
49 Movies Like District 9 (2009) You Need to Watch Next
Thirty years ago, aliens arrive on Earth. Not to conquer or give aid, but to find refuge from their dying planet. Separated from humans in a South African area called District 9, the aliens are manage
Updated June 2026
View District 9 details →Where to watch(US)
View on JustWatch →Rent / Buy
Availability may change. Data by JustWatch.
If you loved District 9 (2009) by Neill Blomkamp, here are 49 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 They Live, Cloverfield, The 5th Wave. 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.
49 Movies Similar to District 9

They Live
1988 · John Carpenter
A lone drifter stumbles upon a unique pair of sunglasses that reveal aliens are systematically gaining control of the Earth by masquerading as humans and lulling the public into submission.
In common: Science Fiction

Cloverfield
2008 · Matt Reeves
Five young New Yorkers throw their friend a going-away party the night that a monster the size of a skyscraper descends upon the city. Told from the point of view of their video camera, the film is a
In common: Science Fiction

The 5th Wave
2016 · J Blakeson
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.
In common: Science Fiction

The Fourth Kind
2009 · Olatunde Osunsanmi
Since the 1960s, a disproportionate number of the population in and around Nome, Alaska, have gone missing. Despite FBI investigations, the disappearances remain a mystery. Dr. Abigail Tyler, a psycho
In common: Science Fiction

After Earth
2013 · M. Night Shyamalan
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 e
In common: Science Fiction

Alien
1979 · Ridley Scott
During its return to the earth, commercial spaceship Nostromo intercepts a distress signal from a distant planet. When a three-member team of the crew discovers a chamber containing thousands of eggs
In common: Science Fiction

War of the Worlds
2005 · Steven Spielberg
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 powerf
In common: Science Fiction

Alien Resurrection
1997 · Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Two hundred years after Lt. Ripley died, a group of scientists clone her, hoping to breed the ultimate weapon. But the new Ripley is full of surprises … as are the new aliens. Ripley must team with a
In common: Science Fiction

Riddick
2013 · David Twohy
Betrayed by his own kind and left for dead on a desolate planet, Riddick fights for survival against alien predators and becomes more powerful and dangerous than ever before. Soon bounty hunters from
In common: Science Fiction

Edge of Tomorrow
2014 · Doug Liman
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 hi
In common: Science Fiction

Alien³
1992 · David Fincher
After escaping with Newt and Hicks from the alien planet, Ripley crash lands on Fiorina 161, a prison planet and host to a correctional facility. Unfortunately, although Newt and Hicks do not survive
In common: Science Fiction

Mortal Engines
2018 · Christian Rivers
Many thousands of years in the future, Earth’s cities roam the globe on huge wheels, devouring each other in a struggle for ever diminishing resources. On one of these massive traction cities, the old
In common: Science Fiction

Cloud Atlas
2012 · Lilly Wachowski
A set of six nested stories spanning time between the 19th century and a distant post-apocalyptic future. Cloud Atlas explores how the actions and consequences of individual lives impact one another t
In common: Science Fiction

The Giver
2014 · Phillip Noyce
In a seemingly perfect community, without war, pain, suffering, differences or choice, a young boy is chosen to learn from an elderly man about the true pain and pleasure of the "real" world.
In common: Science Fiction

A Clockwork Orange
1971 · Stanley Kubrick
In a near-future Britain, young Alexander DeLarge and his pals get their kicks beating and raping anyone they please. When not destroying the lives of others, Alex swoons to the music of Beethoven. Th
In common: Science Fiction

A.I. Artificial Intelligence
2001 · Steven Spielberg
David, a robotic boy—the first of his kind programmed to love—is adopted as a test case by a Cybertronics employee and his wife. Though he gradually becomes their child, a series of unexpected circums
In common: Science Fiction

War of the Worlds
2025 · Rich Lee
Will Radford is a top analyst for Homeland Security who tracks potential threats through a mass surveillance program, until one day an attack by an unknown entity leads him to question whether the gov
In common: Science Fiction

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
2023 · Francis Lawrence
64 years before he becomes the tyrannical president of Panem, Coriolanus Snow sees a chance for a change in fortunes when he mentors Lucy Gray Baird, the female tribute from District 12.
In common: Science Fiction

Close Encounters of the Third Kind
1977 · Steven Spielberg
After an encounter with UFOs, an electricity linesman feels undeniably drawn to an isolated area in the wilderness where something spectacular is about to happen.
In common: Science Fiction

Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within
2001 · Hironobu Sakaguchi
Led by a strange dream, scientist Aki Ross struggles to collect the eight spirits in the hope of creating a force powerful enough to protect the planet. With the aid of the Deep Eyes Squadron and her

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
1982 · Steven Spielberg
An alien is left behind on Earth and saved by the 10-year-old Elliott who decides to keep him hidden in his home. While a task force hunts for the extra-terrestrial, Elliott, his brother, and his litt
In common: Science Fiction

Battle: Los Angeles
2011 · Jonathan Liebesman
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 o
In common: Science Fiction

Outlander
2008 · Howard McCain
During the reign of the Vikings, a man from another world crash-lands on Earth, bringing with him an alien predator. The man must fuse his advanced technology with the weaponry of the vikings to fight
In common: Science Fiction

Lilo & Stitch
2025 · Dean Fleischer Camp
The wildly funny and touching story of a lonely Hawaiian girl and the fugitive alien who helps to mend her broken family.
In common: Science Fiction

