Movies Like Don't Look Up (Top Picks At A Glance)
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As a biting satire of modern society and a commentary on the urgency of addressing global issues, Don’t Look Up has garnered significant attention since its release.
While it wasn’t the most incredible movie in the world, it was fun to watch and luckily there are a few other movies that share similarities in terms of tone, theme, or style that do it better. So without further ado let’s get into our list of the best movies like Don’t Look Up.
1. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
Dr. Strangelove Movie Description
An American Air Force General named Jack Ripper goes completely insane and orders his bomber wing to attack the U.S.S.R., believing that they are secretly plotting to pollute the “precious bodily fluids” of Americans.
2. I Care a Lot
I Care A Lot Movie Description
A seemingly well-meaning legal guardian arrives in town with intentions to take advantage of her newly found ward, and she quickly finds herself in hot water.
The woman she is trying to bilk has powerful connections to a notorious gangster and she soon realizes she made a grave mistake.
3. The Big Short
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The Big Short Movie Description
With a keen eye for business, Wall Street investor Michael Burry sees an opportunity in the subprime mortgage market that others have overlooked. Despite warnings from his investors and colleagues, he invests heavily in credit default swaps, betting against the housing market by throwing more than $1 billion of his client’s money into the risky venture.
His actions set off a chain reaction that catches the attention of other investors and Wall Street bankers, including Jared Vennett (Ryan Gosling) and hedge-fund specialist Mark Baum (Steve Carell).
4. Idiocracy
Idiocracy Movie Description
Joe Bowers (Luke Wilson), an average Joe in every sense, is selected to take part in a top-secret military experiment in 2005.
Along with his female counterpart, Rita (Maya Rudolph), the two are placed into hibernation for a year. However, when the base they were stored on is shut down, they’re left in stasis until 2505.
5. The Day After Tomorrow
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The Day After Tomorrow Movie Description
Jack Hall (Dennis Quaid), a renowned climatologist, has warned the United Nations of a looming environmental crisis. However, his warnings are ignored, and soon after, a massive superstorm ravages the world with catastrophic natural disasters.
Desperate to reach his son Sam (Jake Gyllenhaal) in New York, Jack embarks on a dangerous journey from Philadelphia across treacherous terrain. Along the way, he is joined by a brave crew of survivors, and together they must push forward through raging snowstorms, hurricanes, and floods in order to save Sam before it’s too late.
6. 2012
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2012 Movie Description
As the planet crumbles around them, billions of people are forced to face the harsh realization that their world has an expiration date. With the looming warning from an American scientist, global leaders scramble in secret to ensure the survival of select members of society as chaos ensues.
Meanwhile, Jackson Curtis (John Cusack), a failed writer, is forced to take matters into his own hands when he finds himself in the midst of global chaos.
7. Greenland
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Greenland Movie Description
John and his family are in a race against time as a destructive comet hurtles toward Earth. With cities around the world being leveled, the Garrity’s bravely set off on an uncertain journey to find sanctuary.
Along the way, they witness both the worst and best of mankind, struggling through obstacles and tribulations that test their resilience and courage.
8. Stowaway
Stowaway Movie Description
A three-person crew on their way to Mars is faced with a seemingly impossible choice – they must decide the fate of an unexpected passenger that has put the lives of them all in peril.
9. Interstellar
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Interstellar Movie Description
In a desperate attempt to save humanity from an impending crop blight and a second Dust Bowl which are slowly rendering Earth uninhabitable, Professor Brand (Michael Caine), a brilliant physicist from NASA, is devising a plan to transport Earth’s population to a distant planet.
To this end, he recruits former NASA pilot Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) and a team of researchers to venture through an intergalactic wormhole and explore three distant planets to determine which one is the most suitable for human habitation.
10. Deep Impact
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Deep Impact Movie Description
As the world anxiously awaits, a comet is hurtling toward Earth with the potential to end all human life. The U.S. government has kept the crisis under wraps and only crack reporter Jenny Lerner (Tea Leoni) has uncovered the truth.
