Movies like Thomas Mao (2010)
The best movies like Thomas Mao (2010) are The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976), Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back (2017) and Endless Journey of Love (2025). If Thomas Mao hooked you with its fantasy, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Legend of Hei (2019)8.4/10 from 583 votes
- NewestLone Samurai (2025)Released 2025
- In ChineseJourney to the West: The Demons Strike Back (2017)Also in Chinese
The 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 fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJourney to the West: The Demons Strike Back (2017)
Tang Monk brings three disciples on a journey to the West. On the outside, everything seems harmonious. However, tension is present beneath the surface, and their hearts and minds are not in agreement. After a series of demon-capturing events, the monk and his disciples gain mutual understanding of each others' hardships and unease. Finally, they resolve their inner conflict and work together to become an all-conquering, demon-exorcising team.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEndless Journey of Love (2025)
In 1930s China, village girl Qian Xiao gains the power to control time, making her a target of powerful forces. As she uncovers the metropolis's hidden secrets, she faces peril and the cost of her gift.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Monkey King 2 (2016)
Taking place 500 years after the Havoc in Heaven, the Tang Priest is appointed by Buddha to go to the West to fetch the sacred scriptures, only to accidentally free the Monkey King. With Lady White aiming to break up the team assembled to defeat her, the Monkey King must fight in order to save his world!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
SnoozefestMovies like thisA Writer's Odyssey (2021)
Lu Kongwen is the author of a fantasy novel series following a heroic teenager, also named Kongwen, on a quest to end the tyrannical rule of Lord Redmane, under the guidance of a Black Armor. But through a strange twist of fate, the fantasy world of the novel begins to impact life in the real world, leading Guan Ning to accept a mission from Tu Ling to kill the author.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Sun Also Rises (2007)
A polyptych of interconnected stories in different time-zones, shifting between a Yunnan village, a campus, and the Gobi Desert.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTwo of a Kind (1983)
God has had enough of the bad behavior and attitude of humankind, and has decided to start it all over. It is up to a struggling inventor and a bank teller, both with very amateur criminal minds, to save the world by falling in love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStrawberry Mansion (2021)
In the not-too-distant future, an all-seeing surveillance state conducts “dream audits” to collect taxes on the unconscious lives of the populace. Mild-mannered government agent James Preble travels to a remote farmhouse to audit the dreams of Arabella “Bella” Isadora, an eccentric, aging artist. Entering Bella’s vast VHS archive, which contains a lifetime of dreams, Preble stumbles upon a secret that offers him a chance at love—and hope for escape.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDragonheart: Vengeance (2021)
Lukas, a young farmer whose family is killed by savage raiders in the countryside, sets out on an epic quest for revenge, forming an unlikely trio with a majestic dragon and a swashbuckling, sword-fighting mercenary, Darius.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Unhealer (2021)
A botched faith healing bestows supernatural Shaman powers on a bullied teenager. When his lifelong tormentors pull a prank that kills someone he loves, he uses his powers for revenge and goes on a bloody rampage to settle the score.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
SnoozefestMovies like thisSnow Queen (2002)
Since a bitter winter storm stole the life of Gerda's mother, she and her father have sadly continued to run the remote hotel they call home. Lonely and isolated, Gerda's only joy is Kai, the handsome bellboy. A mysterious guest with an icy stare arrives at the hotel one night, wrapped in fur and diamonds. By daybreak, the "Snow Queen" has vanished with Kai! Gerda embarks on a journey of morphing seasons, fantastical creatures, and long-frozen mysteries in a desperate quest to find her stolen love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Myth (2005)
When a fellow scientist asks for Jack's help in locating the mausoleum of China's first emperor, the past collides violently with the present as Jack discovers his amazing visions are based in fact.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Thousand Faces of Dunjia (2017)
The world is on the brink of catastrophe in a chaotic age where evil demons roam. In order to keep evil at bay, a mysterious organisation from the pugilist world emerges. A new constable and a young girl with a mysterious past are also drawn into this group, and the group embarks on an incredible adventure.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDragon Nest: Warriors' Dawn (2014)
For years, the land of Altera has observed an uneasy peace between the humans, the elves, and the beasts who are loyal to the legendary Black Dragon. But when the dragon wakes from its hibernation, mobilizing a force of beasts to make war, a small band of humans and elves unite in a search for the secret road to the dragon’s lair.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Legend of Hei (2019)
When cat spirit Luo Xiaohei's home is deforested by humans, he must find a new one. He runs into a group of other spirit creatures who take him under their wing with dreams of reconquering the land they say is rightfully theirs. However, they run into a human known as Wuxian who separates Luo Xiaohei from the other spirits and the two go on a journey, with the cat spirit learning to control his abilities as well as forming his own thoughts on whether or not he should ally with the spirits or the humans.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Water Man (2020)
Hoping to save his sick mother, a boy named Gunner and his friend Jo venture into the remote Wild Horse forest to search for a mythical figure who possesses the secret to immortality. When they go missing, Gunner's father Amos must immerse himself in his son's world to find them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHideaways (2011)
The elder one of each generation in the Furlong family is equipped with an extraordinary capacity. James discovers the nature of his at the time of an accident which causes the death of his father and his grandmother. Haunted by this mysterious evil he hides in a forest not to harm anybody. A few years later, Mae also takes refuge it in the forest and meets James.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLone Samurai (2025)
A violent and reckless samurai is shipwrecked on a remote island left without an avenue for his rage. After undertaking a spiritual journey to appease his aggressive thoughts, he finds himself abducted by external demons taking the form of cannibals, putting his sense of reality and deadly talents to the test.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPurgatory (1999)
An outlaw band flees a posse and rides into Refuge, a small town where no one carries a gun, drinks, or swears. The town is actually Purgatory, and the peaceful inhabitants are all famous dead outlaws and criminals such as Doc Holiday and Wild Bill Hickok who must redeem themselves before gaining admittance to Heaven... or screw up and go to Hell.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDr. Strange (1978)
A psychiatrist becomes the new Sorcerer Supreme of the Earth in order to battle an evil Sorceress from the past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Thomas Mao?
The closest matches to Thomas Mao are The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976), Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back (2017) and Endless Journey of Love (2025). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Thomas Mao?
Start with The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976), the closest match to Thomas Mao.
What is the highest-rated movie like Thomas Mao?
The Legend of Hei (2019), rated 8.4/10 by 583 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Thomas Mao?
Lone Samurai (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Chinese movies like Thomas Mao?
Yes: Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back (2017), Endless Journey of Love (2025) and The Monkey King 2 (2016).
How are movies similar to Thomas Mao chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Thomas Mao, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.