Movies like The Day Mars Invaded Earth (1963)
The best movies like The Day Mars Invaded Earth (1963) are The War of the Worlds (1953), The Tomorrow War (2021) and The Space Between Us (2017). If The Day Mars Invaded Earth 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 ratedAvatar: The Way of Water (2022)7.6/10 from 14,879 votes
- NewestAvatar: Fire and Ash (2025)Released 2025
The War of the Worlds (1953)
The residents of a small town are excited when a flaming meteor lands in the hills, until they discover it is the first of many transport devices from Mars bringing an army of invaders invincible to any man-made weapon, even the atomic bomb.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe 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 · both science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies 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 · both science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJohn Carter (2012)
John Carter is a war-weary, former military captain who's inexplicably transported to the mysterious and exotic planet of Barsoom (Mars) and reluctantly becomes embroiled in an epic conflict. It's a world on the brink of collapse, and Carter rediscovers his humanity when he realizes the survival of Barsoom and its people rests in his hands.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBody Snatchers (1993)
When Environmental Protection Agency inspector Steve Malone travels to a remote military base in order to check for toxic materials, he brings his family along for the ride. After arriving at the base, his teenage daughter Marti befriends Jean Platt, daughter of the base's commander, General Platt. When people at the base begin acting strangely, Marti becomes convinced that they are slowly being replaced by plant-like aliens.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
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 · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMoonshot (2022)
In a future where Mars is terraformed and colonized by the best humanity has to offer, two very different college students wind up joining forces and sneak onboard a space shuttle to the red planet in order to be united with their significant others.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
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 · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDark Skies (2013)
From the producers of Paranormal Activity, Insidious, and Sinister comes Dark Skies: a supernatural thriller that follows a young family living in the suburbs. As husband and wife Daniel and Lacey Barret witness an escalating series of disturbing events involving their family, their safe and peaceful home quickly unravels. When it becomes clear that the Barret family is being targeted by an unimaginably terrifying and deadly force, Daniel and Lacey take matters in their own hands to solve the mystery of what is after their family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIt! The Terror from Beyond Space (1958)
The first manned expedition to Mars is invaded by an unknown life form, which stows away on the rescue ship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
SnoozefestMovies 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 · both science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSolaris (2002)
A troubled psychologist is sent to investigate the crew of an isolated research station orbiting a bizarre planet.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAvatar: Fire and Ash (2025)
In the wake of the devastating war against the RDA and the loss of their eldest son, Jake Sully and Neytiri face a new threat on Pandora: the Ash People, a violent and power-hungry Na'vi tribe led by the ruthless Varang. Jake's family must fight for their survival and the future of Pandora in a conflict that pushes them to their emotional and physical limits.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLife (2017)
The six-member crew of the International Space Station is tasked with studying a sample from Mars that may be the first proof of extra-terrestrial life, which proves more intelligent than ever expected.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNo One Will Save You (2023)
A lonely woman battles extraterrestrials who threaten her future while forcing her to face her past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDoctor Who: Twice Upon a Time (2017)
As the Twelfth Doctor nears regeneration, he stumbles on his first incarnation, also refusing to change. It takes a captain, a glass avatar and a familiar face to convince the Doctors the universe still needs them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisMission to Mars (2000)
When the first manned mission to Mars meets with a catastrophic and mysterious disaster after reporting an unidentified structure, a rescue mission is launched to investigate the tragedy and bring back any survivors.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like this*batteries not included (1987)
In a soon to be demolished block of apartments, the residents resist the criminal methods used to force them to leave so a greedy tycoon can build his new skyscraper. When tiny mechanical aliens land for a recharge, they decide to stay and help out.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisImpostor (2001)
A top-secret government weapons designer is arrested by a clandestine government organization on suspicion of being a clone created by the hostile alien race wanting to take over Earth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like this2010 (1984)
While planet Earth poises on the brink of nuclear self-destruction, a team of Russian and American scientists aboard the Leonov hurtles to a rendezvous with the still-orbiting Discovery spacecraft and its sole known survivor, the homicidal computer HAL.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Invasion (2007)
Washington, D.C. psychologist Carol Bennell and her colleague Dr. Ben Driscoll are the only two people on Earth who are aware of an epidemic running rampant through the city. They discover an alien virus aboard a crashed space shuttle that transforms anyone who comes into contact with it into unfeeling drones while they sleep. Carol realizes her son holds the key to stopping the spread of the plague and she races to find him before it is too late.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMimic (1997)
A disease carried by common cockroaches is killing Manhattan children. In an effort to stop the epidemic an entomologist, Susan Tyler, creates a mutant breed of insect that secretes a fluid to kill the roaches. This mutant breed was engineered to die after one generation, but three years later Susan finds out that the species has survived and evolved into a large, gruesome monster that can mimic human form.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Astronaut Farmer (2007)
Texan Charles Farmer left the Air Force as a young man to save the family ranch when his dad died. Like most American ranchers, he owes his bank. Unlike most, he's an astrophysicist with a rocket in his barn - one he's built and wants to take into space. It's his dream. The FBI puts him under surveillance when he tries to buy rocket fuel, and the FAA stalls him when he files a flight plan – but Charles is undeterred.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMillennium (1989)
An investigator seeking the cause of an airline disaster discovers the involvement of an organisation of time travellers from a future Earth irreparably polluted who seek to rejuvenate the human race from those about to die in the past. Based on a novel by John Varley.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisSpace Brothers #0 (2014)
Mutta Namba's ambitions are at a disappointing standstill when his brother, Hibito, is selected to train for a coveted NASA space mission — an appointment that sets in motion events that take the brothers to the crossroads of destiny and dreams.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire (2023)
When the ruthless forces of the Motherworld threaten a quiet farming village on a distant moon, a mysterious outsider becomes its best hope for survival.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFamily Guy Presents: It's a Trap! (2010)
With the Griffins stuck again at home during a blackout, Peter tells the story of “Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.”
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSpace Chimps (2008)
When an unmanned space shuttle crashes on an uncharted planet, a trio of astronaut chimpanzees are launched by NASA into a wormhole to investigate.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisEnemy Mine (1985)
A soldier from Earth crashlands on an alien world after sustaining battle damage. Eventually he encounters another survivor, but from the enemy species he was fighting; they band together to survive on this hostile world. In the end the human finds himself caring for his enemy in a completely unexpected way.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like this
Like The Day Mars Invaded Earth and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Day Mars Invaded Earth?
The closest matches to The Day Mars Invaded Earth are The War of the Worlds (1953), The Tomorrow War (2021) and The Space Between Us (2017). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Day Mars Invaded Earth?
Start with The War of the Worlds (1953), the closest match to The Day Mars Invaded Earth.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Day Mars Invaded Earth?
Avatar: The Way of Water (2022), rated 7.6/10 by 14,879 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Day Mars Invaded Earth?
Avatar: Fire and Ash (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Day Mars Invaded Earth?
Yes: The War of the Worlds (1953), The Tomorrow War (2021) and The Space Between Us (2017).
How are movies similar to The Day Mars Invaded Earth chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Day Mars Invaded Earth, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.