Movies like Greater Things (2015)
The best movies like Greater Things (2015) are Synecdoche, New York (2008), Daniel Isn't Real (2019) and The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951). If Greater Things hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedDonnie Darko (2001)7.8/10 from 13,942 votes
- NewestUrchin (2025)Released 2025
Synecdoche, New York (2008)
A theater director struggles with his work, and the women in his life, as he attempts to create a life-size replica of New York inside a warehouse as part of his new play.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDaniel Isn't Real (2019)
A troubled college freshman resurrects his imaginary friend to help him cope with a violent trauma.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
An alien and a robot land on Earth after World War II and tell mankind to be peaceful or face destruction.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like this3 Women (1977)
Two co-workers, one a vain woman and the other an awkward teenager, share an increasingly bizarre relationship after becoming roommates.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSucker Punch (2011)
A young woman, institutionalized by her abusive stepfather, retreats into a vivid fantasy world where she envisions a plan to escape. Gathering a group of fellow inmates, she embarks on a quest to collect five mystical items, blurring the lines between reality and imagination.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAn Unmarried Woman (1978)
A wealthy woman from Manhattan's Upper East Side struggles to deal with her new identity and her sexuality after her husband of 16 years leaves her for a younger woman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisExplorers (1985)
Middle schooler Ben spends his free time watching sci-fi films, playing video games and reading comic books. Surprisingly, his affinity for all things fantastical yields a real result – when he has a vivid dream about technology, his prodigy best friend Wolfgang manages to create a working spacecraft. Joined by their buddy Darren, the boys take off into outer space and encounter some very odd extraterrestrial life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLittle Ashes (2008)
About the young life and loves of artist Salvador Dalí, filmmaker Luis Buñuel and writer Federico García Lorca.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisDonnie Darko (2001)
After narrowly escaping a bizarre accident, a troubled teenager is plagued by visions of a large bunny rabbit that manipulates him to commit a series of crimes.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Double (2014)
An awkward office drone becomes increasingly unhinged after a charismatic and confident look-alike takes a job at his workplace and seduces the woman he desires.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHide and Seek (2005)
David Callaway tries to piece together his life in the wake of his wife's suicide and has been left to raise his nine-year-old daughter, Emily on his own. David is at first amused to discover that Emily has created an imaginary friend named 'Charlie', but it isn't long before 'Charlie' develops a sinister and violent side, and as David struggles with his daughter's growing emotional problems, he comes to the frightening realisation that 'Charlie' isn't just a figment of Emily's imagination.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCaveat (2021)
A lone drifter suffering from partial memory loss accepts a job to look after a psychologically troubled woman in an abandoned house on an isolated island.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Fountainhead (1949)
An uncompromising, visionary architect struggles to maintain his integrity and individualism despite personal, professional and economic pressures to conform to popular standards.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMr. K (2025)
Mr. K, a traveling magician, finds himself in a Kafkaesque nightmare when he can’t find the exit of his hotel. His attempts to get out only pull him deeper, entangling him further with the hotel and its curious inhabitants.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984)
Adventurer/surgeon/rock musician Buckaroo Banzai and his band of men, the Hong Kong Cavaliers, take on evil alien invaders from the 8th dimension.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUpside Down (2012)
In an alternate universe where twinned worlds have opposite gravities, a young man battles interplanetary prejudice and the laws of physics in his quest to reunite with the long-lost girl of his dreams in this visually stunning romantic adventure that poses the question: what if love was stronger than gravity?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Discovery (2017)
In the near future, due to a breakthrough scientific discovery by Dr. Thomas Harbor, there is now definitive proof of an afterlife. While countless people have chosen suicide to reset their existence, others try to decide what it all means. Among them is Dr. Harbor's son Will, who has arrived at his father's isolated compound with a mysterious young woman named Isla. There, they discover the strange acolytes who help Dr. Harbor with his experiments.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEntergalactic (2022)
Ambitious artist Jabari attempts to balance success and love when he moves into his dream Manhattan apartment and falls for his next-door neighbor.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRuby Sparks (2012)
Calvin is a young novelist who achieved phenomenal success early in his career but is now struggling with his writing – as well as his romantic life. Finally, he makes a breakthrough and creates a character named Ruby who inspires him. When Calvin finds Ruby, in the flesh, sitting on his couch about a week later, he is completely flabbergasted that his words have turned into a living, breathing person.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisUrchin (2025)
Mike, a rough sleeper in London, is trapped in a cycle of self-destruction as he attempts to turn his life around. Along the way, he encounters unexpected chances for a fresh start.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Greater Things?
The closest matches to Greater Things are Synecdoche, New York (2008), Daniel Isn't Real (2019) and The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Greater Things?
Start with Synecdoche, New York (2008), the closest match to Greater Things.
What is the highest-rated movie like Greater Things?
Donnie Darko (2001), rated 7.8/10 by 13,942 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Greater Things?
Urchin (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Greater Things?
Yes: Synecdoche, New York (2008), Daniel Isn't Real (2019) and The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951).
How are movies similar to Greater Things chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Greater Things, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.