Nope
2022 · Jordan Peele
Residents in a lonely gulch of inland California bear witness to an uncanny, chilling discovery.
In common: Science Fiction

Metropolis
1927 · Fritz Lang
In a futuristic city sharply divided between the rich and the poor, the son of the city's mastermind meets a prophet who predicts the coming of a savior to mediate their differences.
In common: Science Fiction

Automata
2014 · Gabe Ibáñez
Jacq Vaucan, an insurance agent of ROC robotics corporation, routinely investigates the case of manipulating a robot. What he discovers will have profound consequences for the future of humanity.
In common: Science Fiction

Dune
2021 · Denis Villeneuve
Paul Atreides, a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his
In common: Science Fiction

WALL·E
2008 · Andrew Stanton
After hundreds of years doing what he was built for, WALL•E— a robot designed to clean up the earth—discovers a new purpose in life when he meets a sleek search robot named EVE. EVE comes to realize t
In common: Science Fiction

I, Robot
2004 · Alex Proyas
In 2035, where robots are commonplace and abide by the three laws of robotics, a technophobic cop investigates an apparent suicide. Suspecting that a robot may be responsible for the death, his invest
In common: Science Fiction

Chronicle
2012 · Josh Trank
Three high school students make an incredible discovery, leading to their developing uncanny powers beyond their understanding. As they learn to control their abilities and use them to their advantage
In common: Science Fiction

Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome
1985 · George Miller
Mad Max becomes a pawn in a decadent oasis of a technological society, and when exiled, becomes the deliverer of a colony of children.
In common: Science Fiction

Megalopolis
2024 · Francis Ford Coppola
In a futuristic New York known as New Rome, visionary architect Cesar Catilina dreams of building "Megalopolis," a utopian city that redefines society’s limits. Opposing him is the corrupt Mayor Frank
In common: Science Fiction

Chaos Walking
2021 · Doug Liman
Two unlikely companions embark on a perilous adventure through the badlands of an unexplored planet as they try to escape a dangerous and disorienting reality, where all inner thoughts are seen and he
In common: Science Fiction

Tron
1982 · Steven Lisberger
When brilliant video game maker Flynn hacks the mainframe of his ex-employer, he is beamed inside an astonishing digital world and becomes part of the very game he is designing. In his mission through
In common: Science Fiction

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
2024 · Wes Ball
Several generations following Caesar's reign, apes – now the dominant species – live harmoniously while humans have been reduced to living in the shadows. As a new tyrannical ape leader builds his emp
In common: Science Fiction

Ready Player One
2018 · Steven Spielberg
When the creator of a popular video game system dies, a virtual contest is created to compete for his fortune.
In common: Science Fiction

I Am Legend
2007 · Francis Lawrence
Robert Neville is a scientist who was unable to stop the spread of the terrible virus that was incurable and man-made. Immune, Neville is now the last human survivor in what is left of New York City a
In common: Science Fiction

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1
2014 · Francis Lawrence
After surviving the Quarter Quell, Katniss finds herself in the hidden stronghold of District 13, where the rebellion against the Capitol is gaining momentum. Struggling with the weight of becoming th
In common: Science Fiction

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
2013 · Francis Lawrence
After surviving the Hunger Games, Katniss and Peeta struggle with the consequences of their victory as unrest spreads across Panem. Forced back into the spotlight, they become symbols of hope and resi
In common: Science Fiction

Divergent
2014 · Neil Burger
In a world divided into factions based on personality types, Tris learns that she's been classified as Divergent and won't fit in. When she discovers a plot to destroy Divergents, Tris and the mysteri
In common: Science Fiction

War for the Planet of the Apes
2017 · Matt Reeves
Caesar and his apes are forced into a deadly conflict with an army of humans led by a ruthless Colonel. After the apes suffer unimaginable losses, Caesar wrestles with his darker instincts and begins
In common: Science Fiction

Snowpiercer
2013 · Bong Joon Ho
In a future where a failed global-warming experiment kills off most life on the planet, a class system evolves aboard the Snowpiercer; a train that travels around the globe via a perpetual-motion engi
In common: Science Fiction

Idiocracy
2006 · Mike Judge
To test its top-secret Human Hibernation Project, the Pentagon picks the most average European-Americans it can find - an Army private and a prostitute - and sends them to the year 2505 after a series
In common: Science Fiction

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2
2015 · Francis Lawrence
As the war between the Capitol and the districts reaches its peak, Katniss Everdeen embarks on a perilous mission to liberate Panem and confront President Snow. Joined by a team of trusted allies, she
In common: Science Fiction

TRON: Legacy
2010 · Joseph Kosinski
Sam Flynn, the tech-savvy and daring son of Kevin Flynn, investigates his father's disappearance and is pulled into The Grid. With the help of a mysterious program named Quorra, Sam quests to stop evi
In common: Science Fiction

Stalker
1979 · Andrei Tarkovsky
Near a gray and unnamed city is the Zone, a place guarded by barbed wire and soldiers, and where the normal laws of physics are victim to frequent anomalies. A stalker guides two men into the Zone, sp
In common: Science Fiction

PK
2014 · Rajkumar Hirani
A stranger in the city asks questions no one has asked before. Known only by his initials, the man's innocent questions and childlike curiosity take him on a journey of love, laughter and letting go.
In common: Science Fiction

Project Almanac
2015 · Dean Israelite
A group of teens discover secret plans of a time machine, and construct one. However, things start to get out of control.
In common: Science Fiction