Movies like The Wave (2015)
The best movies like The Wave (2015) are Supervolcano (2005), San Andreas (2015) and Into the Storm (2014). If The Wave hooked you with its action and thriller, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedOnly the Brave (2017)7.5/10 from 1,987 votes
- NewestThe Burning Sea (2021)Released 2021
- Same seriesThe Quake (2018)Wave / Quake
Supervolcano (2005)
Yellowstone is a park, but it's also the deadliest volcano on Earth. Beneath it, a sleeping 'dragon' is stirring. When an earthquake opens a crack for magma to seep through, other warning signs of an eruption start popping up, but they are ignored or dismissed as 'minor'. But when they learn an eruption will happen, panic breaks out through people of the USA and the world.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSan Andreas (2015)
In the aftermath of a massive earthquake in California, a rescue-chopper pilot makes a dangerous journey across the state in order to rescue his estranged daughter.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInto the Storm (2014)
As a new day begins in the town of Silverton, its residents have little reason to believe it will be anything other than ordinary. Mother Nature, however has other plans. In the span of just a few hours, an unprecedented onslaught of powerful tornadoes ravages Silverton. Storm trackers predict that the worst is still to come, as terrified residents seek shelter, and professional storm-chasers run toward the danger, hoping to study the phenomenon close up and get a once-in-a-lifetime shot.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Quake (2018)
A geologist races against time to save his estranged wife and two children when a devastating earthquake strikes Oslo, Norway.
Why it matches: Same series: Wave / Quake · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDeepwater Horizon (2016)
A story set on the offshore drilling rig Deepwater Horizon, which exploded during April 2010 and created the worst oil spill in U.S. history.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Icebreaker (2016)
The story is based on the real events of 1985. The team of a Russian polar icebreaker “Mikhail Gromov” discovered a giant iceberg. The ship came into collision while attempting to take cover from the weather and is forced to drift with ice along the Amundsen Sea coast. The crew of “Gromov” spent 133 days of polar night trying to find a way out of their icy trap. They have no room for mistakes; one wrong move and the vessel is crushed by ice.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisVolcano (1997)
An earthquake shatters a peaceful Los Angeles morning and opens a fissure deep into the earth, causing lava to start bubbling up. As a volcano begins forming in the La Brea Tar Pits, the director of the city's emergency management service, working with a geologist, must then use every resource in the city to try and stop the volcano from consuming LA.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Perfect Storm (2000)
In October 1991, a confluence of weather conditions combined to form a killer storm in the North Atlantic. Caught in the storm was the sword-fishing boat Andrea Gail.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAtomic Twister (2002)
When tornadoes hit a nuclear power plant, critically damaging the plant's cooling system, the results could be catastrophic. Atomic Twister, a countdown to disaster, traces an extraordinary day in the lives of small town citizens who unexpectedly find themselves facing the possibility of mass destruction.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & drama
Tidal Wave (2009)
On Haeundae Beach, a guilt-ridden fisherman takes care of a woman whose father accidentally got killed. A scientist reunites with his ex-wife and a daughter who doesn't even remember his face. And a poor rescue worker falls in love with a rich city girl. When they all find out a gigantic tsunami will hit the beach, they realize they only have 10 minutes to escape.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChristmas Icetastrophe (2014)
This Christmas, a super frozen object is going to slam into the Earth. In the middle of a small town, and very quickly, dreams of a "White Christmas" will turn into a FROZEN NIGHTMARE.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Burning Sea (2021)
An oil platform dramatically goes down on the Norwegian coast, and researchers try to find out what happened when they realize this is just the start of something even more serious.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies 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: Fans watch both · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMine 9 (2019)
Two miles into the earth, nine Appalachian miners struggle to survive after a methane explosion leaves them with one hour of oxygen.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisEarthquake (1974)
Various interconnected people struggle to survive when an earthquake of unimaginable magnitude hits Los Angeles, California.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Day After Tomorrow (2004)
After paleoclimatologist Jack Hall is largely ignored by UN officials when presenting his environmental concerns about the beginning of a new Ice Age, his research proves true when a superstorm develops, setting off catastrophic natural disasters throughout the world. Trying to get to his son, Sam, who is trapped in New York City with his friend Laura and others, Jack and his crew must travel to get to Sam before it's too late.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDante's Peak (1997)
Volcanologist Harry Dalton comes to the sleepy town of Dante's Peak to investigate the recent rumblings of the dormant volcano the burg is named for. Before long, his worst fears are realized when a massive eruption hits, and immediately, Harry, the mayor and the townspeople find themselves fighting for their lives amid a catastrophic nightmare.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTidal Wave: No Escape (1997)
A retired and disgruntled scientist is brought out of retirement to explain why tidal waves are wiping out coastal communities. But is he part of the problem?
