Movies like Operation Avalanche (2016)
The best movies like Operation Avalanche (2016) are Gorky Park (1983), Kill the Messenger (2014) and Shimmer Lake (2017). If Operation Avalanche hooked you with its thriller and mystery, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedForrest Gump (1994)8.5/10 from 30,856 votes
- NewestWild Horse Nine (2026)Released 2026
Gorky Park (1983)
Police Inspector Renko tries to solve the case of three bodies found in Moscow's Gorky Park but finds his attempts to solve the crime impeded by his superiors. Working on his own, Renko seeks out more information and stumbles across a conspiracy involving the highest levels of the government.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKill the Messenger (2014)
A reporter becomes the target of a vicious smear campaign that drives him to the point of suicide after he exposes the CIA's role in arming Contra rebels in Nicaragua and importing cocaine into California. Based on the true story of journalist Gary Webb.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShimmer Lake (2017)
Shot in reverse day-by-day through a week—a local sheriff embarks on a quest to unlock the mystery of three small-town criminals and a bank heist gone wrong.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAmsterdam (2022)
In the 1930s, three friends—a doctor, a nurse, and an attorney—witness a murder, become suspects themselves and uncover one of the most outrageous plots in American history.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisConspiracy Theory (1997)
A man obsessed with conspiracy theories becomes a target after one of his theories turns out to be true. Unfortunately, in order to save himself, he has to figure out which theory it is.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJasper Jones (2017)
Fourteen-year-old Charlie's life changes when Jasper takes his help to dispose of the body of his girlfriend, Laura. He decides to look for the murderer and falls in love with Laura's younger sister.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInherent Vice (2014)
In Los Angeles at the turn of the 1970s, drug-fueled detective Larry "Doc" Sportello investigates the disappearance of an ex-girlfriend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEuropa Report (2013)
A crew travels to Europa, Jupiter’s icy moon, to investigate signs of life in its subsurface ocean, but disaster cuts them off from Earth, leading to a tense and dangerous exploration.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Dyatlov Pass Incident (2013)
In February of 1959, nine Russian hikers ventured into a remote area of the Ural Mountains. Two weeks later, all of them were found dead. What happened is a mystery that has baffled investigators and researchers for decades. It has become known as the Dyatlov Pass Incident. When five ambitious American college students are issued a grant to return to the site of the original events, they gear up with the belief that they can uncover and document the truth of what happened to the supposedly experienced hikers. But what they find is more shocking than anything they could have imagined. Retracing the steps of the Russians' ill-fated journey, the students are plagued by strange and increasingly terrifying phenomena that suggest that in spite of the desolate surroundings, they are not alone. The forces at work in the Dyatlov Pass Incident have been waiting for them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSalt (2010)
As a CIA officer, Evelyn Salt swore an oath to duty, honor, and country. Her loyalty will be tested when a Russian defector accuses her of being a Russian sleeper spy. She goes on the run, using all her skills and years of experience as a covert operative to elude capture, protect her husband, and stay one step ahead of her colleagues at the CIA. Her efforts to prove her innocence only serve to cast doubt on her motives, as the hunt to uncover the truth behind her identity continues and the question remains: "Who is Salt?"
