Movies like Countdown
If Countdown hooked you with its science fiction and thriller, these are the films to watch next. Every pick says why it matches.
The Andromeda Strain (1971)
When virtually all of the residents of Piedmont, New Mexico are found dead after the return to Earth of a space satellite, the head of the US Air Force's Project Scoop declares an emergency. A group of eminent scientists led by Dr. Jeremy Stone scrambles to a secure laboratory and tries first to isolate the life form while determining why two people from Piedmont - an old alcoholic and a six-month-old baby - survived. The scientists methodically study the alien life form, unaware that it has already mutated and presents a far greater danger in the lab, which is equipped with a nuclear self-destruct device designed to prevent the escape of dangerous biological agents.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Philadelphia Experiment (1984)
Based on an "actual event" that took place in 1943. About a US Navy Destroyer Escort that disappeared from the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, and sent two men 40 years into the future to 1984.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInvasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
A small-town doctor learns that the population of his community is being replaced by emotionless alien duplicates.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like this2010 (1984)
While planet Earth poises on the brink of nuclear self-destruction, a team of Russian and American scientists aboard the Leonov hurtles to a rendezvous with the still-orbiting Discovery spacecraft and its sole known survivor, the homicidal computer HAL.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisColossus: The Forbin Project (1970)
The U.S. has handed over control of its nuclear defense system to the Colossus supercomputer designed by scientist Dr. Charles Forbin. It soon becomes clear, that the now-sentient Colossus is far more intelligent than its creator realized—with the fate of the world hanging in the balance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDestination Moon (1950)
A team composed of an aerospace scientist, an ex-Air Force general, and an industrialist conceives an ambitious plan to land Americans on the moon. From their base in the Mojave Desert, they construct and successfully launch a spacecraft named "Luna" that contains a cargo of four astronauts. But a critical miscalculation of needed power to escape the moon's gravitational pull may put the astronauts' lives in danger.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisFirst Men in the Moon (1964)
The world is delighted when a spacecraft containing a crew comprised of the world's astronauts lands on the moon, but are shocked when the astronauts discover an old British flag and a document declaring that the moon is taken for Queen Victoria, proving that the astronauts were not the first men on the moon.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like this2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Humanity finds a mysterious object buried beneath the lunar surface and sets off to find its origins with the help of HAL 9000, the world's most advanced super computer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Martian (2015)
During a manned mission to Mars, Astronaut Mark Watney is presumed dead after a fierce storm and left behind by his crew. But Watney has survived and finds himself stranded and alone on the hostile planet. With only meager supplies, he must draw upon his ingenuity, wit and spirit to subsist and find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thisThe Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005)
Mere seconds before the Earth is to be demolished by an alien construction crew, Arthur Dent is swept off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher penning a new edition of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy."
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhen Worlds Collide (1951)
When a group of astronomers calculate a star is on a course to slam into Earth, a few days before, it's accompanying planet will first pass close enough to the Earth to cause havoc on land and sea. They set about building a rocket so a few selected individuals can escape to the planet.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCrater (2023)
After the death of his father, a boy growing up on a lunar mining colony takes a trip to explore a legendary crater, along with his four best friends, prior to being permanently relocated to another planet.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEnder's Game (2013)
Based on the classic novel by Orson Scott Card, Ender's Game is the story of the Earth's most gifted children training to defend their homeplanet in the space wars of the future.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBabylon 5: The Gathering (1993)
The feature-length pilot for this Emmy award-winning show. Babylon 5 is the latest in a series of space stations built by humans. The Vorlon ambassador, Kosh, has been poisoned. It is the new commanding officer, Jeffrey Sinclair, who has the responsibility of finding the culprit. Otherwise, the space station will fail in its role of bringing many alien races together.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBabylon 5: A Call to Arms (1999)
Allies of the Shadows seek revenge against humanity. This movie sets up the series, "Crusade," the sequel to "Babylon 5."
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisZathura: A Space Adventure (2005)
After their father is called into work, two young boys, Walter and Danny, are left in the care of their teenage sister, Lisa, and told they must stay inside. Walter and Danny, who anticipate a boring day, are shocked when they begin playing Zathura, a space-themed board game, which they realize has mystical powers when their house is shot into space. With the help of an astronaut, the boys attempt to return home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhen I'm Ready (2025)
It's the end of the world. Seeking meaning and thrills in their last days alive, Rose and Michael embark on a cross-country road trip to see Rose's grandmother as a devastating asteroid threatens to wipe out life on Earth. Along the way they encounter other lost souls, each with their own very different perspective on the impending doom.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisForbidden Planet (1956)
Starship C57D travels to planet Altair 4 in search of the crew of spaceship "Bellerophon," a scientific expedition that has been missing for twenty years. They find themselves unwelcome by the expedition's lone survivor and warned of destruction by an invisible force if they don't turn back immediately.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBabylon 5: Thirdspace (1998)
Susan Ivanova discovers a derelict spaceship in hyperspace. They tow it back to Babylon 5, then strange things start happening. People are being telepathically taken over by aliens from another (third)space.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMystic River (2003)
The lives of three men who were childhood friends are shattered when one of them suffers a family tragedy.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEyes Wide Shut (1999)
After Dr. Bill Harford's wife, Alice, admits to having sexual fantasies about a man she met, Bill becomes obsessed with having a sexual encounter. He discovers an underground sexual group and attends one of their meetings -- and quickly discovers that he is in over his head.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Housemaid's Secret (2027)
Millie Calloway takes a job keeping house for a woman she's never allowed to see — only to discover the truth behind the locked door that threatens to expose secrets far darker than her own.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Coming SoonMovies like thisThe Girl From Hong Kong (1973)
Frank Boyd comes to Hong Kong to visit a friend, but unfortunately he was murdered a few days ago. The father of his fiancee puts $ 10,000 reward for the capture of the murderer and Frank wants to earn this money.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Metropolis (1927)
In a futuristic city sharply divided between the rich and the poor, the son of the city's mastermind meets a prophet who predicts the coming of a savior to mediate their differences.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisFlight to the Moon (1953)
A boy is by an accident a member of a crew that is going to travel to the moon.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Swimming Pool (2003)
A British crime novelist travels to her publisher's upmarket summer house in Southern France to seek solitude in order to work on her next book. However, the unexpected arrival of the publisher's daughter induces complications and a subsequent crime.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRebecca (1940)
Story of a young woman who marries a fascinating widower only to find out that she must live in the shadow of his former wife, Rebecca, who died mysteriously several years earlier. The young wife must come to grips with the terrible secret of her handsome, cold husband, Max De Winter. She must also deal with the jealous, obsessed Mrs. Danvers, the housekeeper, who will not accept her as the mistress of the house.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisKacau (2026)
A group of friends start dying in gruesome ways after a game of Spirit of the Coin goes wrong. The survivors try to save themselves but one of them has something to hide.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Coming SoonMovies like thisForce of Nature: The Dry 2 (2024)
When five women take part in a corporate hiking retreat and only four come out on the other side, Federal Agents Aaron Falk and Carmen Cooper head deep into the Victorian mountain ranges to investigate in the hopes of finding their whistle-blowing informant, Alice Russell, alive.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Countdown?
The closest matches to Countdown are The Andromeda Strain, The Philadelphia Experiment, Invasion of the Body Snatchers.
How are movies similar to Countdown chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Countdown, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.
Are there English movies like Countdown?
Yes: The Andromeda Strain, The Philadelphia Experiment, Invasion of the Body Snatchers.