Movies like Banzai Runner (1987)
The best movies like Banzai Runner (1987) are Born to Race (2011), Furious 7 (2015) and The Cannonball Run (1981). If Banzai Runner hooked you with its action, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedHunting Season (2025)7.4/10 from 490 votes
- NewestHunting Season (2025)Released 2025
Born to Race (2011)
Danny Krueger is a rebellious young street racer on a collision course with trouble. After an accident at an illegal race, he's sent to a small town to live with his estranged father, a washed up NASCAR racer. When Danny decides to enter the NHRA High School Drags, he's forced to seek his father's help in taking down the local hotshot.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFurious 7 (2015)
Deckard Shaw seeks revenge against Dominic Toretto and his family for his comatose brother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Cannonball Run (1981)
A cross-country road race is based on an actual event, the Cannonball Baker Sea to Shining Sea Memorial Trophy Dash, organized by Brock Yates to protest the 55 mph speed limit then in effect in the U.S. The Cannonball was named for Erwin G. "Cannonball" Baker, who in the roaring 20's rode his motorcycle across the country. Many of the characters are based on ruses developed by real Cannonball racers over the several years that the event was run.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGladiator Underground (2025)
Two brothers compete in the world's deadliest underground fighting tournament, where they must decide whether to play by the rules or to cast their honor aside and team up to bring down the dark syndicate running the tournament.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDeath Race: Inferno (2013)
Carl Lucas / Frankenstein has won four of his races and needs to win one more to win his freedom. Before his final race, Lucas and his team, car and all, are transferred to another prison where they will compete in a Death Race in the desert. Also, at the same time, Ceaser runs into a marketer who wants to franchise the Death Race program.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Marine 5: Battleground (2017)
While working as an EMT back stateside Jake Carter after responding to a distress call, finds himself caught up protecting a person of interest from a biker gang ruthlessly hunting them down.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Big Brawl (1980)
A young Asian American martial artist is forced to participate in a brutal formal street-fight competition.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
SnoozefestMovies like thisVendetta (2022)
When his daughter is murdered, William Duncan takes the law into his own hands, setting out on a quest for retribution. After killing the street thug responsible for her death, he finds himself in the middle of a war with the thug's brother, father, and their gang, who are equally hell-bent on getting even. What ensues is a tense back-and-forth game of vengeance. By the end, William comes to find that the quest for revenge never has a winner.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBorn to Race: Fast Track (2014)
Danny Krueger is a twenty-year old drag racer who plays by his own rules. After winning a scholarship to the prestigious Fast Lane Racing Academy, Danny finds himself competing against some of the fiercest young drivers in the world. Tension soars on and off the track, and a terrible incident leaves Danny without a racing partner. Facing dismissal from the academy, Danny is forced to team up with an old rival. The pair must learn to set aside their differences as they vie for rookie spots on a professional racing team.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDeath Race: Beyond Anarchy (2018)
Black Ops specialist Connor Gibson infiltrates a maximum security prison to take down legendary driver Frankenstein in a violent and brutal car race.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAirborne (1993)
Good-natured teen surfer Mitchell Goosen finds himself staying with his aunt and uncle in Cincinnati, Ohio when his parents head to Australia for work. There he meets his cousin, Wiley, and together they try to navigate the perils of high school—avoid the bullies, get the girl, and win a little respect.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFemale Fight Squad (2017)
A former fighter reluctantly returns to the life she abandoned in order to help her sister survive the sadistic world of illegal fighting and the maniac who runs it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDeath Race 2000 (1975)
In a boorish future, the government sponsors a popular, but bloody, cross-country race in which points are scored by mowing down pedestrians. Five teams, each comprised of a male and female, compete using cars equipped with deadly weapons. Frankenstein, the mysterious returning champion, has become America's hero, but this time he has a passenger from the underground resistance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Fast and the Furious (2001)
Dominic Toretto is a Los Angeles street racer suspected of masterminding a series of big-rig hijackings. When undercover cop Brian O'Conner infiltrates Toretto's iconoclastic crew, he falls for Toretto's sister and must choose a side: the gang or the LAPD.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHunting Season (2025)
When a reclusive survivalist and his daughter rescue a mysterious, wounded woman from a river, they become entangled in a deadly web of violence and revenge, forcing them to confront a brutal criminal to survive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHooper (1978)
Legendary stunt man Sonny Hooper remains one of the top men in his field, but due to too many stressful impacts to the spine and the need to pop painkillers several times a day, he knows he should get out of the industry before he ends up permanently disabled.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFast Track: No Limits (2008)
Four young thrill-seekers race cars on the streets of Germany.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
SnoozefestMovies like thisBorder Hunters (2025)
After his police officer brother is killed by a drug dealer who flees to the protection of his cartel-connected uncle in Mexico, an American man with a diverse law enforcement/military background goes south of the border to get revenge
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFreebie and the Bean (1974)
Two San Francisco detectives want to bring down a local hijacking boss. But they'll have to get to him before a hitman does.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNeed for Speed (2014)
The film revolves around a local street-racer who partners with a rich and arrogant business associate, only to find himself framed by his colleague and sent to prison. After he gets out, he joins a New York-to-Los Angeles race to get revenge. But when the ex-partner learns of the scheme, he puts a massive bounty on the racer's head, forcing him to run a cross-country gauntlet of illegal racers in all manner of supercharged vehicles.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInitial D Legend 1: Awakening (2014)
Koichiro of the Akina Speedstars witnesses a mysterious driver outmaneuver rival Keisuke of the Akagi RedSuns. The race, he later discovers, was won by none other than his own co-worker, Takumi. What happens next is the stuff of street racing legend!
