Movies like Apnea (2019)
The best movies like Apnea (2019) are Pride (2007), Swimming with Men (2018) and Above & Below (2026). If Apnea hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedFor the Birds (2000)7.5/10 from 1,362 votes
- NewestAbove & Below (2026)Released 2026
- In SpanishDesire (2026)Also in Spanish
Pride (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 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 thisAbove & Below (2026)
A group of friends' dream diving vacation turns into a fight for survival when brutal criminals attack their boat in open waters.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisDesire (2026)
Lucero’s life appears immaculate: a wealthy household, a devoted husband, and two children who embody the promise of a perfect family. Yet beneath this surface simmers a quiet dissatisfaction. When Matías, a young swimming coach hired by her husband, enters their lives, Lucero finds herself pulled into a risky and consuming relationship. As secrecy, desire, and jealousy tighten their grip, the boundaries within the family begin to collapse, placing mother and daughter in a dangerous emotional triangle that threatens to shatter everything Lucero has built.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSketch (2025)
When a young girl’s sketchbook falls into a strange pond, her drawings come to life—chaotic, real, and on the loose. As the town descends into chaos, her family must reunite and stop the monsters they never meant to unleash.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like this12 Feet Deep (2018)
Two sisters are trapped under the fiberglass cover of an Olympic sized public pool and must brave the cold and each other to survive the harrowing night.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThunderstruck (2012)
After NBA star Kevin Durant switches talent with 16 year old Brian, the teenager becomes the star of his high school team, but Durant starts struggling and eventually learns an important lesson.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGiant Little Ones (2019)
Two popular teen boys, best friends since childhood, discover their lives, families, and girlfriends dramatically upended after an unexpected incident occurs on the night of a 17th birthday party.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Swimmers (2022)
From war-torn Syria to the 2016 Rio Olympics, two young sisters embark on a risky voyage, putting their hearts and their swimming skills to heroic use.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDeep Water (2026)
A group of international passengers on a flight from Los Angeles to Shanghai is forced to make an emergency landing in shark-infested waters. The terrified group is forced to work together and overcome their differences if they hope to escape their sinking plane and the frenzy of sharks drawn to the wreckage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMy Brother's Wife (2005)
After almost 10 years of marriage, attractive Zoe discovers that her marriage lacks passion and surprise, and is seduced by the possibility of finding those sensations already forgotten in her husband's brother. From this premise a series of events lead these three characters to a dangerous game of revenges, secrets and passions. Two brothers and one woman: the triangle is outlined in a disquieting way. It is a bomb that triggers family secrets, the contained rage of desire and the unmanageable power of love. An exciting story that subjugates the viewer from beginning to end. Even though Zoe/Sonia has been married to Ignacio/Ishan for about a decade, they are unable to have children. She wants to be intimate but he prefers to be ready for intimacy on Saturdays only, and she gets physically drawn to his artistic brother, Gonzalo/Rohan. Then things get complicated for her after she tests positive for motherhood and finds that her husband may be gay.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Chronology of Water (2025)
Plagued by an abusive childhood, a woman finds escape in competitive swimming, sexual experimentation, toxic relationships, and addiction before ultimately finding her voice through writing.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHard Luck (1921)
A down on his luck young man makes several attempts at committing suicide but fails them too. He then finds himself becoming more confident through a series of petty adventures, to such an extent that this becomes his undoing.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFor the Birds (2000)
One by one, a flock of small birds perches on a telephone wire. Sitting close together has problems enough, and then comes along a large dopey bird that tries to join them. The birds of a feather can't help but make fun of him—and their clique mentality proves embarrassing in the end.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe 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 thisJustice League: Throne of Atlantis (2015)
After the events of Justice League: War, Ocean Master and Black Manta have declared a war against the surface in retaliation of the aftermath of Apokoliptian-tyrant Darkseid's planetary invasion. Queen Atlanna seeks out her other son, Ocean Master’s half-brother Arthur Curry, a half-human with aquatic powers with no knowledge of his Atlantean heritage, to restore balance. Living with powers he doesn’t understand and seeing the danger around him, Curry takes steps to embrace his destiny, joining the Justice League, and with his new teammates he battles to save Earth from total destruction.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Second Chance: Rivals! (2019)
As Maddy takes on coaching a team of young twelve-year-old gymnasts, she faces up to intense city versus country rivalry, racism, cyberbullying and her own self-doubt but eventually takes the challenge head on.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAfter We Fell (2021)
Just as Tessa's life begins to become unglued, nothing is what she thought it would be. Not her friends nor her family. The only person that she should be able to rely on is Hardin, who is furious when he discovers the massive secret that she's been keeping. Before Tessa makes the biggest decision of her life, everything changes because of revelations about her family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisShark Tale (2004)
Oscar is a small fish whose big aspirations often get him into trouble. Meanwhile, Lenny is a great white shark with a surprising secret that no sea creature would guess: He's a vegetarian. When a lie turns Oscar into an improbable hero and Lenny becomes an outcast, the two form an unlikely friendship.
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 this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Apnea?
The closest matches to Apnea are Pride (2007), Swimming with Men (2018) and Above & Below (2026). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Apnea?
Start with Pride (2007), the closest match to Apnea.
What is the highest-rated movie like Apnea?
For the Birds (2000), rated 7.5/10 by 1,362 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Apnea?
Above & Below (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Spanish movies like Apnea?
Yes: Desire (2026) and My Brother's Wife (2005).
How are movies similar to Apnea chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Apnea, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.