Movies like Saving Mr. Wu (2015)
The best movies like Saving Mr. Wu (2015) are Only the River Flows (2023), The Night of the Hunter (1955) and John Q (2002). If Saving Mr. Wu hooked you with its crime and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Night of the Hunter (1955)7.8/10 from 1,939 votes
- NewestDown the Arm of God (2026)Released 2026
- In ChineseOnly the River Flows (2023)Also in Chinese
Only the River Flows (2023)
Dedicated police detective Ma Zhe is tasked with solving a series of brutal murders in a rural Chinese town. As pressure mounts from his superiors, a hasty arrest is made, but while his colleagues celebrate, several clues push Ma Zhe deeper into a desperate investigation of his own.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Night of the Hunter (1955)
In Depression-era West Virginia, a serial-killing preacher hunts two young children who know the whereabouts of a stash of money.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJohn Q (2002)
John Quincy Archibald is a father and husband whose son is diagnosed with an enlarged heart and then finds out he cannot receive a transplant because HMO insurance will not cover it. Therefore, he decides to take a hospital full of patients hostage until the hospital puts his son's name on the donor's list.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPushover (1954)
A police detective falls for the bank robber's girlfriend he is supposed to be tailing.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Parts You Lose (2019)
An unlikely friendship unfolds between a young deaf boy, Wesley, and a fugitive criminal who takes refuge in an abandoned barn on the family’s rural North Dakota farm.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKidnapping Mr. Heineken (2015)
The true story of the kidnapping of Freddy Heineken, the grandson of the founder of the Heineken brewery, and his driver. They were released after a ransom of 35 million Dutch guilders was paid.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRobbery (1967)
In this fictionalised account of the Great Train Robbery, career criminal Paul Clifton plans an audacious crime: the robbery of a mail train carrying millions in cash.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLimbo (2023)
Travis, a jaded detective, arrives in the remote outback town of Limbo to investigate the cold case murder of local Indigenous girl Charlotte Hayes 20 years ago. As truths about the murder begin to unfold, the detective gains a new insight into the unsolved case.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAppointment with Death (1988)
Emily Boynton, the stepmother to three children, blackmails the family lawyer into destroying a second will of her late husband that would have freed the children from her dominating influence. She takes herself, the children, and her daughter-in-law on holiday to Europe and the Holy Land. At a dig, Emily is found dead and Hercule Poirot investigates.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMr. Six (2015)
Many years ago Mr. Six was a notorious gangster. That was back when there was still such a thing as honour among thieves, when criminals earned respect and maintained principles. These days Mr. Six is all but forgotten, a living relic residing in a narrow alley. One day Six's son, Xiaobo, is abducted by some spoiled punks after he scratches their precious Ferrari. Mr. Six realizes that he must do whatever it takes to get his son back — even if that means returning to the life he thought he had left behind.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Seven-Ups (1973)
A tough detective who is part of an elite New York City unit is trying to find out who killed his partner, but uncovers a plot to kidnap mobsters for money.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEndless Journey (2023)
An accidental death of the suspect leads to the entire team of the Third Division being imprisoned. Six years later, team leader Cheng Bing is released but remains consumed by the case. Over the next eleven years, he lives a normal life while secretly tracking down the killer, determined to see justice served.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisObsession (1976)
A wealthy New Orleans businessman becomes obsessed with a young woman who resembles his late wife.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUnder the Light (2023)
Officers Su Jianming and Li Huilin investigate a crime involving wealthy businessman Li Zhitian. As clues emerge, the investigation becomes more and more like a game of chess.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisThick as Thieves (2009)
A master thief recruits a notorious thief to help him steal two famous Faberge eggs from an impenetrable vault in an effort to pull off one final job and repay his debt to the Russian mob.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLost in the Stars (2023)
He Fei's wife, Li Muzi, disappears during their anniversary trip. When she reappears, he insists that she is not his wife. As Chen Mai, a top lawyer gets involved in this bizarre case, more mysteries start to emerge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKansas City (1996)
A pair of kidnappings expose the complex power dynamics within the corrupt and unpredictable workings of 1930s Kansas City.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Rescue (2020)
A rescue unit within the Chinese Coast Guard are forced to overcome their personal differences to resolve a crisis.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLittle Caesar (1931)
A small-time hood shoots his way to the top, but how long can he stay there?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Newton Boys (1998)
The story of the Newton gang, the most successful bank robbers in history, owing to their good planning and minimal violence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJust Go! (2017)
A young man who lost both his legs in a childhood accident comes to the rescue of the girl he loves when she is victimized by villains.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & drama
Two for the Money (2005)
A former college athlete joins forces with a sports consultant to handicap football games for high-rolling gamblers.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKing of Dope (2026)
Dawid is an ordinary boy who builds a legal drug empire and becomes an overnight millionaire. Sudden fame, beautiful women, fast cars, endless partying, confrontations with gangsters, and dealings at the highest levels of power—this is his new world, where the line between legal and illegal is as thin as the line in a mirror. When an ethical cop arrives, everything is at stake. Will Dawid be able to stop him before it's too late? Will love save him from ultimate collapse?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & crime
Gridiron Gang (2006)
Under the leadership of their counselor, teenagers at a juvenile detention center gain self-esteem by playing football together. Based on a true story.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEfreet (2022)
Sophia, who recently turned 10, is haunted by mysterious nightmares. In her nightmares, a girl named Selinka keeps appearing, showing her things about her mother Tina's past that she shouldn't know anything about. Tina thinks that her ex-husband Markus is secretly seeing Sophia, although he is not allowed to have any contact with her. But when one evening Sophia mentions the name "Efreet", Dana (a close friend of the little family) knows that they are dealing with evil forces.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & thriller
7 Seconds (2005)
When an experienced thief accidentally makes off with a Van Gogh, his partner is kidnapped by gangsters in pursuit of the painting, forcing the criminal to hatch a rescue plan.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisWorth (2021)
Kenneth Feinberg, a powerful D.C. lawyer appointed Special Master of the 9/11 Fund, fights off the cynicism, bureaucracy, and politics associated with administering government funds and, in doing so, discovers what life is worth.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDown the Arm of God (2026)
A young pastor goes through a harsh winter in a small Texas town, where his mission to help the homeless is faced with resistance by his congregation, exposing deep-seated prejudice and systemic failures.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Cyborg (1989)
A martial artist hunts a killer in a plague-infested urban dump of the future.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisCasualties of War (1989)
During the Vietnam War, a soldier finds himself the outsider of his own squad when they unnecessarily kidnap a female villager.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Saving Mr. Wu?
The closest matches to Saving Mr. Wu are Only the River Flows (2023), The Night of the Hunter (1955) and John Q (2002). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Saving Mr. Wu?
Start with Only the River Flows (2023), the closest match to Saving Mr. Wu.
What is the highest-rated movie like Saving Mr. Wu?
The Night of the Hunter (1955), rated 7.8/10 by 1,939 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Saving Mr. Wu?
Down the Arm of God (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Chinese movies like Saving Mr. Wu?
Yes: Only the River Flows (2023), Mr. Six (2015) and Endless Journey (2023).
How are movies similar to Saving Mr. Wu chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Saving Mr. Wu, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.