Best Movies like Arrival (2016)

Contact explores the challenges and philosophical questions arising from humanity’s first contact with an extraterrestrial intelligence, focusing on a woman's perspective as she deciphers alien communication, paralleling Arrival’s thematic and narrative approach centered on decoding, interpretation, and the personal impact of encounters with the unknown.

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 difficult decisions between her beliefs, the truth, and reality. Contact is a movie from United States of America in English, with a total 2h 30m runtime, released in 1997 with an average rating of 7.4 by 5,091 people. The movie made an estimated total of $171,120,329 in the box office.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind shares Arrival’s central plot element of alien spacecrafts landing around Earth, prompting worldwide efforts to communicate and interpret the intentions of the visitors, entwining scientific process, mystery, and human responses to the prospect of extraterrestrial life.

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. Close Encounters of the Third Kind is a movie from United States of America in English, with a total 2h 17m runtime, released in 1977 with an average rating of 7.4 by 4,764 people. The movie made an estimated total of $306,889,114 in the box office.

Annihilation, like Arrival, places a female protagonist at the center of a mysterious, otherworldly incursion. Both films blend science fiction with drama as their characters enter alien zones, confronting existential questions and the unknown, and unpacking the consequences of encounters beyond human understanding.

A biologist signs up for a dangerous, secret expedition into a mysterious zone where the laws of nature don't apply. Annihilation is a movie from United States of America in English, with a total 1h 55m runtime, released in 2018 with an average rating of 6.4 by 9,489 people. The movie made an estimated total of $43,070,915 in the box office.

Interstellar weaves drama and science fiction in a story where the protagonist’s journey is driven by exploration, complex communication across dimensions, and the use of intellect under high-stakes conditions, mirroring the cerebral, emotionally layered approach seen in Arrival.

The adventures of a group of explorers who make use of a newly discovered wormhole to surpass the limitations on human space travel and conquer the vast distances involved in an interstellar voyage. Interstellar is a movie from United States of America in English, with a total 2h 49m runtime, released in 2014 with an average rating of 8.5 by 40,623 people. The movie made an estimated total of $746,606,706 in the box office.

The Arrival deals with the sudden appearance of alien beings on Earth and the ensuing efforts to understand their purpose—mirroring the premise of Arrival, where characters face the ambiguity and challenge of interpreting extraterrestrial motives under global scrutiny.

Zane Ziminski is an astrophysicist who receives a message that seems to have extraterrestrial origins. Eerily soon after his discovery, Zane is fired. He then embarks on a search to determine the origins of the transmission that leads him into a Hitchcockian labyrinth of paranoia and intrigue. The Arrival is a movie from Mexico in English, with a total 1h 55m runtime, released in 1996 with an average rating of 6.0 by 860 people. The movie made an estimated total of $14,063,331 in the box office.

Stalker employs a mysterious, forbidden location as the site of an ambiguous encounter with the unknown, much like Arrival situates its drama within extraordinary, unexplained occurrences, combining science fiction with meditative exploration of human and metaphysical puzzles.

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, specifically to an area in which deep-seated desires are granted. Stalker is a movie from Soviet Union in Russian, with a total 2h 42m runtime, released in 1979 with an average rating of 8.1 by 2,545 people.

Solaris and Arrival both intertwine science fiction with drama and mystery, focusing on protagonists facing cryptic phenomena that challenge their perception and communication skills, ultimately provoking introspection about human consciousness and the boundaries of understanding.

A psychologist is sent to a space station orbiting a planet called Solaris to investigate the death of a doctor and the mental problems of cosmonauts on the station. He soon discovers that the water on the planet is a type of brain which brings out repressed memories and obsessions. Solaris is a movie from Soviet Union in Russian, with a total 2h 47m runtime, released in 1972 with an average rating of 7.8 by 1,868 people.

Midnight Special centers on a government-led search involving mysterious phenomena and a child with extraordinary abilities, paralleling Arrival’s theme of pursuing answers to inexplicable events and government involvement in decoding forces that defy conventional explanation.

