Movies like The Iron Butterfly (1989)
The best movies like The Iron Butterfly (1989) are The Substitute 2: School's Out (1998), Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America (2006) and Cheaters (2000). If The Iron Butterfly hooked you with its tv movie, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedSouth Park (Not Suitable for Children) (2023)7.4/10 from 241 votes
- NewestRicky Gervais: Mortality (2025)Released 2025
The Substitute 2: School's Out (1998)
When teacher Randall Thomasson is killed during a carjacking, an unexpected visitor shows up at his funeral - his estranged brother, Karl Thomasson. An ex-Green Beret turned mercenary, Karl signs on as a new substitute teacher in order to investigate Randall's murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFatal Contact: Bird Flu in America (2006)
An outbreak of avian flu mutates into a virus that becomes transmittable from human to human.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisCheaters (2000)
In the fall of 1994, a teacher at Chicago's run-down Steinmetz High conspires with the school's academic decathlon team to cheat on an academic competition.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRicky Gervais: Mortality (2025)
Ricky Gervais tackles life, death and the state of the world in a brutally honest special that spares no topic, even his own mortality.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Gabby Douglas Story (2014)
The true story of Gabby Douglas who becomes the first African American to be named Individual All-Around Champion in artistic gymnastics at the Olympic Games.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDeadwood: The Movie (2019)
Follow the 10-year reunion of the Deadwood camp to celebrate South Dakota's statehood. Former rivalries are reignited, alliances are tested and old wounds are reopened, as all are left to navigate the inevitable changes that modernity and time have wrought.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGotti (1996)
John Gotti, the head of a small New York mafia crew breaks a few of the old family rules. He rises to become the head of the Gambino family and the most well-known mafia boss in America. Life is good, but suspicion creeps in, and greed, rule-breaking and his high public profile all threaten to topple him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCleveland Abduction (2015)
A single mother becomes Ariel Castro's first kidnapping victim, and finds herself trapped in his home with two other women for 11 years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAirwolf: The Movie (1984)
Airwolf is capable of supersonic speeds, invisible to radar and armed with ultra state-of-the-art hardware. Airwolf is the most awesome aerial weapon ever developed. When the helicopter is stolen by Libyan mercenaries, Michael Archangel, Project director for the CIA, enlists the help of Vietnam veteran Stringfellow Hawke and his closest friend Dominic Santini, to attempt to recover the Airwolf. The mission throws them into the midst of Middle Eastern violence and destruction, where they come face to face with danger, romance and intrigue in their battle to re-possess the deadliest aerial weapon ever used.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisIke: Countdown to D-Day (2004)
The story of the senior-level preparations for the D-Day invasion on June 6, 1944 from the time of Dwight D. Eisenhower's appointment as the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, to the establishment of the beachhead in Normandy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBill Burr: Drop Dead Years (2025)
In what might be his most personal and introspective hour yet, Bill offers hilarious takes on everything from male sadness to dating advice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRobin Williams: An Evening at the Met (1986)
In this hilarious stand up comedy, Robin Williams is energetic, witty and again hilarious. It's the number one stand up comedy of all time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisEvil Nanny (2016)
A couple hires a live-in nanny to watch the offspring while they work. At first, everything goes perfectly, but when an unsafe incident means the parents no longer want the nanny around, they find out this nanny is savvy at not being evicted from her live-in situation. So savvy, in fact, that she can make these parents' lives a true nightmare.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Memory Keeper's Daughter (2008)
During a blizzard in 1964, Dr. David Henry delivers his son Paul with the help of nurse Caroline. But when Henry realizes his wife is also carrying a girl with Down syndrome, he hands the second child over to Caroline without his wife's knowledge. Henry's fateful decision yields grave consequences for his family over the next 20 years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSouth Park (Not Suitable for Children) (2023)
After it's discovered that a teacher at South Park Elementary has an OnlyFans page, Randy is compelled to take a closer look at the seedy underbelly of the world of online influencers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDevil Dog: The Hound of Hell (1978)
A canine minion of Satan terrorizes an unsuspecting suburban family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIvanhoe (1982)
Ivanhoe, a worthy and noble knight, the champion of justice returns to England after the holy wars, and finds England under the reign of Prince John and his henchmen and finds himself being involved in the power-struggle for the throne of England.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEscape from Sobibor (1987)
The true story of WWII's notorious Sobibor Nazi death camp, where a courageous inmate orchestrates and leads the escape of over 300 prisoners.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStyle Wars (1984)
Tony Silver and Henry Chalfant's PBS documentary tracks the rise and fall of subway graffiti in New York in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCitizen X (1995)
Based on the true story of a Russian serial killer who, over many years, claimed victim to over 50 people. His victims were mostly under the age of 17. In what was then a communists state, the police investigations were hampered by bureaucracy, incompetence and those in power. The story is told from the viewpoint of the detective in charge of the case.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Iron Butterfly?
The closest matches to The Iron Butterfly are The Substitute 2: School's Out (1998), Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America (2006) and Cheaters (2000). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Iron Butterfly?
Start with The Substitute 2: School's Out (1998), the closest match to The Iron Butterfly.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Iron Butterfly?
South Park (Not Suitable for Children) (2023), rated 7.4/10 by 241 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Iron Butterfly?
Ricky Gervais: Mortality (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Chinese movies like The Iron Butterfly?
The closest matches are in other languages.
How are movies similar to The Iron Butterfly chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Iron Butterfly, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.