Movies like The Punisher (2026)
The best movies like The Punisher (2026) are Dragon Fist (1979), Hounds of War (2024) and Fear Is the Key (1972). If The Punisher hooked you with its action and thriller, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Big Heat (1953)7.7/10 from 587 votes
- NewestExit Protocol (2025)Released 2025
- In ChineseDragon Fist (1979)Also in Chinese
Dragon Fist (1979)
After the death of his master, martial arts student Tong Huo-wan travels with his adoptive family to seek redress from the man responsible but finds himself torn between righteousness and filial piety after becoming entangled in a feud between a local clan and gangsters.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHounds of War (2024)
After a mission goes wrong, only one of a group of mercenaries is left alive to avenge his fallen brothers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFear Is the Key (1972)
A deep-sea salvage expert enacts an elaborate plan to infiltrate and take revenge on a criminal organization that dealt him a foul misdeed.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Replacement Killers (1998)
Hired assassin John Lee is asked by Chinatown crime boss Terence Wei to murder the young son of policeman Stan Zedkov. Lee has the boy in his sights, but his conscience gets the better of him, and he spares the child's life. Afraid that Wei will take revenge on his family in China, Lee seeks out expert forger Meg Coburn to obtain the passport he needs to get out of the country, but a band of replacement killers is soon on his trail.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBorder Hunters (2025)
After his police officer brother is killed by a drug dealer who flees to the protection of his cartel-connected uncle in Mexico, an American man with a diverse law enforcement/military background goes south of the border to get revenge
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDangerous (2021)
A reformed sociopath heads to a remote island after the death of his brother. Soon after his arrival, the island falls under siege from a deadly gang of mercenaries, and when he discovers their role in his brother’s demise, he sets out on a relentless quest for vengeance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Dead Pool (1988)
Dirty Harry Callahan returns for his final film adventure. Together with his partner Al Quan, he must investigate the systematic murder of prominent figures. By the time Harry learns that the murders are part of a sick game to predict such deaths, it may be too late.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNo Retreat, No Surrender 3: Blood Brothers (1990)
Two feuding brothers of differing political views, one a policeman, the other a martial artist, join forces to avenge the death of their father, a retired agent who was brutally murdered by the mafia.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStriking Rescue (2024)
A veteran Muay Thai expert goes on a take-no-prisoners mission of revenge after his wife and daughter are brutally murdered by mysterious forces.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKate (2021)
A ruthless criminal operative has less than 24 hours to exact revenge on her enemies and in the process forms an unexpected bond with the daughter of one of her past victims.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisExit Protocol (2025)
An assassin whose specialty is killing other assassins trying to get out of the business decides to try to get out himself and must then team up with his former mark to escape the hired killers now gunning for them both.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCode of Silence (1985)
A Chicago cop is caught in the middle of a gang war while his own comrades shun him because he wants to take an irresponsible cop down.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisSavage Salvation (2022)
Newly engaged Shelby John and Ruby Red want a fresh start after their struggles with addiction, but when Shelby discovers his beloved Ruby dead on their porch, he embarks on a vengeful killing spree of the dealers who supplied her. Armed with nothing but adrenaline and a nail gun, Shelby begins to unleash chaos on the town’s criminal underbelly, as he hunt’s down crime lord Coyote. Sheriff Church must race against the clock to put an end to Shelby's vigilante justice before the entire town descends into a bloodbath.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWake of Death (2004)
Ben Archer, an ex-mob enforcer, seeks revenge against a ruthless Chinese kingpin responsible for his wife's brutal murder. When Archer joins forces with his old underworld friends, an all-out war is waged against the Chinese Triad.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Black Book (2023)
After his son is wrongly accused of kidnapping, a deacon who has just lost his wife takes matters into his own hands and fights a crooked police gang to clear him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisYear of the Dragon (1985)
In New York, racist Capt. Stanley White becomes obsessed with destroying a Chinese-American drug ring run by Joey Tai, an up-and-coming young gangster as ambitious as he is ruthless. While pursuing an unauthorized investigation, White grows increasingly willing to violate police protocol, resorting to progressively violent measures -- even as his concerned wife, Connie, and his superiors beg him to consider the consequences of his actions.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVendetta (2022)
