Movies like Hostage (2002)
The best movies like Hostage (2002) are Ticker (2002), The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 (2009) and Hostage (2005). If Hostage hooked you with its action and crime, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedInside Man (2006)7.4/10 from 6,670 votes
- NewestMisdirection (2026)Released 2026
- Same seriesTicker (2002)The Hire
Ticker (2002)
The Driver drives a wounded diplomat, who carries a mysterious briefcase, while under helicopter attack. During the attack the briefcase is struck by a bullet, causing a display on it to begin counting down, and it to leak an unknown fluid from the bullet hole. The Driver manages to destroy his pursuers, but refuses to proceed without knowing the contents of the damaged briefcase. It is revealed that the diplomat guards a human heart for a peacekeeper, whose life is needed for the continued freedom of the people. The case is delivered, and the tyrant is forced to give up his attempt to take the country by force. The Driver leaves for another mission.
Why it matches: Same series: The Hire · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 (2009)
Armed men hijack a New York City subway train, holding the passengers hostage in return for a ransom, and turning an ordinary day's work for dispatcher Walter Garber into a face-off with the mastermind behind the crime.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHostage (2005)
When a mafia accountant is taken hostage on his beat, a police officer – wracked by guilt from a prior stint as a negotiator – must negotiate the standoff, even as his own family is held captive by the mob.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSecurity (2017)
An ex-special services veteran, down on his luck and desperate for work, takes a job as a security guard at a run-down mall in a rough area of town. On his first night on the job, he opens the door to a distraught and desperate young girl who has fled the hijacking of a Police motorcade that was transporting her to testify as a witness in a trial. Hot on her heels is the psychopathic hijacker and his team of henchmen, who will stop at nothing to extract and eliminate the witness.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCollateral (2004)
Cab driver Max picks up a man who offers him $600 to drive him around. But the promise of easy money sours when Max realizes his fare is an assassin.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCellular (2004)
A young man receives an emergency phone call on his cell phone from an older woman. She claims to have been kidnapped – and the kidnappers have targeted her husband and child next.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStolen (2012)
Master thief Will Montgomery is just released from the State penitentiary after serving a 10 year sentence, is contacted by Vincent, his ex comrade in crime, who is holding Will’s teenage daughter ransom in a hijacked taxi cab. Vincent will only surrender her when Will reveals the whereabouts of the 20 million dollars he contrived to conceal from their last robbery.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Transporter (2002)
Former Special Forces officer Frank Martin will deliver anything to anyone for the right price, and his no-questions-asked policy puts him in high demand. But when he realizes his latest cargo is alive, it sets in motion a dangerous chain of events. The bound and gagged Lai is being smuggled to France by a shady American businessman, and Frank works to save her as his own illegal activities are uncovered by a French detective.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWheelman (2017)
A getaway driver for a bank robbery realizes he has been double crossed and races to find out who betrayed him.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInside Man: Most Wanted (2019)
An NYPD hostage negotiator teams up with a federal agent to rescue dozens of tourists held hostage during a 10-hour seige at the U.S. Federal Reserve.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEscape Plan: The Extractors (2019)
After security expert Ray Breslin is hired to rescue the kidnapped daughter of a Hong Kong tech mogul from a formidable Latvian prison, Breslin's girlfriend is also captured. Now he and his team must pull off a deadly rescue mission to confront their sadistic foe and save the hostages before time runs out.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisNight Train (2023)
Mother Holly McCord is driven to extremes to save the life of her young son. Even if it means hauling black market drugs in her souped-up truck, with the Feds in hot pursuit. With two bounties on her head and her son’s life on the line, Holly climbs behind the wheel of “Night Train,” ready to outrun, out gun, and outlast them all.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisBrake (2012)
A Secret Service Agent is held captive in the trunk of a car and endures high-speed mental and physical torture as terrorists attempt to extract needed information for their sinister plot.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & action
SnoozefestMovies like thisDen of Thieves (2018)
A gritty crime saga which follows the lives of an elite unit of the LA County Sheriff's Dept. and the state's most successful bank robbery crew as the outlaws plan a seemingly impossible heist on the Federal Reserve Bank.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRun All Night (2015)
Brooklyn mobster and prolific hit man Jimmy Conlon has seen better days. Longtime best friend of a mob boss, Jimmy is haunted by the sins of his past—as well as a dogged police detective who’s been one step behind Jimmy for 30 years. But when Jimmy’s estranged son becomes a target, Jimmy must make a choice between the crime family he chose and the real family he abandoned long ago. Now, with nowhere safe to turn, Jimmy has just one night to figure out exactly where his loyalties lie and to see if he can finally make things right.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGone in Sixty Seconds (2000)
