Movies Like Piranha (1978)

Piranha is a 1978 horror, science fiction film from Joe Dante with a MovieMagicScore of 6.0/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Piranha II: The Spawning and Creatures from the Abyss.

Horror Science Fiction

Piranha II: The Spawning

1982

A scuba diving instructor, her biochemist boyfriend, and her police chief ex-husband try to link a series of bizarre deaths to a mutant strain of piranha fish whose lair is a sunken freighter ship off a Caribbean island resort.

4.3

MagicScore

Creatures from the Abyss

1994

Five teenagers embark on a boating trip off the coast of Florida. The teens get hopelessly lost at sea after they get caught in a fierce storm. Fortunately, the quintet stumble across an abandoned yacht in the middle of the ocean with a mysterious biology lab on board it. Unfortunately, there are also ferocious mutated prehistoric fish running amok on the yacht. Will any of the teens survive this harrowing ordeal?

4.3

MagicScore

Piranha 3DD

2012

After the events at Lake Victoria, the prehistoric school of blood-thirsty piranhas make their way into swimming pools, plumbing, and a newly opened water park.

4.3

MagicScore

Mega Piranha

2010

When a science experiment goes horribly wrong, gigantic fish gain appetites for human flesh.

3.2

MagicScore

Frankenfish

2004

When the body of a man is found completely destroyed in the swamps in Louisiana, the medical investigator Sam Rivers is assigned to investigate the murder. He travels with the biologist Mary Callahan to the location where the victim lived in a floating house and he meets his family and friends. They find that Chinese snake-heads genetically engineered that belong to a wealthy hunter are attacking and killing the locals. While the group fights to survive, the hunter Jeff arrives with his team to hunt the predators.

5.7

MagicScore

The Final Terror

1983

A group of friends head out for what is expected to be a vacation of hiking, camping and a good time, but when a backwoods mama finds them on her turf, it becomes anything but a vacation.

5.1

MagicScore

Megamind

2010

After Megamind, a highly intelligent alien supervillain, defeats his long-time nemesis Metro Man, Megamind creates a new hero to fight, but must act to save the city when his "creation" becomes an even worse villain than he was.

7.0

MagicScore

Bullets of Justice

2020

During World War III, the American government initiates a secret project codenamed ‘Army Bacon’ in order to create super soldiers by inbreeding humans with pigs. 25 years later the hybrid Muzzles have occupied the top of the food chain, eating and farming humanity. Ex-bounty hunter Rob Justice works for the last line of human resistance - a group of survivors hiding in a nuclear bunker deep underground - and his mission is to search and destroy Muzzle Central.

4.9

MagicScore

Story of G.I. Joe

1945

War correspondent Ernie Pyle joins Company C, 18th Infantry as this American army unit fights its way across North Africa in World War II. He comes to know the soldiers and finds much human interest material for his readers back in the States. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with The Film Foundation in 2000.

6.4

MagicScore

#10

Doctor X

1932

A wisecracking New York reporter intrudes on a research scientist's quest to unmask The Moon Killer.

6.0

MagicScore

#11

Johnny Got His Gun

1971

A young American soldier, rendered in pseudocoma from an artillery shell from WWI, recalls his life leading up to that point.

7.5

MagicScore

#12

Undead

2003

A quaint Australian fishing village is overcome by meteorites that turn its residents into the ravenous undead, leaving a small group of those unharmed to find a way out.

5.5

MagicScore

#13

Gattaca

1997

Vincent is an all-too-human man who dares to defy a system obsessed with genetic perfection. He is an "In-Valid" who assumes the identity of a member of the genetic elite to pursue his goal of traveling into space with the Gattaca Aerospace Corporation.

7.6

MagicScore

#14

Mobile Suit Gundam SEED FREEDOM

2024

In C.E.75, the fighting still continues. There are independence movements, and aggression by Blue Cosmos... In order to calm the situation, a global peace monitoring agency called COMPASS is established, with Lacus as its first president. As members of COMPASS, Kira and his comrades intervene into various regional battles. Then a newly established nation called Foundation proposes a joint operation against a Blue Cosmos stronghold.

6.9

MagicScore

#15

The Thinning

2016

In a post-apocalyptic future where population control is dictated by a high-school aptitude test, two students discover the test is smoke and mirrors hiding a larger conspiracy.

6.7

MagicScore

#16

Flesh for Frankenstein

1973

Within the decadent walls of the Frankenstein mansion, the Baron and his depraved assistant Otto have discovered the means of creating new life. As the Baron's laboratory begins to fill up with stitched body parts, the Baroness dallies with the randy new manservant and soon the decadent, permissive household is consumed by an outrageous, bizarre and hilarious combination of death and dismemberment.

5.7

MagicScore

#17

Piranha 3D

2010

Each year the population of sleepy Lake Victoria, Arizona explodes from 5,000 to 50,000 residents for the annual Spring Break celebration. But then, an earthquake opens an underwater chasm, releasing an enormous swarm of ancient Piranha that have been dormant for thousands of years, now with a taste for human flesh. This year, there's something more to worry about than the usual hangovers and complaints from locals, a new type of terror is about to be cut loose on Lake Victoria.

5.4

MagicScore

#18

Massacre in Dinosaur Valley

1985

A plane crashes in the Amazon jungle, and its passengers must battle their way through cannibals, slave traders, wild animals and murderous piranha fish to safety.

5.0

MagicScore

#19

Piranha

1995

Doctor Baines has been conducting genetic experiments on piranhas and has made them virtually unstoppable. Unfortunately, his assistants, Maggie and Paul, accidentally release the hybrids into the Lost River Lake threatening to destroy everyone in their path. Can they prevent the flesh-eating piranhas from escaping into the ocean and spawning?

4.7

MagicScore

#20

The Bad Guys

2022

When the Bad Guys, a crew of criminal animals, are finally caught after years of heists and being the world’s most-wanted villains, Mr. Wolf brokers a deal to save them all from prison.

7.5

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Piranha?

The top films similar to Piranha by MovieMagicScore are Piranha II: The Spawning (4.3), Creatures from the Abyss (4.3), Piranha 3DD (4.3). Each shares horror/science fiction themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Piranha worth watching?

Piranha holds a MovieMagicScore of 6.0/10 from 714 viewer ratings.

What kind of movie is Piranha?

Piranha (1978) is a horror, science fiction film directed by Joe Dante, starring Bradford Dillman, Heather Menzies, Kevin McCarthy.

Where can I find more recommendations like Piranha?

Browse the full ranked list above, or explore more horror recommendations on MovieMagicScore, where every list is ordered by genuine viewer ratings.

Keep exploring

Movies like Piranha II: The Spawning Movies like Creatures from the Abyss Movies like Piranha 3DD Movies like Mega Piranha Movies like Frankenfish Movies like The Final Terror

About movies like Piranha

This ranked list pairs Piranha (1978), a horror and science fiction film from Joe Dante, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Bradford Dillman take note). Unlike critic-driven sites, every position here is ordered by MovieMagicScore — a rating built only from real viewers, with no studio marketing or paid placement. Scores update as more people rate, so the list stays current.

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