When his daughter is murdered, William Duncan takes the law into his own hands, setting out on a quest for retribution. After killing the street thug responsible for her death, he finds himself in the middle of a war with the thug's brother, father, and their gang, who are equally hell-bent on getting even. What ensues is a tense back-and-forth game of vengeance. By the end, William comes to find that the quest for revenge never has a winner.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Big Heat (1953)
After the suspicious suicide of a fellow cop, tough homicide detective Dave Bannion takes the law into his own hands when he sets out to smash a vicious crime syndicate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlood Brothers (1973)
Set in the waning years of the Ching Dyansty, this dramatic, tragic, romantic, blood-soaked martial arts tale of betrayal and revenge explores one of the most sensational scandals in Chinese history and marked the true ascension of its director and actors to superstar status. In fact, Ti Lung won Taiwan's Golden Horse Award for Outstanding Performance as the challenging role of a jealous provincial governor who kills his friend in order to steal the man's wife.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRevenge (1990)
Michael ‘Jay’ Cochran has just left the Navy after 12 years and he's not quite sure what he's going to do, except that he knows he wants a holiday. He decides to visit Tiburon Mendez, a powerful but shady Mexican businessman who he once flew to Alaska for a hunting trip. Arriving at the Mendez mansion in Mexico, he is immediately surprised by the beauty and youth of Mendez’s wife, Miryea.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like this15 Minutes (2001)
When Eastern European criminals Oleg and Emil come to New York City to pick up their share of a heist score, Oleg steals a video camera and starts filming their activities, both legal and illegal. When they learn how the American media circus can make a remorseless killer look like the victim and make them rich, they target media-savvy NYPD Homicide Detective Eddie Flemming and media-naive FDNY Fire Marshal Jordy Warsaw, the cops investigating their murder and torching of their former criminal partner, filming everything to sell to the local tabloid TV show "Top Story."
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisPickings (2018)
When a short-tempered mobster and his gang of thugs try to shake down a neighborhood bar, they're soon confronted with the wrath of its owner - a mysterious southern mother with a dangerous past.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & action
I'll Sleep When I'm Dead (2003)
Will Graham is a former London crime boss who has left his former life to live as a recluse in the forest. Haunted by the blood of those he has murdered, Will wishes never to return. But when his brother commits suicide following a sexual assault at the hands of a volatile car dealer, Will returns to London to discover the cause of his brother's death and administer justice to those responsible.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisAttack Force (2006)
Marshall Lawson is the commander of an elite military unit. Marshall Lawson loses his strike-team in a cold-blooded and seemingly random attack, and he takes it upon himself to investigate the attack, with the help of his girlfriend Tia and his friend Dwayne.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisRollin' with the Nines (2006)
Too Fine and his friends Finny, Pushy and Rage hope to set up a successful urban underground garage...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & thriller
Road House (1989)
The Double Deuce is the meanest, loudest and rowdiest bar south of the Mason-Dixon Line, and Dalton has been hired to clean it up. He might not look like much, but the Ph.D.-educated bouncer proves he's more than capable – busting the heads of troublemakers and turning the roadhouse into a jumping hot spot. But Dalton's romance with the gorgeous Dr. Clay puts him on the bad side of cutthroat local big shot Brad Wesley.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTo Live and Die in L.A. (1985)
When his longtime partner on the force is killed, reckless U.S. Secret Service agent Richard Chance vows revenge, setting out to nab dangerous counterfeit artist Eric Masters.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPatriot Games (1992)
When CIA Analyst Jack Ryan interferes with an IRA assassination, a renegade faction targets Jack and his family as revenge.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOn the Line (2021)
Seo-joon, loses everything to voice phishing and infiltrates a organization in China to meet Kwak Pro, the designer behind this phishing system.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Scorpion (1997)
Josef Bertholt is head of operations of the Munich Police's drug squad. When his wife Lily is the victim of a hit by drug dealers, he becomes even more obsessed with his work.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Punisher?
The closest matches to The Punisher are Dragon Fist (1979), Hounds of War (2024) and Fear Is the Key (1972). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Punisher?
Start with Dragon Fist (1979), the closest match to The Punisher.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Punisher?
The Big Heat (1953), rated 7.7/10 by 587 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Punisher?
Exit Protocol (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Chinese movies like The Punisher?
Yes: Dragon Fist (1979), Striking Rescue (2024) and Blood Brothers (1973).
How are movies similar to The Punisher chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Punisher, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.