Movies like Heroes of the East (1978)
The best movies like Heroes of the East (1978) are Return to the 36th Chamber (1980), Showdown in Little Tokyo (1991) and Accident Man: Hitman's Holiday (2022). If Heroes of the East hooked you with its action and comedy, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedMortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge (2020)8.1/10 from 1,545 votes
- NewestLion Fist (2026)Released 2026
- In ChineseReturn to the 36th Chamber (1980)Also in Chinese
Return to the 36th Chamber (1980)
The workers of a dye factory have their pay cut by 20% when the factory owner brings in some Manchu thugs to try and increase production. Desperate to reclaim their full wages, the workers hire an actor to impersonate a priest and kung-fu expert from the temple of Shaolin. The factory owner proves the actor a fraud, and punishes all those involved. The young actor feels he has let the workers down, and promises to atone. He sets out for Shaolin, determined to be accepted as a kung-fu pupil at the elite temple.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShowdown in Little Tokyo (1991)
An American with a Japanese upbringing, Chris Kenner is a police officer assigned to the Little Tokyo section of Los Angeles. Kenner is partnered with Johnny Murata, a Japanese-American who isn't in touch with his roots. Despite their differences, both men excel at martial arts, and utilize their formidable skills when they go up against Yoshida, a vicious yakuza drug dealer with ties to Kenner's past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAccident Man: Hitman's Holiday (2022)
The Accident Man is back, and this time he must best the top assassins in the world to protect the ungrateful son of a mafia boss, save the life of his only friend and rekindle his relationship with his maniacal father figure.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlack Belt Jones (1974)
Jones is a secret agent who has gone into semi-retirement, concentrating instead on teaching the martial arts to inner city youths. The karate school is run by a kindly old coot named Pops. His gambling debts, however, bring the local thug, Pinky, down on him. To make matters worse, Pinky is then hired by some white thugs who want to get a hold of the property Pops' school occupies so they can build a shopping mall. When things get heavy, Black Belt Jones leaps into action. Only he's not alone. Pops' daughter, Sidney, shows up to lend a hand, proving herself every bit as agile and powerful a martial artist as Jones.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Debt Collector (2018)
A classically-trained martial artist goes to work as a debt collector for the mob. The job seems easy enough, until one “client” pulls him into a situation deeper than could ever be expected.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisDebt Collectors (2020)
A pair of debt collectors are thrust into an explosively dangerous situation, chasing down various lowlifes while also evading a vengeful kingpin.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHalf a Loaf of Kung Fu (1978)
A young daydreamer assumes the identity of a dead martial arts hero and quickly finds himself caught up in a plot by several clans to steal famous martial arts artifacts being transported by an escort company.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFist of Legend (1994)
Chen returns to his school when he finds out that his martial arts teacher has died. When he learns that his school students are harassed by some hooligans, he gears himself up to save them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLion Fist (2026)
Martial arts fighter Joe goes to prison for four years and takes his wife's blame for a drug bust. After his release, he learns that his son needs expensive surgery because of a life-threatening tumor. Joe's only chance to save him: a brutal all-styles tournament with a $100,000 prize.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNinja: Shadow of a Tear (2013)
Fight everyone and trust no one: it's the code of survival practiced by martial-arts master Casey Bowman after his life of domestic bliss is shattered by a savage act of violence. Vowing revenge, the fearless American stealthily tracks the killer from Osaka to Bangkok to Rangoon with the help of a wise and crafty sensei. His only clues: a series of victims whose necks bear the distinctive mark of strangulation by barbed wire. Fighting to avenge as well as to survive, Casey must sharpen his razor-like responses and take his battle skills to the next level, even using deep meditation to fake his own death. His target: the sinister drug lord Goro, who is flooding the streets with deadly meth cooked at his remote jungle factory. To prepare for his ultimate confrontation, Casey must finally become an invisible warrior worthy of the name Ninja. But just when his prey is cornered, an unexpected twist shows Casey that his battle is only beginning: he truly can trust no one.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUnleashed (2005)
Raised as a slave, Danny is used to fighting for his survival. In fact, his "master," Bart, thinks of him as a pet and goes as far as leashing him with a collar so they can make money in fight clubs, where Danny is the main contender. When Bart's crew is in a car accident, Danny escapes and meets a blind, kindhearted piano tuner who takes him in and uses music to free the fighter's long-buried heart.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMartial Law II: Undercover (1991)
Sean and Billie are undercover cops and martial arts masters. Investigating the death of a cop, they uncover a deadly ring of murder and corruption at a glitzy nightclub, where the rich are entertained by seductive women and protected by martial arts experts. Billie goes undercover to infiltrate the crime ring, leading to an explosive finale.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRomeo Must Die (2000)
Two warring gang families (one African-American, the other Chinese) maneuver for bragging rights to the Oakland, California docks. Han Sing and Trish O'Day uncover a trail of deceit that leaves most of the warring factions dead... or worse!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAmerican Shaolin (1991)
After facing brutal humiliation in the ring, a young karateka travels to China in order to study the ancient art of Shaolin Kung Fu, becoming the first American Shaolin.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Last Kumite (2024)
