Movies like Cellular
The best movies like Cellular (2004) are Phone Booth (2003), The Negotiator (1998) and Trapped (2002). If Cellular hooked you with its action and thriller, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedHard Hit (2021)7.5/10 from 229 votes
- NewestBullet Train Explosion (2025)Released 2025
Phone Booth (2003)
A slick New York publicist who picks up a ringing receiver in a phone booth is told that if he hangs up, he'll be killed... and the little red light from a laser rifle sight is proof that the caller isn't kidding.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Negotiator (1998)
The police try to arrest expert hostage negotiator Danny Roman, who insists he's being framed for his partner's murder in what he believes is an elaborate conspiracy. Thinking there's evidence in the Internal Affairs offices that might clear him, he takes everyone in the office hostage and demands that another well-known negotiator be brought in to handle the situation and secretly investigate the conspiracy.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTrapped (2002)
Held hostage in different cities after their daughter is kidnapped by a master extortionist, a desperate couple must find a way to outsmart a seemingly foolproof plot.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like this12 Rounds (2009)
When New Orleans Police Detective Danny Fisher stops a brilliant thief from getting away with a multimillion-dollar heist, the thief's girlfriend is accidentally killed. After escaping from prison, the criminal mastermind enacts his revenge, taunting Danny with 12 rounds of near-impossible puzzles and tasks that he must somehow complete to save the life of the woman he loves.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Call (2013)
Jordan Turner is an experienced 911 operator but when she makes an error in judgment and a call ends badly, Jordan is rattled and unsure if she can continue. But when teenager Casey Welson is abducted in the back of a man's car and calls 911, Jordan is the one called upon to use all of her experience, insights and quick thinking to help Casey escape, and not just to save her, but to make sure the man is brought to justice.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHostage (2005)
When a mafia accountant is taken hostage on his beat, a police officer – wracked by guilt from a prior stint as a negotiator – must negotiate the standoff, even as his own family is held captive by the mob.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOperator (2015)
When the daughter of veteran 911 call center operator Pamela, and her estranged husband Jeremy, a Senior Police Officer, is kidnapped and held hostage, they are left desperate, with no choice but to follow the kidnapper's rules: send messages through dispatch for all police and fire units to scatter to remote locations throughout the city where they are met with chaos. Not knowing who or why, they must race against the clock to make the choice of their lives: save the city — or save their daughter.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & action
SnoozefestMovies like thisParadox Effect (2024)
An innocent woman is forced to confront a dangerous kingpin who has kidnapped her young daughter and is holding her for ransom. She teams up with a corrupt Interpol agent, whose son is also being held hostage, to rip off various criminals to raise the ransom to save their offspring. Together they have one hour to save their families from the wrath of bigwig.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisStreet Kings (2008)
Tom Ludlow is a disillusioned L.A. Police Officer, rarely playing by the rules and haunted by the death of his wife. When evidence implicates him in the execution of a fellow officer, he is forced to go up against the cop culture he's been a part of his entire career, ultimately leading him to question the loyalties of everyone around him.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPanic Room (2002)
Trapped in their New York brownstone's panic room, a hidden chamber built as a sanctuary in the event of break-ins, newly divorced Meg Altman and her young daughter Sarah play a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with three intruders - Burnham, Raoul and Junior - during a brutal home invasion. But the room itself is the focal point because what the intruders really want is inside it.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCollateral (2004)
Cab driver Max picks up a man who offers him $600 to drive him around. But the promise of easy money sours when Max realizes his fare is an assassin.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStolen (2012)
Master thief Will Montgomery is just released from the State penitentiary after serving a 10 year sentence, is contacted by Vincent, his ex comrade in crime, who is holding Will’s teenage daughter ransom in a hijacked taxi cab. Vincent will only surrender her when Will reveals the whereabouts of the 20 million dollars he contrived to conceal from their last robbery.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 (2009)
Armed men hijack a New York City subway train, holding the passengers hostage in return for a ransom, and turning an ordinary day's work for dispatcher Walter Garber into a face-off with the mastermind behind the crime.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFirewall (2006)
State-of-the-art security system creator Jack Stanfield has cemented his reputation as a man who's thought of everything. But when a criminal finds a way into his personal life, everything Jack holds dear is suddenly at stake.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisFreedomland (2006)
A black police detective must solve a strange case of a kidnapped boy and deal with a big racial protest.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisUntraceable (2008)
Special Agent Jennifer Marsh works in an elite division of the FBI dedicated to fighting cybercrime. She thinks she has seen it all, until a particularly sadistic criminal arises on the Internet. This tech-savvy killer posts live feeds of his crimes on his website; the more hits the site gets, the faster the victim dies. Marsh and her team must find the elusive killer before time runs out.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRansom (1996)
When a rich man's son is kidnapped, he cooperates with the police at first but then tries a unique tactic against the criminals.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPursuit (2022)
Detective Breslin crosses paths with Calloway, a ruthless hacker desperate to find his wife, who has been kidnapped by a drug cartel. When Calloway escapes police custody, Breslin joins forces with a no-nonsense female cop to reclaim his prisoner. But is Calloway’s crime-boss father somehow involved in this explosive situation?
