Movies like The War of the Worlds: Next Century (1981)
The best movies like The War of the Worlds: Next Century (1981) are Extinction (2018), Stargate SG-1: Children of the Gods (2009) and Doctor Who: Last Christmas (2014). If The War of the Worlds: Next Century hooked you with its science fiction and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedDoctor Who: The Day of the Doctor (2013)8.2/10 from 794 votes
- NewestAttack on Titan (2022)Released 2022
Extinction (2018)
A chief mechanic at a factory, haunted by apocalyptic nightmares, becomes a hero when Earth is invaded by a mysterious army bent on destruction.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStargate SG-1: Children of the Gods (2009)
An alien similar to Ra appears out of the Stargate, killing five soldiers and kidnapping another, a year after the original Stargate mission. A new team is assembled, including some old members, and they go in search of the missing soldier in order to find out how Ra could still be alive. Meanwhile, the alien Goa'uld kidnap Sha're and Skaara, implanting them with symbiotes and making them Goa'uld hosts.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDoctor Who: Last Christmas (2014)
The Doctor and Clara face their Last Christmas. Trapped on an Arctic base, under attack from terrifying creatures, who are you going to call? Santa Claus!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDoctor Who: The Snowmen (2012)
The Doctor has retired to 1892 London. Despite the protests of his allies, he is determined to keep out of mankind's affairs. However, a governess named Clara has stumbled upon a plot which only the Doctor can unravel, involving the death of her predecessor in ice and the sinister Dr. Simeon, who controls monsters made of sentient snow. And there is another mystery afoot: Clara is the spitting image of Oswin Oswald, whom the Doctor saw die in the Dalek asylum...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDoctor Who: The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe (2011)
It's Christmas Eve, 1938, when Madge Arwell comes to the aid of an injured Spaceman Angel as she cycles home. He promises to repay her kindness - all she has to do is make a wish.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMission to Mars (2000)
When the first manned mission to Mars meets with a catastrophic and mysterious disaster after reporting an unidentified structure, a rescue mission is launched to investigate the tragedy and bring back any survivors.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDoctor Who: A Christmas Carol (2010)
Amy Pond and Rory Williams are trapped on a crashing space liner, and the only way the Eleventh Doctor can rescue them is to save the soul of a lonely old miser. But is Kazran Sardick, the richest man in Sardicktown, beyond redemption? And what is lurking in the fogs of Christmas Eve?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies 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 & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies 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: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDoctor Who: The Day of the Doctor (2013)
In 2013, something terrible is awakening in London's National Gallery; in 1562, a murderous plot is afoot in Elizabethan England; and somewhere in space an ancient battle reaches its devastating conclusion. All of reality is at stake as the Doctor's own dangerous past comes back to haunt him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisDoctor Who: Planet of the Dead (2009)
A meeting in a London bus with jewel thief Lady Christina takes a turn for the worse for the Doctor when the bus takes a detour to a desert-like planet, where the deadly Swarm awaits.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJohn Carter (2012)
John Carter is a war-weary, former military captain who's inexplicably transported to the mysterious and exotic planet of Barsoom (Mars) and reluctantly becomes embroiled in an epic conflict. It's a world on the brink of collapse, and Carter rediscovers his humanity when he realizes the survival of Barsoom and its people rests in his hands.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Host (2013)
A parasitic alien soul is injected into the body of Melanie Stryder. Instead of carrying out her race's mission of taking over the Earth, "Wanda" (as she comes to be called) forms a bond with her host and sets out to aid other free humans.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIndependence Day (1996)
Strange phenomena surface around the globe. The skies ignite. Terror races through the world's major cities. As these extraordinary events unfold, it becomes increasingly clear that a force of incredible magnitude has arrived. Its mission: total annihilation over the Fourth of July weekend. The last hope to stop the destruction is an unlikely group of people united by fate and unimaginable circumstances.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThunderbirds Are GO (1966)
When the launch of a mission to Mars goes awry due to sabotage, International Rescue is requested to assist in the mission's second attempt.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSpectral (2016)
A special-ops team is dispatched to fight supernatural beings that have taken over a European city.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAttack on Titan (2022)
