Movies like Dubai (2001)
The best movies like Dubai (2001) are The MacKintosh Man (1973), The Truth About Emanuel (2013) and Killers (2010). If Dubai hooked you with its thriller, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedYou Can't Take It with You (1938)7.5/10 from 471 votes
- NewestHostile Takeover (2025)Released 2025
- In MalayalamAnjaam Pathiraa (2020)Also in Malayalam
The MacKintosh Man (1973)
A member of British Intelligence assumes a fictitious criminal identity and allows himself to be caught, imprisoned, and freed in order to infiltrate a spy organization and expose a traitor; only, someone finds him out and exposes him to the gang...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Truth About Emanuel (2013)
A troubled young woman becomes obsessed with her mysterious new neighbor, who bears a striking resemblance to the girl's dead mother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKillers (2010)
When an elite assassin marries a beautiful computer whiz after a whirlwind romance, he gives up the gun and settles down with his new bride. That is, until he learns that someone from his past has put a contract out on his life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Seven-Ups (1973)
A tough detective who is part of an elite New York City unit is trying to find out who killed his partner, but uncovers a plot to kidnap mobsters for money.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNorth Sea Hijack (1980)
When terrorists take over two oil rigs, and threaten to blow them up if their demands are not met, an eccentric anti-terrorism expert volunteers his unique commando unit to stop them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe House on Carroll Street (1988)
A reporter, fired after refusing to give names to a 1951 House Un-American Activities Committee, takes a part-time job as companion to an old lady. While working she overhears a noisy argument in the neighboring house, being conducted largely in German and involving her HUAC prosecutor. She begins to investigate, enlisting the help of the FBI Agent initially detailed to surveil her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Glass Key (1942)
A crooked politician finds himself being accused of murder by a gangster from whom he refused help during a re-election campaign.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAnjaam Pathiraa (2020)
A psychologist with a keen interest in criminology gets entangled in a tough serial killer case which the police find hard to crack.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThey Made Me a Fugitive (1947)
After being framed for a policeman's murder, a criminal escapes prison and sets out for revenge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHostile Takeover (2025)
Follows Pete, a professional hitman, as he faces a group of assassins after the boss of a crime syndicate suspects disloyalty due to his attendance at Workaholics Anonymous meetings.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNick of Time (1995)
An ordinary man is suddenly forced into a plot to kill a politician in exchange for his kidnapped daughter's freedom.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPickup on South Street (1953)
In New York City, an insolent pickpocket, Skip McCoy, inadvertently sets off a chain of events when he targets ex-prostitute Candy and steals her wallet. Unaware that she has been making deliveries of highly classified information to the communists, Candy, who has been trailed by FBI agents for months in hopes of nabbing the spy ringleader, is sent by her ex-boyfriend, Joey, to find Skip and retrieve the valuable microfilm he now holds.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNightfall (1956)
An innocent man turns fugitive as he reconstructs events that implicate him for a murder and robbery he did not commit.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlacklight (2022)
Travis Block is a shadowy Government agent who specializes in removing operatives whose covers have been exposed. He then has to uncover a deadly conspiracy within his own ranks that reaches the highest echelons of power.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011)
Ethan Hunt and his team are racing against time to track down a dangerous terrorist named Hendricks, who has gained access to Russian nuclear launch codes and is planning a strike on the United States. An attempt to stop him ends in an explosion causing severe destruction to the Kremlin and the IMF to be implicated in the bombing, forcing the President to disavow them. No longer being aided by the government, Ethan and his team chase Hendricks around the globe, although they might still be too late to stop a disaster.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStormageddon (2015)
What happens when you ask the most powerful computer program, run by the most powerful computers, to follow, listen and predict human behavior? The program learns, becomes sentient and begins to behave like a human. When a master computer program, Echelon, takes over America's entire online system, our country is threatened to be brought to its knees. Hacking into DARPA, Echelon gains the ability to manipulate the weather, create earthquakes, and cause a level of destruction unlike anything the country could ever imagine. But how do you stop a computer program when it has control over any and every defense you have?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisExecutive Action (1973)
