Movies like War of the Worlds: Annihilation (2021)
The best movies like War of the Worlds: Annihilation (2021) are War of the Worlds the True Story (2012), Independence Day: Resurgence (2016) and Occupation (2018). If War of the Worlds: Annihilation hooked you with its science fiction and action, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedEdge of Tomorrow (2014)7.6/10 from 15,751 votes
- NewestDisclosure Day (2026)Released 2026
War of the Worlds the True Story (2012)
What if the Earth/Mars battle from H.G. Wells' classic novel The War of the Worlds wasn't fiction but actually fact? Like the famous 1938 Orson Welles radio broadcast that caused Americans to believe an actual invasion was in progress, the movie assumes an Earth/Mars War in 1900 actually occurred and is presented as the first hand memoir of journalist Bertie Wells, the last living survivor as he struggles to find his wife amidst the destruction of humankind at the hands of terrifying alien invaders.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & science fiction
Independence Day: Resurgence (2016)
We always knew they were coming back. Using recovered alien technology, the nations of Earth have collaborated on an immense defense program to protect the planet. But nothing can prepare us for the aliens’ advanced and unprecedented force. Only the ingenuity of a few brave men and women can bring our world back from the brink of extinction.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisOccupation (2018)
Town residents must band together after a devastating alien invasion. As they struggle to survive, they realize they must stay one step ahead of their attackers and work together for a chance to strike back.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe 5th Wave (2016)
16-year-old Cassie Sullivan tries to survive in a world devastated by the waves of an alien invasion that has already decimated the population and knocked mankind back to the Stone Age.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction & action
SnoozefestMovies like thisCaptive State (2019)
Nearly a decade after occupation by an extraterrestrial force, the lives of a Chicago neighborhood on both sides of the conflict are explored. In a working-class Chicago neighborhood occupied by an alien force for nine years, increased surveillance and the restriction of civil rights have given rise to an authoritarian system -- and dissent among the populace.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction
SnoozefestMovies 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: Fans watch both · both action & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSkyline (2010)
When strange lights descend on the city of Los Angeles, people are drawn outside like moths to a flame where an extraterrestrial force threatens to swallow the entire human population off the face of the Earth. Now the band of survivors must fight for their lives as the world unravels around them.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction & action
SnoozefestMovies like thisBattle: Los Angeles (2011)
When once distant UFOs become a terrifying threat and an alien invasion force begins attacking Earths major costal and riverside cities, a U.S Marine staff sergeant and his team are sent into battle only to find they must take it upon themselves to defeat an unknown enemy and protect what remains of Los Angeles.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction & action
SnoozefestMovies like thisIndependence Day (1996)
Strange phenomena surface around the globe. The skies ignite. Terror races through the world's major cities. As these extraordinary events unfold, it becomes increasingly clear that a force of incredible magnitude has arrived. Its mission: total annihilation over the Fourth of July weekend. The last hope to stop the destruction is an unlikely group of people united by fate and unimaginable circumstances.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEncounter (2021)
A decorated Marine goes on a rescue mission to save his two young sons from an unhuman threat. As their journey takes them in increasingly dangerous directions, the boys will need to leave their childhoods behind.
Why it matches: Fans watch both
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Tomorrow War (2021)
The world is stunned when a group of time travelers arrive from the year 2051 to deliver an urgent message: Thirty years in the future, mankind is losing a global war against a deadly alien species. The only hope for survival is for soldiers and civilians from the present to be transported to the future and join the fight. Among those recruited is high school teacher and family man Dan Forester. Determined to save the world for his young daughter, Dan teams up with a brilliant scientist and his estranged father in a desperate quest to rewrite the fate of the planet.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & 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 thisThe Predator (2018)
When a young boy accidentally triggers the universe's most lethal hunters' return to Earth, only a ragtag crew of ex-soldiers and a disgruntled scientist can prevent the end of the human race.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction & action
SnoozefestMovies like thisWar of the Worlds (2005)
Ray Ferrier is a divorced dockworker and less-than-perfect father. Soon after his ex-wife and her new husband drop off his teenage son and young daughter for a rare weekend visit, a strange and powerful lightning storm touches down.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOccupation: Rainfall (2020)
Two years into an intergalactic invasion of Earth, survivors in Sydney, Australia, fight back in a desperate ground war. As casualties mount by the day, the resistance and their unexpected allies, uncover a plot that could see the war come to a decisive end. With the Alien invaders hell-bent on making earth their new home, the race is on to save mankind.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRevolt (2017)
The story of humankind's last stand against a cataclysmic alien invasion. Set in the war-ravaged African countryside, a U.S. soldier and a French foreign aid worker team up to survive the alien onslaught. Their bond will be tested as they search for refuge across a crumbling world.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction & action
