Movies like E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
The best movies like E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) are Project Hail Mary (2026), Avatar: The Way of Water (2022) and Greenland 2: Migration (2026). If E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial hooked you with its adventure and science fiction, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedProject Hail Mary (2026)8.6/10 from 8,754 votes
- NewestProject Hail Mary (2026)Released 2026
Project Hail Mary (2026)
Science teacher Ryland Grace wakes up on a spaceship light years from home with no recollection of who he is or how he got there. As his memory returns, he begins to uncover his mission: solve the riddle of the mysterious substance causing the sun to die out. He must call on his scientific knowledge and unorthodox ideas to save everything on Earth from extinction.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & adventure
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisAvatar: The Way of Water (2022)
Set more than a decade after the events of the first film, learn the story of the Sully family (Jake, Neytiri, and their kids), the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive, and the tragedies they endure.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGreenland 2: Migration (2026)
Having found the safety of the Greenland bunker after the comet Clarke decimated the Earth, the Garrity family must now risk everything to embark on a perilous journey across the wasteland of Europe to find a new home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGuardians of the Galaxy (2014)
Light years from Earth, 26 years after being abducted, Peter Quill finds himself the prime target of a manhunt after discovering an orb wanted by Ronan the Accuser.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & adventure
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisInterstellar (2014)
The adventures of a group of explorers who make use of a newly discovered wormhole to surpass the limitations on human space travel and conquer the vast distances involved in an interstellar voyage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & science fiction
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisRim of the World (2019)
Stranded at a summer camp when aliens attack the planet, four teens with nothing in common embark on a perilous mission to save the world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStar Trek Beyond (2016)
The USS Enterprise crew explores the furthest reaches of uncharted space, where they encounter a mysterious new enemy who puts them and everything the Federation stands for to the test.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStar Trek (2009)
The fate of the galaxy rests in the hands of bitter rivals. One, James Kirk, is a delinquent, thrill-seeking Iowa farm boy. The other, Spock, a Vulcan, was raised in a logic-based society that rejects all emotion. As fiery instinct clashes with calm reason, their unlikely but powerful partnership is the only thing capable of leading their crew through unimaginable danger, boldly going where no one has gone before. The human adventure has begun again.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like thisArmageddon (1998)
When an asteroid threatens to collide with Earth, NASA honcho Dan Truman determines the only way to stop it is to drill into its surface and detonate a nuclear bomb. This leads him to renowned driller Harry Stamper, who agrees to helm the dangerous space mission provided he can bring along his own hotshot crew. Among them is the cocksure A.J. who Harry thinks isn't good enough for his daughter, until the mission proves otherwise.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSecret Headquarters (2022)
While hanging out after school, Charlie and his friends discover the headquarters of the world’s most powerful superhero hidden beneath his home. When villains attack, they must team up to defend the headquarters and save the world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWar of the Worlds (2005)
Ray Ferrier is a divorced dockworker and less-than-perfect father. Soon after his ex-wife and her new husband drop off his teenage son and young daughter for a rare weekend visit, a strange and powerful lightning storm touches down.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPower Rangers (2017)
Five ordinary teens must become something extraordinary when they learn that their small town of Angel Grove — and the world — is on the verge of being obliterated by an alien threat. Chosen by destiny, our heroes quickly discover they are the only ones who can save the planet. But to do so, they will have to overcome their real-life issues and before it’s too late, band together as the Power Rangers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Secret Life of Bees (2008)
Set in South Carolina in 1964, this is the tale of Lily Owens a 14 year-old girl who is haunted by the memory of her late mother. To escape her lonely life and troubled relationship with her father, Lily flees with Rosaleen, her caregiver and only friend, to a South Carolina town that holds the secret to her mother's past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005)
Mere seconds before the Earth is to be demolished by an alien construction crew, Arthur Dent is swept off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher penning a new edition of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy."
