Movies like Waves Become Wings (2013)
The best movies like Waves Become Wings (2013) are Surf's Up (2007), Chasing Mavericks (2012) and Piper (2016). If Waves Become Wings hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedPiper (2016)8.1/10 from 1,791 votes
- NewestHoppers (2026)Released 2026
Surf's Up (2007)
With a documentary crew in tow, Cody Maverick—a young surfer from Antarctica—travels to the pacific for his first professional competition. Determined to earn respect and live up to his idol, Big Z, Cody pushes himself to the limit. But all that changes when an encounter with a laid-back local forces him to rethink his values.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChasing Mavericks (2012)
Surfer Jay Moriarity sets out to ride the Northern California break known as Mavericks.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPiper (2016)
A mother bird tries to teach her little one how to find food by herself. In the process, she encounters a traumatic experience that she must overcome in order to survive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Novice (2021)
A college freshman joins her university's rowing team and undertakes an obsessive physical and psychological journey to make it to the top varsity boat, no matter the cost.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Aviator (2004)
A biopic depicting the life of filmmaker and aviation pioneer Howard Hughes from 1927 to 1947, during which time he became a successful film producer and an aviation magnate, while simultaneously growing more unstable due to severe obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Matrix Revisited (2001)
The film goes behind the scenes of the 1999 sci-fi movie The Matrix.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInvasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)
The residents of San Francisco are becoming drone-like shadows of their former selves, and as the phenomenon spreads, two Department of Health workers uncover the horrifying truth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Blue Umbrella (2013)
It is just another evening commute until the rain starts to fall, and the city comes alive to the sound of dripping rain pipes, whistling awnings and gurgling gutters.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Furious Five (2008)
Ordered to teach a martial arts class of rambunctious bunny kittens, Po tells stories of each of the Furious Five's pasts.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMonster Hunter (2020)
US Ranger Captain Artemis and her team are part of a UN joint security mission north of Hemat, in Afghanistan. While searching for a missing team (Bravo), they are transported to a strange world where powerful monsters rule with deadly ferocity. Faced with relentless danger, the team encounters a mysterious hunter who may be their only hope to find a way home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJonathan Livingston Seagull (1973)
Jonathan is sick and tired of the boring life in his seagull clan. He rather experiments with new, always more daring flying techniques. Since he doesn't fit in, the elders expel him from the clan. So he sets out to discover the world beyond the horizon in a quest for wisdom.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStar Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)
When a huge alien probe enters the galaxy and begins to vaporize Earth's oceans, Kirk and his crew must travel back in time in order to bring back whales and save the planet.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPhase IV (1974)
Arizona ants mock the food chain on their way to a desert lab to get two scientists and a woman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHoppers (2026)
Scientists have discovered how to 'hop' human consciousness into lifelike robotic animals, allowing people to communicate with animals as animals. Animal lover Mabel seizes an opportunity to use the technology, uncovering mysteries within the animal world beyond anything she could have imagined.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisVenom (2018)
Investigative journalist Eddie Brock attempts a comeback following a scandal, but accidentally becomes the host of Venom, a violent, super powerful alien symbiote. Soon, he must rely on his newfound powers to protect the world from a shadowy organization looking for a symbiote of their own.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVenom: The Last Dance (2024)
Eddie and Venom are on the run. Hunted by both of their worlds and with the net closing in, the duo are forced into a devastating decision that will bring the curtains down on Venom and Eddie's last dance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThey Live (1988)
A lone drifter stumbles upon a unique pair of sunglasses that reveal aliens are systematically gaining control of the Earth by masquerading as humans and lulling the public into submission.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCritters 2 (1988)
Three bounty hunters from space fly back to the town of Grovers Bend, hoping to save local residents from a new batch of Critter eggs.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBella (2006)
An international soccer star is on his way to sign a multimillion dollar contract when something happens that brings his career to an abrupt end. A beautiful waitress, struggling to make it in New York City, discovers something about herself that she's unprepared for. In one irreversible moment, their lives are turned upside down.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFootloose (1984)
When teenager Ren and his family move from big-city Chicago to a small town in the West, he's in for a real case of culture shock after discovering he's living in a place where music and dancing are illegal.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Waves Become Wings?
The closest matches to Waves Become Wings are Surf's Up (2007), Chasing Mavericks (2012) and Piper (2016). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Waves Become Wings?
Start with Surf's Up (2007), the closest match to Waves Become Wings.
What is the highest-rated movie like Waves Become Wings?
Piper (2016), rated 8.1/10 by 1,791 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Waves Become Wings?
Hoppers (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Waves Become Wings?
Yes: Surf's Up (2007), Chasing Mavericks (2012) and Piper (2016).
How are movies similar to Waves Become Wings chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Waves Become Wings, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.