As viable water is depleted on Earth, a mission is sent to Saturn's moon Titan to retrieve sustainable H2O reserves from its alien inhabitants. But just as the humans acquire the precious resource, they are attacked by Titan rebels, who don't trust that the Earthlings will leave in peace.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe 5th Wave (2016)
16-year-old Cassie Sullivan tries to survive in a world devastated by the waves of an alien invasion that has already decimated the population and knocked mankind back to the Stone Age.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisBabylon 5: In the Beginning (1998)
Londo Mollari, the Centauri Emperor, recounts the initial contact between the Humans and Minbari, which resulted in a major incident and subsequent war, for an eager pair of youngsters wanting a story about love and conflict.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStar Trek: Insurrection (1998)
When an alien race and factions within Starfleet attempt to take over a planet that has "regenerative" properties, it falls upon Captain Picard and the crew of the Enterprise to defend the planet's people as well as the very ideals upon which the Federation itself was founded.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSolo for Clarinet (1998)
Berlin, Germany. A cruel murder took place in an appartment building. Somebody bit off quite a piece of the victim's penis, who then, of course, lost a lot of blood, before being struck down at the head. Leading investigator Bernhard Kominka, being in stress due to a mentally retarded son and a problematic wife, seems to be the only one to see a lady in a red coat. After a while, his theory of her being the murderer may prove to be true, but the Cop also kind of fell in love with this new, interesting person in both of his lives: professional and private as well. Borders dissolve. His decision may be disastrous in any way.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Interferencia (2019)
A high-ranking official of the United Narcotics Organization in a total extermination operation in Caracas is kidnapped and later found dead in a hotel in the city. Meanwhile, a black hole approaches planet Earth creating an inevitable and imminent cosmic crisis where “nothing is real, where everything is a lie.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Replicant (2001)
Scientists create a genetic clone of a serial killer in order to help catch the killer, teaming up with two cops.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
SnoozefestMovies 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: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFallen (1998)
Homicide detective John Hobbes witnesses the execution of serial killer Edgar Reese. Soon after the execution the killings start again, and they are very similar to Reese's style.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Corruptor (1999)
Danny is a young cop partnered with Nick, a seasoned but ethically tainted veteran. As the two try to stop a gang war in Chinatown, Danny relies on Nick but grows increasingly uncomfortable with the way Nick gets things done.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOut of the Blue (2006)
Ordinary people find extraordinary courage in the face of madness. On 13–14 November 1990 that madness came to Aramoana, a small New Zealand seaside town, in the form of a lone gunman with a high-powered semi-automatic rifle. As he stalked his victims the terrified and confused residents were trapped for 24 hours while a handful of under-resourced and under-armed local policemen risked their lives trying to find him and save the survivors. Based on true events.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKnight Rider 2000 (1991)
In the future, guns are banned and criminals are frozen for the duration of their sentences. A recent spate of killings involving handguns brings Michael Knight back to fight for justice, but he insists of the help of KITT, his artificially-intelligent car from decades ago. The only problem is that KITT has been deactivated.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisWonder Boys (2000)
Grady is a 50-ish English professor who hasn't had a thing published in years—not since he wrote his award winning 'Great American Novel' 7 years ago. This weekend proves even worse than he could imagine as he finds himself reeling from one misadventure to another in the company of a new wonder boy author.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFlatfoot in Hong Kong (1975)
Inspector Rizzo is accused of drug trafficking. In order to clear his name he has to find out who is the person, from a Mafia ring, who has infiltrated his police department.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The War of the Worlds: Next Century?
The closest matches to The War of the Worlds: Next Century are Extinction (2018), Stargate SG-1: Children of the Gods (2009) and Doctor Who: Last Christmas (2014). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The War of the Worlds: Next Century?
Start with Extinction (2018), the closest match to The War of the Worlds: Next Century.
What is the highest-rated movie like The War of the Worlds: Next Century?
Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor (2013), rated 8.2/10 by 794 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The War of the Worlds: Next Century?
Attack on Titan (2022) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to The War of the Worlds: Next Century chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The War of the Worlds: Next Century, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.