50 Movies Like Knowing (2009) You Need to Watch Next
Updated August 2026
View Knowing details →Alex Proyas's 2009 film mixes science-fiction, mystery and thriller around a teacher who opens a time capsule unearthed at his son's elementary school. Inside are eerie predictions, some already fulfilled and others still to come, that convince him his family is bound up in the events about to unfold. The premise drives a mounting sense of dread as coincidence gives way to something larger, blending disaster-tinged spectacle with questions of fate and design. It suits viewers who enjoy high-concept genre puzzles and portentous, apocalyptic mood over grounded realism. If you like speculative thrillers that chase a cosmic mystery to its conclusion, this offers an intriguing, ominous ride.
If you loved Knowing (2009) by Alex Proyas, here are 50 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 Predator 2, Super 8, Prey. 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 Knowing
Selected for their real similarity in content, these are the movies that share the most with Knowing 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.
Predator 2
1990 · Stephen Hopkins
A police chief in the war-torn streets of Los Angeles discovers that an extraterrestrial creature is hunting down residents - and that he is the next target.
In common: Action · Science Fiction · Thriller
Super 8
2011 · J.J. Abrams
In late 1970s Ohio, a group of friends filming a homemade zombie movie witness a devastating train derailment. Soon after, their quiet town is gripped by unexplained disappearances, strange phenomena,
In common: Mystery · Science Fiction · Thriller
Prey
2022 · Dan Trachtenberg
When danger threatens her camp, the fierce and highly skilled Comanche warrior Naru sets out to protect her people. But the prey she stalks turns out to be a highly evolved alien predator with a techn
In common: Action · Science Fiction · Thriller
The Predator
2018 · Shane Black
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.
In common: Action · Science Fiction · Thriller
Predators
2010 · Nimród Antal
A group of cold-blooded killers find themselves trapped on an alien planet to be hunted by extraterrestrial Predators.
In common: Action · Science Fiction · Thriller
Elevation
2024 · George Nolfi
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 ris
In common: Action · Science Fiction · Thriller
I Am Number Four
2011 · D.J. Caruso
A teenage fugitive with an incredible secret races to stay one step ahead of the mysterious forces seeking destroy him in this sci-fi action thriller. With three dead and one on the run, the race to f
In common: Action · Science Fiction
Aliens
1986 · James Cameron
Ripley, the sole survivor of the Nostromo's deadly encounter with the monstrous Alien, returns to Earth after drifting through space in hypersleep for 57 years. Although her story is initially met wit
In common: Action · Science Fiction · Thriller
Predator
1987 · John McTiernan
A team of elite commandos on a secret mission in a Central American jungle come to find themselves hunted by an extraterrestrial warrior.
In common: Action · 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: Action · Science Fiction · Thriller
The Invasion
2007 · Oliver Hirschbiegel
Washington, D.C. psychologist Carol Bennell and her colleague Dr. Ben Driscoll are the only two people on Earth who are aware of an epidemic running rampant through the city. They discover an alien vi
In common: Mystery · 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: Mystery · Science Fiction · Thriller
Lifeforce
1985 · Tobe Hooper
A race of space vampires arrives in London and infects the populace, commencing an apocalyptic descent into chaos.
In common: Action · Mystery
The Maze Runner
2014 · Wes Ball
A teenager with no memory of his past finds himself among a group of boys living in a walled enclosure surrounded by a massive, ever-changing maze. As he struggles to adapt to their rules and society,
In common: Action · Mystery · Science Fiction
Aliens vs Predator: Requiem
2007 · Colin Strause
After a horrifying PredAlien crash-lands near a small Colorado town, killing everyone it encounters and producing countless Alien offspring, a lone Predator arrives to "clean up" the infestation.
In common: Action · Science Fiction
What Happened to Monday
2017 · Tommy Wirkola
In a world where families are limited to one child due to overpopulation, a set of identical septuplets must avoid being put to a long sleep by the government and dangerous infighting while investigat
In common: Action · Mystery · Science Fiction
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: Action · Science Fiction · Thriller
Cowboys & Aliens
2011 · Jon Favreau
A stranger stumbles into the desert town of Absolution with no memory of his past and a futuristic shackle around his wrist. With the help of mysterious beauty Ella and the iron-fisted Colonel Dolarhy
In common: Action · Science Fiction · Thriller
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: Action · Science Fiction · Thriller
Self/less
2015 · Tarsem Singh
An extremely wealthy elderly man dying from cancer undergoes a radical medical procedure that transfers his consciousness to the body of a healthy young man but everything may not be as good as it see
In common: Action · Science Fiction · Thriller
Inferno
2016 · Ron Howard
After waking up in a hospital with amnesia, professor Robert Langdon and a doctor must race against time to foil a deadly global plot.
In common: Action · Mystery · Thriller
Spectral
2016 · Nic Mathieu
A special-ops team is dispatched to fight supernatural beings that have taken over a European city.
In common: Action · Science Fiction · Thriller
Eraser
1996 · Chuck Russell
A Witness Protection specialist becomes suspicious of his co-workers when dealing with a case involving high-tech weapons.
In common: Action · Mystery · Thriller
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: Action · Science Fiction
Left Behind
2014 · Vic Armstrong
A small group of survivors are left behind after millions of people suddenly vanish during the rapture and the world is plunged into chaos and destruction.
