Movies like King Kong (1933)
The best movies like King Kong (1933) are King Kong (1976), Kong: Skull Island (2017) and Gigantis, the Fire Monster (1959). If King Kong hooked you with its adventure and fantasy, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedPirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)7.8/10 from 23,066 votes
- NewestThe Legend of Ochi (2025)Released 2025
King Kong (1976)
An oil company expedition disturbs the peace of a giant ape and brings him back to New York to exploit him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKong: Skull Island (2017)
Explore the mysterious and dangerous home of the king of the apes as a team of explorers ventures deep inside the treacherous, primordial island.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGigantis, the Fire Monster (1959)
A prehistoric monster called Gigantis emerges alongside another creature named Angurus.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCreature from the Black Lagoon (1954)
When scientists exploring the Amazon River stumble on a “missing link” connecting humans and fish, they plan to capture it for later study. But the Creature has plans of his own, and has set his sights on the lead scientist's beautiful fiancée, Kay.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJames and the Giant Peach (1996)
When the young orphan boy James spills a magic bag of crocodile tongues, he finds himself in possession of a giant peach that flies him away to strange lands.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUnderwater (2020)
After an earthquake destroys their underwater station, six researchers must navigate two miles along the dangerous, unknown depths of the ocean floor to make it to safety in a race against time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Legend of Ochi (2025)
In a remote village on the island of Carpathia, a shy farm girl named Yuri is raised to fear an elusive animal species known as ochi. But when Yuri discovers a wounded baby ochi has been left behind, she escapes on a quest to bring him home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Legend of Tarzan (2016)
Tarzan, having acclimated to life in London, is called back to his former home in the jungle to investigate the activities at a mining encampment.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & adventure
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Jungle Book (2016)
After a threat from the tiger Shere Khan, Mowgli, a man-cub fostered by wolves, is forced to flee the jungle, and he embarks on a journey of self-discovery with the help of the panther, Bagheera, and the free-spirited bear, Baloo.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJack the Giant Slayer (2013)
The story of an ancient war that is reignited when a young farmhand unwittingly opens a gateway between our world and a fearsome race of giants. Unleashed on the Earth for the first time in centuries, the giants strive to reclaim the land they once lost, forcing the young man, Jack into the battle of his life to stop them. Fighting for a kingdom, its people, and the love of a brave princess, he comes face to face with the unstoppable warriors he thought only existed in legend–and gets the chance to become a legend himself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & adventure
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe BFG (2016)
An orphan little girl befriends a benevolent giant who takes her to Giant Country, where they attempt to stop the man-eating giants that are invading the human world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOne Million Years B.C. (1966)
As the Earth wrestles with its agonizing birth, the peoples of this barren and desolate world struggle to survive. Driven by animal instinct they compete against the harsh conditions, their giant predators, and warring tribes. When two people from opposing clans fall in love, existing conventions are shattered forever as each tribe struggles for supremacy and Man embarks on his tortuous voyage of civilization.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMighty Joe Young (1998)
As a child living in Africa, Jill Young saw her mother killed while protecting wild gorillas from poachers led by Andrei Strasser. Now an adult, Jill cares for an orphaned gorilla named Joe -- who, due to a genetic anomaly, is 15 feet tall. When Gregg O'Hara arrives from California and sees the animal, he convinces Jill that Joe would be safest at his wildlife refuge. But Strasser follows them to the U.S., intent on capturing Joe for himself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007)
After losing Captain Jack Sparrow to the locker of Davy Jones, Will Turner, Elizabeth Swann, and Captain Barbossa journey to the ends of the earth to rescue him. And as the East India Trading Company tightens its grip on the seas under Lord Cutler Beckett—now in control of Davy Jones—the fate of piracy hangs by a thread. Now, they must unite the pirate lords for one final stand. But as loyalties are tested and alliances shift, each must ultimately choose where they stand in the battle for freedom on the high seas.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)
Captain Jack Sparrow’s got a blood debt to pay: he owes his soul to the legendary Davy Jones, ghastly Ruler of the Ocean Depths. To escape eternal servitude aboard the Flying Dutchman, ever-crafty Jack must track down the still-beating heart of Jones. But he won’t do it alone: Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann are drawn back into another one of his perilous quests—assuming they can evade execution for aiding a pirate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Wiz (1978)