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisCon Air (1997)
Newly-paroled former US Army ranger Cameron Poe is headed back to his wife, but must fly home aboard a prison transport flight dubbed "Jailbird" taking the “worst of the worst” prisoners, a group described as “pure predators”, to a new super-prison. Poe faces impossible odds when the transport plane is skyjacked mid-flight by the most vicious criminals in the country led by the mastermind — genius serial killer Cyrus "The Virus" Grissom, and backed by black militant Diamond Dog and psychopath Billy Bedlam.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDesperate Measures (1998)
San Francisco police officer Frank Connor is in a frantic search for a compatible bone marrow donor for his gravely ill son. There's only one catch the potential donor is convicted multiple murderer Peter McCabe who sees a trip to the hospital as the perfect opportunity to get what he wants most: freedom. With McCabe's escape, the entire hospital becomes a battleground and Connor must pursue and, ironically, protect the deadly fugitive who is his son's only hope for survival.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisProof of Life (2000)
When Peter Bowman, an American engineer working in a South American country, is captured by anti-government forces, the rebels learn his identity and demand $5 million for his safe return. However, his US employer is on the verge of insolvency and will not provide the ransom. Peter's wife Alice is forced to deal with the matter on her own and she retains the services of freelance professional hostage negotiator Terry Thorne.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBullet Train Explosion (2025)
When panic erupts on a Tokyo-bound bullet train that will explode if it slows below 100 kph, authorities race against time to save everyone on board.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCountdown (2016)
When a madman kidnaps a young boy and rigs him with explosives, Ray Thompson defies his captain and takes matter into his own hands. Now he must beat the clock and save the innocent child.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisKidnap (2017)
A mother (in her Minivan) stops at nothing to recover her kidnapped son.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like this16 Blocks (2006)
An aging cop is assigned the ordinary task of escorting a fast-talking witness from police custody to a courthouse, but they find themselves running the gauntlet as other forces try to prevent them from getting there.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like this12 Rounds 2: Reloaded (2013)
Nick Malloy portrays an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) who finds himself caught in a deadly 12-round game of cat and mouse with a vigilante tied to the paramedic's past. With little time to spare and his wife's life hanging in the balance, the EMT must figure out why he's been chosen to be the pawn in this maniac's game before it's too late.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisJimmy and Judy (2006)
Two misunderstood suburban kids challenge society and run from the police while documenting all of their deeds with a digital camera.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & crime
Inside Man (2006)
When an armed, masked gang enter a Manhattan bank, lock the doors and take hostages, the detective assigned to effect their release enters negotiations preoccupied with corruption charges he is facing.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHard Hit (2021)
On his way to work, a bank manager receives an anonymous call claiming there's a bomb under his car seat, and if anyone exits the car, it will explode unless he can pay a ransom.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNick of Time (1995)
An ordinary man is suddenly forced into a plot to kill a politician in exchange for his kidnapped daughter's freedom.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Cellular?
The closest matches to Cellular are Phone Booth (2003), The Negotiator (1998) and Trapped (2002). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Cellular?
People who watched Cellular most often go on to Phone Booth (2003), The Negotiator (1998) and Trapped (2002).
What is the highest-rated movie like Cellular?
Hard Hit (2021), rated 7.5/10 by 229 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Cellular?
Bullet Train Explosion (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Cellular?
Yes: Phone Booth (2003), The Negotiator (1998) and Trapped (2002).
How are movies similar to Cellular chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Cellular, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.