Movies like EXOTIC (2025)
The best movies like EXOTIC (2025) are Scarface (1983), Empire (2002) and The Substitute (1996). If EXOTIC hooked you with its crime and action, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedScarface (1983)8.2/10 from 13,664 votes
- NewestThe Rip (2026)Released 2026
Scarface (1983)
After getting a green card in exchange for assassinating a Cuban government official, Tony Montana stakes a claim on the drug trade in Miami. Viciously murdering anyone who stands in his way, Tony eventually becomes the biggest drug lord in the state, controlling nearly all the cocaine that comes through Miami. But increased pressure from the police, wars with Colombian drug cartels and his own drug-fueled paranoia serve to fuel the flames of his eventual downfall.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisEmpire (2002)
Big time drug dealer Victor Rosa is looking to get out of the game and sees his chance with a big deal with a new friend who happens to be a Wall St. stockbroker. Thinking this will be his chance to go out on top, Victor soon finds out that he's been double crossed and his last option is to get revenge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Substitute (1996)
When an inner-city Miami schoolteacher gets her knee broken after standing up to the school's gang leader, her mercenary combat specialist boyfriend goes undercover as a substitute teacher to take down the punk. Soon he discovers a conspiracy of criminals at work, and must reassemble his team from his last jungle raid to stop them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPaid in Full (2002)
Ace is an impressionable young man working for a dry cleaning business. His friend, drug dealer Mitch, goes to prison. In an unrelated incident, he finds some cocaine in a pants pocket. Soon, Ace finds himself dealing cocaine for Lulu. Via lucky breaks and solid interpersonal skills, Ace moves to the top of the Harlem drug world. Of course, unfaithful employees and/or rivals conspire to bring about Ace's fall.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Enforcer (2022)
A noir thriller set in Miami, the film follows an enforcer who discovers his femme fatale boss has branched out into cyber sex trafficking, putting a young runaway he’s befriended at risk. He sacrifices everything to save the young girl from the deadly organization he’s spent his life building.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBeyond the Law (1993)
Dan Saxon is an undercover cop who infiltrates a biker gang to nail the scum behind a drug-smuggling operation. In order to maintain the trust of the gang's leader, he must commit ever more dangerous and heinous crimes. Just how far 'beyond the law' will Saxon go?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEl padrino: The Latin Godfather (2004)
In the streets of East Los Angeles, Manny is a formidable drug dealer. Impressed by his extravagant lifestyle and prowess, his young son, Kilo, yearns to follow in his footsteps. Kilo resolves to learn how to prosper in the drug world, and his new life as a dealer begins. In a world where a man wants everything, he may end up with nothing.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Baker (2023)
A quiet, stoic man, lives a monk-like existence in self-imposed exile. When his estranged son is killed in a drug deal gone bad, he is left to look after a granddaughter he never knew existed, and he is forced back into a life he tried to put behind him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMobsters (1991)
The story of a group of friends in turn of the century New York, from their early days as street hoods to their rise in the world of organized crime...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMiami Vice (2006)
A case involving drug lords and murder in South Florida takes a personal turn for undercover detectives Sonny Crockett and Ricardo Tubbs. Unorthodox Crockett gets involved romantically with the Chinese-Cuban wife of a trafficker of arms and drugs, while Tubbs deals with an assault on those he loves.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBad Boys for Life (2020)
Marcus and Mike are forced to confront new threats, career changes, and midlife crises as they join the newly created elite team AMMO of the Miami police department to take down the ruthless Armando Armas, the vicious leader of a Miami drug cartel.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Rip (2026)
Trust frays when a team of Miami cops discovers millions in cash inside a run-down stash house, calling everyone — and everything — into question.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRise of the Footsoldier (2007)
Carlton Leach rises from one of the most feared generals of the football terraces to becoming a member of a notorious gang of criminals who rampaged their way through London and Essex in the late '80s and early '90s.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTransporter 2 (2005)
Professional driver, and former Special Forces officer, Frank Martin is living in Miami, where he is temporarily filling in for a friend as the chauffeur for a government narcotics control policy director and his family. The young boy in the family is targeted for kidnapping, and Frank immediately becomes involved in protecting the child and exposing the kidnappers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisYear of the Dragon (1985)
In New York, racist Capt. Stanley White becomes obsessed with destroying a Chinese-American drug ring run by Joey Tai, an up-and-coming young gangster as ambitious as he is ruthless. While pursuing an unauthorized investigation, White grows increasingly willing to violate police protocol, resorting to progressively violent measures -- even as his concerned wife, Connie, and his superiors beg him to consider the consequences of his actions.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Walk Among the Tombstones (2014)
Private investigator Matthew Scudder is hired by a drug kingpin to find out who kidnapped and murdered his wife.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCrissCross (1992)
A 12-year-old boy comes of age in 1969 Key West against the backdrop of the Apollo moon landing, when he begins to sell cocaine so his mother can stop stripping.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDonnie Brasco (1997)
