Movies Like Zero Dark Thirty (2012)

Zero Dark Thirty is a 2012 drama, thriller film from Kathryn Bigelow with a MovieMagicScore of 7.0/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with The Report and The Long Kiss Goodnight.

Drama Thriller

The Report

2019

The story of Daniel Jones, lead investigator for the US Senate’s sweeping study into the CIA's Detention and Interrogation Program, which was found to be brutal, immoral and ineffective. With the truth at stake, Jones battled tirelessly to make public what many in power sought to keep hidden.

7.0

MagicScore

The Long Kiss Goodnight

1996

Samantha Caine is a small-town schoolteacher and mom with no memory of her life before washing up on a beach eight years ago. After a car accident and a violent home invasion trigger flashes of her past, she discovers she used to be a deadly CIA assassin. Teaming up with a wisecracking private investigator, Samantha must return to her old ways to take down the people who tried to erase her.

6.6

MagicScore

United 93

2006

A real-time account of the events on United Flight 93, one of the planes hijacked on 9/11 that crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania when passengers foiled the terrorist plot.

7.1

MagicScore

Munich

2005

During the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, eleven Israeli athletes are taken hostage and murdered by a Palestinian terrorist group known as Black September. In retaliation, the Israeli government recruits a group of Mossad agents to track down and execute those responsible for the attack.

7.1

MagicScore

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit

2014

Jack Ryan, as a young covert CIA analyst, uncovers a Russian plot to crash the U.S. economy with a terrorist attack.

6.1

MagicScore

The Oath

2010

Tells the story of two men, Abu Jandal and Salim Ahmed Hamdan, whose fateful encounter in 1996 set them on a course of events that led them to Afghanistan, Osama bin Laden, 9/11, Guantanamo, and the U.S. Supreme Court.

7.4

MagicScore

Bullitt

1968

Senator Walter Chalmers is aiming to take down mob boss Pete Ross with the help of testimony from the criminal's hothead brother Johnny, who is in protective custody in San Francisco under the watch of police lieutenant Frank Bullitt. When a pair of mob hitmen enter the scene, Bullitt follows their trail through a maze of complications and double-crosses. This thriller includes one of the most famous car chases ever filmed.

7.2

MagicScore

World Trade Center

2006

Two police officers struggle to survive when they become trapped beneath the rubble of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.

6.1

MagicScore

Operation Delta Force

1997

A team of military experts and scientists go after a terrorist group that has seized a deadly virus and is threatening to release it.

3.7

MagicScore

#10

12 Strong

2018

A team of special forces head into Afghanistan in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks in an attempt to dismantle the Taliban.

6.3

MagicScore

#11

The President's Man

2000

To many, Joshua McCord is a charismatic Asian studies professor. To the President of the United States, he's America's greatest secret weapon; a covert operative charged with only the most sensitive and dangerous missions.

4.5

MagicScore

#12

Clear and Present Danger

1994

Agent Jack Ryan becomes acting Deputy Director of Intelligence for the CIA when Admiral Greer is diagnosed with cancer. When an American businessman, and friend of the president, is murdered on his yacht, Ryan starts discovering links between the man and drug dealers. As former CIA agent John Clark is sent to Colombia to kill drug cartel kingpins in retaliation, Ryan must fight through multiple cover-ups to figure out what happened and who's responsible.

6.6

MagicScore

#13

Lone Survivor

2013

Four Navy SEALs on a covert mission to neutralize a high-level Taliban operative must make an impossible moral decision in the mountains of Afghanistan that leads them into an enemy ambush. As they confront unthinkable odds, the SEALs must find reserves of strength and resilience to fight to the finish.

7.4

MagicScore

#14

Who Dares Wins

1982

When SAS Captain Peter Skellen is thrown out of the service for gross misconduct due to unnecessary violence and bullying, he is soon recruited by The People's Lobby, a fanatical group aiming to hold several US dignitaries hostage. But Skellen's dismissal is a front to enable him to get close to the terrorist group. Can he get close enough to stop the Lobby from creating an international incident?

6.2

MagicScore

#15

The Rock

1996

When vengeful General Francis X. Hummel seizes control of Alcatraz Island and threatens to launch missiles loaded with deadly chemical weapons into San Francisco, only a young FBI chemical weapons expert and notorious Federal prisoner have the skills to penetrate the impregnable island fortress and take him down.

7.1

MagicScore

#16

All the Devil's Men

2018

A battle-scarred War on Terror bounty hunter is forced to go to London on a manhunt for a disavowed CIA operative, which leads him into a deadly running battle with a former military comrade and his private army.

5.7

MagicScore

#17

13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi

2016

An American Ambassador is killed during an attack at a U.S. compound in Libya as a security team struggles to make sense out of the chaos.

7.3

MagicScore

#18

Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair

2011

A former assassin, known simply as The Bride, wakes from a coma four years after her jealous ex-lover Bill attempts to murder her on her wedding day. Fueled by an insatiable desire for revenge, she vows to get even with every person who contributed to the loss of her unborn child, her entire wedding party, and four years of her life. After devising a hit list, The Bride sets off on her quest, enduring unspeakable injury and unscrupulous enemies.

8.1

MagicScore

#19

Criminal

2016

CIA Agent Bill Pope is on a mission to track down a shadowy hacker named 'The Dutchman'. When he gets mysteriously killed, an experimental procedure transfers his memories into a dangerous ex-convict. When he wakes up Pope's memories, his mission is to eliminate The Dutchman before the hacker launches ICBMs and starts World War III.

6.2

MagicScore

#20

The Hurt Locker

2008

During the Iraq War, a Sergeant recently assigned to an army bomb squad is put at odds with his squad mates due to his maverick way of handling his work.

7.3

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Zero Dark Thirty?

The top films similar to Zero Dark Thirty by MovieMagicScore are The Report (7.0), The Long Kiss Goodnight (6.6), United 93 (7.1). Each shares drama/thriller themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Zero Dark Thirty worth watching?

Zero Dark Thirty holds a MovieMagicScore of 7.0/10 from 4,712 viewer ratings, putting it among the better-reviewed titles in its genre.

What kind of movie is Zero Dark Thirty?

Zero Dark Thirty (2012) is a drama, thriller film directed by Kathryn Bigelow, starring Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke, Kyle Chandler.

Where can I find more recommendations like Zero Dark Thirty?

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

Keep exploring

Movies like The Report Movies like The Long Kiss Goodnight Movies like United 93 Movies like Munich Movies like Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit Movies like The Oath

About movies like Zero Dark Thirty

This ranked list pairs Zero Dark Thirty (2012), a drama and thriller film from Kathryn Bigelow, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Jessica Chastain 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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