Movies like District 9 (2009)
The best movies like District 9 (2009) are Chappie (2015), Twelve Monkeys (1995) and Resident Evil (2002). If District 9 hooked you with its science fiction, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedTwelve Monkeys (1995)7.6/10 from 9,537 votes
- NewestBugonia (2025)Released 2025
Chappie (2015)
Every child comes into the world full of promise, and none more so than Chappie: he is gifted, special, a prodigy. Like any child, Chappie will come under the influence of his surroundings—some good, some bad—and he will rely on his heart and soul to find his way in the world and become his own man. But there's one thing that makes Chappie different from any one else: he is a robot.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTwelve Monkeys (1995)
In the year 2035, convict James Cole reluctantly volunteers to be sent back in time to discover the origin of a deadly virus that wiped out nearly all of the earth's population and forced the survivors into underground communities. But when Cole is mistakenly sent to 1990 instead of 1996, he's arrested and locked up in a mental hospital. There he meets psychiatrist Dr. Kathryn Railly and the son of a famous virus expert who may hold the key to the Army of the 12 Monkeys; thought to be responsible for unleashing the killer disease.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisResident Evil (2002)
When a virus leaks from a top-secret facility, turning all resident researchers into ravenous zombies and their lab animals into mutated hounds from hell, the government sends in an elite military task force to contain the outbreak.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAlien: Covenant (2017)
The crew of the colony ship Covenant, bound for a remote planet on the far side of the galaxy, discovers what they think is an uncharted paradise but is actually a dark, dangerous world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Bay (2012)
Chaos breaks out in a small Maryland town after an ecological disaster occurs.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisEnemy Mine (1985)
A soldier from Earth crashlands on an alien world after sustaining battle damage. Eventually he encounters another survivor, but from the enemy species he was fighting; they band together to survive on this hostile world. In the end the human finds himself caring for his enemy in a completely unexpected way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBugonia (2025)
Two conspiracy obsessed young men kidnap the high-powered CEO of a major company, convinced that she is an alien intent on destroying planet Earth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTerminator Salvation (2009)
All grown up in post-apocalyptic 2018, John Connor must lead the resistance of humans against the increasingly dominating militaristic robots. But when Marcus Wright appears, his existence confuses the mission as Connor tries to determine whether Wright has come from the future or the past -- and whether he's friend or foe.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe X-Files (1998)
Mulder and Scully, now taken off the FBI's X Files cases, must find a way to fight the shadowy elements of the government to find out the truth about a conspiracy that might mean the alien colonization of Earth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPhoenix Forgotten (2017)
Twenty years after three teenagers disappeared in the wake of mysterious lights appearing above Phoenix, Arizona, unseen footage from that night has been discovered, chronicling the final hours of their fateful expedition.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Hidden (1987)
When average, law-abiding citizens suddenly turn to a life of hedonistic behavior and violent crime, Detective Tom Beck is tasked with helping young FBI agent Lloyd Gallagher determine the cause.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisExtinction (2015)
And suddenly, overnight, the world came to a halt. Two men, two survivors, one kid, and hatred that separates them. A place forgotten by everyone, including the creatures that inhabit the Earth... until now.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRoboCop (1987)
In a violent, near-apocalyptic Detroit, evil corporation Omni Consumer Products wins a contract from the city government to privatize the police force. To test their crime-eradicating cyborgs, the company leads street cop Alex Murphy into an armed confrontation with crime lord Boddicker so they can use his body to support their untested RoboCop prototype. But when RoboCop learns of the company's nefarious plans, he turns on his masters.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisResident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City (2021)
Once the booming home of pharmaceutical giant Umbrella Corporation, Raccoon City is now a dying Midwestern town. The company’s exodus left the city a wasteland…with great evil brewing below the surface. When that evil is unleashed, the townspeople are forever…changed…and a small group of survivors must work together to uncover the truth behind Umbrella and make it through the night.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisSlither (2006)
A small town is taken over by an alien plague, turning residents into zombies and all forms of mutant monsters.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSwan Song (2021)
In the near future, Cameron Turner is diagnosed with a terminal illness. Presented with an experimental solution to shield his wife and son from grief, he grapples with altering their fate in this thought-provoking exploration of love, loss, and sacrifice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Island (2005)
