Movies Like Carl Sagan: A Cosmic Celebrity

If you liked Carl Sagan: A Cosmic Celebrity (1997), a movie directed by Bill Harris, 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
Phenomenon (1996)
★ 6.5/10
An ordinary man sees a bright light descend from the sky, and discovers he now has super-intelligence and telekinesis.
2
Tenzing (2026)
★ 8.3/10
A determined man embarks on a high-stakes quest—and defies seemingly impossible odds—to fulfill his dream of being the first to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
3
The Dog Stars (2026)
★ 7/10
After the world's population has been ravaged by a pandemic, a man lives a lonesome existence in a Colorado airplane hangar with his dog and a dour gunman he has befriended. When a mysterious transmission comes through…
4
Jobs (2013)
★ 6.1/10
The story of Steve Jobs' ascension from college dropout into one of the most revered creative entrepreneurs of the 20th century.
5
James Dean (2001)
★ 6.8/10
The man behind the legend and a knowing look at 1950s Hollywood are revealed in this dynamic biopic of the meteoric star whose troubled life echoed his gut-grabbing performances in East of Eden, Rebel Without a Cause…
6
Contact (1997)
★ 7.5/10
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…
7
Limitless (2011)
★ 7.2/10
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 shadowy forces that…
8
STILL: A Michael J. Fox Movie (2023)
★ 7.8/10
A short kid from a Canadian army base becomes the international pop culture darling of the 1980s—only to find the course of his life altered by a stunning diagnosis. What happens when an incurable optimist confronts an…
9
The Theory of Everything (2014)
★ 7.8/10
Once a healthy, active young man, Hawking received an earth-shattering diagnosis at 21 years of age. With Jane fighting tirelessly by his side, Stephen embarks on his most ambitious scientific work, studying the very…
10
Knowing (2009)
★ 6.3/10
A teacher opens a time capsule that has been dug up at his son's elementary school; in it are some chilling predictions -- some that have already occurred and others that are about to -- that lead him to believe his…
11
Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll (2010)
★ 6.2/10
A biography of Ian Dury, who was stricken with polio at a young age and defied expectations by becoming one of the founders of the punk-rock scene in Britain in the 1970s.
12
Sweet and Lowdown (1999)
★ 6.8/10
In the 1930s, jazz guitarist Emmet Ray idolizes Django Reinhardt, faces gangsters and falls in love with a mute woman.
13
Dreamscape (1984)
★ 6.1/10
In order to diagnose the psychic traumas suffered by his patients, Dr. Paul Novotny gets young Alex Gardner to enter their dreams.
14
Evolution (2001)
★ 6.1/10
A comedy that follows the chaos that ensues when a meteor hits the Earth carrying alien life forms that give new meaning to the term "survival of the fittest." David Duchovny, Orlando Jones, Seann William Scott, and…
15
The Jacket (2005)
★ 6.9/10
A military veteran goes on a journey into the future, where he can foresee his death and is left with questions that could save his life and those he loves.
16
Indecent Proposal (1993)
★ 6.4/10
John Gage offers a down-on-his-luck yuppie husband $1 million for the opportunity to spend the night with the man's wife.
17
The Shape of Water (2017)
★ 7.2/10
An other-worldly story, set against the backdrop of Cold War era America circa 1962, where a mute janitor working at a lab falls in love with an amphibious man being held captive there and devises a plan to help him…
18
Hidden Figures (2016)
★ 8.1/10
The untold story of Katherine G. Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson – brilliant African-American women working at NASA and serving as the brains behind one of the greatest operations in history – the launch of…
19
Einstein and Eddington (2008)
★ 6.8/10
Brilliant physicist Albert Einstein, and English scientist Arthur Eddington form an unlikely friendship during World War I, which leads to the creation of the relativity theory.
20
The Life of Chuck (2025)
★ 7.3/10
In this extraordinary story of an ordinary man, Charles 'Chuck' Krantz experiences the wonder of love, the heartbreak of loss, and the multitudes contained in all of us.