An FBI undercover agent infiltrates the mob and identifies more with the mafia life at the expense of his regular one.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisClose Range (2015)
A rogue soldier turned outlaw is thrust into a relentless fight with a corrupt sheriff, his obedient deputies, and a dangerous drug cartel in order to protect his sister and her young daughter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTriple Frontier (2019)
Struggling to make ends meet, former special ops soldiers reunite for a high-stakes heist: stealing $75 million from a South American drug lord.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (2022)
Creatively unfulfilled and facing financial ruin, Nick Cage must accept a $1 million offer to attend the birthday of a dangerous superfan. Things take a wildly unexpected turn when Cage is recruited by a CIA operative and forced to live up to his own legend, channeling his most iconic and beloved on-screen characters in order to save himself and his loved ones.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTattoo (2002)
Marc Schrader, a rookie cop caught red-handed with drugs in a police raid of an illegal rave, joins a homicide investigation conducted by Chief Inspector Minks. The victim is a naked young woman with the skin stripped off her back, killed as she staggered into traffic. As Schrader and Minks investigate the murder, the case is complicated by a finger found in the stomach of the victim. Forensic examination proves the finger belongs to Nobert Günzel, who was previously convicted of rape and assault. The police raid Günzel’s residence, and discover a blood-stained table with restraints and bits of human flesh in his basement. They also find video equipment and preserved, tattooed skin from the victim’s back. Soon, they found dead bodies buried in the garden. Günzel then goes missing.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWaist Deep (2006)
An ex-convict gets tangled up with a gang after his car is hijacked with his son inside.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBorn to Fight (2004)
When a remote Thai village is overrun by terrorists armed with a nuclear missile, an elite undercover operative leads the most unique fighting force ever assembled in a heroic bid to save their nation.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMiami Supercops (1985)
In 1978, $20 million was stolen from a Detroit bank. One of the robbers was caught, one was found dead, and the third disappeared. The money was never found. Seven years later, the robber who was caught was released from jail. He immediately went to Miami, only to be found dead the next day. Now FBI agents Doug Bennet and Steve Forest have been called in to investigate the case while posing as Miami police officers. Somewhere in Miami the third robber is hiding with his $20 million, and he has a seven-year head start on the authorities.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRush (1991)
Undercover cop Jim Raynor is a seasoned veteran. His partner, Kristen Cates, is lacking in experience, but he thinks she's tough enough to work his next case with him: a deep cover assignment to bring down the notoriously hard-to-capture drug lord Gaines. While their relationship turns romantic during the assignment, they also turn into junkies, and will have to battle their own addictions if they want to bring down Gaines once and for all.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOne False Move (1992)
Following a series of drug deals and murders, three criminals -- Fantasia, Ray Malcolm and Pluto -- travel from Los Angeles to Houston, finally arriving in a small Arkansas town to go into hiding. Two detectives from the LAPD, who are already on the case, contact the town's sheriff, Dale Dixon, to alert him of the fugitives' presence in the area. Underestimating Dixon, the criminals have no idea what they are about to face.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisClockers (1995)
Strike is a young city drug pusher under the tutelage of drug lord Rodney Little. When a night manager at a fast-food restaurant is found with four bullets in his body, Strike’s older brother turns himself in as the killer. Detective Rocco Klein doesn’t buy the story, however, setting out to find the truth, and it seems that all the fingers point toward Strike & Rodney.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLess Than Zero (1987)
A college freshman returns to Los Angeles for Christmas at his ex-girlfriend's request, but discovers that his former best friend has an out-of-control drug habit.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like this14 Days to Life (1997)
Konrad von Seidlitz is a young yuppie lawyer currently celebrating his engagement with Cornelia, daughter of minister of justice Volkerts. As a public relations gag, he hasn't paid his parking fines for two years and now insists on being sentenced to jail for two weeks as punishment. Using his knowledge as a lawyer he makes the best out of his visit in jail still working, still in a splendid mood and not adapting to any rule. Probably a good way to get the desired public attention, but also a good way to make enemies inside the jail-house. One day before Konrad is to be released his booth is searched and two hundred grams of cocaine are found. That's a serious problem even for a brilliant lawyer like Konrad and even if you're innocent
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like EXOTIC and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like EXOTIC?
The closest matches to EXOTIC are Scarface (1983), Empire (2002) and The Substitute (1996). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after EXOTIC?
Start with Scarface (1983), the closest match to EXOTIC.
What is the highest-rated movie like EXOTIC?
Scarface (1983), rated 8.2/10 by 13,664 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like EXOTIC?
The Rip (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like EXOTIC?
Yes: Scarface (1983), Empire (2002) and The Substitute (1996).
How are movies similar to EXOTIC chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside EXOTIC, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.