Movies like Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
The best movies like Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) are Hangar 18 (1980), The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008) and Communion (1989). If Close Encounters of the Third Kind hooked you with its science fiction and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedInterstellar (2014)8.5/10 from 41,870 votes
- NewestDisclosure Day (2026)Released 2026
Hangar 18 (1980)
During a Space Shuttle mission a satellite rams a unidentified flying object. The UFO afterwards performs an emergency landing in the deserts of Arizona. However the White House denies its existence because of the near presidential elections. The UFO is brought to the secret Hangar 18 and the accident is blamed on the incompetence of the astronauts Bancroff and Price. But the two fight against this and try to hunt down the UFO.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Day the Earth Stood Still (2008)
A representative of an alien race that went through drastic evolution to survive its own climate change, Klaatu comes to Earth to assess whether humanity can prevent the environmental damage they have inflicted on their own planet. When barred from speaking to the United Nations, he decides humankind shall be exterminated so the planet can survive.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisCommunion (1989)
A novelist's wife and son see him changed by an apparent encounter with aliens in the mountains.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisEnemy Mine (1985)
A soldier from Earth crashlands on an alien world after sustaining battle damage. Eventually he encounters another survivor, but from the enemy species he was fighting; they band together to survive on this hostile world. In the end the human finds himself caring for his enemy in a completely unexpected way.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStarman (1984)
When an alien takes the form of a young widow's husband and asks her to drive him from Wisconsin to Arizona, the government tries to stop them.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisArrival (2016)
Taking place after alien crafts land around the world, an expert linguist is recruited by the military to determine whether they come in peace or are a threat.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisContact (1997)
A radio astronomer receives the first extraterrestrial radio signal ever picked up on Earth. As the world powers scramble to decipher the message and decide upon a course of action, she must make some difficult decisions between her beliefs, the truth, and reality.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFire in the Sky (1993)
After clearing brush for the government, a group of men return to town claiming their friend was abducted. Despite no apparent motive or evidence of foul play, no-one believes their story and his disappearance is treated as murder.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Vast of Night (2019)
At the dawn of the space-race, two radio-obsessed teens discover a strange frequency over the airwaves in what becomes the most important night of their lives and in the history of their small town.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisXeno (2025)
A teenage girl develops an otherworldly bond with an alien after it crash-lands in the desert. As government agents close in, she must protect her new friend, while uncovering a secret that could change the fate of both their worlds.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe X-Files (1998)
Mulder and Scully, now taken off the FBI's X Files cases, must find a way to fight the shadowy elements of the government to find out the truth about a conspiracy that might mean the alien colonization of Earth.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUFO (2018)
A college student, who sees a UFO, uses his exceptional math skills to investigate the sighting with his friends while the FBI follows closely behind.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Fourth Kind (2009)
Since the 1960s, a disproportionate number of the population in and around Nome, Alaska, have gone missing. Despite FBI investigations, the disappearances remain a mystery. Dr. Abigail Tyler, a psychologist, may be on the verge of blowing the unsolved cases wide open when, during the course of treating her patients, she finds evidence of alien abductions.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCocoon (1985)
When a group of trespassing seniors swim in a pool containing alien cocoons, they find themselves energized with youthful vigor.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)
Thomas Jerome Newton is an alien who has come to Earth in search of water to save his home planet. Aided by lawyer Oliver Farnsworth, Thomas uses his knowledge of advanced technology to create profitable inventions. While developing a method to transport water, Thomas meets Mary-Lou, a quiet hotel clerk, and begins to fall in love with her. Just as he is ready to leave Earth, Thomas is intercepted by the U.S. government, and his entire plan is threatened.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMoon (2009)
With only three weeks left in his three-year contract, Sam Bell is eager to return to Earth. Stationed alone at a Moon-based facility with his computer assistant GERTY, an unexpected accident sets off a series of unsettling events that shake his isolation.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Abyss (1989)
