Do you like dystopian movies like Divergent, set in a futuristic world where society has adapted to a new normal? Well, Divergent is a sci-fi movie about a post-apocalyptic Chicago where individuals are categorized into different factions, who each have their dominant traits. Such movies usually consist of themes like differences in various economic classes in society, tyranny, and revolution. Finding movies specific to your needs and liking can be challenging. Therefore, I did the tedious work for you and compiled this list of movies similar to Divergent. So, without any further ado, let’s begin.
Here are the 30 best movies having a similar theme to Divergent. Some of the movies are action flicks, while others are dystopian dramas. But one thing for sure is that you can pick any movie from the list, and I guarantee you will like it. There are a few popular ones and a few underrated ones as well. Therefore, don’t hesitate to watch a movie you haven’t heard of before. There is a high possibility you might like it. That said, use the table below to navigate to a movie that appeals to you with just the name.
- In Time (2011)The Giver (2014)Maze Runner (2014)The Hunger Games (2012)Dune (2021)The 5th Wave (2016)The Matrix (1999)Ready Player One (2018)The Host (2013)Ender’s Game (2013)Alita: Battle Angel (2019)Chaos Walking (2021)Mortal Engines (2018)Jupiter Ascending (2015)V For Vendetta (2005) Minority Report (2002)Tomorrowland: A World Beyond (2015)City of Ember (2008)Battle Royale (2000)Never Let Me Go (2010)Oblivion (2013)Edge of Tomorrow (2014)Snowpiercer (2013)Passengers (2016)Chronicle (2012)Nerve (2016)Code 8 (2019)The Platform (2019)What Happened To Monday (2017)Upgrade (2018)
1. In Time (2011)
- IMDb: 6.7Rotten Tomatoes: 37%/51% Director: Andrew NiccolWriter: Andrew NiccolCast: Amanda Seyfried, Justin Timberlake, Alex Pettyfer, Cillian MurphyRuntime: 1 hour, 49 minutes
In Time is a science fiction action film set in the year 2169. The movie explores a unique concept and builds an action drama around it. The story begins in the dystopian future where everyone is genetically engineered not to age after they are 25. They have a timer on their hand with one year and time is the globally accepted currency. Anyone who exhausts their timer dies.
Despite the mind-blowing concept, the movie didn’t perform well at the box office, and neither received much appreciation. The audience felt the story could have been better given the complex concept with so much potential. Still, the movie hooks the viewers throughout the story, and it’s interesting to see how things work out. So, if you like Divergent and want to see a similar movie, In Time is the best film for you. It parallels the dystopian future and people against the system theme with a unique approach.
- IMDb: 6.4 Rotten Tomatoes: 35%/55% Director: Phillip NoyceWriter: Michael Mitnick, Robert B. WeideCast: Jeff Bridges, Meryl Streep, Brenton Thwaites, Alexander Skarsgård, Katie Holmes, Taylor SwiftRuntime: 1 hour, 37 minutes
The Giver is a dystopian drama film based on a 1993 novel of the same name. The movie takes place in a dull fictional world where the society is reorganized after a calamity referred to as “The Ruin.” Everyone is injected with a chemical daily that wipes out their emotions, either for the good or bad. Similarly, any newborn is brought to the world using genetic engineering, and sexual desire is also repressed.
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- IMDb: 6.8Rotten Tomatoes: 65%/68% Director: Wes BallWriter: Noah Oppenheim, Grant Pierce Myers, T.S. NowlinCast: Dylan O’Brien, Kaya Scodelario, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Will Poulter, Patricia ClarksonRuntime: 1 hour, 53 minutes
The Maze Runner is a dystopian science fiction film and the first in the trilogy. Audiences love all three movies, implying you should watch the whole series if the first film tickles your fancy. The movie is based on James Dashner’s 2009 novel of the same name. The plot begins with a young boy with no memories entering an unknown area through a lift. He spots other people his age there who explain their roles and how things work there. As he realizes that there is a maze lurking with dangerous animals, which is the only option to escape, he starts to get flashes of his past.
