Movies like China Alley (2008)
The best movies like China Alley (2008) are Big Trouble in Little China (1986), The Joy Luck Club (1993) and Hammett (1982). If China Alley hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedEx Machina (2015)7.6/10 from 14,799 votes
- NewestThe Dreadful (2026)Released 2026
Big Trouble in Little China (1986)
Truck driver Jack Burton gets embroiled in a supernatural battle when his best friend Wang Chi's green-eyed fiancée is kidnapped by henchmen of the sorcerer Lo Pan, who must marry a girl with green eyes in order to return to the human realm.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Joy Luck Club (1993)
Through a series of flashbacks, four Chinese women born in America and their respective mothers born in feudal China explore their pasts.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHammett (1982)
Chinatown, San Francisco, 1928. Former private detective Dashiell Hammett, a compulsive drinker with tuberculosis who writes pulp fiction for a living, receives an unexpected visit from an old friend asking for help.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBirth of the Dragon (2017)
Set against the backdrop of San Francisco’s Chinatown, this cross-cultural biopic chronicles Bruce Lee’s emergence as a martial-arts superstar after his legendary secret showdown with fellow martial artist Wong Jack Man.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Inn of the Sixth Happiness (1958)
All her life, Englishwoman Gladys Aylward knew that China was where she belonged. Unqualified to be sent as a missionary, Gladys works as a domestic to earn to send herself to a poor, remote village. There, she eventually lives a full and happy life: running the inn, acting as 'foot inspector', advising the local Mandarin, and even winning the heart of mixed-race Captain Lin Nan. Gladys discovers her real destiny when the country is invaded by Japan and the Chinese children need her to save their lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Machine (2013)
Already deep into a second Cold War, Britain’s Ministry of Defense seeks a game-changing weapon. Programmer Vincent McCarthy unwittingly provides an answer in The Machine, a super-strong human cyborg. When a programming bug causes the prototype to decimate his lab, McCarthy takes his obsessive efforts underground, far away from inquisitive eyes.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisJexi (2019)
Phil's new phone comes with an unexpected feature, Jexi...an A.I. determined to keep him all to herself in a comedy about what can happen when you love your phone more than all else.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Dreadful (2026)
In medieval England, Anne and her domineering mother-in-law Morwen struggle to survive on the outskirts of society. But when a man from Anne's past returns from war, a curse begins to take shape through a mysterious knight and threatens to destroy them all.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisAlready Tomorrow in Hong Kong (2016)
Ruby, a Chinese American toy designer from LA, visits Hong Kong for the first time on business. Finding herself stranded, she meets Josh, an American expat who shows her the city.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEx Machina (2015)
Caleb, a coder at the world's largest internet company, wins a competition to spend a week at a private mountain retreat belonging to Nathan, the reclusive CEO of the company. But when Caleb arrives at the remote location he finds that he will have to participate in a strange and fascinating experiment in which he must interact with the world's first true artificial intelligence, housed in the body of a beautiful robot girl.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLovelace (2013)
Story of Linda Lovelace, who is used and abused by the porn industry at the behest of her coercive husband, before taking control of her life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDark of the Sun (1968)
A band of mercenaries led by Captain Curry travel through war-torn Congo across deadly terrain, battling rival armies, to steal $50 million in uncut diamonds. But infighting, sadistic rebels and a time lock jeopardize everything.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMajor Dundee (1965)
During the last winter of the Civil War, cavalry officer Amos Dundee leads a contentious troop of Army regulars, Confederate prisoners and scouts on an expedition into Mexico to destroy a band of Apaches who have been raiding U.S. bases in Texas.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMajor Payne (1995)
Major Benson Winifred Payne is being discharged from the Marines. Payne is a killin' machine, but the wars of the world are no longer fought on the battlefield. A career Marine, he has no idea what to do as a civilian, so his commander finds him a job - commanding officer of a local school's JROTC program, a bunch of ragtag losers with no hope.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPrincess of Thieves (2001)
Sherwood forest has a courageous new hero - Gwyn, the daughter of Robin Hood. Possessing the cunning skills of her legendary father and the beauty and intelligence of her mother Maid Marian, Gwyn is anxious to follow in her father's footsteps. King Richard nears death and Robin Hood and his Merry Men are summoned to help bring Richard's son Philip to his rightful place on the throne before the evil Prince John can assume power. Robin Hood's life and that of the future King of England soon lies in Gwyn's hands when Robin is captured and sentenced to death.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAmerican Factory (2019)
In post-industrial Ohio, a Chinese billionaire opens a new factory in the husk of an abandoned General Motors plant, hiring two thousand blue-collar Americans. Early days of hope and optimism give way to setbacks as high-tech China clashes with working-class America.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMan of Tai Chi (2013)
In Beijing, a young martial artist's skill places him in position to experience opportunities and sacrifices.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHands of Stone (2016)
The legendary Roberto Duran and his equally legendary trainer Ray Arcel change each other's lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlade Runner 2049 (2017)
Thirty years after the events of the first film, a new blade runner, LAPD Officer K, unearths a long-buried secret that has the potential to plunge what's left of society into chaos. K's discovery leads him on a quest to find Rick Deckard, a former LAPD blade runner who has been missing for 30 years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisInsurgent (2015)
Beatrice Prior must confront her inner demons and continue her fight against a powerful alliance which threatens to tear her society apart.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like China Alley?
The closest matches to China Alley are Big Trouble in Little China (1986), The Joy Luck Club (1993) and Hammett (1982). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after China Alley?
Start with Big Trouble in Little China (1986), the closest match to China Alley.
What is the highest-rated movie like China Alley?
Ex Machina (2015), rated 7.6/10 by 14,799 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like China Alley?
The Dreadful (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like China Alley?
Yes: Big Trouble in Little China (1986), The Joy Luck Club (1993) and Hammett (1982).
How are movies similar to China Alley chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside China Alley, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.