Movies like Approaching the Unknown (2016)
The best movies like Approaching the Unknown (2016) are Stowaway (2021), 2073 (2024) and Gravity (2013). If Approaching the Unknown hooked you with its thriller and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedInterstellar (2014)8.5/10 from 41,839 votes
- NewestIn the Blink of an Eye (2026)Released 2026
Stowaway (2021)
A three-person crew on a mission to Mars faces an impossible choice when an unplanned passenger jeopardizes the lives of everyone on board.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like this2073 (2024)
Inspired by Chris Marker's iconic 1962 featurette La Jetée; the year is 2073—a not-so-distant dystopian future—and the setting is New San Francisco, the scorched-earth tech-dominant police state where democracy and personal freedom have been well and truly obliterated.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGravity (2013)
Dr Ryan Stone, an engineer on her first space mission, and Matt Kowalski, an astronaut on his final expedition, have to survive in space after they are hit by debris while spacewalking.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPlanet of the Apes (1968)
Astronaut Taylor crash lands on a distant planet ruled by apes who use a primitive race of humans for experimentation and sport. Soon Taylor finds himself among the hunted, his life in the hands of a benevolent chimpanzee scientist.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDoctor Who: Last Christmas (2014)
The Doctor and Clara face their Last Christmas. Trapped on an Arctic base, under attack from terrifying creatures, who are you going to call? Santa Claus!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStar Trek: Nemesis (2002)
En route to the honeymoon of William Riker to Deanna Troi on her home planet of Betazed, Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise receives word from Starfleet that a coup has resulted in the installation of a new Romulan political leader, Shinzon, who claims to seek peace with the human-backed United Federation of Planets. Once in enemy territory, the captain and his crew make a startling discovery: Shinzon is human, a slave from the Romulan sister planet of Remus, and has a secret, shocking relationship to Picard himself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMeltdown: Days of Destruction (2006)
Despite scientist Nathan's warnings, his boss continues an experiment meant as publicity for his satellite firm: exploding an asteroid. Instead it splits, and the major piece, the size of Iceland, changes course to earth. It is deflected but so close that it shift our course closer to the sun, causing rapid extreme heating, hopefully only mid-term. Nathan warns his sister, TV journalist Carly, and she her lover, police detective Tom. He brings his unruly daughter Kim, her ex-con lover C.J. and her mother, nurse Bonnie, when Nathan offers a flight to a friend's Arctic weather station. Tom takes charge of a dangerous trip to the airport, as everywhere on earth things catch fire and people fight for water, transport and sheer looting.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Core (2003)
Geophysicist Dr. Josh Keyes discovers that an unknown force has caused the earth's inner core to stop rotating. With the planet's magnetic field rapidly deteriorating, our atmosphere literally starts to come apart at the seams with catastrophic consequences. To resolve the crisis, Keyes, along with a team of the world's most gifted scientists, travel into the earth's core. Their mission: detonate a device that will reactivate the core.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisOmni Loop (2024)
Diagnosed with a black hole growing inside her chest and stuck in a loop reliving the last five days of her life, a 55-year-old wife and mother from Miami, Florida decides to solve time travel in order to go back and be the person she always intended to be.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJonathan (2018)
Jonathan is a young man with a strange condition that only his brother understands. But when he begins to yearn for a different life, their unique bond becomes increasingly tested.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisSolaris (2002)
A troubled psychologist is sent to investigate the crew of an isolated research station orbiting a bizarre planet.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMax Winslow and The House of Secrets (2020)
Five teenagers compete to win a mansion owned by entrepreneur and scientist Atticus Virtue. To win the teens must face-off against a super computer named HAVEN who controls the mansion.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisGeostorm (2017)
After an unprecedented series of natural disasters threatened the planet, the world's leaders came together to create an intricate network of satellites to control the global climate and keep everyone safe. But now, something has gone wrong: the system built to protect Earth is attacking it, and it becomes a race against the clock to uncover the real threat before a worldwide geostorm wipes out everything and everyone along with it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCollision Earth (2011)
A huge solar flare blasts Mercury out of it's orbit and provides it with an intense magnetic field and it's on collision course for Earth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisLight of My Life (2019)
Years after a pandemic wipes out most of the female population, a father struggles to shield his daughter from a dangerous and predatory world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKiller's Kiss (1955)
Davey Gordon, a New York City boxer at the end of his career, falls for dancer Gloria Price. However, their budding relationship is interrupted by Gloria's violent boss, Vincent Rapallo, who has eyes for Gloria. The two decide to skip town, but before they can, Vincent and his thugs abduct Gloria, and Davey is forced to search for her among the most squalid corners of the city, with his enemy hiding in the shadows.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like this6 Below: Miracle on the Mountain (2017)
An adrenaline seeking snowboarder gets lost in a massive winter storm in the back country of the High Sierras where he is pushed to the limits of human endurance and forced to battle his own personal demons as he fights for survival....
