Movies like Universal Distraction (2023)
The best movies like Universal Distraction (2023) are Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985), Serenity (2005) and Timescape (1992). If Universal Distraction hooked you with its action and adventure, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedBatman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1 (2012)7.7/10 from 1,768 votes
- NewestBalls Up (2026)Released 2026
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985)
Mad Max becomes a pawn in a decadent oasis of a technological society, and when exiled, becomes the deliverer of a colony of children.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSerenity (2005)
A group of rebels travel the outskirts of space evading the sinister Alliance regime. Their lives of smuggling and cargo-running are interrupted by a psychic passenger who harbours a dangerous secret. Soon, the crew find themselves being pursued by an Alliance agent who will stop at nothing to find them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & action
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 science fiction & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Legion (2020)
Noreno, a half-Roman, is entrusted with the mission of crossing the snowy mountains of Armenia, swarming with Parthian patrols, to seek help for his slowly dying men.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Warrior's Way (2010)
A warrior-assassin is forced to hide in a small town in the American Badlands after refusing a mission.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVesper (2022)
After the collapse of Earth's ecosystem, Vesper, a 13-year-old girl struggling to survive with her paralyzed Father, meets a mysterious Woman with a secret that forces Vesper to use her wits, strength and bio-hacking abilities to fight for the possibility of a future.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Primevals (2023)
Deep in the Himalayas, a group of sherpas kills a gigantic humanoid creature. Convinced that it is the legendary Yeti, Dr. Claire Collier organizes an expedition with her former student Matt Connor and hunter Rondo Montana, among others, to search for more specimens. But what awaits them is something that none of them could have imagined. A colorful fusion of real image and stop-motion that is reminiscent of fantastic films from the 1980s.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSeized (2020)
Hiding out with his son Taylor on the Mexican coast, Nero hopes to put his violent Special Forces career behind him. But after Nero’s home is attacked and Taylor is abducted, the mysterious Mzamo orders Nero to slaughter the members of three rival crime syndicates. If he fails, Taylor will die. Now, with bullets flying and bodies dropping as Nero completes his mission, he races to find Mzamo’s hideout and seek revenge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCode 8 Part II (2024)
In a world where superpowered people are heavily policed by robots, an ex-con teams up with a drug lord he despises to protect a teen from a corrupt cop.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & action
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 action & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPrimeval (2007)
A news team is sent to Burundi to capture and bring home a legendary 25-foot crocodile. Their difficult task turns potentially deadly when a warlord targets them for death.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWake of Death (2004)
Ben Archer, an ex-mob enforcer, seeks revenge against a ruthless Chinese kingpin responsible for his wife's brutal murder. When Archer joins forces with his old underworld friends, an all-out war is waged against the Chinese Triad.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBig Trouble in Little China (1986)
Truck driver Jack Burton gets embroiled in a supernatural battle when his best friend Wang Chi's green-eyed fiancée is kidnapped by henchmen of the sorcerer Lo Pan, who must marry a girl with green eyes in order to return to the human realm.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Last Stand of Ellen Cole (2024)
When an evil contractor goes to extreme measures to evict a testy tenant who is standing in the way of his new project, he fails to take into account that this seemingly harmless old woman is a trained killer and will do anything to protect her beloved home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & adventure
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisInterceptor (2022)
A U.S. Army Captain uses her years of tactical training to save humanity from sixteen nuclear missiles launched at the U.S. as a violent attack threatens her remote missile interceptor station.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBalls Up (2026)
Two marketing executives go "balls out" and pitch a bold full‑coverage condom sponsorship with the World Cup. After their drunken celebration in Brazil sparks a global scandal, they must outrun furious fans, criminals, and power-hungry officials to salvage their careers and make it home alive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & adventure
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Time Shifters (1999)
Tom Merrick gets caught up in a time-traveling conspiracy and must set the timeline right before it is irrevocably altered.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & action
SnoozefestMovies 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 action & adventure
SnoozefestMovies like thisBatman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1 (2012)
