Movies like Walking Thunder (1995)
The best movies like Walking Thunder (1995) are Frontera (2014), The Way West (1967) and The Call of the Wild (1972). If Walking Thunder hooked you with its drama and western, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedDances with Wolves (1990)7.8/10 from 4,900 votes
- NewestAu coeur de l'arène : la vérité sur les jeux romains (2026)Released 2026
Frontera (2014)
After crossing the border illegally for work, Miguel, a hard-working father and devoted husband, finds himself wrongfully accused of murdering a former sheriff’s wife. After learning of his imprisonment, Miguel’s pregnant wife tries to come to his aid and lands in the hands of corrupt coyotes who hold her for ransom. Dissatisfied with the police department’s investigation, the former sheriff tries to uncover the truth about his wife’s death and discovers disturbing evidence that will destroy one family’s future, or tear another’s apart.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Way West (1967)
In the mid-19th century, Senator William J. Tadlock leads a group of settlers overland in a quest to start a new settlement in the Western US. Tadlock is a highly principled and demanding taskmaster who is as hard on himself as he is on those who have joined his wagon train. He clashes with one of the new settlers, Lije Evans, who doesn't quite appreciate Tadlock's ways. Along the way, the families must face death and heartbreak and a sampling of frontier justice when one of them accidentally kills a young Indian boy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Call of the Wild (1972)
John Thornton, is a fearless man who's after more than gold; he wants to do what's right. Thornton works for the U.S. mail and is the only person daring and smart enough to figure out how to travel the deadly 600 miles from Skagway to Dawson, Alaska in the icy winter. His incredibly dog Buck is by his side and part of how he survives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHombre (1967)
John Russell, disdained by his "respectable" fellow stagecoach passengers because he was raised by Indians, becomes their only hope for survival when they are set upon by outlaws.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like this3:10 to Yuma (1957)
Dan Evans, a small time farmer, is hired to escort Ben Wade, a dangerous outlaw, to Yuma. As Evans and Wade wait for the 3:10 train to Yuma, Wade's gang is racing to free him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisReturn of the Bad Men (1948)
US Marshall Vance is assigned to rid the Oklahoma Territory of outlaws.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNews of the World (2020)
A Texan traveling across the wild West bringing the news of the world to local townspeople, agrees to help rescue a young girl who was kidnapped.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDances with Wolves (1990)
Wounded Civil War soldier John Dunbar tries to commit suicide—and becomes a hero instead. As a reward, he's assigned to his dream post, a remote junction on the Western frontier, and soon makes unlikely friends with the local Sioux tribe.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & western
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTell Them Willie Boy Is Here (1969)
While confronting the disapproving father of his girlfriend Lola, Native American man Willie Boy kills the man in self-defense, triggering a massive manhunt, led by Deputy Sheriff Christopher Cooper.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Spoilers (1942)
When honest ship captain Roy Glennister gets swindled out of his mine claim, he turns to saloon singer Cherry Malotte for assistance in his battle with no-good town kingpin Alexander McNamara.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Cowboys (1972)
When his cattlemen abandon him for the gold fields, rancher Wil Andersen is forced to take on a collection of young boys as his cowboys in order to get his herd to market in time to avoid financial disaster. The boys learn to do a man's job under Andersen's tutelage, however, neither he nor the boys know that a gang of cattle thieves is stalking them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisForty Guns (1957)
An authoritarian rancher rules an Arizona county with her private posse of hired guns. When a new Marshal arrives to set things straight, the cattle queen finds herself falling for the avowedly non-violent lawman. Both have itchy-fingered brothers, a female gunman enters the picture, and things go desperately wrong.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBarbarosa (1982)
Karl Westover, an inexperienced farm boy, runs away after unintentionally killing a neighbor, whose family pursues him for vengeance. He meets Barbarosa, a gunman of near-mythical proportions, who is himself in danger from his father-in-law Don Braulio, a wealthy Mexican rancher. Don Braulio wants Barbarosa dead for marrying his daughter against the father's will. Barbarosa reluctantly takes the clumsy Karl on as a partner, as both of them look to survive the forces lining up against them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western
SnoozefestMovies like thisDavy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier (1955)
Legends (and myths) from the life of famed American frontiersman Davy Crockett are depicted in this feature film edited from television episodes. Crockett and his friend George Russel fight in the Creek Indian War. Then Crockett is elected to Congress and brings his rough-hewn ways to the House of Representatives. Finally, Crockett and Russell journey to Texas and the last stand at the Alamo.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTall Tale: The Unbelievable Adventure (1995)