- IMDb: 7.2Rotten Tomatoes: 84%/81%Director: Gary RossWriter: Suzanne Collins, Gary Ross, Billy RayCast: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth BanksRuntime: 2 hours, 22 minutes
The Hunger Games is a dystopian film based on the eponymous 2008 novel by Suzanne Collins. The movie takes place in the nation of Panem, divided into 12 districts. As a punishment for a failed revolt in the past, the leaders from Capitol pick a girl and a boy between the age of 12 to 18 from the 12 districts to fight in The Hunger Games each year. The event includes 24 members, and only one member gets out alive. We follow Katniss, who volunteers in place of her sister and proves to be a game-changer in the Hunger Games.
The movie performed massively on the big screen due to the fantastic adaptation of the source material. Its success led to the development of two more sequels in the franchise based on the book series, and another movie is being written originally in the franchise, taking place independently from any novel.
- IMDb: 8.1 Rotten Tomatoes: 83%/90% Director: Denis VilleneuveWriter: Jon Spaihts, Denis Villeneuve, Eric RothCast: Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave BautistaRuntime: 2 hours, 36 minutes
Dune is an epic science fiction film based on the 1965 novel by Frank Herbert. The movie is the first of a two-part adaptation comprising of the story from the novel’s first half. The movie takes place in a fictional world where different houses are in charge of different planets. The emperor commands the House Atreides to take control of a planet named Arrakis. The desert planet has a substance called spice in its sand which is essential for faster than light interstellar travel. However, the emperor has a secondary plan due to the rising control of House Atreides.
- IMDb: 5.2 Rotten Tomatoes: 17%/28% Director: J BlakesonWriter: Susannah Grant, Akiva Goldsman, Jeff PinknerCast: Chloë Grace Moretz, Nick Robinson, Ron Livingston, Maggie Siff, Alex RoeRuntime: 1 hour, 52 minutes
The 5th Wave is a science fiction action film exploring the concept of an alien invasion from a new angle. You might have seen such survival movies previously, which makes the plot predictable. Still, it is worth watching for the acting performance and action in the film. The plot begins with a spaceship hovering over the planet, followed by several attacks. The aliens plan and perform the attacks in waves, causing a different phenomenon each time.
7. The Matrix (1999)
- IMDb: 8.7Rotten Tomatoes: 88%/85% Director: The WachowskisWriter: The WachowskisCast: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, Joe PantolianoRuntime: 2 hours, 16 minutes
One of the most loved and revered movies of this generation, The Matrix, asks you to question reality. This science-fiction cyberpunk action movie takes place in a dystopian future where humanity is trapped in a simulated reality. The movie’s protagonist, Neo (Keanu Reeves), is aware that something isn’t right. Therefore, when he gets the chance to either know the truth or keep living a lie, he takes the red pill, which brings him back to the real world. It is then we discover that machines have now overtaken the planet and harvest humans to create energy. Meanwhile, the consciousness of every human is rendered in a computer program called the Matrix that appears real to everyone.
- IMDb: 7.4 Rotten Tomatoes: 72%/77% Director: Steven SpielbergWriter: Zak Penn, Ernest ClineCast: Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Ben Mendelsohn, T.J. Miller, Simon PeggRuntime: 2 hours, 20 minutes
Ready Player One is a dystopian science fiction movie that takes place in the year 2045. The film shows individuals using a virtual reality entertainment universe called the OASIS to get away from the real world. However, chaos begins when the company’s founder dies and leaves a clue about a contest to take control of the virtual reality world. The winner would get total control over OASIS, which quickly fetches interest from many players and the company’s current CEO, who wants it for himself.
- IMDb: 5.8 Rotten Tomatoes: 10%/49% Director: Andrew NiccolWriter: Andrew NiccolCast: Saoirse Ronan, Jake Abel, Max Irons, Frances Fisher, Chandler CanterburyRuntime: 2 hours, 5 minutes
The Host is a science fiction romance thriller adapted from Stephenie Meyer’s 2008 novel. She is the same writer popularly known for creating the Twilight series. The Host tells the story of an alien invasion where the aliens called “Souls” invade the planet’s dominant species (humans) and replace their consciousness.