A civilian oil rig crew is recruited to conduct a search and rescue effort when a nuclear submarine mysteriously sinks. One diver soon finds himself on a spectacular odyssey 25,000 feet below the ocean's surface where he confronts a mysterious force that has the power to change the world or destroy it.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDisclosure Day (2026)
A cybersecurity expert becomes a whistleblower after uncovering secrets about aliens, putting him on the run from a corporation. Meanwhile, a meteorologist experiencing strange phenomena joins forces with him to prove there's life beyond our understanding.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisK-PAX (2001)
Prot is a patient at a mental hospital who claims to be from a far away planet. His psychiatrist tries to help him, only to begin to doubt his own explanations.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisInterstellar (2014)
The adventures of a group of explorers who make use of a newly discovered wormhole to surpass the limitations on human space travel and conquer the vast distances involved in an interstellar voyage.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & science fiction
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Astronaut's Wife (1999)
When astronaut Spencer Armacost returns to Earth after a mission that nearly cost him his life, he decides to take a desk job in order to see his beautiful wife, Jillian, more often. Gradually, Jillian notices that Spencer's personality seems to have changed, but her concerns fade when she discovers that she's pregnant. As Jillian grows closer to becoming a mother, her suspicions about Spencer return. Why does it seem as if he's a different person?
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisProximity (2020)
A young NASA JPL scientist is abducted by extraterrestrials but when no one believes his story he becomes obsessed with finding proof which leads him on a journey of discovery.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBeyond the Sky (2018)
A documentary filmmaker travels to a UFO convention in New Mexico where he meets a local artist with a dark secret. As they follow a trail of clues they discover disturbing sightings and question all they believe when they become immersed in the enigmatic culture of the Pueblo Indians.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe X-Files: I Want to Believe (2008)
Mulder and Scully are called back to duty by the FBI when a former priest claims to be receiving psychic visions pertaining to a kidnapped agent.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisSpaceman (2024)
Six months into a solo mission, a lonely astronaut confronts the cracks in his marriage with help from a mysterious creature he discovers on his ship.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMidnight Special (2016)
A father and son go on the run after the dad learns his child possesses special powers.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Arrival (1996)
Zane Ziminski is an astrophysicist who receives a message that seems to have extraterrestrial origins. Eerily soon after his discovery, Zane is fired. He then embarks on a search to determine the origins of the transmission that leads him into a Hitchcockian labyrinth of paranoia and intrigue.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSuper 8 (2011)
In late 1970s Ohio, a group of friends filming a homemade zombie movie witness a devastating train derailment. Soon after, their quiet town is gripped by unexplained disappearances, strange phenomena, and a growing sense of fear, as they uncover that something terrifying has been set loose.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNope (2022)
Residents in a lonely gulch of inland California bear witness to an uncanny, chilling discovery.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCapricorn One (1977)
In order to protect the reputation of the American space program, a team of NASA administrators turn the first Mars mission into a phony Mars landing. Under threat of harm to their families the astronauts play their part in the deception on a staged set in a deserted military base. But once the real ship returns to Earth and burns up on re-entry, the astronauts become liabilities. Now, with the help of a crusading reporter, they must battle a sinister conspiracy that will stop at nothing to keep the truth hidden.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Close Encounters of the Third Kind?
The closest matches to Close Encounters of the Third Kind are Hangar 18 (1980), The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008) and Communion (1989). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Close Encounters of the Third Kind?
People who watched Close Encounters of the Third Kind most often go on to Hangar 18 (1980), The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008) and Communion (1989).
What is the highest-rated movie like Close Encounters of the Third Kind?
Interstellar (2014), rated 8.5/10 by 41,870 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Close Encounters of the Third Kind?
Disclosure Day (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Close Encounters of the Third Kind?
Yes: Hangar 18 (1980), The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008) and Communion (1989).
How are movies similar to Close Encounters of the Third Kind chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Close Encounters of the Third Kind, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.