Best Movies like The Maze Runner (2014)

Cube, like The Maze Runner, traps a group of strangers within a shifting, artificial environment and challenges them to confront unpredictable dangers as they attempt to decipher its logic and escape, creating tension from their disorientation and focus on group dynamics in an unfamiliar, perilous setting.

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. Cube is a movie from Canada in English, with a total 1h 30m runtime, released in 1998 with an average rating of 6.8 by 5,314 people. The movie made an estimated total of $8,969,065 in the box office.

The Hunger Games shares with The Maze Runner a story focused on young characters placed in a rigged and hazardous environment where survival depends on teamwork, resourcefulness, and defiance of restrictive rules set by unseen authorities, inviting questions about control and resistance.

In a dystopian society where the Capitol forces each district to send two young tributes to fight to the death in a televised spectacle, a girl volunteers to take her sister’s place, setting the stage for a struggle of survival and defiance. The Hunger Games is a movie from United States of America in English, with a total 2h 22m runtime, released in 2012 with an average rating of 7.2 by 23,521 people. The movie made an estimated total of $694,000,000 in the box office.

Divergent explores a dystopian society that divides youth into distinct groups and forces them to adapt to strict social rules, echoing the Maze Runner's themes of memory loss, self-discovery, and rebelling against an oppressive system orchestrated by hidden powers.

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 mysterious Four must find out what makes Divergents dangerous before it's too late. Divergent is a movie from United States of America in English, with a total 2h 20m runtime, released in 2014 with an average rating of 6.9 by 13,605 people. The movie made an estimated total of $288,885,818 in the box office.

The Island features protagonists struggling to locate the truth about their confinement and escaping a constructed reality, aligning closely with The Maze Runner's narrative of uncovering hidden purposes and challenging boundaries enforced by those in control.

In 2019, Lincoln Six-Echo is a resident of a seemingly "Utopian" but contained facility. Like all of the inhabitants of this carefully-controlled environment, Lincoln hopes to be chosen to go to The Island — reportedly the last uncontaminated location on the planet. But Lincoln soon discovers that everything about his existence is a lie. The Island is a movie from United States of America in English, with a total 2h 16m runtime, released in 2005 with an average rating of 6.7 by 5,964 people. The movie made an estimated total of $162,949,164 in the box office.

Escape Room isolates characters inside a labyrinth of deadly puzzles and traps, compelling them to work together under life-and-death stakes, mirroring The Maze Runner's focus on escaping an artificial, ever-changing enclosure through problem-solving and teamwork.

Six strangers find themselves in circumstances beyond their control, and must use their wits to survive. Escape Room is a movie from United States of America in English, with a total 1h 39m runtime, released in 2019 with an average rating of 6.5 by 5,117 people. The movie made an estimated total of $155,712,077 in the box office.

Battle Royale follows a group of young people forced into a life-threatening competition within a cordoned area, paralleling The Maze Runner's central themes of survival, enforced participation, and intense interaction among youths under extreme conditions.

In the future, the Japanese government captures a class of ninth-grade students and forces them to kill each other under the revolutionary "Battle Royale" act. Battle Royale is a movie from Japan in Japanese, with a total 1h 53m runtime, released in 2000 with an average rating of 7.3 by 3,896 people. The movie made an estimated total of $30,600,000 in the box office.

The Platform and The Maze Runner both situate characters in vertically or systematically controlled, confined spaces where daily survival relies on adapting to the unpredictability of their environment and deciphering rules imposed by unseen forces.

A slab of food descends down a vertical facility. The residents above eat heartily, leaving those below starving and desperate. A rebellion is imminent. The Platform is a movie from Spain in Spanish, with a total 1h 35m runtime, released in 2019 with an average rating of 7.0 by 7,919 people. The movie made an estimated total of $1,090,116 in the box office.

Death Race engages characters in a controlled, high-stakes game inside a dangerous enclosure, with participants striving for survival and freedom, much like The Maze Runner's blend of entrapment, deadly obstacles, and the pursuit of escape.

Terminal Island, New York: 2020. Overcrowding in the US penal system has reached a breaking point. Prisons have been turned over to a monolithic Weyland Corporation, which sees jails full of thugs as an opportunity for televised sport. Adrenalized inmates, a global audience hungry for violence and a spectacular, enclosed arena come together to form the 'Death Race', the biggest, most brutal event. Death Race is a movie from United Kingdom in English, with a total 1h 45m runtime, released in 2008 with an average rating of 6.3 by 4,207 people. The movie made an estimated total of $76,000,000 in the box office.