SnoozefestMovies like thisEdge of Tomorrow (2014)
Major Bill Cage is an officer who has never seen a day of combat when he is unceremoniously demoted and dropped into combat. Cage is killed within minutes, managing to take an alpha alien down with him. He awakens back at the beginning of the same day and is forced to fight and die again... and again - as physical contact with the alien has thrown him into a time loop.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisElevation (2024)
Post-apocalyptic survivors find refuge in the Rocky Mountains to hide from giant, insect-like creatures that can't live above 8,000 feet. However, when one of them needs life-saving supplies, they risk it all to venture into the danger zone.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKnowing (2009)
A teacher opens a time capsule that has been dug up at his son's elementary school; in it are some chilling predictions -- some that have already occurred and others that are about to -- that lead him to believe his family plays a role in the events that are about to unfold.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSpectral (2016)
A special-ops team is dispatched to fight supernatural beings that have taken over a European city.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAgent Revelation (2021)
An ancient dust that controls humans is unleashed, but mysteriously affects Jim Yung who gains superpowers. Jim is taken to an underground base where he's trained to be an operative to take on an imminent alien threat and learn why aliens have returned to Earth.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & science fiction
After Earth (2013)
One thousand years after cataclysmic events forced humanity's escape from Earth, Nova Prime has become mankind's new home. Legendary General Cypher Raige returns from an extended tour of duty to his estranged family, ready to be a father to his 13-year-old son, Kitai. When an asteroid storm damages Cypher and Kitai's craft, they crash-land on a now unfamiliar and dangerous Earth. As his father lies dying in the cockpit, Kitai must trek across the hostile terrain to recover their rescue beacon. His whole life, Kitai has wanted nothing more than to be a soldier like his father. Today, he gets his chance.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction & action
SnoozefestMovies like thisSkylines (2020)
When a virus threatens to turn the now earth-dwelling friendly alien hybrids against humans, Captain Rose Corley must lead a team of elite mercenaries on a mission to the alien world in order to save what's left of humanity.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction & action
SnoozefestMovies like thisDark Skies (2013)
From the producers of Paranormal Activity, Insidious, and Sinister comes Dark Skies: a supernatural thriller that follows a young family living in the suburbs. As husband and wife Daniel and Lacey Barret witness an escalating series of disturbing events involving their family, their safe and peaceful home quickly unravels. When it becomes clear that the Barret family is being targeted by an unimaginably terrifying and deadly force, Daniel and Lacey take matters in their own hands to solve the mystery of what is after their family.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSigns (2002)
A family living on a farm finds mysterious crop circles in their fields which suggests something more frightening to come.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAttack on Titan (2022)
As viable water is depleted on Earth, a mission is sent to Saturn's moon Titan to retrieve sustainable H2O reserves from its alien inhabitants. But just as the humans acquire the precious resource, they are attacked by Titan rebels, who don't trust that the Earthlings will leave in peace.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & action
SnoozefestMovies like thisStargate SG-1: Children of the Gods (2009)
An alien similar to Ra appears out of the Stargate, killing five soldiers and kidnapping another, a year after the original Stargate mission. A new team is assembled, including some old members, and they go in search of the missing soldier in order to find out how Ra could still be alive. Meanwhile, the alien Goa'uld kidnap Sha're and Skaara, implanting them with symbiotes and making them Goa'uld hosts.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMegaboa (2021)
On a trip to Colombia, a group of college students encounter a fifty-foot boa constrictor, hungry for blood.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMonster Hunters (2020)
When an alien prison ship crash lands and unleashes creature after creature in the California desert, they make quick work of the army that tries to stop them. Now, the only hope of stopping the aliens rests with a secret branch of the government specializing in alien weaponry. But with the team untested in actual combat, the battle for Earth will be brutal.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOsiris (2025)
Special Forces commandos on a mission are abducted mid-operation by a mysterious spacecraft. Upon waking aboard, they find themselves prey to a relentless alien race in a fight for survival.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like War of the Worlds: Annihilation?
The closest matches to War of the Worlds: Annihilation are War of the Worlds the True Story (2012), Independence Day: Resurgence (2016) and Occupation (2018). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after War of the Worlds: Annihilation?
People who watched War of the Worlds: Annihilation most often go on to War of the Worlds the True Story (2012), Independence Day: Resurgence (2016) and Occupation (2018).
What is the highest-rated movie like War of the Worlds: Annihilation?
Edge of Tomorrow (2014), rated 7.6/10 by 15,751 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like War of the Worlds: Annihilation?
Disclosure Day (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like War of the Worlds: Annihilation?
Yes: War of the Worlds the True Story (2012), Independence Day: Resurgence (2016) and Occupation (2018).
How are movies similar to War of the Worlds: Annihilation chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside War of the Worlds: Annihilation, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.