Movies like The Waiting (1983)
The best movies like The Waiting (1983) are No One Gets Out Alive (2021), Staring at Strangers (2022) and Run All Night (2015). If The Waiting hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedJohn Wick (2014)7.5/10 from 21,604 votes
- NewestDust Bunny (2025)Released 2025
- In SpanishStaring at Strangers (2022)Also in Spanish
No One Gets Out Alive (2021)
An immigrant in search of the American dream is forced to take a room in a boarding house and soon finds herself in a nightmare from which she can't escape.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisStaring at Strangers (2022)
Carpenter Sergio runs away and hides in a closet after his boss fired him. When the closet arrives at its buyer's house, he decides to stay there, hiding in his new home living with an unknown family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRoofman (2025)
A former Army Ranger and struggling father turns to robbing McDonald’s restaurants by cutting holes in their roofs, earning him the nickname "Roofman." After escaping prison, he secretly lives inside a Toys “R” Us for six months, surviving undetected while planning his next move. But when he falls for a divorced mom drawn to his undeniable charm, his double life begins to unravel, setting off a compelling and suspenseful game of cat and mouse as his past closes in.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDust Bunny (2025)
Ten-year-old Aurora asks her hitman neighbor to kill the monster under her bed that she claims ate her family. To protect her, he must battle an onslaught of assassins while accepting that some monsters are real.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSeeking Justice (2011)
After his wife is assaulted, a husband enlists the services of a vigilante group to help him settle the score.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisBugsy (1991)
New York gangster Ben 'Bugsy' Siegel takes a brief business trip to Los Angeles. A sharp-dressing womanizer with a foul temper, Siegel doesn't hesitate to kill or maim anyone crossing him. In L.A. the life, the movies, and most of all strong-willed Virginia Hill detain him while his family wait back home. Then a trip to a run-down gambling joint at a spot in the desert known as Las Vegas gives him his big idea.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPrizzi's Honor (1985)
Charley Partanna is a hitman who works for the Prizzis, one of the richest crime families in the US. When he sees Irene Walker, it's love at first sight. But he soon finds that she, too, is a killer for hire. Charley can overlook his suspicions, but he can't turn off his heart. And the couple must remember that even if they love each other, the Prizzis love only money.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCopshop (2021)
On the run from a lethal assassin, a wily con artist devises a scheme to hide out inside a small-town police station. However, when the hit man turns up at the precinct, an unsuspecting rookie cop finds herself caught in the crosshairs.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJohn Wick (2014)
Ex-hitman John Wick comes out of retirement to track down the gangsters that took everything from him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Baker (2007)
Milo is a professional hit man living on the edge. When failing to fulfill a contract for the first time, he escapes the city to avoid the wrath of his employers. Hiding out in a remote rural village, the locals mistake him for the new baker.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWho Is Cletis Tout? (2001)
With a hitman’s gun aimed at him, Finch tells the story of how he broke out of jail, fell in love, and took the identity of a man wanted by the Mafia.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Killers (1964)
A hit man and his partner try to find out why their latest victim, a former race-car driver, did not try to get away.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFast Charlie (2023)
When his aging mob boss is whacked, Charlie Swift, a loyal friend and hired gun, will stop at nothing to destroy the upcoming crew that took him out.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMurder by Contract (1958)
Claude is a ruthless and efficient contract killer. His next target, a woman, is the most difficult.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Landlord (1970)
At the age of twenty-nine, Elgar Enders "runs away" from home. This running away consists of buying a building in a black ghetto in the Park Slope section of Brooklyn. Initially, his intention is to evict the black tenants and convert the building into a posh flat. But Elgar is not one to be bound by yesterday's urges, and soon he has other thoughts on his mind.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSpider (2002)
A mentally disturbed man takes residence in a halfway house. His mind gradually slips back into the realm created by his illness, where he replays a key part of his childhood.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPolar (2019)
When a retiring assassin realizes that he is the target of a hit, he winds up back in the game going head to head with a gang of younger, ruthless killers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMr. Right (2016)
A girl falls for the "perfect" guy, who happens to have a very fatal flaw: he's a hitman on the run from the crime cartels who employ him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAmerican Psycho (2000)
A wealthy New York investment banking executive hides his alternate psychopathic ego from his co-workers and friends as he escalates deeper into his illogical, gratuitous fantasies.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like this
Like The Waiting and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Waiting?
The closest matches to The Waiting are No One Gets Out Alive (2021), Staring at Strangers (2022) and Run All Night (2015). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Waiting?
Start with No One Gets Out Alive (2021), the closest match to The Waiting.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Waiting?
John Wick (2014), rated 7.5/10 by 21,604 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Waiting?
Dust Bunny (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Spanish movies like The Waiting?
Yes: Staring at Strangers (2022).
How are movies similar to The Waiting chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Waiting, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.