- IMDb: 6.6 Rotten Tomatoes: 62%/65% Director: Gavin HoodWriter: Gavin HoodCast: Asa Butterfield, Harrison Ford, Ben Kingsley, Viola Davis, Hailee SteinfeldRuntime: 1 hour, 54 minutes
Ender’s Game is a military science fiction film based on Orson Scott Card’s 1985 novel. The movie takes place in the future, where an alien race called Formics has once attacked the Earth. The last attack was stopped by a brave commander who finished off the queenship while giving his life. The military leaders are now looking for a new commander who can finish the battle once and for all. We are introduced to Ender, a promising young boy with a high aptitude and unique approach to problem-solving, at this point. Then, we follow his journey as he climbs the ranks in the military while everyone thinks he is the chosen one to finish the battle.
Ender’s Game is an entertaining watch with an excellent plot and action sequences. In addition, Ender’s character arc is well established with maturity and twists. It was a high-budget movie but didn’t make enough on the big screen, delivering less than expected results. Those who have read the novel also didn’t find the movie thought-provoking. Apart from that, all other elements are picked well, and it’s a great watch if your sole purpose is entertainment only.
- IMDb: 7.3 Rotten Tomatoes: 61%/92% Director: Robert RodriguezWriter: James Cameron, Laeta KalogridisCast: Rosa Salazar, Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Connelly, Mahershala Ali, Ed SkreinRuntime: 2 hours, 2 minutes
Alita: Battle Angel is a cyberpunk science fiction movie based on Yukito Kishiro’s manga comics titled Gunnm. The movie takes place in a far future after a catastrophic war known as “The Fall,” which left the Earth devastated. A scientist finds an old cyborg with a human brain intact. He brings the robot home, gives her a new body, and names her Alita after his deceased daughter. However, Alita does not have any prior memory and finds it troubling to cope. With the help of a scientist named Ido, she starts to find her way into the new world and start making her own path.
12. Chaos Walking (2021)
- IMDb: 5.7 Rotten Tomatoes: 22%/71% Director: Doug Liman Writer: Patrick Ness, Christopher FordCast: Daisy Ridley, Tom Holland, Mads Mikkelsen, Demián BichirRuntime: 1 hour, 49 minutes
Chaos Walking is a dystopian science fiction film based on The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness. The movie is set in a far future where the colonists of the planet New World have developed a condition called Nise that helps them hear each other’s thoughts. Plus, the colonists were involved in a war with the native humanoid species named The Spackle and destroyed all the female population, whereas half the males survived. Todd, the protagonist, finds a crashed ship but tries to keep the knowledge to himself unsuccessfully. He meets a girl named Voila, the only survivor near the crashed ship, and finds her mysterious. It’s the first time Todd has ever seen a girl, and they soon become friends. The rest of the story revolves around both the characters as they discover more about each other.
- IMDb: 6.1 Rotten Tomatoes: 26%/48% Director: Christian RiversWriter: Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Peter JacksonCast: Hera Hilmar, Robert Sheehan, Hugo Weaving, Jihae, Ronan RafteryRuntime: 2 hours, 8 minutes
Mortal Engines is a 2018 steampunk film based on Philip Reeve’s 2001 novel of the same name. The movie takes place in a post-apocalyptic world a thousand years from now. The Earth is in a critical condition, and the normal world order is ruined after a massive conflict known as the Sixty Minute War. The remaining people now live by the philosophy of “Municipal Darwinism.” They have mobilized entire cities, and the bigger predators hunt for smaller cities and absorb smaller settlements on The Hunting Ground. The story intensifies as the bigger cities continue to absorb resources from smaller ones and tension arises between its citizens.
- IMDb: 5.3 Rotten Tomatoes: 28%/38% Director: The WachowskisWriter: The WachowskisCast: Channing Tatum, Mila Kunis, Sean Bean, Eddie Redmayne, Douglas BoothRuntime: 2 hours, 7 minutes
Jupiter Ascending is a 2015 space opera film often regarded as a cross between The Matrix and Star Wars movies. The movie has a sinister plot, revealing that humans aren’t naturally evolved on Earth. Instead, royal families of a transhuman race have propagated life on various planets to use them later to create a youth serum.