In common: Action · Science Fiction · Thriller
Apex
2021 · Edward Drake
Ex-cop Thomas Malone is serving a life sentence for a crime he didn’t commit. He is offered a chance at freedom if he can survive a deadly game of Apex, in which six hunters pay for the pleasure of hu
In common: Action · Science Fiction · Thriller
Eagle Eye
2008 · D.J. Caruso
Jerry Shaw and Rachel Holloman are two strangers whose lives are suddenly thrown into turmoil by a mysterious woman they have never met. Threatening their lives and family, the unseen caller uses ever
In common: Action · Mystery · Thriller
Abduction
2011 · John Singleton
For many years, Nathan Harper has had the uneasy feeling that life with his family isn't quite what it seems. As he draws closer to uncovering the truth, he is hunted by assassins, forcing him to flee
In common: Action · Mystery · Thriller
Outside the Wire
2021 · Mikael Håfström
In the near future, a drone pilot is sent into a deadly militarized zone and must work with an android officer to locate a doomsday device.
In common: Action · Science Fiction · Thriller
Unknown
2011 · Jaume Collet-Serra
A man awakens from a coma, only to discover that someone has taken on his identity and that no one, (not even his wife), believes him. With the help of a young woman, he sets out to prove who he is.
In common: Action · Mystery · Thriller
Non-Stop
2014 · Jaume Collet-Serra
Bill Marks is a Federal Air Marshall for whom every day is the same until this one. On this plane ride, he starts receiving text messages from someone claiming to be on the flight and threatening to k
In common: Action · Mystery · Thriller
Cube
1998 · Vincenzo Natali
A group of strangers find themselves trapped in a maze-like prison. It soon becomes clear that each of them possesses the peculiar skills necessary to escape, if they don't wind up dead first.
In common: Mystery · Science Fiction · Thriller
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: Action · Science Fiction
The X-Files
1998 · Rob Bowman
Mulder and Scully, now taken off the FBI's X Files cases, must find a way to fight the shadowy elements of the government to find out the truth about a conspiracy that might mean the alien colonizatio
In common: Mystery · Science Fiction · Thriller
Universal Soldier
1992 · Roland Emmerich
An American soldier who had been killed during the Vietnam War is revived 25 years later by the military as a semi-android, UniSols, a high-tech soldier of the future. After the failure of the initiat
In common: Action · Science Fiction · Thriller
The Commuter
2018 · Jaume Collet-Serra
A businessman, on his daily commute home, gets unwittingly caught up in a criminal conspiracy that threatens not only his life but the lives of those around him.
In common: Action · Mystery · Thriller
Watchmen
2009 · Zack Snyder
In a gritty and alternate 1985, the glory days of costumed vigilantes have been brought to a close by a government crackdown. But after one of the masked veterans is brutally murdered, an investigatio
In common: Action · Mystery · Science Fiction
Limitless
2011 · Neil Burger
The life of an unsuccessful writer is transformed by a top-secret 'smart drug' that allows him to use 100% of his brain and become a perfect version of himself. His enhanced abilities soon attract sha
In common: Mystery · Science Fiction · Thriller
War Machine
2026 · Patrick Hughes
On one last grueling mission during Army Ranger training, a combat engineer must lead his unit in a fight against a giant otherworldly killing machine.
In common: Action · Science Fiction · Thriller
The Running Man
2025 · Edgar Wright
Desperate to save his sick daughter, working-class Ben Richards is convinced by The Running Man's charming but ruthless producer to enter the deadly competition game as a last resort. But Ben's defian
In common: Action · Science Fiction · Thriller
Godzilla
1998 · Roland Emmerich
French nuclear tests irradiate an iguana into a giant monster that viciously attacks freighter ships in the Pacific Ocean. A team of experts, including Niko Tatopoulos, conclude that the oversized rep
In common: Action · Science Fiction · Thriller
Boss Level
2021 · Joe Carnahan
A former special forces agent is trapped in a time loop and relives his death over and over again. To escape the terrible situation, he must track down those responsible and stop them.
In common: Action · Science Fiction · Thriller
Fire in the Sky
1993 · Rob Lieberman
After clearing brush for the government, a group of men return to town claiming their friend was abducted. Despite no apparent motive or evidence of foul play, no-one believes their story and his disa
In common: Mystery · Science Fiction
Pandorum
2009 · Christian Alvart
Two crew members wake up on an abandoned spacecraft with no idea who they are, how long they've been asleep, or what their mission is. The two soon discover they're actually not alone – and the realit
In common: Action · Mystery
The Flu
2013 · Kim Sung-soo
A case of the flu quickly morphs into a pandemic. As the death toll mounts and the living panic, the government plans extreme measures to contain it.
In common: Action · Science Fiction · Thriller
M3GAN 2.0
2025 · Gerard Johnstone
After the underlying tech for M3GAN is stolen and misused by a powerful defense contractor to create a military-grade weapon known as Amelia, M3GAN's creator Gemma realizes that the only option is to
In common: Action · Science Fiction · Thriller
Salt
2010 · Phillip Noyce
As a CIA officer, Evelyn Salt swore an oath to duty, honor, and country. Her loyalty will be tested when a Russian defector accuses her of being a Russian sleeper spy. She goes on the run, using all h
In common: Action · Mystery · Thriller
Greenland
2020 · Ric Roman Waugh
John Garrity, his estranged wife and their young son embark on a perilous journey to find sanctuary as a planet-killing comet hurtles toward Earth. Amid terrifying accounts of cities getting levelled,
In common: Action · Science Fiction
Independence Day
1996 · Roland Emmerich
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 incredi
In common: Action · Science Fiction
Battleship
2012 · Peter Berg
When mankind beams a radio signal into space, a reply comes from ‘Planet G’, in the form of several alien crafts that splash down in the waters off Hawaii. Lieutenant Alex Hopper is a weapons officer
In common: Action · Science Fiction
Popular 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
Avatar: The Last Airbender
2005 · Michael Dante DiMartino
In a war-torn world of elemental magic, a young boy reawakens to undertake a dangerous mystic quest to fulfill his destiny as the Avatar, and bring peace to the world.
