40 Movies Like Citizen Kane (1941) You Need to Watch Next
Updated August 2026
View Citizen Kane details →Orson Welles's 1941 debut chases the meaning of a dying tycoon's last word, "Rosebud," through the fractured testimony of those who knew him. Its deep-focus photography, bold structure and portrait of power's loneliness reshaped what film could do. Routinely named among the greatest movies ever made, it's a mystery about a man no one truly knew. If its formal daring and melancholy gripped you, seek out ambitious character studies that unravel a life from the outside in.
If you loved Citizen Kane (1941) by Orson Welles, here are 40 movies that share its content DNA. iRankMovies measures real similarity using cosine similarity across eight weighted dimensions — genre (50%), tone (12%), pace (10%), structure (8%), era (7%), theme (6%), audience (4%) and narrative perspective (3%) — not just the rating. The closest matches according to our analysis are Nymphomaniac: Vol. II, Murder on the Orient Express, Monster. Every title is ranked by how closely it matches and backed by the iRank Score, a composite of IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic and TMDb across 12,000+ analysed titles.
The Best Movies Similar to Citizen Kane
Selected for their real similarity in content, these are the movies that share the most with Citizen Kane in terms of theme, narrative tone, and cinematic style. Every recommendation goes beyond genre — we evaluate the type of conflict, pacing, dramatic context, and the experience they create for viewers.
Nymphomaniac: Vol. II
2013 · Lars von Trier
The continuation of Joe's sexually dictated life delves into the darker aspects of her adult life and what led to her being in Seligman's care.
In common: Drama · Mystery
Murder on the Orient Express
2017 · Kenneth Branagh
Genius Belgian detective Hercule Poirot investigates the murder of an American tycoon aboard the Orient Express train.
In common: Drama · Mystery
Monster
2023 · Hirokazu Kore-eda
After an outburst at school involving her son, a concerned single mother demands answers, triggering a sequence of deepening suspicion and turmoil.
In common: Drama · Mystery
Contact
1997 · Robert Zemeckis
A radio astronomer receives the first extraterrestrial radio signal ever picked up on Earth. As the world powers scramble to decipher the message and decide upon a course of action, she must make some
In common: Drama · Mystery
Rashomon
1950 · Akira Kurosawa
Four people recount different versions of the story of a man's murder and the rape of his wife.
In common: Drama · Mystery
Incendies
2010 · Denis Villeneuve
A mother's last wishes send twins Jeanne and Simon on a journey to Middle East in search of their tangled roots. Adapted from Wajdi Mouawad's acclaimed play, Incendies tells the powerful and moving ta
In common: Drama · Mystery
The Game
1997 · David Fincher
In honor of his birthday, San Francisco banker Nicholas Van Orton, a financial genius and a cold-hearted loner, receives an unusual present from his younger brother, Conrad: a gift certificate to play
In common: Drama · Mystery
Wild Things
1998 · John McNaughton
When teen-socialite Kelly Van Ryan and troubled bad girl Suzie Toller accuse guidance counselor Sam Lombardo of rape, he's suspended by the school, rejected by the town, and fighting to get his life b
In common: Drama · Mystery
Three Colors: Red
1994 · Krzysztof Kieślowski
Part-time model Valentine unexpectedly befriends a retired judge after she runs over his dog. At first, the grumpy man shows no concern about the dog, and Valentine decides to keep it. But the two for
In common: Drama · Mystery
The Killing of a Sacred Deer
2017 · Yorgos Lanthimos
Dr. Steven Murphy is a renowned cardiovascular surgeon who presides over a spotless household with his wife and two children. Lurking at the margins of his idyllic suburban existence is Martin, a fath
In common: Drama · Mystery
The Firm
1993 · Sydney Pollack
Mitch McDeere is a young man with a promising future in Law. About to sit his Bar exam, he is approached by 'The Firm' and made an offer he doesn't refuse. Seduced by the money and gifts showered on h
In common: Drama · Mystery
The Color Purple
1985 · Steven Spielberg
An epic tale spanning forty years in the life of Celie, an African-American woman living in the South who survives incredible abuse and bigotry. After Celie's abusive father marries her off to the equ
In common: Drama
Murder on the Orient Express
1974 · Sidney Lumet
In 1935, when his train is stopped by deep snow, detective Hercule Poirot is called on to solve a murder that occurred in his car the night before.
In common: Drama · Mystery
Gosford Park
2001 · Robert Altman
In 1930s England, a group of pretentious rich and famous gather together for a weekend of relaxation at a hunting resort. But when a murder occurs, each one of these interesting characters becomes a s
In common: Drama · Mystery
Disturbia
2007 · D.J. Caruso
Kale has a life most teenagers would envy. He spends his days endlessly playing video games, surfing the net, eating junk food and watching cable. He has complete free reign of the house, and a beauti
In common: Drama · Mystery
Mother
2009 · Bong Joon Ho
A mother lives quietly with her son. One day, a girl is brutally killed, and the boy is charged with the murder. Now, it's his mother's mission to prove him innocent.
In common: Drama · Mystery
The Village
2004 · M. Night Shyamalan
When a willful young man tries to venture beyond his sequestered Pennsylvania hamlet, his actions set off a chain of chilling incidents that will alter the community forever.
In common: Drama · Mystery
Chloe
2010 · Atom Egoyan
Catherine and David Stewart are a well-to-do couple living in a posh area of Toronto, but all is not well in paradise. Catherine suspects that David is cheating on her, so she hires an escort named Ch
In common: Drama · Mystery
Eyes Wide Shut
1999 · Stanley Kubrick
After Dr. Bill Harford's wife, Alice, admits to having sexual fantasies about a man she met, Bill becomes obsessed with having a sexual encounter. He discovers an underground sexual group and attends
In common: Drama · Mystery
The Prestige
2006 · Christopher Nolan
A mysterious story of two magicians whose intense rivalry leads them on a life-long battle for supremacy -- full of obsession, deceit and jealousy with dangerous and deadly consequences.
