Films like Arrival
15 picks with a similar feel
What defines Arrival, going by its Boxlist taste profile: An otherworldly sci-fi film that is serious, moving and original. Best if you like the extraordinary over the everyday. Its strongest markers on Boxlist are themes of culture clash, troubled leads and injustice and vengeance, plus tags such as alien language, heartbreak and loss.
Here are 15 films with a similar feel, ranked by how closely they match that profile. Treat them as picks to try, not a definitive list.
Based on Arrival (2016).
- 1
Gravity (2013)
Film7.2
Why it's like Arrival: Also heightened and weighty, with themes of injustice and vengeance and resilience and survival. Common ground: loss.
- 2
The Sixth Sense (1999)
Film7.9
Why it's like Arrival: Also heightened and weighty, with themes of troubled leads and injustice and vengeance.
- 3
The Tomorrow War (2021)
Film8.1Lighter option
Why it's like Arrival: Also heightened and dark, with themes of culture clash. Common ground: military, time travel.
- 4
Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
Film7.3
Why it's like Arrival: Also heightened and weighty, with themes of culture clash and troubled leads. Common ground: spacecraft, time travel.
- 5
Donnie Darko (2001)
Film7.8
Why it's like Arrival: Also heightened and inventive, with themes of culture clash and injustice and vengeance. Common ground: loss, time travel.
- 6
The Man from Earth (2007)
Film7.7Slower burn
Why it's like Arrival: Also heightened and weighty, with themes of mysteries that are not what they seem and resilience and survival. Common ground: time.
- 7
Contact (1997)
Film7.4Slower burn
Why it's like Arrival: Also heightened and inventive, with themes of troubled leads and mysteries that are not what they seem. Common ground: scientist.
- 8
Primer (2004)
Film6.8More intricate
Why it's like Arrival: Also heightened and surreal, with themes of culture clash and mysteries that are not what they seem. Common ground: time travel.
- 9
Twelve Monkeys (1995)
Film7.6
Why it's like Arrival: Also heightened and inventive, with themes of culture clash and mysteries that are not what they seem. Common ground: time travel.
- 10
Nope (2022)
Film6.9
Why it's like Arrival: Also heightened and inventive, with themes of troubled leads and mysteries that are not what they seem. Common ground: alien.
- 11
The Thing (1982)
Film8.0
Why it's like Arrival: Also heightened and inventive, with themes of troubled leads and mysteries that are not what they seem. Common ground: spacecraft, alien.
- 12
A Quiet Place Part II (2021)
Film7.7
Why it's like Arrival: Also heightened and weighty, with themes of troubled leads and mysteries that are not what they seem. Common ground: alien.
- 13
Interstellar (2014)
Film8.3
Why it's like Arrival: Also heightened and weighty, with themes of culture clash and resilience and survival. Common ground: spacecraft, scientist, time travel.
- 14
Film8.1Warmer in tone
Why it's like Arrival: Also heightened and emotional, with themes of troubled leads and mysteries that are not what they seem. Common ground: heartbreak.
- 15
Source Code (2011)
Film7.3Faster-paced
Why it's like Arrival: Also heightened and weighty, with themes of culture clash and mysteries that are not what they seem. Common ground: time travel.
Boxlist compares Arrival with every film in its catalogue on ten taste scores (pace, tone, weight, realism and more), story themes, genres and TMDB keywords, and ranks the closest. Every pick has a TMDB rating of 6.7 or more from at least 1,000 votes, new releases wait until their ratings settle, and only one title per franchise makes the list. It is an approximation of feel, so treat it as a starting point. Ratings are TMDB audience scores out of 10.
Which of these suit you?
Take the taste test and every pick shows how well it matches you.
Take the taste testQuestions
- What should I watch if I like Arrival?
- Picks with a similar feel include Gravity, The Sixth Sense, The Tomorrow War and Star Trek: First Contact. Each shares part of Arrival's taste profile, themes or tags; the full list has 15 films.
- How are these films like Arrival chosen?
- Boxlist compares Arrival with every film in its catalogue on ten taste scores (pace, tone, weight, realism and more), story themes, genres and TMDB keywords, and ranks the closest. Every pick has a TMDB rating of 6.7 or more from at least 1,000 votes, new releases wait until their ratings settle, and only one title per franchise makes the list. It is an approximation of feel, so treat it as a starting point.
- Is there a lighter film like Arrival?
- The Tomorrow War has a similar feel but scores lighter on Boxlist's weightiness scale.