Movies like Arrival (2016)
The best movies like Arrival (2016) are Solaris (2002), K-PAX (2001) and The Vast of Night (2019). If Arrival hooked you with its drama and science fiction, 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 41,821 votes
- NewestMercy (2026)Released 2026
Solaris (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 thisK-PAX (2001)
Prot is a patient at a mental hospital who claims to be from a far away planet. His psychiatrist tries to help him, only to begin to doubt his own explanations.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Vast of Night (2019)
At the dawn of the space-race, two radio-obsessed teens discover a strange frequency over the airwaves in what becomes the most important night of their lives and in the history of their small town.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMoon (2009)
With only three weeks left in his three-year contract, Sam Bell is eager to return to Earth. Stationed alone at a Moon-based facility with his computer assistant GERTY, an unexpected accident sets off a series of unsettling events that shake his isolation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCosmos (2019)
Three astronomers accidentally intercept what they believe to be a signal from a distant alien civilization, but the truth is even more incredible than any of them could have imagined.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStowaway (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 thisFinch (2021)
On a post-apocalyptic Earth, a robot, built to protect the life of his dying creator's beloved dog, learns about life, love, friendship, and what it means to be human.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & drama
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thisA.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)
David, a robotic boy—the first of his kind programmed to love—is adopted as a test case by a Cybertronics employee and his wife. Though he gradually becomes their child, a series of unexpected circumstances make this life impossible for David.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPrimer (2004)
A group of fledgling inventors discover a complex method to manipulate reality. At first, they successfully game the stock market with it, but the consequences of the invention start to catch up with them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOblivion (2013)
Jack Harper is one of the last few drone repairmen stationed on Earth. Part of a massive operation to extract vital resources after decades of war with a terrifying threat known as the Scavs, Jack’s mission is nearly complete. His existence is brought crashing down when he rescues a beautiful stranger from a downed spacecraft. Her arrival triggers a chain of events that forces him to question everything he knows and puts the fate of humanity in his hands.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTHX 1138 (1971)
People in the future live in a totalitarian society. A technician named THX 1138 lives a mundane life between work and taking a controlled consumption of drugs that the government uses to make puppets out of people. As THX is without drugs for the first time he has feelings for a woman and they start a secret relationship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBeneath the Planet of the Apes (1970)
The sole survivor of an interplanetary rescue mission lands on the planet of the apes, and uncovers a horrible secret beneath the surface.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAd Astra (2019)
The near future, a time when both hope and hardships drive humanity to look to the stars and beyond. While a mysterious phenomenon menaces to destroy life on planet Earth, astronaut Roy McBride undertakes a mission across the immensity of space and its many perils to uncover the truth about a lost expedition that decades before boldly faced emptiness and silence in search of the unknown.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisThe 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 & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMercy (2026)
In the near future, a detective stands on trial accused of murdering his wife. He has ninety minutes to prove his innocence to the advanced AI Judge he once championed, before it determines his fate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Incredible Hulk (1977)
An accidental overdose of gamma radiation causes a mutation in scientist David Banner's DNA: now whenever he becomes angry, he metamorphoses into a seven-foot-tall, 330-pound, mindless muscular green creature.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLast and First Men (2020)
As the end approaches inexorably, the last humans, living millions of years into the future, send a message to the humanity of the present that is both a plea for help and a warning, but also an epic tale of evolution, decline and hope.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGhost in the Shell (2017)
In the near future, Major is the first of her kind: a human saved from a terrible crash, then cyber-enhanced to be a perfect soldier devoted to stopping the world's most dangerous criminals.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTere Bin : Brain Overpowering Heart (TBA)
In a near-future world where emotions can be scientifically altered, a young man is confronted with a revolutionary neural technology designed to suppress emotional pain. As love, memory, and logic collide, he must decide whether a life free from heartbreak is worth the cost of losing genuine human emotion.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & science fiction
Frankenstein: The True Story (1974)
Victor Frankenstein witnesses his creation turn uncontrollable after he's duped by his associate, Dr. Polidori.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & science fiction
Elizabeth Harvest (2018)
The newly married Elizabeth arrives with her new husband, the scientist Henry, at a magnificent house. He tells her that she can do there anything she pleases, except to enter a certain closed room.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSagrada Reset Part 2 (2017)
In the town of Sakurada, where about half of the residents have special abilities, high schooler Kei Asai is able to remember everything. His classmate Misora Haruki has the power to reset the world by three days. If they combine their powers, they can go back in time by three days and retain their memory.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & science fiction
Umbrella (2023)
With divorce on the horizon, a couple find out that a lunch meeting with the wife’s attorney is about to get very gruesome. Based on the story "Lunch at the Gotham Café" by Stephen King.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & science fiction
Time Lapse (2014)
Three friends discover a mysterious machine that takes pictures 24 hours into the future and conspire to use it for personal gain, until disturbing and dangerous images begin to develop.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Count of Monte-Cristo (1975)
Young sailor Edmond Dantès is wrongfully imprisoned, escapes, finds treasure, and reinvents himself as the wealthy Count of Monte Cristo to exact revenge on those who betrayed him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Legend of Tomiris (2019)
This is the story of the life of the great queen of the steppe - legendary Tomiris. She is destined to become a skillful warrior, survive the loss of close people and unite the Scythian/Saka tribes under her authority.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDestroy All Monsters (1968)
At the turn of the century, all of the Earth's monsters have been rounded up and kept safely on Monsterland. Chaos erupts when a race of she-aliens known as the Kilaaks unleash the monsters across the world.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLady Frankenstein (1971)
When Dr. Frankenstein is killed by a monster he created, his daughter and his lab assistant continue his experiments.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Arrival?
The closest matches to Arrival are Solaris (2002), K-PAX (2001) and The Vast of Night (2019). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Arrival?
Start with Solaris (2002), the closest match to Arrival.
What is the highest-rated movie like Arrival?
Interstellar (2014), rated 8.5/10 by 41,821 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Arrival?
Mercy (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Arrival?
Yes: Solaris (2002), K-PAX (2001) and The Vast of Night (2019).
How are movies similar to Arrival chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Arrival, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.