A father and son go on the run after the dad learns his child possesses special powers. Midnight Special is a movie from United States of America in English, with a total 1h 52m runtime, released in 2016 with an average rating of 6.3 by 2,075 people. The movie made an estimated total of $7,112,282 in the box office.

Ad Astra, much like Arrival, features a personal, introspective journey set against a backdrop of science fiction and cosmic events. Both films examine the psychological ramifications of encounters with the unknown and the search for meaning beyond the confines of Earth.

The near future, a time when both hope and hardships drive humanity to look to the stars and beyond. While a mysterious phenomenon menaces to destroy life on planet Earth, astronaut Roy McBride undertakes a mission across the immensity of space and its many perils to uncover the truth about a lost expedition that decades before boldly faced emptiness and silence in search of the unknown. Ad Astra is a movie from United States of America in English, with a total 2h 3m runtime, released in 2019 with an average rating of 6.1 by 7,320 people. The movie made an estimated total of $127,461,872 in the box office.

The Man Who Fell to Earth explores the arrival of an extraterrestrial being whose presence prompts questions about human nature and motives, intersecting with Arrival’s focus on first contact and the profound societal and personal impact of meeting alien life.

Thomas Jerome Newton is an alien who has come to Earth in search of water to save his home planet. Aided by lawyer Oliver Farnsworth, Thomas uses his knowledge of advanced technology to create profitable inventions. While developing a method to transport water, Thomas meets Mary-Lou, a quiet hotel clerk, and begins to fall in love with her. Just as he is ready to leave Earth, Thomas is intercepted by the U.S. government, and his entire plan is threatened. The Man Who Fell to Earth is a movie from United Kingdom in English, with a total 2h 19m runtime, released in 1976 with an average rating of 6.5 by 611 people.

The Day the Earth Stood Still presents the sudden landing of an alien craft, global tensions regarding extraterrestrial intentions, and attempts at communication, all mirroring the main conflict and structural foundation of Arrival’s narrative.

An alien and a robot land on Earth after World War II and tell mankind to be peaceful or face destruction. The Day the Earth Stood Still is a movie from United States of America in English, with a total 1h 32m runtime, released in 1951 with an average rating of 7.5 by 1,266 people. The movie made an estimated total of $1,850,000 in the box office.

Predestination and Arrival share a cerebral approach to science fiction storytelling, with mysteries that unfold through complex, puzzle-like narratives and central protagonists who must interpret confusing or paradoxical scenarios to uncover deeper truths.

Predestination chronicles the life of a Temporal Agent sent on an intricate series of time-travel journeys designed to prevent future killers from committing their crimes. Now, on his final assignment, the Agent must stop the one criminal that has eluded him throughout time and prevent a devastating attack in which thousands of lives will be lost. Predestination is a movie from Australia in English, with a total 1h 38m runtime, released in 2014 with an average rating of 7.4 by 7,205 people. The movie made an estimated total of $4,942,449 in the box office.

Coherence employs a mysterious cosmic event to thrust ordinary people into extraordinary circumstances, echoing Arrival’s blend of science fiction and mystery where reality bends and characters grapple with the unforeseen consequences of a singular, unexplainable phenomenon.

Four couples gather for dinner the night a mysterious and powerful comet passes overhead. Coherence is a movie from United States of America in English, with a total 1h 29m runtime, released in 2014 with an average rating of 7.2 by 3,515 people. The movie made an estimated total of $139,745 in the box office.

The Fountain shares Arrival’s blend of drama and science fiction as it examines existential questions, cyclical narratives, and personal journeys through time and memory, using the speculative framework of the genre to explore emotional and philosophical themes.

Spanning over one thousand years, and three parallel stories, The Fountain is a story of love, death, spirituality, and the fragility of our existence in this world. The Fountain is a movie from United States of America in English, with a total 1h 36m runtime, released in 2006 with an average rating of 6.9 by 3,155 people. The movie made an estimated total of $15,304,890 in the box office.

