Movies like Swim (1980)
The best movies like Swim (1980) are The Swimmer (1968), The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist (2026) and A Good Old Fashioned Orgy (2011). If Swim hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Swimmer (1968)7.4/10 from 284 votes
- NewestThe AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist (2026)Released 2026
The Swimmer (1968)
A man spends a summer day swimming home via all the pools in his quiet suburban neighborhood.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist (2026)
A father-to-be tries to figure out what is happening with all this AI insanity, and explores the most powerful technology humanity has ever created... and what's at stake if we get it wrong.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Good Old Fashioned Orgy (2011)
A group of 30-year-olds who have been friends since high school attempt to throw an end-of-summer orgy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisPride (2007)
Coach Jim Ellis shocks the community and changes lives when, aided by a local janitor, he sets out to form Philadelphia's first black swim team. But the odds are against them as they battle rigid rules, racism and more.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNYAD (2023)
Athlete Diana Nyad sets out at 60 to achieve a nearly impossible lifelong dream: to swim from Cuba to Florida across more than 100 miles of open ocean.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSwimming with Men (2018)
A man who is suffering a mid-life crisis finds new meaning in his life as part of an all-male, middle-aged, amateur synchronised swimming team.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDown and Out in Beverly Hills (1986)
Beverly Hills couple Barbara and Dave Whiteman find their lives altered by the arrival of a vagrant who tries to drown himself in their swimming pool.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisTeen Beach Movie (2013)
Life's a beach for surfers Brady and McKenzie – until a rogue wave magically transports them inside the classic '60s beach party flick, "Wet Side Story," where a full-blown rivalry between bikers and surfers threatens to erupt. There, amidst a sea of surfing, singing and dancing, Brady and Mack accidentally change the storyline, and the film’s dreamy hero and heroine fall for them instead of for each other!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStruggle: The Life and Lost Art of Szukalski (2018)
Artists in LA discover the work of forgotten Polish sculptor Stanislav Szukalski, a mad genius whose true story unfolds chapter by astounding chapter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHe Ran All the Way (1951)
A crook on the run hides out in an innocent girl's apartment.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBrats (1930)
Stanley and Oliver are trying to spend a relaxing night at home playing checkers, but the antics of their mischievous sons keep interrupting their recreation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBreath (2017)
A pair of teenagers in Western Australia looking to escape the monotony of life in a small town take up surfing lessons from a guy named Sando.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures (2016)
Nude men in rubber suits, close-ups of erections, objects shoved in the most intimate of places—these are photographs taken by Robert Mapplethorpe, known by many as the most controversial photographer of the twentieth century. Openly gay, Mapplethorpe took images of male sex, nudity, and fetish to extremes that resulted in his work still being labelled by some as pornography masquerading as art. But less talked about are the more serene, yet striking portraits of flowers, sculptures, and perfectly framed human forms that are equally pioneering and powerful.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAquamania (1961)
Mr. X buys a boat and inadvertantly enters the water skiing race. With Junior driving, with no experience, he's a bit out of his league.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNational Champions (2021)
A star quarterback ignites a players’ strike hours before the biggest game of the year in order to fight for fair compensation, equality, and respect for the athletes who put their bodies and health on the line for their schools.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAnima (2019)
In a short musical film directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, Thom Yorke of Radiohead stars in a mind-bending visual piece. Best played loud.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSwimming for Gold (2020)
Young elite swimmer Claire is sent to Australia to coach a boys swimming team, where she must overcome an old rival and a secret fear to save the swimming camp from closing.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Night Before Christmas (1933)
A narrator sings the opening stanzas of the classic poem while we see the house at rest. Santa lands on the roof, comes down the chimney, and opens his bag. The toys march out and decorate the tree, with the toy soldiers shooting balls from their cannon, a toy airplane stringing a garland like skywriting, and the toy firemen applying snow. A blimp delivers the star to the top. Meanwhile, Santa fills the stockings. His laughter awakens the children, who sneak out. The toys rush to their places, and Santa escapes up the chimney just in time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBeyond Infinity: Buzz and the Journey to Lightyear (2022)
Explore the evolution of Buzz Lightyear from toy to human in the making of Pixar’s Lightyear. Dive into the origin and cultural impact of everyone’s favorite Space Ranger, the art of designing a new “human Buzz,” and the challenges faced by the Lightyear crew along the way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Second Renaissance Part I (2003)
Tells the early history of how conflict began between the humans and machines. Part 1 of 2.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like this
Like Swim and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Swim?
The closest matches to Swim are The Swimmer (1968), The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist (2026) and A Good Old Fashioned Orgy (2011). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Swim?
Start with The Swimmer (1968), the closest match to Swim.
What is the highest-rated movie like Swim?
The Swimmer (1968), rated 7.4/10 by 284 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Swim?
The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Swim?
Yes: The Swimmer (1968), The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist (2026) and A Good Old Fashioned Orgy (2011).
How are movies similar to Swim chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Swim, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.