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like this2 Fast 2 Furious (2003)
It's a major double-cross when former police officer Brian O'Conner teams up with his ex-con buddy Roman Pearce to transport a shipment of "dirty" money for shady Miami-based import-export dealer Carter Verone. But the guys are actually working with undercover agent Monica Fuentes to bring Verone down.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBuying Time (2019)
In a world where Christianity is now illegal, a young street racer learns of his abusive, alcoholic father’s past and eventual conversion
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Death Race (2008)
Terminal Island, New York: 2020. Overcrowding in the US penal system has reached a breaking point. Prisons have been turned over to a monolithic Weyland Corporation, which sees jails full of thugs as an opportunity for televised sport. Adrenalized inmates, a global audience hungry for violence and a spectacular, enclosed arena come together to form the 'Death Race', the biggest, most brutal event.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Wraith (1986)
Packard Walsh and his motorized gang control and terrorize an Arizona desert town where they force drivers to drag-race so they can 'win' their vehicles. After Walsh beats the decent teenager Jamie Hankins to death after finding him with his girlfriend, a mysterious power creates Jake Kesey, an extremely cool motor-biker who has a car which is invincible. Jake befriends Jamie's girlfriend Keri Johnson, takes Jamie's sweet brother Bill under his wing and manages what Sheriff Loomis couldn't; eliminate Packard's criminal gang the hard way...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInitial D (2005)
After winning his first competition, Takumi focuses his attention on drift racing, a sport he has unknowingly perfected while delivering tofu in his father's Toyota AE86.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRedline (2007)
A gorgeous young automobile fanatic--and front to the hottest unsigned band on the West Coast--finds herself caught up in illegal drag-racing competitions organized by exotic car fanatics.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
SnoozefestMovies like thisManta, Manta: Legacy (2023)
When a former racer faces the prospect of his car repair shop and go-kart track being foreclosed, he comes up with a daring plan: to win the prize for the big race on the Bilster Berg. He has one month to turn his old Opel into a rocket from the old days, but his ex-wife suddenly enters his life with a request to take care of their son.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
SnoozefestMovies like thisManta, Manta (1991)
A not-so-clever guy called Bertie with an Opel Manta (a low-budget European sports coupé from the '80s) gets competition in a street race from a guy with a fast Mercedes, and another slick guy with a Ferrari tries to get his hands on Bertie's girlfriend.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
SnoozefestMovies like thisDolphins (2007)
High-octane romance set in the recognizable - and sometimes gritty - world of Brighton's homegrown youth, as Boy Racer gangs uneasily coexist with the Indie scene.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Banzai Runner?
The closest matches to Banzai Runner are Born to Race (2011), Furious 7 (2015) and The Cannonball Run (1981). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Banzai Runner?
Start with Born to Race (2011), the closest match to Banzai Runner.
What is the highest-rated movie like Banzai Runner?
Hunting Season (2025), rated 7.4/10 by 490 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Banzai Runner?
Hunting Season (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Banzai Runner?
Yes: Born to Race (2011), Furious 7 (2015) and The Cannonball Run (1981).
How are movies similar to Banzai Runner chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Banzai Runner, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.