Movies like Apollo 13 (1995)
The best movies like Apollo 13 (1995) are First Man (2018), Sully (2016) and The Towering Inferno (1974). If Apollo 13 hooked you with its drama and history, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedTenzing (2026)8.3/10 from 273 votes
- NewestTenzing (2026)Released 2026
First Man (2018)
A look at the life of the astronaut, Neil Armstrong, and the legendary space mission that led him to become the first man to walk on the Moon on July 20, 1969.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both history & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSully (2016)
On 15 January 2009, the world witnessed the 'Miracle on the Hudson' when Captain 'Sully' Sullenberger glided his disabled plane onto the Hudson River, saving the lives of all 155 souls aboard. However, even as Sully was being heralded by the public and the media for his unprecedented feat of aviation skill, an investigation was unfolding that threatened to destroy his reputation and career.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Towering Inferno (1974)
At the opening party of a colossal—but poorly constructed—skyscraper, a massive fire breaks out, threatening to destroy the tower and everyone in it.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDeepwater Horizon (2016)
A story set on the offshore drilling rig Deepwater Horizon, which exploded during April 2010 and created the worst oil spill in U.S. history.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGravity (2013)
Dr Ryan Stone, an engineer on her first space mission, and Matt Kowalski, an astronaut on his final expedition, have to survive in space after they are hit by debris while spacewalking.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Challenger Disaster (2013)
When the space shuttle Challenger blew up in 1986, it was the most shocking event in the history of American spaceflight. The deaths of seven astronauts, including the first teacher in space Christa McAuliffe, were watched live on television by millions of viewers. But what was more shocking was that the cause of the disaster might never be uncovered. The Challenger is the story of how Richard Feynman, one of America's most famous scientists, helped to discover the cause of a tragedy that stunned America.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Right Stuff (1983)
At the dawn of the Space Race, seven test pilots set out to become the first American astronauts to enter space. However, the road to making history brings momentous challenges.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Martian (2015)
During a manned mission to Mars, Astronaut Mark Watney is presumed dead after a fierce storm and left behind by his crew. But Watney has survived and finds himself stranded and alone on the hostile planet. With only meager supplies, he must draw upon his ingenuity, wit and spirit to subsist and find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisApollo 11 (2019)
A look at the Apollo 11 mission to land on the moon led by commander Neil Armstrong and pilot Buzz Aldrin.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both history & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisA Million Miles Away (2023)
The life of engineer and former NASA astronaut José M. Hernández, the first migrant farmworker to go to space.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOnly the Brave (2017)
Members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots battle deadly wildfires to save an Arizona town.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe 33 (2015)
Based on the true story of the collapse of a mine in San Jose, Chile—that left 33 miners isolated underground for 69 days.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Moon (2023)
In 2029, Korea's lunar probe Woori embarks on a historic journey to the moon, capturing global attention.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMine 9 (2019)
Two miles into the earth, nine Appalachian miners struggle to survive after a methane explosion leaves them with one hour of oxygen.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisCapsule (2016)
1959: Guy is an experienced British fighter pilot who is in command of Britain's first manned mission to space. He has trained for this for three years at the height of the Cold War and now he is alone in space, suffering Hypoxia, with a malfunctioning capsule. He has limited contact with the UK, some unusual communication with the US and some unorthodox communication with Tyuratam deep in Soviet Russia. Can he get home? Who will help him? Will he make the right choice?
