Movies like China (1988)
The best movies like China (1988) are Hands of Stone (2016), The Crystal Calls - Making The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (2019) and Point Blank (2019). If China hooked you, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedMulan (1998)7.9/10 from 10,799 votes
- NewestA Toxic Love Story (2026)Released 2026
Hands of Stone (2016)
The legendary Roberto Duran and his equally legendary trainer Ray Arcel change each other's lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Crystal Calls - Making The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (2019)
Go behind the scenes with stars, puppeteers and creators as they bring Jim Henson's magical world of Thra back to life in a sweeping fantasy series.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPoint Blank (2019)
A nurse is forced to spring a wounded murder suspect from the hospital when the man’s brother kidnaps his pregnant wife and wants to make a trade.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPAW Patrol: Jet to the Rescue (2020)
A royal relative steals a gem with the power to make things fly, the Paw Patrol takes to the skies to stop him and save Barkingburg.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFlicka (2006)
Katy McLaughlin desires to work on her family's mountainside horse ranch, although her father insists she finish boarding school. Katy finds a mustang in the hills near her ranch. The headstrong 16 year old then sets her mind to tame a mustang and prove to her father she can run the ranch. But when tragedy happens, it will take all the love and strength the family can muster to restore hope.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGuillermo del Toro's Pinocchio: Handcarved Cinema (2022)
With mesmerizing footage and time lapses of animators at work, this behind-the-scenes special captures the artistry of a unique tale years in the making.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thisA Toxic Love Story (2026)
A string of threatening emails escalates into a revenge plot involving a newly married US marshal and his ex-girlfriend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBad Sister (2015)
As a top student at St. Adeline's Catholic Boarding School, Zoe senses that something is not quite right about the school's new nun-- a sense proven to be true when it is revealed the "good' nun is an imposter with a fatal attraction to Zoe's brother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Christmas Prince: The Royal Baby (2019)
Christmas brings the ultimate gift to Aldovia: a royal baby. But first, Queen Amber must help her family and kingdom by finding a missing peace treaty.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Most Hated Woman in America (2017)
The true story of Madalyn Murray O'Hair -- iconoclast, opportunist, and outspoken atheist -- from her controversial rise to her untimely demise.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Marine 3: Homefront (2013)
A Marine must do whatever it takes to save his kidnapped sister and stop a terrorist attack masterminded by a radical militia group.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCheck Inn to Christmas (2019)
Julia Crawley and Ryan Mason must unite their families during Crestridge's Centennial Christmas celebration in order to save their family inns from a chain resort.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBattleground (1949)
Members of the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division are fighting for their country amidst the rugged terrain of Bastogne, Belgium, in December 1944. Holley and his American compatriots have already seen one of their own, Roderigues, perish under enemy fire. The men try to rebuff another series of Nazi attacks, but what they really need is a change in the weather. Without clear skies, they'll never get the air support they need.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWon't Back Down (2012)
Jamie Fitzpatrick and Nona Alberts are two women from opposites sides of the social and economic track, but they have one thing in common: a mission to fix their community's broken school and ensure a bright future for their children. The two women refuse to let any obstacles stand in their way as they battle a bureaucracy that's hopelessly mired in traditional thinking, and they seek to re-energize a faculty that has lost its passion for teaching.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisReturn of the Gunfighter (1967)
A gunfighter and a cowboy help a Mexican girl avenge the land-related murder of her parents.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlue Chips (1994)
Pete Bell, a college basketball coach is under a lot of pressure. His team isn't winning and he cannot attract new players. The stars of the future are secretly being paid by boosters. This practice is forbidden in the college game, but Pete is desperate and has pressures from all around.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTom Clancy's Without Remorse (2021)
An elite Navy SEAL uncovers an international conspiracy while seeking justice for the murder of his pregnant wife.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTrue Grit (1969)
