Movies like The Contestant (2007)
The best movies like The Contestant (2007) are The Ferpect Crime (2004), The Red Squirrel (1993) and Ca$h (2010). If The Contestant hooked you with its drama and comedy, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedAbove the Rim (1994)7.1/10 from 251 votes
- NewestTherapy Done Right (2026)Released 2026
- In SpanishThe Ferpect Crime (2004)Also in Spanish
The Ferpect Crime (2004)
A playboy has the tables turned on him when he finds himself being used as a plaything by an undesirable woman.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Red Squirrel (1993)
Jota's suicide attempt is interrupted when a motorcyclist crashes off a bridge. After he rescues her, he decides to invent a life story for her — one of love and shared memories — creating a fragile web of deception that intertwines their fates.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCa$h (2010)
A stroke of good luck turns lethal for Sam Phelan and his wife Leslie when they are faced with a life-changing decision that brings strange and sinister Pyke Kubic to their doorstep. As Pyke leads Sam and Leslie on a tumultuous adventure through the streets of Chicago, each are pulled deeper and deeper into a desperate spiral of deception and violence – all in the name of money.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisTherapy Done Right (2026)
A psychoanalyst who's lost faith in traditional therapy crosses every boundary to help a blocked novelist in this cutting Argentine dark comedy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Parts You Lose (2019)
An unlikely friendship unfolds between a young deaf boy, Wesley, and a fugitive criminal who takes refuge in an abandoned barn on the family’s rural North Dakota farm.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Quiller Memorandum (1966)
After two British Secret Intelligence Service agents are murdered at the hands of a cryptic neo-Nazi group known as Phoenix, the suave agent Quiller is sent to Berlin to investigate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
SnoozefestMovies like this180 (2026)
When an unexpected road rage incident puts his son in critical condition, an enraged father spirals down a dark path of emotional turmoil and vengeance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisAbove the Rim (1994)
Story of a promising high school basketball star and his relationships with two brothers, one a drug dealer and the other a former basketball star fallen on hard times and now employed as a security guard.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisToday We Fix the World (2022)
David Samaras, "el Griego", is the general producer of the popular talk show "Hoy se arregla el mundo", where supposedly ordinary people resolve relationship, couple, friendship, work, parent and child conflicts. The most enduring bond in his life is Benito, his 9-year-old son, the fruit of a casual relationship. The story changes completely when he learns that Benito is not his son. The search for the real dad will lead them to a crossroads much bigger than the one they set out to face.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEach Dawn I Die (1939)
A corrupt D.A. with governatorial ambitions is annoyed by an investigative reporter's criticism of his criminal activities and decides to frame the reporter for manslaughter in order to silence him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWelcome to Me (2015)
A year in the life of Alice Klieg, a woman with Borderline personality disorder who wins the Mega Millions lottery, quits her meds and buys her own talk show.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisInside Man (2023)
Based on true events. A disgraced police detective seeking redemption goes undercover to expose a violent crime syndicate. But as he sinks deeper into the mob, the price for absolution may be higher than he can afford.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Crooked Somebody (2018)
An attention-seeking psychic is kidnapped and tries to use the situation to boost his popularity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Dream Team (1989)
Four mental patients on a field trip in New York City must save their caring chaperone, who ends up being taken to a hospital in a coma after accidentally witnessing a murder, before the killers can find him and finish the job.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBreaking News in Yuba County (2021)
An overlooked pencil-pusher catches her husband in bed with another woman, the shock of which causes him to die of a heart attack. So she buries his body and takes advantage of the growing celebrity status that comes from having a missing husband. But she quickly finds herself in over her head, dodging cops and criminals, all while trying to keep the truth from her sister, a local news anchor who’s desperate for a story.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisRun (1991)
When a law student accidentally kills the son of a mob boss in a fight, he finds himself relentlessly pursued by the mob and the police.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Good Neighbor (2022)
A nightmarish evening unfolds for neighbors David and Robert when they accidentally hit a woman on her bike and flee the scene. While David is increasingly plagued by feelings of guilt, Robert shows no remorse and becomes overbearing and possessive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAll the Names of God (2023)