- IMDb: 8.2 Rotten Tomatoes: 73%/90% Director: James McTeigueWriter: The WachowskisCast: Natalie Portman, Hugo Weaving, Stephen Rea, Stephen FryRuntime: 2 hours, 12 minutes
V for Vendetta is a 2005 dystopian political movie based on the eponymous DC Vertigo Comic character. The plot takes place in a future setting where a fascist government controls the country, and any voice against them is shut down. However, a freedom fighter codenamed V tries to bring a revolution through some terrorist attacks on the government. He wants to free everyone from the oppressive government with a message that the governments should fear people and not the other way around. The movie has given us some notable quotes like “Ideas are bulletproof,” making it a revolutionary film in political philosophies.
V for Vendetta was a huge success and is still loved by viewers worldwide. The movie presents us with crucial ideas about freedom and raising our voices against tyrants. It has also had a cultural impact where people have started using the Guy Fawkes mask as a means to protest.
- IMDb: 7.7 Rotten Tomatoes: 90%/80% Director: Steven SpielbergWriter: Scott Frank, Jon CohenCast: Tom Cruise, Colin Farrell, Samantha Morton, Max von SydowRuntime: 2 hours, 25 minutes
Minority Report is a science fiction action film loosely based on Philip K. Dick’s 1965 short story of the same name. The movie takes place in 2054, where Precrime, a police department that specializes in catching criminals based on foreknowledge. The movie follows a tried and tested plot of the protagonist being accused of a crime he didn’t commit and becoming a fugitive.
- IMDb: 6.4 Rotten Tomatoes: 50%/49% Director: Brad BirdWriter: Damon Lindelof, Brad BirdCast: George Clooney, Hugh Laurie, Britt Robertson, Raffey CassidyRuntime: 2 hours, 10 minutes
Tomorrowland, often subtitled A World Beyond, is a science fiction film coming from the genius of Brad Bird, who has presented us with gems like The Incredibles, Ratatouille, and Mission Impossible. The futuristic movie follows two central characters: a disillusioned genius inventor and a teenage science enthusiast girl.
18. City of Ember (2008)
- IMDb: 6.4 Rotten Tomatoes: 54%/46% Director: Gil KenanWriter: Caroline ThompsonCast: Saoirse Ronan, Harry Treadaway, Mary Kay Place, Bill MurrayRuntime: 1 hour, 35 minutes
City of Ember is a science fiction adventure film based on the eponymous novel by Jeanne DuPrau. The plot begins with creating an underground city called Ember after a global catastrophe. The future generation of the city is supposed to come back to the surface after 200 years, and the method to do so is locked in a box with a 200-year timer.
- IMDb: 7.6 Rotten Tomatoes: 88%/89% Director: Kinji FukasakuWriter: Kenta FukasakuCast: Tatsuya Fujiwara, Aki Maeda, Takeshi Kitano, Chiaki KuriyamaRuntime: 1 hour, 53 minutes
Battle Royale is a Japanese action-thriller film based on the 1999 novel by Koushun Takami. The movie follows a group of young Japanese high-school students who are forced to fight each other by a controlling government. In light of a recent recession, the government picks the students and asks them to fight in the annual event of Battle Royale. Out of all the students, only one survivor will emerge. If they decide to disobey, the authority fixes an explosive collar on the students’ necks. The students have to take part in the fight leading to total chaos.
Battle Royale is one of the most famous Japanese movies of all time. It changed the way people used to watch movies. Diving in extreme gore stuff and a chilling storyline, this movie got an R15+ rating, which is hardly used in Japan. Besides, the movie was banned in several countries due to the dark storyline leaving a lasting impact on people’s minds. So, if you want to watch dystopian movies like Divergent with a sinister plot, try Battle Royale.
- IMDb: 7.1 Rotten Tomatoes: 71%/70% Director: Mark RomanekWriter: Alex GarlandCast: Carey Mulligan, Keira Knightley, Andrew GarfieldRuntime: 1 hour, 43 minutes
Never Let Me Go is a British dystopian romance movie based on Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel of the same name. The movie takes place in an alternate history where a medical breakthrough allows people to live beyond 100 years. Here, we follow a young girl named Kathy as she narrates her life in Hailsham’s boarding school and her life afterward. Some ground-shattering revelations change the way these kids grow up. In addition, the young girl falls in love with another boy who is already with someone else, creating a love triangle. The movie explores the love and struggle in these people’s lives while they slowly move towards their destiny.
