Movies like Sullivan's Empire (1967)
The best movies like Sullivan's Empire (1967) are The Rundown (2003), Extortion (2017) and Jungle Run (2021). If Sullivan's Empire hooked you with its adventure and action, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedSound of Freedom (2023)7.9/10 from 2,897 votes
- NewestBeware Boiúna (2026)Released 2026
The Rundown (2003)
When Travis, the mouthy son of a criminal, disappears in the Amazon in search of a treasured artifact, his father sends in Beck, who becomes Travis's rival for the affections of Mariana, a mysterious Brazilian woman. With his steely disposition, Beck is a man of few words -- but it takes him all the discipline he can muster to work with Travis to nab a tyrant who's after the same treasure.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisExtortion (2017)
A doctor desperately tries to save his wife and their 5 year old son after their vacation in the Bahamas takes an unexpected turn.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJungle Run (2021)
A brother and sister's journey into the jungle to find their missing father.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & action
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Wild Geese (1978)
A British multinational company seeks to overthrow a vicious dictator in central Africa. It hires a band of (largely aged) mercenaries in London and sends them in to save the virtuous but imprisoned opposition leader who is also critically ill and due for execution. Just when the team has performed a perfect rescue, the multinational does a deal with the vicious dictator leaving the mercenary band to escape under their own steam and exact revenge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCliffhanger (1993)
A year after losing his friend in a tragic 4,000-foot fall, former ranger Gabe Walker and his partner, Hal, are called to return to the same peak to rescue a group of stranded climbers, only to learn the climbers are actually thieving hijackers who are looking for boxes full of money.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisToy Soldiers (1991)
After federal agents arrest a drug czar and put him on trial, the cartel leader's vicious son storms a prep school and takes its students hostage. They rebel against the armed intruders and try to take back their academy by any means necessary.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Legend of Tarzan (2016)
Tarzan, having acclimated to life in London, is called back to his former home in the jungle to investigate the activities at a mining encampment.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & adventure
SnoozefestMovies like thisJourney 2: The Mysterious Island (2012)
Sean Anderson partners with his mom's boyfriend on a mission to find his grandfather, who is thought to be missing on a mythical island.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Rescuers Down Under (1990)
A lawless poacher wants to capture a majestic and rare golden eagle, so he kidnaps the boy who knows where to find the bird. Not to worry -- the Rescue Aid Society's top agents, heroic mice Miss Bianca and Bernard, fly to Australia to save the day. Accompanying the fearless duo are bumbling albatross Wilbur and local field operative Jake the Kangaroo Rat.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Emerald Forest (1985)
For ten years, engineer Bill Markham has searched tirelessly for his son Tommy who disappeared from the edge of the Brazilian rainforest. Miraculously, he finds the boy living among the reclusive Amazon tribe who adopted him. This is when Bill's adventure truly begins.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRio 2 (2014)
It's a jungle out there for Blu, Jewel and their three kids after they're hurtled from Rio de Janeiro to the wilds of the Amazon. As Blu tries to fit in, he goes beak-to-beak with the vengeful Nigel, and meets the most fearsome adversary of all: his father-in-law.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFive Came Back (1939)
Twelve people are aboard Coast Airline's flagship the Silver Queen enroute to South America when the airplane encounters a storm and is blown off course. Crashing into jungles known to be inhabited by head hunters, pilots Bill and Joe race against time to fix the engines and attempt a take off. The situation brings out the best and worst in the stranded dozen as they create a makeshift runway and prepare to escape before the natives attack. But damage to the plane and low fuel reserves means that only 5 people can be carried to safety.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMidnight Special (2016)
A father and son go on the run after the dad learns his child possesses special powers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBeware Boiúna (2026)
A medical mission deep in the Amazon becomes a desperate fight for survival when a colossal ancient predator awakens, turning the jungle into a deadly battleground where nature decides who lives and dies.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSound of Freedom (2023)
The story of Tim Ballard, a former US government agent, who quits his job in order to devote his life to rescuing children from global sex traffickers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisProof of Life (2000)
When Peter Bowman, an American engineer working in a South American country, is captured by anti-government forces, the rebels learn his identity and demand $5 million for his safe return. However, his US employer is on the verge of insolvency and will not provide the ransom. Peter's wife Alice is forced to deal with the matter on her own and she retains the services of freelance professional hostage negotiator Terry Thorne.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRansom (1996)
When a rich man's son is kidnapped, he cooperates with the police at first but then tries a unique tactic against the criminals.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAce Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995)
Summoned from an ashram in Tibet, Ace finds himself on a perilous journey into the jungles of Africa to find Shikaka, the missing sacred animal of the friendly Wachati tribe. He must accomplish this before the wedding of the Wachati's Princess to the prince of the warrior Wachootoos. If Ace fails, the result will be a vicious tribal war.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlack Gold (2011)
