The survival‑first disaster thriller movies like Greenland sits in that rare lane where global catastrophe meets household urgency, giving us a grounded, human‑centred disaster film that never forgets the wife, the child and the fragile promise of safety. Ric Roman Waugh’s 2020 film blends incoming‑comet panic with shelter lotteries, broken infrastructure, desperate travellers and a father who will cross a burning world to keep his family together. It is tense rather than silly, focused rather than noisy, built like a race‑to‑shelter thriller that just happens to have extinction in the background. It is also full of signature moments, from highway chaos to final‑seconds refuge, that define this disaster‑plus‑family subgenre.
To find other movies like Greenland we measure five things: tone (urgent, realistic, human‑centred), narrative engine (people moving toward safety, not standing still), themes (family responsibility, sacrifice, ordinary people during collapse), character dynamics (parent‑child, couple or protective escort) and stakes (personal survival tied to a bigger wipe‑out). That lets us pull in 1990s comet‑impact stories, 2000s global catastrophe cinema, bleak apocalyptic road thriller entries and modern international titles, all close enough to feel like part of the same watchlist. The result is a list you can actually watch with family, teens or thriller fans without falling into pure action territory.
Jump to: Top picks | Darker options | Lighthearted picks
We scored every title on five axes: tone (credible, people‑first disaster), narrative engine (keep‑moving survival, not bunker soap), themes (family, duty, hope), character dynamics (bonds under siege) and stakes (local danger plus wider collapse). We also mixed eras and regions on purpose, so you get American spectacle, European tension and smaller‑market survival pieces, all still recognisably movies like Greenland.
Best family‑on‑the‑run picks and movies like Greenland to watch next
1) The Day After Tomorrow (2004)
- Runtime: 124 min
- Starring: Dennis Quaid, Jake Gyllenhaal
- Director: Roland Emmerich
- Genre: Action / Sci‑Fi Disaster
- IMDb Rating: 6.4/10
- Why it’s similar: parent crossing frozen world to save family
This Roland Emmerich thriller imagines climate failure arriving in days instead of decades. A climatologist fights to warn officials while his son is stranded in a freezing New York. The tone balances spectacle with grounded peril so the human stakes stay close. Like movies like Greenland, the emotional drive is a parent crossing danger to reach family. The setting swings from vast storm systems to intimate interiors that make survival feel tactile. The emotional payoff is optimism earned through endurance and sacrifice. Viewers who come to movies like Greenland for desperate rescues and evacuation chaos stories will recognise the rhythm here. It is a reliable starting point for disaster devotees.
2) Deep Impact (1998)
- Runtime: 121 min
- Starring: Téa Leoni, Morgan Freeman
- Director: Mimi Leder
- Genre: Drama / Sci‑Fi Disaster
- IMDb Rating: 6.2/10
- Why it’s similar: incoming space object and shelter‑selection drama
This late‑90s comet‑impact entry is tonally closer to Greenland than many remember. It follows journalists, astronauts and ordinary families as a doomsday object heads for Earth. The tone is earnest and procedural rather than jokey, keeping it in line with movies like Greenland. Family separations and hard choices mirror the Garrity family’s ordeal. Coastal towns, Washington briefings and arks underline how wide the threat runs. The emotion builds toward sacrifice and reunion instead of faceless destruction. Fans chasing movies like Greenland for plausibility and family survival drama should slot this high. It proves apocalyptic storytelling can stay human sized.
3) 2012 (2009)
- Runtime: 158 min
- Starring: John Cusack, Chiwetel Ejiofor
- Director: Roland Emmerich
- Genre: Action / Epic Disaster
- IMDb Rating: 5.8/10
- Why it’s similar: race to reach government shelter arks
2012 blows the premise out to planetary scale but keeps one divorced writer trying to save his kids. When Earth’s crust destabilises he hustles planes, cars and even ships to reach survival vessels. The tone is louder and more comic but still tracks a family core like other movies like Greenland. The parent‑and‑children dynamic echoes Greenland even if the canvas is wider. Continental collapses create a rolling obstacle course that keeps tension high. At heart it works as a shelter‑race story about making it to the ark in time. Anyone filing movies like Greenland under high‑mobility survival will enjoy this swing. It is messy, long and undeniably fun.
