Movies like The Big Gamble (1961)
The best movies like The Big Gamble (1961) are Hatari! (1962), Primal: Tales of Savagery (2019) and Dear Eleanor (2016). If The Big Gamble hooked you with its adventure and action, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedPrimal: Tales of Savagery (2019)8.4/10 from 372 votes
- Newest40 Acres (2025)Released 2025
Hatari! (1962)
A female wildlife photographer arrives on an East African reservation where a group of men trap wild animals for zoos and circuses.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPrimal: Tales of Savagery (2019)
Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal: Tales of Savagery features a caveman and a dinosaur on the brink of extinction. Bonded by tragedy, this unlikely friendship becomes the only hope of survival.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & adventure
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisDear Eleanor (2016)
Two teenage girls travel across the U.S. in 1962, during the chaos of the Cuban missile crisis, in search of Eleanor Roosevelt.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisBurn Your Maps (2016)
A family in emotional turmoil is taken by surprise in this quirky adventure where an eccentric 8-year-old American boy, Wes, has an existential epiphany - He believes that he is in fact a Mongolian goat herder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRenegade (1987)
While on his travel across the Southwestern United States, with his Jeep CJ Renegade and his chestnut colt named Joe Brown, Luke meets Matt, son of a friend of his, Moose, who is in jail. Moose asks Luke to take care of Matt, and to help him to take possession of a piece of land. So starts their travel, full of adventures...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHidden Strike (2023)
Two elite soldiers must escort civilians through a gauntlet of gunfire and explosions.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBookworm (2024)
Eleven-year-old Mildred’s life is turned upside down when her mother lands in hospital and estranged, American magician father, Strawn Wise, comes to look after her. Hoping to entertain the bookish tween, Strawn takes Mildred camping in the notoriously rugged New Zealand wilderness, and the pair embark on the ultimate test of family bonding – a quest to find the mythological beast known as the Canterbury Panther.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Rundown (2003)
When Travis, the mouthy son of a criminal, disappears in the Amazon in search of a treasured artifact, his father sends in Beck, who becomes Travis's rival for the affections of Mariana, a mysterious Brazilian woman. With his steely disposition, Beck is a man of few words -- but it takes him all the discipline he can muster to work with Travis to nab a tyrant who's after the same treasure.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSlumberland (2022)
A young girl discovers a secret map to the dreamworld of Slumberland, and with the help of an eccentric outlaw, she traverses dreams and flees nightmares, with the hope that she will be able to see her late father again.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisChickenhare and the Hamster of Darkness (2022)
A brave young animal explorer teams up with two trusty friends to find a powerful artifact before his greedy uncle can get his paws on it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTarzan and His Mate (1934)
Harry Holt returns to Africa with his friend Martin Arlington to head up a large ivory expedition.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTwo by Two: Overboard! (2020)
Two misfit castaways struggle to reunite an unorthodox family, out-run a volcano, and negotiate a peace deal on a creaking Ark.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Willoughbys (2020)
When the four Willoughby children are abandoned by their selfish parents, they must learn how to adapt their Old-Fashioned values to the contemporary world in order to create something new: The Modern Family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like this40 Acres (2025)
Hailey Freeman and her family are the last descendants of African American farmers who settled in rural Canada after the Civil War. In a famine-decimated near future, they now struggle to safeguard their farm, as they make one last stand against a vicious militia hell-bent on taking their 40 Acres.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDark of the Sun (1968)
A band of mercenaries led by Captain Curry travel through war-torn Congo across deadly terrain, battling rival armies, to steal $50 million in uncut diamonds. But infighting, sadistic rebels and a time lock jeopardize everything.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlack Gold (2011)
On the Arabian Peninsula in the 1930s, two warring leaders come face to face. The victorious Nesib, Emir of Hobeika, lays down his peace terms to rival Amar, Sultan of Salmaah. The two men agree that neither can lay claim to the area of no man’s land between them called The Yellow Belt. In return, Nesib adopts Amar’s two boys Saleeh and Auda as a guarantee against invasion. Twelve years later, Saleeh and Auda have grown into young men. Saleeh, the warrior, itches to escape his gilded cage and return to his father’s land. Auda cares only for books and the pursuit of knowledge. One day, their adopted father Nesib is visited by an American from Texas. He tells the Emir that his land is blessed with oil and promises him riches beyond his wildest imagination. Nesib imagines a realm of infinite possibility, a kingdom with roads, schools and hospitals all paid for by the black gold beneath the barren sand. There is only one problem. The precious oil is located in the Yellow Belt.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAce Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995)
