Movies Like The Day the Earth Stopped

If you liked The Day the Earth Stopped (2008), a action and adventure movie directed by C. Thomas Howell, here are 20 movies with a similar feel, based on TMDB's recommendations. Each one links to its cast, trailer and where it's streaming.

1
Abduction (2019)
★ 6.1/10Also science fiction and thriller
A man steps out of a park fountain in Ho Chi Minh City with no recollection of who he is or where he came from. As he wanders through the city, piecing together clues to his past, he is relentlessly pursued by…
2
Monsters of Man (2020)
★ 6.4/10Also science fiction and action
A robotics company vying to win a lucrative military contract team up with a corrupt CIA agent to conduct an illegal live field test. They deploy four weaponized prototype robots into a suspected drug manufacturing…
3
Extinction (2018)
★ 6.1/10Also action and science fiction
A chief mechanic at a factory, haunted by apocalyptic nightmares, becomes a hero when Earth is invaded by a mysterious army bent on destruction.
4
Code 8 Part II (2024)
★ 6.4/10Also science fiction and action
In a world where superpowered people are heavily policed by robots, an ex-con teams up with a drug lord he despises to protect a teen from a corrupt cop.
5
Osiris (2025)
★ 6.2/10Also science fiction and action
Special Forces commandos on a mission are abducted mid-operation by a mysterious spacecraft. Upon waking aboard, they find themselves prey to a relentless alien race in a fight for survival.
6
Slash/Back (2022)
★ 6.4/10Also science fiction and action
In a remote Arctic community, a group of Inuit girls fight off an alien invasion, all while trying to make it to the coolest party in town.
7
Real Men (1987)
★ 6/10Also science fiction and action
A womanizing CIA agent and an insecure insurance agent are paired together to make sure a deal goes through with aliens for the future of mankind.
8
Infestation (2009)
★ 5.8/10Also action and science fiction
After being stung by a giant insect, Cooper learns that these bugs are attacking the whole city. He joins forces with the survivors, in order to find a way to counter-attack.
9
Afterburn (2025)
★ 6.2/10Also action and science fiction
Set against the backdrop of a postapocalyptic Earth whose Eastern Hemisphere was destroyed by a massive solar flare, leaving what life remains mutated from radiation and fallout. The story revolves around a group of…
10
Death Machine (1995)
★ 5.8/10Also action and science fiction
Chaank Armaments is experimenting with the ultimate fighting machine which is part human - part machine. So far, the Hardman project has been unreliable and has killed a number of innocent people. The genius behind…
11
Containment (2015)
★ 5.9/10Also thriller and science fiction
Neighbors in a block wake one morning to find they have been sealed inside their apartments. Can they work together to find out why? Or will they destroy each other in their fight to escape?
12
Monster Hunters (2020)
★ 6.2/10Also science fiction and action
When an alien prison ship crash lands and unleashes creature after creature in the California desert, they make quick work of the army that tries to stop them. Now, the only hope of stopping the aliens rests with a…
13
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003)
★ 6.2/10Also action and thriller
It's been 10 years since John Connor saved Earth from Judgment Day, and he's now living under the radar, steering clear of using anything Skynet can trace. That is, until he encounters T-X, a robotic assassin ordered…
14
Die Alone (2024)
★ 6.5/10Also thriller and science fiction
Lost in a world reclaimed by nature and overrun by mysterious creatures, Ethan, a young man with amnesia navigates the dangerous landscape in search of his lost love Emma. His journey takes an unexpected turn when he…
15
Universal Soldier: The Return (1999)
★ 5.9/10Also action and science fiction
Luc Deveraux, the heroic former Universal Soldier, is about to be thrown into action once again. When SETH, the supercomputer-controlled ultra-warrior, decides to take revenge and destroy its creators, only Luc can…
16
Timescape (1992)
★ 6.4/10Also science fiction and adventure
Before they can complete renovations on their new country inn, a widowed father and his young daughter are visited by a strange group of tourists. He soon makes a chilling discovery: they are disaster junkies from the…
17
Predator (1987)
★ 7.6/10Also science fiction and action
A team of elite commandos on a secret mission in a Central American jungle come to find themselves hunted by an extraterrestrial warrior.
18
Terminator Salvation (2009)
★ 6.1/10Also action and science fiction
All grown up in post-apocalyptic 2018, John Connor must lead the resistance of humans against the increasingly dominating militaristic robots. But when Marcus Wright appears, his existence confuses the mission as…
19
The Chronicles of Riddick (2004)
★ 6.6/10Also action and science fiction
After years of outrunning ruthless bounty hunters, escaped convict Riddick suddenly finds himself caught between opposing forces in a fight for the future of the human race. Now, waging incredible battles on fantastic…
20
Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay (2018)
★ 7.1/10Also science fiction and action
Amanda Waller's top-secret "Task Force X" — consisting of Deadshot, Bronze Tiger, Killer Frost, Captain Boomerang, Harley Quinn, and Copperhead — is on a mission to retrieve a mystical object so powerful that they're…