4) San Andreas (2015)
- Runtime: 114 min
- Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Carla Gugino
- Director: Brad Peyton
- Genre: Action / Disaster
- IMDb Rating: 6.1/10
- Why it’s similar: dad crossing ruined region to reach daughter
San Andreas takes the earthquake scenario and wraps it round a father trying to reach his child. After a record quake devastates California he flies, drives and boats through collapsing infrastructure. The tone is muscular and earnest with heroics played straight, which keeps it compatible with movies like Greenland. Family reconciliation under pressure matches what makes Greenland tick. Ruined cityscapes give the story that big‑canvas disaster feeling. The emotional payoff is survival plus restored trust. Viewers who catalogue movies like Greenland for parental devotion will click with this. It scratches the human‑centred disaster film itch even though it stays stateside.
Darker, collapse‑of‑society choices within movies like Greenland
5) War of the Worlds (2005)
- Runtime: 116 min
- Starring: Tom Cruise, Dakota Fanning
- Director: Steven Spielberg
- Genre: Sci‑Fi / Disaster Thriller
- IMDb Rating: 6.5/10
- Why it’s similar: dad and kids fleeing across collapsing America
Spielberg’s version swaps comet fallout for alien tripods but keeps the dad‑with‑kids flight intact. A dockworker grabs his children and flees through panic, ferries and ruined suburbs. The tone is harsher and more fearful than Greenland but still rooted in family bonds. The separated‑family tension and protect‑the‑child beats are straight out of the same pool as other movies like Greenland. Destroyed neighbourhoods and mob scenes supply convincing disaster iconography. The emotional payoff is parental redemption after terror. Place it high if you want movies like Greenland that really stress the escape. It remains one of the sharpest evacuation chaos stories of the 2000s.
6) The Road (2009)
- Runtime: 111 min
- Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Kodi Smit‑McPhee
- Director: John Hillcoat
- Genre: Drama / Post‑Apocalyptic
- IMDb Rating: 7.3/10
- Why it’s similar: father‑child survival in dead world
This adaptation of Cormac McCarthy goes further into despair than Greenland but shares the core bond. A father and son walk through a dead landscape looking for food and shelter. The tone is hushed, grey and intimate, making it the solemn end of movies like Greenland. Love for family is the only non‑negotiable resource. The setting is stripped of civilisation so every encounter matters. The emotional payoff is small but deeply felt. For viewers exploring movies like Greenland who want the bleakest version, pick this. It is the purest intimate end‑of‑the‑world tale on this list.
7) A Quiet Place (2018)
- Runtime: 90 min
- Starring: Emily Blunt, John Krasinski
- Director: John Krasinski
- Genre: Horror / Sci‑Fi Survival
- IMDb Rating: 7.5/10
- Why it’s similar: parents protecting kids under constant threat
Krasinski’s surprise hit retools disaster into sensory horror yet still works as survival‑family cinema. A rural family lives in silence to avoid sound‑hunting creatures. The tone is taut, compassionate and focused like the best movies like Greenland. Parents make sacrifices for kids just as in Greenland. Farmhouses and forests replace bunkers but the isolation lands the same. The emotional payoff is bravery born from parenthood. If your movies like Greenland list is really about keeping children alive this belongs. It delivers post‑impact suspense without losing heart.
8) Children of Men (2006)
- Runtime: 109 min
- Starring: Clive Owen, Julianne Moore
- Director: Alfonso Cuarón
- Genre: Sci‑Fi / Apocalyptic Drama
- IMDb Rating: 7.9/10
- Why it’s similar: escorting vulnerable hope through violent collapse
Cuarón’s masterpiece trades meteors for mass infertility but keeps civilisation on the brink. A burnt‑out official must smuggle a pregnant woman to sanctuary while militias close in. The tone is urgent, political and immersive which lines up with grounded movies like Greenland. Protecting the future of a child echoes Greenland’s generational stakes. Bombed‑out Britain and refugee camps supply convincing world‑ending texture. The emotional payoff is hard earned hope. Viewers building a movies like Greenland watchlist for realism and humanism should not skip this. It is prestige collapse storytelling at its best.
More hopeful and international movies like Greenland for balance
9) The Wave (2015)
- Runtime: 105 min
- Starring: Kristoffer Joner, Ane Dahl Torp
- Director: Roar Uthaug
- Genre: Thriller / Disaster
- IMDb Rating: 7.1/10
- Why it’s similar: small‑town family against real‑world tsunami risk
This Norwegian hit imagines a real fjord collapse sending a massive wave toward a tourist town. A geologist and his family have minutes to escape. The tone is suspenseful but not nihilistic, fitting the softer side of movies like Greenland. Family unity under pressure mirrors Greenland tightly. Mountain roads, tunnels and hotels make for fresh scenery. The emotional payoff is reunion after ordeal. Anyone curating movies like Greenland but wanting European flavour should add this. It proves local disasters can feel epic.