A young boy draws on the inspiration of legendary western characters to find the strength to fight an evil land baron in the old west who wants to steal his family's farm and destroy their idyllic community. When Daniel Hackett sees his father Jonas gravely wounded by the villainous Stiles, his first urge is for his family to flee the danger, and give up their life on a farm which Daniel has come to despise anyway. Going alone to a lake to try to decide what to do, he falls asleep on a boat and wakes to find himself in the wild west, in the company of such "tall tale" legends as Pecos Bill, Paul Bunyan, John Henry and Calamity Jane. Together, they battle the same villains Daniel is facing in his "real" world, ending with a heroic confrontation in which the boy stands up to Stiles and his henchmen, and rallies his neighbors to fight back against land grabbers who want to destroy their town.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPurgatory (1999)
An outlaw band flees a posse and rides into Refuge, a small town where no one carries a gun, drinks, or swears. The town is actually Purgatory, and the peaceful inhabitants are all famous dead outlaws and criminals such as Doc Holiday and Wild Bill Hickok who must redeem themselves before gaining admittance to Heaven... or screw up and go to Hell.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Adventures of the Wilderness Family (1975)
The story of a modern family bored with the hassles of the city life in Los Angeles. They head for the wilderness never to return.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisFar from Home: The Adventures of Yellow Dog (1995)
Teenager Angus adopts a stray dog and names him Yellow. Several days later, while travelling along the coast of British Columbia with Angus's father, John, the boy and dog become stranded when turbulent waters capsize their boat. Angus's parents relentlessly badger rescue teams. Angus, schooled by his father in wilderness survival skills, and assisted by the intelligent Yellow Dog, tries to attract rescuers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDecision at Sundown (1957)
A man and his partner arrive at a small Western town to kill its most powerful man because the former blames him for his wife's death.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBoss Nigger (1975)
Two black bounty hunters ride into a small town out West in pursuit of an outlaw. They discover that the town has no sheriff, and soon take over that position, much against the will of the mostly white townsfolk.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSleeping Bear (1994)
Over the course of a summer, two boys discover the magic of cinema and make their own movie about an old Native American legend called Sleeping Bear.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Bears Discover Fire (2015)
'Bears Discover Fire' is the strange tale of a lonely man, his aging mother, his curious nephew, and a family of bears that have discovered how to use fire.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Grizzly Man (2005)
Follows the story of "Grizzly Man" Timothy Treadwell and what the thirteen summers in a National Park in Alaska were like in his attempt to protect the grizzly bears. The film is full of unique images and a look into the spirit of a man who sacrificed himself for nature.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBear Squad (2019)
The Bear Squad is hanging out in the forest as normal when they get news of an injured rat in the forest, but not all is as it seems.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
The Goose Is Wild (1963)
Charlie Beary, furiously plowing through a mountain of bills, vows that he's going to cut expenses.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Au coeur de l'arène : la vérité sur les jeux romains (2026)
Why it matches: Similar story and style
The Care Bears Battle the Freeze Machine (1984)
The special, a follow-up to the previous installment The Land Without Feelings (from 1983), sees the return of the ten original Bears and the rarely-seen Cloud Keeper, as well as the villain Professor Coldheart. In addition, the special introduces Baby Hugs, Baby Tugs, Grams Bear, and Professor Coldheart's sidekick, Frostbite.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Asparagus Bear (2025)
The residents of a quiet Mediterranean town are thrown into speculation overdrive with the unusual appearance of a bear in the midst of asparagus season.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Grizzly Diaries (2003)
Made famous by Werner Herzog's documentary GRIZZLY MAN, late bear enthusiast Timothy Treadwell spent several months each year living among the grizzlies in Alaska's Katmai National Park. This riveting documentary follows Treadwell on one of his last journeys into the wilderness. Recording the activities of the bears he encounters on his video camera, he comes face-to-face with a giant male and witnesses a brutal turf war between rival clans.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Walking Thunder?
The closest matches to Walking Thunder are Frontera (2014), The Way West (1967) and The Call of the Wild (1972). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Walking Thunder?
Start with Frontera (2014), the closest match to Walking Thunder.
What is the highest-rated movie like Walking Thunder?
Dances with Wolves (1990), rated 7.8/10 by 4,900 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Walking Thunder?
Au coeur de l'arène : la vérité sur les jeux romains (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Walking Thunder?
Yes: Frontera (2014), The Way West (1967) and The Call of the Wild (1972).
How are movies similar to Walking Thunder chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Walking Thunder, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.