Movies like The shadow of a second
The best movies like The shadow of a second are Knowing (2009), Good Fortune (2025) and Paycheck (2003). If The shadow of a second hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
The shadow of a second
Quick picks
- Highest ratedWALL·E (2008)8.1/10 from 21,183 votes
- NewestWorldbreaker (2025)Released 2025
Knowing (2009)
A teacher opens a time capsule that has been dug up at his son's elementary school; in it are some chilling predictions -- some that have already occurred and others that are about to -- that lead him to believe his family plays a role in the events that are about to unfold.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGood Fortune (2025)
A well-meaning but rather inept angel named Gabriel meddles in the lives of a struggling gig worker and a wealthy capitalist.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPaycheck (2003)
Michael Jennings is a genius who's hired – and paid handsomely – by high-tech firms to work on highly sensitive projects, after which his short-term memory is erased so he's incapable of breaching security. But at the end of a three-year job, he's told he isn't getting a paycheck and instead receives a mysterious envelope. In it are clues he must piece together to find out why he wasn't paid – and why he's now in hot water.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBeneath the Planet of the Apes (1970)
The sole survivor of an interplanetary rescue mission lands on the planet of the apes, and uncovers a horrible secret beneath the surface.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSwan Song (2021)
In the near future, Cameron Turner is diagnosed with a terminal illness. Presented with an experimental solution to shield his wife and son from grief, he grapples with altering their fate in this thought-provoking exploration of love, loss, and sacrifice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStar Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)
When the sinister Sith unveil a thousand-year-old plot to rule the galaxy, the Republic crumbles and from its ashes rises the evil Galactic Empire. Jedi hero Anakin Skywalker must choose a side.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Matrix Reloaded (2003)
The Resistance builds in numbers as humans are freed from the Matrix and brought to the city of Zion. Neo discovers his superpowers, including the ability to see the code inside the Matrix. With machine sentinels digging to Zion in 72 hours, Neo, Morpheus and Trinity must find the Keymaker to ultimately reach the Source.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSunshine (2007)
Fifty years into the future, the sun is dying, and Earth is threatened by arctic temperatures. A team of astronauts is sent to revive the Sun — but the mission fails. Seven years later, a new team is sent to finish the mission as mankind’s last hope.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisElio (2025)
Elio, a space fanatic with an active imagination, finds himself on a cosmic misadventure where he must form new bonds with eccentric alien lifeforms, navigate a crisis of intergalactic proportions and somehow discover who he is truly meant to be.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMoana 2 (2024)
After receiving an unexpected call from her wayfinding ancestors, Moana journeys alongside Maui and a new crew to the far seas of Oceania and into dangerous, long-lost waters for an adventure unlike anything she's ever faced.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisShrek Forever After (2010)
A midlife-crisis burdened Shrek, longing for the days of when he felt like a real ogre, makes a pact with magic deal-maker Rumpelstiltskin. But when he's duped and sent to a twisted version of Far Far Away—where Rumpelstiltskin is king, ogres are hunted, and he and Fiona have never met—he sets out to restore his world and reclaim his true love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBill & Ted Face the Music (2020)
Yet to fulfill their rock and roll destiny, the stakes are higher than ever for the now middle-aged Bill and Ted who set out on a new adventure when a visitor from the future warns them that only their song can save life as we know it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Matrix Resurrections (2021)
Plagued by strange memories, Neo's life takes an unexpected turn when he finds himself back inside the Matrix.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNext (2007)
Las Vegas showroom magician Cris Johnson has a secret which torments him: he can see a few minutes into the future. Sick of the examinations he underwent as a child and the interest of the government and medical establishment in his power, he lies low under an assumed name in Vegas, performing cheap tricks and living off small-time gambling "winnings." But when a terrorist group threatens to detonate a nuclear device in Los Angeles, government agent Callie Ferris must use all her wiles to capture Cris and convince him to help her stop the cataclysm.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWorldbreaker (2025)
Five years ago, a tear in the fabric of reality brought creatures to our world from an alternate dimension bent on our destruction. A father hides his daughter on an island to keep her safe while he prepares her for survival and the battles to come. But when the world is about to break, no place is safe.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGuardians of the Galaxy (2014)
Light years from Earth, 26 years after being abducted, Peter Quill finds himself the prime target of a manhunt after discovering an orb wanted by Ronan the Accuser.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisWALL·E (2008)
After hundreds of years doing what he was built for, WALL•E— a robot designed to clean up the earth—discovers a new purpose in life when he meets a sleek search robot named EVE. EVE comes to realize that WALL•E has inadvertently stumbled upon the key to the planet's future, and races back to space to report to the humans. Meanwhile, WALL•E chases EVE across the galaxy and sets into motion one of the most imaginative adventures ever brought to the big screen.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisRise of the Guardians (2012)
When an evil spirit known as Pitch Black lays down the gauntlet to take over the world, the immortal Guardians must join forces for the first time to protect the hopes, beliefs and imagination of children all over the earth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBig (1988)
When a young boy makes a wish at a carnival machine to be big, he wakes up the following morning to find that it has been granted and his body has grown older overnight, but he is still the same 13-year-old boy inside. Now he must learn how to cope with the unfamiliar world of grown-ups, including getting a job and having his first romantic encounter with a woman.
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 The shadow of a second?
The closest matches to The shadow of a second are Knowing (2009), Good Fortune (2025) and Paycheck (2003). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The shadow of a second?
Start with Knowing (2009), the closest match to The shadow of a second.
What is the highest-rated movie like The shadow of a second?
WALL·E (2008), rated 8.1/10 by 21,183 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The shadow of a second?
Worldbreaker (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to The shadow of a second chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The shadow of a second, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.