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisIn the Blink of an Eye (2026)
Three storylines, spanning thousands of years, intersect and reflect on hope, connection, and the circle of life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisInterstellar (2014)
The adventures of a group of explorers who make use of a newly discovered wormhole to surpass the limitations on human space travel and conquer the vast distances involved in an interstellar voyage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & science fiction
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisMoonraker (1979)
After Drax Industries' Moonraker space shuttle is hijacked, secret agent James Bond is assigned to investigate, traveling to California to meet the company's owner, the mysterious Hugo Drax. With the help of scientist Dr. Holly Goodhead, Bond soon uncovers Drax's nefarious plans for humanity, all the while fending off an old nemesis, Jaws, and venturing to Venice, Rio, the Amazon...and even outer space.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMission to Mars (2000)
When the first manned mission to Mars meets with a catastrophic and mysterious disaster after reporting an unidentified structure, a rescue mission is launched to investigate the tragedy and bring back any survivors.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Dark Side of the Moon (1990)
It is the year 2022. A mysterious systems failure causes the crew of a spaceship to be stranded on the dark side of the moon, while rapidly running out of fuel and oxygen. They are surprised to discover a NASA space shuttle floating in space, and board it in the hope of salvaging some supplies. One by one, the crew is possessed and killed, and it is up to Paxton Warner to find the links between the dark side of the moon, the Bermuda Triangle, and the Devil himself.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisOrbits (2013)
Orbitas is the story of an impossible love which revolves around a planet at war.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & science fiction
Almaz Black Box (2007)
In 1998 a Russian Military Space Station received a powerful signal of unknown origin. Sixty-seven hours later the Station broke up in the Earth's atmosphere. The Russian Government initiated an extensive cover-up. They were unable to find the Station's Black Box and assumed it was destroyed on reentry. They were wrong. This year, the disturbing contents of the Black Box will be revealed.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & science fiction
Armageddon (1998)
When an asteroid threatens to collide with Earth, NASA honcho Dan Truman determines the only way to stop it is to drill into its surface and detonate a nuclear bomb. This leads him to renowned driller Harry Stamper, who agrees to helm the dangerous space mission provided he can bring along his own hotshot crew. Among them is the cocksure A.J. who Harry thinks isn't good enough for his daughter, until the mission proves otherwise.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMars Attacks! (1996)
A fleet of Martian spacecraft surrounds the world's major cities and all of humanity waits to see if the extraterrestrial visitors have, as they claim, "come in peace." U.S. President James Dale receives assurance from science professor Donald Kessler that the Martians' mission is a friendly one. But when a peaceful exchange ends in the total annihilation of the U.S. Congress, military men call for a full-scale nuclear retaliation.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Fifth Element (1997)
In 2263, a taxi driver is unintentionally given the task of saving a young girl who is part of the key that will ensure the survival of humanity.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWill-Bot: Friend or Foe (2013)
WILL-BOT is a small robot, who is afraid of everything. WILL-BOT lives alone on a small planet, which he patrols every day, hoping that nothing unusual will happen. One day a dark spaceship lands on the planet and a dangerous looking giant robot forces WILL-BOT to meet him at a chosen location. All hope seems lost, but is the strange visitor really a friend or a foe?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Alien (1979)
During its return to the earth, commercial spaceship Nostromo intercepts a distress signal from a distant planet. When a three-member team of the crew discovers a chamber containing thousands of eggs on the planet, a creature inside one of the eggs attacks an explorer. The entire crew is unaware of the impending nightmare set to descend upon them when the alien parasite planted inside its unfortunate host is birthed.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisStargate (1994)
An interstellar teleportation device, found in Egypt, leads to a planet with humans resembling ancient Egyptians who worship the god Ra.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Approaching the Unknown?
The closest matches to Approaching the Unknown are Stowaway (2021), 2073 (2024) and Gravity (2013). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Approaching the Unknown?
Start with Stowaway (2021), the closest match to Approaching the Unknown.
What is the highest-rated movie like Approaching the Unknown?
Interstellar (2014), rated 8.5/10 by 41,839 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Approaching the Unknown?
In the Blink of an Eye (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Approaching the Unknown?
Yes: Stowaway (2021), 2073 (2024) and Gravity (2013).
How are movies similar to Approaching the Unknown chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Approaching the Unknown, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.