The murder of her father sends a teenage tomboy on a mission of 'justice', which involves avenging her father's death. She recruits a tough old marshal, 'Rooster' Cogburn because he has 'true grit', and a reputation of getting the job done.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNirvana: Live at the Paramount (2011)
Recorded in Seattle, WA on Halloween Night, 1991, Live at the Paramount is the only known Nirvana live show recorded on 16mm film. Now released to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the release of Nirvana's watershed album.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Great Fava Beans of China (2004)
Mohy Al-Sharqawi is a young man whose grandfather and his uncles form a smuggling gang. As Mohy is a coward who cannot go along with them, he goes to live with his mother and step-father but they send him to China to represent Egypt in a cooking competition which gets him into a lot of troubles
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Missing (2017)
The Missing’ centres on the mysterious case of a policewoman’s missing daughter. When the main suspect suffers amnesia due to a car accident, both sides of the law must team up to try to find out the truth.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Woman Basketball Player No. 5 (1957)
Tian Zhenhua arrives in Shanghai to coach a local women's basketball team. Number 5 on the team, Xiaoje, excels at basketball but is unsure of whether to continue playing. As Tian gets to grips with training Xiaoje and the rest of the team, he reflects on his career as a star basketball player before the revolution.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
A Day on the Grand Canal with the Emperor of China or: Surface Is Illusion But So Is Depth (1988)
Director Philip Haas and artist David Hockney invite you to join them on a magical journey through China via a marvelous 72-foot long 17th-century Chinese scroll entitled The Kangxi Emperor's Southern Inspection Tour (1691-1698), scroll seven . As Hockney unrolls the beautiful and minutely detailed work of art, he traces the Emperor Kangxi’s second tour of his southern empire in 1689.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Once Upon a Time in China (1991)
In late 19th-century Canton, legendary hero Wong Fei-Hung battles foreign forces' (English, French and American) plundering of China. When Aunt Yee returns from America totally westernised, Wong assumes the role of protector. This proves difficult when his martial arts school and local militia become involved in fierce battles with foreign and local governments. As violence escalates, even Aunt Yee has to question her new western ideals, but is it possible to fight guns with Kung Fu?
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOnce Upon a Time in China II (1992)
Wong Fei-Hung faces the White Lotus Society, a fanatical cult seeking to drive the Europeans out of China through violence, even attacking Chinese who follow Western ways. Wong must also defend revolutionary Dr. Sun Yat Sen from the military.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOnce Upon a Time in China III (1993)
Master Wong and his disciples enroll in the 'Dancing Lion Competition' to stop an assassination plot and to battle an arrogant, deceitful opponent.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOnce Upon a Time in China and America (1997)
So goes to the U.S. to open a martial arts school. Around this time, many Chinese people were sold off to U.S. railroad companies, and were brutally treated by the Americans under the harsh working conditions. Thus, the American workers' hatred towards the Chinese immigrants is high. As a result, So gets into trouble with the Americans and the mob, and calls Master Wong for help.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
SnoozefestMovies like thisMulan (1998)
When Imperial China calls one man from every family to defend the empire from invading Huns, a young woman disguises herself as a soldier to take her ailing father’s place. Facing ruthless invaders, brutal training, and the risk of execution if discovered, she must decide who she truly is—and what she’s willing to fight for.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisIf We Keep Talking in Summer Days (2023)
In a small city in the north, the time of midsummer is very short. Two boys get to know each other by chance and agree to meet by a lake. But one of them doesn’t keep the agreement, and it begins to rain heavily.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Like China and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like China?
The closest matches to China are Hands of Stone (2016), The Crystal Calls - Making The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (2019) and Point Blank (2019). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after China?
Start with Hands of Stone (2016), the closest match to China.
What is the highest-rated movie like China?
Mulan (1998), rated 7.9/10 by 10,799 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like China?
A Toxic Love Story (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like China?
Yes: Hands of Stone (2016), The Crystal Calls - Making The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (2019) and Point Blank (2019).
How are movies similar to China chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside China, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.