Lord of the Flies centers on boys isolated from society who must organize their own community and confront the breakdown of group order, echoing themes of adolescent dynamics and societal structures present in The Maze Runner.

Following a plane crash a group of schoolboys find themselves on a deserted island. They appoint a leader and attempt to create an organized society for the sake of their survival. Democracy and order soon begin to crumble when a breakaway faction regresses to savagery with horrifying consequences. Lord of the Flies is a movie from United Kingdom in English, with a total 1h 32m runtime, released in 1963 with an average rating of 6.7 by 585 people.

The Belko Experiment explores the sudden imposition of violent rules upon ordinary people in a restricted setting, compelling group dynamics, alliances, and strategies to emerge, reflecting how The Maze Runner's characters must navigate new dangers within closed confines.

A group of eighty American workers are locked in their office and ordered by an unknown voice to participate in a twisted game. The Belko Experiment is a movie from United States of America in English, with a total 1h 29m runtime, released in 2017 with an average rating of 6.2 by 1,695 people. The movie made an estimated total of $11,792,942 in the box office.

The Signal presents young characters in a mysterious, controlled environment with their memories and perceptions challenged, which intersects with The Maze Runner's use of amnesia, group uncertainty, and the unraveling of their predicament.

On a road trip, Nic and two friends are drawn to an isolated area by a computer genius. When everything suddenly goes dark, Nic regains consciousness – only to find himself in a waking nightmare. The Signal is a movie from United States of America in English, with a total 1h 37m runtime, released in 2014 with an average rating of 6.0 by 1,877 people. The movie made an estimated total of $2,665,322 in the box office.

Timecrimes and The Maze Runner both involve characters confronted with puzzling, logic-driven predicaments where understanding the underlying structure of their environment is key to overcoming dangerous, shifting scenarios.

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 1,497 people. The movie made an estimated total of $553,198 in the box office.

In Circle, strangers awake in a confined environment, forced to make high-stakes decisions about survival, a scenario that mirrors the psychological tension and group dynamics found among the amnesiac youths of The Maze Runner.

In a massive, mysterious chamber, fifty strangers awaken to find themselves trapped with no memory of how they got there. Organized in an inward-facing circle and unable to move, they quickly learn that every two minutes, one of them must die…executed by a strange device in the center of the room. Circle is a movie from United States of America in English, with a total 1h 26m runtime, released in 2015 with an average rating of 6.0 by 2,152 people.

Ender's Game follows a young protagonist thrust into a strictly controlled, competitive setting and challenged to unravel its true nature through teamwork and leadership, paralleling the structure and character journey within The Maze Runner.

Based on the classic novel by Orson Scott Card, Ender's Game is the story of the Earth's most gifted children training to defend their homeplanet in the space wars of the future. Ender's Game is a movie from United States of America in English, with a total 1h 54m runtime, released in 2013 with an average rating of 6.6 by 6,345 people. The movie made an estimated total of $125,537,191 in the box office.

Chaos Walking places its young leads in an unfamiliar world with mysterious rules and secrets, evoking The Maze Runner's setup of youth confronting lost memories and discovering truths in a tightly managed, perilous environment.

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 heard by everyone. Chaos Walking is a movie from United States of America in English, with a total 1h 49m runtime, released in 2021 with an average rating of 6.5 by 2,642 people. The movie made an estimated total of $26,508,132 in the box office.

Snowpiercer confines its survivors within an artificial and segmented space where strict rules and class divisions dictate behavior, echoing The Maze Runner's focus on structured societies and protagonists seeking escape from physical and ideological barriers.

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 engine. Snowpiercer is a movie from South Korea in Korean, with a total 2h 7m runtime, released in 2013 with an average rating of 6.9 by 10,549 people. The movie made an estimated total of $86,758,912 in the box office.

The Giver features young people uncovering controlled truths about their artificial society, paralleling The Maze Runner in its focus on discovering hidden realities and challenging sanctioned authority through incremental revelations.

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. The Giver is a movie from United States of America in English, with a total 1h 37m runtime, released in 2014 with an average rating of 6.6 by 4,674 people. The movie made an estimated total of $66,980,456 in the box office.

