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Movies like Adrift (2016)

The best movies like Adrift (2016) are Fuck (2006), Ex Libris: The New York Public Library (2017) and As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty (2000). If Adrift hooked you with its documentary, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.

Quick picks

  1. Fuck (2006)

    A documentary on the expletive's origin, why it offends some people so deeply, and what can be gained from its use.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  2. Ex Libris: The New York Public Library (2017)

    A documentary about how a dominant cultural and demographic institution both sustains their traditional activities and adapts to the digital revolution.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  3. As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty (2000)

    A compilation of over 30 years of private home movie footage shot by Lithuanian-American avant-garde director Jonas Mekas, assembled by Mekas "purely by chance", without concern for chronological order.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  4. Directed by John Ford (1971)

    A documentary about the life and films of director John Ford.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  5. 180° South (2010)

    The film follows adventurer Jeff Johnson as he retraces the epic 1968 journey of his heroes Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins to Patagonia.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  6. A Toxic Love Story (2026)

    A string of threatening emails escalates into a revenge plot involving a newly married US marshal and his ex-girlfriend.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  7. Aquaman: Heroines of Atlantis (2019)

    Amber Heard and Nicole Kidman discuss their characters Mera and Atlanna.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  8. OLIVIA RODRIGO: driving home 2 u (a SOUR film) (2022)

    Grammy® winner singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo takes a familiar road trip from Salt Lake City, where she began writing her debut album “SOUR,” to Los Angeles. Along the way, Rodrigo recounts the memories of writing and creating her record-breaking debut album and shares her feelings as a young woman navigating a specific time in her life. Through new live arrangements of her songs, intimate interviews and never-before-seen footage from the making of the album, audiences will follow Olivia along on a cinematic journey exploring the story of “SOUR.”

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  9. The Class of ‘92 (2013)

    A detailing of the rise to prominence and global sporting superstardom of six supremely talented young Manchester United football players (David Beckham, Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Phil and Gary Neville). The film covers the period 1992-1999, culminating in Manchester United's European Cup triumph.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  10. In the Realms of the Unreal (2004)

    In the Realms of the Unreal is a documentary about the reclusive Chicago-based artist Henry Darger. Henry Darger was so reclusive that when he died his neighbors were surprised to find a 15,145-page manuscript along with hundreds of paintings depicting The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glodeco-Angelinnian War Storm, Cased by the Child Slave Rebellion.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  11. No Half Measures: Creating the Final Season of Breaking Bad (2013)

    A documentary about the making of season five of the acclaimed AMC series Breaking Bad.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Absolute CinemaMovies like this
  12. The Curious Birth of Benjamin Button (2009)

    A documentary about the making of David Fincher's 2008 film THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON. Virtually every element in the evolution of the Fincher's film is documented here, from the project's attachment to numerous other directors during the 1990s, to its shoot in 2006 and 2007 in New Orleans, to its complex, CGI-intensive postproduction process.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  13. Elstree 1976 (2015)

    A documentary about ten very different lives connected by having appeared onscreen wearing masks or helmets in Star Wars.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  14. Deliver Us from Evil (2006)

    Documentary filmmaker Amy Berg investigates the life of 30-year pedophile Father Oliver O'Grady and exposes the corruption inside the Catholic Church that allowed him to abuse countless children. Victims' stories and a disturbing interview with O'Grady offer a view into the troubled mind of the spiritual leader who moved from parish to parish gaining trust ... all the while betraying so many.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  15. Come See Me in the Good Light (2025)

    In an intimate and joyful story of love in the face of loss, celebrated poets Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley find strength—and unexpected hilarity—in what might be their final year together.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  16. S4: The Bob Lazar Story (2026)

    Over 35 years after Bob Lazar's revelations, this documentary exposes secrets of a facility the government still denies. Featuring Lazar's testimony, recreations, and new evidence, it reopens a case that continues to spark global curiosity

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Absolute CinemaMovies like this
  17. D.F. (final destiny) (2008)

    Documentary by Mateo Gutiérrez about the life of his father, Héctor "Toba" Gutiérrez Ruiz (1934-1976), which includes interviews with people who witnessed moments in the life of the former president of the House of Representatives, assassinated by the Uruguayan dictatorship

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  18. Money Heist: The Phenomenon (2020)

    A documentary on why 'Money Heist' sparked a wave of enthusiasm around the world for a lovable group of thieves and their professor.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  19. Ronaldo (2015)

    Filmed over 14 months with unprecedented access into the inner circle of the man and the sport, this is the first official and fully authorised film of one of the most celebrated figures in football. For the first time ever, the world gets vividly candid and un-paralleled, behind-closed-doors access to the footballer, father, family-man and friend in this moving & fascinating documentary. Through in-depth conversations, state of the art football footage and never before seen archival footage, the film gives an astonishing insight into the sporting and personal life of triple Ballon D'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo at the peak of his career. From the makers of ‘Senna’ and ‘Amy’, Ronaldo takes audiences on an intimate and revealing journey of what it’s like to live as an iconic athlete in the eye of the storm.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  20. The Godfather Family: A Look Inside (1990)

    A documentary on the making of the three Godfather films, with interviews and recollections from the film makers and cast. This feature also includes the original screen tests of some of the actors for "The Godfather" film, and some candid moments on the set of "The Godfather: Part III."

