Movies like Empire State (2013)
The best movies like Empire State (2013) are Heat (1995), The Getaway (1972) and Payback (1999). If Empire State hooked you with its action and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Usual Suspects (1995)8.2/10 from 11,951 votes
- NewestThe Rip (2026)Released 2026
Heat (1995)
Obsessive master thief Neil McCauley leads a top-notch crew on various daring heists throughout Los Angeles while determined detective Vincent Hanna pursues him without rest. Each man recognizes and respects the ability and the dedication of the other even though they are aware their cat-and-mouse game may end in violence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & action
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Getaway (1972)
A recently released ex-convict and his loyal wife go on the run after a heist goes wrong.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPayback (1999)
With friends like these, who needs enemies? That's the question bad guy Porter is left asking after his wife and partner steal his heist money and leave him for dead -- or so they think. Five months and an endless reservoir of bitterness later, Porter's partners and the crooked cops on his tail learn how bad payback can be.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhat Doesn't Kill You (2008)
Two childhood friends from South Boston turn to crime as a way to get by, ultimately causing a strain in their personal lives and their friendship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPaid in Full (2002)
Ace is an impressionable young man working for a dry cleaning business. His friend, drug dealer Mitch, goes to prison. In an unrelated incident, he finds some cocaine in a pants pocket. Soon, Ace finds himself dealing cocaine for Lulu. Via lucky breaks and solid interpersonal skills, Ace moves to the top of the Harlem drug world. Of course, unfaithful employees and/or rivals conspire to bring about Ace's fall.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHavoc (2025)
When a drug heist swerves lethally out of control, a jaded cop fights his way through a corrupt city's criminal underworld to save a politician's son.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Usual Suspects (1995)
The lone survivor of an explosive heist gone wrong recounts for interrogators the events that began with five disparate criminals assembled for a police lineup - with alleged criminal mastermind Keyser Soze at the center of it all.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Town (2010)
A proficient group of thieves rob a bank and hold the manager hostage. Things begin to get complicated when one of the crew members falls in love with her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCriminal Activities (2015)
Four young men make a risky investment together that gets them into trouble with the mob.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Rip (2026)
Trust frays when a team of Miami cops discovers millions in cash inside a run-down stash house, calling everyone — and everything — into question.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDragged Across Concrete (2019)
Two policemen, one an old-timer, the other his volatile younger partner, find themselves suspended when a video of their strong-arm tactics becomes the media's cause du jour. Low on cash and with no other options, these two embittered soldiers descend into the criminal underworld to gain their just due, but instead find far more than they wanted awaiting them in the shadows.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Alto Knights (2025)
Two of New York's most notorious organized crime bosses, Frank Costello and Vito Genovese, vie for control of the city's streets. Once the best of friends, petty jealousies and a series of betrayals place them on a deadly collision course that will reshape the Mafia (and America) forever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCash Out (2024)
Criminal mastermind Mason is about to execute the score of a lifetime when his lover and key member of his crew, Decker, takes the team down and reveals she’s an undercover Interpol agent. Heartbroken, Mason escapes and retires from the life of crime until his younger brother Shawn is out of his league taking on a big bank heist all on his own. Mason has no choice left but to come to the rescue, while Interpol brings Decker in hoping to unnerve him. Before the SWAT teams storm the bank, Mason must use every tool in his arsenal to not only escape with the prize, but also the love of his life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisParker (2013)
A thief with a unique code of professional ethics is double-crossed by his crew and left for dead. Assuming a new disguise and forming an unlikely alliance with a woman on the inside, he looks to hijack the score of the crew's latest heist.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInside Man (2006)
When an armed, masked gang enter a Manhattan bank, lock the doors and take hostages, the detective assigned to effect their release enters negotiations preoccupied with corruption charges he is facing.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Departed (2006)
To take down South Boston's Irish Mafia, the police send in one of their own to infiltrate the underworld, not realizing the syndicate has done likewise. While an undercover cop curries favor with the mob kingpin, a career criminal rises through the police ranks. But both sides soon discover there's a mole among them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies 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 · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDonnie Brasco (1997)
An FBI undercover agent infiltrates the mob and identifies more with the mafia life at the expense of his regular one.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGet Fast (2024)
When The Thief’s partner is kidnapped after stealing millions in cash from a merciless drug lord named Nushi, he reluctantly teams up with an angst-ridden orphan to rescue him. Nushi enlists her most trusted hitman, The Cowboy, a lovable charmer who’s quick with his guns, to track down the Thief. Guns, cars, and explosions will give the newfound partners a head start, but how long will they be able to keep it up?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDog Day Afternoon (1975)
Based on the true story of would-be Brooklyn bank robbers John Wojtowicz and Salvatore Naturile. Sonny and Sal attempt a bank heist which quickly turns sour and escalates into a hostage situation and stand-off with the police. As Sonny's motives for the robbery are slowly revealed and things become more complicated, the heist turns into a media circus.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Newton Boys (1998)
The story of the Newton gang, the most successful bank robbers in history, owing to their good planning and minimal violence.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMAD (2025)
After running around the city all day, Mandy finally realizes something a little too late.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & action
Blonde Crazy (1931)
The adventures of a cocky con man and his beautiful accomplice.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Slams (1973)
Rival prison factions surround a Los Angeles convict who has $1.5 million stashed on the outside.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Up the Down Staircase (1967)
Sylvia, a novice schoolteacher, is hired to teach English in a high school, but she’s met with an apathetic faculty, a delinquent student body and an administration that drowns its staff in paperwork. The following days go from bad to worse as Sylvia struggles to reach her most troubled students.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Brownsville Bred (2025)
Set against the vibrant yet challenging backdrop of her urban neighborhood, the complexities of adolescence are explored as Elaine faces an unexpected upheaval in her life due to her father, Manny, an aspiring salsa musician whose struggles lead him away from his family.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Son of the South (2021)
In civil rights era Montgomery, Alabama, Klansman's grandson Bob Zellner must choose which side of history to be on during the Movement. Defying his family and white Southern norms, he fought against social injustice, repression and violence to change the world around him
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Short Stay in Switzerland (2009)
Just after losing her husband to a similar condition, Dr Anne Turner is diagnosed with a fatal neurological condition. So she plans to end her life herself. Based on a true story.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Pleasure of Being Robbed (2008)
A curious and lost Eleonore looks for something everywhere, even in the bags of strangers who find themselves sadly smiling only well after she's left their lives. They owe her their thanks.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies 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: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Empire State?
The closest matches to Empire State are Heat (1995), The Getaway (1972) and Payback (1999). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Empire State?
Start with Heat (1995), the closest match to Empire State.
What is the highest-rated movie like Empire State?
The Usual Suspects (1995), rated 8.2/10 by 11,951 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Empire State?
The Rip (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Empire State?
Yes: Heat (1995), The Getaway (1972) and Payback (1999).
How are movies similar to Empire State chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Empire State, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.