Movies like The Countdown (2000)
The best movies like The Countdown (2000) are The Secret Life of Brian (2007), This Film Is Not Yet Rated (2006) and Scum (1979). If The Countdown hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedFor Sama (2019)8.2/10 from 323 votes
- NewestThe Brink of War (2026)Released 2026
The Secret Life of Brian (2007)
A documentary about the making of the controversial Life of Brian and the surrounding accusations of blasphemy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThis Film Is Not Yet Rated (2006)
Kirby Dick's provocative documentary investigates the secretive and inconsistent process by which the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) rates films, revealing the organization's underhanded efforts to control culture. Dick questions whether certain studios get preferential treatment and exposes the discrepancies in how the MPAA views sex and violence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisScum (1979)
Carlin is a new reform school inmate with a reputation as a hard case. The authorities encourage gang leader Pongo to humble Carlin, but Carlin overtakes Pongo as Daddy of the ward. The guards institute a reign of terror and neglect, with Carlin emerging as an unlikely leader.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisReading Lolita in Tehran (2024)
In 1979, amidst censorship and religious extremism, a revolutionary literature professor in Tehran gathers seven of her most dedicated female students to immerse themselves in banned literary classics.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPunishment Park (1971)
In this fictional documentary, U.S. prisons are at capacity, and President Nixon declares a state of emergency. All new prisoners, most of whom are connected to the antiwar movement, are now given the choice of jail time or spending three days in Punishment Park, where they will be hunted for sport by federal authorities. The prisoners invariably choose the latter option, but learn that, between the desert heat and the brutal police officers, their chances of survival are slim.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBallistic (2026)
When a soldier's mother discovers the bullet that killed her son in Afghanistan was made at the factory where she works, she sets out on a path of revenge against those responsible.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisFor Sama (2019)
A love letter from a young mother to her daughter, the film tells the story of Waad al-Kateab’s life through five years of the uprising in Aleppo, Syria as she falls in love, gets married and gives birth to Sama, all while cataclysmic conflict rises around her. Her camera captures incredible stories of loss, laughter and survival as Waad wrestles with an impossible choice– whether or not to flee the city to protect her daughter’s life, when leaving means abandoning the struggle for freedom for which she has already sacrificed so much.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisProfessor Marston and the Wonder Women (2017)
The unconventional life of Dr. William Marston, the Harvard psychologist and inventor who helped invent the modern lie detector test and co-created Wonder Woman in 1941.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWhere Do We Go Now? (2011)
In a remote, isolated Lebanese village surrounded by land mines, Muslims and Christians live together in peace. As civil strife starts to engulf the country around them, the women in the village try, by various means and to varying success, to keep their men in the dark by sabotaging the village radio, and then destroying the village TV.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStop-Loss (2008)
A veteran soldier returns from his completed tour of duty in Iraq, only to find his life turned upside down when he is arbitrarily ordered to return to field duty by the Army.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEmpire of Light (2022)
The duty manager of a seaside cinema, who is struggling with her mental health, forms a relationship with a new employee on the south coast of England in the 1980s.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDay of the Woman (1978)
A young, beautiful career woman rents a backwoods cabin to write her first novel. Attacked by a group of local lowlifes and left for dead, she devises a horrific plan to inflict revenge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Brink of War (2026)
President Ronald Reagan races against time to salvage a deal with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev that could dismantle nuclear arsenals—or ignite disaster. With pressure mounting on all sides, every word spoken brings the world closer to peace... or destruction.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWest Beirut (1998)
In 1975, the long slog of civil war has recently begun in Beirut. Two friends, Tarek and Omar, suffer during the Lebanese civil war. Conflicts arise when they decide to cross from West to East, crossing the Muslim-Christian line that divides Beirut.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWadjda (2012)
An enterprising Saudi girl signs on for her school's Quran recitation competition as a way to raise the remaining funds she needs in order to buy the green bicycle that has captured her interest.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTowelhead (2008)
A young Arab-American girl struggles with her sexual obsession, a bigoted Army reservist, and her strict father during the Gulf War.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCecil B. Demented (2000)
A young lunatic director and his devoted cult of cinema terrorists kidnap a Hollywood movie goddess and force her to star in their radical underground movie.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBilly Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (2016)
19-year-old Billy Lynn is brought home for a victory tour after a harrowing Iraq battle. Through flashbacks the film shows what really happened to his squad – contrasting the realities of war with America's perceptions.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisArarat (2002)
Interrogated by a customs officer, a young man recounts how his life was changed during the making of a film about the Armenian genocide.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhere in the World Is Osama Bin Laden? (2008)
Morgan Spurlock tours the Middle East to discuss the war on terror with Arabic people.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Countdown?
The closest matches to The Countdown are The Secret Life of Brian (2007), This Film Is Not Yet Rated (2006) and Scum (1979). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Countdown?
Start with The Secret Life of Brian (2007), the closest match to The Countdown.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Countdown?
For Sama (2019), rated 8.2/10 by 323 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Countdown?
The Brink of War (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to The Countdown chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Countdown, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.