After being implicated in a terrorist attack, Santi, a taxi driver, is taken hostage by one of the perpetrators.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSomewhere in Queens (2023)
Leo and Angela Russo live a simple life in Queens, surrounded by their overbearing Italian-American family. When their son finds success on his high school basketball team, Leo tears the family apart trying to make it happen.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFinder's Fee (2001)
Friends Tepper, Quigley, Fishman, and Bolan get together for a weekly poker night with two simple rules: Everyone contributes a lottery ticket to the pot, and no one checks the numbers until the game ends. But this particular, stormy night is different: Tepper plans to propose to his girlfriend, and just before the weekly game, he finds a wallet outside his apartment with a winning lottery ticket worth $6 million. Tepper calls the wallet's owner, Avery, to come collect what's his, but keeps the winning ticket for himself...only for Avery to show up and ask to play a hand.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLaRoy, Texas (2024)
Broke and depressed, Ray is mistaken for a dangerous hitman and given an envelope of cash. Along with his P.I. friend Skip, he must escape the actual hitman to make it out of LaRoy alive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Truth About Emanuel (2013)
A troubled young woman becomes obsessed with her mysterious new neighbor, who bears a striking resemblance to the girl's dead mother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI Love You, Baby (2000)
The crook couple Peter and Gwen have run away from Germany and are dreaming of a sweet life on Mallorca. During a break-in at the villa of multimillionaire Walter Ekland, Peter discovers by chance that the old man is using a detective agency to find his son, who was given up for adoption years ago. Ekland has never seen his supposed last family member and heir and therefore does not know that he has long since died. Peter sees the great opportunity of a lifetime. He assumes the identity of the lost son in order to get his hands on the big money. But the unscrupulous Decker, a private detective who was tasked with finding Ekland's real son, discovers the fraud and blackmails Gwen and Peter...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & comedy
Melvin and Howard (1980)
The story of hard-luck Melvin Dummar, who claimed to have received a will naming him an heir to the fortune of Howard Hughes. Inspired by real events.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAirport '77 (1977)
Flight 23 has crashed in the Bermuda Triangle after a hijacking gone wrong. Now the surviving passengers must brave panic, slow leaks, oxygen depletion, and more while attempting a daring plan, all while 200 feet underwater.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisAlways Together (1947)
An old millionaire, who believes he's dying, bequeaths his fortune to a young woman with a fanatical obsession with movie stars. But then the elderly tycoon recovers from his illness and decides he wants his money back. Comedy most notable for its numerous unbilled cameos by Warner Bros. actors.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Our Dancing Daughters (1928)
A flapper who's secretly a good girl and a gold-digging floozy masquerading as an ingénue both vie for the hand of a millionaire.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Davpech (2011)
Two friends Nilkanth and Vyankat go to Phulgaon village to participate in a unique game in return of huge sum of money.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Lottery (2022)
A directionless young man and a mysterious shop assistant form a fragile, unexpected romance just as a life-changing lottery win lands in his hands. But her violent ex-boyfriend and the fortune that changes everything threaten to tear their bond apart.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Brewster's Millions (1945)
Monty Brewster is a pennyless, former U.S. Army soldier back from World War II Europe who learns that he has inherited $8 million from a distant relative. But there's a catch: he must spend $1 million of that money in less than two months before his 30th birthday in order to inherit the rest.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Like The Contestant and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Contestant?
The closest matches to The Contestant are The Ferpect Crime (2004), The Red Squirrel (1993) and Ca$h (2010). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Contestant?
People who watched The Contestant most often go on to The Ferpect Crime (2004) and The Red Squirrel (1993).
What is the highest-rated movie like The Contestant?
Above the Rim (1994), rated 7.1/10 by 251 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Contestant?
Therapy Done Right (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Spanish movies like The Contestant?
Yes: The Ferpect Crime (2004), The Red Squirrel (1993) and Therapy Done Right (2026).
How are movies similar to The Contestant chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Contestant, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.