Legend of Tarzan (2016)
Tarzan, having acclimated to life in London, is called back to his former home in the jungle to investigate the activities at a mining encampment.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Meg (2018)
A deep sea submersible pilot revisits his past fears in the Mariana Trench, and accidentally unleashes the seventy foot ancestor of the Great White Shark believed to be extinct.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018)
Three years after Jurassic World was destroyed, Isla Nublar now sits abandoned. When the island's dormant volcano begins roaring to life, Owen and Claire mount a campaign to rescue the remaining dinosaurs from this extinction-level event.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTarzan & Jane (2002)
With the first anniversary of her wedding to Tarzan beckoning, Jane ponders how to make it the perfect English celebration.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJourney 2: The Mysterious Island (2012)
Sean Anderson partners with his mom's boyfriend on a mission to find his grandfather, who is thought to be missing on a mythical island.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAnacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid (2004)
A scientific expedition sets out for Borneo to seek a flower called the Blood Orchid, which could grant extended life. Meanwhile, they run afoul of snakes and each other.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisThem! (1954)
As a result of nuclear testing, gigantic, ferocious mutant ants appear in the American desert southwest, and a father-daughter team of entomologists join forces with the state police officer who first discovers their existence, an FBI agent and, eventually, the US Army to eradicate the menace, before it spreads across the continent — and the world.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPsycho (1998)
A young female embezzler arrives at the Bates Motel, which has terrible secrets of its own.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisSatan's Slaves (2017)
After dying from a strange illness that she suffered for three years, a mother returns home to pick up her children.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBambi: The Reckoning (2025)
After a mother and son get in a car wreck, they soon become hunted by Bambi, a mutated grief-stricken deer on a deadly rampage seeking revenge for the death of his mother and wife.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Fly (1958)
Industrialist François Delambre is called late at night by his sister-in-law, Helene, who tells him that she has just killed her husband. Reluctant at first, she eventually explains to the police that he invented a matter transportation apparatus and, while experimenting on himself, a fly entered the chamber.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisInvasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)
The residents of San Francisco are becoming drone-like shadows of their former selves, and as the phenomenon spreads, two Department of Health workers uncover the horrifying truth.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDominion: Prequel to The Exorcist (2005)
Father Merrin takes a sabbatical from the Church to devote himself to history and archaeology as he struggles with his shattered faith.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisOrca (1977)
After witnessing the killing of his mate and offspring at the hands of a reckless Irish captain, a vengeful killer whale rampages through the fisherman's Newfoundland harbor. Under pressure from the villagers, the captain, a female marine biologist, and an Indigenous tribalist venture after the great beast, who will meet them on its own turf.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTeenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma (2026)
An ambitious director sets out to revive a faded slasher franchise, but her meeting with the film’s reclusive original star spirals into a terrifying maze of obsession, fear, and blood-soaked delusion.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like King Kong?
The closest matches to King Kong are King Kong (1933), Gigantis, the Fire Monster (1959) and Underwater (2020). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after King Kong?
Start with King Kong (1933), the closest match to King Kong.
What is the highest-rated movie like King Kong?
King Kong (1933), rated 7.6/10 by 1,698 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like King Kong?
Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like King Kong?
Yes: King Kong (1933), Gigantis, the Fire Monster (1959) and Underwater (2020).
How are movies similar to King Kong chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside King Kong, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.