- IMDb: 7.0 Rotten Tomatoes: 53%/61% Director: Joseph KosinskiWriter: Karl Gajdusek, Michael deBruynCast: Tom Cruise, Morgan Freeman, Olga Kurylenko, Andrea RiseboroughRuntime: 2 hours, 4 minutes
Oblivion is a post-apocalyptic action-adventure film based on director Kosinski’s unpublished graphic novel of the same name. The movie pays homage to the science fiction era of the 1970s. The movie takes place in 2077 after an alien invasion wiped out the planet. The humans are forced to relocate to Titan for survival. We follow Jack Harper (Cruise), a technician sent back to Earth to repair a drone used in fighting the remaining extraterrestrials. However, things go unplanned when Jack finds a spacecraft and rescues a survivor. Soon after, he is captured by the extraterrestrial beings, revealed to be humans, and together they must fight another evolving threat.
- IMDb: 7.9 Rotten Tomatoes: 91%/90% Director: Doug LimanWriter: Christopher McQuarrie, Jez Butterworth, John-Henry ButterworthCast: Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton, Brendan GleesonRuntime: 1 hour, 53 minutes
Edge of Tomorrow is a science fiction action-adventure movie. It is adapted from a Japanese novel titled All You Need Is Kill by Hiroshi Sakurazaka. The movie takes place in a post-apocalyptic Europe where most of the world is occupied by an alien race. Major William Cage (Tom Cruise) is a public relationship officer who is forced to be a part of the battle regardless of his limited on-ground training. However, he finds himself in a time loop, living the same day indefinitely.
Now, he must find a way to defeat the enemy in order to be free. The movie has some award-winning actors in the lead role making it worth your time. In addition, you get to experience eye-pleasing visual effects and action-packed alien fights. The movie gained popularity for its promising story and great performances.
- IMDb: 7.1 Rotten Tomatoes: 94%/72% Director: Bong Joon-hoWriter: Bong Joon-ho, Kelly MastersonCast: Chris Evans, Song Kang-ho, Tilda Swinton, Jamie BellRuntime: 2 hours, 6 minutes
You might have seen a movie where the whole story takes place on a ship, train, bus, or flight. However, can you imagine living your whole life on a moving train? Snowpiercer answers this question with a new angle on the post-apocalyptic theme. The movie is based on a French graphic novel titled Le Transperceneige by Jacques Lob. The movie takes place on a train carrying the last survivors of the human race after a failed attempt to change climate led to snowball earth. We follow Curtis Everett (Evans), the leader of the tail end of the train represented as the lower economic class of our society. He starts a revolution to gain control of the train and better their lives.
24. Passengers (2016)
- IMDb: 7.0Rotten Tomatoes: 30%/63% Director: Morten TyldumWriter: Jon SpaihtsCast: Jennifer Lawrence, Chris Pratt, Michael Sheen, Laurence Fishburne, Andy GarcíaRuntime: 1 hour, 56 minutes
Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence starrer Passengers is a science fiction romance film partially based on the EC Comics story “50 Girls 50.” The movie revolves around these two lead characters on their journey to a distant galaxy. A ship is carrying thousands of humans to a new colony 60 light-years away via interstellar travel. All the passengers are subject to a hibernation sleep of 120 years. However, Jim (Pratt) is woken up from his sleep early due to some technical issue. As he realizes the error, he wakes up another girl (Lawrence) to have company on the journey, but does not tell her the truth. Both of them should now live their life on the ship and take care of it for the safety of other passengers.
- IMDb: 7.0 Rotten Tomatoes: 85%/71% Director: Josh TrankWriter: Max LandisCast: Dane DeHaan, Alex Russell, Michael B. Jordan, Michael Kelly, Ashley HinshawRuntime: 1 hour, 23 minutes
Chronicle is one of the most underrated science fiction movies you can watch. The film is shot in the found-footage style, giving the story a raw element. The plot revolves around three Seattle high school seniors as they gain telekinetic powers from a mysterious object. The trio first uses their power to have fun and goof around. However, Andrew, who is often bullied at school, gets carried away and starts using the power for darker purposes. The movie asks a profound question related to human behavior “what are you capable of?”