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThree Days of the Condor (1975)
When bookish CIA researcher Joe Turner finds all his co-workers dead, he, together with a woman he has kidnapped, must work together to outwit those responsible until he determines who he can really trust.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe X-Files (1998)
Mulder and Scully, now taken off the FBI's X Files cases, must find a way to fight the shadowy elements of the government to find out the truth about a conspiracy that might mean the alien colonization of Earth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAmerican Made (2017)
The true story of pilot Barry Seal, who transported contraband for the CIA and the Medellin cartel in the 1980s.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAll the Old Knives (2022)
When the CIA discovers one of its agents leaked information that cost more than 100 people their lives, veteran operative Henry Pelham is assigned to root out the mole with his former lover and colleague Celia Harrison.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWild Horse Nine (2026)
Shortly before the 1973 Chilean coup, CIA agents Chris and Lee are dispatched from Santiago to Easter Island by their bureau chief, MJ. Amongst the Island's iconic statues, and as the longtime partners wrestle with their dark pasts and present conspiracies, Chris's newfound bond with a pair of rebellious students threatens to send everyone’s trip to this remote paradise sideways.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & thriller
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisArgo (2012)
As the Iranian revolution reaches a boiling point, a CIA 'exfiltration' specialist concocts a risky plan to free six Americans who have found shelter at the home of the Canadian ambassador.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Commuter (2018)
A businessman, on his daily commute home, gets unwittingly caught up in a criminal conspiracy that threatens not only his life but the lives of those around him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRelay (2025)
A broker of lucrative payoffs between corrupt corporations and the individuals who threaten them breaks his own rules when a new client seeks his protection to stay alive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWasp Network (2020)
Havana, Cuba, 1990. René González, an airplane pilot, unexpectedly flees the country, leaving behind his wife Olga and his daughter Irma, and begins a new life in Miami, where he becomes a member of an anti-Castro organization.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe X-Files: I Want to Believe (2008)
Mulder and Scully are called back to duty by the FBI when a former priest claims to be receiving psychic visions pertaining to a kidnapped agent.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe 39 Steps (1935)
Richard Hanney has a rude awakening when a glamorous female spy falls into his bed - with a knife in her back. Having a bit of trouble explaining it all to Scotland Yard, he heads for the hills of Scotland to try to clear his name by locating the spy ring known as The 39 Steps.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSyriana (2005)
The Middle Eastern oil industry is the backdrop of this tense drama, which weaves together numerous story lines. Bennett Holiday is an American lawyer in charge of facilitating a dubious merger of oil companies, while Bryan Woodman, a Switzerland-based energy analyst, experiences both personal tragedy and opportunity during a visit with Arabian royalty. Meanwhile, veteran CIA agent Bob Barnes uncovers an assassination plot with unsettling origins.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like this15 Things You Didn't Know About Bigfoot (2019)
A clickbait journalist is sent to the Appalachian foothills to cover a Bigfoot Convention where he discovers there’s more to this listicle than meets the eye.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & mystery
The Household (2025)
A documentary about two amateur filmmakers investigating a series of mysterious murders. They become entangled with a secret organization hiding a terrifying secret.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery & thriller
Forrest Gump (1994)
A man with a low IQ has accomplished great things in his life and been present during significant historic events—in each case, far exceeding what anyone imagined he could do. But despite all he has achieved, his one true love eludes him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisBeverly Hills Cop (1984)
Fast-talking, quick-thinking Detroit street cop Axel Foley has bent more than a few rules and regs in his time, but when his best friend is murdered, he heads to sunny Beverly Hills to work the case like only he can.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBeverly Hills Cop II (1987)
Axel Foley returns to the land of sunshine and palm trees to investigate the near-fatal shooting of police Captain Andrew Bogomil. With the help of Sgt. Taggart and Det. Rosewood, they soon uncover that the shooting is associated with a series of "alphabet" robberies masterminded by a heartless weapons kingpin—and the chase is on.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTo Be or Not To Be (1966)
After his business' bankrupcy, Giorgos Alexiou decides to commit suicide. Rosa, his cousin's wife who stand to benefit form his death, hires a private detective to keep an eye on him in case he changes his mind. Minas, Giorgos' employee, becomes Giorgos' guardian angel preventing the suicide at the last minute.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Brokeback Mountain (2005)
In 1960s Wyoming, two men develop a strong emotional and sexual relationship that endures as a lifelong connection complicating their lives as they get married and start families of their own.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Terminator (1984)
In the post-apocalyptic future, reigning tyrannical supercomputers teleport a cyborg assassin known as the "Terminator" back to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor, whose unborn son is destined to lead insurgents against 21st century mechanical hegemony. Meanwhile, the human-resistance movement dispatches a lone warrior to safeguard Sarah. Can he stop the virtually indestructible killing machine?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Operation Avalanche?
The closest matches to Operation Avalanche are Gorky Park (1983), Kill the Messenger (2014) and Shimmer Lake (2017). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Operation Avalanche?
Start with Gorky Park (1983), the closest match to Operation Avalanche.
What is the highest-rated movie like Operation Avalanche?
Forrest Gump (1994), rated 8.5/10 by 30,856 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Operation Avalanche?
Wild Horse Nine (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Operation Avalanche?
Yes: Gorky Park (1983), Kill the Messenger (2014) and Shimmer Lake (2017).
How are movies similar to Operation Avalanche chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Operation Avalanche, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.