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBabylon 5: Thirdspace (1998)
Susan Ivanova discovers a derelict spaceship in hyperspace. They tow it back to Babylon 5, then strange things start happening. People are being telepathically taken over by aliens from another (third)space.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAvatar: Fire and Ash (2025)
In the wake of the devastating war against the RDA and the loss of their eldest son, Jake Sully and Neytiri face a new threat on Pandora: the Ash People, a violent and power-hungry Na'vi tribe led by the ruthless Varang. Jake's family must fight for their survival and the future of Pandora in a conflict that pushes them to their emotional and physical limits.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOblivion (2013)
Jack Harper is one of the last few drone repairmen stationed on Earth. Part of a massive operation to extract vital resources after decades of war with a terrifying threat known as the Scavs, Jack’s mission is nearly complete. His existence is brought crashing down when he rescues a beautiful stranger from a downed spacecraft. Her arrival triggers a chain of events that forces him to question everything he knows and puts the fate of humanity in his hands.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire (2023)
When the ruthless forces of the Motherworld threaten a quiet farming village on a distant moon, a mysterious outsider becomes its best hope for survival.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)
The Guardians must fight to keep their newfound family together as they unravel the mysteries of Peter Quill's true parentage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStar Trek Into Darkness (2013)
When the crew of the Enterprise is called back home, they find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization has detonated the fleet and everything it stands for, leaving our world in a state of crisis. With a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one man weapon of mass destruction. As our heroes are propelled into an epic chess game of life and death, love will be challenged, friendships will be torn apart, and sacrifices must be made for the only family Kirk has left: his crew.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTreasure Planet (2002)
When space galleon cabin boy Jim Hawkins discovers a map to an intergalactic "loot of a thousand worlds," a cyborg cook named John Silver teaches him to battle supernovas and space storms on their journey to find treasure.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction & adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie (1995)
Six incredible teens out-maneuver and defeat evil everywhere as the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, but this time the Power Rangers may have met their match when they face off with Ivan Ooze, the most sinister monster the galaxy has ever seen.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure & science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisRain in the Sunshine (2013)
Schoolboy Hinata has a big crush on his classmate Shigure, but is too shy to tell her. On the day Shigure is leaving, Hinata flies off on the wings of a bird chasing after her to tell how he feels!
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure & family
Fly Away Home (1996)
Amy is only 13 years old when her mother is killed. She goes to Canada to live with her father, an eccentric inventor whom she barely knows. Amy is miserable in her new life... until she discovers a nest of goose eggs that were abandoned when a local forest was torn down. The eggs hatch and Amy becomes "Mama Goose". When winter comes, Amy and her dad must find a way to lead the birds South.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Black Cauldron (1985)
Taran is an assistant pigkeeper with boyish dreams of becoming a great warrior. However, he has to put the daydreaming aside when his charge, an oracular pig named Hen Wen, is kidnapped by an evil lord known as the Horned King. The villain hopes Hen will show him the way to The Black Cauldron, which has the power to create a giant army of unstoppable soldiers.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInterstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem (2003)
Four talented alien musicians are kidnapped by a record producer who disguises them as humans. Shep, a space pilot in love with bass player Stella, follows them to Earth. Reprogrammed to forget their real identities and renamed The Crescendolls, the group quickly becomes a huge success playing soulless corporate pop. At a concert, Shep manages to free all the musicians except Stella, and the band sets out to rediscover who they really are — and to rescue Stella.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction & adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSlither (2006)
A small town is taken over by an alien plague, turning residents into zombies and all forms of mutant monsters.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Faculty (1998)
When creepy things start happening at Herrington High, the students begin to suspect that their faculty is being controlled by body-snatching aliens.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCasper (1995)
Casper is a kind young ghost who peacefully haunts a mansion in Maine. When specialist James Harvey arrives to communicate with Casper and his fellow spirits, he brings along his teenage daughter, Kat. Casper quickly falls in love with Kat, but their budding relationship is complicated not only by his transparent state, but also by his troublemaking apparition uncles and their mischievous antics.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Cell (2000)
A psychotherapist journeys inside the mind of a comatose serial killer in the hopes of saving his latest victim.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial?
The closest matches to E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial are Project Hail Mary (2026), Avatar: The Way of Water (2022) and Greenland 2: Migration (2026). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial?
Start with Project Hail Mary (2026), the closest match to E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.
What is the highest-rated movie like E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial?
Project Hail Mary (2026), rated 8.6/10 by 8,754 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial?
Project Hail Mary (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial?
Yes: Project Hail Mary (2026), Avatar: The Way of Water (2022) and Greenland 2: Migration (2026).
How are movies similar to E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.