Movies like Contrabando
The best movies like Contrabando are Black Gold (2011), The Last Mimzy (2007) and Far from Home: The Adventures of Yellow Dog (1995). If Contrabando hooked you with its adventure and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedSwapped (2026)8.8/10 from 2,294 votes
- NewestSwapped (2026)Released 2026
Black Gold (2011)
On the Arabian Peninsula in the 1930s, two warring leaders come face to face. The victorious Nesib, Emir of Hobeika, lays down his peace terms to rival Amar, Sultan of Salmaah. The two men agree that neither can lay claim to the area of no man’s land between them called The Yellow Belt. In return, Nesib adopts Amar’s two boys Saleeh and Auda as a guarantee against invasion. Twelve years later, Saleeh and Auda have grown into young men. Saleeh, the warrior, itches to escape his gilded cage and return to his father’s land. Auda cares only for books and the pursuit of knowledge. One day, their adopted father Nesib is visited by an American from Texas. He tells the Emir that his land is blessed with oil and promises him riches beyond his wildest imagination. Nesib imagines a realm of infinite possibility, a kingdom with roads, schools and hospitals all paid for by the black gold beneath the barren sand. There is only one problem. The precious oil is located in the Yellow Belt.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Last Mimzy (2007)
Two siblings begin to develop special talents after they find a mysterious box of toys, and soon their parents and even their teacher are drawn into a strange new world – and find a task ahead of them that is far more important than any of them could imagine.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFar from Home: The Adventures of Yellow Dog (1995)
Teenager Angus adopts a stray dog and names him Yellow. Several days later, while travelling along the coast of British Columbia with Angus's father, John, the boy and dog become stranded when turbulent waters capsize their boat. Angus's parents relentlessly badger rescue teams. Angus, schooled by his father in wilderness survival skills, and assisted by the intelligent Yellow Dog, tries to attract rescuers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlack God, White Devil (1964)
Wanted for killing his boss, Manuel flees with his wife Rosa to the sertão, the barren landscape of Northern Brazil. Thrust into a primordial violent region, Manuel and Rosa come under the influence and control of a series of frightening figures.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLimbo (1999)
Traumatized by a fishing boat accident many years before, Joe Gastineau has given up his hopes for a life beyond the odd jobs he takes to support himself. That quickly changes when nomadic club singer Donna de Angelo and her troubled teen-age daughter enter Joe’s life. Both mother and daughter fall for Joe, increasing the friction between them. The tension continues to build when Joe invites them on a pleasure cruise up the Alaskan coast, discovering too late that the trip may cost them their lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Call of the Wild (1972)
John Thornton, is a fearless man who's after more than gold; he wants to do what's right. Thornton works for the U.S. mail and is the only person daring and smart enough to figure out how to travel the deadly 600 miles from Skagway to Dawson, Alaska in the icy winter. His incredibly dog Buck is by his side and part of how he survives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBest of the Best 4: Without Warning (1998)
A group of Russian mobsters have stolen a huge supply of paper for printing U.S. currency, and are now flooding the market with conterfeit bills. When one of the mobsters decides to give herself in and hand over a data CD to the DA, she is shot and killed, but not before handing the disc to an unsuspecting Tommy Lee. Despite working with the police as a martial arts instructor, Lee doesn't go to the cops with the disc, but instead goes on the run, giving the mafia time to kidnap his daughter and hold as a hostage in exchange for return of the disc. Will Tommy ever see his daughter again?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure
SnoozefestMovies like thisStolen Girl (2025)
In 1993, Maureen’s six-year-old daughter Amina is snuck out of the country by her ex-husband, Karim. After years of unsuccessful attempts to find her, Maureen intersects with a professional retriever of internationally abducted children who promises to help her find Amina in exchange for her collaboration.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSwapped (2026)
A small woodland creature and a majestic bird, two natural sworn enemies of the Valley, magically trade places and set off on an adventure of a lifetime to switch back. Their journey soon uncovers a greater threat—one that could endanger not only their species, but the entire valley they call home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisRiver Wild (2023)
Follows a pair of siblings who love but distrust each other as they embark on a white-water rafting trip with a small group. One of their friends from childhood turns out to be more dangerous than he appears.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDavy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier (1955)