Sphere features a team assembled to investigate an enigmatic extraterrestrial object, echoing Arrival’s premise of experts brought together to make sense of an alien presence and the subsequent psychological and philosophical puzzles they face.

A spacecraft is discovered at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, presumed to be at least 300 years old and of alien origin. A crack team of scientists and experts is assembled and taken to the ocean floor to investigate. However, the ship is not as it seems and when a giant perfect sphere is discovered in the cargo bay, things begin to fall apart. Sphere is a movie from United States of America in English, with a total 2h 14m runtime, released in 1998 with an average rating of 6.1 by 1,863 people. The movie made an estimated total of $37,020,277 in the box office.

Europa Report, like Arrival, follows a team of specialists on a scientific mission to decipher potential signs of alien life, combining procedural investigation with the uncertainty and wonder of encountering something truly otherworldly.

A crew travels to Europa, Jupiter’s icy moon, to investigate signs of life in its subsurface ocean, but disaster cuts them off from Earth, leading to a tense and dangerous exploration. Europa Report is a movie from United States of America in English, with a total 1h 30m runtime, released in 2013 with an average rating of 6.3 by 1,572 people. The movie made an estimated total of $125,687 in the box office.

Under the Skin and Arrival both center on interactions between humans and mysterious aliens, focusing on efforts to interpret incomprehensible behavior and intentions, with each film using its central non-human presence to interrogate ideas about language and understanding.

Man and Woman are reunited after a long time. Sorrow and desire cannot break the silence. But that's okay: when words don't come, it's the body that speaks. Under the Skin is a movie from Brazil in Portuguese, with a total 19m runtime, released in 2013 with an average rating of 6.2 by 19 people.

Another Earth examines the emotional and existential reverberations of a cosmic event—specifically, the appearance of a duplicate Earth—mirroring Arrival’s preoccupation with how an extraordinary occurrence reframes personal lives and global perspectives.

On the night a duplicate Earth is discovered in the solar system, the lives of a young woman and an accomplished composer become tragically connected after a fatal accident. Another Earth is a movie from United States of America in English, with a total 1h 32m runtime, released in 2011 with an average rating of 6.7 by 1,838 people. The movie made an estimated total of $1,938,783 in the box office.

I Origins and Arrival both draw on science fiction to investigate questions of perception, meaning, and communication, centering on protagonists driven to decode mysteries that fundamentally challenge their understanding of reality.

A molecular biologist's study of the human eye has far-reaching implications about humanity's scientific and spiritual beliefs. I Origins is a movie from United States of America in English, with a total 1h 46m runtime, released in 2014 with an average rating of 7.6 by 3,500 people. The movie made an estimated total of $481,234 in the box office.

The Vast of Night features characters stumbling onto evidence of extraterrestrials in a small town setting, employing intense focus on investigation and attempts at communication that parallel the central conflict and tone of Arrival.

At the dawn of the space-race, two radio-obsessed teens discover a strange frequency over the airwaves in what becomes the most important night of their lives and in the history of their small town. The Vast of Night is a movie from United States of America in English, with a total 1h 31m runtime, released in 2019 with an average rating of 6.5 by 1,200 people.

The Andromeda Strain, like Arrival, involves government experts racing to understand a mysterious, potentially threatening extraterrestrial presence, with much of the tension revolving around scientific analysis and unraveling alien mysteries to protect humanity.

When virtually all of the residents of Piedmont, New Mexico are found dead after the return to Earth of a space satellite, the head of the US Air Force's Project Scoop declares an emergency. A group of eminent scientists led by Dr. Jeremy Stone scrambles to a secure laboratory and tries first to isolate the life form while determining why two people from Piedmont - an old alcoholic and a six-month-old baby - survived. The scientists methodically study the alien life form, unaware that it has already mutated and presents a far greater danger in the lab, which is equipped with a nuclear self-destruct device designed to prevent the escape of dangerous biological agents. The Andromeda Strain is a movie from United States of America in English, with a total 2h 11m runtime, released in 1971 with an average rating of 7.1 by 818 people. The movie made an estimated total of $12,376,563 in the box office.