Rogue intelligence agents, right-wing politicians, greedy capitalists, and free-lance assassins plot and carry out the JFK assassination in this speculative agitprop.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRorschach (2022)
When Luke Antony's wife goes missing, he sets off to search for her and stumbles upon the Balan family. However, terrorising events start occurring as Luke grows closer to them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Most Wanted Man (2014)
A Chechen Muslim illegally immigrates to Hamburg and becomes a person of interest for a covert government team tracking the movements of potential terrorists.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIratta (2023)
After a cop is found dead, a policeman's investigation sparks a chilling search for the truth connected to his estranged twin and their fraught past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSpartan (2004)
U.S. government agent Scott is assigned to rescue the daughter of a high-ranking government official. As willing as he is to bend the rules to get things done, though, Scott is shocked to find that others are willing to go even further to protect a political career.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGod's Own Country (2014)
Manu travels from Dubai to Kochi to attain his goal, without which he will be in trouble. Public prosecutor Mathew Tharakan and taxi driver Muhammed have their own intentions to be pursued as well. Vasudeva Sanal's God's Own Country narrates the story of what happens to the three as they try to reach their destination.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Cronos (1993)
Faced with his own mortality, an ingenious alchemist tried to perfect an invention that would provide him with the key to eternal life. It was called the Cronos device. When he died more than 400 years later, he took the secrets of this remarkable device to the grave with him. Now, an elderly antiques dealer has found the hellish machine hidden in a statue and learns about its incredible powers. The more he uses the device, the younger he becomes...but nothing comes without a price. Life after death is just the beginning as this nerve-shattering thriller unfolds and the fountain of youth turns bloody.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Rest Room (TBA)
Seven strangers trapped overnight in a mall restroom, where hidden agendas collide and a suspicious death forces everyone to confront their darkest secrets, and their own capacity for redemption.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Bell Bottom (2021)
By the early ‘80s, India had already witnessed multiple airplane hijacks. In 1984, the country was made to face another such challenge. BellBottom, a RAW Agent, sees through the plan and thus begins India's first overseas covert operation. An operation, lead by a forgotten hero, that went on to create one of the most defining moments for India.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCaptive (1986)
The daughter of an international tycoon is kidnapped by a trio of abductors who seek to mold her to their lifestyle.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Body of Lies (2008)
The CIA’s hunt is on for the mastermind of a wave of terrorist attacks. Roger Ferris is the agency’s man on the ground, moving from place to place, scrambling to stay ahead of ever-shifting events. An eye in the sky – a satellite link – watches Ferris. At the other end of that real-time link is the CIA’s Ed Hoffman, strategizing events from thousands of miles away. And as Ferris nears the target, he discovers trust can be just as dangerous as it is necessary for survival.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNadodikkattu (1987)
After losing their jobs, Dasan and Vijayan have no hope of finding work in Kerala. They plan to escape to Dubai, but end up in Chennai. Can they find luck there?
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisWalker (1987)
William Walker and his mercenary corps enter Nicaragua in the middle of the 19th century in order to install a new government by a coup d'etat.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisYou Can't Take It with You (1938)
Alice, the only relatively normal member of the eccentric Sycamore family, falls in love with Tony Kirby, but his wealthy banker father and snobbish mother strongly disapprove of the match. When the Kirbys are invited to dinner to become better acquainted with their future in-laws, things don't turn out the way Alice had hoped.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Worth the HypeMovies like this
Like Dubai and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Dubai?
The closest matches to Dubai are The MacKintosh Man (1973), The Truth About Emanuel (2013) and Killers (2010). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Dubai?
Start with The MacKintosh Man (1973), the closest match to Dubai.
What is the highest-rated movie like Dubai?
You Can't Take It with You (1938), rated 7.5/10 by 471 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Dubai?
Hostile Takeover (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Malayalam movies like Dubai?
Yes: Anjaam Pathiraa (2020), Rorschach (2022) and Iratta (2023).
How are movies similar to Dubai chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Dubai, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.