Movies like ARQ (2016)
The best movies like ARQ (2016) are Looper (2012), The Running Man (1987) and Boss Level (2021). If ARQ hooked you with its science fiction and thriller, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedTerminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)8.2/10 from 15,160 votes
- NewestRage of Stars (2026)Released 2026
Looper (2012)
In the year 2044, time travel has not yet been invented but in 30 years it will have been. When the mob wants to get rid of someone, they will send their target into the past where a looper, a hired gun, like Joe is waiting to mop up. Joe is getting rich and life is good until the day the mob decides to close the loop, sending back Joe's future self for assassination.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Running Man (1987)
By 2017, the global economy has collapsed and U.S. society has become a totalitarian police state, censoring all cultural activity. The government pacifies the populace by broadcasting a number of game shows in which convicted criminals fight for their lives, including the gladiator-style The Running Man, hosted by the ruthless Damon Killian, where “runners” attempt to evade “stalkers” and certain death for a chance to be pardoned and set free.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBoss Level (2021)
A former special forces agent is trapped in a time loop and relives his death over and over again. To escape the terrible situation, he must track down those responsible and stop them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like this57 Seconds (2023)
When a tech blogger lands an interview with a tech guru and stops an attack on him, he finds a mysterious ring that takes him back 57 seconds into the past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhat Happened to Monday (2017)
In a world where families are limited to one child due to overpopulation, a set of identical septuplets must avoid being put to a long sleep by the government and dangerous infighting while investigating the disappearance of one of their own.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTerminator Salvation (2009)
All grown up in post-apocalyptic 2018, John Connor must lead the resistance of humans against the increasingly dominating militaristic robots. But when Marcus Wright appears, his existence confuses the mission as Connor tries to determine whether Wright has come from the future or the past -- and whether he's friend or foe.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTerminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
Ten years after the events of the original, a reprogrammed T-800 is sent back in time to protect young John Connor from the shape-shifting T-1000. Together with his mother Sarah, he fights to stop Skynet from triggering a nuclear apocalypse.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & science fiction
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Running Man (2025)
Desperate to save his sick daughter, working-class Ben Richards is convinced by The Running Man's charming but ruthless producer to enter the deadly competition game as a last resort. But Ben's defiance, instincts, and grit turn him into an unexpected fan favorite — and a threat to the entire system. As ratings skyrocket, so does the danger, and Ben must outwit not just the Hunters, but a nation addicted to watching him fall.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRage of Stars (2026)
A story about a woman from the International Special Forces Unit, who has a premonition about the impending end of humanity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCoherence (2014)
Four couples gather for dinner the night a mysterious and powerful comet passes overhead.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & science fiction
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: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Island (2005)
In 2019, Lincoln Six-Echo is a resident of a seemingly "Utopian" but contained facility. Like all of the inhabitants of this carefully-controlled environment, Lincoln hopes to be chosen to go to The Island — reportedly the last uncontaminated location on the planet. But Lincoln soon discovers that everything about his existence is a lie.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies 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: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Matrix Reloaded (2003)
The Resistance builds in numbers as humans are freed from the Matrix and brought to the city of Zion. Neo discovers his superpowers, including the ability to see the code inside the Matrix. With machine sentinels digging to Zion in 72 hours, Neo, Morpheus and Trinity must find the Keymaker to ultimately reach the Source.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRoboCop (1987)
In a violent, near-apocalyptic Detroit, evil corporation Omni Consumer Products wins a contract from the city government to privatize the police force. To test their crime-eradicating cyborgs, the company leads street cop Alex Murphy into an armed confrontation with crime lord Boddicker so they can use his body to support their untested RoboCop prototype. But when RoboCop learns of the company's nefarious plans, he turns on his masters.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Signal (2014)
On a road trip, Nic and two friends are drawn to an isolated area by a computer genius. When everything suddenly goes dark, Nic regains consciousness – only to find himself in a waking nightmare.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSpectral (2016)
A special-ops team is dispatched to fight supernatural beings that have taken over a European city.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Matrix Resurrections (2021)
Plagued by strange memories, Neo's life takes an unexpected turn when he finds himself back inside the Matrix.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisResident Evil (2002)
When a virus leaks from a top-secret facility, turning all resident researchers into ravenous zombies and their lab animals into mutated hounds from hell, the government sends in an elite military task force to contain the outbreak.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAfterburn (2025)
Set against the backdrop of a postapocalyptic Earth whose Eastern Hemisphere was destroyed by a massive solar flare, leaving what life remains mutated from radiation and fallout. The story revolves around a group of treasure hunters who extract such objects as the Mona Lisa, the Rosetta Stone and the Crown Jewels while facing rival hunters, mutants and pirates.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTime Lapse (2014)
Three friends discover a mysterious machine that takes pictures 24 hours into the future and conspire to use it for personal gain, until disturbing and dangerous images begin to develop.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMad Max 2 (1981)
Max Rockatansky returns as the heroic loner who drives the dusty roads of a postapocalyptic Australian Outback in an unending search for gasoline. Arrayed against him and the other scraggly defendants of a fuel-depot encampment are the bizarre warriors commanded by the charismatic Lord Humungus, a violent leader whose scruples are as barren as the surrounding landscape.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Quiet Earth (1985)
After a top-secret experiment misfires, a scientist may be the only man left alive in the world.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCyborg (1989)
A martial artist hunts a killer in a plague-infested urban dump of the future.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisKalki (2018)
A scientist trying to solve one of the universe's greatest puzzles begins a romance with a much younger colleague that's haunted by a dark secret.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Frankenstein Unbound (1990)
The ultimate weapon, claimed to be safe for mankind, produces global side-effects including time slides and disappearances. The scientist behind the project and his car are zapped from the year 2031 to 1817 in Switzerland where he meets Dr. Victor Frankenstein, Mary Shelley and others.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisBad Company (2002)
When a Harvard-educated CIA agent is killed during an operation, the secret agency recruits his twin brother.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisI'll Follow You Down (2013)
After the disappearance of a young scientist on a business trip, his son and wife struggle to cope, only to make a bizarre discovery years later – one that may bring him home.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Titan's Eagle (2017)
Langford, a 17th century alchemist is caught in a time loop that slowly starts to drain his life force.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Like ARQ and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like ARQ?
The closest matches to ARQ are Looper (2012), The Running Man (1987) and Boss Level (2021). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after ARQ?
Start with Looper (2012), the closest match to ARQ.
What is the highest-rated movie like ARQ?
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), rated 8.2/10 by 15,160 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like ARQ?
Rage of Stars (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like ARQ?
Yes: Looper (2012), The Running Man (1987) and Boss Level (2021).
How are movies similar to ARQ chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside ARQ, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.