Movies like 48 Hrs. (1982)
The best movies like 48 Hrs. (1982) are Beverly Hills Cop (1984), Stakeout (1987) and Tango & Cash (1989). If 48 Hrs. hooked you with its crime and action, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Blues Brothers (1980)7.7/10 from 4,752 votes
- NewestThe Pickup (2025)Released 2025
- Same seriesAnother 48 Hrs. (1990)48 Hrs.
Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
Fast-talking, quick-thinking Detroit street cop Axel Foley has bent more than a few rules and regs in his time, but when his best friend is murdered, he heads to sunny Beverly Hills to work the case like only he can.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStakeout (1987)
Two detectives observe an escaped convict's ex-girlfriend, but complications set in when one of them falls for her.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTango & Cash (1989)
Ray Tango and Gabriel Cash are two successful narcotics detectives who can't stand each other. Crime lord Yves Perret, furious at the loss of income they have caused him, plots an elaborate revenge against them.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAnother 48 Hrs. (1990)
For the past four years, San Francisco cop Jack Cates has been after an unidentified drug kingpin who calls himself the Ice Man. Jack finds a picture that proves that the Ice Man has put a price on the head of Reggie Hammond, who is scheduled to be released from prison on the next day.
Why it matches: Same series: 48 Hrs. · both action & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRush Hour (1998)
When Hong Kong Inspector Lee is summoned to Los Angeles to investigate a kidnapping, the FBI doesn't want any outside help and assigns cocky LAPD Detective James Carter to distract Lee from the case. Not content to watch the action from the sidelines, Lee and Carter form an unlikely partnership and investigate the case themselves.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLethal Weapon (1987)
A veteran cop and an unstable detective become partners who must put their differences aside in order to bring down a heroin-smuggling ring run by ex-Special Forces.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDragnet (1987)
LAPD Sgt. Joe Friday -- the equally straight-laced nephew of the famous police sergeant of the same name -- is paired up with a young, freewheeling detective named Pep Streebeck. After investigating some strange robberies at the local zoo and the theft of a stockpile of pornographic magazines, they uncover cult activity in the heart of the city and are hot on the case to figure out who's behind it all.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRed Heat (1988)
A tough Russian policeman is forced to partner up with a cocky Chicago police detective when he is sent to Chicago to apprehend a Georgian drug lord who killed his partner and fled the country.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCollision Course (1989)
A Japanese investigator and a Detroit cop team up to track down a stolen prototype turbocharger.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & comedy
Beverly Hills Cop II (1987)
Axel Foley returns to the land of sunshine and palm trees to investigate the near-fatal shooting of police Captain Andrew Bogomil. With the help of Sgt. Taggart and Det. Rosewood, they soon uncover that the shooting is associated with a series of "alphabet" robberies masterminded by a heartless weapons kingpin—and the chase is on.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRunning Scared (1986)
Two street-wise Chicago cops have to shake off some rust after returning from a Key West vacation to pursue a drug dealer that nearly killed them in the past.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMidnight Run (1988)
A bounty hunter pursues a former Mafia accountant who is also being chased by a rival bounty hunter, the F.B.I., and his old mob boss after jumping bail.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisArmed and Dangerous (1986)
After policeman Frank Dooley is framed for theft and loses his job on the force, he joins a security guard agency and teams up with inept former defense lawyer Norman Kane. When the two botch a job guarding a local warehouse, they begin to uncover corruption within the company and their union.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisCity Heat (1984)
Set in Kansas City in 1933, Eastwood plays a police lieutenant known simply by his last name, Speer. Reynolds plays a former cop turned private eye named Mike Murphy. Both Speer and Murphy served on the force together and were once good friends, but are now bitter enemies. When Murphy's partner is slain they team up again to fight the mob.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Hard Way (1991)
Seeking to raise his credibility as an actor and to land a role as a tough cop on a new show, Hollywood action star Nick Lang works a deal with New York City Police Capt. Brix, who by chance is one of his fans. Nick will be paired with detective Lt. John Moss and learn how to act like a real cop. But when Nick drives John crazy with questions and imitating him, he gets in the way of John's pursuit of a serial killer.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMiami Supercops (1985)
In 1978, $20 million was stolen from a Detroit bank. One of the robbers was caught, one was found dead, and the third disappeared. The money was never found. Seven years later, the robber who was caught was released from jail. He immediately went to Miami, only to be found dead the next day. Now FBI agents Doug Bennet and Steve Forest have been called in to investigate the case while posing as Miami police officers. Somewhere in Miami the third robber is hiding with his $20 million, and he has a seven-year head start on the authorities.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBad Boys (1995)