Summoned from an ashram in Tibet, Ace finds himself on a perilous journey into the jungles of Africa to find Shikaka, the missing sacred animal of the friendly Wachati tribe. He must accomplish this before the wedding of the Wachati's Princess to the prince of the warrior Wachootoos. If Ace fails, the result will be a vicious tribal war.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSilverton Siege (2022)
After a failed sabotage mission, a trio of anti-apartheid freedom fighters ends up in a tense bank hostage situation. Based on a true story.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStrings (2004)
The story of Prince Hal who sets out to avenge his dead father against the city's rivals, the Zeriths, little knowing it was his wicked uncle Nezo who is the real killer, with his own designs on the throne.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisArctic Dogs (2019)
Animals band together to save the day when the evil Otto Von Walrus hatches a sinister scheme to accelerate global warming and melt the Arctic Circle.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisKing Solomon's Mines (1985)
Ever in search of adventure, explorer Allan Quatermain agrees to join the beautiful Jesse Huston on a mission to locate her archaeologist father, who has been abducted for his knowledge of the legendary mines of King Solomon. As the kidnappers, led by sinister German military officer Bockner, journey into the wilds of Africa, Allan and Jesse track the party and must contend with fierce natives and dangerous creatures, among other perils.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & adventure
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Wild (2006)
An adolescent lion is accidentally shipped from the New York Zoo to Africa. Now running free, his zoo pals must put aside their differences to help bring him back.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & adventure
SnoozefestMovies like thisBlood Diamond (2006)
An ex-mercenary turned smuggler. A Mende fisherman. Amid the explosive civil war overtaking 1999 Sierra Leone, these men join for two desperate missions: recovering a rare pink diamond of immense value and rescuing the fisherman's son, conscripted as a child soldier into the brutal rebel forces ripping a swath of torture and bloodshed countrywide.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKatakata (2021)
Coerced to foil a terrorist plot against a children's school, two brothers must decide the value of character or risk losing their ultimate reward.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & comedy
Roar (1981)
Roar follows a family who are attacked by various African animals at the secluded home of their keeper.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & adventure
SnoozefestMovies like thisGeorge of the Jungle (1997)
Deep in the African jungle, a baby named George, the sole survivor of a plane crash, is raised by gorillas. George grows up to be a buff and lovable klutz who has a rainforest full of animal friends: Tookie, his big-beaked toucan messenger; Ape, a witty talking gorilla; and Shep, a peanut-loving pooch of an elephant. But when poachers mess with George's pals, the King of Swing swings into action.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure & comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisViolinist of Hamelin: The Movie (1996)
While on their quest to stop the Demon King, the violinist Hamel, the pianist Raiel, the magess Flute and the female warrior Sizer stop in a small kingdom and destroy a rampaging monster. While giving the four a heroes' welcome, the king and queen explain that their daughter has been kidnapped by a monster living in a nearby castle. They agree to go and rescue the hostage princess and defeat the monster. However, the enemy's castle is heavily guarded...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure & comedy
Satan's Harvest (1970)
Cutter Murdock inherits an estate in Africa on which "Satan's Harvest" (heroin and marijuana) is grown. The thugs growing the drugs want him out of the way, so things get messy.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Mr. Kingstreet's War (1973)
A couple sets up an African game preserve, only to have British and Italian armies fight over the waterholes.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Great Bazaar (2006)
Two boys with different experiences and goals meet up in a sprawling African market. One is looking for a job, to get back what was stolen from him and return home. The other will do anything to avoid having to go back with his family. They become friends and together they reinvent the world.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like The Big Gamble and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Big Gamble?
The closest matches to The Big Gamble are Hatari! (1962), Primal: Tales of Savagery (2019) and Dear Eleanor (2016). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Big Gamble?
Start with Hatari! (1962), the closest match to The Big Gamble.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Big Gamble?
Primal: Tales of Savagery (2019), rated 8.4/10 by 372 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Big Gamble?
40 Acres (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Big Gamble?
Yes: Hatari! (1962), Primal: Tales of Savagery (2019) and Dear Eleanor (2016).
How are movies similar to The Big Gamble chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Big Gamble, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.