In 2019, Lincoln Six-Echo is a resident of a seemingly "Utopian" but contained facility. Like all of the inhabitants of this carefully-controlled environment, Lincoln hopes to be chosen to go to The Island — reportedly the last uncontaminated location on the planet. But Lincoln soon discovers that everything about his existence is a lie.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBody Snatchers (1993)
When Environmental Protection Agency inspector Steve Malone travels to a remote military base in order to check for toxic materials, he brings his family along for the ride. After arriving at the base, his teenage daughter Marti befriends Jean Platt, daughter of the base's commander, General Platt. When people at the base begin acting strangely, Marti becomes convinced that they are slowly being replaced by plant-like aliens.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCrimes of the Future (2022)
With his partner Caprice, celebrity performance artist Saul Tenser publicly showcases the metamorphosis of his organs in avant-garde performances. An investigator from the National Organ Registry obsessively tracks their movements, which is when a mysterious group is revealed... Their mission — to use Tenser's notoriety to shed light on the next phase of human evolution.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)
Thomas Jerome Newton is an alien who has come to Earth in search of water to save his home planet. Aided by lawyer Oliver Farnsworth, Thomas uses his knowledge of advanced technology to create profitable inventions. While developing a method to transport water, Thomas meets Mary-Lou, a quiet hotel clerk, and begins to fall in love with her. Just as he is ready to leave Earth, Thomas is intercepted by the U.S. government, and his entire plan is threatened.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie (1995)
Six incredible teens out-maneuver and defeat evil everywhere as the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, but this time the Power Rangers may have met their match when they face off with Ivan Ooze, the most sinister monster the galaxy has ever seen.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisRewind (2017)
A mysterious natural phenomenon sets an end to the party night of a group of young adults. The morning after begins with far more than just a hangover.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
The Faculty (1998)
When creepy things start happening at Herrington High, the students begin to suspect that their faculty is being controlled by body-snatching aliens.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFreejack (1992)
Time-traveling bounty hunters find a doomed race-car driver in the past and bring him to 2009 New York, where his mind will be replaced with that of a terminally ill billionaire.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe War of the Worlds (1953)
The residents of a small town are excited when a flaming meteor lands in the hills, until they discover it is the first of many transport devices from Mars bringing an army of invaders invincible to any man-made weapon, even the atomic bomb.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTreasure Planet (2002)
When space galleon cabin boy Jim Hawkins discovers a map to an intergalactic "loot of a thousand worlds," a cyborg cook named John Silver teaches him to battle supernovas and space storms on their journey to find treasure.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Island of Dr. Moreau (1996)
After surviving a plane crash caused by a magnetic storm, United Nations attorney Edward Douglas stumbles upon a mysterious island and is shocked to discover that a brilliant scientist and his lab assistant have found a way to combine human and animal DNA—with horrific results.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisTank Girl (1995)
After a comet disrupts the rain cycle of Earth, the planet has become a desolate, barren desert by the year 2033. With resources scarce, Kesslee, head of the powerful and evil Water & Power Corporation, the de facto government, has taken control of the water supply. Unwilling to cower under Kesslee's tyrannical rule, a pair of outlaws known as Tank Girl and Jet Girl rise up, joining the mysterious rebel Rippers to destroy the corrupt system.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisMad Max 2 (1981)
Max Rockatansky returns as the heroic loner who drives the dusty roads of a postapocalyptic Australian Outback in an unending search for gasoline. Arrayed against him and the other scraggly defendants of a fuel-depot encampment are the bizarre warriors commanded by the charismatic Lord Humungus, a violent leader whose scruples are as barren as the surrounding landscape.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe X-Files: I Want to Believe (2008)
Mulder and Scully are called back to duty by the FBI when a former priest claims to be receiving psychic visions pertaining to a kidnapped agent.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like District 9?
The closest matches to District 9 are Chappie (2015), Twelve Monkeys (1995) and Resident Evil (2002). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after District 9?
Start with Chappie (2015), the closest match to District 9.
What is the highest-rated movie like District 9?
Twelve Monkeys (1995), rated 7.6/10 by 9,537 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like District 9?
Bugonia (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like District 9?
Yes: Chappie (2015), Twelve Monkeys (1995) and Resident Evil (2002).
How are movies similar to District 9 chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside District 9, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.