On the Arabian Peninsula in the 1930s, two warring leaders come face to face. The victorious Nesib, Emir of Hobeika, lays down his peace terms to rival Amar, Sultan of Salmaah. The two men agree that neither can lay claim to the area of no man’s land between them called The Yellow Belt. In return, Nesib adopts Amar’s two boys Saleeh and Auda as a guarantee against invasion. Twelve years later, Saleeh and Auda have grown into young men. Saleeh, the warrior, itches to escape his gilded cage and return to his father’s land. Auda cares only for books and the pursuit of knowledge. One day, their adopted father Nesib is visited by an American from Texas. He tells the Emir that his land is blessed with oil and promises him riches beyond his wildest imagination. Nesib imagines a realm of infinite possibility, a kingdom with roads, schools and hospitals all paid for by the black gold beneath the barren sand. There is only one problem. The precious oil is located in the Yellow Belt.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Marine 6: Close Quarters (2018)
Jake Carter and another former Marine, Luke Trapper, join forces to rescue a young kidnapped girl from a gang of international criminals.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKızgın Güneş (1972)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & adventure
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007)
The Fantastic Four return to the big screen as a new and all powerful enemy threatens the Earth. The seemingly unstoppable 'Silver Surfer', but all is not what it seems and there are old and new enemies that pose a greater threat than the intrepid superheroes realize.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure & action
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Chase (1994)
Jack Hammond is sentenced to life in prison, but manages to escape. To get away from the police he takes a girl as hostage and drives off in her car. The girl happens to be the only daughter of one of the richest men in the state. In a while the car chase is being broadcast live on every TV-channel.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure & action
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe New Adventures of Tarzan (1935)
A serial in 12 chapters. Tarzan goes to Guatemala to find his lost friend, D'Arnot. On the way he helps Major Matling search Mayan ruins for hidden jewels and an idol containing the formula for a powerful explosive. D'Arnot and the idol are rescued, but the idol falls into the clutches of the explorer Raglan.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & adventure
The Wild Soccer Bunch 4 (2007)
With the victory against "The Beastly Beasts", "The Wild Soccer Bunch" showed it to everyone and then won every single game. Only one victory now separates them from the "Pott", the Freestyle Soccer Cup. For this they have to compete against the "Wolves of Ragnarök". But the wolves are not normal opponents! They have a dark secret - and behind them lurks a power stronger than all of them: the girl Horizon and the "Silver Lights" from the fog...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure
SnoozefestMovies like thisLive Free or Die Hard (2007)
John McClane is back and badder than ever, and this time he calls on the services of a young hacker in his bid to stop a ring of Internet terrorists intent on taking control of America's computer infrastructure.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDie Hard: With a Vengeance (1995)
New York detective John McClane is back and kicking bad-guy butt in the third installment of this action-packed series, which finds him teaming with civilian Zeus Carver to prevent the loss of innocent lives. McClane thought he'd seen it all, until a genius named Simon engages McClane, his new "partner" -- and his beloved city -- in a deadly game that demands their concentration.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDie Hard 2 (1990)
One year after his heroics in Los Angeles, John McClane is an off-duty cop who is the wrong guy in the wrong place at the wrong time. On a snowy Christmas Eve, as he waits for his wife's plane to land at Washington Dulles International Airport, terrorists take over the air traffic control system in a plot to free a South American army general and drug smuggler being flown into the US to face drug charges. It's now up to McClane to take on the terrorists, while coping with an inept airport police chief, an uncooperative anti-terrorist squad, and the life of his wife and everyone else trapped in planes circling overhead.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKing Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)
The advertising director of Pacific Pharmaceuticals, frustrated with the low ratings of their sponsored TV program, seeks a more sensationalist approach. He orders his staff to Faro Island to capture King Kong for exploitation. As Godzilla re-emerges, a media frenzy generates with Pacific looking to capitalize off of the ultimate battle.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Woman in Black and the Black Dragon (1966)
Celebrity Sadora is seriously wounded in an air crash. Police commissioner Suen and subordinate Ko Cheung find out Sadora was under duress from the Black Dragon Gang to collude with the criminals who had held his daughter hostage. When Ko, assuming Sadora's identity to safeguard his life, is abducted by the gang, Suen turns to 'Black Musketeer' Muk Lan-fa. By blatantly refusing to cooperate with the authorities, Muk escapes the surveillance of both the police and the gang. Acting alone, she scouts the location of the lair but ends up being imprisoned in the same cell with Ko. The captives use every trick in the book to escape. An undaunted Muk returns to infiltrate the den, while her sister Sau-chen, Suen and Ko are lying in wait. The hostages are released and the gang wiped out in a battle fiercely fought. (Synopsis based on visual audiomaterials)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Like Sullivan's Empire and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Sullivan's Empire?
The closest matches to Sullivan's Empire are The Rundown (2003), Extortion (2017) and Jungle Run (2021). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Sullivan's Empire?
Start with The Rundown (2003), the closest match to Sullivan's Empire.
What is the highest-rated movie like Sullivan's Empire?
Sound of Freedom (2023), rated 7.9/10 by 2,897 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Sullivan's Empire?
Beware Boiúna (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Sullivan's Empire?
Yes: The Rundown (2003), Extortion (2017) and Jungle Run (2021).
How are movies similar to Sullivan's Empire chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Sullivan's Empire, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.