Movies like The Runner (2006)
The best movies like The Runner (2006) are Barnyard Olympics (1932), Pretty Lethal (2026) and Hairspray (2007). If The Runner hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
The Runner
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThey Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969)7.6/10 from 390 votes
- NewestPretty Lethal (2026)Released 2026
Barnyard Olympics (1932)
Mickey and his friends are staging a sort of olympics in a makeshift stadium on his farm. The main event is a sort of quadrathlon, with running, pole vaulting, rowing, and cycling. Mickey gets a late start due to some foul play by Pete, and that's not the only foul play.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPretty Lethal (2026)
A troupe of ballerinas find themselves fighting for survival as they attempt to escape from a remote inn after their bus breaks down on the way to a dance competition.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHairspray (2007)
Pleasantly plump teenager Tracy Turnblad auditions to be on Baltimore's most popular dance show - The Corny Collins Show - and lands a prime spot. Through her newfound fame, she becomes determined to help her friends and end the racial segregation that has been a staple of the show.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJoe's Apartment (1996)
A nice guy has just moved to New York and discovers that he must share his run-down apartment with a couple thousand singing, dancing cockroaches.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962)
A rebellious youth, sentenced to a boy’s reformatory for robbing a bakery, rises through the ranks of the institution by impressing its Governor through his prowess as a long distance runner. He is encouraged to compete in an upcoming race, but faces ridicule from his peers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGet Smart (2008)
When members of the nefarious crime syndicate KAOS attack the U.S. spy agency Control and the identities of secret agents are compromised, the Chief has to promote hapless but eager analyst Maxwell Smart to field agent. He is partnered with veteran and capable Agent 99, the only spy whose cover remains intact. Can they work together to thwart the evil world-domination plans of KAOS and its crafty operative?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Furious Five (2008)
Ordered to teach a martial arts class of rambunctious bunny kittens, Po tells stories of each of the Furious Five's pasts.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDeath Race 2 (2010)
In the world's most dangerous prison, a new game is born: Death Race. The rules of this adrenaline-fueled blood sport are simple, drive or die. When repentant convict Carl Lucas discovers there's a price on his head, his only hope is to survive a twisted race against an army of hardened criminals and tricked-out cars.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Rat Catcher (2023)
In an English village, a reporter and a mechanic listen to a ratcatcher explain his clever plan to outwit his prey.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPanic in the Mailroom (2013)
Two Minions are busy at work in the mailroom. One of them, bored, decides to throw a box of expired PX-41 samples into its designated chute.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMao’s Last Dancer (2009)
At the age of 11, Li was plucked from a poor Chinese village by Madame Mao's cultural delegates and taken to Beijing to study ballet. In 1979, during a cultural exchange to Texas, he falls in love with an American woman. Two years later, he managed to defect and went on to perform as a principal dancer for the Houston Ballet and as a principal artist with the Australian Ballet.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAmerican Flyers (1985)
When Dr. Marcus Sommers realizes that he and his troubled, estranged brother David may be prone a fatal brain disease that runs in their family, he decides to make peace with his sibling, and invites him on a trip to the Rockies. There, the brothers bond over their shared enthusiasm for cycling and decide to enter a grueling bike race through the mountains. However, Marcus' health soon begins to fail, and David must compete without his brother at his side.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Adjustment Bureau (2011)
A man glimpses the future Fate has planned for him – and chooses to fight for his own destiny. Battling the powerful Adjustment Bureau across, under and through the streets of New York, he risks his destined greatness to be with the only woman he's ever loved.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTom and Jerry: The Fast and the Furry (2005)
After being evicted from their old house by Tom's owner for causing major damage, cat and mouse Tom and Jerry enter a race entitled the "Fabulous Super Race" to win a mansion.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBattle for Terra (2007)
A peaceful alien planet faces annihilation, as the homeless remainder of the human race sets its eyes on Terra. Mala, a rebellious Terrian teenager, will do everything she can to stop it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisReality Bites (1994)
A small circle of friends suffering from post-collegiate blues must confront the hard truth about life, love and the pursuit of gainful employment. As they struggle to map out survival guides for the future, the Gen-X quartet soon begins to realize that reality isn't all it's cracked up to be.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThey Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969)
In the midst of the Great Depression, manipulative emcee Rocky enlists contestants for a dance marathon offering a $1,500 cash prize. Among them are a failed actress, a middle-aged sailor, a delusional blonde and a pregnant girl.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDeath Race (2008)
Terminal Island, New York: 2020. Overcrowding in the US penal system has reached a breaking point. Prisons have been turned over to a monolithic Weyland Corporation, which sees jails full of thugs as an opportunity for televised sport. Adrenalized inmates, a global audience hungry for violence and a spectacular, enclosed arena come together to form the 'Death Race', the biggest, most brutal event.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Double (2014)
An awkward office drone becomes increasingly unhinged after a charismatic and confident look-alike takes a job at his workplace and seduces the woman he desires.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this9 (2005)
A rag doll fights a monster that has been stealing the souls of his people.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Runner?
The closest matches to The Runner are Barnyard Olympics (1932), Pretty Lethal (2026) and Hairspray (2007). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Runner?
Start with Barnyard Olympics (1932), the closest match to The Runner.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Runner?
They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969), rated 7.6/10 by 390 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Runner?
Pretty Lethal (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Runner?
Yes: Barnyard Olympics (1932), Pretty Lethal (2026) and Hairspray (2007).
How are movies similar to The Runner chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Runner, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.