Movies like The Arctic is…
The best movies like The Arctic is… are Nanook of the North (1922), Smilla's Sense of Snow (1997) and Ice Station Zebra (1968). If The Arctic is… hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
The Arctic is…
Quick picks
- Highest ratedNanook of the North (1922)7.1/10 from 337 votes
- NewestPolar Bear (2022)Released 2022
Nanook of the North (1922)
This pioneering documentary film depicts the lives of the indigenous Inuit people of Canada's northern Quebec region. Although the production contains some fictional elements, it vividly shows how its resourceful subjects survive in such a harsh climate, revealing how they construct their igloo homes and find food by hunting and fishing. The film also captures the beautiful, if unforgiving, frozen landscape of the Great White North, far removed from conventional civilization.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSmilla's Sense of Snow (1997)
Smilla Jaspersen attempts to understand the death of a small boy who falls from the roof of her apartment building. Suspecting wrongdoing, Smilla uncovers a trail of clues leading towards a secretive corporation that has made several mysterious expeditions to Greenland.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIce Station Zebra (1968)
A top-secret Soviet spy satellite -- using stolen Western technology -- malfunctions and then goes into a descent that lands it near an isolated Arctic research encampment called Ice Station Zebra, belonging to the British, which starts sending out distress signals before falling silent. The atomic submarine Tigerfish, commanded by Cmdr. James Ferraday, is dispatched to save them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPolar Trappers (1938)
Donald and Goofy are trappers in the frozen south (Antarctica) with different approaches. Donald sees a penguin and dresses as one to lure her to the chopping block; Goofy baits a trap with fish (then acts like a walrus to capture one that steals his bait bucket).
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEndless Night (2015)
Ellesmere Island, northern Canada, 1908. Josephine, a brave but naive woman, embarks on a dangerous journey through inhospitable regions in search of her husband, the explorer Robert Peary, who tries to find a route to the North Pole.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhere'd You Go, Bernadette (2019)
When architect-turned-recluse Bernadette Fox goes missing prior to a family trip to Antarctica, her 15-year-old daughter, Bee, goes on a quest with Bernadette's husband to find her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBear Island (1979)
A group of people converge on a barren Arctic island. They have their reasons for being there but when a series of mysterious accidents and murders take place, a whole lot of darker motives become apparent. Could the fortune in buried Nazi gold be the key to the mystery? Donald Sutherland and Vanessa Redgrave investigate
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Island at the Top of the World (1974)
A Victorian gentleman hopes to find his long-lost son, who vanished while searching for a mysterious Viking community in a volcanic valley somewhere in uncharted Arctic regions. The gentleman puts together an expedition team to go on the search, but when they reach their destination they must escape from some Viking descendants who will kill to keep their existence a secret.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPolar Bear (2022)
A new mother’s memories of her own youth prepare her to navigate motherhood in the increasingly challenging world that polar bears face today.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953)
The controlled explosion of an atomic bomb in the Arctic Circle awakens a frozen dinosaur that will wreak havoc in New York City.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this30 Days of Night (2007)
This is the story of an isolated Alaskan town that is plunged into darkness for a month each year when the sun sinks below the horizon. As the last rays of light fade, the town is attacked by a bloodthirsty gang of vampires bent on an uninterrupted orgy of destruction. Only the small town's husband-and-wife Sheriff team stand between the survivors and certain destruction.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Endurance (2000)
Documentary on the Shackleton Antartic expedition. A retelling of Sir Ernest Shackleton's ill-fated expedition to Antarctica in and the crew of his vessel 'The Endurance', which was trapped in the ice floes and frigid open ocean of the Antarctic in 1914. Shackleton decided, with many of his crew injured and weak from exposure and starvation, to take a team of his fittest men and attempt to find help. Setting out in appalling conditions with hopelessly inadequate equipment, they endured all weather and terrain and finally reached safety. Persuading a local team of his confidence that the abandoned team would still be alive, he set out again to find them. After almost 2 years trapped on the ice, all members of the crew were finally rescued.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPenguins (2019)
The story of Steve, an Adélie penguin, on a quest to find a life partner and start a family. When Steve meets with Wuzzo the emperor penguin they become friends. But nothing comes easy in the icy Antarctic.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJack Frost (1979)
Pardon-me Pete, the official groundhog of Groundhog Day, tells the story of Jack Frost, who falls in love with a beautiful young woman and begs Father Winter to make him human so that she can see him. His request is granted, but only on the condition that by the Spring he has a house, a bag of gold, a horse and a wife. But Jack finds that life as a human is more complicated than he thought.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisArctic Apocalypse (2019)
A massive influx of glacial melting triggers a new ice age in the Northern Hemisphere, forcing a family to make their way across the ice-covered landscape before they are frozen out for good.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisScott of the Antarctic (1948)
The true story of the British explorer Robert Falcon Scott and his ill-fated expedition to try to be the first man to discover the South Pole - only to find that the murderously cold weather and a rival team of Norwegian explorers conspire against him
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHappy Feet (2006)
Into the world of the Emperor Penguins, who find their soul mates through song, a penguin is born who cannot sing. But he can tap dance something fierce!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this2012 (2009)
Dr. Adrian Helmsley, part of a worldwide geophysical team investigating the effect on the earth of radiation from unprecedented solar storms, learns that the earth's core is heating up. He warns U.S. President Thomas Wilson that the crust of the earth is becoming unstable and that without proper preparations for saving a fraction of the world's population, the entire race is doomed. Meanwhile, writer Jackson Curtis stumbles on the same information. While the world's leaders race to build "arks" to escape the impending cataclysm, Curtis struggles to find a way to save his family. Meanwhile, volcanic eruptions and earthquakes of unprecedented strength wreak havoc around the world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Thing from Another World (1951)
Scientists and US Air Force officials fend off a blood-thirsty alien organism while investigating at a remote arctic outpost.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAgainst the Ice (2022)
In 1909, two explorers fight to survive after they're left behind while on a Danish expedition in ice-covered Greenland.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
Like The Arctic is… and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Arctic is…?
The closest matches to The Arctic is… are Nanook of the North (1922), Smilla's Sense of Snow (1997) and Ice Station Zebra (1968). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Arctic is…?
Start with Nanook of the North (1922), the closest match to The Arctic is….
What is the highest-rated movie like The Arctic is…?
Nanook of the North (1922), rated 7.1/10 by 337 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Arctic is…?
Polar Bear (2022) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Arctic is…?
Yes: Nanook of the North (1922), Smilla's Sense of Snow (1997) and Ice Station Zebra (1968).
How are movies similar to The Arctic is… chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Arctic is…, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.