Movies like The Mule (2018)
The best movies like The Mule (2018) are The Hollow Point (2016), Hell or High Water (2016) and The Place Beyond the Pines (2013). If The Mule hooked you with its crime and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThree Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)8.1/10 from 11,325 votes
- NewestClean Hands (2026)Released 2026
The Hollow Point (2016)
Los Reyes County, Arizona. Leland, a retired lawman, works with Wallace, the new sheriff who replaces him, when a vicious hit man, sent by a Mexican drug cartel, threatens their border small town.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisHell or High Water (2016)
A divorced dad and his ex-con brother resort to a desperate scheme in order to save their family's farm in West Texas.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Place Beyond the Pines (2013)
A motorcycle stunt rider considers committing a crime in order to provide for his wife and child, an act that puts him on a collision course with a cop-turned-politician.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Old Man & the Gun (2018)
The true story of Forrest Tucker, from his audacious escape from San Quentin at the age of 70 to an unprecedented string of heists that confounded authorities and enchanted the public. Wrapped up in the pursuit are a detective, who becomes captivated with Forrest’s commitment to his craft, and a woman, who loves him in spite of his chosen profession.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSavages (2012)
Pot growers Ben and Chon face off against the Mexican drug cartel that kidnapped their shared girlfriend.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlow (2001)
The story of how George Jung, together with the Medellín Cartel led by Pablo Escobar, established the billion-dollar cocaine empire in the United States in the 1970s.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Drop (2014)
Bob Saginowski finds himself at the center of a robbery gone awry and entwined in an investigation that digs deep into the neighborhood's past where friends, families, and foes all work together to make a living - no matter the cost.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCocaine Godmother (2017)
At the age of 17, Griselda Blanco, made her way to the U.S. with a fake passport with her first husband Carlos. Living in Queens with her three sons, Griselda became enticed by the money the drug world offered, and quickly became embroiled with local drug runners. Griselda masterminded the use of beautiful women, the elderly and children as the mules and created false-bottom suitcases to smuggle cocaine from Colombia.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAmerican Made (2017)
The true story of pilot Barry Seal, who transported contraband for the CIA and the Medellin cartel in the 1980s.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOut of the Furnace (2013)
Two brothers live in the economically-depressed Rust Belt, when a cruel twist of fate lands one in prison. His brother is then lured into one of the most violent crime rings in the Northeast.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Town (2010)
A proficient group of thieves rob a bank and hold the manager hostage. Things begin to get complicated when one of the crew members falls in love with her.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEnd of Watch (2012)
Two young officers are marked for death after confiscating a small cache of money and firearms from the members of a notorious cartel during a routine traffic stop.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSicario (2015)
An idealistic FBI agent is enlisted by a government task force to aid in the escalating war against drugs at the border area between the U.S. and Mexico.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisClean Hands (2026)
Based on a true story, a veteran narcotics officer turned recovery advocate and his daughter, who struggles with addiction, confront the American drug crisis from opposing sides of the law while navigating their complicated family bond.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
The Infiltrator (2016)
A U.S Customs official uncovers a massive money laundering scheme involving Pablo Escobar.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFrozen River (2008)
A financially strapped mother joins a Mohawk woman to smuggle illegal immigrants into the United States.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGran Torino (2008)
Disgruntled Korean War veteran Walt Kowalski sets out to reform his neighbor, Thao Lor, a Hmong teenager who tried to steal Kowalski's prized possession: a 1972 Gran Torino.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisFrontera (2014)
After crossing the border illegally for work, Miguel, a hard-working father and devoted husband, finds himself wrongfully accused of murdering a former sheriff’s wife. After learning of his imprisonment, Miguel’s pregnant wife tries to come to his aid and lands in the hands of corrupt coyotes who hold her for ransom. Dissatisfied with the police department’s investigation, the former sheriff tries to uncover the truth about his wife’s death and discovers disturbing evidence that will destroy one family’s future, or tear another’s apart.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Counselor (2013)
A lawyer finds himself in far over his head when he attempts to get involved in drug trafficking.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThree Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)
After seven months have passed without a culprit in her daughter's murder case, Mildred Hayes makes a bold move, painting three signs leading into her town with a controversial message directed at Bill Willoughby, the town's revered chief of police. When his second-in-command Officer Jason Dixon, an immature mother's boy with a penchant for violence, gets involved, the battle between Mildred and Ebbing's law enforcement is only exacerbated.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisA Most Violent Year (2014)
A thriller set in New York City during the winter of 1981, statistically one of the most violent years in the city's history, and centered on the lives of an immigrant and his family trying to expand their business and capitalize on opportunities as the rampant violence, decay, and corruption of the day drag them in and threaten to destroy all they have built.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNo Country for Old Men (2007)
Llewelyn Moss stumbles upon dead bodies, $2 million and a hoard of heroin in a Texas desert, but methodical killer Anton Chigurh comes looking for it, with local sheriff Ed Tom Bell hot on his trail. The roles of prey and predator blur as the violent pursuit of money and justice collide.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisDrive (2011)
Driver is a skilled Hollywood stuntman who moonlights as a getaway driver for criminals. Though he projects an icy exterior, lately he's been warming up to a pretty neighbor named Irene and her young son, Benicio. When Irene's husband gets out of jail, he enlists Driver's help in a million-dollar heist. The job goes horribly wrong, and Driver must risk his life to protect Irene and Benicio from the vengeful masterminds behind the robbery.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLittle Dixie (2023)
Erstwhile Special Forces operative Doc Alexander is asked to broker a truce with the Mexican drug cartel in secrecy. When Oklahoma Governor Richard Jeffs celebrates the execution of a high-ranking cartel member on TV, his Chief of Staff and Doc inform him about the peace he just ended. But it’s too late, as Cuco, the cartel’s hatchet man, has set his vengeful sights on Doc’s daughter Dixie.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Marksman (2021)
Jim Hanson’s quiet life is suddenly disturbed by two people crossing the US/Mexico border – a woman and her young son – desperate to flee a Mexican cartel. After a shootout leaves the mother dead, Jim becomes the boy’s reluctant defender. He embraces his role as Miguel’s protector and will stop at nothing to get him to safety, as they go on the run from the relentless assassins.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSpeed Kills (2018)
Speedboat racing champion and multimillionaire Ben Aronoff leads a double life that lands him in trouble with the law and drug lords.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisCrisis (2021)
Three stories about the world of opioids collide: a drug trafficker arranges a multi-cartel Fentanyl smuggling operation between Canada and the U.S., an architect recovering from an OxyContin addiction tracks down the truth behind her son's involvement with narcotics, and a university professor battles unexpected revelations about his research employer, a drug company with deep government influence bringing a new "non-addictive" painkiller to market.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Border (1982)
A corrupted border agent decides to clean up his act when an impoverished woman's baby is put up for sale on the black market.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRunning with the Devil (2019)
A leader of a drug cartel sends his two toughest henchmen to investigate why a shipment was botched.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Visitor (2008)
A college professor travels to New York City to attend a conference and finds a young couple living in his apartment.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Mule?
The closest matches to The Mule are The Hollow Point (2016), Hell or High Water (2016) and The Place Beyond the Pines (2013). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Mule?
People who watched The Mule most often go on to The Hollow Point (2016), Hell or High Water (2016) and The Place Beyond the Pines (2013).
What is the highest-rated movie like The Mule?
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017), rated 8.1/10 by 11,325 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Mule?
Clean Hands (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Mule?
Yes: The Hollow Point (2016), Hell or High Water (2016) and The Place Beyond the Pines (2013).
How are movies similar to The Mule chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Mule, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.