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
SnoozefestMovies like thisIn the Shadow of the Moon (2007)
Archival material from the original NASA film footage – much of it seen for the first time – plus interviews with the surviving astronauts, including Jim Lovell, Dave Scott, John Young, Gene Cernan, Mike Collins, Buzz Aldrin, Alan Bean, Edgar Mitchell, Charlie Duke and Harrison Schmitt.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Spacewalker (2017)
March 1965. In the heat of the Cold War, the USA and the USSR are competing for supremacy in space. What both superpowers aim for in this race, is to be the first to have a man walk in outer space. To accomplish that, no price is too high and no risk is too great. Now it’s up to the unlikely duo of a seasoned war veteran and a hot-headed test-pilot to fulfill this mission. Two men in a tiny spaceship, without proper testing, facing the complete unknown. They were supposed to do what no man has done before—and no man imagined what would happen next.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Finest Hours (2016)
The Coast Guard makes a daring rescue attempt off the coast of Cape Cod after a pair of oil tankers are destroyed during a blizzard in 1952.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisApollo: Missions to the Moon (2019)
National Geographic's riveting effort recounts all 12 crewed missions using only archival footage, photos and audio.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOctober Sky (1999)
The true story of Homer Hickam, a coal miner's son who was inspired by the first Sputnik launch to take up rocketry against his father's wishes.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Night to Remember (1958)
The sinking of the Titanic is presented in a highly realistic fashion in this tense British drama. The disaster is portrayed largely from the perspective of the ocean liner's second officer, Charles Lightoller. Despite numerous warnings about ice, the ship sails on, with Capt. Edward John Smith keeping it going at a steady clip. When the doomed vessel finally hits an iceberg, the crew and passengers discover that they lack enough lifeboats, and tragedy follows.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Astronaut Farmer (2007)
Texan Charles Farmer left the Air Force as a young man to save the family ranch when his dad died. Like most American ranchers, he owes his bank. Unlike most, he's an astrophysicist with a rocket in his barn - one he's built and wants to take into space. It's his dream. The FBI puts him under surveillance when he tries to buy rocket fuel, and the FAA stalls him when he files a flight plan – but Charles is undeterred.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAlive (1993)
The amazing true story of a Uruguayan rugby team's plane that crashed in the middle of the Andes mountains, and their immense will to survive and pull through alive, forced to do anything and everything they could to stay alive on meager rations and through the freezing cold.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThirteen Lives (2022)
Based on the true nail-biting mission that captivated the world. Twelve boys and the coach of a Thai soccer team explore the Tham Luang cave when an unexpected rainstorm traps them in a chamber inside the mountain. Entombed behind a maze of flooded cave tunnels, they face impossible odds. A team of world-class divers navigate through miles of dangerous cave networks to discover that finding the boys is only the beginning.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSpace Cowboys (2000)
Frank Corvin, ‘Hawk’ Hawkins, Jerry O'Neill and ‘Tank’ Sullivan were hotdog members of Project Daedalus, the US Air Force's test program for space travel, but their hopes were dashed in 1958 with the formation of NASA and the use of trained chimps. They blackmail their way into orbit when Russia's mysterious ‘Ikon’ communications satellite's orbit begins to degrade and threatens to crash to Earth.
Why it matches: Fans watch both
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLadder 49 (2004)
Under the watchful eye of his mentor, Captain Mike Kennedy, probationary firefighter Jack Morrison matures into a seasoned veteran at a Baltimore fire station. However, Jack has reached a crossroads as the sacrifices he's made have put him in harm's way innumerable times and significantly impacted his relationship with his wife and kids.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTenzing (2026)
A determined man embarks on a high-stakes quest—and defies seemingly impossible odds—to fulfill his dream of being the first to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Guardian (2006)
A high school swim champion with a troubled past enrolls in the U.S. Coast Guard's 'A' School, where legendary rescue swimmer Ben Randall teaches him some hard lessons about loss, love, and self-sacrifice.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSociety of the Snow (2023)
On October 13, 1972, Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, chartered to take a rugby team to Chile, crashes into a glacier in the heart of the Andes.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisSalyut-7 (2017)
USSR, June 1985. After contact with the Salyut 7 space station is lost, cosmonauts Vladimir Dzhanibekov and Viktor Savinykh dock with the empty, frozen craft, and bring her back to life. Based on actual events.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Apollo 13?
The closest matches to Apollo 13 are First Man (2018), Sully (2016) and The Towering Inferno (1974). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Apollo 13?
People who watched Apollo 13 most often go on to First Man (2018), Sully (2016) and The Towering Inferno (1974).
What is the highest-rated movie like Apollo 13?
Tenzing (2026), rated 8.3/10 by 273 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Apollo 13?
Tenzing (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Apollo 13?
Yes: First Man (2018), Sully (2016) and The Towering Inferno (1974).
How are movies similar to Apollo 13 chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Apollo 13, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.