Dorothy Gale, a shy kindergarten teacher, is swept away to the magic land of Oz where she embarks on a quest to return home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Lost World (2001)
This Lost World is a splendid BBC TV dramatisation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famous adventure story. Bob Hoskins makes an unusually genial Professor Challenger, far less of a bully than Doyle's character, but his slightly stereotyped companions are nicely filled out by a solid cast. James Fox is Challenger's more timid but still covertly adventurous rival, Tom Ward is the moustachioed big game hunter who faces an Allosaurus with an elephant gun, and Matthew Rhys plays the tagalong reporter hoping to impress his faithless fiancée.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJason and the Argonauts (1963)
Jason, a fearless sailor and explorer, returns to his home land of Thessaly after a long voyage to claim his rightful throne. He learns, however, that he must first find the magical Golden Fleece. To do so, he must embark on an epic quest fraught with fantastic monsters and terrible perils.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
When wily pirate Captain Barbossa seizes Jack Sparrow’s beloved ship, the Black Pearl, and kidnaps the governor’s daughter, Elizabeth Swann, blacksmith Will Turner reluctantly teams up with the unpredictable pirate Jack to rescue her—only to uncover a terrifying curse that turns Barbossa’s crew into the undead.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Most Dangerous Game (1932)
When legendary hunter Bob Rainsford is shipwrecked on the perilous reefs surrounding a mysterious island, he finds himself the guest of the reclusive and eccentric Count Zaroff. While he is very gracious at first, Zaroff eventually forces Rainsford and two other shipwreck survivors, brother and sister Eve and Martin Towbridge, to participate in a sadistic game of cat and mouse in which they are the prey and he is the hunter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAnacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid (2004)
A scientific expedition sets out for Borneo to seek a flower called the Blood Orchid, which could grant extended life. Meanwhile, they run afoul of snakes and each other.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisWes Craven's New Nightmare (1994)
A demonic force has chosen Freddy Krueger as its portal to the real world. Can Heather Langenkamp play the part of Nancy one last time and trap the evil trying to enter our world?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & 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: Similar story and style · both adventure & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJourney to the Center of the Earth (1959)
An Edinburgh professor and assorted colleagues follow an explorer's trail down an extinct Icelandic volcano to the earth's center.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThem! (1954)
As a result of nuclear testing, gigantic, ferocious mutant ants appear in the American desert southwest, and a father-daughter team of entomologists join forces with the state police officer who first discovers their existence, an FBI agent and, eventually, the US Army to eradicate the menace, before it spreads across the continent — and the world.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMutiny on the Bounty (1962)
The Bounty leaves Portsmouth in 1787. Its destination: to sail to Tahiti and load bread-fruit. Captain Bligh will do anything to get there as fast as possible, using any means to keep up a strict discipline. When they arrive at Tahiti, it is like a paradise for the crew, something completely different than the living hell aboard the ship. On the way back to England, officer Fletcher Christian becomes the leader of a mutiny.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Thing from the Shed (2016)
Carly has a new house guest, from her shed!
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Daylight (1996)
A group of armed robbers fleeing the police head for the New Jersey Tunnel and run right into trucks transporting toxic waste. The spectacular explosion that follows results in both ends of the tunnel collapsing and the handful of people who survived the explosion are now in peril. Kit Latura is the only man with the skill and knowledge to lead the band of survivors out of the tunnel before the structure collapses.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJeepers Creepers 2 (2003)
When their bus is crippled on the side of a deserted road, a team of high school athletes discover an opponent they cannot defeat – and may not survive.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like King Kong?
The closest matches to King Kong are King Kong (1976), Kong: Skull Island (2017) and Gigantis, the Fire Monster (1959). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after King Kong?
Start with King Kong (1976), the closest match to King Kong.
What is the highest-rated movie like King Kong?
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003), rated 7.8/10 by 23,066 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like King Kong?
The Legend of Ochi (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like King Kong?
Yes: King Kong (1976), Kong: Skull Island (2017) and Gigantis, the Fire Monster (1959).
How are movies similar to King Kong chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside King Kong, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.