Legends (and myths) from the life of famed American frontiersman Davy Crockett are depicted in this feature film edited from television episodes. Crockett and his friend George Russel fight in the Creek Indian War. Then Crockett is elected to Congress and brings his rough-hewn ways to the House of Representatives. Finally, Crockett and Russell journey to Texas and the last stand at the Alamo.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCliffhanger (1993)
A year after losing his friend in a tragic 4,000-foot fall, former ranger Gabe Walker and his partner, Hal, are called to return to the same peak to rescue a group of stranded climbers, only to learn the climbers are actually thieving hijackers who are looking for boxes full of money.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWeekend in Taipei (2024)
A former DEA agent and a former undercover operative revisit their romance during a fateful weekend in Taipei, unaware of the dangerous consequences of their past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNinja (2009)
A westerner named Casey, studying Ninjutsu in Japan, is asked by the Sensei to return to New York to protect the legendary Yoroi Bitsu, an armored chest that contains the weapons of the last Koga Ninja.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe 355 (2022)
A group of top female agents from American, British, Chinese, Colombian, and German government agencies are drawn together to try and stop an organization from acquiring a deadly weapon to send the world into chaos.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRemember (2015)
With the aid of a fellow Auschwitz survivor and a hand-written letter, an elderly man with dementia goes in search of the person responsible for the death of his family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Pilgrim's Progress (2019)
An epic journey, faithfully adapted to modern-day. Christian faces distractions, challenges, and perils at every turn of the way. But ends victorious, with helpful guides, as he stays on the narrow path to the distant Celestial City.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTimescape (1992)
Before they can complete renovations on their new country inn, a widowed father and his young daughter are visited by a strange group of tourists. He soon makes a chilling discovery: they are disaster junkies from the future who visit the past to witness history's greatest catastrophes—and his small town is their next stop.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMan with No Past (2025)
Waking up in an unfamiliar city, a man with no memory must confront the mysteries of his own identity. However, his desperate search to uncover the past pits him against a powerful enemy, leading to a showdown that ultimately reveals the truth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAna Terra (1971)
Rio Grande do Sul, 18th century. In between the arduous work on the land aiming for the prosperity of her family's farm and the constant attacks from bandits that the militias can't control, a young lady matures amidst the struggles of life. However, after saving the life of a semi-Indian, the wind brings in love, as well as tragic events to her and her family.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Winter (TBA)
A country man spends his days in the lonely, cold darkness of winter, going over his entire days with a marked routine, until the day begins again.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Ginebra tales (2025)
A young man starts a conversation with an old man in a bar, who tells him one of his exploits in exchange for a drink.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Patagonia Rising (2012)
A documentary that chronicles a plan to build five large hydroelectric dams on two of the world's purest free-flowing rivers in Patagonia, Chile.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure
Orca (1942)
A gaucho flees from justice for murdering a man with whom his girlfriend was betraying him. He settles in a place where he falls in love with a woman, also desired by the local commissioner.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Fuga de la Patagonia (2016)
Escape from Patagonia is a gaucho-western film set in the tumultuous Patagonia of late nineteenth century. It's a story of survival, based on real facts from the personal diary of the Argentinian pioneer Francisco P. Moreno.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure
Letter to Father (2023)
Carta ao Pai is an experimental film that tells the raw and sensitive story of a daughter who lost her father in a traumatic way and who sees the need to bury the past by telling him everything she didn't have time to say.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Pressões não geram diamantes (2024)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
O Pior Ainda Está Por Vir (2024)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Contrabando?
The closest matches to Contrabando are Black Gold (2011), The Last Mimzy (2007) and Far from Home: The Adventures of Yellow Dog (1995). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Contrabando?
Start with Black Gold (2011), the closest match to Contrabando.
What is the highest-rated movie like Contrabando?
Swapped (2026), rated 8.8/10 by 2,294 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Contrabando?
Swapped (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to Contrabando chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Contrabando, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.