Movies like Eight Sons (2019)
The best movies like Eight Sons (2019) are Aftershock (2010), Empire of the Sun (1987) and The Last Emperor (1987). If Eight Sons hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedTo Live (1994)8.2/10 from 436 votes
- NewestGreenland 2: Migration (2026)Released 2026
- In ChineseAftershock (2010)Also in Chinese
Aftershock (2010)
Tangshan, 1976. Two seven-year-old twins are buried under the rubble of the deadliest earthquake of the 20th century. The rescue team explains to their mother that freeing either child will almost certainly result in the death of the other. Forced to make the most difficult decision of her life, she finally chooses to save her son. Though left behind as dead, the little girl miraculously survives, unbeknownst to her brother and mother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEmpire of the Sun (1987)
Jamie Graham, a privileged English boy, is living in Shanghai when the Japanese invade and force all foreigners into prison camps. Jamie is captured with an American sailor, who looks out for him while they are in the camp together. Even though he is separated from his parents and in a hostile environment, Jamie maintains his dignity and youthful spirit, providing a beacon of hope for the others held captive with him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Last Emperor (1987)
A dramatic history of Pu Yi, the last of the Emperors of China, from his lofty birth and brief reign in the Forbidden City, the object of worship by half a billion people; through his abdication, his decline and dissolute lifestyle; his exploitation by the invading Japanese, and finally to his obscure existence as just another peasant worker in the People's Republic.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Patriot (2000)
After proving himself on the field of battle in the French and Indian War, Benjamin Martin wants nothing more to do with such things, preferring the simple life of a farmer. But when his son Gabriel enlists in the army to defend their new nation, America, against the British, Benjamin reluctantly returns to his old life to protect his son.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMachine Gun Preacher (2011)
The true story of Sam Childers, a former drug-dealing biker who finds God and became a crusader for hundreds of Sudanese children who've been kidnapped and pressed into duty as soldiers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRebel Without a Cause (1955)
After moving to a new town, troublemaking teen Jim Stark is supposed to have a clean slate, although being the new kid in town brings its own problems. While searching for some stability, Stark forms a bond with a disturbed classmate, Plato, and falls for local girl Judy. However, Judy is the girlfriend of neighborhood tough, Buzz. When Buzz violently confronts Jim and challenges him to a drag race, the new kid's real troubles begin.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisXiu Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl (1998)
Young teen girl Xiu Xiu is sent away to a remote corner of the Sichuan steppes for manual labor in 1975 (sending young people to there was a part of Cultural Revolution in China). A year later, she agrees to go to even more remote spot with a Tibetan saddle tramp Lao Jin to learn horse herding.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFirst They Killed My Father (2017)
A 5-year-old girl embarks on a harrowing quest for survival amid the sudden rise and terrifying reign of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTo Live (1994)
Married couple Fugui and Jiazhen endure tumultuous events in mid-20th century mainland China as their personal fortunes move from wealthy landownership to peasantry.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisChild 44 (2015)
Set in Stalin-era Soviet Union, a disgraced MGB agent is dispatched to investigate a series of child murders -- a case that begins to connect with the very top of party leadership.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBleeding Steel (2017)
A hardened special forces agent fights to protect a young woman from a sinister criminal gang. At the same time, he feels a special connection to the young woman, like they have met in a different life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMulan: Rise of a Warrior (2009)
When barbarian hordes threaten her homeland, the brave and cunning Mulan disguises herself as a male soldier to swell the ranks in her aging father's stead. The warrior's remarkable courage drives her through powerful battle scenes and brutal wartime strategy. Mulan loses dear friends to the enemy's blade as she rises to become one of her country's most valuable leaders — but can she win the war before her secret is exposed?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Children of Huang Shi (2008)
About young British journalist, George Hogg, who with the assistance of a courageous Australian nurse, saves a group of orphaned children during the Japanese occupation of China in 1937.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies 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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Blue Kite (1994)
A young man recalls his childhood growing up in a poor alley in Beijing during the 1950s and 1960s.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMystic River (2003)
The lives of three men who were childhood friends are shattered when one of them suffers a family tragedy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisChildren of Men (2006)
In 2027, in a chaotic world in which humans can no longer procreate, a former activist agrees to help transport a miraculously pregnant woman to a sanctuary at sea, where her child's birth may help scientists save the future of humankind.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisShe Rides Shotgun (2025)
Newly released from prison and marked for death by unrelenting enemies, Nate must now protect his estranged 11-year-old daughter, Polly, at all costs. With scant resources and no one to trust, Nate and Polly forge a bond under fire as he shows her how to fight and survive—and she teaches him the true meaning of unconditional love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIron Will (1994)
When Will Stoneman's father dies, he is left alone to take care of his mother and their land. Needing money to maintain it, he decides to join a cross country dogsled race. This race will require days of racing for long hours, through harsh weather and terrain. This young man will need a lot of courage and a strong will to complete this race.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe White Haired Witch of Lunar Kingdom (2014)
In the twilight of the Ming Dynasty, the Imperial court is plagued by corruption as tyrants rule the land. With the Manchurians preying on a weakened empire, war is imminent. To save the victims from suffering, sorceress Jade Raksha fights the soldiers that oppress people for their own gain. As payback, local officials pin the murder of Governor Zhuo Zhonglian on Jade, turning her and the members of her cult into wanted fugitives for a crime they didn't commit.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Eight Sons?
The closest matches to Eight Sons are Aftershock (2010), Empire of the Sun (1987) and The Last Emperor (1987). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Eight Sons?
Start with Aftershock (2010), the closest match to Eight Sons.
What is the highest-rated movie like Eight Sons?
To Live (1994), rated 8.2/10 by 436 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Eight Sons?
Greenland 2: Migration (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Chinese movies like Eight Sons?
Yes: Aftershock (2010), To Live (1994) and Bleeding Steel (2017).
How are movies similar to Eight Sons chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Eight Sons, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.