Movies like Payoff (1979)
The best movies like Payoff (1979) are Dick Tracy (1990), Infernal Affairs (2002) and Out for Justice (1991). If Payoff hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedPulp Fiction (1994)8.5/10 from 31,294 votes
- NewestSovereign (2025)Released 2025
Dick Tracy (1990)
The comic strip detective finds his life vastly complicated when Breathless Mahoney makes advances towards him while he is trying to battle Big Boy Caprice's united mob.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInfernal Affairs (2002)
Chan Wing Yan, a young police officer, has been sent undercover as a mole in the local mafia. Lau Kin Ming, a young mafia member, infiltrates the police force. Years later, their older counterparts, Chen Wing Yan and Inspector Lau Kin Ming, respectively, race against time to expose the mole within their midst.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOut for Justice (1991)
Gino Felino is an NYPD detective from Brooklyn who knows everyone and everything in his neighborhood. Killing his partner was someone's big mistake... because he's now out for justice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNew Police Story (2004)
Sent into a drunken tailspin when his entire unit is killed by a gang of thrill-seeking punks, disgraced Hong Kong police inspector Wing needs help from his new rookie partner, with a troubled past of his own, to climb out of the bottle and track down the gang and its ruthless leader.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAmerican Gangster (2007)
Loosely based on the criminal career of Frank Lucas, a gangster from La Grange, North Carolina, who smuggled heroin into the United States on American service planes returning from the Vietnam War, before being detained by a task force led by Newark Detective Richie Roberts.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSovereign (2025)
Struggling single father Jerry indoctrinates his son Joe into the sovereign citizen movement, teaching him that laws are mere illusions and freedom is something you take. But, as Jerry’s ideology consumes them, they are set on a collision course with a police chief who has spent his life upholding the rules that Jerry has spent his tearing down.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisExit Wounds (2001)
Maverick cop Orin Boyd always brings down the domestic terrorists he tracks, but he ruffles feathers with his unorthodox techniques -- and soon finds himself reassigned to the toughest district in Detroit. When he discovers a group of detectives secretly operating a drug ring, Boyd joins forces with an unlikely ally -- gangster Latrell Walker -- to bring down the rotten cops.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisEye in the Sky (2007)
The head of an elite Hong Kong surveillance unit keeps one eye on his rookie apprentice and the other on a notorious criminal he suspects of masterminding a recent jewel heist in this tense thriller from filmmaking duo Johnnie To and Nai-Hoi Yau. Of course, the criminal knows all along he's being watched. But that doesn't stop him from trying to pull off the biggest score of his career.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRapid Fire (1992)
College student Jake Lo is pursued by smugglers, mobsters and crooked federal agents after he witnesses a murder by a Mafia kingpin.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInfernal Affairs II (2003)
In this prequel to the original, a bloody power struggle among the Triads coincides with the 1997 handover of Hong Kong, setting up the events of the first film.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCode of Silence (1985)
A Chicago cop is caught in the middle of a gang war while his own comrades shun him because he wants to take an irresponsible cop down.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Racket (1951)
The big national crime syndicate has moved into town, partnering up with local crime boss Nick Scanlon. McQuigg, the only honest police captain on the force, and his loyal patrolman, Johnson, take on the violent Nick.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisProject A - Part II (1987)
Dragon is now transferred to be the police head of Sai Wan district, and has to contend with a gangster kingpin, anti-Manchu revolutionaries, some runaway pirates, Manchu Loyalists and a corrupt police superintendent.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Enforcer (1995)
An undercover cop struggling to provide for his son and ailing wife, must infiltrate a ruthless gang. But things turn sour when another cop blows his cover and he quickly finds himself battling for his life and the lives of his family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisElection (2005)
After losing an election to become chairman of the Wo Lin Shing triad, a gang leader lashes out and tries to seize the dragon-head baton, the official symbol of a chairman's authority.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIn the Line of Duty 4 (1989)
Two detectives who are up to their necks in trouble and in each other's face, as they try to shut down a drug-trafficking scheme that could be connected with international ties to organized crime. But in the midst of their investigation, innocent immigrant dock worker Luk Wan-Ting gets caught up in the mix when he witnesses the murder of an intelligence operative and is framed for the crime.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLife Without Principle (2011)
A criminal, a bank clerk and a police officer find their destinies entwined when a loan shark gets assaulted after having withdrawn $10 million from the bank in the midst of the world financial crisis.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPulp Fiction (1994)
A burger-loving hit man, his philosophical partner, a drug-addled gangster's moll and a washed-up boxer converge in this sprawling, comedic crime caper. Their adventures unfurl in three stories that ingeniously trip back and forth in time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisCold War II (2016)
A suspected criminal mastermind escapes from police custody, throwing the city into turmoil. With the police department now divided, rival police chiefs are forced to take their fight to the streets of Hong Kong with deadly consequences.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe White Storm 3: Heaven or Hell (2023)
An undercover cop who invade a drug cartel led by a notorious Thai drug lord. In classic heroic bloodshed fashion, the two develop a bond of brotherhood.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Payoff?
The closest matches to Payoff are Dick Tracy (1990), Infernal Affairs (2002) and Out for Justice (1991). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Payoff?
Start with Dick Tracy (1990), the closest match to Payoff.
What is the highest-rated movie like Payoff?
Pulp Fiction (1994), rated 8.5/10 by 31,294 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Payoff?
Sovereign (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to Payoff chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Payoff, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.