In a desperate attempt to save humanity, President Beck (Morgan Freeman) announces his plan: a team of grizzled astronauts led by Commander Spurgeon “Fish” Tanner (Robert Duvall) will land on the comet and lay explosives, in an effort to divert its course.
11. Armageddon
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Armageddon Movie Description
In a desperate attempt to save Earth from an asteroid collision, NASA relies on renowned driller Harry Stamper (Bruce Willis) and his skilled crew.
Despite his initial hesitancy to bring along rookie A.J. (Ben Affleck), Harry soon learns to embrace the young hotshot and they set out on their mission to drill into the asteroid’s surface and detonate a nuclear bomb. With a ticking clock, and their own lives on the line, Harry and his crew battle against time and space to save the planet from certain destruction.
12. Knowing
Knowing Movie Description
When professor John Koestler (Nicolas Cage) finds a cryptic document from a time capsule buried fifty years ago, what he uncovers is an alarming prediction of past and future disasters.
Every major disaster of the past five decades is accurately listed within the document and three future calamities – including one global cataclysm – are predicted.
13. Independence Day
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Independence Day Movie Description
Exploring the depths of the universe, an extraterrestrial force arrives on Earth with intentions of total annihilation. Across the globe, strange phenomena appear in the sky and terror spreads quickly through major cities.
However, a small group of individuals connected by fate and circumstance are the world’s last hope against this powerful enemy. As Independence Day approaches, these brave heroes must face a fight unlike any other, putting their lives on the line to save humanity from destruction.
14. The Core
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The Core Movie Description
Dr. Josh Keyes (Aaron Eckhart), a renowned geophysicist, is at the forefront of a global mission to save humanity from certain destruction. With the planet’s magnetic field rapidly deteriorating due to an unknown force stopping the earth’s inner core from rotating, catastrophic consequences are inevitable unless something can be done to reverse it.
Keyes and his team of the world’s most gifted scientists embark on a journey to the center of the Earth, where they must detonate a device that will reactivate the core and save humanity from extinction.
15. Vice
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Vice Movie Description
When Governor George W Bush of Texas announces his pick of Dick Cheney, the CEO of Halliburton Co, to be his Republican running mate in the 2000 presidential election, the decision sends shockwaves throughout the political world.
A seasoned veteran of the White House and Congress with a distinguished career spanning decades, Cheney brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the Bush-Cheney ticket. After Bush is elected by a narrow margin, Cheney begins to use his new power to make changes that will reshape the country and the world.
16. Network
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Network Movie Description
Howard Beale (Peter Finch), an experienced news anchorman for the UBS Network, is facing the end of his career. Unhappy with this outcome, he threatens to shoot himself on live television; instead, he goes off into a passionate rant that surprisingly boosts the ratings significantly.
This allows Diana Christensen (Faye Dunaway), an ambitious producer for UBS, to develop more outrageous programming, which she takes to the extreme.
17. They Live
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They Live Movie Description
Roaming the streets of Los Angeles, Nada (Roddy Piper) discovers a mysterious pair of sunglasses that allows him to see the world in its true form. He soon realizes that the authorities and media are full of hidden messages, designed to keep people obedient and populous.
To make matters even more disturbing, Nada discovers that many members of the social elite are actually skull-faced aliens, bent on ruling the world. With this knowledge, Nada embarks on a mission to free humanity from the aliens’ control.
18. God Bless America
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God Bless America Movie Description
Two unlikely partners, determined to take a stand against the cruelty and stupidity of American culture.
Fed up with the mentality that celebrating the lives of reality TV stars is the apex of entertainment, they team up to take unilateral action against those they find repugnant.
5 More Movies Like Don’t Look Up (Honorable Mentions)
Though our top picks for movies like Don’t Look Up are sure to provide you with hours of great entertainment, there are still many other films out there that deserve some recognition.
From political comedies to environmental thrillers, there are a variety of films that tackle similar issues with humor and wit. So if you have watched through all our top picks and are still looking for more movies to watch, make sure you add these to your watchlist next.
- The Interview (2014)
- Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World (2012)
- Wag the Dog (1997)
- In the Loop (2009)
- Jojo Rabbit (2019)