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & thriller
13 Minutes (2021)
As a new day begins in the small American town of Minninnewah, the residents start their day as ordinary as the next. Mother Nature, however, has other plans for them. Inhabitants have just 13 minutes to seek shelter before the largest tornado on record ravages the town, leaving them struggling to protect their loved ones and fighting for their lives. Left to deal with the aftermath, four families must overcome their differences and find strength in each other in order to survive.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisPoseidon (2006)
A packed cruise ship traveling the Atlantic is hit and overturned by a massive wave, compelling the passengers to begin a dramatic fight for their lives.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisGreenland (2020)
John Garrity, his estranged wife and their young son embark on a perilous journey to find sanctuary as a planet-killing comet hurtles toward Earth. Amid terrifying accounts of cities getting levelled, the Garritys experience the best and worst in humanity. As the countdown to the global apocalypse approaches zero, their incredible trek culminates in a desperate and last-minute flight to a possible safe haven.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Bravest (2019)
Based on real life events, the film revolves around the heroic efforts of a team of firefighters as they attempt to deal with a fire that breaks out at an oil refinery in Dalian.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAshfall (2019)
A group of unlikely heroes from across the Korean peninsula try to save the day after a volcano erupts on the mythical and majestic Baekdu Mountain.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Towering Inferno (1974)
At the opening party of a colossal—but poorly constructed—skyscraper, a massive fire breaks out, threatening to destroy the tower and everyone in it.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOnly the Brave (2017)
Members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots battle deadly wildfires to save an Arizona town.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTrapped: Buried Alive (2002)
The management of a ski resort blatantly ignores a local expert's warning that a mass of snow has build up which is just waiting to come down the ski slopes in a terrible avalanche. Instead of clearing the endangered area, skiers are allowed to remain 'for the rest of the day'. Nature doesn't wait till after business hours, so the crystallized wave rushes down and crushes everything on its path, including a brand new hotel; among the guests is the architect Michael Cooper's own family, which now tries to remember the plans well enough to find the way out, as he tries to instruct the rescue operation above, where a second, even larger avalanche is expected.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & action
Ladder 49 (2004)
Under the watchful eye of his mentor, Captain Mike Kennedy, probationary firefighter Jack Morrison matures into a seasoned veteran at a Baltimore fire station. However, Jack has reached a crossroads as the sacrifices he's made have put him in harm's way innumerable times and significantly impacted his relationship with his wife and kids.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Impossible (2012)
In December 2004, close-knit family Maria, Henry and their three sons begin their winter vacation in Thailand. But the day after Christmas, the idyllic holiday turns into an incomprehensible nightmare when a terrifying roar rises from the depths of the sea, followed by a wall of black water that devours everything in its path. Though Maria and her family face their darkest hour, unexpected displays of kindness and courage ameliorate their terror.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFukushima 50 (2020)
Workers at the Fukushima Daiichi facility in Japan risk their lives and stay at the nuclear power plant to prevent total destruction after the region is devastated by an earthquake and tsunami in 2011.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Tunnel (2019)
When a truck crashes inside a tunnel, people on their way home for Christmas are brutally trapped in a deadly fire. With a blizzard raging outside, and the first responders struggling to get to the accident, it's every man for himself.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Wave?
The closest matches to The Wave are Supervolcano (2005), San Andreas (2015) and Into the Storm (2014). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Wave?
People who watched The Wave most often go on to Supervolcano (2005), San Andreas (2015) and Into the Storm (2014).
What is the highest-rated movie like The Wave?
Only the Brave (2017), rated 7.5/10 by 1,987 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Wave?
The Burning Sea (2021) is the most recent release on this list.
Is The Wave part of a series?
Yes. It belongs to Wave / Quake, which includes The Quake (2018).
How are movies similar to The Wave chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Wave, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.