The Arrival of Wang presents a scenario where a specialist is recruited to communicate with a hidden alien, directly echoing the central narrative mechanic of Arrival, with both films relying on interpretation, translation, and the ambiguity of alien contact.

Chinese-language interpreter Gaia is called up out of the blue by the Italian authorities with an urgent and confidential translation assignment. She is whisked away to a secret underground location and ushered into a pitch-black room where she is asked to interpret the harsh interrogation of a mysterious presence, the eponymous Mr. Wang. The Arrival of Wang is a movie from Italy in Italian, with a total 1h 20m runtime, released in 2011 with an average rating of 5.7 by 42 people.

Z for Zachariah incorporates dramatic survival elements and the dynamics of post-catastrophe communication, resonating with Arrival’s blend of drama and speculative fiction focused on the nuanced impact of extraordinary, world-changing events.

In the wake of a nuclear war, a young woman survives on her own, fearing she may actually be the proverbial last woman on earth, until she discovers the most astonishing sight of her life: another human being. A distraught scientist, he’s nearly been driven mad by radiation exposure and his desperate search for others. A fragile, imperative strand of trust connects them. But when a stranger enters the valley, their precarious bond begins to unravel. Z for Zachariah is a movie from Iceland in English, with a total 1h 37m runtime, released in 2015 with an average rating of 5.7 by 1,012 people. The movie made an estimated total of $121,461 in the box office.

Enemy features a mysterious, puzzle-like structure with a protagonist unraveling an enigmatic situation, akin to Arrival’s approach to presenting its central mystery through unfolding revelations, psychological complexity, and intellectual investigation.

A mild-mannered college professor discovers a look-alike actor and delves into the other man's private affairs. Enemy is a movie from Canada in English, with a total 1h 31m runtime, released in 2014 with an average rating of 6.8 by 6,523 people. The movie made an estimated total of $3,396,726 in the box office.

A.I. Artificial Intelligence and Arrival share a foundation in science fiction and drama, exploring the boundaries between human understanding and the unknown, with central characters whose personal journeys are shaped by encounters with non-human intelligence.

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 circumstances make this life impossible for David. A.I. Artificial Intelligence is a movie from United States of America in English, with a total 2h 26m runtime, released in 2001 with an average rating of 7.1 by 6,763 people. The movie made an estimated total of $235,926,552 in the box office.

Timecrimes and Arrival both construct intricate stories around reality-altering events and protagonists whose actions must adapt to surprising, inexplicable phenomena, relying on twists and logical challenges characteristic of cerebral science fiction narratives.

A man accidentally gets into a time machine and travels back in time nearly an hour. Finding himself will be the first of a series of disasters of unforeseeable consequences. Timecrimes is a movie from Spain in Spanish, with a total 1h 32m runtime, released in 2007 with an average rating of 7.0 by 1,496 people. The movie made an estimated total of $553,198 in the box office.

Dreams weaves together multiple vignettes confronting metaphysical questions, complementing Arrival’s introspective storytelling and its meditation on human experience through surreal or speculative means.

Eight visually rich vignettes drawn from Kurosawa’s own dreams—fox weddings and vanished orchards, a soldier’s ghosts, a walk through Van Gogh’s canvases, nuclear nightmares, and a water-mill utopia—meditate on childhood, art, mortality, and humanity’s uneasy bond with nature. Dreams is a movie from Japan in Japanese, with a total 1h 59m runtime, released in 1990 with an average rating of 7.7 by 570 people. The movie made an estimated total of $2,970,161 in the box office.

Stranger Than Fiction explores themes of fate, structure, and the boundaries of narrative reality, intersecting with Arrival’s interest in how individuals navigate the unpredictability of extraordinary events that demand new forms of understanding.

Harold Crick is a lonely IRS agent whose mundane existence is transformed when he hears a mysterious voice narrating his life. Stranger Than Fiction is a movie from United States of America in English, with a total 1h 53m runtime, released in 2006 with an average rating of 7.3 by 2,587 people. The movie made an estimated total of $53,653,224 in the box office.