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  21. Twenty Two (2017)

    Follow the lives of the elderly survivors who were forced into sex slavery as “Comfort Women” by the Japanese during World War II. At the time of filming, only 22 of these women were still alive to tell their story. Through their own personal histories and perspectives, they tell a tale that should never be forgotten to generations unaware of the brutalization that occurred.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

  22. Going to Hell (2019)

    A documentary film exposing the truth about psychics and fortune-tellers. All the ins and outs of magical TV shows and services of the most famous psychics with evidence, names and prices.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

  23. What Killed the Roman Empire? (2022)

    Why did the Roman Empire, which dominated Europe and the Mediterranean for five centuries, inexorably weaken until it disappeared? Archaeologists, specialists in ancient pathologies and climate historians are now accumulating clues converging on the same factors: a powerful cooling and pandemics. A disease, whose symptoms described by the Greek physician Galen are reminiscent of those of smallpox, struck Rome in 167, soon devastating its army. At the same time, a sudden climatic disorder that was underway as far as Eurasia caused agricultural yields to plummet and led to the westward migration of the Huns. Plagued by economic and military difficulties, attacked from all sides by barbarian tribes, the Roman edifice gradually cracked.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

  24. Panamá, Tírate un Free (2022)

    A small community of lovers of freestyle rap begins to grow in the parks and squares of Panama. From rapping on buses to on stage, the love of Hip-Hop abounds in their hearts.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

  25. McCarthy (2020)

    "McCarthy" chronicles the rise and fall of Joseph McCarthy, the Wisconsin senator who came to power after a stunning victory in an election no one thought he could win. Once in office, he declared that there was a vast conspiracy threatening America — emanating not from a rival superpower, but from within. Free of restraint or oversight, he conducted a crusade against those he accused of being enemies of the state, a chilling campaign marked by groundless accusations, bullying intimidation, grandiose showmanship and cruel victimization. With lawyer Roy Cohn at his side, he belittled critics, spinning a web of lies and distortions while spreading fear and confusion. After years in the headlines, he was brought down by his own excesses and overreach. But his name lives on linked to the modern-day witch hunt we call “McCarthyism.”

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

  26. Fog in February (2024)

    On the eve of the publication of a biography of Claude Jutra, one of the most famous and celebrated filmmakers in Quebec and Canada, a leak leaked to the press reveals that the book contains anonymous allegations of pedophile acts committed by the filmmaker. The rumor spread like lightning, suddenly igniting the entirety of Quebec society. By finding today some of the main witnesses propelled overnight into the heart of an unparalleled media tornado, the documentary reconstructs with archive images and other previously unpublished images, the sequence of events which led to a rewriting of the story.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

  27. The Aryans (2014)

    THE ARYANS is Mo Asumang's personal journey into the madness of racism during which she meets German neo-Nazis, the US leading racist, the notorious Tom Metzger and Ku Klux Klan members in the alarming twilight of the Midwest. In The ARYANS Mo questions the completely wrong interpretation of "Aryanism" - a phenomenon of the tall, blond and blue-eyed master race.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

  28. In Fact, There is not Future (1988)

    Documentary about young people who are dedicated to cleaning windshields in Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl to survive.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

  29. Footlong (2002)

    A documentary about the social impact of the hot dog on American Culture. Follow the crew as they travel across the country to explore the many facets of hot dog culture. 'To understand a bike, you look at the wheels. To understand a wall, you look at each brick. And to understand America, you must look at the hot dog."

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

  30. Le Temps de cerveau disponible (2010)

    Cruelty, psychological and sexual violence, humiliations: reality television seems to have gone mad. His debut in the early 2000s inaugurated a new era in the history of the audio-visual. Fifty years of archives trace the evolution of entertainment: how the staging of intimacy during the 80s opened new territories, how the privatization of the biggest channels has changed the relationship with the spectator. With the contribution of specialists, including philosopher Bernard Stiegler, this documentary demonstrates how emotion has made way for the exacerbation of the most destructive impulses.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

Like Adrift and something else?

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Frequently asked questions

What are the best movies like Adrift?

The closest matches to Adrift are Fuck (2006), Ex Libris: The New York Public Library (2017) and As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty (2000). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.

What should I watch after Adrift?

Start with Fuck (2006), the closest match to Adrift.

What is the highest-rated movie like Adrift?

Money Heist: The Phenomenon (2020), rated 7.4/10 by 1,094 TMDB users.

What is the newest movie like Adrift?

A Toxic Love Story (2026) is the most recent release on this list.

Are there Spanish movies like Adrift?

Yes: D.F. (final destiny) (2008), Money Heist: The Phenomenon (2020) and Panamá, Tírate un Free (2022).

How are movies similar to Adrift chosen?

First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Adrift, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.

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