- IMDb: 6.5 Rotten Tomatoes: 66%/66% Director: Henry Joost, Ariel SchulmanWriter: Jessica SharzerCast: Emma Roberts, Dave Franco, Juliette Lewis, Emily Meade, Miles HeizerRuntime: 1 hour, 36 minutes
Nerve is a techno-thriller adventure film based on Jeanne Ryan’s novel of the same name. The movie is slightly inspired by the infamous Blue Whale challenge, where the participants were supposed to complete several tasks. Similarly, the movie is about a truth or dare game that asks players to perform tasks in exchange for money. The participants either have an option to be a player or a watcher. However, you cannot back out once you have chosen to play. As the game progresses, we see that players have to do more dangerous and life-threatening tasks.
- IMDb: 6.1 Rotten Tomatoes: 80%/61% Director: Jeff ChanWriter: Chris PareCast: Robbie Amell, Stephen Amell, Sung Kang, Kari Matchett, Greg BrykRuntime: 1 hour, 40 minutes
I hope you love superhero movies from DC and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I find the superpowers inspiring, and it gives us hope that good things happen to good people. However, what if those with superpowers are treated like criminals (read Sokovia accords). Code 8 tells this story. It is a science fiction movie about a guy with superpowers who works with criminals to earn money to save his sick mother. This movie is a feature-length version of a Canadian short movie by the same name.
Code 8 found commercial and critical success from users for being a polished gem on a tight budget. Many viewers appreciated the effort to introduce a new genre in the movie industry. Code 8 has close to no budget and depended heavily on fundraising to complete the shooting. You can read the names of over 30,000 contributors in the end credits.
- IMDb: 7.0 Rotten Tomatoes: 79%/72% Director: Galder Gaztelu-UrrutiaWriter: David Desola, Pedro RiveroCast: Iván Massagué, Antonia San Juan, Zorion Eguileor, Emilio BualeRuntime: 1 hour, 34 minutes
The Platform is a social science fiction movie originally created in Spanish. The plot revolves around a large vertical self-management center having residents on each level. The residents are shuffled between the floors every 30 days. Now, for the thrilling part, everyone in the building can eat from a platform that starts from the top floor and stops for a fixed amount of time on each floor. People at the top get to eat full bellies. However, those at the bottom only get leftovers from the floor above them. The fight for survival brings out the madman in the people. This is one of the best movies like Divergent.
29. What Happened To Monday (2017)
- IMDb: 6.8 Rotten Tomatoes: 61%/67% Director: Tommy WirkolaWriter: Max Botkin, Kerry WilliamsonCast: Noomi Rapace, Willem Dafoe, Glenn Close, Marwan Kenzari, Christian RubeckRuntime: 2 hours, 3 minutes
What Happened to Monday is a dystopian action thriller film. The plot takes place in a world where each family is allowed to have only one child due to overpopulation. The family we follow consists of 7 identical sisters (named Monday to Sunday) who assume a single identity in the outer world and can only go out on the same day of the week as their name. The story intensifies when one of the 7 sisters goes missing, and the other six start looking for her. However, they must do so without anyone knowing, or it can be a danger to all of their lives.
- IMDb: 7.5 Rotten Tomatoes: 88%/87% Director: Leigh WhannellWriter: Leigh WhannellCast: Logan Marshall-Green, Betty Gabriel, Harrison GilbertsonRuntime: 1 hour, 40 minutes
Upgrade is an Australian cyberpunk action film about a man who fears technology. The plot revolves around a technophobe man, Grey, who gets a chip implant after an attack leaves him paralyzed. The chip called STEM helps him regain control of his motor functions. However, the chip has its own intelligence and talks to Grey, helping him exact revenge on the attackers that killed his wife and left him paralyzed. The rest of the movie shows the efforts as Grey tries to do the better thing and the chip wants something more. Upgrade was highly appreciated for its action sequences and dark humor.
