Movies like The Burden (2023)
The best movies like The Burden (2023) are Alien: Containment (2019), Doctor Who: The Night of the Doctor (2013) and The Giver (2014). If The Burden hooked you with its science fiction, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedBugonia (2025)7.3/10 from 2,590 votes
- NewestBugonia (2025)Released 2025
Alien: Containment (2019)
Aboard a small escape pod, four survivors try to discover what caused the destruction of their spaceship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDoctor Who: The Night of the Doctor (2013)
The Doctor struggles to help the only remaining crewmember of a crashing gunship. The people of the planet below offer to save his life, but at a dear cost to the life he's lived for hundreds of years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Giver (2014)
In a seemingly perfect community, without war, pain, suffering, differences or choice, a young boy is chosen to learn from an elderly man about the true pain and pleasure of the "real" world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAfterburn (2025)
Set against the backdrop of a postapocalyptic Earth whose Eastern Hemisphere was destroyed by a massive solar flare, leaving what life remains mutated from radiation and fallout. The story revolves around a group of treasure hunters who extract such objects as the Mona Lisa, the Rosetta Stone and the Crown Jewels while facing rival hunters, mutants and pirates.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStowaway (2021)
A three-person crew on a mission to Mars faces an impossible choice when an unplanned passenger jeopardizes the lives of everyone on board.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStar Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
The surviving Resistance faces the First Order once again as the journey of Rey, Finn and Poe Dameron continues. With the power and knowledge of generations behind them, the final battle begins.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like this2073 (2024)
Inspired by Chris Marker's iconic 1962 featurette La Jetée; the year is 2073—a not-so-distant dystopian future—and the setting is New San Francisco, the scorched-earth tech-dominant police state where democracy and personal freedom have been well and truly obliterated.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)
Thomas Jerome Newton is an alien who has come to Earth in search of water to save his home planet. Aided by lawyer Oliver Farnsworth, Thomas uses his knowledge of advanced technology to create profitable inventions. While developing a method to transport water, Thomas meets Mary-Lou, a quiet hotel clerk, and begins to fall in love with her. Just as he is ready to leave Earth, Thomas is intercepted by the U.S. government, and his entire plan is threatened.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like this1984 (1956)
In a totalitarian future society, a man whose daily work is rewriting history tries to rebel by falling in love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like this2036: Nexus Dawn (2017)
Niander Wallace introduces a new line of "perfected" replicants called the Nexus 9, seeking to get the prohibition on replicants repealed.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCold Souls (2009)
Paul is agonising over his interpretation of 'Uncle Vanya' and, paralysed by anxiety, stumbles upon a solution via a New Yorker article about a high-tech company promising to alleviate suffering by extracting souls. He enlists their services—only to discover that his soul is the shape and size of a chickpea.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSleeper (1973)
Miles Monroe, a clarinet-playing health food store proprietor, is revived out of cryostasis 200 years into a future world in order to help rebels fight an oppressive government regime.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMickey 17 (2025)
Unlikely hero Mickey Barnes finds himself in the extraordinary circumstance of working for an employer who demands the ultimate commitment to the job… to die, for a living.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSuperintelligence (2020)
When an all-powerful Superintelligence chooses to study the most average person on Earth, Carol Peters, the fate of the world hangs in the balance. As the A.I. decides to enslave, save or destroy humanity, it’s up to Carol to prove that people are worth saving.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Man in the White Suit (1951)
The unassuming, nebbishy inventor Sidney Stratton creates a miraculous fabric that will never be dirty or worn out. Clearly he can make a fortune selling clothes made of the material, but may cause a crisis in the process. After all, once someone buys one of his suits they won't ever have to fix them or buy another one, and the clothing industry will collapse overnight. Nevertheless, Sidney is determined to put his invention on the market, forcing the clothing factory bigwigs to resort to more desperate measures...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChaos Walking (2021)
Two unlikely companions embark on a perilous adventure through the badlands of an unexplored planet as they try to escape a dangerous and disorienting reality, where all inner thoughts are seen and heard by everyone.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Brother from Another Planet (1984)
A mute alien with the appearance of a black human is chased by outer-space bounty hunters through the streets of Harlem.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBabylon 5: The River of Souls (1998)
A group of Soul Hunters come to Babylon 5 demanding the return of something that was stolen from them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBugonia (2025)
Two conspiracy obsessed young men kidnap the high-powered CEO of a major company, convinced that she is an alien intent on destroying planet Earth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDark Star (1974)
A group of scientists are sent on a mission to destroy unstable planets. Twenty years into their mission, they have to battle their alien mascot as well as a "sensitive" and intelligent bombing device that starts to question the meaning of its existence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisApparat (TBA)
A middle aged, married couple spend a night at their desert cabin. What was planned as an anniversary getaway erupts into a brutalizing void of two tortured souls.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
The Uncanny Valley (2021)
Desperate for a clue to a mysterious case, an Investigator pushes for a last-minute interview with his only witness: a corrupt A.I. Now the Investigator has 10 minutes to find out what the A.I. knows before it is dismantled by the scientists.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
The Vandal (2021)
Set in a world not unlike mid-20th century America, The Vandal centers on Harold, whose tormented search for peace from traumatic loss results in an unexpectedly destructive awakening after he undergoes a lobotomy. When the procedure “turns his mind inside out” and his great love is suddenly gone, Harold’s desperate search intensifies.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Athena (2017)
Two technicians are stranded on a foreign planet by an unexplained explosion and must act fast to stay alive when their rescue team turns out to be a hit squad.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Return (2008)
Polish animator Anna Błaszczyk’s humorous short—a collage of drawing, cut-out, and computer animation—was inspired by Stanisław Lem’s 1961 novel Return from the Stars, a time-paradox tale of an astronaut who returns to Earth after many years away.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFrankenstein (1910)
Frankenstein, a young medical student, trying to create the perfect human being, instead creates a misshapen monster. Made ill by what he has done, Frankenstein is comforted by his fiancée; but on his wedding night he is visited by the monster.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Impossible Voyage (1904)
Using every known means of transportation, several savants from the Geographic Society undertake a journey through the Alps to the Sun which finishes under the sea.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCross (2011)
First a boy is forced to run. Then he runs on his own. Then he watches another one run.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Save Us (2021)
A film by House of Mysticum.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Dr. Platypus and the Toxic Avengers: The Probe (TBA)
Dr. Platypus, Whiskers the Rat and Flaps the Flying Fox were finishing off some work in Dr. Platypus' laboratory, when they heard some strange messages from deep space on their radio.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Like The Burden and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Burden?
The closest matches to The Burden are Alien: Containment (2019), Doctor Who: The Night of the Doctor (2013) and The Giver (2014). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Burden?
Start with Alien: Containment (2019), the closest match to The Burden.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Burden?
Bugonia (2025), rated 7.3/10 by 2,590 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Burden?
Bugonia (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Burden?
Yes: Alien: Containment (2019), Doctor Who: The Night of the Doctor (2013) and The Giver (2014).
How are movies similar to The Burden chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Burden, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.