Marcus Burnett is a henpecked family man. Mike Lowrey is a footloose and fancy free ladies' man. Both Miami policemen, they have 72 hours to reclaim a consignment of drugs stolen from under their station's nose. To complicate matters, in order to get the assistance of the sole witness to a murder, they have to pretend to be each other.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFlashback (1990)
A hippie radical, Huey Walker has been a fugitive for decades, accused of a crime that he may not have committed. Finally apprehended, Walker is escorted to trial by uptight 20-something FBI agent John Buckner. While the two seem to be polar opposites, it turns out that Buckner may have more in common with Walker than is initially apparent, a point that is driven home when the pair faces off against a sinister small-town sheriff.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBulletproof (1996)
An undercover police officer named Rock Keats befriends a drug dealer and car thief named Archie Moses in a bid to catch the villainous drug lord Frank Coltan. But the only problem is that Keats is a cop, his real name is Jack Carter, and he is working undercover with the LAPD to bust Moses and Colton at a sting operation the LAPD has set up.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Pickup (2025)
A routine cash pickup takes a wild turn when mismatched armored truck drivers Russell and Travis are ambushed by ruthless criminals led by savvy mastermind Zoe.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKuffs (1992)
George Kuffs didn't finish high-school, just lost his job, and his college-age girlfriend is pregnant. To top it off, George's brother Brad is killed and George inherits Brad's "patrol special" privatized police district and all the problems that come with it.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisBeverly Hills Cop III (1994)
When his boss is killed, Detroit cop Axel Foley finds evidence that the murderer had ties to a California amusement park called Wonder World. Returning to sunny Beverly Hills once more, Foley reunites with Detective Billy Rosewood to solve the case. Along with Billy's new partner, Detective Jon Flint, they discover that Wonder World is being used as a front for a massive counterfeiting ring.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisAction Jackson (1988)
Vengeance drives a tough Detroit cop to stay on the trail of a power hungry auto magnate who's systematically eliminating his competition.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisBlue Streak (1999)
Miles Logan is a jewel thief who just hit the big time by stealing a huge diamond. However, after two years in jail, he comes to find out that he hid the diamond in a police building that was being built at the time of the robbery. In an attempt to regain his diamond, he poses as an LAPD detective.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMoney Train (1995)
When a vengeful New York transit cop decides to steal a trainload of subway fares, his foster brother—a fellow cop—tries to protect him.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisLoose Cannons (1990)
Mac, the two-fisted, savvy cop finds that he's being saddled with a new partner, a known burnout, to work with him on a new and difficult case. The new partner is Ellis, an amazing detective, one who puts Sherlock Holmes to shame with his lightning-fast deductions. But he keeps assuming the personalities of entire casts of Television shows. This can be a problem when people begin shooting at them.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisK-9 (1989)
The extravagant cop Michael Dooley needs some help to fight a drug dealer who has tried to kill him. A "friend" gives him a dog named Jerry Lee (Officer Lewis), who has been trained to smell drugs. With his help, Dooley sets out to put his enemy behind the bars, but Jerry Lee has a personality of his own and works only when he wants to. On the other hand, the dog is quite good at destroying Dooley's car, house and sex-life...
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLethal Weapon 2 (1989)
Riggs and Murtaugh are on the trail of South African diplomats using their immunity to engage in criminal activities.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisShort Time (1990)
As a result of a misdiagnosis, Detective Burt Simpson is told he has just weeks to live. He gains a new respect for his life and loved ones but learns that in order for his wife, Carolyn, and son, Dougie, to collect any insurance money, he must be killed in the line of duty. He then becomes the most reckless man on the police force, volunteering for dangerous assignments over the objections of his by-the-book partner.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Blues Brothers (1980)
Just released from prison, Jake Blues puts his old band back together with his brother Elwood to save the Catholic home where they were raised.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy & action
Worth the HypeMovies like this
Like 48 Hrs. and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like 48 Hrs.?
The closest matches to 48 Hrs. are Beverly Hills Cop (1984), Stakeout (1987) and Tango & Cash (1989). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after 48 Hrs.?
People who watched 48 Hrs. most often go on to Beverly Hills Cop (1984), Stakeout (1987) and Tango & Cash (1989).
What is the highest-rated movie like 48 Hrs.?
The Blues Brothers (1980), rated 7.7/10 by 4,752 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like 48 Hrs.?
The Pickup (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Is 48 Hrs. part of a series?
Yes. It belongs to 48 Hrs., which includes Another 48 Hrs. (1990).
Are there English movies like 48 Hrs.?
Yes: Beverly Hills Cop (1984), Stakeout (1987) and Tango & Cash (1989).
How are movies similar to 48 Hrs. chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside 48 Hrs., then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.