Movies like Rio (2012)
The best movies like Rio (2012) are Side Street (1950), The Belly of an Architect (1987) and Riff-Raff (1991). If Rio hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.

Quick picks
- Highest ratedSorcerer (1977)7.5/10 from 722 votes
- NewestThe Shift (2023)Released 2023
Side Street (1950)
A struggling young father-to-be gives in to temptation and impulsively steals an envelope of money from the office of a corrupt attorney. Instead of a few hundred dollars, it contains $30,000. When he decides to return the money, things go wrong - and that is only the beginning of his troubles.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Belly of an Architect (1987)
Stourley Kracklite, a driven, detail-obsessed architect, travels from America to Rome with his much younger wife, Louisa, to oversee an architectural homage to a personal hero, 18th-century master builder Etienne-Louis Boullée. En route by train, Stourley and Louisa conceive a much-wanted child — but Stourley's obsession with his wife's expanding belly, her perceived infidelity, and his own recurrent bouts of abdominal pain reach epic and dangerous proportions.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRiff-Raff (1991)
Stevie, fresh from prison in Scotland, finds a job on a London construction site. Working conditions are poor and most of the men are working under aliases, due to immigration status and to not conflict with unemployment. Some help Stevie secure housing, squatting in a council estate. Then Stevie meets Susan, from Ireland, an aspiring singer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJungle Cruise (2021)
Dr. Lily Houghton enlists the aid of wisecracking skipper Frank Wolff to take her down the Amazon in his dilapidated boat. Together, they search for an ancient tree that holds the power to heal – a discovery that will change the future of medicine.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSergio (2020)
A sweeping drama set in the chaotic aftermath of the US invasion of Iraq, where the life of top UN diplomat Brazilian Sérgio Vieira de Mello hangs in the balance during the most treacherous mission of his career.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Good Neighbor (2022)
A nightmarish evening unfolds for neighbors David and Robert when they accidentally hit a woman on her bike and flee the scene. While David is increasingly plagued by feelings of guilt, Robert shows no remorse and becomes overbearing and possessive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Shift (2023)
Following a tense encounter with a mysterious stranger with otherworldly powers, a man finds himself banished to a parallel, tyrannical Earth, where he fights to get back to the woman he loves.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSorcerer (1977)
Four men from different countries flee to an impoverished South American village, Povernir, to hide from their pasts. When an oil well explodes, chaos and barbarism roam the streets. Desperate to leave, they agree to risk their lives to transport several crates of nitroglycerin across treacherous jungle terrain.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Fountainhead (1949)
An uncompromising, visionary architect struggles to maintain his integrity and individualism despite personal, professional and economic pressures to conform to popular standards.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUnderworld U.S.A. (1961)
A bitter young man sets out to get back at the gangsters who murdered his father.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Incredible Hulk (2008)
Scientist Bruce Banner scours the planet for an antidote to the unbridled force of rage within him: the Hulk. But when the military masterminds who dream of exploiting his powers force him back to civilization, he finds himself coming face to face with a new, deadly foe.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTo Rome with Love (2012)
Four tales unfold in the Eternal City: While vacationing in Rome, architect John encounters a young man whose romantic woes remind him of a painful incident from his own youth; retired opera director Jerry discovers a mortician with an amazing voice, and he seizes the opportunity to rejuvenate his own flagging career; a young couple have separate romantic interludes; a spotlight shines on an ordinary man.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisNightfall (1956)
An innocent man turns fugitive as he reconstructs events that implicate him for a murder and robbery he did not commit.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Bravados (1958)
Jim Douglass arrives in the small town of Rio Arriba in order to witness the hanging of the four men he believes murdered his wife. When the convicts escape, Jim tracks them into Mexico, determined to see that justice is done. But the farther Jim goes in his quest for vengeance, the more merciless he becomes, losing himself in an unrelenting spiral of hatred and violence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNew York, I Love You (2008)
New York, I Love You delves into the intimate lives of New Yorkers as they grapple with, delight in and search for love. Journey from the Diamond District in the heart of Manhattan, through Chinatown and the Upper East Side, towards the Village, into Tribeca, and Brooklyn as lovers of all ages try to find romance in the Big Apple.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHe Ran All the Way (1951)
A crook on the run hides out in an innocent girl's apartment.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Rundown (2003)
When Travis, the mouthy son of a criminal, disappears in the Amazon in search of a treasured artifact, his father sends in Beck, who becomes Travis's rival for the affections of Mariana, a mysterious Brazilian woman. With his steely disposition, Beck is a man of few words -- but it takes him all the discipline he can muster to work with Travis to nab a tyrant who's after the same treasure.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBorn to Be Bad (1950)
Christabel Caine has the face of angel and the heart of a swamp rat. She'll step on anyone to get what she wants, including her own family. A master of manipulation, she covertly breaks off the engagement of her trusting cousin, Donna, to her fabulously wealthy beau, Curtis Carey. Once married to Curtis herself, Christabel continues her affair with novelist Nick Bradley, who knows she's evil, but loves her anyway.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRipley's Game (2002)
Tom Ripley - cool, urbane, wealthy, and murderous - lives in a villa in the Veneto with Luisa, his harpsichord-playing girlfriend. A former business associate from Berlin's underworld pays a call asking Ripley's help in killing a rival. Ripley - ever a student of human nature - initiates a game to turn a mild and innocent local picture framer into a hit man. The artisan, Jonathan Trevanny, who's dying of cancer, has a wife, young son, and little to leave them. If Ripley draws Jonathan into the game, can Ripley maintain control? Does it stop at one killing? What if Ripley develops a conscience?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSin City (2005)
Welcome to Sin City. This town beckons to the tough, the corrupt, the brokenhearted. Some call it dark… Hard-boiled. Then there are those who call it home — Crooked cops, sexy dames, desperate vigilantes. Some are seeking revenge, others lust after redemption, and then there are those hoping for a little of both. A universe of unlikely and reluctant heroes still trying to do the right thing in a city that refuses to care.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Rio?
The closest matches to Rio are Side Street (1950), The Belly of an Architect (1987) and Riff-Raff (1991). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Rio?
Start with Side Street (1950), the closest match to Rio.
What is the highest-rated movie like Rio?
Sorcerer (1977), rated 7.5/10 by 722 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Rio?
The Shift (2023) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to Rio chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Rio, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.



