Kin explores the journey of young characters encountering unknown threats within a mysterious environment, and like The Maze Runner, emphasizes themes of adaptation, discovery, and confronting dangers with limited understanding of one’s surroundings.

A young boy finds a powerful otherworldly weapon, which he uses to save his older adoptive brother from a crew of thugs. Before long, the two of them are also pursued by federal agents and mysterious mercenaries aiming to reclaim their asset. Kin is a movie from United States of America in English, with a total 1h 42m runtime, released in 2018 with an average rating of 6.1 by 890 people. The movie made an estimated total of $10,023,153 in the box office.

City of Ember situates its youthful protagonists within a purposefully designed, enclosed settlement on the verge of collapse, driving them to seek escape and answers about the outside world, much as the boys do in The Maze Runner.

For generations, the people of the City of Ember have flourished in an amazing world of glittering lights. But Ember's once powerful generator is failing and the great lamps that illuminate the city are starting to flicker. Now, two teenagers, in a race against time, must search Ember for clues that will unlock the ancient mystery of the city's existence, before the the lights go out forever. City of Ember is a movie from United States of America in English, with a total 1h 35m runtime, released in 2008 with an average rating of 6.4 by 1,926 people. The movie made an estimated total of $17,869,048 in the box office.

The Thinning, set in a restrictive society where youths face life-altering selection by rigid systems, shares The Maze Runner's motifs of adolescent agency, forced competition, and the drive to challenge unjust frameworks controlling their fate.

In a post-apocalyptic future where population control is dictated by a high-school aptitude test, two students discover the test is smoke and mirrors hiding a larger conspiracy. The Thinning is a movie from United States of America in English, with a total 1h 24m runtime, released in 2016 with an average rating of 6.6 by 382 people.

Level 16 features confined young women piecing together the reason for their institution-like setting and seeking liberation, echoing the themes of group confinement, strict rules, and gradual revelation found in The Maze Runner.

The teenage girls of Vestalis Academy are meticulously trained in the art of being “clean girls,” practicing the virtues of perfect femininity. But what exactly are they being trained for? Vivien intends to find out. Level 16 is a movie from Canada in English, with a total 1h 42m runtime, released in 2018 with an average rating of 6.7 by 744 people. The movie made an estimated total of $15,575 in the box office.

Alita: Battle Angel follows a protagonist who awakens with no memory and navigates a perilous world with concealed truths, reflecting The Maze Runner’s emphasis on amnesia, identity quests, and gradually unmasking hidden dangers.

When Alita awakens with no memory of who she is in a future world she does not recognize, she is taken in by Ido, a compassionate doctor who realizes that somewhere in this abandoned cyborg shell is the heart and soul of a young woman with an extraordinary past. Alita: Battle Angel is a movie from United States of America in English, with a total 2h 2m runtime, released in 2019 with an average rating of 7.3 by 10,229 people. The movie made an estimated total of $405,000,000 in the box office.

Ready Player One throws its young characters into an elaborate constructed environment governed by complex systems, drawing on themes of team formation, deciphering hidden rules, and competition also central to The Maze Runner's narrative.

When the creator of a popular video game system dies, a virtual contest is created to compete for his fortune. Ready Player One is a movie from United States of America in English, with a total 2h 20m runtime, released in 2018 with an average rating of 7.6 by 17,178 people. The movie made an estimated total of $607,274,134 in the box office.

In Time presents a future society with rigid social controls and life-or-death competition among younger people, sharing The Maze Runner’s themes of youth confronting harsh systemic inequality, escape, and self-determination within dystopian confines.

In the not-too-distant future, the aging gene has been switched off. To avoid overpopulation, time has become the currency and the way people pay for luxuries and necessities. The rich can live forever, while the rest struggle to negotiate for their immortality. A poor young man who suddenly comes into a fortune of time finds himself on the run from a corrupt police force known as the "time keepers". In Time is a movie from United States of America in English, with a total 1h 49m runtime, released in 2011 with an average rating of 7.0 by 12,292 people. The movie made an estimated total of $173,900,000 in the box office.

The 5th Wave, like The Maze Runner, thrusts teens into a world upended by external forces, testing their resourcefulness, trust, and survival instincts as they uncover mysteries behind their changed surroundings and struggle to survive.