Batman has not been seen for ten years. A new breed of criminal ravages Gotham City, forcing 55-year-old Bruce Wayne back into the cape and cowl. But, does he still have what it takes to fight crime in a new era?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & action
Worth the HypeMovies like this57 Seconds (2023)
When a tech blogger lands an interview with a tech guru and stops an attack on him, he finds a mysterious ring that takes him back 57 seconds into the past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCyborg (1989)
A martial artist hunts a killer in a plague-infested urban dump of the future.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction & action
SnoozefestMovies like thisDCW: THE MOVIE (2021)
In this epic remake of the 2016 film, based on the childhood card game of DCW, the characters of Donovan, Jash and Season Square go on a journey, exploring the crazy world of DCW but Jacky Joe Hunter is here to end the fun with a mysterious magical gem...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure & action
Philadelphia Experiment II (1993)
It is several years after the events of the first movie, and David Herdeg (the survivor of the Philadelphia Experiment from the first film) and Allison (the woman from 1984 he fell in love with) have married and have a child. David awakes, in agony, to a changed world. Germany won World War II and the United States is now about to mark 50 years as a Nazi conquest.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction & action
SnoozefestMovies like thisHot Tub Time Machine (2010)
Four pals are stuck in a rut in adulthood: Adam has just been dumped, Lou is a hopeless party animal, Nick is a henpecked husband, and Jacob does nothing but play video games in his basement. But they get a chance to brighten their future by changing their past after a night of heavy drinking in a ski-resort hot tub results in their waking up in 1986.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDigimon Adventure 02: Revenge of Diaboromon (2001)
The DigiDestined go up against Diaboromon again. Tai and Matt head back to the Internet to deal with him with Omnimon, while the younger Chosen Children go to deal with the rampage of a swarm of Kuramon (Diaboromon's Fresh form). With the help of Angemon and Angewomon (with T.K. and Kari), Omnimon was able to destroy Diaboromon again, but it turned out to be a trap, as his destruction allowed many more Kuramon to go to the Real World. Things go out of control when the Kuramon in the Real World merge to create a Mega level called Armageddemon, an alternate Mega in Diaboromon's evolutionary line. It is so powerful that neither Omnimon nor Imperialdramon were able to defeat it on their own.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNaruto Shippuden the Movie: The Will of Fire (2009)
Ninjas with bloodline limits begin disappearing in all the countries and blame points toward the fire nation. By Tsunade's order, Kakashi is sacrificed to prevent an all out war. After inheriting charms left by Kakashi, Naruto fights through friends and foes to prevent his death while changing the minds of those who've inherited the will of fire.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCasino Royale (2006)
Le Chiffre, a banker to the world's terrorists, is scheduled to participate in a high-stakes poker game in Montenegro, where he intends to use his winnings to establish his financial grip on the terrorist market. M sends Bond—on his maiden mission as a 00 Agent—to attend this game and prevent Le Chiffre from winning. With the help of Vesper Lynd and Felix Leiter, Bond enters the most important poker game in his already dangerous career.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSpace Mechanic (2019)
When a Warp Drive breaks on Captain Natasha Vigo's ship, her and the crew hire American Space Mechanic Del McGriff. Yet when McGriff begins to fix the drive he starts to uncover a truly sinister plot that could unravel the galaxy forever.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction & action
Last Hit (2026)
A pair of criminals seeking a fresh start are intervened by their boss, who takes one of them hostage to force a final job. Vincent and Maya decide to escape their gang and settle for a peaceful life, but they are trapped into one last hit with hidden agendas, betrayals, and unexpected alliances. Last Hit is a high-stakes, action-packed thriller about redemption, betrayal, and the ultimate cost of freedom. Vincent and Maya decide to escape from their life of crime when their boss, Dante starts blurring the lines between heists and hits. During their last job they realize they've walked into a setup orchestrated by Dante himself. This trap pushed Vincent and Maya to the firm decision to walk away from the gang.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
The Prince of Egypt (1998)
The strong bond between two Royal Egyptian brothers is challenged when their chosen responsibilities set them at odds, with extraordinary consequences.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Universal Distraction?
The closest matches to Universal Distraction are Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985), Serenity (2005) and Timescape (1992). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Universal Distraction?
Start with Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985), the closest match to Universal Distraction.
What is the highest-rated movie like Universal Distraction?
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1 (2012), rated 7.7/10 by 1,768 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Universal Distraction?
Balls Up (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to Universal Distraction chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Universal Distraction, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.