
Movies that feel likeArrival (2016)
If you loved Arrival, the closest films we have are Dune: Part Two (2024), Solaris (1972) and Contact (1997). All three share Arrival's cerebral feel, which is what we rank on before quality.
Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Marjorie Prime (2017).
Can't choose? Answer three questions and get one movie for tonight.
If Arrival hit the spot, these will too

Villeneuve's visions of destiny seen before it arrives
The difference: Mythic war epic; prophecy weaponized

Alien contact as a mirror for memory, grief and love
The difference: Tarkovsky's glacial pace — nearly three slow, searching hours

First contact as a question about faith, grief, and meaning
The difference: Radio signals and public spectacle over intimate linguistics

Common ground: spacecraft
The difference: Trades the twists of Arrival for an angle of its own

Both land stillness and ideas at once
The difference: Takes it somewhere less awestruck than Arrival does

Sleek sci-fi where a twist reframes everything you watched
The difference: Action-forward gloss — feeling runs shallower than the visuals

First contact where understanding the visitor is humanity's test
The difference: A dull remake — effects-driven, 21% on RT

Both are built on the same subject: spacecraft
The difference: The scrappier of the two with critics

Twisty where it counts, awestruck underneath
The difference: Sits closer to adventure than Arrival does

Drama with a pulse of stillness, in both cases
The difference: Leans harder into action than Arrival does

Cerebral science fiction, and it commits to that

Awestruck mystery in both cases
In the mood for more contemplative?
all contemplative movies →The best-reviewed films that share Arrival’s defining feeling.









