Movies like Donnie Darko (2001)
The best movies like Donnie Darko (2001) are Rose of Nevada (2026), Mr. Nobody (2009) and Coherence (2014). If Donnie Darko hooked you with its fantasy and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedShutter Island (2010)8.2/10 from 26,790 votes
- NewestRose of Nevada (2026)Released 2026
Rose of Nevada (2026)
When a fishing boat, the Rose of Nevada, lost with all hands 30 years ago, mysteriously reappears in the old harbour of a forgotten Cornish village, for those who remember, it’s surely a sign. The boat must go out to sea again and maybe then the luck of the devastated village will turn. Young father Nick and enigmatic newcomer Liam join captain Murgey, and they head to sea. But when they return, satisfied with their haul, something is amiss – they’ve slipped back in time, and the villagers greet them as if they are the original crew.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMr. Nobody (2009)
Nemo Nobody leads an ordinary existence with his wife and 3 children; one day, he wakes up as a mortal centenarian in the year 2092.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCoherence (2014)
Four couples gather for dinner the night a mysterious and powerful comet passes overhead.
Why it matches: Fans watch both
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPrimer (2004)
A group of fledgling inventors discover a complex method to manipulate reality. At first, they successfully game the stock market with it, but the consequences of the invention start to catch up with them.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPi (1998)
A mathematical genius discovers a link between numbers and reality, and thus believes he can predict the future.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both mystery & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTimecrimes (2007)
A man accidentally gets into a time machine and travels back in time nearly an hour. Finding himself will be the first of a series of disasters of unforeseeable consequences.
Why it matches: Fans watch both
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Butterfly Effect (2004)
A young man struggles to access sublimated childhood memories. He finds a technique that allows him to travel back into the past, to occupy his childhood body and change history. However, he soon finds that every change he makes has unexpected consequences.
Why it matches: Fans watch both
Worth the HypeMovies like thisShutter Island (2010)
World War II soldier-turned-U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels investigates the disappearance of a patient from a hospital for the criminally insane, but his efforts are compromised by troubling visions and a mysterious doctor.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & mystery
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisMemento (2000)
Leonard Shelby is tracking down the man who raped and murdered his wife. The difficulty of locating his wife's killer, however, is compounded by the fact that he suffers from a rare, untreatable form of short-term memory loss. Although he can recall details of life before his accident, Leonard cannot remember what happened fifteen minutes ago, where he's going, or why.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both mystery
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisI'm Thinking of Ending Things (2020)
Nothing is as it seems when a woman experiencing misgivings about her new boyfriend joins him on a road trip to meet his parents at their remote farm.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both mystery & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMulholland Drive (2001)
Blonde Betty Elms has only just arrived in Hollywood to become a movie star when she meets an enigmatic brunette with amnesia. Meanwhile, as the two set off to solve the second woman's identity, filmmaker Adam Kesher runs into ominous trouble while casting his latest project.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSource Code (2011)
When decorated soldier Captain Colter Stevens wakes up in the body of an unknown man, he discovers he's part of a mission to find the bomber of a Chicago commuter train.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Thirteenth Floor (1999)
In Los Angeles, a wealthy man, known as Mr. Fuller, discovers a shocking secret about the world he lives in. Fearing for his life, he leaves a desperate message for a friend of his in the most unexpected place.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisVanilla Sky (2001)
David Aames has it all: wealth, good looks and gorgeous women on his arm. But just as he begins falling for the warmhearted Sofia, his face is horribly disfigured in a car accident. That's just the beginning of his troubles as the lines between illusion and reality, between life and death, are blurred.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Jacket (2005)
A military veteran goes on a journey into the future, where he can foresee his death and is left with questions that could save his life and those he loves.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPredestination (2014)
Predestination chronicles the life of a Temporal Agent sent on an intricate series of time-travel journeys designed to prevent future killers from committing their crimes. Now, on his final assignment, the Agent must stop the one criminal that has eluded him throughout time and prevent a devastating attack in which thousands of lives will be lost.
