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Summer Wars poster

Movies that feel likeSummer Wars (2009)

Teenage math whiz Kenji Koiso agrees to take a summer job at the Nagano hometown of his crush, Natsuki. When he arrives, he finds that her family have reunited to celebrate the 90th birthday of their matriarch. His job: pretend to be Natsuki's fiancé. Meanwhile, his attempt to solve a mathematical equation causes a parallel world's collision with Earth.

If you loved Summer Wars, the closest films we have are Prospect (2018), The Congress (2013) and LFO (2013). All three share Summer Wars' cerebral feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Krrish (2006).

🍅 81% Rotten Tomatoes★ 7.4 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Mamoru Hosodacerebral
7 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · HBO Max · Amazon Prime Video

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If Summer Wars hit the spot, these will too

Prospect poster
Prospect
2018 · dir. Zeek Earl
🍅 89%★ 6.3science fictionHulu

Both lean on ideas more than on science fiction

A teenage girl and her father travel to a remote alien moon, aiming to strike it rich. They've secured a contract to harvest a large deposit of the elusive gems hidden in the depths of the moon's toxic forest. But there are others roving the wilderness and the job quickly devolves into a fight to survive.

The Congress poster
The Congress
2013 · dir. Ari Folman
🍅 71%★ 6.4drama · science fiction · animationRent or buy

Animation built on ideas, twice over

The difference: Leans harder into drama than Summer Wars does

An aging, out-of-work actress accepts one last job, though the consequences of her decision affect her in ways she didn't consider.

LFO poster
LFO
2013 · dir. Antonio Tublén
🍅 100%★ 6.6drama · science fiction

Science fiction with a pulse of ideas, in both cases

LFO is a dark comedy/drama/Sci-Fi about a man who realizes that he can hypnotise with sound. He starts experimenting on his neighbors, where the abuse of power takes over and, eventually, severe consequences for mankind are at stake.

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time poster
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time
2006 · dir. Mamoru Hosoda
🍅 87%★ 7.6fantasy · animation · dramaMax

Both are Mamoru Hosoda's work, and they rhyme

When 17-year-old Makoto Konno gains the ability to 'leap' backwards through time, she immediately sets about improving her grades and preventing personal mishaps. However, she soon realises that changing the past isn't as simple as it seems, and eventually, will have to rely on her new powers to shape the future of herself and her friends.

Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods poster
Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods
2013 · dir. Masahiro Hosoda
🍅 89%★ 7.1animation · action · science fictionNetflixHulu

Both keep coming back to the same thing: anime

After the defeat of Majin Buu, a powerful God of Destruction known as Beerus searches for the Saiyan warrior who defeated Frieza. Realizing the threat Beerus poses to Earth, the Z-fighters must stop him. Only Goku, humanity’s last hope, can ascend to the level of a legendary Super Saiyan God and save the planet, and possibly the entire universe!

Another Earth poster
Another Earth
2011 · dir. Mike Cahill
🍅 66%★ 6.9drama · science fiction

Science fiction in the same key

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.

Return
2008 · dir. Anna Błaszczyk
★ 6.7animation · science fiction

Both know what they want from animation

Polish animator Anna Błaszczyk’s humorous short—a collage of drawing, cut-out, and computer animation—was inspired by Stanisław Lem’s 1961 novel Return from the Stars, a time-paradox tale of an astronaut who returns to Earth after many years away.

Little Joe poster
Little Joe
2019 · dir. Jessica Hausner
🍅 66%★ 5.8drama · science fiction

Science fiction of the same temperament

Alice, a single mother who is more dedicated to her work as a genetic engineer than to her teenage son Joe, develops a new variety of flower that is supposed to have the ability to make its owner happy thanks to its special chemical properties.

The Man from Earth poster
The Man from Earth
2007 · dir. Richard Schenkman
🍅 100%★ 7.8science fiction · dramaPrime Video

Both working the same science fiction territory

A departing professor gathers his closest colleagues for an intimate farewell, but the night takes an unexpected turn when he shares a stunning secret about his past. As the conversation unfolds, skepticism and curiosity collide, challenging everything they thought they knew about history, science, and belief.

Brainstorm poster
Brainstorm
1983 · dir. Douglas Trumbull
🍅 57%★ 6.4science fiction · thriller

Common ground: virtual reality

The difference: 26 years apart, and the 1980s show

Two brilliant research scientists have invented a device capable of recording and playing back sensory experiences only to have devastating results when one of them records their own death.

Krrish poster
Krrish
2006 · dir. Rakesh Roshan
🍅 88%★ 6.5action · science fiction

The science fiction is handled with the same confidence

In Singapore, Krishna is forced by circumstances to use his superpowers and become a masked superhero named Krrish, before getting drawn towards his lost legacy.

I Origins poster
I Origins
2014 · dir. Mike Cahill
🍅 51%★ 7.3science fiction · drama

Both play science fiction straight

The difference: The critics' underdog of the pair

A molecular biologist's study of the human eye has far-reaching implications about humanity's scientific and spiritual beliefs.

In the mood for more cerebral?

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The best-reviewed films that share Summer Wars’ defining feeling.