Movies like Contact (1978)
The best movies like Contact (1978) are Mass Effect: Paragon Lost (2012), Ben 10 vs. the Universe: The Movie (2020) and Planet 51 (2009). If Contact hooked you with its animation and science fiction, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedRegular Show: The Movie (2015)7.9/10 from 454 votes
- NewestIck (2025)Released 2025
Mass Effect: Paragon Lost (2012)
An untold chapter in the Mass Effect saga, following the early career of Alliance Marine, James Vega, as he leads a squad of elite special forces into battle against a mysterious alien threat known as The Collectors. Stationed at a colony in a remote star system, Vega and his troops must protect the inhabitants from an invasion of the deadly insectoid warriors determined to collect the population for unknown purposes. Soon after the attack, Vega's commanding officer falls in battle, forcing the young officer to embrace the responsibility of leadership for the colony's survival. Having idolized Earth's greatest hero and warrior, Commander Shepard (the central character in the Mass Effect video games), the young and idealistic Vega must now make life and the death decisions that will effect not only the lives of his squad, but the lives of every person in the colony - all of whom he has sworn to protect...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBen 10 vs. the Universe: The Movie (2020)
A blast from Ben's past returns to do double the damage on Team Tennyson and planet Earth itself, forcing Ben to go interstellar to save the day. Based on the 2016 reboot.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPlanet 51 (2009)
When Earth astronaut Capt. Chuck Baker arrives on Planet 51 -- a world reminiscent of American suburbia circa 1950 -- he tries to avoid capture, recover his spaceship and make it home safely, all with the help of an empathetic little green being.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisRobot Chicken: Star Wars (2007)
A series of 30 sketches, following the hilarious antics of various characters from a galaxy, far, far away.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTitan A.E. (2000)
A young man finds out that he holds the key to restoring hope and ensuring survival for the human race, while an alien species called the Drej are bent on mankind's destruction.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBabylon 5: The Road Home (2023)
Travel across the galaxy with John Sheridan as he unexpectedly finds himself transported through multiple timelines and alternate realities in a quest to find his way back home. Along the way he reunites with some familiar faces, while discovering cosmic new revelations about the history, purpose, and meaning of the Universe.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFuturama: The Beast with a Billion Backs (2008)
Fresh off ripping space-time a new one at the end of "Bender's Big Score," the Planet Express crew is back to mend the tear in reality, or (hopefully) at least not make it worse. Beyond the tear, though, lurks a being of inconceivable...tentacularity. What will become of Earth, and indeed, our universe, when faced with the Beast with a Billion Backs?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLifted (2006)
When an overconfident teen alien gets behind the controls of a spaceship, he must attempt to abduct a slumbering farmer under the watchful eye of a critical instructor. But abducting humans requires precision and a gentle touch, and within a few missteps it's painfully clear why more humans don't go missing every year.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRobot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II (2008)
Seth Green and Matthew Senreich serve up more hilarious Star Wars-inspired satire in this second compilation of sketches featuring the zany stop-motion animation of Adult Swim's "Robot Chicken." Gary the stormtrooper deals with irascible boss Darth Vader on Take Your Daughter to Work Day, while Anakin babysits a certain up-and-coming Jedi.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLeroy & Stitch (2006)
Lilo, Stitch, Jumba, and Pleakley have finally caught all of Jumba's genetic experiments and found the one true place where each of them belongs. Stitch, Jumba and Pleakley are offered positions in the Galactic Alliance, turning them down so they can stay on Earth with Lilo, but Lilo realizes her alien friends have places where they belong – and it's finally time to say "aloha".