In common: Drama · Mystery
The Invisible Guest
2017 · Oriol Paulo
Barcelona, Spain. Adrián Doria, a young and successful businessman accused of murder, meets one night with Virginia Goodman, an expert interrogation lawyer, in order to devise a defense strategy.
In common: Drama · Mystery
Rear Window
1954 · Alfred Hitchcock
A wheelchair-bound photographer spies on his neighbors from his apartment window and becomes convinced one of them has committed murder.
In common: Drama · Mystery
Burning
2018 · Lee Chang-dong
Deliveryman Jong-su is out on a job when he runs into Hae-mi, a girl who once lived in his neighborhood. She asks if he'd mind looking after her cat while she's away on a trip to Africa. On her return
In common: Drama · Mystery
The Name of the Rose
1986 · Jean-Jacques Annaud
14th-century Franciscan monk William of Baskerville and his young novice arrive at a conference to find that several monks have been murdered under mysterious circumstances. To solve the crimes, Willi
In common: Drama · Mystery
Where the Crawdads Sing
2022 · Olivia Newman
Abandoned by her family, Kya raises herself all alone in the marshes outside of her small town. When her former boyfriend is found dead, Kya is instantly branded by the local townspeople and law enfor
In common: Drama · Mystery
The Hateful Eight
2015 · Quentin Tarantino
Bounty hunters seek shelter from a raging blizzard and get caught up in a plot of betrayal and deception.
In common: Drama · Mystery
The Innocents
1961 · Jack Clayton
In a mid-19th century Essex country house, a young governess for two children becomes convinced that the house and grounds are haunted by ghosts and that the children are being possessed.
In common: Drama · Mystery
Jacob's Ladder
1990 · Adrian Lyne
After returning home from the Vietnam War, veteran Jacob Singer struggles to maintain his sanity. Plagued by hallucinations and flashbacks, Singer rapidly falls apart as the world and people around hi
In common: Drama · Mystery
Session 9
2001 · Brad Anderson
Tensions rise within an asbestos cleaning crew as they work in an abandoned mental hospital with a horrific past that seems to be coming back.
In common: Drama · Mystery
Suspiria
2018 · Luca Guadagnino
A darkness swirls at the center of a world-renowned dance company, one that will engulf the artistic director, an ambitious young dancer, and a grieving psychotherapist. Some will succumb to the night
In common: Drama · Mystery
Midsommar
2019 · Ari Aster
Several friends travel to Sweden to study as anthropologists a summer festival that is held every ninety years in the remote hometown of one of them. What begins as a dream vacation in a place where t
In common: Drama · Mystery
G20
2025 · Patricia Riggen
After the G20 Summit is overtaken by terrorists, President Danielle Sutton must bring all her statecraft and military experience to defend her family and her fellow leaders.
In common: Drama · Mystery
K-PAX
2001 · Iain Softley
Prot is a patient at a mental hospital who claims to be from a far away planet. His psychiatrist tries to help him, only to begin to doubt his own explanations.
In common: Drama · Mystery
Entrapment
1999 · Jon Amiel
Two thieves, who travel in elegant circles, try to outsmart each other and, in the process, end up falling in love.
In common: Drama · Mystery
Crimson Peak
2015 · Guillermo del Toro
In the aftermath of a family tragedy, an aspiring author is torn between love for her childhood friend and the temptation of a mysterious outsider. Trying to escape the ghosts of her past, she is swep
In common: Drama · Mystery
Missing
2023 · Nicholas D. Johnson
When her mother disappears while on vacation in Colombia with her new boyfriend, June’s search for answers is hindered by international red tape. Stuck thousands of miles away in Los Angeles, June cre
In common: Drama · Mystery
Searching
2018 · Aneesh Chaganty
After David Kim's 16-year-old daughter goes missing, a local investigation is opened and a detective is assigned to the case. But 37 hours later and without a single lead, David decides to search the
In common: Drama · Mystery
Arrival
2016 · Denis Villeneuve
Taking place after alien crafts land around the world, an expert linguist is recruited by the military to determine whether they come in peace or are a threat.
In common: Drama · Mystery
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
1996 · Gary Trousdale
Isolated bell-ringer Quasimodo wishes to leave Notre Dame tower against the wishes of Judge Claude Frollo, his stern guardian and Paris' strait-laced Minister of Justice. His first venture to the outs
In common: Drama
Paris, Texas
1984 · Wim Wenders
A man wanders out of the desert not knowing who he is. His brother finds him, and helps to pull his memory back of the life he led before he walked out on his family and disappeared four years earlier
In common: Drama
Popular Drama series
Breaking Bad
2008 · Michelle MacLaren
Walter White, a New Mexico chemistry teacher, is diagnosed with Stage III cancer and given a prognosis of only two years left to live. He becomes filled with a sense of fearlessness and an unrelenting
Frieren: Beyond Journey's End
2023 · Kazutaka Yamanaka
After the party of heroes defeated the Demon King, they restored peace to the land and returned to lives of solitude. Generations pass, and the elven mage Frieren comes face to face with humanity’s m
The Chosen
2019 · Tyler Thompson
The life of Christ through the eyes of those who encountered him.
When Life Gives You Tangerines
2025 · Park Sang-hyun
In Jeju, a spirited girl and a steadfast boy's island story blossoms into a lifelong tale of setbacks and triumphs — proving love endures across time.
