Movies like 38 Minutes (2020)
The best movies like 38 Minutes (2020) are Twilight's Last Gleaming (1977), The Abyss (1989) and Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch (2005). If 38 Minutes hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Abyss (1989)7.4/10 from 3,674 votes
- NewestPrimate (2026)Released 2026
Twilight's Last Gleaming (1977)
A renegade USAF general, Lawrence Dell, escapes from a military prison and takes over an ICBM silo near Montana and threatens to provoke World War 3 unless the President reveals details of a secret meeting held just after the start of the Vietnam War between Dell and the then President's most trusted advisors.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch (2005)
Now, we find the rowdy extraterrestrial getting used to life with his new ʻohana. However, a malfunction in the ultimate creation of Dr. Jumba soon emerges, which reinstates his destructive programming and threatens to both ruin his friendship with Lilo and to short him out for good!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStitch! The Movie (2003)
The continuing adventures of Lilo, a little Hawaiian girl, and Stitch, the galaxy's most-wanted extraterrestrial. Stitch, Pleakley, and Dr. Jumba are all part of the household now, but what Lilo and Stitch don't know is that Dr. Jumba brought his other alien "experiments" to Hawaiʻi as well.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThirteen Days (2000)
The story of the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962—the nuclear standoff with the USSR sparked by the discovery by the Americans of missile bases established on the Soviet-allied island of Cuba.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHidden (2015)
A family takes refuge in a fallout shelter to avoid a dangerous outbreak.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPrimate (2026)
College student Lucy and her friends spend their vacation at her family's home in Hawaii, which includes her pet chimpanzee, Ben. However, when Ben contracts rabies after being bitten by a rabid animal, the group must fight for their lives in order to avoid the now-violent chimp.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRed Eye (2005)
An overnight flight to Miami quickly becomes a battle for survival when Lisa realizes her seatmate plans to use her as part of a chilling assassination plot against the Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security. If she refuses to cooperate, her own father will be killed. As the miles tick by, she's in a race against time to find a way to warn the potential victims before it's too late.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAlien Abduction (2014)
A vacationing family encounters an alien threat in this pulse-pounding thriller based on the real-life Brown Mountain Lights phenomenon in North Carolina.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisLilo & Stitch (2025)
The wildly funny and touching story of a lonely Hawaiian girl and the fugitive alien who helps to mend her broken family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIck (2025)
Science teacher Hank’s life changes when he reconnects with his first love and suspects that a new student may be his daughter—all while facing an alien threat in their town.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953)
The controlled explosion of an atomic bomb in the Arctic Circle awakens a frozen dinosaur that will wreak havoc in New York City.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBen 10: Alien Swarm (2009)
Ben and a mysterious girl from his past must prevent an alien threat from destroying the world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWatchmen: Chapter II (2024)
Suspicious of the events ensnaring their former colleagues, Nite Owl and Silk Spectre are spurred out of retirement to investigate. As they grapple with personal ethics, inner demons and a society turned against them, they race the clock to uncover a deepening plot that might trigger global nuclear war.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSuperman (1941)
After The Daily Planet receives a letter from a mad scientist threatening to wreak destruction with his Electrothanasia Ray, Lois Lane heads out in the hopes of getting more information for a news story.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAloha Scooby-Doo! (2005)
The Mystery Gang goes to Hawaii for the Big Kahuna of Hanahuna Surfing Contest. However, the gang and the locals find the island invaded by the vengeful Wiki Tiki spirit and his demons.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBen Gen 10 (2021)
When Ben meets a young Generator Rex on the run from a hostile Providence, he must work through a series of misunderstandings, and defeat the dark wizard Hex in order to save the world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSeven Days to Noon (1950)
When Professor Willingdon becomes wary of the nuclear weapons he is helping build, he steals a warhead and threatens to detonate it in London in seven days unless the government begins nuclear disarmament. As Willingdon goes into hiding, Detective Folland of Scotland Yard sets out to find him. Willingdon's daughter Ann also joins the cause, hoping she can talk sense into her father before he causes a catastrophe.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMarvel Rising: Secret Warriors (2018)
When a threat no one could have expected bears down on the Marvel Universe, this ragtag, untrained band of teens have no choice but to rise together and prove to the world that sometimes the difference between a 'hero' and 'misfit' is just in the name.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like 38 Minutes?
The closest matches to 38 Minutes are Twilight's Last Gleaming (1977), The Abyss (1989) and Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch (2005). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after 38 Minutes?
Start with Twilight's Last Gleaming (1977), the closest match to 38 Minutes.
What is the highest-rated movie like 38 Minutes?
The Abyss (1989), rated 7.4/10 by 3,674 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like 38 Minutes?
Primate (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like 38 Minutes?
Yes: Twilight's Last Gleaming (1977), The Abyss (1989) and Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch (2005).
How are movies similar to 38 Minutes chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside 38 Minutes, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.