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSuperman: Man of Tomorrow (2020)
It’s the dawn of a new age of heroes, and Metropolis has just met its first. But as Daily Planet intern Clark Kent – working alongside reporter Lois Lane – secretly wields his alien powers of flight, super-strength and x-ray vision in the battle for good, there’s even greater trouble on the horizon.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBatman vs. Two-Face (2017)
Former Gotham City District Attorney Harvey Dent, one side of his face scarred by acid, goes on a crime spree based on the number '2'. All of his actions are decided by the flip of a defaced, two-headed silver dollar.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInjustice (2021)
When Lois Lane is killed, an unhinged Superman decides to take control of the Earth. Determined to stop him, Batman creates a team of freedom-fighting heroes. But when superheroes go to war, can the world survive?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRegular Show: The Movie (2015)
After a high school lab experiment goes horribly wrong, Mordecai and Rigby must go back in time to battle an evil volleyball coach in order to save the universe — and their friendship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisRobotech: The Shadow Chronicles (2006)
In the year 2044 AD, the human race has amped-up its space exploration and reached out to the stars through the miracle of ROBOTECHNOLOGY, but not without bringing intergalactic war upon the Earth itself. Heroes will die and allegiances will shift. But in the midst of combat, perhaps peace will spring up through the charred remains of battered history. One of the greatest science fiction sagas of all time continues...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe History of Future Folk (2012)
An alien intending to claim Earth for his people before their homeworld is destroyed by a comet decides not to eliminate humanity when he hears their music. Instead, he lives among them until another alien is sent to find and kill him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Wild Blue Yonder (2005)
An alien narrates the story of his dying planet, his and his people's visitations to Earth and Earth's self-made demise, while human astronauts in space are attempting to find an alternate planet for surviving humans to live on.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIck (2025)
Science teacher Hank’s life changes when he reconnects with his first love and suspects that a new student may be his daughter—all while facing an alien threat in their town.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisExtinction (2018)
A chief mechanic at a factory, haunted by apocalyptic nightmares, becomes a hero when Earth is invaded by a mysterious army bent on destruction.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTom and Jerry Blast Off to Mars! (2005)
While carrying on their usual hi-jinks, they inadvertantly stow-away on a spaceship bound for Mars. They meet up with the local Martian residents and cause them to invade the Earth, aided by the "Invincitron", a vacuum-wielding giant robot. Tom, Jerry and their Martian ally, Peep, save the day.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisScooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders (2000)
A cosmic case of flying saucers, intergalactic intrigue and out-of-this-world romance launches Scooby-Doo! and the Mystery Inc., Gang into their most unearthly adventure ever.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch (2005)
Now, we find the rowdy extraterrestrial getting used to life with his new ʻohana. However, a malfunction in the ultimate creation of Dr. Jumba soon emerges, which reinstates his destructive programming and threatens to both ruin his friendship with Lilo and to short him out for good!
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFlight of the Navigator (1986)
12-year-old David is accidentally knocked out in the forest near his home, but when he awakens eight years have passed. His family is overjoyed to have him back, but is just as perplexed as he is that he hasn't aged. When a NASA scientist discovers a UFO nearby, David gets the chance to unravel the mystery and recover the life he lost.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCritters 2 (1988)
Three bounty hunters from space fly back to the town of Grovers Bend, hoping to save local residents from a new batch of Critter eggs.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAlien Autopsy (2006)
Humouristic reconstruction of the 1995 scandal when two British lads were accused of having faked a documentary from the Roswell incident in 1947.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisVoyager 1 (2024)
Under the supervision of the tyrannous ruler Supremo, a fleet of aliens responsible for the creation of the universe conduct their daily work around the Milky Way. Among them is a curious alien called Melius, who dreams of leaving their weary job as a star polisher to explore distant planets. When the space probe ‘Voyager 1’ crashes into their ship, Melius sees their chance of escaping using the probe’s coordinates for planet Earth. What follows is an adventure full of extraordinary surprises and new friends, where our hero will be forced to choose between duty and love, their teachings and beliefs.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Muppets from Space (1999)
When Gonzo's breakfast cereal tells him that he's the descendant of aliens from another planet, his attempts at extraterrestrial communication get him kidnapped by a secret government agency, prompting the Muppets to spring into action to rescue their friend.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEvil Aliens (2006)
The sensationalist reporter Michelle Fox presents the TV show Weird World, with phony matters about UFOS and aliens. When she hears about Cat, a young woman that claims that have been abducted with her boyfriend and become pregnant by aliens, she convinces her chief to travel with a team to the remote Welsh island of Scalled to interview Cat. She invites the cameraman Ricky Anderson with his sound technician partner; the nerd expert in "ufology" and "ley lines" Gavin Gorman; the actress Candy Vixen and an obscure gay actor to prepare the matter. They get a van and wait for the low tide to reach the island, and when they find evidences that aliens are really landed in the location, the ambitious Michelle decides to film her way to fame and wealth.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · 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: Similar story and style · both science fiction
SnoozefestMovies 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: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Contact?
The closest matches to Contact are Mass Effect: Paragon Lost (2012), Ben 10 vs. the Universe: The Movie (2020) and Planet 51 (2009). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Contact?
Start with Mass Effect: Paragon Lost (2012), the closest match to Contact.
What is the highest-rated movie like Contact?
Regular Show: The Movie (2015), rated 7.9/10 by 454 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Contact?
Ick (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to Contact chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Contact, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.