10) The Finest Hours (2016)
- Runtime: 117 min
- Starring: Chris Pine, Casey Affleck
- Director: Craig Gillespie
- Genre: Historical / Rescue Drama
- IMDb Rating: 6.8/10
- Why it’s similar: rescue mission driven by love and duty
Disney’s sea‑rescue drama is not a doomsday tale but the rescue‑at‑all‑costs ethos is identical. Coast Guardsmen head into a deadly storm to save a split tanker off Cape Cod. The tone is earnest and old‑fashioned which still works for movies like Greenland. Commitment to loved ones waiting onshore maps onto Greenland’s family stakes. Blizzards, waves and a creaking ship deliver practical peril instead of CGI apocalypse. The emotional payoff is heroism validated by reunion. Viewers using movies like Greenland to find duty‑bound survival will appreciate this. It is the list’s warmest human‑first entry.
11) Love and Monsters (2020)
- Runtime: 109 min
- Starring: Dylan O’Brien, Jessica Henwick
- Director: Michael Matthews
- Genre: Adventure / Post‑Apocalyptic Comedy
- IMDb Rating: 7.0/10
- Why it’s similar: cross‑country journey to reunite with loved one
Set seven years after monsters forced people underground, this adventure follows Joel on a surface trek. He risks everything to reach the girlfriend he was separated from. The tone is playful, romantic and hopeful, opening up the lighter edge of movies like Greenland. The emotional motor of crossing a ruined world for someone is straight from Greenland. Bright outdoor locations contrast with danger to keep things fun. The payoff is growth, community and new chances. Fans wanting titles that teens can enjoy should mark this. It is the list’s clearest feel‑good survival entry.
12) Geostorm (2017)
- Runtime: 109 min
- Starring: Gerard Butler, Jim Sturgess
- Director: Dean Devlin
- Genre: Sci‑Fi / Tech Disaster
- IMDb Rating: 5.3/10
- Why it’s similar: same lead actor, planetary weather threat, family strand
This Gerard Butler vehicle flips the cause of disaster to malfunctioning climate satellites. A scientist must fix the system in orbit while his family faces political danger on Earth. The tone is glossy and conspiracy‑tinged but still sits near movies like Greenland thanks to Butler and the save‑the‑family angle. Family separation and a race to a safe location echo Greenland closely. International settings and space stations keep the scale wide. The emotional payoff is family security restored after sabotage. People literally hunting for Butler‑led disaster pieces will enjoy the symmetry. It is the pulpy weekend‑night option.
Final thoughts on movies like Greenland for survival‑night marathons
Movies like Greenland show how flexible this subgenre is, bending from comet alerts to alien assaults to tsunamis while still staying about a parent, a partner or a protector who refuses to give up. You can go for gentler Nordic survival, higher‑stakes but readable American spectacles, quick lighthearted wins, classic invasion panics, clue‑like escort missions, human‑scale rescue dramas, post‑apocalyptic road journeys or straight comet stories. All of them work because they keep the camera on people who matter to each other. If you want to go deeper into how the genre evolved and which filmmakers shaped it visit the British Film Institute and the American Film Institute. Those sources chart disaster craft, tension curves and production history in detail. Stack three or four of these titles and you will feel the common DNA. Above all you will see why keeping the family alive is the best plot engine. That is the true secret of this corner of cinema.
FAQ on choosing movies like Greenland
Q1: What makes a film qualify as ‘movies like Greenland’?
Q2: Do the disasters have to be comet-related like in Greenland?
Q3: Are there lighter entries I can show to older kids or teens?
Q4: How did you rank these titles for similarity?
Q5: Can I add TV shows to a movies like Greenland list?
Q6: Why include very dark entries like The Road?
Last updated: 01 November 2025 — ratings audited, 2 titles swapped.
- Replaced a near-duplicate alien thriller with The Finest Hours for tonal variety.
- Adjusted ordering in the darker section to foreground A Quiet Place.
- Checked IMDb scores for late-1990s comet/disaster entries.