When shady businessman Ron Hall kidnaps his daughter, retired karate champion Michael Rivers is forced to enter a deadly illegal Kumite tournament in Bulgaria. Enlisting the help of seasoned trainers Master Loren and Julie Jackson, he discovers other fighters face the same desperate struggle to save their loved ones.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHand of Death (1976)
A young monk must face the Extended Iron Claw technique of a powerful warlord seeking to destroy Shaolin.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge (2020)
After the vicious slaughter of his family by stone-cold mercenary Sub-Zero, Hanzo Hasashi is exiled to the torturous Netherrealm. There, in exchange for his servitude to the sinister Quan Chi, he’s given a chance to avenge his family – and is resurrected as Scorpion, a lost soul bent on revenge. Back on Earthrealm, Lord Raiden gathers a team of elite warriors – Shaolin monk Liu Kang, Special Forces officer Sonya Blade, and action star Johnny Cage – an unlikely band of heroes with one chance to save humanity. To do this, they must defeat Shang Tsung's horde of Outworld gladiators and reign over the Mortal Kombat tournament.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisFemale Fight Squad (2017)
A former fighter reluctantly returns to the life she abandoned in order to help her sister survive the sadistic world of illegal fighting and the maniac who runs it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBatman: Soul of the Dragon (2021)
Bruce Wayne faces a deadly menace from his past, with the help of three former classmates: world-renowned martial artists Richard Dragon, Ben Turner and Lady Shiva.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHard Target (1993)
When a woman's father goes missing, she enlists a local to aid in her search. The pair soon discover that her father has died at the hands of a wealthy sportsman who hunts homeless men as a form of recreation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPolice Story (1985)
Officer Chan Ka Kui manages to put a major Hong Kong drug dealer behind the bars practically alone, after a shooting and an impressive chase inside a slum. Now, he must protect the boss' secretary, Selina, who will testify against the gangster in court.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNever Back Down (2008)
Jake, full of anger after his father's death, is just starting to find a place for himself at his new Orlando high school - until Ryan, head of an underground MMA fight club, picks Jake out as a prime opponent. After being trounced by Ryan in front of the entire school, Jake begins training under the firm, moral guidance of a MMA master, where he learns how to fight... and how to avoid a fight. But it becomes obvious that a rematch will be inevitable if Jake wants to stop Ryan and his bullying, once and for all.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShanghai Noon (2000)
Chon Wang, a clumsy imperial guard, trails Princess Pei Pei when she's kidnapped from the Forbidden City and transported to America. Wang follows her captors to Nevada, where he teams up with an unlikely partner, outcast outlaw Roy O'Bannon, and tries to spring the princess from her imprisonment.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDick Tracy (1990)
The comic strip detective finds his life vastly complicated when Breathless Mahoney makes advances towards him while he is trying to battle Big Boy Caprice's united mob.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Gloomy Tower (1977)
A gongfu feature about the mysterious deaths that keep occurring at an inn in the forest.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Mumon: The Land of Stealth (2017)
Raised suckling poison arrows among the sparring Iga ninja factions, Mumon is a carefree 16th-century mercenary. When the ninja council makes a power play to defeat the young Nobukatsu Oda struggling to step into his father’s warlord shoes as they expand rule across the country, Mumon jumps into the fray to satisfy his new bride Okuni’s demand that he make good on his promises of wealth. Yet Mumon soon finds what is worth fighting for beyond money or nation.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDoom (2005)
A team of space marines known as the Rapid Response Tactical Squad, led by Sarge, is sent to a science facility on Mars after somebody reports a security breach. There, they learn that the alert came after a test subject, a mass murderer purposefully injected with alien DNA, broke free and began killing people. Dr. Grimm, who is related to team member Reaper, informs them all that the chromosome can mutate humans into monsters -- and is highly infectious.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
SnoozefestMovies like thisTimecop (1994)
In 2004, an officer for a security agency that regulates time travel must fend for his life against a shady politician who has a tie to his past.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUnder Siege (1992)
A disgruntled ex-CIA operative, his assistant and their assembled group of terrorists seize a battleship with nuclear blackmail in mind. They've planned for every contingency but ignore the ship's cook, former Navy SEAL Casey Ryback—an error that could be fatal.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Karate Kid Part II (1986)
Summoned by his dying father, Miyagi returns to his homeland of Okinawa, with Daniel, after a 40-year exile. There he must confront Yukie, the love of his youth, and Sato, his former best friend turned vengeful rival. Sato is bent on a fight to the death, even if it means the destruction of their village. Daniel finds his own love in Yukia's niece, Kumiko, and his own enemy in Sato's nephew, the vicious Chozen. Now, far away from the tournaments, cheering crowds and safety of home, Daniel will face his greatest challenge ever when the cost of honor is life itself.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Heroes of the East?
The closest matches to Heroes of the East are Return to the 36th Chamber (1980), Showdown in Little Tokyo (1991) and Accident Man: Hitman's Holiday (2022). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Heroes of the East?
Start with Return to the 36th Chamber (1980), the closest match to Heroes of the East.
What is the highest-rated movie like Heroes of the East?
Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge (2020), rated 8.1/10 by 1,545 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Heroes of the East?
Lion Fist (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Chinese movies like Heroes of the East?
Yes: Return to the 36th Chamber (1980), Half a Loaf of Kung Fu (1978) and Fist of Legend (1994).
How are movies similar to Heroes of the East chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Heroes of the East, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.