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. The 5th Wave is a movie from United States of America in English, with a total 1h 52m runtime, released in 2016 with an average rating of 5.9 by 6,097 people. The movie made an estimated total of $109,906,372 in the box office.

I Am Number Four centers on a young protagonist with a mysterious background, urgently seeking safety and answers about his past, mirroring The Maze Runner's blend of memory loss, self-discovery, and navigating constant danger.

A teenage fugitive with an incredible secret races to stay one step ahead of the mysterious forces seeking destroy him. With three dead and one on the run, the race to find the elusive Number Four begins. Outwardly normal teen John Smith never gets too comfortable in the same identity, and along with his guardian, Henri, he is constantly moving from town to town. With each passing day, John gains a stronger grasp on his extraordinary new powers, and his bond to the beings that share his fantastic fate grows stronger. I Am Number Four is a movie from United States of America in English, with a total 1h 49m runtime, released in 2011 with an average rating of 6.2 by 5,071 people. The movie made an estimated total of $149,900,000 in the box office.

The Experiment confines participants under artificial rules, observing their psychological responses and evolving behavioral dynamics, similar to The Maze Runner’s depiction of a controlled society imposed upon a group’s natural instincts and alliances.

20 men are chosen to participate in the roles of guards and prisoners in a psychological study that ultimately spirals out of control. The Experiment is a movie from United States of America in English, with a total 1h 36m runtime, released in 2010 with an average rating of 6.4 by 1,339 people.

Equilibrium situates its protagonists in a future run by repressive authorities, demanding strict adherence to rules and resistance from its primary characters, aligning with The Maze Runner’s focus on rebellion against a functionally organized, yet oppressive, society.

In a dystopian future, a totalitarian regime maintains peace by subduing the populace with a drug, and displays of emotion are punishable by death. A man in charge of enforcing the law rises to overthrow the system. Equilibrium is a movie from United States of America in English, with a total 1h 47m runtime, released in 2002 with an average rating of 7.1 by 5,115 people. The movie made an estimated total of $5,400,000 in the box office.

The Host depicts a protagonist navigating an environment manipulated by overarching powers and confronting existential risks, which connect with The Maze Runner's core theme of discovering and resisting the systems that confine and endanger the young heroes.

A parasitic alien soul is injected into the body of Melanie Stryder. Instead of carrying out her race's mission of taking over the Earth, "Wanda" (as she comes to be called) forms a bond with her host and sets out to aid other free humans. The Host is a movie from United States of America in English, with a total 2h 6m runtime, released in 2013 with an average rating of 6.3 by 4,111 people. The movie made an estimated total of $63,300,000 in the box office.

The Condemned throws captives into a deadly contest orchestrated by unseen authorities, highlighting themes of forced participation, the brutality of engineered environments, and survival-driven alliances also explored in The Maze Runner’s story of boys trapped in a deadly maze.

Jack Conrad is awaiting the death penalty in a corrupt Central American prison. He is "purchased" by a wealthy television producer and taken to a desolate island where he must fight to the death against nine other condemned killers from all corners of the world, with freedom going to the sole survivor. The Condemned is a movie from United States of America in English, with a total 1h 54m runtime, released in 2007 with an average rating of 6.1 by 894 people. The movie made an estimated total of $8,600,000 in the box office.

Rupture, with its protagonist held captive and forced to endure unpredictable, hazardous trials, resonates with The Maze Runner's focus on escaping an environment where physical and psychological stress tests reveal concealed motives.

A single mom tries to break free from a mysterious organization that has abducted her. Rupture is a movie from Canada in English, with a total 1h 42m runtime, released in 2016 with an average rating of 4.9 by 293 people.

They Remain explores the unsettling effects of isolation in an unfamiliar, controlled setting, drawing parallels to The Maze Runner’s mysterious enclosure and the gradual discovery of hidden purposes governing the characters’ existence.

Two scientists investigate the root of environmental changes and strange animal behavior at a remote site where a cult committed atrocities. The isolated location, the unraveling of their relationship, and the biome itself begin to lead them down a path of doom where primeval forces threaten to consume them. An adaptation of Laird Barron's short story "–30–". They Remain is a movie from United States of America in English, with a total 1h 42m runtime, released in 2018 with an average rating of 4.6 by 36 people.