Why it matches: Fans watch both
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Machinist (2004)
Trevor, an insomniac lathe operator, experiences unusual occurrences at work and home. A strange man follows him everywhere, but no one else seems to notice him.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJacob's Ladder (1990)
After returning home from the Vietnam War, veteran Jacob Singer struggles to maintain his sanity. Plagued by hallucinations and flashbacks, Singer rapidly falls apart as the world and people around him morph and twist into disturbing images. His girlfriend, Jezzie, and ex-wife, Sarah, try to help, but to little avail. Even Singer's chiropractor friend, Louis, fails to reach him as he descends into madness.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDark City (1998)
A man struggles with memories of his past, including a wife he cannot remember, in a nightmarish world with no sun and run by beings with telekinetic powers who seek the souls of humans.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLost Highway (1997)
A tormented jazz musician finds himself lost in an enigmatic story involving murder, surveillance, gangsters, doppelgängers, and an impossible transformation inside a prison cell.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPremonition (2007)
A depressed housewife who learns her husband was killed in a car accident the day previously awakens the next morning to find him alive and well at home, and then awakens the day after to a world in which he is still dead.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSynecdoche, New York (2008)
A theater director struggles with his work, and the women in his life, as he attempts to create a life-size replica of New York inside a warehouse as part of his new play.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Sixth Sense (1999)
Following an unexpected tragedy, child psychologist Malcolm Crowe meets a nine year old boy named Cole Sear, who is hiding a dark secret.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both mystery & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisInland Empire (2006)
When actress Nikki Grace gets the lead role in a cursed film, her world becomes more and more surreal, blending realities and ideas of infidelity, reincarnation, and supernatural forces.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBeing John Malkovich (1999)
One day at work, unsuccessful puppeteer Craig finds a portal into the head of actor John Malkovich. The portal soon becomes a passion for anybody who enters its mad and controlling world of overtaking another human body.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFlashback (2021)
Frederick Fitzell is living his best life—until he starts having horrific visions of Cindy, a girl who vanished in high school. After reaching out to old friends with whom he used to take a mystery drug called Mercury, Fredrick realizes the only way to stop the visions lies deep within his own memories, so he embarks on a terrifying mental odyssey to learn the truth.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both mystery
SnoozefestMovies like thisStay (2005)
Psychiatrist Sam Foster has a new patient, Henry Letham, who claims to be suicidal. In trying to diagnose him, Sam visits Henry's prior therapist and also finds Henry's mother -- even though Henry has said that he murdered both of his parents. As reality starts to contradict fact, Sam spirals into an unstable mental state. Then he finds a clue as to how and when Henry may try to kill himself, and races to try to stop him.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both mystery & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHorns (2013)
In the aftermath of his girlfriend's mysterious death, a young man awakens to strange horns sprouting from his temples.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTwin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992)
In the questionable town of Deer Meadow, Washington, FBI Agent Desmond inexplicably disappears while hunting for the man who murdered a teen girl. The killer is never apprehended, and, after experiencing dark visions and supernatural encounters, Agent Dale Cooper chillingly predicts that the culprit will claim another life. Meanwhile, in the more cozy town of Twin Peaks, hedonistic beauty Laura Palmer hangs with lowlifes and seems destined for a grisly fate.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLost River (2015)
Billy, a single mother of two, is led into a macabre underworld while her teenage son, Bones, discovers a secret road leading to an underwater town. Both Billy and Bones must dive deep into the mystery if their family is to survive.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & fantasy
SnoozefestMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Donnie Darko?
The closest matches to Donnie Darko are Rose of Nevada (2026), Mr. Nobody (2009) and Coherence (2014). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Donnie Darko?
People who watched Donnie Darko most often go on to Rose of Nevada (2026), Mr. Nobody (2009) and Coherence (2014).
What is the highest-rated movie like Donnie Darko?
Shutter Island (2010), rated 8.2/10 by 26,790 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Donnie Darko?
Rose of Nevada (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Donnie Darko?
Yes: Rose of Nevada (2026), Mr. Nobody (2009) and Coherence (2014).
How are movies similar to Donnie Darko chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Donnie Darko, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.