Ex-car thief Randall Raines is forced out of retirement to save his brother Kip after a boost gone wrong. With the help of allies old and new, they race to meet the demands of notorious crime boss Raymond Calitri as the police are in hot pursuit.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Negotiator (1998)
The police try to arrest expert hostage negotiator Danny Roman, who insists he's being framed for his partner's murder in what he believes is an elaborate conspiracy. Thinking there's evidence in the Internal Affairs offices that might clear him, he takes everyone in the office hostage and demands that another well-known negotiator be brought in to handle the situation and secretly investigate the conspiracy.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCrank (2006)
Chev Chelios, a hit man wanting to go straight, lets his latest target slip away. Then he awakes the next morning to a phone call that informs him he has been poisoned and has only an hour to live unless he keeps adrenaline coursing through his body while he searches for an antidote.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDomino (2005)
The story of the life of Domino Harvey, who abandoned her career as a Ford model to become a bounty hunter.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisQuicksand (2003)
The workaholic head of the compliance section of a New York bank flies to Monaco to investigate unusual deposits from an offshore bank and meets a down-on-his-luck international film star who has become embroiled in criminal activities.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisPhone Booth (2003)
A slick New York publicist who picks up a ringing receiver in a phone booth is told that if he hangs up, he'll be killed... and the little red light from a laser rifle sight is proof that the caller isn't kidding.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRonin (1998)
A briefcase with undisclosed contents – sought by Irish terrorists and the Russian mob – makes its way into criminals' hands. An Irish liaison assembles a squad of mercenaries, or 'ronin', and gives them the thorny task of recovering the case.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMan on a Ledge (2012)
An ex-cop turned con threatens to jump to his death from a Manhattan hotel rooftop. The NYPD dispatch a female police psychologist to talk him down. However, unbeknownst to the police on the scene, the suicide attempt is a cover for the biggest diamond heist ever pulled.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBurn (2019)
Lonely, unstable gas station attendant Melinda is tired of being overshadowed by her more confident, outgoing co-worker Sheila. When the gas station is held up at gunpoint by Billy, a desperate man in need of quick cash, Melinda finds an opportunity to make a connection with the robber, regardless of who gets hurt.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInside Man (2006)
When an armed, masked gang enter a Manhattan bank, lock the doors and take hostages, the detective assigned to effect their release enters negotiations preoccupied with corruption charges he is facing.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisYour Lucky Day (2023)
After a dispute over a winning lottery ticket turns into a deadly hostage situation, the witnesses must decide exactly how far they’ll go—and how much blood they’re willing to spill—for a cut of the $156 million.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Escape (2016)
After the controversial disappearance of their Chief Medical Officer, a shadowy bio genetics company is under siege by the FBI for secretly cloning humans. Amidst the chaos, Molgen’s head mercenary Holt is sneaking out the last living clone, a young woman named Lily to a mysterious buyer. Holt has hired The Driver, accompanied by a heavily armed squadron of fellow Molgen mercenaries, to evade the authorities and deliver Lily and himself to the buyer. The journey takes an unexpected turn and Holt is forced to take matters into his own hands, as the driver once again demonstrates his mettle and extraordinary driving skills.
Why it matches: Same series: The Hire · both thriller & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMisdirection (2026)
A desperate couple have pulled off a string of high-end break-ins to pay off a mob debt. When they attempt to rob their latest victim, they find themselves caught in a deadly game of cat and mouse. The tables are turned and the hunters become the hunted.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTrap House (2025)
An undercover DEA agent and his partner embark on a game of cat and mouse with an audacious, and surprising group of thieves – their own rebellious teenagers, who have begun robbing from a dangerous cartel, using their parents' tactics and top-secret intel to do it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHellhound (2024)
Ready to leave his profession behind, Loreno, an assassin, lends help to an old friend, Cetan, and taking one last job in Thailand seeking out a local kingpin. A lapse in judgment means Loreno crosses paths with old colleague Paul.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Hostage?
The closest matches to Hostage are Ticker (2002), The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 (2009) and Hostage (2005). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Hostage?
People who watched Hostage most often go on to The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 (2009), Hostage (2005) and Security (2017).
What is the highest-rated movie like Hostage?
Inside Man (2006), rated 7.4/10 by 6,670 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Hostage?
Misdirection (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Is Hostage part of a series?
Yes. It belongs to The Hire, which includes Ticker (2002) and The Escape (2016).
Are there English movies like Hostage?
Yes: Ticker (2002), The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 (2009) and Hostage (2005).
How are movies similar to Hostage chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Hostage, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.